what hit-and-run victims need to know
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whether you are the injured driver or a passenger in a hit-and-run accident, the primary response should be to call for emergency aid for yourself and/or other injured victims.
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it’s a sad fact, that the months with the most fatalities and injury collisions on our roads are june, july, august and september. that’s according to the ontario ministry of transportation’s 2016 ontario road safety annual report.
and nearly every day in the news we hear about wrong-way collisions on major highways, road rage incidents and even violent car thefts causing injuries.
the higher prevalence of dangerous collisions on our roadways is partly due to the seasons, and law offices typically see an increase in traffic collision claims in the summer months, as there are more people out and about and on the streets. roads are quite busy and there is an increase in pedestrians and cyclists on streets.
not surprisingly, with more people on the roads in general, more accidents are occurring. according to transport canada data on all reportable motor vehicle collisions, in 2021 there were 108,018 total injuries, an increase of 3.6% from 2020, when there were 104,286.
while all accidents on our roadways are sad and unfortunate, the most tragic tend to be hit-and-run incidents. even if victims survive, they are often in a tough spot, as they are injured and left with medical bills and possibly property damage to pay on their own.
every driver in ontario – whether newly licensed or with decades of experience — knows that it is a serious crime to leave the scene of an accident. called fail-to-remain incidents by traffic authorities, they involve drivers who cause or witness a serious pedestrian or vehicle collision and flee without calling police or waiting for emergency responders to arrive.
fail-to-remain drivers face both criminal code of canada convictions, which can range from 10 years to life in prison, plus provincial highway traffic act fines of up to $2,000 and six months in prison. in 2020, there were 250 fail-to-remain motor vehicle convictions in ontario, according to the ontario road safety annual report.
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if you are the victim of a hit-and-run accident, what should you do?
whether you are the injured driver or a passenger in such an accident, the primary response should be to call for emergency aid for yourself and/or other injured victims. even if neither you nor your passengers seem badly injured, and the driver who caused the incident has left the scene, it’s a good idea to call the police immediately to report the accident.
in ontario there is a 24-hour rule to report an accident to the police, however a hit-and-run is an exception and can be reported after the 24-hour window. police need to be notified to conduct a thorough investigation and establish the facts of what happened.
it’s also helpful to know if you were involved in a car accident where no automobile insurance exists to respond to your claim, ontario has a motor vehicle accident claims fund. you may be eligible for accident benefits if you suffered an injury, death and funeral benefits on behalf of someone who died and compensation for personal injury or property damage (except for vehicles).
here are other vital steps you should take, to help police or your personal injury lawyer in the event you are the victim of a hit-and-run accident:
- try to recall or even quickly write down a description of the vehicle that hit you or your car. a full or partial licence plate number is the most helpful for police to identify the driver, but even a basic description (colour, make, special identifying features) of the vehicle is important.
- take photographs of the scene, if you are safely able to do so. photos of the damage to your car, the weather or road conditions, and the intersection or location of the accident can all represent important evidence.
- ask any witnesses to provide their names and phone numbers, as their testimony and description of details and what they saw happen are extremely important to both police in their investigation and you as the injured person seeking compensation through insurance.
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what many drivers may not realize is that even if the fleeing vehicle and hit-and-run driver are not found, you can still make a claim and sue your own insurance company under the unidentified driver portion of your policy and you’ll still likely be covered.
nainesh kotak, is the founder of kotak personal injury law, a firm focusing on protecting their client’s rights to justice and obtaining the compensation their clients deserve. he also serves as the chair of the long-term disability section of the ontario trial lawyers’ association.
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