What should I do about a hit and run?
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What should I do about a hit and run?
I was rear-ended yesterday (the damage is minor damage nevertheless) and the offender fled the scene. I managed to get the tag number of the vehicle prior to his fleeing the scene. When the officer arrived and checked out the tag that I gave him, it checked out. The vehicle matched and the description of the offender did as well. The officer seemed unwilling to help at first, however he contacted someone else, (don’t know who) and proceeded with the information about the report. He said the county sheriff would go to his house. It’s been just over 24 hours. Should I do one of those $40 searches to get the offender’s name and address and go from there?
Asked on November 24, 2015 under Accident Law, Florida
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
If the damage is less than $1,000, it's most likely not worth doing anything: someone who hits and runs is unlikely to pay voluntarily, even if you sue him and get a judgment against him, which will mean you'd likely need to go to collections to get paid--and collections efforts can be frustrating, cost money, take time, and are not guaranteed to succeed. You could spend some money and a lot of time and effort to not get anything, so unless there's alot of money stake, it's generally not worthwhile.
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