Steamboat Springs is a walkable mountain town where residents and tourists alike enjoy strolling downtown streets, walking along the Yampa River Core Trail, and accessing businesses, restaurants, and recreation areas on foot. Our community values pedestrian-friendly infrastructure: crosswalks, sidewalks, trail systems, and pedestrian zones designed to keep walkers safe.
But when drivers fail to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, speed through parking lots, or drive distracted through downtown areas, serious accidents happen. Pedestrians struck by vehicles face catastrophic injuries—there’s no metal frame, airbags, or seatbelts to protect them from thousands of pounds of steel traveling at high speeds. The results are often devastating: traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, multiple fractures, internal injuries, and wrongful death.
At Eddington Law, we’ve been fighting for injured pedestrians throughout Colorado for over 35 years. Our Steamboat Springs office means we’re part of this community—we know the intersections, crosswalks, and parking lots where pedestrian accidents happen. We understand the challenges pedestrians face from tourist traffic, winter conditions, and drivers who don’t respect pedestrians’ right of way. When you’ve been injured by a negligent driver, we’re ready to fight for the compensation you deserve.
If you’ve been struck by a vehicle while walking in Steamboat Springs, Routt County, or anywhere in Northwest Colorado, don’t let insurance companies minimize your injuries or blame you for the accident. Contact Eddington Law today.
The Reality of Pedestrian Accidents in Steamboat Springs
Understanding Steamboat’s unique environment helps protect pedestrians’ rights and prevent future accidents.
Downtown Pedestrian Traffic
Downtown Steamboat Springs sees heavy pedestrian traffic year-round. Residents walk to shops, restaurants, and services. Tourists stroll downtown exploring businesses and enjoying the mountain town atmosphere. After-school hours bring students walking home or to activities.
This pedestrian activity occurs alongside vehicle traffic—locals running errands, tourists searching for destinations, delivery trucks servicing businesses, and heavy traffic during peak seasons. When drivers don’t watch carefully for pedestrians, particularly at crosswalks and intersections, accidents happen.
Tourist Driver Challenges
Steamboat Springs attracts visitors from around the world, many unfamiliar with mountain town driving. Tourist drivers distracted by GPS navigation, scenic views, or searching for parking fail to notice pedestrians in crosswalks or crossing streets.
Out-of-state visitors may not understand Colorado’s strong pedestrian right-of-way laws. They may not expect pedestrian traffic in certain areas or may be unaccustomed to stopping for pedestrians in crosswalks.
Winter Conditions
Snow, ice, and reduced visibility create additional pedestrian hazards. Drivers may not see pedestrians wearing dark clothing in snowy conditions or at dusk. Icy roads make it harder for vehicles to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks.
Snow banks at corners reduce visibility for both pedestrians and drivers. Pedestrians may step into traffic from behind snow banks, while drivers can’t see approaching pedestrians until it’s too late to stop.
Trail and Parking Lot Accidents
The Yampa River Core Trail and other multi-use paths cross vehicle roadways at numerous points. Drivers who don’t stop at trail crossings strike pedestrians and cyclists with right of way.
Parking lots—particularly those serving grocery stores, shopping centers, and downtown businesses—see frequent pedestrian accidents. Drivers backing out of spaces, cutting through lots, or speeding through parking areas strike pedestrians walking to and from vehicles or stores.
Intersection and Crosswalk Design
While Steamboat Springs has invested in pedestrian infrastructure, not all intersections have adequate crosswalk markings, signals, or visibility. Some crosswalks lack proper lighting for evening hours. Faded crosswalk markings may not be clearly visible to drivers.
Design issues don’t excuse drivers from yielding to pedestrians, but they contribute to accident risks. When infrastructure deficiencies contribute to accidents, government entities responsible for road design may share liability.
Common Causes of Steamboat Springs Pedestrian Accidents
Understanding how pedestrian accidents occur is essential to proving liability and recovering compensation.
Failure to Yield in Crosswalks
Colorado law requires drivers to stop and remain stopped for pedestrians in crosswalks. The most common pedestrian accident cause is drivers who fail to yield when pedestrians have clear right of way.
This happens at marked crosswalks throughout downtown Steamboat Springs, at trail crossings, and at unmarked crosswalks (which exist at every intersection under Colorado law, whether marked or not). Drivers who roll through crosswalks without stopping or who fail to see pedestrians are liable for resulting injuries.
Left-Turn Accidents
Drivers turning left at intersections must yield to pedestrians crossing in the direction they’re turning. Many drivers focus only on oncoming vehicle traffic, failing to check for pedestrians in crosswalks before completing turns.
