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Miami and Tampa hit and run lawyer

They drove away. The claim does not.

A driver who leaves the scene commits a crime, and in a serious case a felony. For the person left behind, the criminal case and the compensation claim are separate things — and the compensation claim does not depend on the driver ever being caught.

Free case review Miami (305) 662-4323 Tampa (813) 930-5422
The claim becomes
UMUninsured motorist coverage on your own or a household policy
Report it
ImmediatelyDelay is the first thing a carrier questions
Deadline to sue
2 yearsFla. Stat. § 95.11, for crashes on or after 24 March 2023
Leaving the scene
A crimeA felony where there is injury or death. § 316.027

01 Where the money comes from

Who pays after a hit and run in Florida

When the at-fault driver cannot be identified, uninsured motorist coverage steps into their place. It is coverage you bought, and it is the reason a hit and run is survivable financially.

Florida does not require drivers to carry bodily injury liability at all, so even an identified fleeing driver is frequently uninsured. Either way the route is the same, and either way it runs through your own carrier — which will handle the claim as an adversary rather than as your insurer.

PIP still applies first, with the same fourteen-day rule, regardless of who hit you or whether they stopped.

02 Proof

How to prove a Florida hit and run claim

A prompt police report is the backbone of the claim. Carriers scrutinise delay, and a report filed days later invites the argument that the collision happened some other way.

Beyond that: paint transfer and debris photographed before the car is repaired, independent witnesses, and camera footage from businesses and residences along the route — which overwrites itself within days.

03 Where these cases come from

Miami-Dade

Miami-Dade hit and run volume is among the highest in the state, concentrated on the arterial roads and late at night. Business and residential cameras along the main corridors are often the only record, and they do not keep footage long.

The Miami office · Homestead

Hillsborough

Hillsborough hit and runs follow the same pattern along Hillsborough Avenue, Nebraska and Dale Mabry, with the same short window on nearby camera footage.

The Tampa office

04 What damages a claim

  • Waiting a day or two to report it to police.
  • Repairing the car before the transfer and damage are photographed.
  • Assuming no driver means no claim.
  • Giving your own carrier a recorded statement without advice, because it is your insurer.

Frequently asked questions about Florida hit and run

Will my rates go up if I use my own uninsured motorist coverage?

Using coverage you paid for after a crash you did not cause should not be treated as an at-fault claim.

It is also the coverage’s entire purpose. Declining to use it because of a rate worry means absorbing someone else’s negligence yourself.

They caught the driver, but he has no insurance. What now?

The route is the same — uninsured motorist coverage responds. A judgment against an uninsured driver with no assets is usually worth very little in practice.

It is worth checking whether anyone else is responsible: a vehicle owner who lent the car, or an employer if the driver was working at the time.

05 Related matters

The full list is on the personal injury page.

Tell Jose what happened

A free review of your hit and run case, with no obligation, and no fee and no costs unless there is a recovery. English or Spanish, whichever you would rather use. You speak with Jose A. Dapena directly at every stage, not with an intake department — and if there is no claim worth bringing, he will tell you that.

Miami (305) 662-4323 Homestead (786) 900-0184 Tampa (813) 930-5422