A pedestrian in Greenville can be exposed to risks on the road, whether you are crossing Main Street downtown or walking near Falls Park or at one of the city’s busy commercial corridors. With nothing to shield you from a vehicle’s impact, even a seemingly minor collision can cause serious injuries.
When a driver’s negligence causes your injuries, you may have the right to seek compensation for medical expenses, lost income, pain, and other losses.
The Arndt Law Firm helps injured pedestrians throughout Greenville and Greenville County fight for the compensation they may be entitled to under South Carolina law. To better understand your legal options, call us at (843) 310-4645 for a free case review.
South Carolina's crosswalk rule is more specific than it is often described. Under S.C. Code § 56-5-3130(a), where traffic-control signals are not in place or are not in operation, a driver must yield the right of way, slowing down or stopping if need be, to a pedestrian crossing within a crosswalk, when the pedestrian is on the half of the roadway the vehicle is traveling on or is approaching so closely from the opposite half as to be in danger.
Where a crosswalk is controlled by a working signal, the duties come from the signal instead, under §§ 56-5-990 and 56-5-3110. § 56-5-3130(d) adds a separate rule that does not depend on signals at all: when any vehicle is stopped at a marked or unmarked crosswalk to let a pedestrian cross, a driver approaching from behind may not overtake and pass it. § 56-5-3130(c) removes the subsection (a) duty where a pedestrian tunnel or overhead crossing has been provided.
A driver who fails to yield to a pedestrian lawfully in a crosswalk has violated this duty. The law adds further protection by prohibiting a driver from passing a vehicle that has stopped at a crosswalk to let a pedestrian cross. This rule addresses a common and dangerous scenario in which one driver stops for a pedestrian, and a second driver, unable to see the pedestrian, passes the stopped vehicle and strikes them.
A driver's violation of a traffic statute is negligence per se in South Carolina, which means the statute supplies the standard of conduct and the jury does not decide separately whether the driver acted reasonably. It is not the same as winning. The injured pedestrian must still show that the statute was meant to protect against this kind of harm and this class of person, and must still prove the violation was a proximate cause of the injury.
Comparative negligence continues to apply, so the pedestrian's own share of fault can still reduce the recovery. A clear statutory violation is strong evidence of the driver's negligence, and it is where a pedestrian case starts, not where it ends.
Pedestrians also have duties, such as obeying signals. Where a crossing is controlled by a working pedestrian signal, S.C. Code § 56-5-990 supplies the rule. A "Walk" indication means the pedestrian may proceed and "shall be given the right of way by the drivers of all vehicles." A "Wait" indication means no pedestrian may start to cross, though a pedestrian who began crossing on the walk signal may continue to a sidewalk or safety island.
Beyond the crosswalk rules, South Carolina imposes a statutory duty of care on every driver. Under S.C. Code § 56-5-3230, every driver must exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian or any person propelling a human-powered vehicle, must give an audible signal when necessary, and must exercise proper precaution upon observing any child or any obviously confused, incapacitated, or intoxicated person.
This duty is not limited to crosswalks. It applies to a pedestrian walking along a road, crossing where there is no crosswalk, or otherwise present where a driver should be looking. A driver who strikes a pedestrian through inattention, distraction, or a failure to keep a proper lookout has breached it, and the failure to sound the horn when it would have made a difference is part of that breach.
The interaction between the pedestrian's conduct and the driver's duty is often the point of contention in these cases. An insurer may argue that the pedestrian was crossing improperly or not paying attention, but the driver's duty of due care does not disappear simply because the pedestrian was in an unexpected location.
A driver is generally required to take reasonable care to avoid a pedestrian they could have seen, and establishing that the driver failed to do so is central to a pedestrian claim that does not arise in a crosswalk.
The law's recognition that some pedestrians, especially children, are particularly vulnerable adds a further dimension, calling for heightened caution where a driver should expect them, such as near schools, parks, and residential areas where children are likely to be present. A driver who fails to slow and watch in those settings may bear responsibility for a child who darts into the road.
