If a car hit you and the driver took off, get yourself out of traffic, call 911, and start documenting everything you can remember about the vehicle while it’s fresh. Those first few minutes shape everything that follows. Knowing what to do after a hit-and-run as a pedestrian comes down to a short list: get safe, get help, preserve evidence, see a doctor, file a police report, and open a claim with your own auto insurer, because uninsured motorist coverage is usually the fastest path to paying your medical bills even when the driver is never found.
First Minutes: Safety, 911, and Evidence
If you can move, get out of the road. A second vehicle striking an injured pedestrian in traffic is a real risk, and nothing else matters until you’re clear of it. Once you’re in a safe spot, call 911 and ask for both police and paramedics, even if you think your injuries are minor.
While you wait, use your phone. Photograph the scene from several angles: debris, skid marks, damaged property, and your own injuries. If you caught anything about the car — make, model, color, a partial plate, the direction it fled — write it down or record a voice memo immediately. Shock and adrenaline erase details faster than people expect. What feels unforgettable at the curb may be gone by the time you talk to an investigator.
Get names and phone numbers from anyone who saw it happen. Witnesses scatter the moment the ambulance arrives. Look around for cameras too: storefront security, traffic signals, doorbell cameras on nearby homes. You can’t pull that footage yourself, but you can tell the responding officer exactly where to look so it gets preserved before it’s overwritten.
File a Police Report
Report the collision to police as soon as you can — ideally from the scene, and at a minimum within 24 hours. The report creates an official record that anchors your timeline and gives law enforcement what they need to issue alerts for the fleeing vehicle. Give the officer every detail you have: time, location, any description of the car, witness names, and where you noticed cameras.
Ask for the report number before the officer leaves, and follow up within a few days to get a full copy of the written report. You’ll need that document for nearly everything that comes next. Many insurers won’t even process a hit-and-run claim without it.
Get Medical Care the Same Day
Go to an emergency room or urgent care clinic even if you feel okay. Adrenaline masks serious injuries for hours. Concussions, internal bleeding, and soft-tissue damage don’t always announce themselves right away, and a gap between the accident and your first medical visit gives an insurance adjuster an easy opening to argue that something else caused your injuries.
Tell the treating physician exactly what happened — struck by a vehicle, driver left the scene. Make sure that history lands in your medical records. Keep every piece of paper: ER reports, imaging results, discharge instructions, follow-up visit notes, prescriptions, and receipts. That paper trail is the backbone of any compensation claim you file later.
Call Your Own Auto Insurer
Contact your auto insurance company promptly, even though you weren’t in a car. Most policies require you to report an accident within a specific window, sometimes as short as 30 days. Missing that deadline can jeopardize your entire claim, so don’t wait for the police investigation to progress before calling. The insurer will typically ask for the police report number, a description of what happened, and your medical records.
Uninsured Motorist Coverage Usually Applies to You as a Pedestrian
Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage is usually the most important policy you have after a hit-and-run. It pays for your injuries and, in many policies, lost wages when the at-fault driver either carries no insurance or can’t be identified. A hit-and-run driver who disappears is treated as uninsured for claim purposes.1Progressive. What Is Uninsured Motorist Coverage? Roughly 20 states and the District of Columbia require UM coverage as part of a standard auto policy; in other states it’s optional but strongly recommended.2Insurance Information Institute. Automobile Financial Responsibility Laws By State
Here’s the part many pedestrians don’t realize: if you have an auto policy with UM coverage, it usually protects you even when you’re not in your car. Walking across a crosswalk, standing on a sidewalk, riding a bike — your own auto UM coverage can still apply. And if you don’t own a car but live with a family member who does, you may be covered under their policy as a household member.
PIP and MedPay
In no-fault states, Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage pays medical expenses and sometimes lost wages regardless of who caused the accident. That means bills can start getting covered immediately. Once PIP limits are exhausted, UM coverage can fill the gap. Medical Payments coverage (MedPay) works similarly, covering medical bills from an auto accident up to your policy limits regardless of fault. Not every state requires PIP or MedPay, and not every driver carries them, so check your declarations page. After a hit-and-run, you want to use every coverage available.
