Hit and Run Accident Lawyer in West Palm Beach

A hit and run on Okeechobee Boulevard, Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard, Australian Avenue, I-95, or a West Palm Beach side street leaves you injured, with a damaged vehicle, and no driver exchanging information. Florida treats that seriously on the criminal side and carefully on the civil side.

I am Shannon J. Sagan, Fla. Bar #10793, The Dash Cam Lawyer®. I focus on Palm Beach County injury claims, including West Palm Beach hit and run crashes where identifying the fleeing driver (or opening the right coverage when the driver stays unknown) often decides whether you have a path to recovery.

This page covers what to do after a hit and run, criminal vs civil rules, police reports, cameras, PIP, UM when the driver is unknown, and comparative fault traps.

Important: talk to counsel before you call any insurer

Do not call your own insurer before speaking with an attorney. The duty to cooperate with your own carrier is real, but it does not require you to do it immediately. Never give a recorded statement to any insurer first, including your own insurer. Get legal advice before you dial.

What to do after a hit and run in West Palm Beach

If you are safe enough to act:

1. Call 911. Report injuries, location, and that the other driver fled. Ask for law enforcement and medical help.

2. Seek medical care. Adrenaline hides pain. Document injuries early. Florida PIP eligibility often turns on timely treatment under Fla. Stat. § 627.736.

3. Note everything you can. Color, make, model, partial plate, direction of travel, unique damage, stickers, or commercial markings.

4. Preserve dash cam and phone video. Lock the file. Make backups. Do not edit the original. Check nearby businesses, condos, buses, or rideshare vehicles for cameras.

5. Do not chase the fleeing car. Your safety and the crime scene come first.

6. Do not call your own insurer before speaking with an attorney. Do not give a recorded statement to any insurer first.

7. Contact counsel quickly. Third-party camera systems overwrite. Witnesses leave. Coverage questions get harder with delay.

Criminal leave-the-scene rules vs your civil claim

Florida separates the criminal duty to stop from your civil injury claim.

Injury or death crashes. Under Fla. Stat. § 316.027, a driver involved in a crash that causes injury or death must stop and remain until the duties in § 316.062 are met. Willfully leaving can be a felony, with the degree tied to injury severity. A conviction also triggers driver license revocation for at least three years.

Property-damage attended crashes. Fla. Stat. § 316.061 requires a stop and remain until § 316.062 duties are fulfilled. A violation is a second-degree misdemeanor.

Duty to give information and aid. Fla. Stat. § 316.062 is the duty section: provide identifying information and render reasonable assistance to an injured person, among other scene duties in that statute.

Criminal rules punish the fleeing driver. Your civil case is about compensation. Prosecutors do not collect your medical bills. A criminal case can help identify a defendant. It does not replace insurance analysis.

Police report: why it still matters when the driver fled

File and follow up on the crash report. West Palm Beach Police Department, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, or Florida Highway Patrol may have jurisdiction depending on location. The report documents that the other party left and becomes a reference point for insurers.

If the report lists the other driver as unknown, that often points the civil claim toward uninsured motorist coverage on your own policy. Ask how to supplement the report if you later find a plate, video, or witness. No report does not always end a civil claim, but a report helps.

Dash cam and other cameras after a West Palm Beach hit and run

Hit and run claims often turn on identification. Dash cam footage can capture the fleeing vehicle, plate characters, and direction of escape. Check other drivers’ cameras, storefront or garage cameras along Clematis, Rosemary, Dixie Highway, Military Trail, or nearby corridors, and transit, rideshare, or delivery cameras.

Preserve your original file. Third-party systems overwrite quickly. I send preservation demands when another camera likely caught the crash. Video helps identification. Coverage still decides who pays.

Medical care and PIP after a hit and run

Even when the at-fault driver is gone, Florida PIP under Fla. Stat. § 627.736 may cover a portion of your medical expenses and related benefits according to your policy and the statute, subject to eligibility rules (including timely initial treatment).

PIP is generally a first-party claim against your own auto policy. That is why insurers move fast to record your statement. Do not call your own insurer before speaking with an attorney. The duty to cooperate does not require doing it immediately. Never give a recorded statement to any insurer first.

