If you visit Tampa, Florida, you may love it there. You can enjoy some sunshine nearly every day. You can check out nightclubs, bars, and shopping opportunities. You might have some excellent food, attend a Tampa Bay Rays game, or swim in the ocean’s blue waters.
You may notice Tampa sees significant traffic, though. The highways clog up during rush hour, and in the summer, there’s some additional tourist traffic. Car accidents happen often, so you must stay alert as a driver.
2021 saw 28,020 car accidents in metropolitan Tampa, and that number remains high every year. When Tampa car accidents occur, sometimes, one driver speeds off before the cops show up.
We’ll discuss hit-and-run accidents in Tampa right now. You may wonder whether you need a lawyer if someone hits your vehicle and doesn’t stick around. We’ll cover that, and we’ll also discuss some related issues.
Why Do People Leave Tampa Car Accident Scenes?
Before we go over hiring lawyers after Tampa hit-and-run crashes, we should review why people leave accident scenes. Several reasons exist.
First, someone might not have the proper insurance. Some drivers don’t have car insurance, and if they know they’ll lose their license or pay fines if they hit your car without the right policy in place, they might flee, hoping the police won’t find them.
You might also have a situation where a drunk driver hits your car. Maybe they’ve used some other drug. In that case, they know the cops will see they’re under the influence. They’ll drive away and avoid that scrutiny if they can.
Some drivers simply panic. Maybe they’re inexperienced, and they don’t like thinking about facing the cops if they made a poor traffic decision. Teen drivers often flee crash scenes.
If this happens, you must hope you got the other car’s license plate number. You should jot down that number before the other driver leaves or take a picture with your smartphone’s camera. Sometimes you can’t do that before the other motorist drives off, but often, you can.
Do You Need a Car Accident Lawyer?
Now, let’s discuss Tampa car accident lawyers and hit-and-runs. Legally, you have no obligation following these accidents, at least about hiring a lawyer. You might get along fine without one if you feel you don’t need one.
However, hit-and-run cases get complex very quickly. You must know what the law requires after these accidents. You can ask the police when they arrive, but maybe the crash traumatized you, and you’re not thinking clearly right afterward.
Maybe you have PTSD after the wreck. That happens fairly often after car accidents. The whole aftermath might seem like a blur when you remember it later.
Car Accident Lawyers Can Help You
If you try going through the legal process after a hit-and-run car accident in Tampa, you might miss some crucial steps. You must remember deadlines and court appearances. You must try finding out the other driver’s identity, and if you don’t have a lawyer, all this quickly becomes a Herculean task.
On the other hand, if you can locate a good car accident lawyer, you can tell them what happened, and you can hire them so they’ll act on your behalf. Once that happens, you immediately have someone experienced who can tell you what you should do, step by step.
They can use their investigators and find the other driver’s identity if the police have not managed that yet. Your lawyer’s investigators can look at any crash video footage that exists.
They might use smartphone camera footage if someone walked by and captured the accident. With so many individuals using their smartphone cameras and making social media videos, it’s highly likely.
The investigator can find store camera footage or traffic camera footage. They can also get the crash report from the police that corroborates your story. You’ll need that later if you end up finding and suing the other driver.
What Else Can Your Tampa Hit-and-Run Car Accidents Lawyer Do for You?
If you hire a lawyer following a Tampa hit-and-run accident, they can also ask your doctor for any medical reports following the collision. If the crash hurt you, you can use that paperwork, X-ray results, MRI results, etc., if you sue the other driver. Your lawyer might use that information and show the jury that the car wreck seriously harmed you.
Your lawyer can contact the other driver once you locate them and tell them you’re suing them. They can go through the proper channels so that you’ll get the highest possible settlement offer, assuming the other driver offers you one.
Your lawyer can also support you following the crash. Many times, these hit-and-run accidents shake you up and leave you frightened, confused, or depressed.
If the other driver hurt you and then left the scene, maybe you can’t resume work immediately. Perhaps you must have an operation or attend physical therapy sessions. Maybe you must see a mental health professional to shake off your fear and anxiety after this incident.
Your lawyer can stand by you while you recover after the accident. That might take a mighty effort on your part. Perhaps you can’t even drive for months afterward. You may shake or feel queasy if you try getting behind the wheel.
Your lawyer can encourage you when you feel overwhelmed. The long, confusing legal process following a hit-and-run accident can wear you down mentally and physically, with the court dates and everything else you must endure. Your attorney can help prop you up while you get through it.
You have no legal responsibility that says you must hire a lawyer after a Tampa hit-and-run car accident, but if you don’t, you may find your life very difficult. Without an attorney, you do not have a professional helping you who has been through all this before.
That’s why you should seriously consider hiring an attorney if you go through this experience in the Tampa area.
