On the evening of August 17, 2024, a car hit and killed a pedestrian in Melfa, Virginia. Virginia State Police are investigating the hit-and-run incident. So far, they know that an unidentified, dark-colored sedan struck a 66-year-old man who entered the southbound lanes on Lankford Highway.
The driver of the sedan failed to stop after hitting the pedestrian. Instead, he or she continued southbound on Lankford Highway. The pedestrian died on impact.
The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) estimates 9,188 pedestrians died in traffic or non-traffic accidents in 2022. (Non-traffic accidents occur in parking lots, driveways, and other private property areas.) In Virginia alone, 173 pedestrians were killed that year.
What are your rights after an accident such as this? Our Virginia Beach car accident lawyers can help you answer that question. Many times, the driver would be liable for damages, but when the driver is unknown, the case can get complicated.
Victims of Hit-and-Run Accidents Can Still File a Claim
Pedestrians often suffer severe injuries and death caused by hit-and-run accidents. Negligent drivers flee the scene, leaving the victims to manage on their own.
If the police report and other evidence show a known driver who was at fault, the injured pedestrian could file a claim with that driver’s insurance company. But when the driver is unknown, that is impossible.
Fortunately, Virginia law is helpful in this sort of situation. The state allows a pedestrian to bring a personal injury claim against the unidentified driver, referred to as a “John Doe” claim. As the law notes, “If the owner or operator of any vehicle causing injury or damages is unknown, an action may be instituted against the unknown defendant as ‘John Doe’…”
Your car accident attorney will bring the claim under the uninsured motorist coverage (UM coverage) of either the car being operated or another car insurance policy providing such coverage under Virginia law, which will be considered under the uninsured motorist coverage. Virginia law requires every car insurance policy to offer uninsured motorist protection equal to your liability coverage unless the equal coverage is reduced with the insured person’s authorization.
In other words, if you have $100,000 per person liability coverage on your policy, you would normally also have $100,000 UM protection in an accident with an uninsured (or unidentified) negligent driver.
Our Virginia Beach car accident attorneys can help file your claim and ensure you receive the compensation you need to put your life back together.
What If My Insurance Doesn’t Cover My Medical Expenses?
If the limits of your insurance policy do not cover the full extent of your provable damages—or if your insurance company offers an unacceptable settlement proposal—you might bring a personal injury lawsuit against the John Doe driver under Virginia UM law. Our car accident attorneys would file that claim against another insurer providing UM coverage or possibly under your insurance, which may then provide defense counsel for John Doe.
We always tell potential clients that their insurance rates will never be increased if they make a UM claim. When you are free of fault, your own insurer cannot raise your premiums—that is actually in Virginia statutes.
If the police identify the driver at any time, we would then amend your lawsuit to replace John Doe with the known driver, or to at least add that individual.
Handling a hit-and-run UM case like this can be tricky. The insurance company’s attorney may hire experts to contest your medical damages or claim that you were partially at fault for the accident. Our car accident lawyers can help navigate this process in your favor so that you receive the best possible outcome.
When to Hire a Virginia Beach Car Accident Attorney
If you or a loved one suffered serious injuries or death in an accident with a hit-and-run driver, contact our Virginia car accident attorneys right away. We will evaluate the evidence in your case and help advise you on your next best steps, as we did for the family of this young Navy service member who was killed in a traffic accident. The mother of the deceased retained our law firm, and we settled the wrongful death litigation for $1.85 million.
We have practiced only Virginia personal injury law since 1985 and have over 100 years of combined legal experience at our law firm.
Our offices are located in Norfolk, Hampton, Virginia Beach, and Portsmouth.