When you're badly injured, the last thing you want to think about is filling out paperwork, searching for an attorney, or trying to gather evidence. Yet, these steps are necessary if you want to collect the compensation you deserve due to someone else's negligence. The more you know about personal injury cases and hiring an attorney, the less stressful this time will be.
We've created this website to offer basic personal injury law advice for anyone who has been injured or who may become injured in the future. Keep in mind that if you've been injured in a car accident, due to medical neglect, or even by slipping in someone else's parking lot, your case qualifies a personal injury case — and thus you'll find our collection of articles relevant.
Being in an accident is bad enough, but if the driver immediately flees the scene, your accident will be much more difficult to handle. When this happens, you will want to speak with a hit and run accident attorney as soon as possible, because there are several ways that you may be able to track down the driver.
After a Hit and Run Accident
When a driver flees the scene of an accident, the courts will be much less sympathetic to the driver. However, you'll need to track the driver down first before you can use this as a part of your case.
You will not want to chase after the other driver. For one, you must remain at the scene of the accident even if the other driver flees. Also, your car might be in a damaged state and it may not be safe to drive it. Also, trying to catch up to another motorist is inherently dangerous, and the driver might be desperate or even violent if you catch up to him. There are other things to do instead.
Contact the Police
The first thing you should do is contact the police and wait for them to arrive. The police may be able to track down the driver, and you are required to wait at the scene of the accident until you are given permission by the police to leave. Also, you will want to file a police report which will serve as evidence that the accident occurred and will include important information such as when and where it occurred, what happened, and who was involved.
Provide the police officer with as much information as you can. This will increase the odds that the officer will be able to find the vehicle. Include what the vehicle looked like, the make and model, and whether you were able to write down the license plate number.
Sources of Information
There are several sources of information you can rely on to track down the other driver after a hit and run accident. You can speak with any witnesses, collect any footage that might have recorded the accident, and take photographs of the scene of the accident. Photograph the vehicle of the other driver if it has not left the scene yet, photograph your own car, and photograph your injuries. You can then present the recorded evidence to your hit and run accident attorney.
Contact a local accident attorney, like Paul R Bennet PC, for more information.