Many people believe that if the driver who hit them got away, there is nobody to bring a claim against. It is an understandable belief, and it is usually wrong. In California, a hit and run is most often paid for by an insurance policy the injured person already has.
That claim comes with conditions that do not apply to an ordinary collision. One of them expires 24 hours after the crash. Another expires at 30 days. A third turns on whether the fleeing vehicle touched you at all. This article walks through how a hit and run claim works in Los Angeles County, in the order the deadlines arrive.
What the law required the other driver to do
Start with the duty that was broken. Under Vehicle Code section 20001, a driver involved in a collision that injures or kills someone must stop immediately at the scene[1]. Section 20003 then requires the driver to give a name, address and vehicle registration, to show a license on request, and to give reasonable assistance to anyone injured, including arranging transport to medical care. Section 20002 imposes a similar duty to stop and identify where only property is damaged.
Leaving the scene of an injury collision is a crime whether or not the driver caused the crash. That matters for one practical reason. It means the police will open a criminal investigation, and that investigation may identify the driver weeks or months later.
If the driver is found, the case becomes an ordinary injury claim against that person and that person’s insurer. If the driver is found and has no insurance, or is never found, the claim moves to your own policy.
The coverage most people forget they bought
The coverage is called uninsured motorist coverage, usually shortened to UM. California Insurance Code section 11580.2 requires every auto liability policy issued in the state to include it unless the policyholder gave it up in a signed written waiver[2]. If you never signed a waiver, you almost certainly have it.
The statute treats a hit and run vehicle as an uninsured vehicle. If the owner and driver cannot be identified, your UM coverage stands in for the insurance the other driver should have had. It pays what you would have been legally entitled to recover from that driver, up to your UM limit. That includes medical bills, lost income and pain and suffering.
Three points about who is covered surprise people.
First, UM coverage follows the person and not only the car. If you are the named insured on an auto policy, or a relative living in the same household, the coverage generally applies when you are hit as a pedestrian or while riding a bicycle. A person struck in a crosswalk on Magnolia Boulevard can claim under the auto policy sitting in a drawer at home.
Second, a passenger is generally covered under the UM coverage of the vehicle they were riding in, and may also have coverage under their own household policy.
Third, the limit matters. California’s minimum liability limits rose on January 1, 2025, to $30,000 per person and $60,000 per collision for bodily injury[3]. UM limits usually match the liability limits on the policy. A serious injury can exceed a minimum limit in the first day of hospital care, so it is worth checking your declarations page now, before you ever need it.
The physical contact rule
This is the condition that defeats the most claims.
Where the other vehicle is unknown, section 11580.2 requires that the bodily injury arise out of physical contact between that vehicle and either the insured person or the vehicle the insured was occupying[2]. No contact, no UM claim.
Consider what that excludes. A car drifts into your lane on the SR-134. You swerve, hit the center divider, and the other car keeps going. Its driver caused the crash. But the two vehicles never touched, and under the statute your UM coverage does not apply. The same is true for a cyclist who is forced off the road by a passing car that never makes contact.
The California Supreme Court addressed the rule in Orpustan v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.[4]. The Court explained that the Legislature added the contact requirement to screen out fictitious claims, where a driver who crashed alone blames a vehicle nobody else saw. It also observed that if an injured person could satisfy the rule just by showing that the unknown vehicle caused the crash, the requirement would be largely written out of the statute.
Some states allow a witness to corroborate a crash with no contact. California’s statute does not contain that alternative.
Two practical lessons follow. If there was contact, prove it while the proof exists. Photograph paint transfer, scrapes, dents and debris before the car is repaired or the bicycle is thrown away. Keep the damaged parts. And when you describe the crash to the police and to your insurer, describe the contact accurately and specifically, because the first written account is the one everyone will return to.
The 24 hour report
The second condition is a deadline measured in hours. The statute requires that the insured, or someone acting on the insured’s behalf, report the accident within 24 hours[2].
The report must go to the police department of the city where the crash happened. If the crash happened in unincorporated territory, it goes to the county sheriff or the local headquarters of the California Highway Patrol.
