What to do about a hit and run?

April 5, 2012 9:02 PM

I was rear ended by a semi truck driver who did not stop to exchange information. I filed a police report and an insurance claim and have been advised to press charges. Is there anything else I should be doing to make sure the responsible party pays for the damage to my car? Details inside.

Earlier this week I was driving to work on a major highway and a semi truck drove into the back left-hand corner of my car. As I was attempting to pull over he drove past me and I realized he wasn't going to stop. Luckily, traffic was slow enough that I was able to memorize his license plate number before he got too far away. I pulled over, called the police and my insurance company, and followed all the appropriate procedures. The bumper was pretty much taken off, one of the tail lights smashed, and there is a good amount of damage to the back left body of my little sedan. I don't have coverage for uninsured motorists (which is what this would fall under if they can't collect from the responsible party), so I could be out of the 500 deductible. The insurance guy I talked to today said that in his experience, they are only able to collect from about 10 percent of hit and run drivers, because most people just deny what happened. He advised me to file charges with the police because getting the police involved will hopefully convince the responsible party to take this more seriously. So I'm going to do that first thing in the morning.
My question is: is there anything else I should be doing? The semi was a commercial truck and the policeman on the scene gave me the name of the company that owns it. Should I contact them directly or let the insurance company/police do that? I'm concerned because my insurance company said they won't even attempt to collect from the other party until after the repairs to my car have been made and everything is paid for, which could take longer than a week, and that could be plenty of time for people to "forget" what happened or make evidence disappear, etc. I'm also concerned that the police won't do much because there was no injury involved and they probably have better things to do. So, is there anything else I should be doing to make sure I get compensated for this?

posted by smokingloon to law & government (8 answers total)

Rear-end accidents can cause injuries which aren't necessarily immediately apparent. You should go get a medical checkup, and tell the doctor that you were in a rear-end accident.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 10:14 PM on April 5, 2012 [4 favorites]

GET A LAWYER.

Yes, Chocolate Pickle covered why. It also helps in a myriad of other ways. Also, it will save you hassle!

- You can file a claim directly with the truck's company's insurance, or rather, your insurance company CAN and SHOULD file this claim. Your agent handles this directly, just give them the name of the company.

BUT

A lawyer can do this, too. Plus, if you don't lawyer up and do end up paying the deductible, you can take the company to small claims court afterwards. And win, likely, if you follow through with the police, etc.

It just really depends how much energy you want to devote here, whether you lawyer up or not.

Please get a doctor check-up. I've had soft-tissue damage from an accident that was completely cleared up via a few months of acupuncture and massage - I'm a chef, so this was super important. I def had some flare-ups of weird shoulder/neck pain after my accident, and before that, I did not not not believe in "soft-tissue" damage. But I do now. Glad I took care of it medically.

Good luck.
posted by jbenben at 10:27 PM on April 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

If that happened to me and I thought the police were not going to do anything I'd go to a magistrate. It's free.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 12:16 AM on April 6, 2012

If you know the truck's license plate and the company that owns it, call that company and ask for their insurance info and file a claim with them. It's not a guarantee they'll settle in your favor, but since you did file a police report including their truck's info and have documented car damage it might work out without even getting a lawyer involved. You can do this before your company wants to -- there's no real reason for you to wait for them to do it if you would rather open one sooner.
posted by mismatched at 5:39 AM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

i would call the trucking company first and let them know what happened. if they are uncooperative, then call a lawyer.

or may also talk to your insurance company. they can fix your car and then go after his insurance company with their lawyers. they will get your deductible back if they do this. however, if you do go ot the doctor, they cannot subrograte a medical claim, so you will be out that money.
posted by domino at 6:26 AM on April 6, 2012

Don't know where you were, but when this happened to me late last year, all I had to do was report it to the police. They went and found the driver, and he eventually admitted it. Driver's insurance paid for everything; I never had to report it to my own insurance company. As mismatched alluded, the company that owns the truck figures to have it insured. Get your police report, at which point you should have the other party's insurance information, and then you can make decisions.
posted by troywestfield at 6:31 AM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

When you ask a question like this, tell us where it happened. It often makes a difference.

Follow the suggestions made above. A letter to the trucking company, from you or (better) from a lawyer would be more effective than a phone call.
posted by yclipse at 2:29 PM on April 6, 2012

It happened in Texas.
posted by smokingloon at 3:09 PM on April 6, 2012