Getting a Recovery from a Hit and Run Auto Accident

If you are the victim of a hit and run automobile accident, do not despair.  You can secure a recovery for your injuries even though the owner and operator are unidentified.

In the so-called hit and run accident, the vehicle causing the accident flees the scene and is unidentified.  New York provides protection to victims of hit and run accidents as long as certain steps are taken.

The first step is to make sure that you have a police report within 24 hours.  The law requires that the accident be reported to the police within 24 hours.  The easiest way of proving this is calling the police to the scene and insisting that a report be made.  If there is no report to the police within 24 hours, then there can be no case.

The next step is to determine insurance coverage.

If the injured person has an auto insurance policy covering him as either a named insured or member of an insured household, then the injured person will look to his own insurance.  Every insurance policy issued in New York must carry uninsured motorist coverage.   That protects an insured and members of his household if they are injured by a hit and run vehicle.

If the injured person neither owns a car nor lives within a household with a motor vehicle, then the injured person may turn to a state created insurance company, Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation.  MVAIC is the insurer of last resort when the injured person has no other insurance.

The key to obtaining a successful uninsured recovery is to see a lawyer as soon as possible after the accident.