In our area that means knowing whose street you were on. A crash on a Burbank surface street belongs to the Burbank Police Department. Across the city line it may be the Glendale Police Department or the Los Angeles Police Department. A crash on a freeway is handled by the California Highway Patrol. If officers came to the scene and took a report, the requirement is met. The risk lies in the crash where nobody called, because the injured person went home, felt worse the next morning, and did not think to report it until the weekend.
Note the words “on the insured’s behalf.” If you are in a hospital bed, a spouse, a relative or a friend can make the report for you. Get the report number and the name of the officer or desk clerk who took it.
The 30 day sworn statement
The third condition follows the second. Within 30 days after the police report, the insured must file a statement under oath with the insurer[2]. The statement must say that the insured has a cause of action for damages against a person whose identity cannot be determined, and it must set out the facts supporting that claim.
A phone call to your agent does not satisfy this. Neither does opening a claim online. The statute calls for a sworn statement. Insurers have their own forms for it, and it is reasonable to ask for the form in writing on the day you report the claim.
Take care with what the statement says. It is made under oath, it describes the contact, and the insurer will compare it against the police report and your medical records. An account written in a hurry, with a detail that later turns out to be wrong, gives the insurer a reason to question the whole claim.
The two year rule works differently here
Most people know that California allows two years to file an injury lawsuit under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1[5]. A UM claim has its own two year rule, and it asks for something more specific.
Under subdivision (i) of section 11580.2, a UM claim is lost unless one of three things happens within two years of the accident[2]. The insured files suit against the uninsured motorist. Or the insured and the insurer reach agreement on the amount due. Or the insured formally begins arbitration by notifying the insurer in writing, sent by certified mail with return receipt requested.
In a hit and run there is nobody to sue and often no agreement. That leaves the third option. Negotiating with the adjuster does not stop the clock, no matter how friendly or how close to settlement the discussions seem. The certified letter demanding arbitration does.
Your own insurer is the opposing party
People expect their own insurance company to be on their side. In a UM claim, the company steps into the position of the driver who fled. Its interest is in paying as little as the facts allow. That is not bad faith. It is the structure of the coverage.
Expect the insurer to examine three things closely. Was there physical contact? Were the 24 hour report and the 30 day statement made on time? And were you partly at fault? California’s comparative fault rules apply to a UM claim just as they would to a claim against the other driver, so any share of fault assigned to you reduces the payment.
If you and the insurer cannot agree on whether you are entitled to recover or on the amount, the statute sends the dispute to arbitration and not to a jury[2]. One neutral arbitrator hears the evidence and decides. The process is usually faster than a lawsuit, but it is still a contested hearing with medical records, testimony and cross examination.
The statute also allows certain reductions. Amounts paid under workers’ compensation, for instance, can reduce what the UM coverage owes. If you were working when you were hit, that interaction needs to be worked out early.
When no uninsured motorist coverage applies
Some people waived UM coverage years ago to save a few dollars. Some do not own a car and do not live with anyone who does. Some were in a crash with no contact. There are still places to look.
Health insurance, Medicare or Medi-Cal will pay for treatment. If you have medical payments coverage on an auto policy, it pays medical bills up to its limit regardless of fault and has no contact requirement.
The California Victim Compensation Board is the resource most people have never heard of. Hit and run is on its list of covered crimes[6]. The Board can reimburse medical and dental expenses, mental health treatment, lost income and funeral costs for people injured by a crime in California. It has limits you should know about. It is a payer of last resort, so it covers only expenses with no other source of payment. It does not pay for pain and suffering or for property damage. The Board states that the most it may pay on an approved application is $70,000[7]. Applicants generally must cooperate with law enforcement and must apply within seven years of the crime.
For the vehicle itself, collision coverage is the usual answer. Uninsured motorist property damage coverage is narrower than people expect and generally requires that the other vehicle be identified, so it often does not help when a driver disappears without a plate number.
Helping the police find the driver
Finding the driver changes everything, so it is worth helping where you safely can.
Write down whatever you remember within the hour: color, make, body style, any part of the plate, damage the other vehicle would now have, and the direction it went. Ask nearby businesses and residents about cameras the same day. Many systems overwrite footage within a few days. Look for broken parts left at the scene. A piece of a headlamp housing or a mirror can carry a part number that identifies the make, model and year.
