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Hit and Run Accident Help:
Your Rights and How to Get Help

When the driver who hit you takes off, it feels like there is no one to hold responsible. In many cases there still is a path to compensation, usually through your own uninsured motorist coverage, even though the other driver was never found. This guide covers who pays after a hit and run, what to do right away, and how to reach an attorney who handles these cases. Easy Accident Help is free to use and is not a law firm.

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Overview

What a Hit and Run Accident Claim Involves

A hit and run claim is different from a normal accident claim for one reason: the driver who caused it is gone. That removes the obvious person to claim against, so the case usually turns to your own insurance instead. Uninsured motorist coverage, which many drivers carry without realizing it, is built for exactly this situation and can pay for your injuries as if the missing driver’s insurance were covering them. The two things that decide these cases are whether that coverage applies to you and how quickly you report, because insurers set tight deadlines for hit and run claims.

  • Medical records
  • Evidence and fault
  • Filing deadline
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What a hit and run accident claim involves

Crash happens and the driver flees

You report it fast

Coverage is identified, often your own UM

Insurers review

Settlement, or a claim against the driver if they are found

Worth knowing

You do not have to work out your coverage today. A free review tells you whether you have a path to a claim and which policy applies, and talking to an attorney does not commit you to hiring one. With a hit and run, reporting quickly protects your claim, so reaching out early helps.

Scenarios

What Counts as a Hit and Run Accident Claim

A hit and run is any crash where the at-fault driver leaves without sharing their details. These are the ones that come up most.

A driver hit you and drove off

The classic case. Another driver caused the crash and fled before you could get their information.

Your parked car was hit

You came back to damage and no note. If it caused injury, or if there is camera footage, there may still be a claim.

A pedestrian or cyclist was struck

Hit and runs are sadly common for people on foot or on a bike. A path to a claim may still exist through auto coverage.

A phantom vehicle ran you off the road

A car that forced you to crash without ever touching you. Some states allow these claims but may ask for independent proof, like a witness.

A passenger was hurt

If you were a passenger when a driver fled, you may have a claim through the vehicle's coverage or your own.

Even with no other driver to point to, a hit and run is rarely a dead end. The question is usually which coverage applies, not whether anyone pays at all.

Common Hit and Run Accident Injuries

Injuries

Common Hit and Run Accident Injuries

A hit and run causes the same injuries as any crash, and they are often worse because the victim is a pedestrian, cyclist or stopped vehicle. Get checked even if you feel okay.

Whiplash and soft tissue injuries

Neck and back strain from the impact, often worse a day or two later than at the scene.

Concussion and head injuries

A strike against the window, the ground or another surface can cause a concussion even without an obvious blow.

Spinal and back injuries

Herniated discs and nerve pain that can need long-term treatment.

Broken bones

Common for anyone hit while on foot, on a bike, or in a stopped vehicle.

Internal injuries

Bleeding and organ damage that can be hard to spot and dangerous to leave unchecked.

Emotional distress

Being hit and then left can leave real anxiety and distress, which can form part of a claim.

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Liability

Who Pays After a Hit and Run

With no at-fault driver to claim against, the money usually comes from your own coverage. Here is how it works.

Uninsured motorist coverage

This is the main path. UM coverage is designed to step in when the at-fault driver has no insurance or cannot be found, and it can pay for your injuries as though the missing driver were insured. Many drivers carry it without realizing.

Other coverage on your policy

Depending on your policy and your state, medical payments coverage, personal injury protection or collision coverage may also apply to your bills or your vehicle.

If you were a pedestrian or cyclist

You may still be covered. Your own auto policy's uninsured motorist coverage can reach you even when you were not in a car, and some states have a fund for victims with no policy of their own.

If the driver is later found

Police sometimes track down a fleeing driver through cameras, witnesses or plate fragments. If they do, your claim can shift to that driver and their insurance.

Report It Fast or You Can Lose the Claim

Hit and run claims come with tight deadlines. Many policies require you to report the crash to the police and to your insurer quickly, sometimes within 24 hours, or they can refuse an uninsured motorist claim. This is one of the biggest reasons people lose an otherwise valid claim, so do not wait.

 

Compensation

Hit and Run Accident Compensation: What You Can Claim

What you can claim through uninsured motorist coverage is often similar to what you could claim from an at-fault driver, up to your policy limits. It depends on your injuries, your state and your coverage.

Medical bills, now and later

Emergency care, imaging, physical therapy and the cost of treatment a doctor says you will still need.

