What to Do After a Hit-and-Run Accident

Topics > Visitor Slip and Fall Accidents

A hit-and-run accident is a shocking and violating experience. One moment you are driving normally, and the next, another driver has caused a crash and fled the scene. The immediate aftermath is chaotic, but your actions in these first minutes and hours are critical for your safety, your legal rights, and your potential insurance claim. Staying calm and following a clear sequence of steps is your best course of action.

Your absolute first priority is safety. If your vehicle is drivable and creating a hazard, move it to the side of the road. Turn on your hazard lights. Check yourself and any passengers for injuries. Do not attempt to chase the fleeing driver; this is dangerous and could compromise any legal case. Instead, call 911 immediately. Report the accident, provide your location, and give the dispatcher every detail you can recall about the other vehicle—its color, make, model, and any part of the license plate number. Even a partial description like “a blue pickup truck” is valuable. The police will come to the scene to file an official report, which is a foundational document for everything that follows.

While you wait for the police, become an investigator. If it is safe to do so, look for any evidence left at the scene. This can include pieces of the other vehicle’s bumper, headlight glass, or paint scrapes on your car. Use your smartphone to take comprehensive photos and videos. Capture damage to your vehicle from multiple angles, the overall accident scene, skid marks, debris, and any relevant road signs or conditions. If there were any witnesses, approach them politely, get their names and contact information, and ask if they saw what happened. Witness statements can be powerful evidence, especially when the other driver is gone.

You must notify your own insurance company about the accident as soon as possible, typically within 24 hours. Be honest and factual when you describe what happened. Here is a crucial point: your own insurance policy may be your primary source of recovery in a hit-and-run. You will likely be making a claim under your “uninsured motorist” (UM) coverage, which is specifically designed for situations like this where an at-fault driver is unidentified or has no insurance. The police report and the evidence you collected will be vital for this claim. Do not assume the hit-and-run driver will be found; proceed as if they will not.

Finally, monitor your health closely. Adrenaline can mask injury symptoms. In the days following the accident, be alert for pain, stiffness, headaches, or dizziness, and seek medical attention promptly. This documents your injuries medically, which is important for both your health and any insurance claim. A hit-and-run is stressful, but by taking these direct, no-nonsense steps—prioritizing safety, calling police, gathering evidence, notifying your insurer, and watching your health—you protect yourself and build the strongest possible position to recover your losses.

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FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

How should I approach a witness to ask for their information?

Be calm, polite, and direct. Identify yourself and state your reason simply: “Hi, my name is [Your Name]. I was involved in this incident and may need to provide an account of what happened. Would you be willing to share your name and phone number in case I need to have someone contact you about what you saw?“ Most people are willing to help. Do not argue or pressure them if they refuse.

At a bare minimum, you must get their full legal name and a current phone number. An email address and physical address are highly valuable additions. If possible, also note their connection to the event (e.g., “was walking dog,“ “driver of blue car”). This core set of details allows an investigator or attorney to follow up for a full, formal statement while the event is still fresh in the witness’s mind.

To succeed, you generally must prove four key elements: Duty (the defendant owed you a responsibility), Breach (they failed in that duty through action or inaction), Causation (their breach directly caused your injury), and Damages (you suffered quantifiable losses). Evidence is critical—this includes photos, witness statements, official reports, medical records, and repair invoices. The strength of this evidence directly impacts the likelihood of a successful settlement or court verdict in your favor.

This common defense is often irrelevant. Many states have “strict liability” laws where the owner is responsible for a bite even if the dog had no prior vicious history. In other states, you can still prove the owner was negligent—for example, by violating a leash law or failing to control their pet in a situation where any reasonable owner would have. The focus is on the owner’s duty of care at the time of the incident, not solely the dog’s past.