Hit-and-run pedestrian accidents compound the trauma of injury with the frustration of an unidentified driver. Despite these challenges, recovery options exist through your own insurance coverage, investigation resources, and legal strategies. Understanding these options helps victims pursue compensation.
Immediate Steps After Hit-and-Run
Call 911 immediately. Report the accident and any details about the fleeing vehicle - make, model, color, license plate (even partial), and direction of travel.
Seek medical attention promptly. Document your injuries from the accident date.
Get witness information. Bystanders may have seen details about the vehicle you missed. Their observations help identify the driver.
Finding the Hit-and-Run Driver
Police investigate hit-and-run accidents, especially those involving serious pedestrian injuries. Check traffic cameras, canvass for witnesses, and broadcast vehicle descriptions.
Surveillance footage from businesses, traffic cameras, and residential doorbells may have captured the accident or fleeing vehicle.
Social media posts and community groups may help identify vehicles with matching descriptions or damage.
Your attorney can hire private investigators to pursue leads police may not have resources to follow.
Recovery Without Finding the Driver
If the driver isn't found, your own uninsured motorist (UM) coverage provides the primary compensation source.
UM coverage treats hit-and-run drivers as uninsured motorists. Your policy pays for injuries up to coverage limits.
Pedestrians without cars may have UM coverage through household members' policies or may be covered as pedestrians under some state laws.
Uninsured Motorist Claims
UM coverage pays for medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering just like claims against at-fault drivers.
Some policies require physical contact with the hit-and-run vehicle. Debris from the vehicle or evidence of impact may satisfy this requirement.
Report the accident to your insurer promptly. Policy deadlines for hit-and-run claims must be met.
When the Driver Is Found
If investigation identifies the driver, you can pursue claims against their liability insurance.
Criminal prosecution for hit-and-run provides leverage. Drivers facing charges may be motivated to settle civil claims.
Hit-and-run convictions can support punitive damage claims for fleeing the scene.
Other Potentially Liable Parties
If the accident resulted partly from dangerous road conditions, government entities may share liability regardless of whether the driver is found.
Property owners whose inadequate lighting contributed to the accident may face claims.
If the driver was working, their employer may be identifiable even if the specific driver isn't.
Evidence Preservation
Document the scene immediately. Photograph skid marks, debris, and any evidence of the vehicle.
Preserve clothing worn during the accident. Paint transfer or fiber evidence may identify the vehicle.
Request footage preservation from nearby businesses and traffic systems immediately before deletion.
Insurance Company Challenges
Insurers may question whether a hit-and-run actually occurred. Consistent accounts and corroborating evidence counter this skepticism.
Police reports documenting the accident as a hit-and-run support claim legitimacy.
Medical records from immediately after the accident establish injury timing consistent with the reported accident.
Pedestrian UM Coverage Sources
Pedestrians may access UM coverage from multiple sources:
Your own auto policy if you own a car, even though you weren't driving when struck.
Household members' policies may extend coverage to family pedestrians.
State programs in some jurisdictions provide coverage for pedestrians hit by uninsured drivers.
Statute of Limitations
Standard limitations for personal injury claims apply to hit-and-run cases. Don't wait for the driver to be found before consulting an attorney.
Claims against your own UM coverage may have separate policy deadlines requiring prompt action.
Maximizing Hit-and-Run Recovery
Report immediately to police and insurers. Prompt reporting supports claim credibility.
Pursue all leads that might identify the driver. Even finding the driver years later allows claims against their insurance.
Work with attorneys experienced in hit-and-run claims who can navigate UM coverage and investigation challenges.