The driver who hit you is gone. No name, no insurance card, no way to send a bill to someone else’s policy. For a lot of people, that feels like the end of the conversation about compensation. It isn’t. Pennsylvania law anticipated exactly this problem, and the coverage most drivers already carry, often without realizing it, is built to respond when the at-fault driver can’t be found.
When It Comes to Hit-and-Run Accidents in Pittsburgh, Start With the Law
Pennsylvania requires every driver involved in a crash to stop and exchange information under 75 Pa. C.S. Section 3744. Leaving the scene is a separate offense from causing the accident. Under 75 Pa. C.S. Section 3742, it is a misdemeanor of the first degree by default, a felony of the third degree if the victim suffers serious bodily injury, and a felony of the second degree if the victim dies. That criminal case, if police ever identify the driver, is handled by the Commonwealth. It runs on its own timeline and its own rules of evidence, and it is not the same thing as your civil claim for compensation. You do not need a conviction, or even an arrest, to recover money for your injuries.
That’s because Pennsylvania treats an unidentified hit-and-run driver the same way it treats an uninsured one. Under 75 Pa. C.S. Section 1731, insurers must offer uninsured motorist (UM) coverage on every auto policy sold in the state, and most drivers carry it, either because they kept the default or because they never signed the form rejecting it. When the driver who hit you can’t be identified, your own UM coverage steps into the gap the at-fault driver left behind.
How an Uninsured Motorist Claim Actually Works
You’re not suing anyone. You’re filing a claim against your own insurance company, under a policy you’ve already paid for, for the damages someone else caused. A few things follow from that:
- Filing an uninsured motorist claim after a hit-and-run does not raise your rates under Pennsylvania law
- The claim can cover medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering, not just vehicle damage
- It applies whether you were the driver, a passenger, a pedestrian, or a cyclist struck by the fleeing vehicle
- If you own more than one vehicle with UM coverage, Pennsylvania’s stacking rules under 75 Pa. C.S. Section 1738 may combine those limits into a larger total, unless you signed a waiver rejecting stacked coverage
That last point catches people off guard. Someone with three insured vehicles, each carrying $50,000 in UM coverage, may actually have $150,000 available, not $50,000, depending on how their policies are structured. Most drivers have no idea what their actual number is until someone pulls the policy and reads it.
Where These Claims Get Complicated
Filing the claim is the easy part. Getting paid what the injury is actually worth is where insurers push back, and they push back in fairly predictable ways.
Corroboration disputes.
Because there’s no other driver to point to, insurers often ask for outside proof that a hit-and-run actually happened, and that it happened the way you described. A police report filed at the scene, a witness, a nearby camera, or physical damage consistent with your account all matter here far more than they would in a standard two-driver claim.
Contractual notice deadlines.
Pennsylvania’s statute of limitations for a personal injury claim is two years under 42 Pa. C.S. Section 5524, but your own insurance policy may require notice of a hit-and-run far sooner than that, sometimes within days. Missing a policy deadline can hand the insurer a reason to deny a claim that would otherwise be valid, which is why reporting to police and to your insurer immediately matters as much as any medical treatment.
Your own insurer, working against you.
It’s an uncomfortable reality, but the company you pay every month is still adjusting your claim the way any insurer adjusts a claim: to pay as little as it can justify. If they dispute or delay in bad faith, Pennsylvania’s bad faith statute at 42 Pa. C.S. Section 8371 gives policyholders a separate remedy, including damages beyond the original claim.
Arbitration instead of a courtroom.
Many UM policies require disputes to go to arbitration rather than trial. That process has its own procedures and often benefits from someone who has handled it before.
What Compensation Can Include
A properly pursued UM claim after a hit-and-run can potentially reach the same categories of damages available in any car accident case:
- Emergency and ongoing medical treatment
- Future medical care for lasting injuries
- Lost wages and reduced earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Property damage to your vehicle
Whether pain and suffering is available at all may also depend on your tort election. Drivers who chose limited tort under 75 Pa. C.S. Section 1705 face restrictions on non-economic damages unless the injury meets the “serious injury” threshold or another exception applies. That question is worth having reviewed rather than assumed, since it can significantly change what a claim is worth.
Reconstructing a hit-and-run claim means piecing together police reports, witness accounts, camera footage from nearby businesses, and the fine print of your own policy, then holding your insurer to what it actually owes. The attorneys at Ogg, Murphy & Perkosky, P.C. have represented injured drivers, passengers, and pedestrians across Pittsburgh and Allegheny County since 1981, including cases where the at-fault driver was never found.
Common Questions After a Hit-and-Run
The driver was never found. Can I still get paid?
Yes. Uninsured motorist coverage exists precisely for this situation. Your recovery does not depend on identifying or locating the other driver.
What if I don’t think I have UM coverage?
Check before assuming you don’t. Pennsylvania requires insurers to offer UM coverage on every policy issued in the state, and declining it requires a signed waiver. Many drivers who believe they opted out never actually signed one, which means the coverage may still be there.
Will the police investigation affect my insurance claim?
The two processes run independently, so you do not need an arrest or conviction to move forward with a UM claim. That said, a police report filed at the scene is often the first corroborating evidence an insurer requests, which is one of the strongest reasons to report immediately after the accident.
I was a passenger, not the driver. Do I have options?
In most cases, yes. Compensation may be available through the vehicle’s own UM coverage, through a resident relative’s policy, or both. The answer depends on how the household’s policies are structured, so it is worth having reviewed rather than assumed.
Talk to a Pittsburgh Hit-and-Run Lawyer for Free
Not knowing who hit you shouldn’t mean not knowing where your money comes from. Ogg, Murphy & Perkosky, P.C. offers free case evaluations for hit-and-run victims throughout Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. Call us at (412) 471-8500 to get started. There is no cost to speak with us, and no obligation to move forward.
Schedule your free case evaluation today.
When the Driver Is Gone, Your Options Are Not
Not knowing who hit you should not mean not knowing where your compensation comes from. The attorneys at Ogg, Murphy & Perkosky, P.C. have been recovering compensation for hit-and-run victims throughout Pittsburgh and Allegheny County since 1981, including cases where the at-fault driver was never found. With over $250 million recovered for injured clients, we know how to find the coverage that applies and hold insurers to what they owe. Contact us today for a free case evaluation.