Hit and Run Accident Lawyer in Miami

Hit-and-run crashes are a serious problem in Miami-Dade County. Florida consistently leads the country in hit-and-run fatalities, and Miami-Dade is among the worst counties in the state. The reasons range from drivers without insurance, to drivers without valid licenses, to drivers under the influence — but the result for the injured victim is the same: a crash with serious injuries and an at-fault driver who is gone. The good news is that Florida law provides a path to recovery even when the at-fault driver is never identified.

Florida Uninsured Motorist Coverage in Hit-and-Run Cases

Florida law treats a hit-and-run driver as an "uninsured motorist" for purposes of UM coverage. If you have UM coverage on your own auto policy — or on the policy of a resident relative, or on a vehicle in which you were a passenger — that policy will respond to a hit-and-run claim as if the unidentified driver were uninsured.

UM coverage is one of the most valuable insurance products available in Florida, and it should be on every auto policy. Florida law (§ 627.727) requires insurance carriers to offer UM coverage equal to the bodily injury liability limits on the policy unless the insured signs a written rejection. UM coverage in Florida can also be "stacked" across multiple vehicles owned by the household, multiplying the available limits — but only if the policyholder paid for stacked coverage.

Reporting Requirements

To pursue a UM claim for a hit-and-run, Florida law typically requires:

• Reporting the accident to law enforcement within 24 hours
• Notifying your insurance carrier promptly
• Cooperating with the police investigation
• Providing reasonable evidence of physical contact between the vehicles (this requirement varies by policy and has narrowed over time)

Identifying the Hit-and-Run Driver

Even after the at-fault driver flees, identification is often possible — and identification opens up the at-fault driver's insurance and personal assets in addition to your UM coverage. Common identification sources include:

• Traffic camera and red-light camera footage
• Surveillance video from nearby businesses
• Doorbell-camera (Ring/Nest) footage from residential blocks
• Witness license-plate sightings
• Paint transfer evidence from your vehicle
• Vehicle parts left at the scene (broken mirrors, bumpers, headlight pieces) traced through manufacturer parts databases
• Police tip lines and Crime Stoppers reward programs
• Social media posts by the at-fault driver

We work with police investigators and private investigators to pursue identification while simultaneously beginning the UM claim, so the case is not delayed if identification is unsuccessful.

Florida Penalties for Hit-and-Run

Florida law makes hit-and-run a serious criminal offense. Leaving the scene of a crash with injuries is a third-degree felony (§ 316.027(2)(a)), with the offense level increasing to second-degree felony for serious bodily injury and first-degree felony for fatal crashes. Conviction in the criminal case is admissible in your civil case and substantially aids both liability and punitive-damages claims.

Damages

Your recovery in a hit-and-run case can include past and future medical expenses, lost wages and earning capacity, pain and suffering, mental anguish (often significant in hit-and-run cases because of the additional psychological trauma of being abandoned at the scene), permanent disability, and (in fatal cases) Florida Wrongful Death Act damages.

To recover non-economic damages such as pain and suffering, the injured plaintiff must meet the threshold in § 627.737 — a permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function, significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement, or death. UM coverage responds to those non-economic damages once the threshold is met, just as a third-party liability carrier would.

Misdemeanor vs. Felony Leaving the Scene

Florida distinguishes between leaving the scene of a crash involving only property damage and leaving the scene of a crash involving personal injury or death. § 316.061 makes property-damage hit-and-run a second-degree misdemeanor. § 316.027 makes leaving the scene of a crash with injury a third-degree felony, with serious bodily injury elevating the offense to second-degree felony and a fatality elevating it to first-degree felony with a mandatory minimum prison term. A conviction or even a charging document under either statute is powerful evidence in the civil case and supports punitive-damages exposure for the act of fleeing itself.

