Clovis Pedestrian Accident Lawyer

Your Attorney — Sarwinder Dhanjan

Sarwinder Dhanjan is the founding attorney of Dhanjan Injury Lawyer. He handles every case personally — you work directly with him from the first call through final resolution. Attorney Dhanjan is admitted to the State Bar of California and is active in Fresno County Superior Court.

Languages: English | Spanish | Punjabi | Hindi

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High-Risk Pedestrian Locations in Clovis

The Shaw Avenue commercial strip from Minnewawa to Peach Avenue has dense signal spacing, frequent shopping center driveway conflicts, and consistent pedestrian crossing activity. Shaw/Willow led the city with 27 crashes in 2024. Herndon Avenue carries significant commercial freight at speeds that produce severe injuries in pedestrian collisions — the Herndon/Clovis Ave intersection recorded 24 crashes. The Gettysburg/Clovis Ave school zone creates recurring pedestrian vulnerability during Clovis Unified school hours. The California Office of Traffic Safety data confirms Fresno County’s elevated pedestrian injury rates relative to other California counties.

Pedestrian Liability in California

California Vehicle Code section 21950 requires drivers to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks — both marked and unmarked. An unmarked crosswalk exists at every intersection where two public streets meet, whether or not lines are painted. The “sudden darting” defense — that the pedestrian stepped into traffic without warning — requires objective evidence to defeat. Commercial camera footage with 30-to-72-hour overwrite cycles captures what actually happened. We preserve this evidence immediately. Government liability for inadequate crosswalk infrastructure, missing signals, and inadequate lighting is available when the City of Clovis had notice of the hazardous condition — these claims require the six-month government claim deadline.

Pedestrian Accident Injuries

Pedestrian accident injuries range from severe orthopedic trauma to catastrophic neurological damage. Common serious injuries include traumatic brain injury from head impact with the vehicle, windshield, or road surface; spinal cord injury from fall or direct vehicle contact; lower extremity fractures from bumper-level impact; and internal organ injuries from abdominal contact. The severity of these injuries means that same-day medical documentation is critical — not only for the damages case but for the causal chain that connects the accident to the injuries.

Compensation Available in Clovis Pedestrian Accident Claims

Pedestrian accident compensation in Clovis reflects the catastrophic nature of these injuries — which consistently produce the most severe outcomes of any personal injury category because the human body, with no protective equipment, absorbs the full force of a vehicle impact. A pedestrian struck at 25 mph on Shaw Avenue suffers injuries that a car occupant struck at the same speed in a modern vehicle would likely walk away from. This physical reality drives the damages valuation: pedestrian accident cases involving moderate-to-serious injury regularly produce the highest settlement and verdict values in personal injury law.

Economic damages in serious pedestrian accident cases frequently require a life care planner and forensic economist because the injuries — TBI, spinal cord damage, amputations, severe orthopedic trauma — produce lifetime care needs. The life care plan must account for every component of ongoing care: emergency transport, hospitalization, surgical procedures, rehabilitation, adaptive equipment, home modifications, attendant care hours, outpatient specialist visits, and medications — all at current market rates projected over the victim’s actuarial life expectancy. For a 35-year-old pedestrian with a permanent spinal cord injury, the life care plan alone can project costs exceeding $2 million in present-value terms, before lost earning capacity or non-economic damages are calculated.

What To Do After Being Struck as a Pedestrian in Clovis

1. Do not refuse emergency medical transport. Pedestrian accident injuries — including TBI, internal organ damage, and spinal cord involvement — are frequently not fully symptomatic at the scene due to adrenaline. Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno is the Level I trauma center for the region. If EMTs offer transport, accept it.
2. Note the exact crossing location. Were you in a marked crosswalk, an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, or crossing mid-block? The location determines the baseline liability framework — California Vehicle Code section 21950 governs marked and unmarked crosswalk rights, while section 21954 addresses mid-block crossings. This distinction affects how the claim is built.
3. Photograph the crosswalk markings and signal from ground level. From a standing position, photographs of Shaw Avenue or Herndon Avenue crosswalks look different than from a vehicle driver’s perspective. Ground-level photographs of pedestrian signal phases, crosswalk visibility, and sight lines document what the driver should have been able to see.
4. Request that law enforcement document the signal phase. Was the pedestrian signal showing WALK or DON’T WALK at the moment of impact? The Clovis Police Department report should document signal phase — if it does not, that gap can be addressed through signal timing records requested from the City of Clovis.
5. Call Dhanjan Injury Lawyer before camera footage is gone. Commercial cameras on Shaw Avenue and Herndon Avenue capture intersection conditions continuously. Traffic monitoring cameras may have captured the approach and impact. Both overwrite within 30-72 hours.

