In Pennsylvania, you may be able to recover damages for injuries by a hit and run driver if you have Uninsured Motorist Coverage on your insurance policy. If you injured in a car accident due to a hit and run driver, you should first contact the Police and make a Report. It may be that you can identify the vehicle or the license plate number. If that driver is later found, you would have a right to make a claim for bodily injuries and damages if the driver has insurance coverage.
If the hit and run driver is not found, or if that driver has no insurance, you can make a claim under your Uninsured Motorist Coverage under your insurance policy. Uninsured Motorist Coverage is important because it protects you and your family against all other drivers out there who either have no insurance or who might flee the scene. It should not raise your insurance rates to make an Uninsured Motorist Claim under your policy. That is because you paid the insurance premiums to be covered and the crash was not your fault.
Uninsured Motorist benefits are insurance protection and coverage for bodily injuries and losses causes to you by an uninsured driver. So, you would be entitled to be reimbursed for pain and suffering, injuries, out of pocket lost wages or medical bills or other financial losses which were not otherwise covered by other insurance.
If the hit and run driver is apprehended and has no insurance, then, you would still notify your Insurer for an Uninsured Motorist Claim.
Your insurance company would have a right to defend the Uninsured Motorist Claim. If there was a dispute between you and them, they would have a right to assign it to one of their lawyers. You would likely benefit by consulting with an experienced personal injury lawyer who has handled Uninsured Motorist Claims. Your company must treat you in "good faith", however, even though they can be adversarial on the Claim. This means that they can not act unreasonably ("Lack of a reasonable basis") and then knew or recklessly disregarded the fact that they acted unreasonably. If your Insurance Company were to act in "bad faith" when investigating, handling, or paying your Uninsured Motorist Claim, you would have an additional right to bring a "bad faith" insurance suit. There is a law in Pennsylvania that requires your Insurance Company to act in good faith. If not, the law, see Statute 42 Pa CS 8371, would allow you to recover damages for interest, attorney fees, costs, compensatory damages and possibly punitive damages.
You would still have to prove your injuries and damages in an Uninsured Motorist Claim. You would want to check your policy for the amount of Uninsured Motorist Coverage you have. You might also have "stacking" of benefits. This means that, if you have stacking, your coverage is multiplied by the number of cars on your policy. For example, if you have $100,000 in Uninsured Motorist Coverage with "stacking" and 2 cars, you would have $200,000 in available potential coverage.
