What to Do if Someone Hits Your Parked Car in Texas?
What to Do if Someone Hits Your Parked Car in Texas?
Nothing is more frustrating than getting in your car to go to work and finding that someone has hit your car. Once you go in your house at the end of the day, anything could happen to your car. Someone could sideswipe it. Or a car could carelessly hit your car.
What you do when this happens depends on the circumstances. There are three situations you may find yourself in:
- Someone hits your car in the middle of the night and you have no idea who it was
- Someone hits your car and you see it happen
- Someone hits your car, you see it happen, but they take off
The second situation is easiest to deal with. The person stays behind so you can get his insurance information. You file a claim against his policy and hope it gets paid.
It’s the other two scenarios that present a problem. If this happens to you, it’s a good idea to contact a Texas car accident attorney.
Your Texas Car Accident Attorney Will Try to Find the Culprit
If someone hits your car and then takes off, you’ll have your hands full locating them. Hopefully, you’ll have the make and model of the car. You should see what color the car is. If there is damage to their car, your lawyer can try to find the driver.
Your attorney can check with the DMV to see who owns cars like the one that hit you. He can also check with local mechanics to see if any of them repaired a car like the one that hit you.
If you’re lucky, you’ll locate the culprit. You can then file a claim against their insurance company. You’ll still have to prove that he is the one who hit your car. This won’t be easy to do. You can rely on witnesses plus your own eye witness account to prove liability.
If you can’t find the culprit, you’ll have to find some other way to get your damage covered.
Texas Auto Accident Attorneys Can File a Claim Under Your Uninsured Motorists Clause
If you have no idea who hit your car, you’ll have to decide if you want to file a claim on your own insurance policy. This will really depend on how much the damage is. If it’s going to cost less than your deductible, you may not want to file a claim at all. However, if the damage is extensive, you can file a claim under your uninsured motorist’s clause.
Almost all insurance policies include uninsured motorist’s coverage. This offers a limited amount of coverage for damage caused by unknown or uninsured drivers. Your attorney can help you file your claim if need be, However, you may not need an attorney if the damage is small.
How Can a Texas Car Accident Attorney Help?
If the damage to your car is minimal, you won’t need a lawyer at all. However, if the damage is substantial, you may need help filing your claim.
If your claim is denied, your Texas car accident attorney can help appeal your claim. He’ll work with the insurance adjuster to settle your claim. A case like this wouldn’t really go to court. It wouldn’t be worth it. Plus, you don’t really want to take your own insurance company to court.
Your attorney can also try to find the person responsible for hitting your car. He can interview potential witnesses. He can also subpoena local video cameras to see if anyone caught the person who caused the damage.
Unfortunately, the odds of catching the person responsible are low. If they took off, you don’t really know where to start looking. They could be local or they could be from out of state. If you don’t have any information on the driver, you may have to chalk it up to a loss. File a claim against your own policy and get your car fixed.
You May Need to Contact a Texas Car Accident Attorney
If someone hits your parked car, you may need to contact a Texas accident attorney. He can help you get compensation for the damage to your car. The good news is you won’t have to worry about physical injuries in a case like this. It’s really limited to the damage to your car.
Call and schedule a free initial consultation with a Texas car accident attorney. He can review your case and let you know if he’s able to help. He can also let you know if it’s worth pursuing the matter in court. If there is no defendant, you may not have many options.
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