Pedestrian accidents in the Greenville area follow recognizable patterns, most of which involve a driver failing to see or yield to a person on foot. Drivers turning at intersections who fail to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk, drivers who fail to stop for pedestrians crossing with the right of way, and drivers who pass a vehicle stopped for a pedestrian cause a significant share of crashes. Distracted driving compounds all of these, since a driver looking at a phone may not see a pedestrian at all.
The places where people walk in Greenville are where these crashes happen. The revitalized downtown, centered on Main Street and Falls Park, has a vibrant, walkable character that draws large numbers of pedestrians, especially during events and on weekends, and the crossings in this area see heavy foot traffic.
The wide, high-traffic arterials that carry the area's vehicle traffic and the congested commercial corridors can be dangerous for pedestrians to cross because a multi-lane road carrying heavy traffic at speed is difficult to cross safely, especially where crossings are spaced far apart. Corridors like I-85, I-385, US-123, and Woodruff Road carry heavy vehicle traffic through and around Greenville and are among the area's more dangerous places for a pedestrian to cross.
The contrast between the walkable downtown and the vehicle-oriented arterials helps shape the pattern of pedestrian crashes in the area. In the downtown core, pedestrians move along sidewalks and cross at intersections in an environment designed for foot traffic, though the volume of both people and vehicles creates points of conflict.
On wider commercial corridors built primarily for vehicles, a pedestrian crossing long distances against fast-moving traffic is exposed in a way that a pedestrian downtown is not, and the long gaps between safe crossing points can leave a pedestrian little choice but to cross where the design did not anticipate.
Nighttime crashes are especially dangerous everywhere, because reduced visibility makes it harder for drivers to see pedestrians, though it does not relieve drivers of their duty of due care. Wherever a pedestrian is struck, the central question is usually whether the driver met the duty to yield or to exercise due care.
Greenville County carries a high crash volume. In 2025, Greenville County had 250 serious and fatal collisions with 24 pedestrians involved, according to the crash data compiled by the South Carolina Department of Public Safety.
Pedestrians are the most vulnerable people on the road, with nothing to protect them from the force of a vehicle, and the result is that pedestrian crashes produce some of the most severe injuries in traffic law.
Even a relatively low-speed impact can cause serious injury to an unprotected person, and a collision at a higher speed is frequently catastrophic or fatal. The disparity between a human body and a motor vehicle means the pedestrian absorbs the full force of the collision.
The injuries common to pedestrian crashes are severe. Traumatic brain injuries are a leading cause of death and lasting disability, resulting from the head striking the vehicle or the ground, and spinal cord injuries causing paralysis are tragically common.
Pedestrians frequently suffer multiple fractures, particularly to the legs and pelvis, from the initial impact, along with internal injuries that can be life-threatening, and many pedestrian crashes involve a second impact when the person is thrown to the ground. This sequence of impacts helps explain why pedestrian injuries are usually multiple and severe, involving several body systems at once.
When a pedestrian is struck in the Greenville area, the most critically injured are treated at Prisma Health Greenville Memorial Hospital, an American College of Surgeons (ACS)-verified Level I Adult and Level II Pediatric Trauma Center.
The medical care for a severely injured pedestrian can be extensive and prolonged, involving multiple surgeries, lengthy rehabilitation, and sometimes permanent disability requiring lifelong care. Because of these, pedestrian claims involve substantial future medical and lost-earning costs that must be fully accounted for.
South Carolina's modified comparative negligence rule governs pedestrian accident claims, allowing recovery as long as the injured pedestrian was 50 percent or less at fault, reducing the recovery by their percentage, and barring it at 51 percent or more. This rule was established in Nelson v. Concrete Supply Co., 303 S.C. 243, 399 S.E.2d 783 (1991). In pedestrian cases, the driver's insurer may argue that the pedestrian shared responsibility, making the fault analysis a central issue.
The most common defense is that the pedestrian was crossing improperly, was outside a crosswalk, or stepped into traffic, in an effort to assign fault to the injured person. Meeting this defense requires establishing the facts of the crash and the driver's duty.
Where the pedestrian had the right of way in a crosswalk, the driver's failure to yield is a clear violation. Even where the pedestrian was outside a crosswalk, the driver's duty of due care can still establish liability if the driver failed to take reasonable care to avoid a pedestrian they could have seen.