When the Driver Has No Insurance and You Have No UM

The hardest hit-and-run cases are those where the at-fault driver is eventually identified but has no liability coverage and no meaningful assets, and the injured victim never purchased UM coverage on their own policy. Even then, several backstops are worth investigating:

• Florida Crime Victims' Compensation (Chapter 960). The Bureau of Victim Compensation can pay medical expenses, funeral costs, mental-health counseling, and lost wages for victims of violent crime, and leaving the scene of a crash with injury qualifies as a forcible felony for these purposes. The application deadline is generally one year from the crash, with limited extensions.
• Resident-relative UM. A UM policy on any resident relative's auto policy may respond. Many injured victims do not realize a parent's, spouse's, or adult child's policy is available.
• Host-vehicle UM. If the victim was a passenger in someone else's vehicle, that vehicle's UM coverage typically responds.
• Employer or vicarious-liability defendants if the at-fault driver was on the clock or driving a vehicle covered under the dangerous-instrumentality doctrine.
• Health insurance. Private health, Medicare, or Medicaid pays for the ongoing care, with subrogation rights addressed through the personal-injury lien process.

How Miami-Dade Police and FHP Investigate

Miami-Dade Police Department, the City of Miami Police, FHP, and local agencies in Hialeah, Coral Gables, and Doral handle different geographic areas. Surface-street hit-and-runs in the City of Miami are worked by City of Miami PD; crashes on I-95, the Palmetto, the Dolphin, the Turnpike, and other limited-access highways are FHP jurisdiction. Investigators canvass for surveillance, run partial-plate searches through FLHSMV, request paint samples through FDLE if needed, and check body-shop databases for suspicious recent repairs. We track the criminal investigation closely and work with the lead detective so that civil discovery follows — not duplicates — the criminal evidence.

Common Insurance-Carrier Tactics

• Disputing physical contact. Many older UM policies required actual physical contact between the vehicles. Florida law has narrowed that requirement, but carriers still raise the issue when the unknown driver caused the crash by forcing the insured off the road without touching the insured's vehicle. Independent witnesses and surveillance footage are critical.
• Late notice. Carriers argue prejudice from delayed reporting. The 24-hour police-report rule is one safeguard; promptly notifying the UM carrier is another.
• Pre-existing conditions. Carriers comb the medical record for any prior treatment to the same body part and argue the new injury is unrelated.
• Causation between the unknown driver's conduct and the impact. Particularly in multi-vehicle pile-ups, the carrier may argue the insured would have collided with someone even without the unknown driver.

What to Do After a Hit-and-Run in Miami

1. Call 911 immediately. Request police and EMS. Stay at the scene.
2. Write down everything you remember about the other vehicle — color, make, model, partial plate, direction of travel, and any identifying damage.
3. Ask bystanders if they saw the crash or have dashcam footage, and get their contact information.
4. Photograph your vehicle, paint transfer, vehicle parts left at the scene, the roadway, traffic-signal positions, and visible injuries.
5. Get medical evaluation within 14 days to preserve PIP medical benefits under § 627.736.
6. Notify your own auto insurance carrier promptly and put them on notice that a UM claim is anticipated.
7. Look for surveillance cameras at nearby businesses, gas stations, ATMs, and residences. Note their locations so a preservation letter can be sent before footage is overwritten.
8. Do not give a recorded statement to any insurance company before consulting with a lawyer.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if I was a pedestrian or cyclist when I was hit?

You are still entitled to PIP benefits — from your own policy, a resident relative's policy, or, if neither exists, certain backup arrangements. UM coverage on your own auto policy also responds when a pedestrian or cyclist is struck by an unidentified driver. Many cyclists hit in Brickell, Coral Gables, and along the Rickenbacker do not realize they have access to their own household's auto coverage.

How long do I have to bring a civil hit-and-run case?

For crashes on or after March 24, 2023, the statute of limitations on negligence claims is two years under § 95.11(3). Wrongful-death claims are also two years from the date of death. UM claims are subject to a five-year contractual limitation, but waiting that long is almost always a mistake because evidence disappears.

What if the at-fault driver is found weeks later?

You then have both a UM claim and a third-party liability claim against the at-fault driver. The two claims can proceed in parallel, with the UM carrier paying the difference between the at-fault policy and your full damages up to the UM limits.

Will my own insurance rates go up if I make a UM claim?

Florida law prohibits a carrier from raising rates because an insured was the victim of a not-at-fault accident. You paid for UM coverage; using it is what it exists for.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of a hit-and-run crash anywhere in Miami-Dade, Broward, or Monroe County, contact the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin. Call 786-522-1411 or email [email protected] for a free consultation.