According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, a hit-and-run accident, in which at least one driver flees the scene before police arrive, occurs approximately every 43 seconds in the United States. More than 2,000 fatalities were caused in 2015 by hit-and-run drivers. Hit-and-run accidents do not only affect motorists; many pedestrians and bicyclists are also victims of these crashes.
There is a pervasive myth that you cannot collect any damages if you were hit by a hit-and-run driver.
This is untrue, but the persistence of this belief probably costs drivers millions of dollars every year. The fact is that even if the driver is not caught, you can, in many cases, collect from your own insurance company or that of a third party, who will then take the responsibility of finding and seeking compensation from the hit-and-run driver.
The reason that many people believe that you cannot collect in these accidents probably stems from the idea that the driver who caused the accident would not have left the scene if he or she had insurance, a license, or both. While this is certainly the case in some situations, it is not always true. Furthermore, your uninsured motorist coverage should pay at least a portion of your damages even without compensation from the disappearing driver.
