Victim of a Hit-and-Run in Indianapolis?

After a hit-and-run, your first priority is your safety and health. Check yourself and any passengers for injuries. Call 911 right away — not just for medical help, but because time is critical for law enforcement to locate the fleeing driver. The sooner IMPD is notified, the better the chances of finding the vehicle.

Do not attempt to chase the other vehicle. Pursuing a fleeing driver puts you and others at serious risk of a secondary accident.

As soon as you are safe, write down or voice-record everything you can remember about the vehicle that hit you: make, model, color, approximate year, any distinguishing features (bumper stickers, dents, damage), and most importantly, the license plate number — even a partial plate can be enough for law enforcement to identify the driver.

Note the direction the vehicle was heading when it fled. If any witnesses saw the collision, get their names and phone numbers immediately. Ask them what they saw and whether they caught any details about the vehicle.

Use your phone to photograph everything: your vehicle damage, the road where the collision occurred, any debris left by the fleeing vehicle (broken headlight pieces, paint transfer, mirror fragments), skid marks, traffic signals and signs, and any visible injuries. Debris from the other vehicle can be critical evidence — it can be matched to a specific make, model, and year.

If the hit-and-run occurred near businesses, note which ones might have surveillance cameras pointed at the roadway. Traffic cameras and red-light cameras at major Indianapolis intersections may also have captured the incident.

Report the hit-and-run to IMPD immediately. Leaving the scene of an accident involving injury is a criminal offense in Indiana — a Class A misdemeanor, or a Level 6 felony if the accident resulted in serious bodily injury, and a Level 5 felony if it resulted in death (Ind. Code § 9-26-1-1.1).

IMPD will investigate the hit-and-run as a criminal matter. Your detailed report — including vehicle description, direction of travel, and witness information — gives them the best chance of identifying the driver. You can obtain a copy of the crash report through Indiana's BuyCrash portal (buycrash.com) or from IMPD Records at 50 N. Alabama Street, Room E100.

See a doctor immediately — even if you feel your injuries are minor. Hit-and-run victims experience the same types of injuries as any car accident victim: whiplash, concussions, fractures, and internal injuries that may not produce symptoms for hours or days.

In Indianapolis, IU Health Methodist Hospital (Level I trauma center), Eskenazi Health, Ascension St. Vincent, Community Health Network, and Franciscan Health all provide emergency services. For non-emergency injuries, urgent care clinics throughout Marion County can provide initial evaluation.

Medical records created promptly after the accident establish the documented link between the hit-and-run and your injuries — essential for both a criminal case and your insurance claim.

Here is the critical difference between a hit-and-run and a standard car accident: if the other driver cannot be identified, you cannot file a claim against their insurance. Instead, you will need to rely on your own uninsured motorist (UM) coverage.

Contact your own auto insurance company and report the hit-and-run. If you carry UM coverage (which is strongly recommended but not required in Indiana beyond the minimum), it can cover your medical expenses, lost wages, and other damages — essentially stepping into the place of the missing driver's liability insurance.

Be cooperative with your own insurer, but be careful. Even your own insurance company may try to minimize your payout. Do not give a recorded statement or accept a settlement offer until you have consulted with an attorney and understand the full extent of your injuries.

Under Indiana Code § 34-11-2-4, you have two years from the date of the hit-and-run to file a personal injury lawsuit — assuming the driver is eventually identified. If the driver is never found, your UM claim with your own insurer is governed by your policy terms, but the general 2-year statute still applies to related legal actions.

If the hit-and-run involved a government vehicle or government employee, the Indiana Tort Claims Act (Ind. Code § 34-13-3) imposes much shorter deadlines: 180 days for city/county claims and 270 days for state claims.

Indiana's modified comparative fault rule (Ind. Code § 34-51-2-6) applies to hit-and-run claims just as it does to any other motor vehicle accident. If the driver is identified and your case proceeds, your recovery may be reduced by any percentage of fault attributed to you.

Hit-and-run cases are more complex than standard car accident claims. They may involve a criminal investigation, an uninsured motorist claim against your own insurance, and the challenge of identifying the at-fault driver. An experienced attorney can work with law enforcement to identify the driver, navigate the UM claim process, deal with your insurance company, and ensure you receive the full compensation you are owed.

Most personal injury attorneys work on contingency — you pay nothing unless they win. The initial consultation is free.