Torrance Pedestrian Accident Lawyer

A driver hit you while you were walking in Torrance. Maybe it happened in a crosswalk on Hawthorne Boulevard, on Crenshaw Boulevard before sunrise, or at the edge of Pacific Coast Highway at night. You may be in a hospital bed, and the driver's insurance company may already be saying you should have looked, crossed somewhere else or moved faster. A pedestrian accident lawyer in Torrance answers that. California puts real duties on drivers, and stepping outside a crosswalk does not erase them. Moe Abdallah Law, P.C. is a Los Angeles motor-vehicle injury firm. Attorney Moe Abdallah handles each case himself, updates you by call and text, and moves fast on video, the police report and witnesses. If a city, county or state agency helped cause the crash, he tells you early, because those claims run on a six month clock. The review is free, the line is open 24/7, and you pay no fee unless we win.

Pedestrian crashes in Torrance: what the state numbers show

When you walk in Torrance, you share busy arterials like Hawthorne and Crenshaw with heavy car traffic. The California Office of Traffic Safety counted 43 pedestrian victims in Torrance in 2023, which ranked the city 29 of 62 similar-size cities, near the middle, where a lower number is worse. For 2022 it counted 33 pedestrian victims, ranked 39 of 61. Those are city totals, and no Torrance Vision Zero or High Injury Network list was available to name the worst corners, so we do not claim one. Local news does show how severe a single crash can be. In April 2025, a pedestrian was struck and killed on Pacific Coast Highway near Ocean Avenue in a hit and run involving several vehicles, and one person was arrested for DUI. In May 2025, a pedestrian outside a marked crosswalk was struck and killed by a southbound Jeep on Crenshaw Boulevard near 235th Street around 5:25 a.m., and police closed Crenshaw between 235th and 237th Streets for about five hours. Those were single incidents, not a ranking of dangerous roads. Both happened in the dark, a reminder to document lighting at your own crash scene.

Right of way, mid-block crossings and the blame game

Insurers open with one question: where were you crossing? In a crosswalk, California law puts you on strong ground. A driver must yield to a pedestrian in any marked crosswalk, or in an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, and must use all due care and slow down as needed (Vehicle Code section 21950). Pedestrians must also use due care for their own safety. Outside a crosswalk, you must yield to vehicles that pose an immediate hazard, but the driver still must use due care for any pedestrian on the roadway (Vehicle Code section 21954). Since 2023, California's Freedom to Walk law also limits police stops for crossing mid-block between signals unless there is an immediate danger of collision. None of this makes you at fault by default. California uses pure comparative negligence, so you can recover even if you were partly to blame, and your award is reduced by your share (Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804). If several parties share fault, each pays non-economic damages in proportion to its own fault (Civil Code section 1431.2). Moe builds the timeline with signal timing, camera footage and witness accounts, so the driver's story is not the only version on the table.

Crossing Hawthorne, Crenshaw and Torrance Boulevard on foot

The biggest streets in Torrance are the hardest to cross on foot. Hawthorne Boulevard carries about 70,000 vehicle trips a day, per the city, and Crenshaw Boulevard, Torrance Boulevard, Sepulveda Boulevard, Western Avenue and Del Amo Boulevard are busy arterials with plenty of turning traffic. The classic pedestrian crash is a driver turning right or left into a crosswalk while watching traffic instead of the walking signal. Others include a driver who runs a red light, one who pulls out of a parking lot across the sidewalk, and one who passes a stopped car and hits someone crossing in front of it. Evidence matters here. Photograph the scene, or send someone who can. Get the signal heads, the walk signal, lighting, curb cuts, painted crosswalks and any blocked sightlines. Do it fast, because roadwork and repainting change the picture. Business cameras near Del Amo Fashion Center and along Hawthorne often overwrite footage in days. Torrance Transit runs its city bus lines from a hub at 465 Crenshaw Boulevard, so if a bus was nearby, ask whether transit video exists. Moe sends preservation requests early so those clips do not get lost.

When the city, county or state may share the blame

Some pedestrian cases involve public property. A crosswalk with a broken signal, a hidden sightline, a missing streetlight or a broken sidewalk can be a dangerous condition. A public entity is liable only if you prove the condition, that it caused your injury, that the risk was foreseeable, and that the agency created it or had notice in time to fix it (Government Code section 835). Deadlines are short. You must present a written claim within six months of the injury (Government Code section 911.2). If the agency rejects it in writing, you have six months from that notice to file suit (Government Code section 945.6). Minors do not get extra time on these claims. The City of Torrance takes claims only by mail or in person at the City Clerk's Office, 3031 Torrance Boulevard, not by email or fax. The city says it handles claims in four to six weeks. It also says Caltrans, not the city, maintains Pacific Coast Highway, Western Avenue and Hawthorne Boulevard north of PCH, so a crash there may need a separate state claim. If you missed the deadline, a late claim application may be possible within one year (Government Code section 911.4). Call us now so you do not lose that first step.

The police report, the driver who fled and your own coverage

Torrance Police Department writes the collision report for most crashes on city streets. Order it through LexisNexis eCrash after at least 15 days, or mail a Request for Release of Police Records form, a photo ID and an $18.00 check to the Records Division at 3300 Civic Center Dr. The phone is (310) 618-5529. Read it for the point of impact, the driver's statement and any witness names. If a CHP officer handled a freeway crash, request the report from the CHP. If the driver left, your claim does not end. Vehicle Code section 20001 required the driver to stop and help, and leaving is a crime. For civil recovery, your own uninsured motorist coverage can pay if there was physical contact, you reported the crash within 24 hours and you filed a sworn statement with your insurer within 30 days after the report (Insurance Code section 11580.2). If the driver has no insurance, or too little, remember that California's minimum liability limits are only $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident. In one past case, Moe recovered a $100,000 policy-limit UM settlement for a woman rear-ended by a driver who fled. Past results do not promise a similar outcome.

Injuries, hospitals and what Moe does for you

On foot, you take the full force of the vehicle. Common injuries include broken legs and pelvises, head and brain injuries, spinal damage and deep road rash. Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center Torrance, 4101 Torrance Boulevard, has a 24/7 emergency department and is a Comprehensive Stroke Center. Torrance Memorial Medical Center on Lomita Boulevard has an emergency department too, and Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, just outside the city in West Carson, is listed as a Level I trauma center. Go the same day, keep every record and follow your doctors. Gaps in care let insurers say you recovered. Do not give a recorded statement to the other side or accept an early offer, because the first number is usually low. In one past case, Moe helped an uninsured client with a broken sternum recover $105,000 that covered hospital bills and future treatment. In another case, he reached $75,000 in total after the at-fault insurer offered $900. Past results do not promise a similar outcome. Your lawsuit generally must be filed within two years (Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1), and Moe checks the court's Filing Court Locator before filing, because an injury case may go to the Torrance Courthouse at 825 Maple Avenue or to a downtown courthouse. Se Habla Español.

Talk to a Torrance pedestrian accident lawyer

Call (323) 716-1992 for a free, no-obligation case review. You pay nothing unless we win, and we'll handle the insurance companies for you. Learn more about our pedestrian accidents representation →

Frequently Asked Questions

Other cases we handle in Torrance

See everything we handle in Torrance →

Pedestrian Accident lawyers in other cities we serve