Pedestrian hit by a car in Poland. Who is liable and what you can claim

Pedestrian priority at crossings

A pedestrian on a pedestrian crossing has priority over a vehicle. A pedestrian entering a pedestrian crossing has priority over a vehicle, except a tram.

Article 13 paragraph 1a of the Polish Road Traffic Act (unofficial translation)

Priority for pedestrians who are only entering the crossing has applied since 1 June 2021. Before that, only a pedestrian already on the crossing had priority.

A driver approaching a crossing must take particular care, reduce speed so as not to endanger a pedestrian, and give way to a pedestrian who is on the crossing or entering it (Article 26 paragraph 1). The driver must not overtake on the crossing or directly before it, or go around a vehicle that has stopped to let a pedestrian cross (Article 26 paragraph 3).

Slowing down is not a formality. The speed must allow the driver to stop before the crossing if a pedestrian appears on it. The driver must also watch not only the crossing itself but also the pavement next to it, to notice in time a person stepping onto the road^{1Court of Appeal in Katowice (Sąd Apelacyjny w Katowicach), judgment of 4 October 2018, V ACa 697/17}.

This also matters in the criminal case. When assessing the driver’s liability, the court takes into account that particular care, not ordinary care, was required at the crossing^{2Supreme Court (Sąd Najwyższy), judgment of 16 December 2021, IV KK 540/20}. Courts treat a failure to give way to a pedestrian on a crossing, caused by the lack of such care, as a very serious breach, even if it was unintentional^{3Supreme Court (Sąd Najwyższy), judgment of 27 February 2017, III KK 367/16}.

Crossings with traffic lights

At a crossing with traffic lights, the signals decide. A pedestrian who steps onto the road on green is fully protected. A driver turning into a side road must give way to pedestrians crossing the road the driver is entering (Article 26 paragraph 2). The Supreme Court describes this as an absolute obligation to respect pedestrians’ priority^{4Supreme Court (Sąd Najwyższy), judgment of 12 July 1975, V KRN 65/75}.

The pedestrian’s duties

A pedestrian stepping onto or crossing the road must take particular care (Article 13 paragraph 1). The Road Traffic Act also lists conduct that is forbidden for pedestrians (Article 14). The most important are these.

• Stepping out directly in front of a moving vehicle, also on a crossing (Article 14 point 1 letter a).
• Stepping onto the road from behind a vehicle or another obstacle that limits visibility (Article 14 point 1 letter b).
• Running across the road (Article 14 point 4).
• Using a phone on a crossing in a way that limits the ability to watch the road (Article 14 point 8).

Priority is therefore not a right to step under the wheels. A pedestrian who steps onto the crossing just in front of a car that can no longer brake breaks the rules.

When the driver is not liable

In the criminal case, the driver is liable for the accident only if he breached the rules of road safety and that breach led to the accident. If the driver could not have avoided the accident even when driving correctly, he is not liable for the result. This is so even if he was driving too fast, where the pedestrian appeared so suddenly that the accident would have happened anyway^{5Supreme Court (Sąd Najwyższy), judgment of 17 November 2016, II KK 216/16}.

A driver may also expect pedestrians to follow the rules. This is called the principle of limited trust (Article 4 of the Road Traffic Act). It stops protecting the driver when there is a clear sign that a pedestrian may behave incorrectly, for example when someone is running towards the road or is obviously drunk^{6Supreme Court (Sąd Najwyższy), decision of 16 November 2007, III KK 233/07}. More caution is also needed near children, elderly people and people with disabilities.

Compensation follows a different rule. The insurer is released only if the accident was caused by force majeure or exclusively by the fault of the pedestrian or of a third party (Articles 435 § 1 and 436 § 1 of the Civil Code). That is a much higher threshold than in the criminal case. In practice, the opinion of the accident reconstruction expert usually decides what the driver could have done.

What an injured pedestrian can claim

• All costs resulting from the injury, for example treatment, rehabilitation and care (Article 444 § 1 of the Civil Code).
• An annuity (renta) if you lost all or part of your ability to work, your needs increased or your prospects for the future decreased (Article 444 § 2).
• Compensation for the harm suffered (zadośćuczynienie), that is for pain and suffering (Article 445 § 1). How courts set the amount is explained in the guide compensation for pain and suffering in Poland.

If the pedestrian died, the family has its own claims. See the guide fatal road accident in Poland.

Contributory fault of the pedestrian

If the pedestrian contributed to the accident, compensation is reduced accordingly (Article 362 of the Civil Code). Contributory fault is not a free assessment of the pedestrian’s behaviour. It is conduct that is causally linked to the damage, one of the links in the chain that led to it^{7Supreme Court (Sąd Najwyższy), decision of 18 December 2025, I CSK 3717/24; Court of Appeal in Kraków, judgment of 20 January 2026, I ACa 50/25}. Even when contributory fault is established, the reduction is not automatic. The court may, but does not have to, reduce the compensation^{8Court of Appeal in Lublin (Sąd Apelacyjny w Lublinie), judgment of 23 January 2025, I ACa 127/25; Supreme Court, decision of 13 October 2023, I CSK 5191/22}. These rules also apply to the family of a pedestrian who died^{9Supreme Court (Sąd Najwyższy), decision of 29 January 2024, I CSK 1196/23}.

Insurers raise contributory fault very often, sometimes without grounds. The fact that a pedestrian did not look around carefully enough is not enough by itself. It has to be shown that the pedestrian’s conduct actually affected the course of the accident.

What the driver faces

• Injuries lasting up to 7 days, or no injuries. Usually a petty offence of causing a danger on the road (Article 86 § 1 of the Code of Petty Offences).
• Injuries lasting more than 7 days. A criminal offence under Article 177 § 1 of the Criminal Code, punishable by up to 3 years’ imprisonment.
• Death or serious damage to health. From 6 months to 8 years (Article 177 § 2).

In a criminal case the injured pedestrian is the victim and can take an active part. See the guide your rights as a victim in the criminal case.

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