Hit and Run Car Accidents
If you’ve been injured in a hit and run car accident, you need to speak with an experienced car accident lawyer right away. Contact us online or call to schedule your free consultation.
If you’ve been injured in a hit and run car accident, you need to speak with an experienced car accident lawyer right away. Contact us online or call to schedule your free consultation.
Brad Parker, the founder of Parker Law Firm, tells us what we can do after being involved in a hit-and-run accident.
In traffic laws, a hit-and-run accident is defined as the act of causing a collision and then fleeing the scene. Every 43 seconds, someone in the U.S. is involved in a hit-and-run accident. A recent study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that Texas has the eighth highest number of fatal hit-and-run car accidents in the country.
In our legal experience, there are four main reasons why at-fault drivers tend to leave the scene of a hit-and-run accident. These include:
Under Texas Transportation Code Chapter 550, drivers have a duty to stop in event of an accident. This includes an accident involving:
Failure to stop after an accident can result in criminal penalties, including possible imprisonment in cases of an injury or fatal accident. The penalties for leaving the scene of the accident depends on the type of accident, if anyone was injured or killed, and the value of the damage.
Failing to stop after a car accident, hitting an unattended car, or hitting a fixture or structure is:
The penalties for leaving the scene of an injury accident or fatal accident are more serious. Failing to stop at the scene of an accident involving injury or death is:
The criminal penalties for leaving the scene of an injury accident can result in prison time, jail time, and/or fines. In recent years, Texas legislatures passed a law that imposes the same strict penalties on fleeing drivers as it does on drunk drivers. In the past, drunk drivers often took off to avoid a DUI. Law enforcement could not prove impairment of a hit-and-run driver who was later caught and who consequently faced a lighter sentence than a DUI. With passage of the new law, a driver has incentive to stay and help injured people at the scene.
While it can be a difficult task, victims do have options to locate the driver and hold them accountable for their negligent actions. A business near the accident scene may have surveillance cameras used for security purposes that recorded the crash. These cameras could provide identifying information about the driver or their vehicle. If the victim was able to get a full or partial license plate number of the vehicle that hit them, they may be able to obtain the driver’s name, address, and vehicle information from Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.
While Texas law requires drivers to have liability insurance, that won’t pay to repair a car after an accident. To get a car repaired, accident victims need a car insurance policy with collision coverage or uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) property damage coverage. Both pay for car repairs after a hit-and-run accident. UM/UIM coverage usually has a lower deductible than collision coverage and may pay for a rental car if you need it.
If you truly cannot locate the person who hit you, then you may need a Texas personal injury lawyer to just focus on the UI/UIM coverage that hopefully you have purchased. Unfortunately, a lot of times people try to save money and do not purchase UI/UIM insurance, in which case there is not much that can be done. Parker Law Firm’s car accident lawyers believe in being a voice for the voiceless. If you were hurt in a hit-and-run accident, you should not have to face the costs of your damages alone. We may be able to help you seek compensation, even if the driver who hit you is never located.
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Phone: 817-510-9400
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