Hit & Run: A Disturbing Plague in many Major Cities in the U.S.
At about 7 PM of November 17, 2012, an 18-year-old special needs male student was struck by a hit-and-run driver while he was crossing Broadway Avenue in Los Angeles. The unidentified driver did not stop to render aid, a requirement under the law, leaving the young boy to die at the scene.
Hit-and-run accidents killed 147 individuals and injured another 19,009 in the state of California alone in 2010. Nationwide, 2010 record of fatal hit-and-run crashes from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show 1,393 incidences.
Hit and run is just one type of fatal car crash; some other types of car crashes, based on NHTSA records, include head on collision, accidents involving motorcycles and bicycles, truck accidents, and pedestrian accidents. Factors that lead to these and other types of car crashes, on the other hand, include drunk driving, speeding, distracted driving and reckless driving.
While many injured victims in car crashes are able to claim compensation from at-fault drivers, many are left with nowhere to go, either because they do not carry personal insurance or the at-fault driver has run away with no one able to identify him/her.
Since 2005, the number of fatal hit-and-run crashes has continuously risen. The most common victims, or course, are pedestrians and cyclists. Incidents wherein hit-and-run drivers just leave their injured victims to bleed to death have increased in many major cities too, making this type of accident a disturbing plague.
Hit-and-run, also referred to as hit and skip or fleeing from/leaving the scene of an accident, is defined as the act of leaving/fleeing from a scene of an accident to evade responsibility over anyone who may have been injured in such accident. Under the law, drivers, especially the ones liable for the accident, are legally obliged to stop and provide assistance to whoever has been injured or has lost consciousness. The conscious driver, if he or she can, is also required to contact traffic authorities and wait for them to arrive at the scene. If both drivers are unhurt, then the law requires them to exchange information, providing each other with their respective identification, insurance provider and contact details, while accidents which occur in parking lots, the liable driver is required to leave a written notification of his/her identity and contact details if the owner of the vehicle that he/she damaged is nowhere in sight.
Financial support for victims of hit-and-run, is very important. To avail of financial help, they can file a claim with their state’s Office of Victim Services or Victims Compensation Services, or, if they have one, then with their accident insurance provider. Seeking assistance from a highly-skilled personal injury lawyer, both for pursuing the hit-and-run case as well as for making an application for claims, may prove beneficial to a victim.
On this same concern, Iowa car accident lawyers say, “If you are considering pursuing legal action, it is in your best interest to secure the services of a qualified attorney who you can rely on to provide effective legal representation.”
A lawyer will know how to pursue investigations related to hit-and-runs and, with regard to application for claims, will know what documents to prepare and how to legally deal with providers to make sure that application for a claim is not denied or the payment of benefits not delayed.
