You’re driving down the highway on just another normal day. Then suddenly someone hits your car. Before you even know what’s happening, they’ve left the scene, leaving you with property damage and possible physical injuries.
While finding the at-fault driver complicates things, you can sue for a hit-and-run. It may also be possible to obtain compensation through your own insurance or pursue civil action after identifying the at-fault driver.
A hit-and-run lawyer in California at Henderson Law can help you understand your options and guide you through the process of pursuing compensation.
What Legal Rights Do You Have After a Hit-and-Run?
Your best path to compensation often begins with your own insurance company. Under California’s Insurance Code, uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage may apply to hit-and-run accidents. In practical terms, this means California treats an unknown driver as an uninsured driver. This may enable you to file a claim even if the police never identify the person who hit you.
To preserve your legal rights and protect your insurance claim, you or someone on your behalf (like a family member) must report the accident to the local police department within 24 hours. You must also file a claim with your insurance company within 30 days of the accident. Failing to take these steps could limit your ability to get compensation. Time is of the essence.
How Do You File a Hit-and-Run Insurance Claim?
Once you’ve reported the accident, tell your insurance company about the crash. This begins your hit-and-run insurance claim. However, there is more work to do beyond merely filing your claim. You need to take action to maximize your chances of success.
This begins at the scene of the accident. Act quickly to preserve evidence. Photograph the roadway and the damage to your vehicle. Get names and phone numbers from any witnesses. Record the weather conditions, temperature, and any other details that stand out to you. It’s important to act quickly, because camera records and memories can disappear faster than you may expect. Also, do the following:
- Write down everything you remember about the other car, including the color, make, model, and any part of the license plate number;
- Get the police report number from the officer on the scene, if one arrives; and
- Give your insurer a written statement describing what happened.
Demonstrating physical contact between the cars is generally required for an uninsured motorist bodily injury claim involving an unidentified driver. In most cases, this will be easy to do. However, if there was minimal contact, your insurer may question your version of events. You can head this off by providing witness statements and camera evidence that support your version of events.
Can You Sue a Hit-and-Run Driver?
Yes, you can sue a hit-and-run driver. However, someone has to find that driver before you can recover damages from them. A lawsuit requires a person to sue. You also need to find that person to serve them with notice of the lawsuit. This can become a serious problem, though, since many hit-and-run drivers are never identified.
Fortunately, California offers a workaround. You can file your lawsuit against a “Doe defendant” if you do not know the driver’s identity when you file. This means you can start your case by suing someone under a fictitious name, such as “John Doe,” while investigators search for the driver.
You may feel the temptation to delay filing a lawsuit if you don’t know the other driver’s name yet. However, this isn’t a good idea. California law generally requires you to file a personal injury lawsuit within two years of the accident. A lawsuit seeking only property damages generally has a three-year deadline. If you file after the applicable deadline, you may lose the right to recover through that lawsuit.
What Happens If You Hit and Run a Car?
The consequences can be severe if you hit a car and flee the scene. Under California law, leaving the scene of a car accident that causes only property damage can result in up to six months in jail and a fine. The criminal penalties can be much higher if the accident leads to injuries. Depending on the severity of the injuries, leaving the scene can result in imprisonment, including up to four years in state prison if the accident caused death or permanent, serious injury. You also may have to pay up to $10,000 in fines. Other penalties can follow. A conviction can also affect your driving record and license.
The victim may also seek restitution from you because of the damages you caused. Specifically, they can sue you for things like their medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering. Furthermore, your insurance company may deny any claim you submit, because fleeing the scene is almost always a violation of your auto insurance policy.
For all these reasons, don’t leave the scene of the accident. If you do, go back as soon as possible, exchange information with the other drivers, and report the accident. Returning does not erase the violation, but it allows you to fulfill any remaining legal duties at the scene.
Why Hire a Hit-and-Run Lawyer in California?
Hit-and-run cases are complex. For one, you need significant help finding the other driver. This means you’ll have to oversee a thorough investigation. You’ll also face strict filing deadlines, tricky insurance rules, and potentially insurance disputes. Having a hit-and-run lawyer in California makes it easier to navigate all these variables.
Insurance companies often lowball hit-and-run claims. They know the missing driver makes your case harder to prove. A lawyer can push back and demand fair value for your claim.
At Henderson Law, we have spent more than 30 years standing up for injured clients and their families. During that time, we have helped them recover tens of millions of dollars. Michael Henderson is a seasoned trial lawyer who focuses his practice on personal injury and wrongful death cases. He has twice been honored as a member of the National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Injury Trial Lawyers. He has ample experience with car crashes, motorcycle accidents, and other injury claims, and he knows how to take a case to court when insurers refuse to be reasonable.
Don’t wait to get help if a hit-and-run driver has injured you or damaged your property. Call us today to schedule your consultation.