In the City of Los Angeles there is also a financial incentive for witnesses. The City Council created a Hit and Run Reward Program Trust Fund in 2015. The Los Angeles Police Department has described it as offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to an offender’s identification, apprehension and conviction, or resolution through a civil compromise[8]. Someone who saw the crash, or who notices a neighbor’s newly damaged car, has a reason to call.
If the driver is identified later and has insurance, the claim can shift to that driver’s policy. Keep your own UM claim protected in the meantime. An investigation that might succeed is not a reason to let the 30 day statement or the two year arbitration deadline pass.
The first two days, in order
Put together, the sequence looks like this. Get medical care first, and tell the provider you were hit by a vehicle. Make sure a police report exists within 24 hours, with the right agency, and get the report number. Photograph your injuries, your vehicle or bicycle, and anything the other vehicle left behind. Notify your own insurer promptly and ask in writing for the sworn statement form. Do not repair or discard anything that shows contact until it has been documented.
Then put two dates on a calendar: 30 days from the police report, and two years from the crash.
Where we come in
A hit and run claim is won or lost on details that are easy to miss in the week after a crash, when the injured person has other things to think about. Most of the conditions described here cannot be fixed afterward.
At Djougourian Law Corporation we handle hit and run and uninsured motorist claims for people injured in Burbank, North Hollywood and the rest of Los Angeles County. Our early work is practical: confirming which policies apply, making sure the report and the sworn statement are on time and accurate, preserving proof of contact, and protecting the arbitration deadline.
If a driver hit you and left, we can tell you where you stand on each of these deadlines. There is no charge for that conversation and DJ Law Corp works on a contingency fee, so there is no fee unless we recover compensation for you. You can reach us at 818-530-0000 or through our contact page, and you can read more about how we handle motor vehicle collision claims generally.
Works Cited
- California Vehicle Code section 20001, requiring the driver of a vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury or death to stop immediately at the scene and fulfill the requirements of sections 20003 and 20004. Section 20003 requires the driver to provide identifying information and render reasonable assistance to any injured person. Section 20002 sets the corresponding duty where the accident results only in property damage.
- California Insurance Code section 11580.2, requiring uninsured motorist coverage in automobile liability policies absent a written waiver (subdivision (a)); defining an uninsured motor vehicle to include one whose owner or operator is unknown, on condition of physical contact with the insured or the automobile the insured is occupying, a report within 24 hours to the police department, sheriff or California Highway Patrol, and a statement under oath filed with the insurer within 30 days thereafter (subdivision (b)); providing for arbitration of disputes over entitlement and amount (subdivision (f)); permitting specified reductions including workers’ compensation benefits (subdivision (h)); and requiring suit, agreement or a formal arbitration demand by certified mail within two years of the accident (subdivision (i)).
- California Senate Bill 1107, Statutes of 2022, the Protect California Drivers Act, increasing minimum automobile liability limits to $30,000 for bodily injury or death of one person, $60,000 for bodily injury or death of all persons in one accident, and $15,000 for property damage, for policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025.
- Orpustan v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. (1972) 7 Cal.3d 988, Supreme Court of California, discussing the physical contact requirement of Insurance Code section 11580.2 and its purpose of eliminating fictitious claims. scocal.stanford.edu
- California Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1, establishing the general two-year limitations period for actions for injury to or death of an individual caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another. law.justia.com
- California Victim Compensation Board, Who Is Eligible, listing eligibility criteria, application time limits and covered crimes, including hit and run. victims.ca.gov
- California Victim Compensation Board, Frequently Asked Questions, stating the $70,000 maximum per approved application, the expenses the Board does and does not pay, and its role as a source of payment only where no other reimbursement is available. victims.ca.gov
- Los Angeles Police Department, news release NR17016im, describing the Hit and Run Reward Program Trust Fund created by the Los Angeles City Council on April 15, 2015, and the reward of up to $50,000. lapdonline.org
The statutory provisions, case authority and agency information described in this article were verified against primary sources on October 8, 2026. Insurance policies differ, and the terms of your own policy, including any waiver of uninsured motorist coverage, control what coverage you have.