Have you or a loved on been involved in a hit and run accident?  Here is some very important information that you should know about your legal rights.

Let’s say that you’re driving down the street one day and another car makes a left turn right in front of you, causing an accident. However, the driver of the other car doesn’t stop to exchange information and he or she drives off before you can get the license plate number. What recourse, if any, do you have?

If you have “uninsured motorist” coverage on your automobile insurance, you have the right to seek compensation up to the full amount of your uninsured motorist coverage (assuming you’ve been injured badly enough). If you don’t have uninsured motorist coverage, your insurance company doesn’t have to pay you anything. However, if you have been seriously injured or a loved one killed in a hit-and-run accident, you should contact an attorney as soon as possible, whether or not you have uninsured motorist coverage.

Even if your insurance protects you from being injured by another driver who doesn’t have insurance or leaves the scene of the accident without exchanging insurance information, your insurance company will still try to pay you as little as possible. Additionally, there may be other factors that you weren’t aware of that may have contributed to the accident, such as an improperly working traffic signal. Or if the injuries were caused by the other driver failing to stop for a stop sign, an inspection of the accident scene may reveal that the stop sign was obscured by a tree’s limb or other obstruction that hid the stop sign, resulting in the other driver’s failure to see it.

If you have been injured or a loved one killed by a hit-and-run driver—especially if the injuries are serious or a death is involved—it is imperative that you contact an experienced personal injury lawyer immediately. Do not talk with an insurance company investigator or adjuster before you have had the chance to retain a lawyer. The lawyer will often advise you against giving a statement to the insurance company’s adjuster, as they are trained to trick you into saying things that will come back to haunt you at a later stage of the case.  An experienced personal injury lawyer can help you get the entire amount of compensation you are entitled to in a hit-and-run accident.