Fla. Stat. § 627.736(6)(g) provides that an insured seeking PIP benefits must comply with policy terms, which can include an examination under oath, and that compliance is a condition precedent to receiving benefits. That is PIP policy compliance, not permission for an uncounseled recorded interview on day one. Sequence: medical care, preserve evidence, talk to counsel, then handle insurer contact on advised terms.

Uninsured motorist coverage when the driver is unknown

If the fleeing driver is never identified, the practical recovery path for injury damages beyond PIP is often uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage on your own policy, when purchased and applicable under the policy language.

Many Florida drivers skip UM to save premium. After a West Palm Beach hit and run, that can leave only PIP-level medical benefits and property coverage, with no tort defendant to sue. If you have UM, report carefully and with counsel.

If the driver is later identified, liability coverage may enter the picture. Until then, assume UM and PIP are the center of the file.

Comparative fault traps after a hit and run

Fleeing does not erase fault arguments about you. Under Fla. Stat. § 768.81(6), in covered negligence actions, a party found greater than 50 percent at fault for their own harm may not recover damages.  

Insurers (including your UM carrier) may still argue you were speeding, distracted, or changed lanes without yielding. Dash cam footage matters because the greater-than-50-percent bar is a hard stop.

Deadlines

For many Florida negligence actions, Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(a) sets a two-year limitations period (post HB 837 / Ch. 2023-15). UM and PIP claims also have timing rules. Do not wait until police find the driver.

How I handle West Palm Beach hit and run injury claims

When you contact me, I focus on medical documentation and PIP sequencing without reckless early statements, preserving dash cam and third-party video, coordinating with the crash report, locating UM/UIM and related coverages, and building the civil claim while any criminal identification effort continues in parallel.

Contingency fee: no fee unless I recover for you. That is not a prediction of results. Every file turns on facts, coverage, and proof.

Pedestrian crashes with a fleeing driver are related but not the focus here.

Frequently asked questions

What should I do first after a hit and run in West Palm Beach?

Call 911, get medical care, preserve video and vehicle details, and do not call your own insurer before speaking with an attorney. Never give a recorded statement to any insurer first.

Is leaving the scene a crime in Florida?

Yes, in the situations covered by law. Injury or death leave-the-scene conduct is addressed in Fla. Stat. § 316.027 (felony degrees by severity, with license revocation for at least three years). Property-damage attended crash leave-the-scene is addressed in § 316.061 (second-degree misdemeanor). Scene information and aid duties appear in § 316.062.

Who pays my medical bills if the driver is never found?

Often your PIP coverage under § 627.736 first, then UM coverage on your policy if you have it and it applies. Health insurance and other sources may interact with liens and reimbursement rules. Coverage review is case-specific.

Do I still need a police report if I have dash cam video?

Yes. File the report. Video helps identification and proof. The report supports the official record insurers and UM carriers expect.

Can my own insurer deny UM because I did not call right away?

Policies set notice and cooperation rules. Do not call your own insurer before speaking with an attorney. The duty to cooperate does not require doing it immediately. Counsel can help you meet conditions without an uncounseled recorded statement first. § 627.736(6)(g) addresses PIP policy compliance, including examination under oath as a possible condition precedent to PIP benefits.

What if the insurer says I was partly at fault even though the other driver fled?

Comparative fault still applies under § 768.81(6). Greater than 50 percent fault for your own harm can bar recovery in covered negligence claims. Evidence, including dash cam footage, matters.

How long do I have to bring a negligence lawsuit in Florida?

Many negligence actions fall under the two-year period in Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(a). Do not wait on a hope that police will solve the case before you get advice.

Do you only take cases with dash cam footage?

No. Footage helps identification, but I also evaluate claims built on witnesses, other cameras, debris at the scene, and coverage analysis.

Contact me about a West Palm Beach hit and run

If a driver hit you and left in West Palm Beach or Palm Beach County, get advice before you talk to insurers. I will review coverage and what evidence needs protecting now.

Call 561-561-DASH (3274). Contingency fee: no fee unless I recover for you.

Shannon J. Sagan, The Dash Cam Lawyer®. Palm Springs and Belle Glade offices, serving West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Outcomes depend on specific facts, coverage, and Florida law.