Is there Any Hope of Compensation after a Hit and Run?

Leaving the scene of an accident is a crime, but that does not stop many people from doing just that. If you have been the victim of a hit and run, you might fear that you have no options. After all, how do you go about getting compensation for your injuries and car damage if you cannot find the other driver? Nevertheless, you do have some options for receiving compensation for medical care and lost wages.

Tap Your Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Benefits

Because Florida is a no-fault state, it really does not matter if the person who hit you takes off after the crash. All drivers must carry insurance coverage with PIP benefits, and you can contact your insurer after the hit and run. PIP benefit policies vary, but all people who register a vehicle must carry at least $10,000 in benefits, which can cover some medical expenses and a portion of your lost wages.

If you do not own a vehicle, you might still be covered by someone else's PIP policy. For example, you might be covered if:

Your spouse has an insurance policy with PIP benefits.
You live with another blood relative and they have a policy with PIP benefits. Another relative could include a sibling, child, nephew, niece, aunt, uncle, or parent.
If you were the passenger in a vehicle, you might be covered by the driver's PIP insurance.

Unfortunately, PIP benefits are unlikely to fully cover personal injuries given the sky-high costs of medical care. Beneficiaries have only 80% of their medical bills and 60% of their lost wages covered up to the policy limit.

Furthermore, you will only receive up to $10,000 in benefits if you have an emergency medical condition (EMC) as defined by Florida law. To qualify, your injury must be the type that requires immediate medical treatment and that would seriously jeopardize your health if left untreated. If you do not have an EMC, then you qualify for a maximum of $2,500 in benefits, which is a pittance.

Make sure to seek medical treatment within 14 days of the accident, otherwise, you will forfeit the ability to draw any PIP benefits no matter how injured you are.

Use Your Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UM)

UM coverage is great insurance to have. If you are hit and the other driver does not have insurance or if you cannot find the other driver you can rely on your UM coverage. Contact your insurer and make a claim soon after the accident. Depending on your coverage, your policy might cover bodily injury property damage, or both.

Unfortunately, UM coverage is optional, and many drivers do not have it. Go through your paperwork and see if you picked it up. It comes in handy precisely at moments like these.

Rely on Health Insurance for Medical Bills

If you suffered a bodily injury, you might be able to use your health insurance to pay for medical overage. Check the policy. Some of them might exclude injuries as a result of a car accident, so double check the statement of coverage.

Of course, it is usually not ideal to use your health coverage. You will be responsible for deductibles, copays, and other out-of-pocket expenses. Nevertheless, it can make healthcare affordable especially if you have substantial bodily injuries as a result of the crash.

Apply to the Crimes Compensation Trust Fund

The Florida Bureau of Victim Compensation administers a trust fund for victims of crime. The trust fund is financed by fines that criminals pay after their convictions. Victims of hit-and-run accidents can qualify for financial compensation to cover the following:

Wage loss
Disability benefits
Loss of support (if a person you relied on financially has died)
Medical and dental bills
Mental health counseling
Funeral and burial expenses
Property loss (if you are disabled or elderly)

However, before you can receive benefits you must meet certain requirements to qualify for compensation:

You must file a formal complaint within 72 hours of the hit and run. Do not delay.
You must make a claim within one year of the collision. In some situations, you can get this deadline extended to two years.
You cannot have contributed to the events in any way or have been engaged in a crime when injured in the collision.

You can download the application from the Florida Attorney General's website. There are also other supporting forms you might need to fill out to provide more information about lost wages or physical injuries/disability. The trust fund is perpetually underfunded, with regular news stories about how it is on the verge of going bankrupt. But as long as the fund exists, you should submit a claim if you cannot locate the driver who hit you.

Track Down the Perpetrator

If you report the hit-and-run to the police, they can investigate for you. However, with crime rates as high as they are, it is unlikely that a hit-and-run will be much of a police priority unless someone died. If you suffered some broken bones and a concussion, you might be in a lot of pain, but the police might not make your case a priority.

You can also hire a private investigator to try and track down the perpetrator. Many businesses have surveillance cameras recording their parking lots and adjacent streets. The camera might have picked up the collision. Or you can also ask witnesses if they saw who struck your car. In this way, you might be able to track down the person who harmed you and then make a claim on their insurance or sue them.