No matter how big or small, or how much injury or damage is done, accidents are quite stressful and often exceptionally expensive. Fortunately, your car or other motor vehicle insurance helps cover the costs resulting from an accident. But what if someone hits your vehicle and then just leaves the scene? In this situation, there is no opportunity for you to collect the other driver’s insurance information. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to maximize your potential for recovering your losses if you are involved in a hit-and-run accident.
Call 911 First
Hit-and-run is a crime. That means you have just had a crime perpetrated upon you. Therefore, it’s vitally important that you call 911 so that an ambulance and the police are alerted to come to the scene after you’ve been involved in a hit-and-run accident. The ambulance personnel can help to evaluate and treat any injuries you may have sustained.
Having a law enforcement officer dispatched to the scene of the accident provides an opportunity for an accident report to be created that will be filed and can be preserved and accessed at a later date. This is extremely crucial, as the police report will contain the details of the crash required to prove your hit-and-run claim, including any evidence such as pictures and witness statements that may be used in investigating the accident.
Don’t Pass Over Getting Medical Treatment
You likely understand that vehicle accidents, including hit-and-run accidents, often result in injuries. What you may not know is that, at times, the severity of an injury or injuries is not immediately apparent. It may take hours, days, or even weeks for problems to show up.
Therefore, you are well-advised to seek medical evaluation and treatment as possible after a hit-and-run accident. Thus, you have made an effort to ensure that you have no internal injuries or any other damage that is not obvious and easily identified. Plus—and this is vitally important, as well—your medical assessment and treatment will also create a documented medical record to be used as evidence of the injuries that you sustained from the accident.
Contact Your Insurance Provider and Call an Attorney
Drivers should notify their insurance companies of any accident within a short time. Reporting the accident is mandatory, and it may help you to receive compensation from your own policy, as well. Unfortunately, if you have the minimum car insurance coverage, it will not always offer the protection to cover your needs in a hit-and-run accident.
For this reason, it may be wise to consider, at least, getting an uninsured motorist insurance policy. Such a policy might help to protect you against drivers who do not have the money or insurance to pay for the damages and injuries they caused.
Since the costs associated with a hit-and-run accident can have a significant impact on your life, seeking the counsel of a knowledgeable and experienced car accident attorney can make a substantial difference. Indeed, getting representation from a lawyer can potentially maximize the financial compensation you receive for your injuries and losses.