A driver may be struck by a motorist and left to sit in a crumpled SUV. It’s a terrible feeling and even a painful one, but it can get even worse when the victim is forced to watch the at-fault driver race away.
Hit-and-run victims can feel abandoned and betrayed, but fortunately, there are paths to recovery support, even when a heartless driver escapes justice.
A skilled attorney can help you investigate the accident so you have evidence ready when you file an insurance claim. Our Bakersfield car accident lawyers offer a free, no-obligation consultation for all accident victims in Kern County. It’s a chance to find out how to hold a hit-and-run driver fully accountable and, in some cases, how to seek support from your own car insurance provider.
How Can I Get Support If I’m Struck by a Hit-And-Run Driver?
After a frightening and frustrating hit-and-run accident, injured victims may wonder how they’ll be able to afford a trip to the emergency room or a stay in the hospital.
Hit-and-runs are a crime, and fortunately, victims are empowered to seek help, no matter where a criminal investigation stands.
If the at-fault driver is caught. If authorities arrest a hit-and-run suspect, victims can immediately file an accident claim with the driver’s car insurance provider. The suspect may face a criminal trial, but that has no bearing on the victim’s claim. Victims may file their claims when they are ready, even if a driver hasn’t been convicted yet. The two cases are resolved. A skilled attorney would help victims gather evidence and submit the case to an insurance company as soon as it is backed with proof.
If the hit-and-run driver gets away. In some heartbreaking cases, hit-and-run criminals are never found or identified. However, most victims will have another source of support. They can seek damages from their own car insurance provider. Most car insurance policies sold in California come with Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage. It’s included unless drivers reject it in writing. UM coverage also covers hit-and-run accidents. Victims can file a claim with their insurer and seek help with most recovery costs.
Victims’ insurance providers can try to limit the support they receive, so it can also pay for victims to have a skilled attorney represent them, even when dealing with their insurance agent.
What You Can Do After Being Hit By a Bakersfield Hit-And-Run Driver
If you are hit by a driver and then have to watch as the person at fault speeds away, it may fall to you to contact authorities and get help. The hit-and-run driver may skip calling 911, and it may be a few minutes before another motorist comes along and calls for help.
If you are able, dial 911 to get the Bakersfield PD on the way. Request an ambulance if you or anyone else is hurt. Then, if the scene is secure, and you feel up to it, you should try to collect some details at the scene. Bakersfield PD Officers or the CHP will also be collecting evidence, but they can get busy with other accidents and miss key facts.
Try to preserve these details:
- Jot Down Everything You Remember about the other vehicle. You will forget details very quickly. Try to note any part of a license plate you remember and the color, make, and model of the car. Note anything you recall about the driver’s appearance.
- Take photos. Try to get photos of the damage to your vehicle. Show where the debris ended up. Take photos of any marks left on the road surface. Show any visible injuries you come away with.
- Collect witness contact information. Ask them what they saw and take notes.
- Visit your own physician. Schedule an appointment with your own doctor in the days that follow, even if you were treated in the ER at a hospital like Adventist Health Bakersfield. This is critical to get your injuries documented and to have any new pains you wake up with the morning after an accident examined. The shock of being in a hit-and-run collision can sometimes mask pain until an injury you didn’t know you had suddenly makes itself known.
- Talk to a Lawyer. A lawyer can help you reach a better outcome, whether a hit-and-run driver is caught or not. Your lawyer can represent you to your own insurer or take on the hit-and-run suspect’s insurance provider. A lawyer also fully investigates what happened to you. That investigation may also uncover additional information that can be turned over to officers to help them track down a suspect. A lawyer files your claim and handles the frustrating battles with insurers, all while you are allowed to focus on recovery.
How a Lawyer Can Help After a Hit-And-Run Accident
If you come away from an accident with just car damage and/or only very minor injuries, you may not need a lawyer to handle your case. But if you have a serious injury, and a hit-and-run driver caused your accident, contact Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers of Bakersfield to schedule a free consultation. It’s a confidential, no-obligation review of your case with a real Bakersfield car accident attorney.
It’s a fact that the higher the medical bills go, the harder insurers make it for victims to earn support. But your full recovery is our top priority. We don’t stop fighting until you are 100% healed and have the money from a hit-and-run driver’s insurer or your own insurer to fully cover your bills.
If you end up needing our help, you don’t have to worry about how you’ll afford a great lawyer. We don’t charge anything up front, and we only get paid if we win your case for you. Then our attorney’s fee comes out of the settlement check that an insurance company writes for you.