DELVENTHAL LAW
INJURY OR WRONGFUL DEATH FROM A HIT & RUN?
It is against the law for a driver to leave the scene of any accident they have caused. Nevertheless, hundreds of Indiana motorists do just that every year. If you have been hit by a driver who flees the scene, you might be worried about how you will obtain compensation for your losses. Without knowing the identity of the driver, it can be hard to sue for medical bills, lost wages, and car repairs.
At Delventhal Law, we help hit and run victims get the compensation they need so they can move on with their lives. Contact one of our hit and run accident attorneys in Fort Wayne right away.
Car accidents can be expensive. You might need thousands of dollars in medical care and need repairs to your car. If you knew the identity of the other driver, you could file a lawsuit against him or her and then reach a favorable settlement. Since the driver’s identity is a mystery, what can you rely on?
Fortunately, most drivers have several options, which we summarize below:
- Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage. Indiana requires that insurers offer this insurance, which will cover injured motorists after a hit and run. You can receive compensation by filing a claim with your UM insurer. Check the policy limits. Indiana requires that you have at least $25,000 in uninsured bodily injury coverage[1], up to $50,000 per accident. However, you can also decline UM coverage in writing, so check whether you did so.
- Health insurance. You can also rely on your health insurance to pay for medical bills.
- Collision coverage. Collision insurance can pay for any damage to your car caused by the accident.
If you don’t have any of the above insurance policies, then your options for receiving compensation are much more limited, especially if the police do not ultimately identify the driver who sued you.
WHAT TO DO AFTER A HIT & RUN
Injured motorists should protect their rights after a crash, and there are some things you should and should not do. Remember the following:
- Don’t chase after the driver. What do you think you will do if you catch him? Chances are you will break the law speeding after someone, and you might even end up causing another accident. You also do not need to get into a fist fight with someone, which could result in assault charges.
- Try to obtain identifying information. Instead of speeding after a driver, you can quickly document as much about the car and driver as possible. What is the make, model, and year of the vehicle that hit year? What did the driver look like? Where did the accident take place? Write down as much of the license plate as you were able to see.
- Report the accident to the police. An officer can issue a police report, which your insurer will want to see. The police might also be on the lookout for the hit-and-run vehicle, though tracking down the suspect might not be a priority with the amount of crime in Indiana these days.
You should also receive immediate medical attention. Going to the doctor or hospital can help document the severity of your injuries. You also need to try and limit the damage. If you don’t, then you might not receive all the compensation you were expecting.
HOW AN ATTORNEY CAN HELP
If you have uninsured motorist insurance, you might think all you need to do is fill out a few forms with your insurer and wait for a check to arrive in the mail. However, insurers sometimes question whether you were really the victim of a hit and run. Instead, they might claim you actually caused an accident yourself and are claiming to be the victim of a hit and run to be eligible for compensation.
Other insurance companies refuse to investigate the collision or pay out compensation in a timely manner. You will need to take control of the situation, which often requires an attorney’s assistance. Your lawyer can speak with the insurance company and prod them to pay out benefits. You might also have other legal rights, which an attorney can advise you about.
CONTACT DELVENTHAL LAW OFFICE TODAY
Hit and run accidents leave victims in considerable pain and with thousands of dollars in unexpected bills. It is perfectly normal to feel outraged that the other driver was too cowardly to stick around and offer assistance. Fight back the correct way today.
At Delventhal Law Office, our Fort Wayne hit & run accident lawyers can help you get the compensation you need. Contact us to schedule a free initial consultation. (260) 238-8608.
The Indiana law that applies to your hit-and-run crash case
Indiana's two-year personal-injury statute at IC 34-11-2-4[2] governs Fort Wayne hit-and-run claims, and Indiana uninsured-motorist coverage attaches when the fleeing driver is never identified. Indiana Department of Insurance regulations frame the UM analysis. Failing to stop at the scene of a crash with injury is a felony under Indiana law, and the criminal investigation produces evidence that drives the civil case. Indiana law treats a phantom-vehicle hit-and-run as a UM event when physical contact between vehicles is documented, even without identification of the driver.
