Can You Sue After a Hit and Run Accident? Here’s What You Need to Know
✨ Key Points
- Yes, you can sue after a hit and run—but only if the driver is identified.
- If they’re never found, your uninsured motorist coverage can still help cover costs.
- Acting fast—police report, medical care, deadlines—can make or break your case.
Hit-and-run accidents happen when a driver leaves the scene without providing contact or insurance information or checking for injuries.
It’s illegal in every state, yet it happens far more often than people think.
In fact, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety estimates there are more than 700,000 hit-and-run crashes each year in the U.S., and a fatal hit-and-run occurs roughly every 43 hours.
Because the at-fault driver disappears, many victims immediately start wondering: What should you do after a hit and run accident? and Can you sue after a hit and run accident?
The answer depends on whether the driver is identified, but even if they aren’t, options like uninsured motorist coverage for hit and run accidents may help cover medical bills and vehicle damage.
If you’ve been involved in one of these crashes, knowing how to file a claim for a hit and run and understanding whether your insurance covers hit and run accidents can make a major difference financially.
Acting quickly calling the police, gathering evidence, and seeking medical care — protects both your health and your legal rights.
In situations like this, being informed isn’t just helpful it can directly impact your ability to recover compensation.
The 2026 Legal Reality: Two Years, Not Four
The most critical update for any Florida accident victim is the Statute of Limitations. Following HB 837, the window to file a personal injury lawsuit for negligence was slashed.
- The Deadline: You generally have two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit.
- Property Damage Exception: While personal injury claims are limited to two years, you may still have up to four years for claims involving only vehicle or property damage.
- The “Serious Injury” Threshold: Because Florida is a “No-Fault” state, you can only sue the driver for “pain and suffering” if your injuries meet the state’s legal definition of “serious” (e.g., permanent injury, significant scarring, or loss of bodily function).
Strategic Options for Recovery
If the driver is found, you can pursue a standard personal injury lawsuit.
If they remain unidentified, your recovery depends on your policy “stacking.”
| Coverage Type | What it Covers in a Hit-and-Run | Requirement |
| PIP (No-Fault) | 80% of medical bills up to $10,000. | Must seek care within 14 days. |
| Uninsured Motorist (UM) | Medical bills, lost wages, and pain/suffering. | Identifies the phantom driver as “uninsured.” |
| Collision Coverage | Repairs or replaces your vehicle. | Applies regardless of fault or identification. |
| MedPay | Deductibles and co-pays not covered by PIP. | Optional add-on to your policy. |
Is it possible to sue the driver if you identify them?
Yes, that is if you can identify them. During a hit and run accident, things are moving very fast, so it’s difficult to identify the driver.
But if you can do that, you can seek compensation for lost wages, pain and suffering, property damage, medical expenses (current and future expenses), but also emotional distress.
What if the driver is never found?
Hit and run drivers won’t always be found. And yet you still have to cover the medical expenses and all the other stuff related to the accident.
Which is why you always want to figure out a way to cover those expenses, and there are options to consider.
Uninsured motorist coverage will help if the driver at fault has no insurance or you can’t identify them. There’s also collision coverage, which helps pay for the damage to your vehicle, no matter who was at fault.
Don’t miss deadlines
That’s the thing, you never want to miss deadlines because it can be a problem.
Insurance claim deadlines will be short, but you want to avoid missing them, because it will lead to various issues you have to deal with.
And on top of that, you also have the statute of limitations.
Every state has a limit when it comes to filing the personal injury lawsuits.
It’s crucial to narrow down those things and figure out how to approach everything properly.
Make sure that you never get past these deadlines, as that means your claim will not be getting into consideration if the deadlines have passed.
What should you do after a hit and run accident?
A hit and run situation is never pleasant, because it means you will be alone and not knowing a lot or anything about the other driver.
You need to figure out how to handle the situation, and that alone might be harder than you expect. Thankfully, here are the steps you want to focus on:
- Call the police right away, and you want to share with them all the info that you can about the other driver. It can be the direction of travel, driver or vehicle description, license plate, etc. Even a partial plate might lead to their discovery.
- Also, make sure that you seek medical attention right away, if possible.
- Gather evidence, be it photos of the vehicle damage, of the scene, witness contact info, or business surveillance locations.
- Talk with the insurance company and let them know of the accident. However, you don’t want to offer any statements to them, as those can be used against you, which is something you surely want to avoid.
Additionally, you want to hire a good Orlando Personal Injury Attorney that can help you with this process.
The attorney will be great when it comes to acquiring evidence, and he will also let you know how to handle that entire process.
It will not be an easy thing to do, but if you handle it appropriately, it will make things better.
At the end of the day, you need legal representation, especially if the case goes to court.
Is it a good idea to sue after a hit and run?
Naturally, it depends on the situation. It will also depend on whether the driver is identified, the severity of your injuries, long term financial impact, the insurance coverage you have and so on.
A lot of the time, suing after a hit and run is difficult because you don’t know the other driver.
But if you have the right legal representative and also work closely with the police, this might be something that you can do.
Just make sure that you take your time and understand the type of insurance coverage you have.
Conclusion
In the end, yes, you can sue the driver at fault after a hit and run accident.
But the truth is that you have to identify them at first.
If you can’t find them, you can still recover compensation via insurance coverage, if you have any insurance that covers something like this.
A lot of the time, these cases are complex because the driver at fault is very hard to find.
But thankfully, you will be able to identify that person eventually, and then you can sue them.
So yes, it will require some time and effort, but with the right legal representation, you will be able to make this work.
❓Highly Valuable FAQ: Hit-and-Run Legalities
Q: Can I sue my own insurance company if they refuse to pay my UM claim?
A: Yes. If your insurer acts in “Bad Faith” or disputes a valid Uninsured Motorist claim after a hit-and-run, you can file a civil action against them. In 2026, having a lawyer handle these negotiations is vital as insurers often argue that the “phantom vehicle” didn’t actually cause the contact.
Q: What if I was a pedestrian or cyclist hit by a car? A:
You are still covered. If you own a car, your own PIP and UM coverage apply even when you aren’t driving. If you don’t own a vehicle, you may be covered by the policy of a relative you live with or the state’s Crime Victim Compensation Program.
Q: Does Florida’s “No-Fault” law protect the hit-and-run driver from being sued?
A: No. Leaving the scene is a criminal act. While PIP covers your initial $10,000, once you hit the “serious injury” threshold, the driver (if found) loses their immunity and can be sued for full economic and non-economic damages, including punitive damages.
Q: Is there any help if I have no insurance and the driver isn’t found? A:
You may qualify for the Florida Crime Victim Compensation Fund. This can help with medical bills and lost wages if you were the victim of a hit-and-run, provided you reported the crime to the police within 72 hours.
