What do I do if we were involved in a hit-and-run accident and the driver drove off?
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What do I do if we were involved in a hit-and-run accident and the driver drove off?
We were driving on the freeway going to our work and to school when we merged from one of the left lanes to the slowest right lanes and it was also raining and they had uneven pavement on the road. When we merged we suddenly turned 180 degrees and faced incoming traffic all while hitting a white car to the left of us from that hit we bounced off and hit a wall. That stopped us from spinning out of control. From what we heard from the officers was that we were hit by a car and they made us hit the higher part of the uneven pavement and making us spin. However, that driver drove off and no one saw the license plate number and the problem is that we only have liability insurance. And to make
matters worse our insurance company went into liquidation bankrupt. We did filed a claim but we don’t know what to do now.
Asked on April 13, 2018 under Accident Law, California
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
The fact is that if you can't find the at fault driver and don't have coverage, you'll be responsible for paying for your own damages. And that is the case here - you insurer can't pay for your repairs and you can't locate ther person who caused the accident.
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
Unfortunately, if you can not locate the at fault driver, you will have to pay for your own repairs or damage out of pocket. You don't have the relevant insurance (collsion or comprehensive) and your insurer is going bankrupt, and you can't sue someone you cannot identify. There is no one other than insurance (if you had it) or the at fault driver who might have to pay for your losses, so without those sources available, it all falls onto you.
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