4 Ways to Protect Yourself against Hit-and-Run Losses

A painful, debilitating personal injury can be devastating enough when you can seek compensation for your agony, lost wages, and other damages directly from the offender. But when you're hit by a driver who just keeps on driving, you could be left with serious financial losses and no apparent way to recover them—the worst of all possible worlds. Here are four steps you can take to make sure unscrupulous individuals won't escape their responsibilities to you and your dependents.

1. Make Use of Cameras

If you regularly drive a car or ride a bike around town, equip your trusty steed with on-board video cameras. These tiny portable devices can make all the difference between an unsupported claim and clear evidence that you, the police and/or your personal injury attorney can present in court. A typical car dashboard camera runs automatically whenever your car is operating, overwriting old video as the memory fills up unless you tag specific moments for later viewing. Look for a model that offers geo-tracking, time-stamping and other data to help pinpoint the particulars of your incident.

2. Talk to Witnesses

Eyewitness accounts of your hit-and-run event can prove invaluable to your case, but don't be too surprised if many of these witnesses keep on going instead of stopping to help you. Contrary to what you may think, there are no specific laws that require witnesses to get involved at the scene of a crime, although individuals who are subpoenaed by the police must cooperate. Even so, it's always worth the effort to ask "Good Samaritans" for their contact information and assistance. You might discover that the driver is someone the witness regularly sees in or around the area.

3. Beef Up Your Insurance Limits

This preventative step can help ensure that you receive the necessary financial compensation in the event of a hit-and-run incident. If you're in the habit of purchasing the minimum insurance coverage permitted in your state, give serious thought to boosting your coverage as high as you reasonably can. Make certain you have sufficient coverage to protect yourself and your loved ones in two critical areas:

• Bodily injury—Bodily injury coverage is the amount of compensation you may receive to cover lost wages, medical treatment, recovery costs, and pain/suffering.
• Property—This type of coverage compensates you for damage to your car, bike, or other personal property.

4. Get a Personal Injury Attorney

The value of a personal injury attorney is obvious when you're seeking financial compensation from a hit-and-run driver in a civil lawsuit. This professional can assemble expert medical witnesses and other compelling evidence into the strongest possible case on your behalf. But you might not realize that your personal injury attorney can also help you receive compensation even when the offender is never found. That's because you may need legal counsel to help you get what your insurance provider owes you.

The unfortunate truth is that insurance companies remain profitable by refusing to pay out the full claim limits their customers may have coming to them. Adjusters typically do whatever they can to minimize the amount of the compensation awarded by the insurer, regardless of whether that amount meets the customer's real-life needs. If you can't accept the figure you're presented with, you need a personal injury attorney to take your case to arbitration. Find a personal injury attorney by speaking with a representative from a firm like the Law Office of Leslie S. Shaw.

The right combination of preventative measures and smart responses can help your family's finances survive a costly hit-and-run incident. Put the necessary equipment and professional services into play—hopefully, you'll never have occasion to be glad that you did.