Who Is at Fault in a Hit and Run Accident?
After a hit and run accident, there is no one there to provide a statement or hand you their insurance information. You have to hope you either:
Can identify the driver after an investigation;
Have uninsured/under-insured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage, or;
Have collision insurance, and are willing to accept fault.
Drivers flee the scene of an accident for a variety of reasons, and they may not always be technically at-fault for the accident they fled. It is always illegal to flee the accident scene before determining if someone was hurt or if you were responsible for vehicle damages (N.C.G.S. § 20-166). However, someone fleeing the accident scene is not automatically an indicator that that person was at-fault for the crash.
Always report a hit-and-run to the police. They will take down a statement of details you can provide them, potentially including the make and model of the vehicle and any identifying traits of the driver. They will also note the conditions of the accident scene. If they can reasonably determine that the other driver was the one who likely caused the accident, they will not the causal factors in their crash report.
If you have uninsured/under-insured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage, it may be able to provide you compensation for your injury treatment costs and vehicle repairs if the other driver was at fault.
While North Carolina has a strict contributory negligence law — which bars anyone from recovering damages if they are at least 1% at-fault for an incident — the burden of proof for asserting this is on the defense (N.C.G.S. § 1-139). In other words, if there is no defendant, there is no one to prevent you from claiming UM/UIM and asserting that the driver who fled was at-fault.
The only situation where you might accept fault for a hit-and-run is if you do not have a UM/UIM policy that covers your accident and you wish to claim collision coverage instead. Any collision claim is an admission of fault, at least in the eyes of the insurance company, so it may cause your insurance rates to rise.
You can choose to work with a Charlotte car accident lawyer after your hit-and-run to investigate your accident. There is a chance you and your attorney may be able to identify and locate the at-fault driver. Even if not, your representing lawyer can increase the chances that your own insurance coverage will provide reasonable compensation for all of your damages.