Left-turn pedestrian accidents are particularly dangerous because vehicles may be accelerating through turns when they strike pedestrians.
Right-Turn on Red Accidents
Drivers making right turns on red lights often focus only on traffic from the left, failing to check for pedestrians crossing from the right. These accidents are common at busy intersections where pedestrian traffic is heavy.
Colorado law requires drivers turning right on red to stop completely and yield to pedestrians. Failing to stop and check for pedestrians is negligence.
Backing Accidents in Parking Lots
Drivers backing out of parking spaces cause frequent pedestrian accidents. Backing drivers may not check carefully for pedestrians, may be distracted by children or cargo, or may back up too quickly.
Modern vehicles’ backup cameras have blind spots, and many drivers rely too heavily on cameras instead of checking mirrors and physically looking behind them.
Distracted Driving
Drivers texting, adjusting GPS devices, talking on phones, or otherwise distracted fail to see pedestrians until impact. Tourist drivers particularly prone to distraction—searching for destinations, admiring scenery, or dealing with passengers.
Colorado law prohibits texting while driving, but violations are common. Distracted drivers who strike pedestrians are liable for their negligence.
Speeding and Reckless Driving
Drivers who speed through downtown areas, residential neighborhoods, or parking lots have less time to react to pedestrians and cause more severe injuries when collisions occur.
Steamboat’s downtown area is designed for slower speeds to protect pedestrians. Drivers who speed through pedestrian areas endanger everyone and must be held accountable.
Impaired Driving
Drunk and drugged drivers have slower reaction times, impaired judgment, and reduced vision. They may not see pedestrians at all, or may see them too late to stop.
Downtown Steamboat’s concentration of bars and restaurants creates drunk driving risks, particularly at night when pedestrian visibility is already reduced. Drivers who strike pedestrians while impaired can be held liable for compensation and face punitive damages.
Poor Visibility Conditions
Early morning, dusk, and nighttime hours present visibility challenges. Drivers may not see pedestrians wearing dark clothing or walking in poorly lit areas. However, drivers have a duty to drive at speeds appropriate for conditions and to watch carefully for pedestrians regardless of visibility.
Snow and weather further reduce visibility. Drivers must adjust their speed and attention level for conditions.
Aggressive Driving
Drivers who run red lights, roll through stop signs, or ignore pedestrian signals cause serious accidents. Aggressive drivers impatient with pedestrian traffic may try to “beat” pedestrians through intersections or fail to yield right of way.
Types of Pedestrian Accident Injuries
Pedestrian accidents typically cause severe, life-altering injuries.
Traumatic Brain Injuries
When pedestrians are struck by vehicles, they often hit their heads on the vehicle, then again on pavement. These impacts cause concussions, skull fractures, brain bleeding, and permanent brain damage.
Brain injuries can cause cognitive impairments, personality changes, memory loss, and disabilities requiring lifetime care. Even “mild” traumatic brain injuries can have lasting effects on quality of life, relationships, and employment.
Spinal Cord Injuries
The force of vehicle impacts can damage the spinal cord, causing partial or complete paralysis. Paraplegia (lower body paralysis) or quadriplegia (all four limbs) requires extensive medical care, home modifications, mobility equipment, and potentially lifetime attendant care.
Spinal cord injuries are catastrophic, permanently altering every aspect of victims’ lives. The lifetime costs can reach millions of dollars.
Multiple Fractures
Pedestrians struck by vehicles commonly suffer multiple broken bones: legs, arms, pelvis, ribs, facial bones. Pelvic fractures are particularly serious, often requiring multiple surgeries and lengthy rehabilitation.
Complex fractures may need surgical insertion of plates, rods, or screws. Some fractures result in permanent disability, chronic pain, limited mobility, and inability to return to previous employment.
Internal Injuries
Blunt force trauma damages internal organs: liver lacerations, ruptured spleens, kidney damage, internal bleeding. These life-threatening injuries require emergency surgery and extended hospitalization.
Internal injuries may not be immediately apparent, which is why pedestrian accident victims must receive thorough medical evaluation even if they initially feel okay.
Soft Tissue Injuries
Sprains, strains, torn ligaments, and muscle damage can cause chronic pain and disability. Knee injuries, shoulder injuries, and back injuries may require surgery and extensive physical therapy.
While less dramatic than fractures, soft tissue injuries can be debilitating and may take longer to heal than broken bones.
