Three Steps You Should Take to Get Paid

STEP #1

If possible, get the following information about the other vehicle and driver:

  1. License plate number and state for the other vehicle.
  2. Year, make, model, and color of the other vehicle.
  3. Physical description of the other driver, including:  gender, age, race, facial hair, glasses, tatoos (or other marks), height, and weight.
  4. Number of people in the other car.

Call the police from the scene.  If injured, tell the police you are hurt and request an ambulance.

If you have already left the scene, report the hit and run auto accident to the nearest police station as soon as possible, preferrably within 24 hours of the accident.

 STEP #2

Call your insurance company within 24 hours of the accident and file an Uninsured Motorist Claim and explain that the accident was not your fault and that another vehicle caused the accident and then fled the scene.  Give the claims adjuster at your insurance company all the information you gave the police and the police report number, if you have one.  Also, if you were hurt, be sure to tell the claims adjuster that you were injured and have had or will have medical treatment. 

BEFORE you call the insurance company or give a statement
CALL OUR OFFICE FOR A FREE CONSULTATION
about the negligence laws and your rights in a hit and run accident

If you call yourself, be careful not to say something wrong that your insurance company could use against you later.  If you retain us as your lawyers, our office will call your insurance company for you to make sure the claim is properly reported and your company opens a claim for you.

Also, if you decide to call your insurance company on your own, you should file a PIP Claim (that is, a claim for you Personal Injury Protection benefits) at the time you report the Uninsured Motorist claim.  You may also need to file a Collision Claim initially so that your insurance company will start working on your car right away, while they investigate your Uninsured Motorist Claim.  Your company has the right to investigate, and they can take 30 days or more to do so.  Once they are convinced that you were in fact hit by an uninsured motorist (the hit and run driver), then the Collision Claim can be converted into a Uninisured Motorist Property Damage Claim.

STEP #3

See a doctor right away about your accident injuries.  Proceed to get all the medical care you need.  Collect all your medical bills, medicine charges, proof of lost income and other out-of-pocket expenses that you have as a result of the accident.  Call us to discuss your case.  If you elect to hire us, we will present these items (called your Special Damages) along with a claim for your General Damages, which include your inconvenience, anxiety, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, pain and suffering, to your insurance company.  We will attempt to settle your case for top dollar compensation, pretty much like we would if we were dealing with the other driver's insurance company.  If a settlement can't be reached, however, we would bring a lawsuit against your insurance company for breach of contract (your insurance policy).

Call us any time for a FREE consultation about your rights and obligations in a hit and run accident or with any other auto accident injury questions you may have.