Being hit by a driver who drives off adds insult to injury. You are hurt, your car is damaged, and the person responsible is gone. The good news is that you are often not without options, because your own auto policy may provide the coverage that the missing driver should have carried.
Valley Accident Law represents hit-and-run victims across the Phoenix metro. Founder Charles Paglialunga has 29 years of Arizona accident experience, and every case is handled by Charles personally.
Request your free consultation or call 1-602-584-8054.
Read our guide to hit-and-run accidents in the Phoenix area for more detail.
When the at-fault driver cannot be identified, your own uninsured motorist coverage is designed to step in. Arizona insurers are required to offer uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, and many drivers carry it without realizing how it works. We file the claim under your policy and handle the insurer that suddenly treats you, its own customer, like an adversary. Here is more on uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage in Arizona.
You can recover medical bills, future care, lost wages, vehicle damage, and pain and suffering. If the fleeing driver is later identified, we pursue them directly as well. If a death resulted, we handle the wrongful death claim.
Most Arizona injury claims must be filed within two years, and uninsured motorist claims carry their own notice requirements, so it is best to call early.
Charles handles every hit-and-run case personally. The first consultation is free, and there is no fee unless we recover for you. We have secured verdicts and settlements up to $6.1 million.
Request your free consultation or call 1-602-584-8054.
Even without the other driver’s identity, Arizona law does not treat a hit and run as an unwinnable claim. Fault is still established, just from different evidence: the police report, physical evidence at the scene such as paint transfer or debris, damage patterns on your vehicle, dashcam or nearby security footage, and witness accounts of the vehicle’s direction and description. Your insurer will open its own investigation once you file an uninsured motorist claim, and it may ask pointed questions about how the collision happened, whether you contributed to it, and whether the fleeing vehicle can still be identified later. Many uninsured motorist policies also route disputed claims to arbitration rather than a courtroom, under terms set out in your policy. Understanding those terms before you speak with the adjuster helps protect the claim from the start.
As a hit and run accident lawyer in Scottsdale, we open every case the same way: reviewing the police report, requesting any nearby camera footage before it is overwritten, and reading your policy’s uninsured motorist language line by line so we know exactly what the insurer owes you. We handle the claim correspondence directly, so you are not the one negotiating with an adjuster while you are still recovering. If the fleeing driver is identified later, whether through police follow up or evidence we gather, we shift the claim toward that driver without starting your case over. We track every deadline tied to your policy and to Arizona’s filing window so nothing lapses while you focus on getting better. There is no obligation to move forward after we talk, and no cost to find out where your case stands.
Often, yes. Your own uninsured motorist coverage is designed for exactly this situation.
Call the police, write down everything about the other vehicle, look for witnesses and cameras, and get medical attention.
Using coverage you paid for after a no-fault hit-and-run should not be held against you the way an at-fault claim might. We can talk through your specific policy.
Nothing upfront. We work on contingency, paid only if we recover for you.
Yes, even a partial plate can be enough for police to narrow down the vehicle, especially combined with a description of the color, make, and damage. We pass along everything you remember to the investigating officer and keep pushing for updates. It also strengthens your uninsured motorist claim by showing the loss was genuinely a hit and run.
You can often still recover through your uninsured motorist coverage even without witnesses or video. The police report, your statement, and physical evidence like vehicle damage and debris at the scene are usually enough to support the claim. We look at every available source before assuming there is nothing to work with.
No, a hit and run in a parking lot is handled the same way as one on a public street. Your uninsured motorist coverage still applies, though parking lot cases sometimes rely more heavily on nearby business cameras since there is less traffic camera coverage. We will reach out to nearby stores and property managers to ask about footage.
It depends on how quickly the insurer completes its investigation and whether the driver is later identified, but straightforward uninsured motorist claims often move faster than a typical injury case against a known driver. Complications arise if the insurer disputes fault or if your injuries are still being treated. We stay in contact with the adjuster throughout so the claim does not stall.
A cooperative adjuster at the start does not guarantee a fair offer once the full value of your claim is known. Insurers, including your own, are still evaluating the claim in their own interest. Having a hit and run attorney review the offer before you accept it protects you from settling for less than the claim is worth.