What to Do if You’re the Victim of a Hit and Run Accident

Being involved in an accident is a bad enough scenario. It can quickly turn into a nightmare if the person who causes an accident flees the scene. Fortunately, you’re not left without options if you’ve been the victim of a hit and run. Here are the steps you should take, from the moment the collision occurs and you are safely to the side of the road.

• Call 911: Call 911 and report the accident, as well as any injuries you or any of your passengers (if you’re in a vehicle) have sustained. The police will come to the site as usual and take statements from you and anyone else who witnessed the accident. This is particularly important for when a driver has left the scene, because you need to get the police as accurate a description of the vehicle as possible. Based on the damage to your vehicle and your description of the accident, you can also determine the kind of damage the vehicle would have had. Other information, such as license plate numbers and descriptions of the driver themselves, can also be crucial.
• Call a lawyer: You’re going to want a personal injury attorney to represent you in just about any kind of accident in which you’ve been injured, but especially in a hit and run, because you may find it a bit more challenging to get insurance companies to play ball in this kind of accident scenario.
• Contact your insurer: You’ll need to inform your insurance company of the accident. If the other driver can’t be found, your claim will need to be made on your uninsured motorist coverage so you’ll be able to pay for the damage to the vehicle and your medical bills. If you’ve already retained an attorney, you can let your attorney do the negotiating in terms of settlement figures.

For more information about the steps you should take if you’ve been injured by a driver who fled the scene of the accident, contact an experienced personal injury lawyer at Jakubowski, Robertson, Maffei, Goldsmith & Tartaglia LLP.