A driver hit you, saw what happened, and drove away. That is a hard realization to live with, both emotionally and financially. You are the one paying for the consequences with physical pain, missed work, and costly medical bills.
Our Southfield hit and run lawyers handle claims for injured drivers, passengers, and people hit while walking in Southfield and throughout Oakland County. Your claim does not depend on finding that driver. Michigan no-fault benefits pay for medical care and part of your lost wages even when nobody is ever identified.
We file the claim, deal with the insurance adjusters, and bring a case against the driver if police identify them. At Kajy Law Firm, we handle car, truck, and motorcycle accident cases only. That is all we do. Call 248-702-6641 or contact us online any hour for a free case review.
Table of contents
- Why Do You Need a Southfield Hit-and-Run Lawyer?
- Who Pays Your Medical Bills After a Southfield Hit-and-Run?
- How Long Do You Have to File a Hit-and-Run Claim in Michigan?
- What Happens If Police Identify the Driver Who Fled?
- Hit-and-Run Crashes We Handle Across Southfield and Oakland County
- Why Injured Drivers in Southfield Choose Kajy Law
- Southfield Hit-and-Run Questions Answered by Our Michigan Accident Attorneys
- Your Next Move After a Southfield Hit-and-Run
Why Do You Need a Southfield Hit-and-Run Lawyer?
A hit-and-run claim usually has no other driver's insurer to bill, so the company paying your medical care is your own. That insurer decides whether your treatment was necessary, whether your wage loss is real, and whether the crash happened the way you say it did.
Working with a car accident lawyer gives you time to recover instead of arguing with adjusters, and it usually puts more money in your pocket.
In a study of injury claim settlements, 91% of represented claimants received a settlement or award, compared with 51% of people who handled it alone. Those with lawyers kept nearly three times as much after fees.
We handle hit-and-run claims as part of our Southfield car accident representation. The hard part is that there is no other driver's insurance company to bill, so your case runs on your own coverage.
- Filing your claim with the right insurer, in the right order
- Collecting the crash report, nearby camera footage, and witness statements
- Taking every adjuster call, including requests for a recorded statement
- Suing the insurer when it denies or sits on a claim it should pay
The report, the footage, and the witness names we gather for your benefits claim are the same proof we would use to sue the driver if police find them.
Who Pays Your Medical Bills After a Southfield Hit-and-Run?
Your own no-fault policy pays first, and it pays no matter who caused the crash. A driver who flees does not cut off those benefits, because Michigan ties them to your policy instead of to the other car.
When no applicable PIP policy covers you, the benefits may come through the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan instead. That route has its own one-year notice deadline, separate from the three-year deadline that may apply to a lawsuit against the driver. Understanding PIP insurance in Michigan can help clarify which coverage and deadlines may apply.
When you or someone in your household has a policy
Your own insurer pays your personal injury protection (PIP) benefits. Those benefits cover reasonable medical care and a share of the income you lose while you cannot work, up to the coverage level on your policy.
A spouse's policy or the policy of a relative living in your home can also stand in for yours. That is how a 17-year-old on a parent's insurance and a grandparent living with an adult child both get covered without owning a car.
When no one in your household has coverage
The Michigan Assigned Claims Plan pays instead. It exists for this exact situation: an injured person with no policy of their own and no identified driver to bill. The state assigns your claim to a private insurer, which then handles it.
Two rules make this route unforgiving. You have one year from the date of the crash to notify the plan, not the three years people associate with injury lawsuits.
Benefits through the plan are generally capped at $250,000 for PIP allowable expenses, although limited exceptions can provide a higher cap. An ordinary policy may provide a higher medical limit.
If your allowable expenses exceed that cap, other coverage or a claim against an at-fault driver may become important. That is why we press the police investigation instead of waiting on it.
When you were walking or on a bicycle
Pedestrians and cyclists in Michigan generally use applicable PIP coverage through their own policy, a spouse, or a resident relative. If no such PIP coverage applies, the claim goes through the Assigned Claims Plan, which generally must be notified within one year of the crash.
We see this on Nine Mile and along Telegraph Road, where someone crossing on foot ends up with a hospital bill from Henry Ford Providence Southfield and no license plate to give an adjuster.
Which coverage route applies determines who handles the claim, how much may be available, and which deadlines matter. We tell you on the first call which insurer or plan should receive your claim and the exact date each applicable deadline falls.
How Long Do You Have to File a Hit-and-Run Claim in Michigan?
Several deadlines may apply, and the shortest can be one year. Michigan hit and run accident claims can involve several different deadlines. The three-year lawsuit deadline does not cover every type of claim or notice requirement.
| What you are filing | How long you have | Clock starts |
|---|---|---|
| No-fault benefits from your own insurer | 1 year to give written notice of injury | Date of the crash |
| A claim through the Assigned Claims Plan | 1 year to notify the plan | Date of the crash |
| A lawsuit against the driver who fled | 3 years | Date of the crash |
Another rule can affect older bills. Michigan generally limits how far back unpaid PIP benefits can be recovered, but the clock can pause after a specific claim is submitted until the insurer formally denies it, as long as the claim is pursued with reasonable diligence.
Our team calendars each applicable deadline from the day you call. The rules for how Michigan treats hit-and-run claims are statewide, but venue and court jurisdiction depend on the facts of the case, including where the crash happened, where the parties live or do business, and the amount in dispute.
What Happens If Police Identify the Driver Who Fled?
