What to Do When You’re a Victim of a Hit-and-Run Accident

Car accidents are one of the scariest things that can happen to you while driving. Your safety is at risk and you can rarely see them coming! 

Unfortunately, car accidents are extremely common. There are more than 6 million car accidents in the United States each year.

Even if you’re an excellent driver, you can’t control the behavior or habits of other drivers. One thing that can make an accident even worse is if it’s a hit-and-run. 

A car accident is stressful enough as it is, but when the other driver flees the scene and leaves you alone to handle the aftermath, you might feel completely overwhelmed.

If the other driver isn’t caught, it can be incredibly difficult to recoup your losses and your insurance might not be able to cover it.

Let’s analyze what you should do if you’re the unlucky victim of a hit-and-run accident.

What Classifies As a Hit-and-Run?

First, it’s important to understand what classifies as a hit-and-run accident.

Anytime there is an accident, whether there is another driver or not, leaving the scene creates a hit-and-run scenario.

Say your car is parked in a parking lot. If someone hits your car and drives away without at least leaving a note with contact information, then it’s a hit-and-run. 

What’s more common is getting into a moving accident with another driver. If either one of you immediately drives away, then that is also a hit-and-run.

Remain Calm and Stay Put

The first thing you should do when a hit-and-run accident happens is to stay put.

You should never try to chase the other driver down. This can be incredibly dangerous for you and you’re likely to break traffic laws by speeding or blowing through stop signs to catch up with them.

Instead, you should stay where you are and try to calm down. Car accidents are incredibly stressful, so you’ll need some time to relax to allow yourself to act with a cool head.

Document the Accident

You must stay in place after getting hit because you’ll need to document the accident.

If you managed to notice the other driver’s license plate number, quickly write that down. Also, try to remember their vehicle make, model, color, and anything else relevant to them. 

After that, take a look at your vehicle to assess the damage. Take several photos and make sure you look all around your car to make sure you don’t miss anything.

You should also ask around to see if there were any witnesses to the accident. Witnesses can be incredibly helpful because they can give their account about what happened, furthering your credibility and potentially increasing the odds of finding the other driver. 

Once this is done, you should call the police. Even if you think the damage is minor, you’ll want a police report for when you talk to your insurance. 

Furthermore, there’s no way of catching the person who hit you without involving the police. Make sure to give them any pertinent information about the other driver and be as honest as possible.

Call Your Insurance

Once you’ve finished documenting the accident and called the police, it’s time to get in touch with your insurance.

At this point, you might not want to open a claim right away. There’s still a chance the other driver can get caught, who will then be on the hook for your repair bills and any medical costs.

The only time you’ll want to open a claim with your insurance is if the other driver is never found. This can be quite frustrating because you can lose any discounts for not filing a claim and it might impact your insurance cost.

Instead, you should just let your insurance company know about the accident so that there’s at least a documented history of it.

Understand If You’re Covered

If the other driver is never found, then you might be forced to file a claim with your insurance.

Unless you have comprehensive or collision coverage, then you won’t even be able to file a claim in the first place. This is significant because both coverages are optional.

They are also fairly costly, which is why many people don’t have it. If you can file a claim with your insurance and decide to move forward with it, then there’s a chance that they’ll drop you or raise your rates. 

This might be your only chance if you want to receive compensation for the accident. Try to wait for the other driver to be found before opening a claim with your insurance.

Closing Thoughts

Hit-and-runs are incredibly frustrating and it can be overwhelming to try and manage one when it happens.

Do your best to stay calm and make sure to stay put rather than chasing after the other driver. You’ll need to do this so that you can document the accident, including photos, looking for witnesses, and contacting the police.

Once this is done, you should call your insurance and tell them what happened. Wait to see if the other driver is found, and if they aren’t, you should then decide if you want to file a claim with your insurance.

If you’re able to identify the other driver’s license plate and car, then there’s a much better chance that they will be caught. This can be hard to do during the shock felt in the aftermath of an accident, but try your best so you’ll have the greatest chance of not footing the bill yourself!