Hit by a Car While Working Near a Truck in Virginia? That Truck's Insurance May Cover You

People who work on or beside Virginia roads face a danger most of us never think about. Road crews, flaggers, utility workers, tow operators, and firefighters spend their days on foot a few feet from traffic moving at highway speed. When a driver plows into one of them, the injuries are often catastrophic, and the driver often carries only a small policy, or none at all.

That raises a question that can decide whether a seriously injured worker, or a grieving family, ever gets fully paid: whose insurance covers someone who was hit while standing on the road, not riding in a car? A new decision from the Court of Appeals of Virginia gives an answer that should matter to every injured worker in the Commonwealth. Sometimes the answer is the truck you were working beside.

How underinsured motorist coverage works in Virginia

Underinsured motorist coverage, usually called UIM, pays when the driver who caused your injuries does not have enough liability insurance to cover your losses. Virginia law requires auto policies that carry liability coverage to include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, and it defines who counts as an "insured" under that coverage in Va. Code § 38.2-2206.

That definition is broader than most people realize. It covers the person who bought the policy and relatives living in the same household, "while in a motor vehicle or otherwise." It also covers "any person who uses the motor vehicle to which the policy applies, with the expressed or implied consent of the named insured."

That last group is where a worker on foot can find coverage. If you were "using" a vehicle when you were hit, that vehicle's UIM coverage may protect you, even if you never sat in it that day and do not own it.

The case: a road superintendent struck on Interstate 85

In September 2020, Jason Showman was a superintendent on a project to repair a stretch of Interstate 85. One travel lane was closed and coned off as a work zone, while traffic in the other lane kept moving. Dump trucks owned by subcontractors hauled concrete slabs out of the zone. Under state transportation rules, those trucks carried warning signs and flashing beacon lights visible from every direction.

Near the end of the shift, Showman was signing out the trucks as they took their last loads. Seconds after he signed one driver's ticket and stepped off the truck, that truck pulled into the live lane. It was moving at about 10 miles an hour; traffic around it was moving at about 70. A car nearly rear-ended the truck. Another car, an underinsured one, struck Showman. The truck was only two or three car lengths away.

Showman sought coverage under the UIM portion of the policy that Erie Insurance had issued to the subcontractor that owned the dump truck. Erie said he was not "using" the truck when he was hit: the truck had left for the road, and Showman had turned to a different task. The Circuit Court of Goochland County disagreed and ruled that he was covered.

On October 6, 2026, the Court of Appeals affirmed in Erie Insurance Company v. Showman, Record No. 0915-25-2 (also on CourtListener), an unpublished opinion by Judge Duffan, joined by Judge Callins and Senior Judge Clements.

Why the court found coverage

The court applied the test the Supreme Court of Virginia has long used. The injured person must be using the vehicle as a vehicle and as an integral part of their mission. Using a vehicle is not limited to riding in it or driving it. And the use does not have to be the direct legal cause of the injury.

The deciding fact was the truck's safety equipment. The beacon lights and signs were built in to warn traffic about a slow-moving truck in a construction zone, and the trial court found they also protected the workers around it. The Court of Appeals agreed that the record supported that finding, and held that Showman was still using the truck's safety features as part of his job when he was struck, even though his attention had shifted to another task. It also rejected Erie's argument that a moving truck could not count. A slow truck pulling into 70-mile-an-hour traffic is exactly when warning lights matter most.

Because the opinion is unpublished, it is not binding precedent. But it closely follows the leading Supreme Court of Virginia decision on the issue, Bratton v. Selective Insurance Co. of America, 290 Va. 314 (2015). In Bratton, a dump truck driver on a nighttime paving job in Roanoke County climbed out of his truck to check on an asphalt dump and was struck and killed by a drunk driver. A company pickup truck with warning lights was parked down the road as a safety vehicle. The Supreme Court held that the driver was "using" that pickup, which the trial court had described as "a rolling barricade," and that his estate was entitled to coverage under its policy.

Where Virginia courts have drawn the line

The Showman opinion walks through the earlier Supreme Court of Virginia decisions on this question. The pattern is consistent: the more a vehicle works like a piece of safety equipment, the more likely a worker on foot is covered.

Source: the Court of Appeals of Virginia's review of prior Supreme Court of Virginia decisions in Erie Insurance Company v. Showman (Oct. 6, 2026).

The difference between the yes and no rows is not luck. A fire truck, a highway truck with a light bar, or a dump truck with required beacons is designed to protect people working around it. An ordinary pickup parked nearby, or a cruiser left far behind, is not.

What this means if you or a family member was hurt

Look past the driver's policy. In a serious injury or death case, the at-fault driver's coverage is often far too small. The next questions are what UIM coverage exists, and on how many policies. That can include your own policy, a policy held by a relative you live with, and the policy on any vehicle you were using when you were hit.

Every vehicle at the scene matters. Write down or photograph every truck, trailer, and safety vehicle nearby, who owned it, whether its lights were on, and where it was parked. In Showman, the distance between the worker and the truck was measured in car lengths, and the beacon lights decided the case.

Your job records are evidence. Traffic control plans, safety rules requiring warning lights, lane closure diagrams, and daily logs can show that a vehicle was part of the safety setup for the work you were doing.

A job injury is not the end of the story. If you were hurt at work, workers' compensation may also be involved, but it is a separate system. The claim against the driver who hit you, and the insurance behind that claim, is its own case and deserves its own look.

Deadlines apply. Most Virginia personal injury claims must be filed within two years under Va. Code § 8.01-243(A), and insurance policies have their own notice requirements. Wrongful death claims and claims involving government vehicles can carry different rules. Do not wait to find out which ones apply.

Talk to a Virginia injury lawyer

If you or someone in your family was struck while working on or beside a Virginia road, the driver's small policy may not be the only insurance available. Posey Lebowitz represents people with serious injuries and families who have lost someone in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. Call us at (202) 524-0123 or use our contact form for a free consultation.

This is general information, not legal advice about your case.