Pedestrian Struck by a Delivery Truck in a Marked Crosswalk

Attorney Answer

A driver who strikes a pedestrian in a marked crosswalk has almost certainly violated a traffic law, and that is powerful evidence of negligence — but the company whose name is on the truck may not be the company that employed the driver.

Fla. Stat. § 316.130 sets out Florida's pedestrian rules, including the driver's duty to yield and to stop and remain stopped for a pedestrian in a marked crosswalk, and the general duty of every driver to exercise due care to avoid colliding with a pedestrian. A violation supports both an ordinary negligence claim and a negligence per se theory against the driver.

Two practical points shape the rest of it. First, many delivery vans that carry a national brand are operated by separate local delivery contractors with their own insurance, and identifying the correct employer early determines who pays. Second, Florida reduces your recovery by your own share of fault, and since the 2023 tort changes a person found more than 50% at fault recovers nothing — so expect the defense to argue you entered outside the crosswalk, against a signal, or in the dark.

What you can do

1. Get treated and keep going to every follow-up. Gaps in treatment are the first thing an adjuster uses. 2. Get the crash report, and from it the driver's name, the vehicle number, and the exact company on the registration and insurance — not just the logo on the door. 3. Have a lawyer send a preservation letter for the van's camera and telematics data quickly. That footage is routinely overwritten within weeks. 4. Photograph the crosswalk, signals, and sight lines, and ask nearby businesses for their camera footage before it cycles. 5. Check whether you or a resident relative has auto insurance — Florida no-fault medical benefits can reach a pedestrian struck by a vehicle, and those benefits have their own early treatment deadline. 6. Do not give a recorded statement to the truck's insurer.

⏱ Time limits apply. Under Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(a), an action founded on negligence must be brought within two years for causes of action accruing on or after March 24, 2023. Whether that two-year period or the older four-year period governs depends on your accrual date, and the medical-benefit deadlines under your own policy run much sooner.