Road Rash and Lacerations
When pedestrians are thrown by vehicle impacts and slide across pavement, friction burns away skin and tissue. Severe road rash requires painful debridement, skin grafts, and often leaves permanent scarring.
Deep lacerations from vehicle contact or falls may require sutures, result in nerve damage, and leave permanent scars.
Amputations
Severe xcrush injuries when vehicles run over pedestrians’ limbs may require amputation. Amputees face enormous challenges: prosthetics, rehabilitation, home and vehicle modifications, lost earning capacity, and profound lifestyle changes.
Psychological Trauma
Beyond physical injuries, pedestrian accident victims suffer psychological trauma: PTSD, anxiety, depression, fear of walking near traffic. These psychological injuries require treatment and can affect quality of life long after physical injuries heal.
Wrongful Death
Too many pedestrian accidents result in fatalities. When pedestrians are struck by vehicles traveling at moderate to high speeds, the survival rate is low. Families left behind face not only devastating grief but also lost financial support, lost companionship, and funeral expenses.
Colorado Pedestrian Laws and Your Rights
Understanding Colorado’s pedestrian laws is essential to protecting your rights after an accident.
Crosswalk Right of Way
Colorado law requires drivers to stop and remain stopped for pedestrians in crosswalks. This applies to marked crosswalks and unmarked crosswalks (which exist at every intersection whether marked or not).
Drivers must yield when pedestrians are in the crosswalk or approaching closely enough that continuing would create a hazard. Half the roadway rule: drivers must stop when pedestrians are crossing the driver’s half of the roadway or approaching from the opposite half.
Sidewalk Protections
Drivers entering or exiting driveways, parking lots, or alleys must yield to pedestrians on sidewalks. Pedestrians have right of way on sidewalks crossing driveways.
Traffic Signal Compliance
Pedestrians must obey traffic signals when present. However, drivers who strike pedestrians crossing against signals can still be liable if drivers could have avoided the accident through reasonable care.
Pedestrian Duties
While pedestrians have strong protections, they also have duties: using crosswalks when available, obeying traffic signals, not suddenly entering roadways in front of vehicles too close to stop safely.
However, even when pedestrians violate these duties, drivers can often be held partially or fully liable if they weren’t paying attention, were speeding, or could have avoided the accident.
Comparative Negligence
Colorado follows modified comparative negligence: if you’re partially at fault for the accident, your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault—but only if your fault is less than 50%. If you’re 50% or more at fault, you cannot recover.
Insurance companies aggressively argue pedestrians share fault to reduce their liability. We fight back with evidence proving driver negligence.
Compensation Available in Pedestrian Accident Cases
Pedestrian accident victims can recover substantial compensation for their injuries and losses.
Economic Damages
Medical Expenses: Emergency care, hospitalization, surgeries, rehabilitation, medications, medical equipment, home modifications, and future medical care. Pedestrian accident injuries often generate enormous medical bills.
Lost Wages: Compensation for income lost during recovery, including past lost earnings and future lost earning capacity if you cannot return to your previous employment.
Property Damage: Replacement value of damaged personal property (phones, glasses, clothing, etc.).
Non-Economic Damages
Pain and Suffering: Compensation for physical pain, emotional distress, and reduced quality of life resulting from your injuries.
Loss of Enjoyment of Life: When injuries prevent you from participating in activities you previously enjoyed, you deserve compensation for these losses.
Disfigurement and Scarring: Permanent scars affect your appearance, self-image, relationships, and quality of life.
Loss of Consortium: Spouses may recover compensation for loss of companionship, affection, and intimate relations resulting from catastrophic injuries.
Punitive Damages
In cases involving egregious negligence or intentional misconduct—such as drunk driving, extreme recklessness, or repeated traffic violations—Colorado law allows punitive damages designed to punish wrongdoers and deter similar conduct.
How Eddington Law Handles Pedestrian Accident Cases
Our approach to pedestrian cases is thorough, aggressive, and focused on maximum compensation.
Immediate Investigation
We begin investigating immediately. Our team visits accident scenes, photographs conditions, identifies witnesses, and preserves evidence before it disappears.
Establishing Driver Negligence
We gather evidence proving driver fault: police reports, witness statements, traffic camera footage, accident reconstruction, vehicle damage analysis, and expert testimony. We build cases showing clear driver negligence.
Combating Victim-Blaming Tactics
Insurance companies often blame pedestrians for accidents clearly caused by driver negligence. We combat these tactics with evidence demonstrating you were crossing legally and the driver failed to yield or watch carefully.
