Philadelphia Hit and Run Accident Attorney

For victims of a hit and run, the consequences of physical injuries or loss of property can be serious. Extensive medical bills can become a financial liability, and chronic pain can interfere with work, causing lost wages, and even unemployment. A hit and run accident’s repercussions often extend beyond the initial period of recovery, resulting in the injured party’s lost earning capacity and missed opportunities for employment.

Lost or damaged property can also significantly impair someone’s ability to function, causing emotional distress and inability to work. For example, if your vehicle sustains damages, you may be unable to engage in your normal activities without reliable transportation.

Why Choose Ciccarelli Law Offices

After being involved in something as serious as a hit-and-run accident, you need a Philadelphia personal injury attorney with vast experience handling these cases. Contact the Ciccarelli Law Offices today.

• Our Hit and run attorneys take on the toughest cases and fight diligently for every client so they can receive maximum compensation for their damages and injuries.
• At the Ciccarelli Law Offices, we have decades of combined legal experience in personal injury law, which gives us invaluable insight into litigating these cases.
• Our Philadelphia pedestrian accident attorneys take hit-and-run cases on a contingency fee basis. This means that clients pay no upfront or out-of-pocket costs for their case, and they do not pay a dime in legal fees until we secure the compensation they deserve.

Causes of Hit And Run Accidents In Philadelphia

Hit and run accidents in Philadelphia are not uncommon, and the causes of these incidents are the same causes of most other types of vehicle accidents. When we examine the information available from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, we can see that some of the most common causes of vehicle accidents include alcohol-related incidents and speed-related crashes. During the most recent reporting year on file, there were nearly 27,000 crashes related to speeding and more than 7,700 incidents involving a drunk driver. Some of the other common causes of vehicle accidents in Pennsylvania include the following:

• Drivers proceeding without clearance
• Improper turns
• Distracted driving
• Careless or illegal passing
• Tailgating
• Drowsy drivers

One of the main things that differentiates hit and run accidents from any other type of incident is what happens right after the incident occurs. Sometimes, hit and run drivers flee the scene immediately, but sometimes they stick around and try to convince others at the scene not to call the police before taking off. Regardless, if a driver flees the scene without leaving behind appropriate contact information and insurance information, this would most likely be considered a hit and run incident.

How to Protect Your Injury Claim

Immediately after a hit-and-run accident occurs, there are several steps you can take to protect your physical health and to protect future compensation claims.

• Stay there. As tempting as it may be to chase a driver that flees the scene, do not do so. Get your vehicle to a safe location and try to remember everything you can about the vehicle and driver that fled the scene. This includes the vehicle license plate number (even if you only remember a portion), a description of the driver and vehicle (make, model, color, etc.), the direction the vehicle was heading after the incident, and more.
• Call 911. Dial 911 when you get to a safe location and report what happened. Let the dispatcher know that an incident has occurred. If anybody is injured, make sure EMS is on the way. Give the 911 dispatcher as much information as you can about the driver and vehicle that left the scene.
• Seek medical care. Regardless of how severe you think your injuries are, you need to seek medical attention as soon as possible. In many cases, car accident injury signs and symptoms do not appear until long after the incident occurs (latent injuries). An exam by a doctor will ensure your well-being while also establishing a link between the crash and your injuries.
• Gather evidence. If it is safe to do so at the scene of the incident, use your smartphone to take pictures of any evidence. This includes damages to vehicles, any injuries, traffic conditions, debris caused by the crash, and more. Get the names and contact information of any eyewitnesses and any other people involved in the crash.
• Call an attorney. By contacting an attorney as soon as possible, you will ensure you have an advocate by your side to work with law enforcement and your insurance carrier to secure maximum compensation for your injury and damage expenses.
• Report to your insurer. You will need to contact your insurance carrier fairly soon after the incident occurs and make a report. Your initial incident report does not have to include much detail other than a brief description of what happened. Do not accept any kind of fault for the accident at this point.

How To Prove Liability In A Hit And Run Accident

Determining liability after a hit and run accident is more challenging than the process of determining liability after a traditional vehicle accident. Hit and run accidents, by definition, involve a driver fleeing the scene of the incident, thus permanently or temporarily taking away one major part of the equation needed for liability discovery. If a driver is apprehended after leaving the scene, it can still be challenging to determine my ability because, again, some of the evidence has moved and likely been altered.

Much like a regular vehicle accident, it will be important for those at the scene of the incident to use their phones or some other type of camera to take photographs or video surveillance of the entire scene. This includes any injuries, vehicle damage, possible causes of the crash, traffic and weather conditions, and more. The names and contact information of any eyewitnesses or other drivers or passengers involved should be written down as quickly as possible so their statements can be given to your attorney and the insurance carrier.

It is crucial to call the police to the scene so they can conduct an initial investigation and fill out an accident report. The police need to be the ones to try and track down the hit and run driver, not you.

When you work with an attorney, you will have an advocate with the resources needed to conduct a more thorough investigation and try to determine liability for the hit and run accident.

