Visitor Question

No witnesses saw the hit and run driver’s license plate number?

Submitted By: Delisha (Staten Island, NY)

While on duty, my father got into a accident. He was in the process of stopping at a stop sign, when a car came speeding up and hit him. The car then left the scene. My father doesn’t remember anything since the time of the accident, until I got to the emergency room where he was taken.

Thank god there were people around who called 911 and got him taken to the hospital. But even though there seem to have been witnesses, nobody saw the speeding car’s license plate number. I filed a police report, but I’m not sure what else I can do.

Can anyone please tell me what is the next stop I should be doing? Is there any way we can find the hit and run driver? Can my father get his medical treatment paid for? I would really appreciate any information you can give. Thank you.

Disclaimer: Our response is not formal legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is generic legal information based on the very limited information provided. Do not rely upon the information in our response, or anywhere else on this site, when deciding the proper course of a legal matter. Always get a personalized case review from a local attorney.

Answer

Dear Delisha,

Immediately file a police report. Contact the police and notify them your father was the victim of a hit and run driver. A hit and run offense, also referred to as “leaving the scene of an accident and failing to stop and render aid,” is a serious criminal offense. In most cases it’s a felony.

It’s the job of the police to investigate crimes, especially those resulting in injuries to victims of crimes. The police will assuredly launch a criminal investigation after referring the case to “CAPERS” or the Crimes Against Persons Investigation Department.

Once the driver is apprehended, your father will be able to seek damages from the driver and his insurance company. Damages can include his medical bills and much more, especially an amount for his pain and suffering.

In the likely event the driver had no insurance, he or she will be prosecuted for the offense. If the driver receives a probated sentence, you can ask the prosecutor and the judge to make as a condition of the driver’s probation that he or she make monthly payments toward your father’s medical bills.

Unfortunately, in probation matters, the judge is normally not permitted to make as a condition of probation that a defendant pay a victim for pain and suffering.

Learn more here: Hit and Run Accidents

The above is general information. Laws change frequently, and across jurisdictions. You should get a personalized case evaluation from a licensed attorney.

Find a local attorney to give you a free case review here, or call 888-972-0892.

We wish you the best with your claim,

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