Documenting the Full Extent of Injuries
We work with medical experts who document your injuries, treatment, prognosis, and future care needs. We ensure your claim includes all injury-related damages, including future medical costs many victims don’t consider.
Calculating Lifetime Damages
For catastrophic injuries, we work with economic experts to calculate lifetime costs: ongoing medical care, attendant care, home modifications, lost earning capacity, and reduced quality of life.
Aggressive Negotiation and Trial Preparation
We build cases so thoroughly that insurance companies recognize we’re prepared to go to trial. This leverage allows us to negotiate settlements that fairly compensate our clients. If insurance companies refuse fair settlements, we’re ready to fight for you in court.
Why Choose Eddington Law
When you’re facing life-changing injuries and mounting medical bills, choosing the right attorney matters.
35+ Years of Colorado Experience
We’ve been serving injured Coloradans since 1988. Our decades of experience handling pedestrian accident cases means we understand the challenges you face and know how to fight for maximum compensation.
Local Steamboat Springs Office
We’re not a distant Denver firm. We have an office right here in Steamboat Springs. We know the intersections, crosswalks, and areas where pedestrian accidents happen. We’re part of this community.
Track Record of Success
We’ve recovered millions of dollars for pedestrian accident victims throughout Colorado. Our results speak to our skill, dedication, and commitment to our clients.
Resources to Take On Insurance Companies
Pedestrian accident cases require significant resources: expert witnesses, medical specialists, accident reconstruction, economic analysis. We have the financial resources and professional relationships to build winning cases.
No Fees Unless We Win
We handle pedestrian accident cases on a contingency fee basis. You pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you. You can afford the best representation without upfront costs.
Compassionate Client Service
We understand you’re dealing with serious injuries, medical treatments, lost income, and family stress. We handle the legal battles so you can focus on recovery. We keep you informed, answer your questions, and provide the support you need.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I do immediately after being hit by a car?
Seek medical attention immediately, even if you don’t think you’re seriously injured. Adrenaline can mask pain, and some injuries aren’t immediately apparent. Call 911 to report the accident. If possible, photograph the scene, the vehicle, and your injuries. Get contact information from witnesses and the driver. Do not give detailed statements to insurance adjusters before consulting an attorney.
What if I was jaywalking or crossing against a signal?
Even if you violated pedestrian laws, you may still recover compensation. Colorado’s comparative negligence rule allows recovery if your fault is less than 50%, though your compensation will be reduced by your percentage of fault. Drivers still have duties to watch for pedestrians and avoid accidents when possible.
What if the driver says I came out of nowhere?
This is a common insurance defense tactic. Drivers have a duty to watch carefully for pedestrians and drive at speeds that allow them to react. We’ll gather evidence showing you were visible and crossing appropriately while the driver failed to pay attention.
How long do I have to file a lawsuit?
Colorado’s statute of limitations for personal injury cases is generally three years from the accident date. However, don’t wait—evidence disappears quickly, injuries may worsen, and earlier action leads to stronger cases.
What if I don’t have health insurance to cover my medical bills?
Don’t let lack of insurance prevent you from seeking medical care. We can help you find doctors who work on medical liens (payment delayed until your case settles). Your health and proper medical documentation of injuries are critical to your case.
How much is my pedestrian accident case worth?
Case value depends on injury severity, medical expenses, lost income, permanent disability, pain and suffering, and other factors.
Pedestrian accidents often involve substantial compensation due to serious injuries. We provide honest case evaluations after reviewing your specific circumstances.
Will my case go to trial?
Most pedestrian accident cases settle before trial when insurance companies offer fair compensation. However, we prepare every case as if it will go to trial, which motivates insurers to settle fairly. If they won’t, we’re ready to fight for you in court.
Contact Our Steamboat Springs Pedestrian Accident Attorneys Today
If you’ve been struck by a vehicle while walking in Steamboat Springs or anywhere in Routt County, don’t face the insurance companies alone. You need experienced advocates who understand pedestrian accidents and know how to fight for full compensation.
At Eddington Law, we’ve spent over 35 years fighting for injured Colorado pedestrians. We understand the challenges you face, and we’re ready to fight for the compensation you deserve.
Call us today for your free consultation. No fees unless we win your case.
Don’t let insurance companies minimize your claim or blame you for an accident caused by a negligent driver. Don’t accept inadequate settlements that won’t cover your medical bills and losses. Contact Eddington Law immediately and let us start building your case.
Your recovery is our priority. Your rights are our mission. We’re ready to fight for you.