Partner at Charbonnet Law Firm LLC
Practice Areas: Car Accident, Slip-and-Fall, Work-related Injury
People get around New Orleans on foot and on two wheels everywhere from the Tulane and Loyola campuses to the Marigny and downtown. When a crash happens, the first worry usually is not legal theory. It is the bills.
The Dilemma: Who pays for the ambulance, the ER, and the time missed from work? In most cases, when a motor vehicle is involved, the money comes from auto insurance, but it varies based on fault, coverage, and how the crash occurred.
That mix is where a car accident attorney in New Orleans earns their keep, because the policy that pays a pedestrian hit by a car is not the one that pays a walker clipped by a cyclist.
This guide breaks down which policy applies in which situation, how Louisiana’s fault rules change what you recover, and what to do in the hours after a crash to keep your options open.
The vehicle involved decides the coverage. A “pedestrian or bicycle accident” is not a single insurance category; it is several. When a car strikes a person on foot or on a bike, auto insurance is generally the primary source of payment.
When a bicycle strikes a pedestrian, no motor vehicle is involved, so auto policies usually sit out, and other coverage has to fill in.
That distinction may sound technical until the medical bills arrive. A cyclist hitting a pedestrian on a shared path near Audubon Park can involve different insurance than a driver turning into a crosswalk, and whether you were on foot or on a bike can change who you pursue and which claim applies.
Knowing which is which early keeps you from chasing the wrong insurer for months.
Usually, yes, when a motor vehicle causes harm. The catch is that “auto insurance” is several coverages wearing one name, and which one applies depends on fault and on what the at-fault driver (and you) actually bought. Some of it pays regardless of who is to blame; most of it does not.
Here is how the pieces fit together.
When a cyclist (not a car) causes the crash, auto insurance generally does not respond. Instead, the cyclist’s homeowner’s or renter’s policy may provide coverage if they carry one.
Louisiana also gives cyclists a specific layer of protection on the road. State law requires a driver overtaking a bicycle to leave at least three feet of clearance (the Colin Goodier Protection Act, La. R.S. 32:76.1). A driver who cuts inside that three-foot space has likely broken a traffic rule, which can matter when fault is determined.
Your share of fault lowers what you collect, and starting in 2026, it can wipe out your recovery. Louisiana gives each party a fault percentage under Civil Code article 2323, then adjusts the award. Your crash date matters because the rule changed on January 1, 2026.
Before then, you could still recover damages, reduced by your share of fault, even if you were mostly to blame. For crashes on or after January 1, 2026, Article 2323, as amended by Act 15 of 2025, if you are beyond 51%, you will recover nothing. If you are 50% or less at fault, your recovery is decreased by your percentage of fault.
Supposedly, if a driver turns into you in a crosswalk, your damages are $80,000, and a jury puts you 30% at fault for crossing against the signal, you recover $56,000; but if the same crash happened in 2026 and your fault is set at 55%, your recovery drops to $0, even though the injuries did not change.
This is why even a partial-fault case is worth getting right, and our piece on filing a claim when you are partly at fault goes deeper on that point.
The first hour shapes the whole claim. What you do at the scene (and right after) affects both your health and your ability to prove what happened, and the steps are simple, even when you are shaken.
A police report creates an official, dated record that an insurer cannot easily wave away later. Hurt and unsure whether it is “worth” a report? When a vehicle is involved, and anyone is injured, get it on the record, and follow through if symptoms surface in the days after.
Pedestrians and cyclists absorb the impact directly, so the injuries tend to be more serious than those that drivers walk away with. Without a steel cage or airbags, a person on foot or on a bike takes the full force of the collision, which is why “minor” crashes so often result in major injuries that require real treatment and documentation.
Some of these do not show up at the scene. A concussion or internal injury can go unnoticed for hours, which is why it is better to get checked immediately rather than wait for it to get worse.
The right policy depends on who was involved and who was at fault. Instead of guessing, match your situation to the coverage that applies. The table below shows common scenarios and the sources of payment.
| Situation | Coverage source | Notes |
| Pedestrian hit by car | Driver’s liability | Pays for injuries if the driver is at fault |
| Cyclist hit by car | Liability (+ MedPay) | Your UM/UIM may also apply |
| Pedestrian hit by cyclist | Homeowner’s / renter’s | No auto coverage if no motor vehicle was involved |
| Hit-and-run | Your UM/UIM | Only if you carry that coverage |
| On-campus incident | Liability or civil claim | A school is liable only if it was negligent |
If the at-fault driver carried too little insurance or none at all, your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage can be the difference between a real recovery and an empty judgment. It is optional coverage your insurer has to offer you in writing, and many people own it without realizing it protects them on foot and on a bike, not just behind the wheel.
Generally no. Coverage in that scenario generally comes from the cyclist’s homeowner’s or renter’s policy, if they have one.
It depends on what each person did. A cyclist who rode carelessly or ignored road rules may be responsible, but a pedestrian who stepped into a bike lane without looking may share fault.
Yes. Louisiana does allow recovery under comparative fault, but your compensation is reduced considering your share of fault.
If a driver fled, your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage may pay for your injuries. If a cyclist fled and is later identified, a civil claim against that person may still be possible. Either way, report the crash immediately so there is an official record while the details are fresh.
Not always, but it helps a lot. A police report creates a neutral, dated account of the crash that an insurer is far less able to dispute than your word against the driver’s. When a vehicle is involved and someone is hurt, getting an official report is worth the time.
A pedestrian or bicycle crash can leave you with medical bills, missed work, and questions about who pays. When a motor vehicle is involved, auto insurance is usually the starting point, but the right policy and fault split can decide how much you recover. And how fault is split can quietly decide how much you recover.
At Charbonnet Law Firm, our attorneys have represented injured people across New Orleans for three generations, and consultations are free.
The deadline to file suit is two years for the most recent crashes, so if you were hurt walking or biking, talking it through early costs you nothing and protects your options. Call us at (504) 888-2227 to review what happened and which coverage applies to you.
With over 50 years of legal experience serving families in the New Orleans area and surrounding Louisiana communities, our firm takes pride in providing clients with personalized legal services tailored to individual needs.