If You Have No Auto Insurance at All
Pedestrians who don’t own a car and aren’t covered under a household member’s auto policy face a harder road. Your health insurance will cover your medical treatment, but it won’t pay for lost wages or pain and suffering. In that situation, victim compensation funds and locating the driver become your main paths to recovery.
If the Driver Is Caught
When police identify the driver, you can file a claim against their auto liability insurance. Nearly every state requires drivers to carry at least minimum liability coverage for bodily injury and property damage.2Insurance Information Institute. Automobile Financial Responsibility Laws By State A personal injury attorney can start the process with a demand letter laying out what happened, documenting your injuries and financial losses, and asking for a specific dollar figure. Most claims settle. If talks stall, filing suit puts the case before a judge or jury.
Leaving the scene of an accident involving injuries is a felony in most states, and that fact matters to your civil case too. Fleeing tends to be treated as consciousness of guilt, and courts sometimes award punitive damages when a driver’s conduct was especially reckless.
When the Driver’s Insurance Isn’t Enough
Sometimes the driver is found but carries only minimum coverage, which might be as low as $15,000 for bodily injury in some states. If your medical bills alone exceed that, underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage on your own policy can make up the difference. UIM works like UM but applies when the at-fault driver has some insurance, just not enough. Carrying both UM and UIM gives you a safety net whether the driver has no insurance, too little insurance, or is never identified.
If the Driver Is Never Found
This is where many hit-and-run victims feel stuck, but you still have options.
File a UM Claim Against Your Own Policy
Your UM coverage doesn’t require the other driver to be identified. As long as there’s evidence that a vehicle was involved — a police report, witness statements, physical evidence at the scene — you can file a UM claim.1Progressive. What Is Uninsured Motorist Coverage? The claim goes against your own insurer and covers medical bills, lost wages, and in some policies pain and suffering, up to your coverage limits.
State Victim Compensation Funds
Every state runs a crime victim compensation program that provides financial assistance to victims of violent crimes, including hit-and-runs. These funds can cover medical expenses, lost wages, counseling, and funeral costs. They typically function as a payer of last resort, covering expenses your insurance doesn’t. Maximum benefits vary widely by state, with some programs capping total awards at $25,000 and others going up to $150,000 for catastrophic injuries. Eligibility usually requires a police report and a timely application; deadlines range from one to three years after the crime, depending on the state.
John Doe Lawsuits
Some states let you file a lawsuit against an unidentified “John Doe” defendant. The practical purpose is to stop the statute of limitations clock. If the driver is later identified through investigation, a witness tip, or new surveillance footage, you can amend the lawsuit to name them. If the driver is never found, the John Doe defendant is eventually dismissed, but in the meantime your legal options stay open. Not every state allows this; an attorney in your state can tell you whether it’s an option.
Deadlines You Cannot Miss
Every state sets a statute of limitations for filing a personal injury lawsuit. In most states that window is two or three years from the date of the accident, though it ranges from one year to six years depending on the state. Miss it and you lose the right to sue, with few exceptions.
Insurance deadlines are separate and often shorter. Your own policy may require you to report a hit-and-run within 30 days to preserve UM benefits. Victim compensation applications have their own filing windows. Report the accident to police, your insurer, and your state’s victim compensation program as quickly as possible. None of these deadlines reward waiting.
What You Keep After Taxes and Liens
Money you receive for physical injuries, whether through a settlement or a court judgment, is generally not taxable income. Federal tax law excludes from gross income any compensatory damages received on account of personal physical injuries or physical sickness, including reimbursement for medical bills and lost wages tied to those injuries.3Internal Revenue Service. Tax Implications of Settlements and Judgments
The main exception is punitive damages. If a court awards punitive damages to punish the driver’s conduct, that portion of your recovery is taxable as ordinary income.3Internal Revenue Service. Tax Implications of Settlements and Judgments Damages for emotional distress are only tax-free when they stem directly from physical injuries.
Expect your health insurer to come looking for reimbursement too. If it paid for treatment related to the crash, it has a legal right called subrogation to recover what it paid out of your settlement. Most health insurance contracts and many state laws make this enforceable. Some state laws require the insurer to reduce its lien proportionally to account for your attorney fees. Employer-sponsored plans governed by federal law (ERISA) often have stronger reimbursement rights that state laws can’t override. Either way, the lien reduces your take-home amount, and an experienced personal injury attorney can sometimes negotiate it down.