After a car accident, you should stop, check if anyone is injured, provide aid if needed, and exchange insurance information with the other driver. You are required by law to report the accident to the authorities if anyone is injured or killed or there is more than $500 in property damage.
Because it is difficult to price property damage on your own, you should report the accident if there is any visible damage. More than one person has been shocked at how much it costs to repair minor body damage.
But what if you’re in an accident and the other driver doesn’t stop? Ideally, you would write down the other car’s license plate number and description and relay that information to the police.
Unfortunately, car accidents frequently don’t result in ideal situations. They happen quickly—the collision may be over, and the other driver will pull away in only a few seconds.
Sometimes, you may not look at the license plate well before the other car is gone. If so, you should still call 911 to report the accident, get medical help if needed, and give the police any description you have of the vehicle that hit you.
Now, what are you going to do about your accident-related expenses? You may have medical bills, lost income, and other damages you would typically expect the at-fault driver’s insurance company to pay.
How can you recover compensation for these losses?
Get Help From a Dekalb County Hit and Run Accident Attorney Today
An experienced hit-and-run lawyer will search for any possible way to recover your damages. We know how unfair it is when someone else causes an accident and then leaves you to deal with the consequences, and we don’t think you should have to pay for it.
Here are some of the options we will explore:
Using Your Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage
This is usually the best option for recovering damages after a hit-and-run collision. If the driver can’t be located quickly, your insurance company should consider them “uninsured” and pay your claim.
In the event that the hit-and-run driver is later identified, the insurance company has a process called subrogation that allows them to recover their costs from the driver’s insurance company. You should not have to pay it back.
Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, or UM/UI, typically covers two categories: Bodily injury and property damage (the same two categories covered by liability insurance). These start at $25,000 per person for bodily injury or $50,000 per accident and another $25,000 for property damage, the same as liability insurance minimum requirements.
In other words, your UM/UI coverage should provide at least the minimum coverage that another driver’s liability insurance is supposed to cover. You can buy more significant amounts of UM/UI coverage, and we recommend doing so if it fits your budget.
Unfortunately, it’s possible to have more than $25,000 in medical bills from an accident, and if you own a higher-priced car, you may also have more property damage. Whatever amount of coverage you have, your UM/UI policy will pay up to that amount and no more.
What if a Hit and Run Driver Hits a Pedestrian or Bicyclist?
The good news is that your UM/UI coverage can still be used in this situation, even though you were not driving your car. As long as you have UM/UI coverage on your auto policy, you can make a claim for car accident injuries you received while walking or riding a bike.
Why Does the Insurance Company Say I’m Not Covered?
There may be several reasons for this, and we recommend speaking with a lawyer who can determine the insurance company’s reasoning. Sometimes, we find that the insurance adjuster has unfairly rejected a claim they should cover, or they may believe you were at fault instead of the hit-and-run driver.
In these situations, we will obtain additional evidence and resubmit the claim.
In other cases, the issue may be that you don’t have UM/UI coverage, which is recommended but not legally required in the state of Georgia. If this is the issue, we will explore other options, but sometimes, UM/UI is the only way to recover your damages, making this coverage crucial.
People frequently ask if their liability insurance will cover their injuries and car repairs. The answer is no—liability insurance only covers liability to others if you cause an accident; it doesn’t pay for your own losses.
Medical Payments may cover your losses – an optional policy that pays for medical bills in an accident regardless of fault – or Collision, which provides similar payments for car repairs. You don’t have to prove another party was at fault to use these options.
If you don’t have these policies, and an uninsured or unidentified driver caused the accident, you can use UM/UI coverage, but you may need to show the hit-and-run driver was at fault. Your lawyer can help you provide the insurance company with evidence to support your claim.
What Are the Options if You Don’t Have UM/UI Coverage?
We will review the police report and have our investigative team attempt to find the hit-and-run driver. Our investigators will visit the crash site, canvas the neighborhood, and talk to people who live or work nearby.
Sometimes, we may find a new witness, or an existing witness might remember something they didn’t mention when interviewed after the accident.
We also try to speak with the owners of nearby buildings with doorbell cameras or security cameras in case the accident was captured on video. These videos are frequently erased on a regular basis, so please call us as soon as you can after your accident.
Finding photo or video evidence is often vital to finding the missing driver.
If we find additional information that may help identify the driver, we turn it over to the police. Ideally, they will locate the hit-and-run driver and file charges for leaving the scene of an accident.
The driver may be charged with a felony or misdemeanor, depending on their driving history and the severity of the accident.
Although we will do everything we can to identify the hit-and-run driver, there are some cases where we simply can’t find enough evidence to do so. If you don’t have UM/UI coverage, there are usually no other opportunities for pursuing compensation.
In rare cases, we may be able to file a claim against a third party, but this is not an option in most situations. If any resources are available that may help with some of your expenses, we’ll recommend them.
What Should You Do After a Hit and Run Accident?
Pull over as soon as you can safely, and, if possible, try to get the license plate number or a good description of the car that hit you. Make a note of its direction and call 911 to report the accident.
The sooner you report your accident, the easier it will be for police to find the other vehicle.
Be sure to get medical attention for any injuries, even if they don’t seem significant. You may be distracted by the situation, or the rush of adrenaline from a scary experience might suppress your pain temporarily.
Many people might initially feel fine after an accident, but injuries may worsen after a few hours or days.
Seeing a healthcare provider allows you to create a record of your injuries in case they don’t go away on their own or you feel worse later. Additionally, the provider can screen you for more severe injuries that require intervention.
After you’ve obtained medical care, please seek legal advice from an experienced hit-and-run attorney.
How Can You Get More Information From a Dekalb County Hit and Run Accident Law Firm?
If a hit-and-run driver has injured you or a loved one, please contact the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm for a free, no-obligation consultation. We know how frustrating these cases can be, and we’ll do everything we can to help.
Our legal team will review the police report, answer your questions, and explain the options in your situation. If we take your case, you won’t owe us anything until we win or settle it because we don’t want you to worry about upfront fees.
Attorney Ali Awad, a leading personal injury lawyer in Dekalb County, founded the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm only a few short years ago and has since turned it into one of the fastest-growing law firms in the country. He and his legal team have over twenty years of combined experience and have recovered millions of dollars in compensation for injured people and their families.
When he’s not negotiating with insurance companies or arguing a case in court, he delivers no-nonsense legal advice for more than a million followers on social media. Work with the CEO Lawyer today by calling (470) 323-8779.