Pedestrian Accident Filing Deadlines in Clovis — Government Claims vs. Standard Claims

Two years from the date of injury under California Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. Government entity claims require six months under the Government Claims Act. For statewide context, see our California Pedestrian Accident Lawyer page. For the Clovis overview, see our Clovis Personal Injury Lawyer hub. For Fresno, see our Fresno Personal Injury Lawyer hub. Contact us for a free consultation.

School Zones and Pedestrian Liability in Clovis

Clovis Unified School District operates numerous campuses throughout Clovis with designated school zones on the surrounding streets. During school hours — typically 7:00-8:30am and 2:30-4:00pm — pedestrian traffic increases dramatically in school zones, and California Vehicle Code section 22352(b) reduces the speed limit to 25 mph in school zones when children are present. A driver who strikes a pedestrian in a school zone while exceeding this limit has violated a traffic statute designed to protect that specific class of persons from that specific type of harm — establishing negligence per se under California law.

Pedestrian accidents involving minor children present specific considerations for the damages case and the claims process. The statute of limitations for a minor’s personal injury claim is tolled until the child’s 18th birthday under California Code of Civil Procedure section 352 — meaning a child injured at age 8 has until age 20 to file a lawsuit. Settlements on behalf of minor plaintiffs require court approval under California Probate Code section 3500 to ensure the settlement is in the minor’s best interest. Calculating future damages for a child injured before the full development of their earning capacity requires specialized vocational and economic expert analysis. We handle all aspects of minor plaintiff claims, including the court approval process, as part of our representation.

Why Pedestrian Accidents Produce the Highest Damages in Clovis Personal Injury Law

Pedestrian accident compensation in Clovis reflects a specific injury profile: when a vehicle strikes a person on foot at even moderate speed, the resulting orthopedic, neurological, and internal injuries are typically far more severe than in vehicle-to-vehicle collisions of equivalent speed. Economic damages cover all medical treatment from initial trauma care through specialist follow-up and any surgical intervention, full lost wages if injuries prevent return to work, and future medical costs projected at current market rates. For elderly Clovis pedestrians — a significant portion of pedestrian accident victims near Clovis’s senior residential communities and medical corridors — lost earning capacity calculations are replaced by increased care cost projections. Non-economic damages for pedestrian accident victims in Clovis reflect the severe, often permanent nature of pedestrian injuries — damages that must be presented with expert medical testimony rather than general descriptions.

Economic damages are the measurable financial losses the accident produced. Medical expenses from the date of the accident through the end of treatment are documented through medical billing records. Future medical expenses — for injuries that require ongoing care, additional surgeries, or lifetime management — must be projected by a treating physician and, in serious cases, by a certified life care planner whose projections are based on the specific treatment plan and the current market rates for those services in the Fresno area. Lost wages are documented through employer records and tax returns. Lost future earning capacity — when injuries permanently reduce the ability to work — requires vocational rehabilitation expert testimony on the specific functional limitations and their impact on the specific type of work the victim performed before the accident.

Non-economic damages are the human cost of the injury — the harm that does not appear on a medical bill. Physical pain and suffering, emotional distress, post-traumatic stress disorder, permanent disfigurement or scarring, loss of enjoyment of activities and relationships that the injury has disrupted, and loss of consortium where a spouse’s relationship has been affected. These damages are not speculative — they are real, recognized compensable harms under California law. Presenting them persuasively requires detailed testimony about the specific impact of this injury on this person’s specific life — not generic descriptions. We develop this testimony through client interviews and, where appropriate, through testimony from treating mental health providers and family members who can corroborate the daily impact.

School Zones, Commercial Corridors, and How Clovis Pedestrian Claims Resolve

Clovis pedestrian accident cases typically proceed through demand, negotiation, and mediation before trial is required — but the pace depends on the medical timeline. We do not submit a settlement demand until the injury victim has reached maximum medical improvement and we can calculate the full future medical costs. For pedestrian accident victims with permanent orthopedic injuries, traumatic brain injuries, or internal organ damage, that timeline may extend well beyond what carriers expect or prefer. Carriers who pressure early settlement in Clovis pedestrian cases are attempting to buy out the future damages before they are fully calculated. We do not negotiate pedestrian accident cases on the carrier’s preferred timeline. The demand is submitted when the damages are complete — not when the carrier’s adjuster wants to close the file. Cases that do not resolve through negotiation or mediation proceed to trial in Fresno County Superior Court.

