What To Do If You’re In A Hit And Run Car Accident

A hit-and-run car crash can be one of the most harrowing experiences you will ever have in your life. It can be damaging in a number of ways, including both physically and emotionally. There are a number of things that you should do, however, if you find yourself as the victim of such an injury. The first thing to do is to stay calm and collected and try to remember that there are certain things you should do in order to make sure that the person who caused the accident can be brought to justice and prosecuted by the long arm of the law. Throughout the course of this brief article, you will learn about 4 things that you should do if you're the victim of a hit-and-run.

Gather Information

It is best to gather as much information as you can if you're the victim of a hit-and-run. Even though you are undoubtedly stressed, gathering even the smallest amounts of information, such as the color of the car, the speed at which you thought it was traveling, and any specifics you saw about the driver of the vehicle, can help. 

If you are somehow able to get more detailed information, write it down right away so that you don't forget it. This includes its make, model and license plate number. Ask any people in the vicinity of the accident about what they saw. Make sure that, before leaving the area around your vehicle, you take photographic documents and write down what time the event happened and what time you left the vicinity of your vehicle.

Filing A Police Report

If you're the victim of a hit-and-run, you may feel compelled to go after the person that hit your vehicle in the first place. It is highly recommended that you do not do this, but instead call the police as pursuing the person who wronged you might cause another accident (one for which you might even be liable) or it might cause the person who wronged you to retaliate in some manner.

Filing a police report is a much better option than either of these scenarios. When filing a police report, you should remember that even if the authorities are not able to catch the scoundrel immediately, this report will be on file in case someone comes into custody that matches your description.

Look Into Insurance Coverage

There are certain types of insurance coverage that will adequately cover a hit-and-run. The most common type of coverage is uninsured motorist bodily injury and uninsured motorist property damage; the former will cover any medical expenses that you have incurred due to being the victim of a hit-and-run and the latter will cover any damage to your vehicle that you have incurred due to being the victim of a hit-and-run. Note that in many states, it is required that you have uninsured motorist insurance coverage, while in other states this is not the case. Consult with your trusted insurance provider.

Filing a Claim

You should also, of course, file a claim on a hit and run with the perpetrator's car insurance provider if you wind up discovering the person's identity. If the driver does not have adequate protection or coverage for this case, then it might be prudent to hire an auto accident attorney and see if you can wind up getting reimbursed for medical and property expenses through the court system. This is often a difficult task, but it's usually one of your only options available to you.

When it comes to motor accidents, hit-and-runs are very traumatizing. However, there are things you can do to ameliorate this experience and hopefully discover the perpetrator's identity. If you're looking for a lawyer to represent you in your car accident case, check out at a site like www.theluckylawfirm.com.


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