What Do I Do After a Hit and Run Accident?

What Do I Do After a Hit and Run Accident?

Getting medical treatment, ensuring that authorities know about your accident, and hiring a lawyer should be priorities after a hit-and-run accident. An attorney will work with law enforcement officials to identify the hit-and-run motorist and determine your options for seeking compensation whether or not they track the motorist down.

If you have injuries after a hit-and-run accident, your lawyer will encourage you to focus on your recovery. You can do just that by letting a car accident attorney handle your claim or lawsuit.

After a Hit and Run Accident Guide

There are multiple reasons to get thorough medical care after a hit-and-run accident, including:

Medical Care Protects Your Health

Your health and safety are most important after a hit-and-run accident. You may not feel injured after an accident or believe injuries are relatively minor. However, as Mayo Clinic explains, symptoms of injuries like whiplash may take time to appear. Furthermore, you may be in shock or simply unaware of serious injury symptoms.

By going to a doctor who can image, diagnose, and treat your injuries, you:

• May receive clear, certain diagnoses for all of your accident-related injuries
• Ensure you’re receiving appropriate treatment for accident-related injuries
• Rest easy knowing that you do not have undiagnosed injuries

Your attorney will seek full reimbursement for all post-accident medical care. Your health is most important, so get any treatment you feel is necessary.

Medical Images and Diagnoses Document Accident-Related Injuries

Treatment for your injuries is critical to your health. Documentation of your injuries is critical to your insurance claim or lawsuit. By obtaining images of injuries, documentation of doctors’ diagnoses, and bills for all accident-related care, you are building your case for financial recovery.

Getting Medical Attention Quickly Benefits Your Case for Compensation

Insurance companies and civil defense attorneys will use any available reason to avoid paying the compensation you deserve.

If you do not receive comprehensive medical care immediately (or as soon as possible) after your accident, these parties may claim that:

• Your injuries are not as serious as you claim: If the injuries were serious, an insurer may claim you should have received medical attention sooner after your accident.
• Your injuries are not accident-related: If you wait to get medical attention after your accident, an insurer or civil defense lawyer may claim that your injury might have happened after your accident, not during your accident. The longer you wait to get medical attention after your accident, the more grounds these parties have to speculate that your injuries are not accident-related.

If you get images of your injuries and a clear diagnosis shortly after your accident, you may neutralize these claims before liable parties can make them.

Why Hire a Lawyer After a Hit-and-Run Accident?

You should not wait to hire a lawyer after a hit-and-run accident. While you want to be certain of a law firm’s credentials before hiring the firm, you should not delay unnecessarily before hiring a personal injury attorney.

Hit-and-run accident lawyers often face filing deadlines for both insurance claims and personal injury lawsuits.

If you wait to hire an attorney, you may:

• Prevent your lawyer from securing valuable, time-sensitive evidence like video footage and witness accounts of the accident
• Miss the deadline for reporting injuries after a motor vehicle accident
• Miss the deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit 

Lawyers provide client-specific advice. When you hire a lawyer, they may bring your attention to case-related considerations that you are not aware of. The sooner you hire an attorney, the sooner they can protect and advise you, and the sooner they can file your claim or lawsuit.

How a Personal Injury Lawyer Will Help After Your Hit-and-Run Accident

A personal injury lawyer will provide essential services after a hit-and-run accident, including:

Collaborating With Law Enforcement to Identify the At-Fault Driver

Your attorney will monitor the investigation into who the hit-and-run driver is. As your lawyer investigates your accident, they may provide information to law enforcement, and vice versa.

If law enforcement or your attorney identifies the at-fault driver, you can sue the driver for the damages they caused.

Gathering Evidence Supporting Your Claim or Lawsuit

Your lawyer will immediately begin investigating your accident, seeking information and evidence, including:

• Eyewitness accounts of the accident, which may include descriptions of the at-fault driver and their vehicle
• Video footage of the accident
• The police report for the accident, which may contain information about the hit-and-run driver
• Photographs of damage to your vehicle
• An expert’s reconstruction of the accident

Whether you pursue an insurance claim or lawsuit, such evidence can be pivotal in getting the compensation you deserve.

Reviewing Your Auto Insurance Policy

Your insurer may be responsible for some or all of your accident-related damages. The details of your insurance policy can determine whether your insurer owes you compensation, how much money it owes you, and what accident-related damages you can receive money for.

Your attorney may be specifically looking for uninsured motorist coverage, which is meant specifically for circumstances like hit-and-run accidents.

Documenting Your Accident-Related Damages

Your attorney will document every damage resulting from your accident and may do so using:

• Invoices for repairing or replacing your vehicle
• Receipts for temporary transportation expenses
• Medical bills
• Doctors’ diagnoses of your injuries, recovery timetable, and treatment prescriptions
• Mental health professionals’ testimony about the emotional and psychological effects of your accident
• Proof of lost income

If your lawyer finds any other useful documentation for your case, they will secure it.

Filing a Claim or Lawsuit

As law enforcement’s investigation unfolds, your lawyer will determine whether to pursue an insurance claim or lawsuit.

