Have you been injured in a Hit and Run accident? By law when a vehicle accident occurs, parties involved are required to exchange insurance information. When this does not happen it can be considered a hit and run. But what happens when a person involved leaves the scene and cannot be identified or located? You still will need medical care for an injury, may suffer lost wages at your job, along with a host of other losses and damages.

Who will pay?

If the driver was fleeing and is apprehended they will be held responsible for accident as well as being charged with fleeing the scene of an accident with injuries. But who is responsible to pay if they are not apprehended?

Payment for hit-and-run injury claims will fall on your own car insurance. Uninsured motorist bodily injury and the collision portion of your insurance policy will essentially act as the at-fault (in this case, hit-and-run) driver’s liability coverage. Uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage helps pay for injuries you received caused by a hit-and-run accident, your auto policy collision coverage will cover the damages to your automobile. Under CT law, even if the hit and run driver does not make contact with your car, but his or her negligent actions causes you to have to swerve off the road to avoid a collision with their vehicle causing damages to your person and your vehicle, you can still make a claim for uninsured motorist benefits for the negligence of the hit and run driver.

It is important that you review your coverage limitation with your insurance provider and ensure you have adequate limits of insurance. Purchasing the minimum of liability, uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, and other types of coverage will come back to bite you later when you need to make a claim. So please make sure you purchase a good amount of coverage in each of these portions of your auto policy.

Hit and Run Perpetrator Caught?

If the person who caused the accident is caught they should be held responsible for the accident as well as the medical cost for injuries in addition to other loss compensation. Under CT law the hit and run driver if caught can be held liable for “double or treble damages” which means any damages awarded are doubled tripled for the defendant’s wrongful conduct if it is deemed especially egregious and reckless.

Protecting Your Rights After an Accident

Car accident victims can suffer a range of injuries, from broken bones to brain injuries and spinal cord injuries. Whether the injury causes temporary or permanent disability, you may need compensation for medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering. To recover adequate compensation, you will definitely need representation from an experienced attorney.
At Tindall Law Firm, LLC, we fight to recover damages for car accident victims in Connecticut. With 22 years of experience, attorney Tavis Tindall has the knowledge and skill to hold the negligent driver accountable for your losses, and has many years of experience handling cases against hit and run drivers who are later found, and uninsured motorist cases for the conduct of hit and run drivers that remain unidentified. For a free consultation with a Waterbury car accident injury lawyer, please call  203.755.0018 or contact us online.