You were crossing the street, or walking along the shoulder, or stepping off a curb in a parking lot. You weren't in a car at all, and somehow you're now the one dealing with insurance.
A pedestrian hit by a vehicle in Canada can open a file of their own for treatment and lost income, whether or not they own a car and whoever was at fault. Get assessed the same day even if you feel alright, report the collision to police, and start a dated record of your symptoms before the week is out.
Being on foot doesn't put you outside the system. It puts you at the centre of it, because you had nothing around you when it happened.
Is a pedestrian covered after being hit by a car?
Yes. Every province and territory requires auto insurance to include benefits for people hurt in a collision, and that includes the person on foot. The benefits have different names depending on where you live, accident benefits in some provinces, Section B in others, Enhanced Care in British Columbia. What they do is the same: they pay toward treatment and replace some of the income you lose while you recover.
You don't need to own a car or hold a licence. Children, seniors, cyclists and people who have never driven are covered too.
Whose insurance does a pedestrian claim through?
This part changes by province, so it's worth checking rather than guessing.
In some provinces you claim first through your own auto policy, or a policy held by someone in your household, even though no car of yours was involved. Where no one in your home has a policy, you usually claim through the insurer of the vehicle that hit you. British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec run public auto insurance, so the route there is through the public insurer.
If the driver left the scene or had no insurance, most provinces have a route for exactly that situation. Report it to police the same day, because that report is usually the key to it.
The Companion Guide for your province sets out who to contact where you live, along with the forms and the deadlines.
Does it matter who was at fault?
Not for the benefits that pay for your treatment. They're available regardless of fault, which is the point of them. You shouldn't have to wait for a question of blame to be settled before you can see a physiotherapist.
Fault matters for a separate kind of claim, for losses beyond what the benefits cover. That runs on its own rules in every province and is a conversation to have with a lawyer rather than something to settle from an article.
Why do pedestrian injuries need extra care?
Because there's nothing between you and the vehicle. No seatbelt, no airbag, no frame. Even a slow impact can mean a fall onto pavement, a head injury or a knee or hip that takes the full force.
Adrenaline hides a lot at the scene. Many people stand up, say they're fine and walk home, then wake up the next morning unable to move. Our article on why car accident injuries sometimes appear days later explains why, and why the date a symptom first appears matters so much.
Pedestrian collisions also rise in the darker months. ICBC reports they typically increase in October and November, when evenings get dark earlier.
What should you do in the first week?
Three things, in this order.
Get assessed, even if you feel alright. Tell the doctor you were hit by a vehicle while walking, and describe every symptom, including the small ones. That first visit is the starting point everything else is measured from.
Report the collision to police. Deadlines for reporting and for applying for benefits are set by each province and territory, and some are short. Our article on the first 72 hours covers what needs to happen early.
Start writing things down. Nobody else records the days between appointments. That part is yours.
What are you allowed to do?
You are allowed to open a file even though you weren't in a vehicle.
You are allowed to see a doctor days later and say the pain arrived after the crash rather than at it.
You are allowed to say you're afraid to cross that street now, and to have that written into your file alongside the physical injuries.
You are allowed to ask a family member to keep notes for you if writing is hard right now.
What should you record after being hit while walking?
| What to record | Why it helps |
|---|---|
| Where you were, which way you were walking and the light and weather | Sets out how it happened while your memory is clear |
| The vehicle, the driver's details and any witnesses | Hard to find again later, easy to note on day one |
| Every symptom and the date it first appeared | Connects each injury to the collision |
| Every appointment, and any you had to cancel | Shows treatment running continuously |
| What you couldn't do that week that you could do before | Turns the injury into something another person can measure |
The National MVA Recovery Guide is built for anyone hurt in a collision in Canada, whether you were driving, riding or walking. It gives every symptom a date and every appointment a page.
Keep your recovery in one place
The National MVA Recovery Guide covers what applies anywhere in Canada. Your provincial Companion Guide adds the insurer, the forms and the deadlines where you live.
Read next
- Do I Have a Claim if I Was a Passenger?
- Your Teen Was in a Car Accident: What Families Should Write Down
- Why Car Accident Injuries Sometimes Appear Days Later
- How to Document Injuries After a Car Accident
Last verified September 2026. Seasonal collision figure from ICBC. This article is general information for people in Canada. It is not medical, legal or insurance advice.