Lost wages and lost earning capacity

Time off while you recover, plus the longer term hit if you cannot go back to the same work.

Pain and suffering

The physical pain and the effect on daily life, calculated differently from state to state.

Long-term and in-home care

For permanent injuries, the cost of ongoing care and home adjustments.

Property damage

Repair or replacement of your vehicle, usually through collision or uninsured motorist property coverage depending on your policy.

Wrongful death costs

If you lost a family member, funeral and burial costs plus the loss of the income and support they provided.

Your recovery is usually capped by your own policy limits in a hit and run, which is one reason it helps to know what coverage you actually have. No page can tell you what your claim is worth before seeing the details.

First steps

What to Do After a Hit and Run Accident

After a hit and run the first steps matter more than usual, because reporting quickly is often what keeps your claim alive.

Call the police right away

A hit and run is a crime, and a police report is almost always required before your insurer will pay an uninsured motorist claim. Report it as soon as you safely can.

Write down everything about the vehicle

Make, model, color, any part of the plate, damage, direction it went, and anything about the driver. Even small details can help identify them.

Look for witnesses and cameras

Anyone who saw it, and any nearby doorbell, traffic or business cameras. Footage is often what finds a fleeing driver.

Photograph the scene and the damage

Your vehicle, where it happened, debris left behind and your injuries as they develop.

Get medical help

Some injuries show up later, and prompt records tie them to the crash and support your claim.

Report it to your own insurer quickly

Tell your insurer it was a hit and run as soon as possible, because uninsured motorist claims have tight notice deadlines.

Go slow with the claim itself

Your own insurer handles a hit and run claim, and their interests are not the same as yours. Many people talk to an attorney before giving a recorded statement.

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Speak With an Attorney About Your Hit and Run Accident

Find out in about two minutes whether you qualify to be matched with an attorney in your state who handles hit and run cases. It is free, there is no obligation and you only pay if they win.
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How Easy Accident Help works

How it works

How Easy Accident Help Works

Easy Accident Help is a free service that matches people hurt in hit and run accidents with independent personal injury attorneys. You answer a few quick questions, we look for an attorney licensed in your state whose practice covers these cases, then we pass your details to them and they reach out. We are not a law firm and we do not give legal advice. The attorney you talk to does, and you decide whether to hire them.

To be clear

Easy Accident Help is not a law firm and not a lawyer referral service. We do not give legal advice and we do not represent you. Any attorney-client relationship is between you and the attorney we connect you with.

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Coverage

Find Hit and Run Accident Help by State

We connect people with hit and run accident attorneys across the country. Start with your state below.

Popular cities for car accident help

Houston
Los Angeles
San Diego
Dallas
Phoenix
San Antonio

We help with hit and run accidents everywhere, not only in the cities listed here.

Arizona
California
Texas
North Carolina
New York

Coverage

Find Hit and Run Accident Help by State

We connect people with hit and run accident attorneys across the country. Start with your state below.

Popular cities for car accident help

Houston
Los Angeles
San Diego
Dallas
Phoenix
San Antonio
Phoenix

We help with hit and run accidents everywhere, not only in the cities listed here.

Arizona
California
Texas
North Carolina
New York

Coverage

Find Hit and Run Accident Help by State

We connect people with hit and run accident attorneys across the country. Start with your state below.

Popular cities for car accident help

Houston
Los Angeles
San Diego
Dallas
Phoenix
San Antonio

We help with hit and run accidents everywhere, not only in the cities listed here.

Arizona
California
Texas
North Carolina
New York

Common questions

Common Hit and Run Accident Questions

Can I get compensation if the driver fled?

Often yes. Even when the driver is never found, your own uninsured motorist coverage is designed to step in and can pay for your injuries as if the missing driver had insurance. Whether it applies depends on your policy and your state.
It usually does if you carry uninsured motorist coverage, and many drivers have it. Medical payments or collision coverage may also help. The key is to report it quickly, because these claims have tight deadlines.
You may still have options, especially if you were a pedestrian or cyclist, since some states have a fund for victims with no policy. An attorney can tell you what applies in your state.
Call the police right away, write down everything you can about the vehicle, look for witnesses and cameras, photograph the scene, get medical care, and report it to your own insurer quickly.
If the police identify the driver, your claim can shift to that driver and their insurance, and you may be able to recover more than your own policy limits would allow.
No. We are a free service that matches people with independent personal injury attorneys. We do not give legal advice. The attorney you are matched with does.
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