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I was driving down Highway 50 in Orlando and some guy rammed into my, forced me to hit a light pole, and left. What can I do about my car and my injuries if I've been involved in a hit-and-run accident?

A: Depending on what kind of car insurance coverage you carry (and the existence of Uninsured Motorist Coverage will be the key here), you may still be able to make a monetary recovery in a Florida hit-and-run case.

First, because you have been involved in a car accident, your own Personal Injury Protection coverage should pay 80% of your medical expenses and 60% of your lost wages.  If you have purchased Medical Payments coverage, 100% of your medical bills would be paid.  These coverage work the same way whether you know the identity of the person who hit you, or not.

If you have purchased Uninsured Motorist Coverage as a part of your car insurance package you may be able to recover from your own insurance company the same amount that you would have been able to recover from the negligent driver -- had you been able to identify him.  When the negligent driver is uninsured -- or unidentified -- your own Uninsured Motorist Coverage "steps into the shoes" of the negligent party and acts just like it was his insurance.  This means you still have to prove that the other driver was negligent, that the other driver's negligence was the cause of your injuries, and the extent of your damages -- just like a regular personal injury case.

Many insurance companies treat "hit-and-run" accident suspiciously.  Many companies fear that people will run into things themselves, then later claim that someone else hit them.  For this reason, many insurance companies include special policy language that requires victims of hit-and-run accidents to report them to the police, or report them to the insurance company within 24 hours of the date of the accident.  This catches many policy holders by surprise and we have litigated this issue with several insurance companies.

Regarding your vehicle, the only way your vehicle is going to be repaired following a hit-and-run accident is if you carry Comprehensive/Collision coverage, or if you pay for the repairs yourself.  Unfortunately, most people have a deductible on their Comprehensive/Collision coverage, so this will have to be paid out-of-pocket either way.

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