Because every percentage point of fault reduces the recovery and a majority share defeats it, the fault analysis determines the outcome of a pedestrian case. The crosswalk right-of-way rule, the duty of due care, the physical evidence, and witness accounts all bear on how fault is allocated, and building the evidence that establishes the driver's responsibility is essential. A pedestrian struck while crossing lawfully has a strong claim, but realizing it requires meeting the insurer's effort to shift blame with the facts.
A Greenville pedestrian injury suit is filed in the Greenville County Court of Common Pleas, in South Carolina's Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, which covers Greenville and Pickens counties. The courthouse is at 305 East North Street in downtown Greenville.
A serious pedestrian injury can result in costs that exceed the at-fault driver's insurance coverage, making it important to identify all sources of coverage.
A pedestrian's own auto insurance can be an important source, even though the person was on foot. Under S.C. Code § 38-77-30(7), a named insured, a resident spouse, and resident relatives are insureds "while in a motor vehicle or otherwise," so a household auto policy can respond to a pedestrian collision.
Uninsured motorist coverage is mandatory in South Carolina under § 38-77-150, with limits no lower than 25,000 dollars per person, 50,000 dollars per accident, and 25,000 dollars for property damage. Underinsured motorist coverage must be offered under § 38-77-160, but is optional to purchase.
One limit matters specifically for pedestrians: because none of the insured's own vehicles is involved in a pedestrian collision, § 38-77-160 makes excess uninsured and underinsured coverage available only to the extent of the coverage on any household vehicle that carries it. Reviewing every policy in the household is still an important early step, but the answer is which single policy responds best, not how many can be added together.
Other sources may exist depending on the circumstances. If the driver was working at the time, an employer's commercial policy may respond.
If a government entity is responsible, for example, for a dangerous municipal crosswalk or a road defect, the South Carolina Tort Claims Act replaces the standard three-year deadline.
Under S.C. Code § 15-78-110, the claim is barred two years after the loss was or should have been discovered. That window extends to three years only if a verified claim is first filed with the responsible entity, and under S.C. Code § 15-78-80(d), that verified claim must be received within one year after the loss was or should have been discovered. Missing the one-year filing date does not just forfeit the extension; it leaves the two-year bar in place.
Recovery is also capped under S.C. Code § 15-78-120 at $300,000 per person and $600,000 total per occurrence, and punitive damages are not recoverable against a government entity.
Where the driver's conduct went beyond ordinary carelessness, punitive damages may be available in addition to compensation for the injury. Under S.C. Code § 15-32-520, the plaintiff must prove the basis for punitive damages by clear and convincing evidence, a higher standard than applies to the rest of the case. § 15-32-530 caps punitive damages at the greater of three times compensatory damages or 500,000 dollars, but that cap is lifted where the defendant was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, where the conduct could subject the defendant to a felony conviction, or where the harm was intended.
A pedestrian struck by an impaired driver is squarely within the exception. Punitive damages are not available against a government entity under § 15-78-120(b).
A serious pedestrian claim requires a clear assessment of all responsible parties and all applicable policies so the injured person can access the resources needed for recovery. That makes an early coverage analysis important in this case.
If the driver who struck you was never identified, your own uninsured motorist coverage can still respond, but South Carolina attaches conditions. Under S.C. Code § 38-77-170, there is no recovery against an unknown driver unless the accident was reported to an appropriate police authority within a reasonable time, the insured was not negligent in failing to identify the vehicle, and at least one of three things is true: there was physical contact with the unknown vehicle, the accident was witnessed by someone who will sign an affidavit, or there is a recording of the accident.
The recording and witness routes were added by 2024 Act No. 180, effective May 20, 2024, so physical contact is no longer the only path. This is why a police report and the names of witnesses matter so much in a hit-and-run pedestrian case.
The steps taken after a pedestrian is struck can protect both the person’s health and any potential personal injury claim. A seriously injured pedestrian, however, may be unable to take those steps, which can leave family members or others to document what happened.