From the first call, we begin evidence preservation — litigation hold demands, scene documentation, witness identification. We then guide clients through the medical care process, ensuring consistent treatment and complete documentation. Once treatment is complete and the treating physician has established the long-term prognosis, we prepare a comprehensive demand package — the medical record, economic damages analysis, and non-economic damages narrative — and present it to the carrier. Most serious cases involve multiple rounds of negotiation. When carriers refuse to pay fair value, we file in Fresno County Superior Court at 1100 Van Ness Ave, Fresno, CA 93724 and pursue the case through trial. Our trial-ready preparation standard is what produces full settlement value before trial — and it is what produces full verdict value when trial is necessary.

Government Liability for Pedestrian Infrastructure in Clovis

The City of Clovis has a duty under the California Government Code to maintain public streets, crosswalks, and sidewalks in a reasonably safe condition. When a pedestrian is injured because a crosswalk lacks adequate markings, a pedestrian signal is malfunctioning, lighting is inadequate for nighttime pedestrian crossing, or the geometric design of an intersection creates a dangerous conflict zone, the city may be liable for the resulting injury under the Dangerous Condition of Public Property doctrine. Establishing government liability requires showing that the condition was dangerous, that the city had actual or constructive notice of the condition, and that the condition was a proximate cause of the injury. Prior complaints, prior accidents at the same location, and the city’s maintenance and inspection records are the primary evidence sources. All government claims against the City of Clovis must be filed within six months of the incident — we initiate this process immediately upon being retained in every Clovis pedestrian accident case involving a public infrastructure failure.

Crosswalk Evidence and Same-Day Medical Evaluation — Starting Your Clovis Pedestrian Claim

Every serious injury claim in Clovis begins the same way: a conversation with Attorney Sarwinder Dhanjan about what happened, what injuries resulted, and what the realistic path to recovery looks like. That conversation is free, confidential, and available in English, Spanish, Punjabi, and Hindi. There are no upfront costs, no commitment required, and no obligation to retain us after the consultation.

What we do in the first consultation: review the specific facts of the accident, identify every potentially liable party, assess the full insurance stack available for recovery, evaluate the strength of the evidence that currently exists and the evidence that needs to be preserved immediately, and give you an honest assessment of the realistic range of what a well-prepared claim may recover. We do not give optimistic numbers to encourage you to sign a fee agreement — we give honest assessments that allow you to make an informed decision about your case.

If you retain us, we begin work immediately. Litigation hold demands go out the same day. Evidence preservation begins before the automatic overwrite cycles that govern commercial cameras, vehicle data recorders, and electronic logging devices eliminate what currently exists. The window for that evidence is measured in hours — not days. For all Clovis injury matters, contact us at (559) 342-2000, available 24/7, or through the contact form at our contact page. Our office at 2170 N. Winery Ave, Fresno, CA 93703 is 6 miles and 15 minutes from Clovis — the same court, the same county, and the same commitment to full-value recovery that we bring to every Fresno case.

Why Clovis Pedestrian Accident Victims Choose Dhanjan Injury Lawyer

Pedestrian accident claims in Clovis require specific expertise in California crosswalk law, government liability for inadequate pedestrian infrastructure, and the medical evidence framework for severe neurological and orthopedic injuries that pedestrian accidents produce. The “sudden darting” defense — the carrier’s claim that the pedestrian stepped into traffic without warning — requires a specific evidentiary response: commercial camera footage, witness accounts, accident reconstruction of the driver’s line of sight and reaction time, and expert testimony on what a reasonable driver should have been able to anticipate given the specific pedestrian environment at that location.

Attorney Dhanjan is familiar with the pedestrian accident patterns at Clovis’s highest-risk intersections — the Shaw Avenue commercial strip, the Herndon Avenue corridor, and the Clovis Unified school zones — and builds pedestrian accident cases with the intersection-specific context that distinguishes a well-prepared claim from a generic demand. That local specificity is what produces the settlement leverage that full-value recovery requires.

How Clovis Pedestrian Accident Claims Resolve

Pedestrian accident claims in Clovis that involve serious permanent injuries — the category that produces the largest recoveries — typically take 18 to 30 months to resolve because the medical treatment timelines are long, the expert team must be retained and developed before any demand is made, and the damages case for catastrophic pedestrian injuries requires more preparation than most other personal injury categories. Settling before this preparation is complete is the most common way seriously injured pedestrians underrecover — and it is what carriers work to produce with early settlement pressure.

The government liability component of pedestrian accident cases — claims against the City of Clovis for inadequate crosswalk infrastructure or malfunctioning signals — adds a procedural track through the Government Claims Act that runs alongside the standard liability claim. These cases involve both a government entity defendant and potentially one or more private defendants, which requires coordinating the legal strategy across multiple parties. We handle both tracks simultaneously, using the government discovery process to develop evidence that supports the broader damages case.