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You still have options, even if the other driver took off. Don’t chase the vehicle and don’t panic. Move somewhere safe if possible and check on everyone in your car, then call 911 so law enforcement can start a police report while the scene is fresh. From there, Florida’s insurance rules may provide options even if that driver is never found.
The Orlando car accident lawyer team at DWK Law walks clients through exactly this situation often enough to know what helps a claim and what quietly hurts one.
Call 911 first. Not your insurance company, not a family member, the police. A hit and run accident is a criminal matter as well as an insurance one, and an officer on scene can start the police report and call EMS if you need it, noting skid marks or debris before traffic clears them away. DWK Law’s rundown of the immediate steps after any crash covers the documentation and insurance basics that still apply here.
While you wait, write down anything you noticed about the other car: color, make, model, and as much of the license plate as you caught, even a partial. “Dark blue SUV, older Ford, plate started with a 7” has helped law enforcement identify a responsible driver before. Get contact information from any witness who stopped, too; their account can matter more than you’d expect if the case is contested later.
Skip the temptation to go find the driver yourself. It doesn’t help your case, and it can turn a property claim into a much bigger problem if the situation escalates. Drivers flee the scene for plenty of reasons that have nothing to do with you, and why the driver fled does not determine whether you have a claim or which coverage may apply.
[H2] Is it a crime for a driver to leave the scene of an accident in Florida?
Yes. Under Florida Statutes § 316.061 and § 316.027, every driver involved in the crash has to stop and stay at the scene, and the penalty depends entirely on what that crash caused.
Property damage only is a second-degree misdemeanor: up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. Once someone is hurt, the charge becomes a felony that scales with the harm caused. An injury crash is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years, $5,000). A serious injury pushes it to second-degree (up to 15 years, $10,000), with the driver’s license revoked for at least 3 years either way. A fatal hit and run case is a first-degree felony carrying a mandatory minimum of 4 years, up to 30 years, and a $10,000 fine.
In plain terms: the driver who fled may also face a civil claim. The charges get more serious the more you were hurt, which is part of why identifying them matters.
Yes. Florida’s no-fault insurance system may provide PIP benefits through an applicable policy, regardless of who caused the crash.
Florida generally requires owners or registrants of covered vehicles to maintain at least $10,000 in personal injury protection (PIP). PIP generally covers 80% of reasonable and medically necessary treatment, subject to deductibles and other requirements. Initial treatment must generally occur within 14 days, and medical benefits may be limited to $2,500 without a qualifying emergency medical condition. The required $10,000 in property damage liability belongs to the at-fault driver’s policy, so it isn’t collectible if that driver is never found; if you purchased collision coverage, your policy may cover the vehicle damage after your deductible.
Uninsured motorist coverage is optional. When a policy includes bodily injury liability coverage, the insurer generally must offer uninsured motorist coverage, but it may be rejected in writing. If you carry it, an unidentified hit-and-run driver may be treated as uninsured, subject to your policy’s terms. Florida logged over 104,000 hit-and-run crashes in 2023, which is exactly the gap this coverage fills.
If officers track down the driver who left, your legal options open up: you may be able to bring a claim against the driver and seek compensation through any available bodily injury liability coverage. Policy limits affect how much the insurer may pay, not whether a personal injury claim exists. That’s exactly why Florida law requires drivers to give their name and address at the scene and show their license on request.
Florida generally gives you two years from the date of the crash to file a negligence lawsuit under Florida Statutes § 95.11. Insurance policies may have separate notice requirements and deadlines. That clock generally starts on the day of the accident, not the day the driver is identified, so a case that takes months to investigate can quietly eat into your filing window. A child’s age does not automatically extend the deadline, although limited tolling exceptions may apply, so don’t assume a minor automatically gets extra time.
Two things do the most damage: waiting to call the police, and waiting to see a doctor. Skip the police report because the damage looked minor, and you lose documentation the insurer will ask for later. Wait a few days on medical care because you felt fine at the scene, and the insurer can argue something else caused your injury. Neither mistake is fatal alone, but together they often decide whether a claim gets paid or questioned at every step.
After a hit-and-run accident, you shouldn’t have to sort out PIP limits and uninsured motorist coverage on your own while a criminal investigation moves forward. DWK Law has represented injured people across Central Florida since 1989 and works on a contingency fee basis, so you pay no attorney’s fees or costs unless compensation is recovered.
Call DWK Law at (407) 244-3000 or contact us online for a free consultation. DWK Law’s car accident lawyers can review your police report and sort out which coverage applies, then walk you through your legal options while the driver who left is still being looked for.
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