Hit-and-Run Accidents in Florida

A hit-and-run accident occurs when a driver involved in a crash leaves the scene without stopping to identify themselves, exchange insurance information, or help anyone who is injured. Florida recorded nearly 98,000 hit-and-run crashes in 2024 alone, making it one of the worst states in the country for this type of crime. The lawyers at Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada have represented hit-and-run victims across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Collier Counties since 1976, helping injured drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and cyclists recover compensation even when the at-fault driver tried to disappear.

If you were hurt by a driver who fled the scene, the dedicated attorneys at Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada can review your car accident case at no cost and explain every option available to you for recovering full compensation.

Being the victim of a hit-and-run can feel overwhelming. You are left with injuries, vehicle damage, and medical bills — but no one to hold accountable, at least not immediately. The good news is that Florida law provides several paths to compensation for hit-and-run victims, whether the driver who hit you is eventually identified or not. The key is acting quickly to preserve evidence, report the crash, and file the right insurance claims before deadlines pass.

Leaving the scene of an accident is a crime in Florida, and the penalties increase based on the severity of the crash. Florida Statute § 316.061 covers crashes involving only property damage. A driver who leaves the scene of a property-damage-only crash commits a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.

When a crash causes bodily injury, the stakes rise sharply. Under Florida Statute § 316.027, a driver who flees the scene of an accident involving non-serious bodily injury commits a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. If the crash caused serious bodily injury — defined as a condition creating a substantial risk of death, serious disfigurement, or protracted loss of bodily function — the charge is elevated to a second-degree felony carrying up to 15 years in prison.

If someone died in the crash, the driver who fled faces a first-degree felony. Under the Aaron Cohen Life Protection Act, which amended § 316.027 in 2014, a driver convicted of leaving the scene of a fatal crash faces a mandatory minimum sentence of four years in prison and up to 30 years. The law was named after Aaron Cohen, a South Florida cyclist and father of two who was killed by an impaired driver who fled the scene in 2012. Any driver convicted under § 316.027 also faces a mandatory license revocation of at least three years.

These are criminal penalties — they punish the driver who ran. But as the victim, your primary concern is recovering maximum compensation for your injuries. That requires a separate civil process, and the approach depends on whether the driver is ever found.

The path to compensation after a hit-and-run depends on two things: whether the at-fault driver is identified, and what insurance coverage you carry on your own policy.

If the driver is found, you can pursue a civil claim against them just as you would in any other car accident. Your attorney can file a personal injury lawsuit, negotiate with the driver's liability insurer, and seek full compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, pain, and suffering. The fact that the driver fled the scene — and potentially committed a felony — strengthens, not weakens, your civil case.

If the driver is never identified, your own insurance becomes the primary source of recovery. Here is how the available coverages work.

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) is mandatory in Florida. Every driver must carry at least $10,000 in PIP coverage under Florida Statute § 627.736. PIP pays 80 percent of medical expenses and 60 percent of lost wages, up to the policy limit, regardless of who caused the accident. In a hit-and-run, PIP kicks in immediately. But $10,000 often falls far short of covering serious injuries.

Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage is the most important protection a hit-and-run victim can have. Under Florida Statute § 627.727, a fleeing driver who cannot be identified is treated the same as an uninsured driver for insurance purposes. UM coverage pays for medical bills, lost income, and non-economic damages like pain and suffering — the same types of compensation you would seek in a lawsuit against the at-fault driver. Florida does not require UM coverage, but insurers must offer it. If you carry UM, it can mean the difference between a $10,000 PIP payment and a six- or seven-figure recovery.

If you were hurt in a hit-and-run in South Florida, call (877) 448-8585 to talk with one of our very experienced attorneys. The consultation is free, and we do not charge fees unless and until we recover compensation for you.

Collision coverage, if you carry it, can help pay for vehicle repairs or replacement even when the other driver is unknown. Unlike UM, which covers bodily injuries, collision coverage addresses the damage to your vehicle itself.

What you do in the minutes and hours after a hit-and-run can directly affect your ability to recover compensation later.

Call 911 immediately. A police report is essential in every hit-and-run case. Officers will document the scene, canvass for witnesses, and begin the process of identifying the driver. If you saw the vehicle, give the officer as much detail as possible — the make, model, color, license plate number or even a partial plate, the direction the vehicle traveled, and any description of the driver.

Get medical attention right away. Even if you feel relatively okay at the scene, some injuries — concussions, internal bleeding, soft-tissue damage — take hours or days to produce noticeable symptoms. A prompt medical evaluation creates a documented connection between the crash and your injuries, which is critical for both insurance claims and any future lawsuit.

Document everything you can. Use your phone to photograph vehicle damage, debris on the road, skid marks, traffic signals, and any injuries. If there are nearby businesses, note their names — they may have surveillance cameras that captured the crash. Ask anyone who witnessed the hit-and-run for their name and phone number.

Notify your insurance company promptly. Many UM policies have strict deadlines for reporting a hit-and-run claim. Delaying the report can give the insurer a reason to challenge or deny your claim.

Contact an attorney before giving a recorded statement to any insurance company — including your own. Even your own insurer may look for reasons to minimize your UM claim. An experienced attorney can protect your interests during that process.

Drivers leave the scene of a crash for many reasons, and most of those reasons involve something the driver does not want discovered: they were driving without insurance, driving with a suspended or revoked license, under the influence of alcohol or drugs, driving a stolen vehicle, or had an outstanding warrant. In many cases, the decision to flee turns what would have been a traffic citation into a felony.

Despite the instinct to run, a large percentage of hit-and-run drivers in Florida are eventually identified. Law enforcement uses traffic camera footage, red-light cameras, nearby business surveillance systems, license plate reader technology, vehicle debris and paint transfer analysis, and witness descriptions to track down fleeing drivers. In Miami-Dade County, the density of cameras along corridors like I-95, Biscayne Boulevard, Flagler Street, and the Dolphin Expressway gives investigators a significant advantage.

Even partial evidence — a paint chip color, a headlight fragment, or a grainy camera frame — can narrow the search to a specific vehicle make and model. Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada works with investigators and accident reconstruction professionals to help identify hit-and-run drivers and build the strongest possible civil case against them.

If the hit-and-run driver is identified, you have two years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit under Florida Statute § 95.11, as amended by HB 837 in 2023. Before that legislative change, the deadline was four years.

Two years may sound like enough time, but in hit-and-run cases, the investigation to identify the driver can consume months. Once the driver is found, your attorney still needs to investigate the crash, gather medical records, calculate damages, and prepare the case. Starting the legal process early gives your legal team the best chance of building a strong claim before the deadline arrives.

If the driver is never identified, your claim against your own UM insurer is governed by the terms of your insurance policy, which typically includes its own filing deadlines. Missing those deadlines can result in a denial of benefits. An attorney familiar with Florida insurance law can make sure every required notice and filing is completed on time.

If a hit-and-run resulted in the death of a loved one, surviving family members may have a wrongful death claim against the identified driver, or a UM claim if the driver remains unknown.

A hit-and-run leaves you with injuries and unanswered questions. Whether the driver who struck you has been caught or is still unknown, Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada can help you understand your options and pursue every available source of compensation. Our dedicated attorneys have handled car accident claims across South Florida for nearly 50 years, and we know how to work with law enforcement, investigate crashes, and hold insurance companies accountable on UM claims.

To speak with one of our attorneys about your hit-and-run case, call Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada at (305) 448-8585 or contact us online. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All consultations are free, and you pay nothing unless and until we win.