A second claim opens, and it is usually the larger one. No-fault benefits pay medical care and wage loss, but nothing for pain and suffering after a car accident.
A claim against the driver personally does pay for it, once your injuries meet Michigan's threshold of serious impairment of an important body function, permanent serious disfigurement, or death.
The Southfield Police Department works these cases from partial plates, paint transfer, and cameras on the businesses along the route. We stay in touch with the investigating officer and obtain the crash report ourselves, so nothing sits in a file while your deadline runs.
Leaving the scene is also a crime. A driver who flees a crash that injured someone faces up to a year in jail.
The charge rises to a felony punishable by up to 5 years when the crash caused serious impairment or death, and to 15 years when the driver who fled caused a death. A criminal case pays none of your bills, but its investigation often turns up the evidence that does.
When the driver who hit you turns out to have no coverage, uninsured motorist coverage often applies too, if you bought it and the policy terms cover the crash. It may pay for pain and suffering that a no-fault claim alone does not cover. We read every policy in your household to determine if this coverage is available to you.
Hit-and-Run Crashes We Handle Across Southfield and Oakland County
Our office sits on Nine Mile, minutes from the roads where these crashes happen, and Oakland County records tens of thousands of crashes a year in state traffic data. We take hit-and-run cases from anywhere in Michigan, and these are the ones we see most often:
- Rear-end and sideswipe crashes on freeways such as I-696 and the Lodge
- Intersection collisions at busy corners like Telegraph and Twelve Mile
- People struck in shopping center parking lots, including around Tel-Twelve
- Cyclists and pedestrians hit on roads such as Greenfield, Evergreen, and Lahser
- Passengers injured in a car whose driver fled on foot
When a case becomes a lawsuit, Michigan's venue rules determine where it can be filed based on factors such as where the injury occurred and where the parties live or do business. Many Southfield injury lawsuits are filed in Oakland County Circuit Court in Pontiac, where our attorneys appear regularly. The proper court depends on the facts, the amount in dispute, and Michigan's jurisdiction and venue rules.
Clients who start out searching for a Detroit, MI hit and run lawyer often call us instead, because our Southfield office sits just north of Eight Mile and we file in Wayne County too.
Why Injured Drivers in Southfield Choose Kajy Law
People hire us because this is the only kind of law we practice. Car, truck, and motorcycle accidents are all we do.
- More than $100 million recovered for Michigan accident victims
- More than 5,000 cases handled, with 150+ years of combined experience
- Free consultations, and we come to your home or hospital room
- No fee unless we win your case
Lawrence Kajy founded the firm after watching other offices let files sit and take the first offer on the table.
He studied at Wayne State University and the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, where he published a law review article on the future of Michigan's no-fault act. He has been selected to the National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40 and to Super Lawyers.
"I was hit by a car in a hit and run. I contacted this law firm. They went out of their way to help me and explained the process. They never questioned or talked down to me. They got right to work, even working with another attorney. These people are super cool, good and respectful. The numbers, reviews and stars speak for themselves." — K.H.
Talk to a Southfield hit-and-run accident attorney now at 248-702-6641. Car accidents don’t always occur during business hours, so you can reach us 24/7 to discuss your case.
Southfield Hit-and-Run Questions Answered by Our Michigan Accident Attorneys
How much does a hit-and-run lawyer cost in Southfield?
You pay nothing upfront and nothing by the hour. We work on a contingency fee basis, which means our fee comes out of the recovery and only if there is one. Your consultation is free and comes without pressure or obligation. If you already received a settlement offer but did not sign it, we can review it for you and help you evaluate the car accident settlement in Michigan.
Do I have to give my insurance company a recorded statement?
Your policy generally requires you to cooperate with your own insurer, but not to answer questions unprepared. Let us take the call. Adjusters use recorded statements to find gaps between what you said in week one and what your doctor finds in month three.
What if I did not call the police the night it happened?
You may still have a claim. A report filed with the Southfield Police Department days after the crash gives the insurer an argument, not an automatic denial, and medical records from that week often close the gap.
Can I recover if I was partly at fault for the crash?
Yes, with a reduction. Your damages drop by your share of the fault, and if you are found more than 50% at fault you cannot collect for pain and suffering. Fault splits are frequently argued, and we can counter them with strong evidence to protect the value of your claim.
What if my passenger was hurt and has no insurance of their own?
If the passenger has applicable PIP coverage through their own policy, a spouse, or a resident relative, that coverage generally pays first. If no such policy applies, the passenger generally claims PIP benefits through the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan. We open claims for injured passengers alongside the driver's.
How long does a hit-and-run case take to resolve?
Most resolve in several months to a couple of years. Benefits claims move first because medical bills cannot wait, while a case against an identified driver runs on the court's schedule.
What if the driver is found but has no insurance?
Your uninsured motorist coverage may pay if you have it and the policy covers the hit-and-run. The driver can still be sued personally, though collecting from someone with no insurance is often difficult. We tell you plainly which option may be worth pursuing.
Your Next Move After a Southfield Hit-and-Run
The driver who hit you made a choice to leave. The next decision belongs to you, and it costs one phone call and no money.
We will tell you which insurer owes you benefits, which deadline is closest, and whether your injuries reach the threshold for a claim against the driver. If we are not the right firm for you, we will say so.
Kajy Law Firm, PLLC is at 18000 W Nine Mile Rd, Suite 1400, Southfield, MI 48075. Call 248-702-6641 day or night, or reach us through our online contact form. No fee unless we win.