Table Of Contents
Hit-and-run car accidents in Clearwater often happen quickly and can leave little information behind. If a driver leaves the scene of an accident, you may be left with injuries and questions about what happened and what to do next.
The experienced attorneys at Herman & Wells could help you focus on the steps to take to protect your health, your rights, and your claim.
After a collision with a hit-and-run driver in Clearwater, you should call 911. Florida Statutes § 316.062 requires drivers involved in a crash to stop, share information, and provide reasonable aid. If you can, note the other vehicle’s make, model, color, and direction of travel, and photograph it, as well as damage, debris, skid marks, and the wider area. Ask witnesses for their names and contact details, and if you can’t talk to them, take a picture of their license plates so they can be located later. Look for and record the locations of potential cameras at nearby homes, businesses, or intersections. Those cameras are invaluable in proving what happened when an insurance company later offers a discounted settlement due to a lack of evidence.
After an accident, it is essential to act quickly and secure any video footage before it is overwritten. Useful sources of evidence for a hit-and-run accident in Clearwater may include traffic and business cameras, dashcams, doorbell systems, and 911 audio. Some vehicles also store event data and infotainment logs that may show inputs and speed around the time of impact. Your medical records are also important to your claim because they tie injuries and symptoms to the crash and track the course of your treatment. Make sure to tell all doctors about prior problems with the same body parts so they can tell old from new injuries. Our attorneys also recommend keeping a simple file to record out-of-pocket costs and missed work, so the impact of the accident on your daily life is clear.
Provide the police any information you can about the vehicle involved, such as a distinctive bumper sticker, a broken headlight, or aftermarket rims. It is helpful to note the officer’s name, badge number, and email address so that later updates about the case can be routed to the same file.
If you were struck by a driver who left the accident scene in Clearwater, it is important to keep your vehicle available for inspection until the crash documentation is complete. You should photograph paint transfer, glass shards, and scrape height, as these details could help identify the potential makes and models of the car involved. Ask the shop that repairs your car or your insurance adjuster to save the parts they remove, or at least photograph the damage underneath the car before commencing repairs. You can request a download of the event data recorder if appropriate for your vehicle. In some cases, we also suggest that you save clothing or gear with scuffs or fibers in a clean bag, as small items can sometimes corroborate impact points.
If the driver of the vehicle that left the accident scene in Clearwater is unidentified, your own uninsured motorist coverage may help. This coverage may apply when the at-fault driver cannot be found or has no insurance. To protect your claim, you should review policy limits and any notice requirements, keep all communications with insurers short and accurate, and save letters, emails, and claim numbers in one place. To avoid making guesses, an experienced attorney from our team could help you gather the evidence necessary to demonstrate pain from injuries, recovery time, and fault.
Most uninsured or underinsured motorist insurance carriers want to see corroboration of a hit-and-run crash in Clearwater before they pay the full value of claims. While the following list is not even close to everything needed, a good starting point is the names of independent witnesses, time-stamped photos, and camera clips. Correspondences to the insurance carriers for negotiations should be in writing and confirmed with cover letters, so they cannot argue that they never received things like witnesses, medical visit records, and photos. If the police later identify the other driver, and an attorney cannot help you because there is no insurance available, you may at least be able to ask the detective assigned to the case about restitution in addition to any civil claim.
In Florida, you generally have two years to file a negligence lawsuit. Separate contract-based claims against your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage may have a five-year statute of limitations. For accurate guidance, it is best to discuss the statute of limitations with an experienced Clearwater hit-and-run car accident lawyer at Herman & Wells.
Hit-and-run car accidents in Clearwater can be disorienting. Taking early steps to preserve video, collect records, and track costs may strengthen your claim and reduce stress while you continue treatment for your injuries.
If you need a second opinion or advice on your next steps, Herman & Wells offers free consultations over the phone, video, or in person. Contact our team today for straightforward advice and discover how we could help you.
