Partner at Charbonnet Law Firm LLC
Practice Areas: Car Accident, Slip-and-Fall, Work-related Injury
A hit-and-run in a parking garage can leave you with vehicle damage, unanswered questions, and no information about the person responsible.
Unlike a crash on an open road, parking garage accidents can be harder to investigate. The driver may leave quickly, witnesses may be gone, and important evidence such as security footage may only be available for a limited time.
However, a missing driver does not always mean you have no options. Photos, witness information, camera footage, and your insurance coverage can all play an important role.
If you were injured or are dealing with a claim after a hit-and-run accident, a New Orleans car accident lawyer can help you understand what steps may be available.
Start by checking if anyone is hurt. If you have pain or other symptoms, get medical care and keep your medical records.
If it is safe to do so, take photos of:
Write down what you remember. This may include when you found the damage, where your car was parked, and anything you noticed about the other vehicle.
A small detail can sometimes help find the driver. Even part of a license plate, the vehicle’s color, or a piece of broken plastic may be useful.
Yes. Report the accident to law enforcement, especially if the other driver left the scene. Louisiana law requires drivers in certain crashes to stop and share information. Leaving the scene can lead to criminal penalties under Louisiana Revised Statute 14:100.
A police report can record important details about the accident, such as:
Even if police do not find the driver right away, the report can help support your insurance claim.
A hit-and-run can make an insurance claim harder, especially if the driver is never found. If you identify the driver, you may be able to file a claim with their insurance company. If not, your own uninsured motorist coverage may help cover certain losses. In Louisiana, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage may apply to some hit-and-run accidents.
Your coverage depends on your policy. It may help pay for:
A driver leaving the scene does not always mean you have no way to recover money. Your own insurance may provide coverage, depending on your policy and what happened.
Because the other driver is missing, proving what happened becomes especially important.
Useful evidence may include:
If injuries are involved, keeping records of appointments, bills, and symptoms can help show how the accident affected you. Evidence from the scene and accident records may also become important when building a car accident claim.
Louisiana follows a pure comparative fault system. This means your compensation may be reduced if you share responsibility for the accident.
For example, if a court determines you were partly responsible for the damage, your recovery may be reduced based on your percentage of fault.
The details of the accident can affect your claim. This may include where the cars were parked, how they moved, and what the available evidence shows.
It may be worth speaking with a lawyer if you were injured, your insurance company questions your claim, or the other driver denies causing the crash. Legal help may also be useful if you have serious losses or need to preserve security footage before it is deleted.
Insurance companies may ask about the accident, fault, and your losses before deciding how to handle your claim. Keeping your records and knowing what to say can help when dealing with insurance adjusters.
Leaving an accident scene can lead to criminal penalties, especially when someone is hurt or the damage is serious.
Take photos, call the police, look for witnesses or cameras, and report the accident to your insurance company.
Your uninsured motorist coverage may help pay for your losses, depending on your policy and the accident.
Security footage may show the other vehicle, the crash, or the driver leaving the garage.
You may recover damages through the other driver’s insurance or your own coverage, depending on the situation.
A hit-and-run in a parking garage can leave you dealing with injuries, vehicle damage, and many unanswered questions. Finding the driver may also be difficult when there are few witnesses or limited evidence.
If you were hurt in a hit-and-run accident, the attorneys at Charbonnet Law Firm can help you understand your legal options. Our team can review what happened, look at the available evidence, and help you determine what steps to take next.
Contact Charbonnet Law Firm to discuss your case in a free consultation.
With over 50 years of legal experience serving families in the New Orleans area and surrounding Louisiana communities, our firm takes pride in providing clients with personalized legal services tailored to individual needs.
