Written by Kelley Dick, personal injury attorney at Mansfield Melancon Injury Lawyers.
Festival season, football weekends, and Halloween crowds all bring more cars, more pedestrians, and more chaos to Louisiana streets in October — and with that comes a predictable rise in drivers who cause a crash and simply leave. Louisiana law makes leaving the scene of an accident a crime, but that criminal charge doesn’t automatically pay your medical bills. If a driver fled after hitting you, you usually still have two years to pursue compensation, and in most cases, your own insurance coverage becomes the path forward rather than the other driver’s — which is where a hit and run accident lawyer in Louisiana usually starts.
A hit-and-run doesn’t mean you’re out of options. It just means the path to compensation looks different than a normal claim.
Why a Hit and Run Accident Lawyer Starts With Your Uninsured Motorist Coverage
In Louisiana, uninsured motorist coverage typically applies to hit-and-run accidents the same way it applies to a crash caused by a driver with no insurance at all — because from a claims standpoint, an unidentified driver is treated similarly to an uninsured one. If you carry UM coverage on your own policy, that’s usually where a hit-and-run claim gets filed, regardless of whether the other driver is ever found.
Why Identifying the Driver Still Matters
Even when your own UM coverage handles the claim, identifying the fleeing driver can still affect how much you recover and whether law enforcement pursues criminal charges. Traffic camera footage, nearby business security cameras, and witness descriptions of the vehicle are the most common ways hit-and-run drivers get identified after the fact, and that information is often time-sensitive — many businesses only retain footage for a matter of days.
What to Do in the Minutes After a Hit-and-Run
Get whatever partial information you can — vehicle color, make, partial plate number, direction of travel — even if it feels incomplete. Call the police immediately, since a police report documenting the hit-and-run is typically required before an insurance company will process a UM claim. Photograph the scene and any vehicle debris left behind, which sometimes helps identify the make and model even without a full plate number.
Festival and Holiday Weekends See More of These Claims
Crowded event weekends bring more parking lot scrapes and low-speed collisions where a driver panics and leaves rather than exchanging information, in addition to more serious hit-and-run crashes involving pedestrians. Whether the incident was minor or severe, the same UM coverage process generally applies, and reporting it promptly protects your ability to file.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if the driver who hit me is never found?
Your own uninsured motorist coverage typically applies to hit-and-run accidents in Louisiana, similar to how it applies when the other driver has no insurance at all.
Do I need to file a police report for a hit-and-run claim?
Yes. A police report is generally required before an insurance company will process an uninsured motorist claim related to a hit-and-run.
Does it still matter if the hit-and-run driver is identified later?
It can. Identifying the driver may affect your total recovery and can lead to criminal charges, even if your claim is already being handled through your own UM coverage.
How long do I have to file a claim after a Louisiana hit-and-run?
You usually have two years from the date of the crash under Louisiana law, though reporting the incident to police and your insurer promptly is still important.
If you were hit by a driver who fled the scene, reach out and let’s talk about your coverage options. The consultation is free, and you pay nothing unless we win.