McAllen Hit-and-Run Accident Lawyer

Hit-and-Run Accident Attorney in McAllen, TX

A driver hit you and kept going. You are hurt, your car is damaged, and all you have is a glimpse of taillights and maybe part of a plate. You want to know who will pay if the police never find the driver, and what you should be doing while they look.

If the driver is identified, that driver’s liability insurance pays. If not, your own uninsured motorist coverage can step into the driver’s shoes, but only if the fleeing vehicle actually made contact with you or your car. Texas gives you two years to file suit, though your policy’s notice rules and fading video evidence both call for action within days.

Attorney Abraham Peña was born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley, and his practice is limited to injury cases, handled in English or Spanish. Walk us through the crash, and we will help you work out which policy can pay.

Hit-and-Run Accidents in McAllen

Leaving the scene is a crime in Texas, not a traffic mistake. A driver in a collision that injures someone must stop, give their name, address, registration and insurer, and help get the injured person to medical care if it is clearly needed. Leaving after a death or serious injury is a felony; leaving after any other injury is punishable by up to five years in prison or up to a year in county jail, a fine up to $5,000, or both. That is why police treat it as a crime, not just a crash.

Investigators look for paint transfer and debris that point to the make, model and color of the other car and for video from businesses along 10th Street, Nolana Avenue, 23rd Street and the Expressway 83 frontage roads. Most of that footage is overwritten within days.

What to Do After a Hit-and-Run Accident

The first hours decide whether the driver is found and whether your coverage pays. If you can:

• Call 911 and stay at the scene. Tell the dispatcher which way the car went, its color and type, and any part of the plate you saw.
• Have a doctor examine you that day. DHR Health in Edinburg is the Valley’s Level I trauma center, and if you wait, your own insurer will ask why.
• Photograph the point of contact. Damage, debris and paint transfer prove the physical contact an unknown-driver claim requires.
• Look for cameras and witnesses. Note nearby homes and businesses with cameras, and get phone numbers from anyone who saw the crash.
• Notify your own insurer promptly, and carefully. Report the facts without guessing at speed or fault; in this claim, your insurer is on the other side.

Who Pays After a Hit-and-Run?

Depending on whether the driver is found, payment can come from:

• The driver who fled, once identified, and that driver’s liability insurer.
• Your uninsured motorist (UM) coverage. Texas auto policies include it unless you rejected it in writing, and a driver who is never identified is treated as uninsured.
• Your personal injury protection (PIP). It pays medical bills and lost income regardless of fault, whether or not the driver is found.
• Your collision coverage, for the damage to your car.
• Other policies. The coverage on a car you were riding in may apply, as may a policy held by a family member in your household.

The Physical-Contact Rule for Unknown Drivers

When the driver is never identified, Texas allows a UM claim only if the unknown vehicle actually touched you or your property. A driver who clipped your bumper and kept going is covered; a driver who ran you off Ware Road without making contact is not.

Photograph the contact damage before your car goes to the body shop. If the rule will be a problem in your case, we will tell you plainly.

What You Can Recover After a Hit-and-Run

Whether the claim is against the driver or your own UM insurer, you may seek:

• Medical bills, from emergency care to future treatment
• Lost wages and loss of future earning capacity
• Physical pain and mental anguish
• Physical impairment and disfigurement
• Repair or replacement of your vehicle
• Exemplary damages against an identified driver whose flight shows gross negligence
• Wrongful death damages if a family member was killed (see our McAllen wrongful death lawyer page)

Exemplary damages are a claim against the driver who fled: most Texas auto policies exclude them from UM/UIM coverage, so the policy language controls. If the driver is found but carries only the $30,000 state minimum, your underinsured motorist coverage can make up the difference.

How Long Do You Have to File, and Does Fault Matter?

You generally have two years from the date of the crash to file a lawsuit, or two years from the date of death in a wrongful death case. A UM claim must also meet your policy’s own notice and cooperation terms, and most policies require prompt notice of a hit-and-run. Claims involving a city or county vehicle need written notice within six months, and some city charters set an even shorter period.

Fault still matters when the other driver is gone, because your own UM insurer can argue you caused part of the crash. Under Texas’s modified comparative fault rule, a share of 50 percent or less reduces your recovery by that share, and a share of 51 percent or more bars it. If a jury valued your claim at $150,000 and found you 30 percent at fault, you would receive $105,000.

FAQs

The driver who hit me was never found. Can I still recover anything?

Yes, if your policy includes uninsured motorist coverage, which Texas insurers must include unless you rejected it in writing. That coverage pays what the unknown driver would have owed, up to your limit, as long as the vehicles made physical contact. Your personal injury protection covers treatment in the meantime.

Will my rates go up if I make a UM claim for a hit-and-run?

A claim for a crash you did not cause is exactly what UM coverage is for. Whether an insurer changes your premium depends on its underwriting rules, and no lawyer can promise either way. Leaving a serious injury uncompensated almost always costs more.

The driver stopped, gave me a fake name and left. Is that a hit-and-run?

Yes. Texas law requires a driver to give a real name, address, registration number and insurer, and to show a license when asked. If it is safe, photograph the plate and the driver, and report the false information to police right away.

Can I recover if I was walking or on a bicycle?

Yes. A driver’s duty to stop applies to pedestrians and cyclists too, and your auto policy’s UM and PIP coverage generally protects you as a person, not just inside your car. The physical-contact rule still applies when the driver is unknown.

How much will a hit-and-run lawyer cost me?

There is no charge to talk with us and nothing to pay up front. Our fee is a percentage of the money we recover for you, so if the claim brings in nothing, you owe us no fee.

contact Attorney Abraham Peña

Call Us (737) 999-3335

Talk to a McAllen Hit-and-Run Accident Lawyer Today

Being left hurt on the roadside by someone who would not stop is its own kind of injury, and the cost should not fall on you. Call The Law Office of Abraham Peña, PLLC at (737) 999-3335 or reach out on our contact page to schedule a free and confidential consultation. We charge no fee unless we win, and we see clients by appointment at 813 N Main St., Suite 404, McAllen. ¡Hablamos español! Esta página también está disponible en español: abogado de accidentes de choque y fuga en McAllen.