Car accidents are scary for everyone involved, but when you’re hit by a driver who leaves the scene of the wreck, a new fear sets in. It’s essential in this situation to stay calm and handle the collision as you would any other accident. Once you speak with an attorney and the police, you can try to find the driver who hit you and hold them accountable.
At Lane & Lane, LLC, we’ve handled countless hit-and-run accidents and we can support you through this process. A Chicago car accident attorney from our team will investigate your case thoroughly and use evidence from your wreck to locate the driver and charge them for their crime. Because the driver left the scene of the accident, they can be charged in both criminal and civil court.
As soon as your collision occurs, you should call the police. If the driver who hit you fled the scene, you should note their license plate number or at least remember what type of car they were driving. Any information you can tell the police about the driver and their vehicle can be helpful when the police search for the driver later on.
The police will come to the scene and call medical help for you if necessary. They can create a police report so that the details of your wreck will be in the legal system.
After you’ve begun recovering from your injuries, you and your lawyer can look for witnesses who may have seen your collision take place. Witnesses can be essential in identifying the hit-and-run driver. If your accident happened at an intersection or in a parking lot, you may be able to obtain video footage of your accident in action.
Once you can find the driver who hit you, you can press criminal and civil charges against them. The criminal trial will likely happen first, but you can use evidence from the criminal case to prove negligence in your civil case. You can then maximize your settlement by accounting for all the damages you’ve suffered. Your damages can be both economic and non-economic.
Getting injured by a hit-and-run driver can be emotionally difficult. At first, you may feel uncertainty and uneasiness as you wait for the police and your lawyer to identify who hit you. Once you can identify the driver, however, you can hold them accountable for their negligence and fight for the compensation you deserve.
Discussing your case with an attorney can help you feel supported as you work through the legal process. You shouldn’t give up on your case until you’ve spoken to someone with civil litigation experience. To discuss your case in greater detail with a Chicago car accident attorney from Lane & Lane, LLC, call 312-332-1400 to schedule a free consultation or visit our website for more information.
