In An Accident With a Hit and Run Driver? Here’s How to Make Sure You’re Covered.
Car accidents happen. A driver makes a mistake and hits another person’s vehicle, the police are called, medical care is administered if necessary, and insurance information is exchanged. While unfortunate and inconvenient, most times car accidents follow a predictable procedure, and the insurance company of the at fault party will cover the damage. But what happens if you’re driving down a dark road and a pair of headlights bears down on you, hits you and then leaves the scene of the accident without stopping? What if you have injuries, medical bills and damage to your car but have no way of knowing who caused your accident? These situations are known as collisions with unknown drivers, and it can be difficult to collect what is owed to you under your insurance policy. The good news for the victim of such an accident is that it is possible for them to collect under uninsured motorist coverage. This type of coverage is statutorily required in South Carolina, and anyone who is insured has this coverage available. See S.C. Code Ann.§ 38-77-150. The bad news is that concerns regarding fraud have led South Carolina lawmakers to enact specific provisions as to when a person is able to make a claim on their uninsured motorist coverage for an unknown driver. Unless the victim has complied with the law, the driver’s coverage will be denied. For this reason it I essential that you get legal representation if you find yourself in this situation. S.C. Code Ann. § 38-77-170 states lays out three requirements in order to make a claim. The first requirement is that “the insured or someone in his behalf report[] the accident to some appropriate police authority within a reasonable time, under all the circumstances, after its occurrence[.]” S.C. Code Ann. § 38-77-170(1). Essentially, this section states that the victim must promptly report the accident to the police as soon as they become aware of what has happened and are able to do so. While this provision seems straight forward, it still needs to be mentioned to ensure compliance with the law. The second requirement is the most complicated and involves proving that an accident with an unknown driver actually occurred. The law states that “the injury or damage [must be] caused by physical contact with the unknown vehicle, or the accident must have been witnessed by someone other than the owner or operator of the insured vehicle; provided however, the witness must sign an affidavit attesting to the truth of the facts of the accident contained in the affidavit[.]” S.C. Code Ann. § 38-77-170(2). What this means is that you need proof that the accident occurred. The simplest way to prove this is evidence of contact between the victim’s car and the unknown driver’s car, which is commonly referred to as “trading paint.” If no contact occurred however, as in our earlier example where an unknown car forces another off the road, then there must be a witness willing to sign an affidavit explaining what happened. This requirement can become complicated, as the witness cannot be the driver or owner of the vehicle […]
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