How insurance carriers fight Fort Wayne hit-and-run crash claims
Hit-and-run cases are defended primarily by the injured driver's own UM carrier, which becomes adverse the moment the claim is filed. First is the physical-contact dispute — UM policies require proof of contact in phantom-vehicle cases, and the carrier routinely insists the crash was a self-induced single-vehicle event. Second is the policy-limits argument, where the carrier interprets stacking and policy aggregation language restrictively against the insured. Third is the cooperation-clause argument, mining the recorded statement for any inconsistency on speed, lane position, or contact detail. Fourth is the injury-causation argument standard to every UM and UIM case. We counter with scene physical evidence, paint-transfer documentation, Indiana State Police investigation records at Indiana State Police[3], and current Indiana Department of Insurance regulatory guidance.
Evidence we preserve in the first 48 hours
Hit-and-run cases turn on identifying the fleeing driver when possible and proving phantom-vehicle contact when not. From day one we lock down:
- Indiana State Police and Fort Wayne Police Department incident reports, BOLO records, and any later identification of the fleeing vehicle through tip leads.
- Paint-transfer photographs, broken trim or headlight fragments left at the scene, and any debris that allows VIN, make, model, and year identification.
- Traffic-camera, business-surveillance, ring-camera, and dash-cam footage in the corridor — preservation letters issued within seventy-two hours.
- The injured driver's UM policy declarations page, full policy language, and the rejection-of-UM history to confirm coverage attaches under Indiana DOI rules.
- Witness statements describing the fleeing vehicle, including partial plate, color, and the direction of flight after impact.
Damages categories in an Indiana hit-and-run crash case
Hit-and-run damages divide into economic and non-economic categories, recoverable through the injured driver's UM coverage when the fleeing driver is never identified by police. Economic damages cover emergency-room care, surgery, inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation, lost wages, and lost future earning capacity for impaired survivors. The Indiana Department of Insurance[4] regulatory framework governs UM stacking, policy-limit availability, and the carrier's good-faith obligations. Non-economic damages cover pain, disfigurement, and loss of enjoyment. When the fleeing driver is later identified, both the at-fault liability policy and any underinsured-motorist layer become available.
What our hit-and-run crash clients ask most
What if the hit-and-run driver is never found?
Indiana uninsured-motorist coverage attaches under IDOI regulations when the fleeing driver is never identified, allowing the injured driver to recover under their own policy. Phantom-vehicle UM claims require documented physical contact between the vehicles. Indiana law requires every auto policy to offer UM coverage unless the insured signed a written rejection.
Does suing my own insurance company under UM raise my rates?
Indiana law prohibits a carrier from raising rates because the insured exercised contractual UM rights — that is part of what the premium purchased. The carrier becomes the adverse party in the UM proceeding, but the relationship is governed by the policy contract and Indiana Department of Insurance regulations, not by personal animosity or premium retaliation.
How long do I have to file a hit-and-run claim in Indiana?
Indiana's general two-year personal-injury statute at IC 34-11-2-4[2] controls when the fleeing driver is identified and sued. UM claims against your own carrier may carry shorter contractual notice obligations — frequently thirty days for initial notice and statutes of limitation as short as two years from denial. The policy language and IDOI rules govern.
What if my UM limits are too low for my injuries?
Stacking analysis under Indiana DOI rules sometimes adds additional UM limits across multiple policies and vehicles in the household. Umbrella policies, employer-provided coverage, and resident-relative policies frequently surface additional UM coverage when the case is properly investigated. Limits-stacking often doubles or triples the recovery in a serious-injury hit-and-run.
Can the criminal investigation help my civil case?
Indiana State Police and FWPD hit-and-run investigations frequently identify fleeing drivers through traffic-camera footage, paint-and-glass forensic comparison, and tip lines. A criminal conviction is admissible as evidence of negligence in the civil case. The criminal restitution order also provides a separate recovery track parallel to the civil action.
What happens after you hire us
From the day we open the hit-and-run file we obtain the police investigation, pull the UM policy and rejection history, and send preservation letters across the corridor for traffic and business surveillance. We coordinate medical care, retain a reconstructionist when needed, and demand against the UM carrier at maximum medical improvement. If the fleeing driver is later identified, we add the liability claim to the case. If the UM carrier falls short of documented damages, suit is filed in Allen Superior Court. Contingency-fee — no fee unless we recover.