The first priority is always medical care, given how severe pedestrian injuries tend to be. Emergency treatment both addresses the injury and creates the record that connects it to the crash. A pedestrian who is able should accept evaluation even if injuries seem less serious than they may prove to be.
Documenting the crash matters greatly because the driver's insurer will look for ways to assign blame to the pedestrian. When possible, take photographs of the scene, the vehicle, the crosswalk or crossing location, and the surrounding conditions. These images preserve facts that can change quickly.
Obtain the names and contact information of witnesses as well, since their accounts may help establish that the driver failed to yield. Law enforcement should also respond and document the crash to create an official record, which becomes especially important when the pedestrian cannot provide their own account at the scene.
In the period that follows, preserving evidence and being cautious with insurers protects the claim. Keeping all medical records and expense documentation builds a damages case, and the clothing and personal items involved can serve as evidence.
Because the driver's insurer may argue the pedestrian was crossing improperly, the injured person must be careful about giving a recorded statement and avoid a quick settlement before the full extent of the injuries is known. Given the severity of pedestrian injuries and the insurer's incentive to shift blame, seeking early legal advice helps preserve evidence and protect a claim that may be worth a great deal.
| Pedestrian protection under SC law | What it means |
| Crosswalk right of way (§ 56-5-3130) | Drivers must yield to pedestrians crossing in a crosswalk |
| No passing a stopped vehicle at a crosswalk | A driver cannot pass a vehicle stopped for a pedestrian |
| Duty of due care | Drivers must take reasonable care to avoid pedestrians |
| Fault rule | Recover if 50% or less at fault; reduced by your percentage |
Pedestrians generally have the right of way when crossing in a crosswalk, and drivers must yield. Pedestrians have duties as well, but crosswalk protections remain strong, and drivers owe a duty of due care wherever they drive.
You may still have a claim, but the analysis is different. Under S.C. Code § 56-5-3150(a) a pedestrian crossing anywhere other than a marked crosswalk, or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, must yield the right of way to vehicles on the roadway, and under § 56-5-3150(c) a pedestrian may not cross outside a marked crosswalk between adjacent intersections where traffic signals are in operation.
Falling short of those duties does not end the case. The driver's separate statutory duty of due care under § 56-5-3230 still applies, and South Carolina's comparative negligence rule allows recovery as long as the pedestrian's share of fault is 50 percent or less. What it does mean is that fault allocation, rather than the driver's duty, is where the case is decided.
For an injury claim, three years from the date of the crash under S.C. Code § 15-3-530(5). If the pedestrian died, a wrongful death or survival claim runs three years from the date of death, which is not always the date of the collision.
A different and shorter clock applies if a government entity is responsible: two years from when the loss was or should have been discovered, extended to three years only if a verified claim is filed with the entity within one year, under S.C. Code §§ 15-78-110 and 15-78-80(d). If the injured pedestrian is a minor, S.C. Code § 15-3-40 may pause the clock, but the computation has real limits and should be reviewed with a lawyer rather than assumed.
Often yes. Your uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage may apply to a pedestrian crash caused by an at-fault driver, which can matter when that driver has little or no insurance.
Yes, as long as you were 50 percent or less at fault. Your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault, and barred entirely at 51 percent or more.
The Arndt Law Firm builds every Greenville pedestrian accident case on the protections South Carolina law gives pedestrians, using the crosswalk right-of-way and due-care rules to establish the driver's violation, documenting how the crash happened, and identifying every source of coverage to address what are often catastrophic injuries.
Attorney Jonathan Arndt previously defended insurers, and he understands how insurers evaluate these claims and where they may try to place blame on the pedestrian. He builds each case to address those issues and pursue the full recovery a serious injury requires.
If you or a loved one was struck by a vehicle in Greenville or anywhere in Greenville County, early action can protect the evidence that establishes the driver’s fault and the insurance coverage that may determine the available recovery. Contact us for a free consultation. We handle pedestrian accident cases on a contingency basis, so there is no fee unless we recover.
Last reviewed: June 2026
This page was reviewed by Jonathan S. Arndt, licensed in South Carolina since 2018.
Content is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a licensed South Carolina attorney for guidance specific to your situation.