What to Do If You Experience a Hit and Run Accident In Philadelphia

While a hit and run accident is very stressful, a victim can take some steps to minimize the negative effects:

• Seek immediate medical attention if you have serious injuries. Even if you don’t think you’ve been hurt seriously, you should still see a doctor soon after the accident to make sure you don’t have latent injuries. Injuries like brain damage and whiplash may not become obvious for days after an accident, and a doctor’s exam will help document any potential problems.
• Try to gather as many details as you can about the car that hit you. Write down the color, make, and model. If possible, try to see or remember the license plate.
• Determine whether any witnesses might be able to verify events or provide additional information, and take down their names and contact info.
• Before you leave the scene, note the exact location and time of the accident. Take pictures of the site and of the damage to your property.
• Resist the urge to follow the car that hit you or your property. Call the police instead, and file a report. Be sure to give the police all the information you gathered about the vehicle, the time and location, and any witnesses. Regardless of whether the police find the vehicle that hit you, it’s important to have a police report on file. It will help with the insurance claims and establish the accident details for any future legal proceedings.
• Contact your insurance provider and file a claim.
• Find experienced legal representation.

A hit and run accident, also sometimes called “leaving the scene,” occurs when a driver collides with a pedestrian, cyclist, another vehicle, or property and leaves without reporting the incident. Hit and run accidents cause loss of property, injury, and death, and they’re all too common; the CDC reports that one in six pedestrian deaths is the result of a hit-and-run.

Damages Available In A Philadelphia Hit And Run Claim

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania uses a “choice no-fault” insurance system, which is different from other states. Drivers in Pennsylvania have a choice to either use a no-fault insurance system or a tort-based insurance system.

Drivers who use a no-fault insurance system will typically turn to their own insurance carrier to recover compensation after a vehicle accident occurs, regardless of who was at fault. This means that a driver can typically recover compensation after a hit and run accident from their own insurance carrier. This includes compensation for personal injury protection coverage to pay for injuries. 

Drivers can step outside of the no-fault insurance system to file a lawsuit against the other driver if the injuries are relatively severe and meet certain thresholds, but this becomes a matter of being able to track down the hit and run driver in the first place.

Drivers who use a full tort system typically have to file a claim against another driver’s insurance carrier in order to recover compensation, which is again a challenge in these situations if the driver is not apprehended or if they have no insurance at all. We strongly recommend that all drivers in Pennsylvania also purchase uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage to recover compensation for their medical bills and property damage expenses in the event a hit and run accident occurs.

Time Limit for Filing a Lawsuit In Philadelphia

In the event a hit and run accident victim is able to file a personal injury lawsuit against the other driver, they must do so within two years from the date the incident occurs. Failing to file a lawsuit against the other driver within this time frame will result in the case being dismissed, leaving the victim unable to recover any compensation at all.

Additionally, we encourage you to remain aware of any deadlines put in place by your insurance carrier after the accident occurs. Typically, insurance carriers want the claim to be reported relatively quickly after the incident occurs, and we recommend doing so within a day or two.

If you have any questions about the process of filing a lawsuit or recovering compensation after a hit and run accident, you need to reach out to a car accident lawyer with experience handling these exact situations. When you have an advocate by your side, you will not be alone. You will have someone there to handle the communication with other parties and someone to help keep all of these deadlines and processes straight.

Will Your Insurance Premiums Rise After a Hit and Run Accident?

The good news is that your insurance premiums should not go up if you have been the victim of a hit and run accident. If another person was at fault, you should be in the clear. What you should be thinking about after a hit and run accident that occurs in Philadelphia is whether or not your insurance will cover the compensation you need to get through this. If you have no-fault insurance, then you have somewhere to turn for at least some of your expenses. If you have uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, which is not mandatory, you will have even more coverage available to you.

If you have any questions about your insurance premiums after an accident, we encourage you to reach out to your insurance provider. Additionally, you can and should shop around for better insurance rates every six months to a year.

If you can identify the driver

In the event a hit-and-run driver is located by law enforcement, you may be able to approach this in the same way you would a traditional vehicle accident. That is, you will file a claim with the hit-and-run driver’s insurance carrier. However, hit-and-run drivers often do not have insurance. You may be able to recover some compensation through a personal injury lawsuit against the negligent driver. Still, again, they may not have the assets to cover the damages you sustained.

Contact a Philadelphia Hit-and-Run Accident Lawyer

Victims of hit and run accidents should seek experienced legal counsel to help them understand their rights and to aid in financial recovery from any medical bills and lost wages. If you or somebody you love has been injured in a hit-and-run accident, you need to seek legal assistance as soon as possible. These cases can become incredibly complicated, particularly when attempting to prove liability and secure compensation. At the Ciccarelli Law Offices, we will investigate every aspect of your case in order to secure the compensation you deserve. When you need a Philadelphia hit-and-run accident attorney, you can contact us for a free consultation of your case by clicking here or calling 215.228.0100.

Contact the Philadelphia car accident lawyers at Ciccarelli Law Offices for a consultation. (215) 228-0100