Pedestrian accident settlement amounts in North Dakota

Getting hit by a car while you're on foot works differently in North Dakota than in most states, and the difference starts before anyone names a dollar figure. North Dakota runs a no-fault auto insurance system, and that system decides two things at once: what money reaches you first, and whether you can sue the driver for pain and suffering at all.¹ This page is about the North Dakota rules that shape a pedestrian claim. The national hub for this topic covers how settlements are calculated in general.

Pedestrians are covered by no-fault, even without a car

North Dakota's Auto Accident Reparations Act treats a person on foot who is struck by a motor vehicle as someone entitled to "basic no-fault benefits."¹ Under N.D.C.C. § 26.1-41-06, the insurer of the vehicle that hit you pays those benefits without regard to who was at fault, and § 26.1-41-13 makes that vehicle's insurer the primary payer for a struck pedestrian.¹ The statute defines "pedestrian" broadly, as anyone not occupying a vehicle driven by something other than muscular power, so a person walking, jogging, or riding a bicycle falls inside it (§ 26.1-41-01(15)).¹

Basic no-fault benefits are capped at $30,000 per person, per accident (§ 26.1-41-01(2)).¹ They cover medical and rehabilitation expenses, 85% of lost wages up to $150 a week, replacement-services loss up to $15 a day, and as much as $3,500 in funeral costs.¹ The insurer has to pay within 30 days after it receives reasonable proof of the loss, and overdue payments carry interest (§ 26.1-41-09).¹ This is not your settlement. It is the floor, the first money that should arrive while a larger claim is still being worked out. Bills submitted more than 180 days after treatment do not have to be paid, so getting your documentation in early matters (§ 26.1-41-09(3)).¹

The serious-injury threshold decides whether you can sue

This is the rule that drives North Dakota pedestrian settlement values. Because the state is no-fault, a driver is exempt from liability for your noneconomic damages, meaning pain and suffering, unless your injury clears a statutory bar the law calls a "serious injury" (§ 26.1-41-08).¹

Section 26.1-41-01(21) defines a "serious injury" as an accidental injury that results in death, dismemberment, serious and permanent disfigurement, disability lasting more than 60 days, or medical expenses over $2,500.¹ Meet one of those and pain-and-suffering damages are on the table. Fall short and you are limited to economic losses beyond what no-fault already paid. Pedestrian injuries tend to be serious, so a fracture that needs surgery or an injury that keeps you down for two months usually clears the threshold. It is still the legal hinge every North Dakota pedestrian claim turns on.

Fault still cuts your recovery, and can end it

Clearing the injury threshold does not make fault irrelevant. North Dakota uses modified comparative fault with a 50% bar. Under N.D.C.C. § 32-03.2-02, your own fault does not block recovery unless it was "as great as" the combined fault of everyone else who contributed, and anything you recover is reduced by your share.² So if you are found 50% or more at fault you get nothing, and at 30% at fault a $200,000 award becomes $140,000.

Two points make this real for pedestrians. Insurers routinely argue that a pedestrian who crossed outside a crosswalk or against a signal carries part of the blame, which pushes your percentage up. And § 32-03.2-02 makes liability several rather than joint, so when more than one driver is at fault each pays only its own percentage instead of the whole award.²

What North Dakota does and does not cap

North Dakota puts no cap on compensatory damages in an ordinary injury case, and no ceiling on pain-and-suffering awards.² Large economic awards get a second look rather than a hard limit: under § 32-03.2-08, any economic-damage award over $250,000, measured before reductions for fault or other coverage, can be sent back to the court for a reasonableness review.²

Punitive damages, which North Dakota calls exemplary damages, are capped. They cannot exceed two times the compensatory damages or $250,000, whichever is greater (§ 32-03.2-11(4)).² You also cannot ask for them in your original complaint; you have to move the court for permission to add the claim after the suit is filed (§ 32-03.2-11(1)).² One more detail: an economic-damage award can be reduced by payments from a collateral source, but that reduction does not apply to insurance you bought yourself (§ 32-03.2-06).²

Drunk driving raises the stakes

Alcohol shows up often in North Dakota's fatal crashes. Of the 89 traffic deaths the state recorded in 2024, 19 were alcohol-related, and 5 of the people killed were pedestrians, down from 10 the year before.³ The law responds in two ways that reach a pedestrian claim.

