Dunwoody pedestrian accident lawyer

Plenty of Dunwoody trips end on foot. A commuter steps off the train at the Dunwoody MARTA station and heads for an office tower. A shopper leaves a parking deck for Perimeter Mall. A family finishes a loop at Brook Run Park and walks back to the car.

Every one of those walks crosses paths with drivers who are turning, backing up or glancing at a phone. When a car hits a person, the person on foot takes the whole impact. As a Dunwoody pedestrian accident lawyer, Gary Huggins of Huggins Accident Injury Lawyer holds drivers and their insurers to the rules Georgia sets for them. Call (240) 421-5511 any time; someone answers 24 hours a day.

Where people on foot get hit in Dunwoody

Between the MARTA station, the mall and the office towers

Perimeter Center puts a rail station, a regional mall, hotels and office towers side by side, and the roads between them carry heavy traffic. People on foot cross Perimeter Center Parkway, Hammond Drive and Ashford-Dunwoody Road at signals where drivers are turning across their path. A driver making a right on red is often looking left for a gap in traffic, not right at the crosswalk.

Gary's office is on the west side of Perimeter Mall, in the middle of this walking district.

Parking decks, garage exits and driveways

Perimeter Center runs on parking decks. Every deck exit, hotel driveway and loading area cuts across a sidewalk, and drivers pulling out tend to watch the street, not the people walking past.

Georgia law tells a driver leaving a driveway, alley or building to stop before the sidewalk and yield to anyone walking on it (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-144). Inside the decks, drivers backing out of spaces strike people walking to their cars.

Dunwoody Village and the neighborhoods

At Dunwoody Village, shoppers cross between storefronts and parking lots near the corner of Chamblee-Dunwoody and Mount Vernon Roads. In the neighborhoods, people walk dogs, push strollers and run along Tilly Mill Road, Winters Chapel Road and quieter side streets, often in early-morning darkness or after sunset. Children walk to friends' houses and to parks.

If you were hit anywhere in Dunwoody, call (240) 421-5511 before the driver's insurer calls you. Gary will tell you what to save and what to say.

Who had the right of way? Georgia's pedestrian rules

A handful of Georgia statutes decide most of these cases:

• In a crosswalk, the driver has to come to a stop and remain stopped once you're on the driver's side of the road, or one lane away from it (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-91). A driver coming up from behind may not pass a car that stopped for you.
• You can't dart out. Leaving the curb suddenly when a car is too close to stop violates the same section.
• Outside a crosswalk, you must yield to vehicles. Between two neighboring intersections that both have working signals, crossing is allowed only in a marked crosswalk (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-92).
• The rule over all the others: a driver must use due care not to strike anyone on the roadway, warn with the horn when necessary, and be especially careful on spotting a child or a person who appears confused, incapacitated or intoxicated (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-93).

Crossing in the wrong spot doesn't give a driver permission to hit you. Georgia's modified comparative negligence rule keeps your claim alive at any share of fault below 50%; the award is simply cut by that percentage (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33). A driver who was speeding, holding a phone in violation of the Hands-Free Georgia Act or simply not looking can carry most of the blame.

Whose insurance pays a Dunwoody pedestrian?

Start with the driver. Georgia makes the at-fault driver's liability insurer pay for the harm, but the minimum the law requires is $25,000 per person ($50,000 per crash, $25,000 for property). Broken bones and a hospital stay can cost far more.

Your own car insurance may protect you even though you weren't in a car. Georgia's UM statute defines who's covered to include you and relatives in your household “while in a motor vehicle or otherwise” (O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11). Policies issued since January 1, 2009 default to “added-on” UM, which sits on top of the driver's limits; “reduced-by” coverage applies only if the policyholder picked it in writing. Med-pay, if you bought it, can help with bills along the way.

If the driver drove off, call Dunwoody Police right away. Your UM coverage may still pay for a hit-and-run, as long as you meet Georgia's rules on reporting the crash and backing up your account. Cameras around Perimeter Center may hold the plate number.

If a MARTA bus or a government vehicle hit you, the notice clock is far shorter than two years. You have six months to notify a city in writing (O.C.G.A. § 36-33-5) and 12 months for a county (O.C.G.A. § 36-11-1). MARTA has its own notice requirements, which can be stricter still; see our page on bus and MARTA accident claims.

Not sure whether a policy in your household covers you? Call (240) 421-5511 and Gary will check every one.

Injuries, treatment and the two-year clock

Pedestrians hit by cars often suffer leg and pelvic fractures, spine injuries and traumatic brain injuries. From Dunwoody, an ambulance may head to Northside Hospital Atlanta or Emory Saint Joseph's on Pill Hill, or take a child to Scottish Rite. For the most critical injuries, paramedics may choose the trauma team at Grady Memorial Hospital downtown, which is a Level I trauma center.

Keep every bill and benefits statement. Under SB 68, when the crash happened on or after April 21, 2025, the defense may show jurors the discounted amounts your health plan paid, rather than the full hospital charges (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-1.1). Georgia also lets hospitals claim a lien against your settlement (O.C.G.A. § 44-14-470).

You generally get two years from the day you were hit to file suit (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33). A criminal case against the driver, such as a hit-and-run or DUI charge, may pause that clock under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-99, but courts apply that rule case by case, so treat two years as the limit.

What Gary does in the first week

• Goes back to the scene at the same hour. Darkness, glare and signal timing at 6 p.m. look nothing like they do at noon, and the driver's view is what matters.
• Asks for every camera angle. Office towers, parking decks, hotels and shops around Perimeter Center may record their sidewalks and driveways, and the footage may not last long.
• Requests the police file, including the crash report, any citation, 911 audio and body-camera video from Dunwoody Police.
• Lists every insurance policy in play, from the driver's and the car owner's to a business policy if the driver was on the job, plus the policies in your own household.
• Tracks your care, your bills and any liens, so nothing gets lost while you recover.
• Takes the insurer's calls, so you don't have to explain the crash to an adjuster while you're in pain.

Talk to a Dunwoody pedestrian accident lawyer today

Our office at 1050 Crown Pointe Parkway, Suite 500, Atlanta, GA 30338 is a short drive from the Pill Hill hospitals, and Gary can also meet you at home or by video. Call (240) 421-5511 for a free consultation. Learn more about pedestrian accident claims in Georgia or about injury cases in Dunwoody, and if a car was involved in a wreck before it hit you, see our Dunwoody car accident page.