If you were hurt by a driver who left the scene in Maryland, you can usually still recover. A hit-and-run is treated as an uninsured motorist claim, and so in most cases is a crash caused by a phantom vehicle that ran you off the road without contact, though those have stricter proof requirements. In plain terms, your own auto policy steps into the shoes of the driver who fled. The details are on our uninsured and hit-and-run claims page.
That claim is made against your own insurer, but it is not a friendly one. Your insurer will look for reasons to doubt that the other vehicle existed, that it caused your injuries, or that you were not partly to blame. What you do in the first days decides most of that.
This guide is written for the person who was hit. There is a short section on the criminal side near the end.
What to do in the first days after a hit and run
- Call 911 and report it as a hit and run. Get the report number. Most auto policies expect a hit-and-run to be reported to the police promptly, and a claim with no police report is much harder to prove.
- Write down everything you remember about the other vehicle: color, make, body style, damage, partial plate, direction of travel. Do it before the memory fades.
- Look for cameras. Nearby businesses, doorbell cameras, traffic cameras and buses. Business and doorbell footage is routinely overwritten within days.
- Keep debris and photograph paint transfer. A broken mirror housing or a piece of trim can identify a make and model.
- Get names and numbers of witnesses, including anyone who saw the vehicle leave.
- Get medical care the same day if you can. Prompt treatment ties your injuries to the crash date.
- Notify your own insurer promptly, as your policy requires. You do not have to give a detailed recorded statement on the first call.
Your own policy pays: the uninsured motorist claim
Maryland requires insurers to offer uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, and to offer it at the same limits as your liability coverage unless you waived it down in writing. For a hit-and-run, that coverage is usually the main source of recovery for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
Two other coverages often help alongside it:
- Personal injury protection (PIP) pays toward medical bills and lost wages regardless of fault. Insurers must offer it, and waiving it requires a written waiver.
- Collision coverage, if you carry it, pays for the damage to your car, subject to your deductible.
Other policies may apply: a resident relative’s policy, a policy on another household vehicle, or in some situations a commercial policy. Read the declarations page for every policy in your household before assuming the limit on your own card is the ceiling.
Fault still matters, even against your own insurer
An uninsured motorist claim is not no-fault. Your insurer generally stands where the fleeing driver would have stood, which means it can raise the same defenses that driver could have raised. In Maryland the most important one is contributory negligence: if you are found even slightly at fault for the crash, you can be barred from recovering anything.
Expect questions about your speed, whether you were on your phone, and where you were in the lane. Answer with facts, not guesses or apologies. “I did not see it coming” is a fact. “I probably should have been paying more attention” is an argument the insurer will use.
If you were walking, cycling or do not own a car
Pedestrians and cyclists are frequent hit-and-run victims, and many assume that without a car policy of their own there is nothing to claim against. That is often wrong.
- A policy held by a relative you live with may cover you, even though you were not in a car.
- Your own PIP may pay toward medical bills and lost wages even though you were on foot.
- Where no policy applies, the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund (MAIF) has a program for people injured by uninsured or unidentified drivers who have no other coverage. It has its own notice rules and limits, so raise it early.
See pedestrian accident claims and bicycle accident claims for how those cases are built.
If police identify the driver
If the driver is found, the claim can go against that driver’s liability insurance, with your uninsured or underinsured coverage behind it if their limits run out. Do not settle with the at-fault driver’s insurer before speaking to your own. Your insurer can refuse the underinsured claim on that basis alone.
Your civil claim is separate from the criminal case. You do not need a conviction to recover, and the civil claim does not wait for the criminal court to finish. A criminal court may order the driver to pay restitution for some of your losses, but restitution is not a substitute for an injury claim, which covers losses restitution usually does not, such as pain and suffering.
The criminal side: leaving the scene in Maryland
Maryland law requires a driver involved in a crash that injures or kills someone to stop at the scene, remain there, give their name, address and registration, and render reasonable assistance to anyone hurt (Maryland Transportation Article §§ 20-102 and 20-104). Separate duties apply to crashes that damage only property, including an unattended parked car.
Penalties increase with the harm caused. Leaving the scene of a crash that caused serious bodily injury or death can be charged as a felony. The prosecutor decides what to charge; the victim does not.
If you are the driver facing a leaving-the-scene charge, talk to a criminal defense lawyer. This guide is written for people who were hurt.
Deadlines you should know
Maryland generally allows three years to file an injury lawsuit, but your policy requires prompt notice to your insurer, which is a much shorter and separately enforced obligation. A crash involving a government vehicle can require written notice sooner still.
If you are unsure what has already been reported and to whom, a free case review can sort that out quickly.
Common questions
Can I get compensation if the hit-and-run driver is never found?
Usually, yes. The claim goes to your own uninsured motorist coverage, which is designed for exactly this situation. The practical challenge is proof that another vehicle caused the crash, which is why the police report, witnesses and camera footage matter so much.
Do I need a police report for a hit-and-run claim?
You should have one. Most policies expect a hit-and-run to be reported to the police promptly, and an insurer will treat an unreported crash with suspicion. If you did not report it at the time, report it now and tell us when you did.
I was hit while walking and I do not own a car. Who pays?
Check whether a relative you live with has an auto policy, because it may cover you. Your own PIP, if you have any policy, may also apply. Where there is no policy at all, the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund may be a source, subject to its own notice rules.
Will my insurer treat me as the other side?
In practice, often yes. On an uninsured motorist claim your insurer can raise the defenses the fleeing driver could have raised, including contributory negligence. Your policy does require you to cooperate with your own insurer, which is a real obligation and different from the one you owe the other driver’s carrier.
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. This article is general information about Maryland law, not legal advice about your situation.