Hit-and-Run Injury Claims

What Californians Need to Know About Hit-and-Run Compensation

• Hit-and-run victims may still seek compensation even when the fleeing driver is never identified.
• Pursuing a California uninsured motorist claim under your own insurance can provide a path to securing damages.
• Contacting an experienced OakTree Law injury attorney as soon as possible can help you protect your claim, navigate insurance issues, and file a successful hit-and-run accident lawsuit when other compensation avenues are exhausted.

Being in a car accident can leave you dealing with serious injuries, mounting medical costs, and expensive vehicle repairs. You may experience significant pain and suffering, and your income can be greatly reduced if you miss work.

If your accident was a hit-and-run, the consequences can be even worse, leaving you wondering how to recover compensation when the person who caused the wreck disappeared.

In many cases, you still have options, especially if you carry uninsured motorist (UM) coverage on your own insurance policy. Here’s what you need to know about navigating a hit-and-run injury claim in California.

What Is a Hit-and-Run?

California hit-and-run laws include clear language about drivers’ obligations in the event of an injury accident. Any driver involved in a collision “shall immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident.” They must offer reasonable assistance and provide identifying details.

Fleeing the scene of an accident before fulfilling those obligations is commonly referred to as a hit-and-run.

It’s important to note that accident lawsuits involving hit-and-run actions still require establishing fault. It is not automatically presumed that the fleeing driver caused the collision. That adds to why California hit-and-run injury claims are often more complex to pursue.

Can You Receive Hit-and-Run Compensation?

In California, if you can identify the driver who left the scene, you can potentially make a claim against that driver’s insurance or file a hit-and-run accident lawsuit. This holds even if you are partially at fault for the accident. Identifying the at-fault driver helps establish each party’s share of liability, regardless of whether the other driver initially fled the scene.

When the Driver Is Never Identified

If the driver never comes forward or isn’t found during the accident investigation, you still have options to pursue a hit-and-run injury claim. One avenue available to California drivers is filing an uninsured motorist claim.

Uninsured Motorist Coverage & Hit-and-Run Accidents

Uninsured and underinsured motorist (UM) coverage protects you when an at-fault driver has no liability insurance or doesn’t carry enough insurance to cover your losses. Insurers that operate in the state are required to offer this coverage on all driver policies, although you can choose not to carry it.

The Benefits of UM Insurance

Needless to say, having UM coverage on your California policy can be critical to your successful pursuit of a hit-and-run injury claim.

• When applicable requirements are met, an unidentified driver can qualify as an uninsured motorist.
• Rather than recovering damages from the other driver’s liability insurer, you make a claim through your own insurer.
• Depending on your uninsured motorist claim and your California policy’s limits, you may be compensated for damages including medical expenses, lost income, and pain and suffering.

The Importance of Reporting and Documenting Evidence

The steps you take in the aftermath of a hit-and-run can greatly impact your California injury claim. Your actions may help identify the fleeing driver and can clarify details to support fair compensation.

Hit-and-Run Reporting

Filing a hit-and-run police report is imperative. Call law enforcement from the scene and provide everything you remember about the vehicle and the driver, such as:

• A full or partial plate number
• The make, model, and color of the vehicle
• Any distinctive features of the vehicle or damage you noted
• A description of the driver
• The direction the vehicle traveled

 You should also promptly notify your insurer so as not to jeopardize the insurance claim process. However, as noted in our Personal Injury Action Plan, DO NOT give a recorded statement to your insurance company before speaking with an attorney. What you say to your California insurer could later be used to challenge your hit-and-run injury claim.

Preserving Evidence

Even if law enforcement is documenting the scene, take your own photographs of:

• Vehicle damage and nearby property damage
• Injuries
• Debris
• Skid marks
• The surrounding scene

Collect witness statements and contact information, and note any nearby cameras that might have surveillance footage of the collision. Documentation can provide critical evidence if you pursue a hit-and-run accident lawsuit.

Pro Tip: Act quickly to protect your California hit-and-run injury claim. Evidence can disappear, video may be recorded over, and witnesses may be hard to pin down if you delay.

After the Accident

Until your claim is settled, you’ll need to preserve medical bills, repair estimates, receipts, wage records, and other documentation of your losses. Keep detailed accounts of any delayed symptoms or other aftereffects of your collision.

When to Contact an Attorney

Securing fair compensation following a hit-and-run in California requires navigating complexities that aren’t part of a standard California injury accident claim. A skilled hit-and-run attorney can help you determine if you have a path to pursuing injury compensation and fight for full and fair damages on your behalf. An experienced attorney will:

• Handle communications and negotiations with insurance companies.
• Obtain available evidence and locate witnesses.
• Investigate to try to identify the hit-and-run driver.
• Review all potentially applicable insurance policies.
• Identify other liable parties or potential sources for covering losses.
• Challenge denied or undervalued uninsured motorist claims (via California courts if necessary).

Connect With OakTree Law Today

If you’ve been hurt in a hit-and-run collision and have questions about filing an injury claim, OakTree Law’s top Southern California car accident attorneys are here to help. We have secured over $500 million in relief for our clients, and you never pay a fee until we win your claim.

Schedule your FREE case evaluation now, and get trusted guidance following your hit-and-run accident.