After an accident, Nevada drivers are legally required to stop their vehicles, exchange contact and insurance information with other involved parties, and typically provide the same information to police once they respond to the scene. Anyone who fails to do any of these things may face not only criminal liability for committing a “hit and run” but also civil liability for their role—if any—in causing the crash to occur in the first place.
Unfortunately, drivers who are willing to illegally flee the scene of a wreck are also more likely than most to be driving without insurance and have few personal assets, which can make the financial recovery process for someone injured in the crash uniquely complicated. When it comes to getting fair compensation after hit and run car accidents in Reno, it can be essential to have help from a Reno car accident lawyer with experience handling similar situations effectively in the past.
What to Do After Someone Else Hits and Runs
While it is certainly understandable to want to pursue someone who causes a car crash and then unlawfully flees the scene, it is very important for anyone involved in this sort of wreck to ensure they stay within the boundaries of the law themselves. In practice, this means stopping at the scene, rendering aid to and exchanging information with anyone else involved as needed, and calling the police so they can take on the responsibility of finding and arresting the hit-and-run driver.
Other things that can be beneficial both to finding the at-fault party and to strengthening a potential lawsuit against them later on include:
- Getting contact information from eyewitnesses not directly involved in the wreck
- Seeking immediate professional medical attention after lawfully leaving the scene
- Making note of nearby surveillance or dashboard cameras that might have captured the accident
- Taking photos/videos of the crash scene, including vehicle damage, traffic patterns and signals, and nearby obstacles that might have impacted visibility
Our qualified Reno personal injury lawyers at Shook & Stone could offer further guidance about what to do in the wake of a hit and run car wreck in Reno during a private initial meeting.
How Hit and Run Auto Accident Claims Work
If police can identify someone who hits and runs, any criminal charges filed against them would have no direct bearing on how a civil case against them would proceed. The injured person would still need to establish that the hit-and-run driver directly caused the crash and their subsequent injuries through legally actionable “negligence,” at which point they or their insurance company could be on the hook for all economic and non-economic losses stemming from the wreck.
That said, police are not always able to track down hit-and-run drivers, and even when they do, those drivers may not have sufficient insurance coverage—or any insurance coverage at all—to cover accident-related losses. This is why it can be so important to purchase uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage well before a possible hit and run car accident in Reno, and then to get help from seasoned legal counsel to make the most of it.
Talk to a Reno Attorney About a Possible Hit and Run Car Accident Lawsuit
Getting caught up in a car crash caused by another negligent driver can be frustrating under the best of circumstances. If the other driver fled the scene, though, that frustration may turn to fury, making it difficult to proactively enforce your rights and seek fair compensation for the harm you unfairly sustained.
Support from a knowledgeable legal professional can be key to handling a hit and run car accident in Reno effectively on both legal and personal levels. Call Shook & Stone today to discuss your options with our dedicated team of attorneys.
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