First, § 32-03.2-11(9) lets a jury consider exemplary damages against a driver in a bodily-injury crash if there is clear and convincing evidence the driver had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08% or higher, was under the influence of a controlled substance, refused a chemical test, or was under the influence of a volatile chemical.² Second, North Dakota's dram shop and social host statute, § 5-01-06.1, gives an injured person a claim against anyone who knowingly serves or gives alcohol to someone under 21 or to someone already obviously intoxicated who then causes the injury.⁴ That can reach a bar, a restaurant, or a private host, and the claim has to be brought within two years (§ 28-01-18(5)).⁵

If the driver has no insurance or leaves the scene

A pedestrian hit by an uninsured or hit-and-run driver still has a path to recovery. Every North Dakota auto policy has to include uninsured motorist coverage (§ 26.1-40-15.2) and underinsured motorist coverage at equal limits (§ 26.1-40-15.3), so if you or a relative in your household owns a policy, you can claim under it even though you were on foot.⁶ The minimum limits are 25/50/25: $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for injuries, and $25,000 for property damage (§ 39-16.1-11).⁷ North Dakota does not let a policyholder waive this coverage outright. The only carve-out is a written endorsement excluding one named driver, and even that cannot drop below the statutory minimum (§ 26.1-40-16).⁶ The serious-injury threshold still applies to a UM claim, so the same limit on pain-and-suffering recovery carries over (§ 26.1-40-15.6).⁶

Deadlines you cannot miss

North Dakota gives injury victims an unusually long window. A pedestrian injury lawsuit generally has to be filed within six years of the crash under N.D.C.C. § 28-01-16(5), and a claim for damage to your vehicle or belongings gets the same six years (§ 28-01-16(4)).⁵ The exception is a death case. If the pedestrian dies, the wrongful death action has to be brought within two years (§ 28-01-18(4)), a much shorter deadline that families often do not realize is already running.⁵ A claim on behalf of an injured child is paused until the child reaches adulthood (§ 28-01-25).⁵ A long deadline is not a reason to wait, because the evidence and the 180-day no-fault billing clock do not.

Reports, vehicle damage, and getting help

North Dakota law enforcement files a crash report whenever a crash causes injury, death, or at least $4,000 in property damage.³ You can buy your report from the North Dakota Department of Transportation for $7, and the mechanics are covered on our North Dakota crash reports page.⁸ If your bike or personal property was damaged and lost resale value afterward, that is handled on our North Dakota diminished value page. When you are ready to talk with a lawyer, start with our legal directory.

There is no published table of North Dakota pedestrian settlement amounts, and any site that shows you one is guessing. What the statutes above give you is the structure a real number is built on: the $30,000 no-fault floor, the serious-injury gate for pain and suffering, the percentage of fault subtracted from the total, and the six-year clock behind all of it.

This article is general information about North Dakota law, not legal advice.

Sources

1. North Dakota Century Code ch. 26.1-41, Auto Accident Reparations Act (no-fault). https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t26-1c41.pdf

2. North Dakota Century Code ch. 32-03.2, Fault, Damages, and Payments. https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t32c03-2.pdf

3. North Dakota Department of Transportation, Highway Safety Division, 2024 North Dakota Crash Summary. https://visionzero.nd.gov/uploads/71/0NDDOT_2024CrashSummary_WEB.pdf

4. North Dakota Century Code § 5-01-06.1, claim for relief for fault resulting from intoxication (dram shop and social host). https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t05c01.pdf

5. North Dakota Century Code ch. 28-01, Time for Commencing Actions. https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t28c01.pdf

6. North Dakota Century Code ch. 26.1-40, Motor Vehicle Insurance (§§ 26.1-40-15.2, 26.1-40-15.3, 26.1-40-15.6, 26.1-40-16). https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t26-1c40.pdf

7. North Dakota Century Code § 39-16.1-11, minimum motor vehicle liability limits. https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t39c16-1.pdf

8. North Dakota Department of Transportation, Purchase a Crash Report. https://www.dot.nd.gov/travel-and-safety/safety/purchase-crash-report