Suing a Driver if They Didn’t Hit Your Car

It kind of sounds like a crazy question to ask if you can sue someone in an accident if they didn’t hit your car. It’s actually not crazy at all. It is not mandatory for two cars to collide with each other in order for it to be labeled as a “motor vehicle accident”. There are also accidents that exist that are legally classified as “no-contact accidents”, and they’re quite common.

No-contact accidents occur when the driver of another vehicle forces your vehicle into another object or off the road, resulting in a crash. You crashed because of another drivers negligence, even if they did not physically make contact with your car.

Finding the Other Driver

Sometimes the other driver does not realize that they caused you to have an accident, so they might leave the scene of the accident, making it difficult to track them down.

If you’re able to get a description of the car or even a partial license plate number, law enforcement can help you track down the other driver. Even if you do not have this information, insurance companies do have solutions so that you can still collect without identifying the other driver.

Your Insurance

You are required to carry uninsured motorist coverage for situations exactly like this. If the vehicle left the scene, they should be covered under this part of your insurance policy. This section of your policy can vary and may have specific requirements in order to use this area of coverage.

Gathering a Witness Statement

The witness statement is key for many insurance companies. Without a witness, an insurance company can’t know for sure if the accident was caused by someone else or you. You’ll need a corroborating witness, which is anyone that was present at the scene of the accident and saw it happen. A corroborating witness can be someone else that was in the accident, one of your passengers or a person or motorist that was passing by and saw the accident happen.

A witness is not always necessary, but it’s important to have one just in case. It’s also important to know what type of witness your policy requires. Some policies do not allow someone to be a witness unless they are an independent third party, which means that they have no stake in your claim.

Legal Assistance

Insurance policies are long and complicated. They can be pretty intimidating to dig through, especially when looking for language discussing no-contact accidents. If you have been involved in a no-contact accident, please contact an attorney. You have options for recovery and only an attorney can help you secure them. For questions and assistance about your claim, please contact our office.