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Auto accident question: my sister was driving. I was in front passenger. Police report says it's hit and run
Anonymous7 views10 answers
We were heading south on 495 . The driver in the lane next moved into our lane. I was sitting in the front passenger seat and saw her coming. My sister swerved to avoid a collision. The car fish tailed and we crashed into the jersey wall. The front passenger and back passenger sides were crushed. Entire engine was moved and every hose was broken, according to the tow truck driver. Back seat passengers were my dad, niece and nephew. My sister, dad and I were transported to the ER in ambulances. We were treated for injuries on arm, leg, knee, wrist and head. i smashed the back of my head on the window. Nephew and niece walked away with bruises. It's been 10 days and my sister, dad and i still have limited mobility. I still have headaches and dizziness. Should we file a claim?
If there was no contact between your car and the car that fish-tailed then your only recovery can be from the car that you were in. If the police report describes the other car as having made contact and that stands after an investigation if the car is identified you can claim against them. speak to counsel to protect your rights.
You have what is called an uninsured motorist claim. You need to determine if the vehicle that you were in carried this kind of coverage, which compensates you if you were injured by the negligence of an unknown driver. You may also have this coverage on your own insurance policy. If you have the coverage, you would be entitled to be compensated for any medical bills incurred, lost wages, and compensation for pain and suffering. I would suggest that you speak to a lawyer to determine if you have a claim, and if you have the coverage. The first consultation is free, and you don't pay the lawyer a fee unless you win.
If it's a hit-and-run it will be up to the police to investigate and identify the other driver, if possible. If they cannot, you may still be able to recover if you have your own auto policy with uninsured motorists coverage, or if you were covered under a policy that does. It would definitely be worth speaking to a local personal injury attorney to determine whether there are is any applicable insurance coverage, because based on what you have described, it sounds like it could be a solid uninsured motorists claim. Good luck!
You should contact a good personal injury attorney to discuss your claims. Each of you should bring the declarations page of your personal automobile policies along with the insurance information on the driver of your vehicle. Virginia law allows you to make a claim against John Doe under the Uninsured Motorist (UM) provisions of your policies. It also allows for inter-policy stacking. Good luck.
Contact your insurance company in writing with questions and concerns, and to open Uninsured Motorist claims / document incident report / and for coverage investigation. Insurance company will sort it out and advise of position moving forward.
You definitely have claims that you can file, the question is whether you have what is called an uninsured motorist claim or simply a liability claim. Without more facts we cannot tell. By the way, here in Virginia, contact between the two vehicles IS NOT required.
Yes you should file a claim because that's what insurance is for. But use a personal injury attorney and DO NOT sign any paperwork or give any statements unless your attorney instructs you to do so.
In a situation like this, you could have multiple different angles to pursue.
you don't say who owned the car. You should check your own car insurance, as well as the owner's insurance, to see if you have a coverage called Medical Payments ("Med Pay"). Med Pay will pay for any injuries suffered by a covered person, regardless of who was at fault in the accident. It is optional coverage, and costs an extra payment when you bought the insurance. It usually comes in increments of either 1,000, 2,000, or 5,000. It can be multiplied (called "stacking") by the # of cars on that policy. So, if the insurance policy has med pay coverage int he amount of $1,000, and there are 2 cars on that policy, you might have up to $2,000 in coverage. Med Pay will pay for medical expenses, even if those medical expenses have been paid for by health insurance, or by the "at fault" driver.
you might have 2 different claims that you can bring related to fault - one against your sister, and one against the other car.
Virginia law recognizes uninsured motorist ("john doe") claims in this situation, and every insurance policy issued in Virginia has to include coverage for uninsured motorists. So, you have a claim against the hit and run driver, even though there was no contact between the vehicles. Some states have different rules, so you may get contrary answers from lawyers in other states. You should consult with a Virginia lawyer to understand the rules here.
all of the injured passengers in the car also have a claim against the driver of the car. While that may not sound very good to you (filing a claim against your family member), understand that this is what we have insurance for.
an attorney experienced with persona injury matters in Virginia can help sort out the options for you, and most charge no fee for an initial consultation.
Good luck.
In addition to what all of the other attorneys on here have already said, you (along with the other passengers) and your sister might have conflicting claims, and should consider retaining two separate attorneys. You should also probably do this sooner rather than later, for a number of reasons that can impact your case. I'm sorry about what happened and I hope the five of you recover speedily.
