But the man, then 63, was found to have partially contributed to the September 2011 crash because he was wearing earphones and lacked awareness as he crossed the road.

The pedestrian was walking across the road near a t-intersection at Jandamarra Street and Wanganeen Avenue in Ngunnawal at night, when he was struck by a Land Cruiser at low speed.

He told the ACT Supreme Court the bull bar "threw me up in the air" and that he was thrown around like a rag doll before landing on the footpath.

The driver stopped to help and the man's daughter arrived, before he was taken to hospital.

He spent more than six weeks in Canberra Hospital recovering from his injuries.

The pedestrian launched civil proceedings against the driver, and Associate Justice David Mossop handed down his decision on Tuesday.

The court found mainly in the pedestrian's favour, saying it was the driver who was "very substantially responsible".

Associate Justice Mossop said the driver ought to have been aware of the possibility of a pedestrian as he made the turn onto Jandamarra Street.

The court heard the pedestrian had nearly finished crossing the road when he was struck.

But the pedestrian's breach, derived from wearing earphones and his lack of awareness, made him 20 per cent responsible for the crash.

The court heard the pedestrian had a long history of medical problems before the crash.

But it found injuries to his knee, shoulder, ankle, spine, and face were linked to the collision.

He was awarded $258,177 in damages. A small portion of that was to cover loss of earnings from the Trash and Treasure markets that he had previously regularly attended.