Factors that may inform this decision include:

• Whether law enforcement officers identify the at-fault motorist (who is the person you may sue for damages)
• How much coverage your insurance policy (or the at-fault motorist’s insurance policy) provides
• The cost of your damages, which your lawyer will compare against the amount of available insurance coverage
• The nature and severity of your injuries and other damages

If your damages are significant and you can sue an individual who caused those damages, your lawyer may advise you to let them file a lawsuit.

Negotiating With Insurance Companies or Civil Defense Attorneys (Depending on How Your Case Unfolds)

Your attorney will negotiate on your behalf. Depending on the strategy for your case, your lawyer may negotiate with insurance companies, civil defense attorneys for the motorist who caused your accident, or other parties.

Most people are ill-equipped to negotiate with large insurers and experienced adjusters. Lawyers regularly go head-to-head with insurers and other liable parties. Many accident victims value this negotiating experience, and this experience is a primary reason why hit-and-run accident victims hire attorneys.

Completing a Trial, if Necessary

If your attorney files a lawsuit and settlement negotiations are unsuccessful, your attorney may take your case to court.

How Does a Victim of a Hit-and-Run Accident Get Money for Their Accident-Related Damages?

Your attorney will recommend an option for seeking compensation after your accident—either:

1. An insurance claim, or,
2. A lawsuit.

If you have uninsured motorist coverage or other coverages that apply to your accident, your attorney will explore the possibility of accessing that coverage. If law enforcement officials locate the at-fault motorist or other liable parties emerge, a lawsuit may be an option.

Benefits of Filing a Lawsuit

A personal injury lawsuit offers benefits, including:

• No coverage limits: Insurance policies have coverage limits, and these limits may restrict how much compensation you can recover. If you file a lawsuit, you may face no such coverage limits.
• A wider range of recoverable damages: Auto insurance generally pays for medical bills, vehicle damage, and in some cases, other expenses like lost income. You may get compensation for a wider range of damages through a lawsuit, including non-economic damages like pain and suffering.

Your attorney will consider the unique details of your case and explain how they recommend seeking compensation. If law enforcement officials do not locate the party responsible for your accident, an insurance claim may be your only choice of action.

Recoverable Damages for a Hit-and-Run Accident Victim

Motor vehicle accidents can cause expensive damages, as well as non-economic damages that warrant a substantial financial recovery. The National Safety Council (NSC) explains that hit-and-run accident victims with serious injuries may face hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses. Of course, the value of a claim will vary from case to case.

Recoverable damages personal injury lawyers see in car accident cases include:

Medical Bills

Motor vehicle accident victims often face bills for:

• Emergency transportation from the accident scene
• Emergency medical care
• Hospitalization 
• Surgery
• Doctors’ appointments
• Medications
• Any other accident-related medical services

Your lawyer will demand that liable parties cover these damages. If you have a disabling injury, you may also need compensation for motorized mobility equipment, disability accommodations in your home, a specialized vehicle, and in-home care.

Professional Damages

Accident victims often miss work. The length of time you miss work and any chronic symptoms you experience because of your accident can determine the cost of your professional damages.

Your professional damages may include:

• Lost income
• Missed performance bonuses
• Lost progress toward promotions (or opportunities to earn promotions while you’re injured)
• Diminished earning power
• Loss of psychological benefits you receive from working

Losing your livelihood, even temporarily, can be immensely stressful and costly. Your attorney will demand that insurers or other liable parties compensate you fairly for professional damages.

Pain and Suffering

This type of economic damage is generally unique to lawsuits.

Pain and suffering can refer to:

• Lost quality of life
• Emotional and psychological distress
• Sleep problems
• Physical pain
• Diagnosed conditions like depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

In cases where hit-and-run accident victims experience debilitating injuries, pain and suffering may even include suicidal thoughts, substance abuse, and other life-threatening conditions.

Treatment for Psychological and Emotional Problems

If you experience forms of pain and suffering that may improve with treatment, your lawyer may seek compensation to cover your treatment costs. Such treatment may include counseling, therapy, medication, and other remedies that work for you.

Vehicle Repairs 

Vehicle damage is virtually guaranteed when two vehicles collide. Your lawyer will work with automotive professionals to determine the cost of repairing your vehicle. If your vehicle suffered total damage, your attorney will seek money to pay for a new vehicle.

Can I Afford to Hire a Lawyer for a Hit-and-Run Accident Case?

Everyone can afford to hire a hit-and-run accident lawyer, as personal injury attorneys typically offer their services on a contingency basis. That is, the attorney only receives a fee if they get a settlement or jury award for you.

This arrangement works because:

• Law firms assess the prospective client’s case, determining if the accident victim has a valid insurance claim or grounds to file a lawsuit
• If the law firm believes the prospective client deserves compensation, the law firm will accept the case
• The law firm pays for every case-related expense, including filing costs and expert fees
• The law firm either secures a settlement or verdict, or fails to get compensation for the client
• If the law firm wins, it receives the portion of the recovery the client agreed to provide
• If the law firm does not win, the client pays nothing and the law firm receives nothing

The law firm takes all the risk in this contingency-fee arrangement, so every accident victim can afford to hire a lawyer (so long as the law firm accepts their case).

Find a Personal Injury Lawyer Today

Your attorney will need to file your case by a rapidly approaching deadline, so to seek compensation, find and hire a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible.