East Orange Hit and Run Lawyer
When a driver hits you and speeds away, it is natural to feel angry and wonder whether anyone will be held responsible. Not knowing who caused the crash may also raise concerns about how you will recover compensation.
At Goldstein & Goldstein, LLP, our East Orange hit and run lawyers help injured people pursue compensation even when the driver is never found.
In many cases, uninsured motorist coverage provides a way to recover damages. If the police or our investigation identifies the driver, we can also pursue a claim against them.
Our family firm has worked from Evergreen Place since 1997. Contact us for a free review; there is no fee unless we recover money for you.
Why Hit and Run Victims in East Orange Call Our Firm
Our firm is built on long relationships with this community, and many of our clients come to us through people we helped years ago. After a driver flees, the person left behind needs a lawyer who will stay with the case until it is resolved.
- Partners Richard Goldstein and Michael J. Goldstein lead a team with more than five decades of combined experience.
- Michael is a New Jersey Supreme Court Certified Civil Trial Attorney, which matters when a UM carrier refuses a fair offer.
- Our established network of treating doctors helps clients begin care while coverage questions are sorted out.
- Intake is available in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole, and help is available 24/7.
We work on a No Recovery, No Fee basis and advance case costs. Hit and run claims are part of the broader East Orange personal injury work our family does every day.
Can I Still Get Compensation if Police Never Find the Driver?
Yes. If the hit and run driver is never found, you may still be able to recover compensation through uninsured motorist coverage.
New Jersey law treats an unidentified hit and run vehicle as an uninsured vehicle, so the claim moves forward against your insurer instead of the missing driver.
New Jersey’s rule is also broader than some states’ rules. As courts applying the state’s statute have recognized, New Jersey does not require physical contact with the fleeing vehicle when its owner cannot be identified.
That matters when a driver forces you off the road without ever touching your car.
Your Own Insurer Is Not on Your Side Here
Even though you file a UM claim with your own insurance company, your insurer can still challenge who caused the crash, how badly you were hurt, and how much compensation you should receive.
A hit and run lawyer can help you address these disputes, even when the driver who caused the crash has not been found.
Where Hit and Run Compensation Comes From
Recovery after an East Orange hit and run usually depends on which policies cover your household and the vehicle you were in.
The state’s auto insurance buyer’s guide explains UM coverage and notes that the lowest-cost basic policy does not include it in the same way a standard policy does.
| Your situation | Where we usually look first |
|---|---|
| You were driving your own insured car | Your PIP for medical bills and your UM coverage for the rest of the claim |
| You were a passenger in a friend’s or relative’s car | That car’s policy, and possibly your own household policy |
| You were walking or cycling | PIP and UM through your own or a household relative’s auto policy |
| No one in your household has auto insurance | Possibly the state’s Unsatisfied Claim and Judgment Fund, if you qualify |
| The driver is later identified | The driver’s liability policy, with UIM coverage potentially helping if the driver’s limits are too low |
The Unsatisfied Claim and Judgment Fund is administered through the New Jersey Property-Liability Insurance Guaranty Association and has its own eligibility rules, as the 2026 Boone decision illustrates. Sorting out which path applies, and in what order, is the first thing we do.
Order matters because notice deadlines, policy conditions, and the Fund’s own requirements run on different clocks. Opening the right claim first keeps medical bills moving while the larger claim is built.
What Happens if the Driver Is Caught?
When police identify a hit and run driver, two separate cases can follow: the criminal case for leaving the scene and your civil claim for compensation. The criminal case can punish the driver, but it generally does not pay your medical bills or lost wages.
How the Criminal Case Can Help Your Claim
A guilty plea or conviction for leaving the scene may help your case, but it does not always prove who caused the crash. We monitor the criminal matter so your civil claim benefits from it without waiting on it.
The Driver May Still Be Responsible to You Personally
If the driver is found, you may be able to sue them directly. If their insurance does not cover all your losses, other sources of payment may depend on the driver’s assets and the facts of the case.
In practice, recovery usually comes through insurance, but naming the driver keeps every option open while the coverage picture becomes clear. If the car belonged to someone else, such as an employer or a relative, the owner’s policy may also apply.
When the Driver Has Too Little Insurance
Drivers who flee are sometimes uninsured or carry only minimum limits. If the driver’s policy is too small for your injuries, underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy may cover part of the difference.
Why Hit and Run Claims Are Harder Than They Look
Hit and run cases remove the usual starting point for a claim, the other driver’s insurance information. Several problems tend to follow from that:
- No one is available to admit fault, so the insurer may question how the crash happened.
- Your own policy’s notice and cooperation conditions apply, and missing them can put coverage at risk.
- Witnesses scatter quickly, and video from nearby cameras is often recorded over within days.
- Injuries that seem minor at the scene can worsen, and the insurer may argue they came from something else.
Each of these can be managed, but they reward early action and careful documentation more than an ordinary crash does.
How We Try to Find the Driver Who Left
Even when police have no leads, an independent investigation sometimes does. Our approach in an East Orange hit and run usually includes these steps:
- Canvassing businesses and homes near the crash, such as along Central Avenue or Main Street, for camera footage before it is overwritten.
- Reviewing the police report for partial plates, vehicle descriptions, and debris collected at the scene.
- Identifying witnesses who stopped briefly or called 911 and were never interviewed.
- Following up with the East Orange Police Department on the status of the investigation.
- Checking whether paint transfer or parts left behind point to a specific make and model.
Finding the driver can open an additional insurance policy. Not finding them does not end your claim, but the search is worth the effort.
What You Can Do in the Meantime
Reporting the crash to police, keeping your damaged clothing or vehicle parts, writing down what you remember while it is fresh, and staying consistent with medical treatment all help. Our older guide on what to do after a hit and run covers more of these first steps.
What a Hit and Run Claim Can Cover
A hit and run claim in New Jersey can cover the same kinds of losses as any other crash claim, even though it is usually paid by a different insurer. The difference is in how those losses are proven and which policy limits apply.
Medical Bills and Lost Income
PIP generally pays medical expenses first, regardless of fault, and the UM claim can address losses beyond what PIP covers, such as lost wages and future care. Keeping every bill, pay stub, and doctor’s note in one place makes those losses much easier to prove.
Pain and Other Non-Economic Losses
Physical pain and the loss of normal daily life can be part of a UM claim. The lawsuit option on your own auto policy can also affect this part of a UM claim. Documenting whether an injury is permanent matters here just as it would in an ordinary East Orange car accident case.
How UM Disputes Get Resolved
Many New Jersey UM claims settle through negotiation with the insurer, and many policies send unresolved disputes to arbitration rather than a jury trial.
Preparing the claim as if it will be decided by a neutral arbitrator, with medical records and evidence organized from the start, tends to produce better offers earlier.
The Limits on Your Policy Matter
The amount available in a UM claim is generally capped by the UM limits on the applicable policy. That is why we review every policy in your household and in the vehicle you were riding in, because more than one may apply.
Shared Fault Still Applies
A missing driver does not stop the insurer from arguing you were partly to blame. Under New Jersey’s comparative negligence statute, your recovery is reduced by your share of fault and barred only if that share is greater than the other driver’s.
For example, a $120,000 claim with 25% assigned to you would become $90,000. We answer that argument with the same scene evidence, video, and witness accounts we gather while looking for the driver.
If a driver hit you and left, reach out to our office and let us start building the claim they tried to avoid.
FAQs for an East Orange Hit and Run Lawyer
Can I sue the hit and run driver if police find them months later?
A New Jersey hit and run victim can generally pursue the driver once identified, as long as the lawsuit is filed within the statute of limitations, which is usually two years from the crash. A UM claim already in progress can continue alongside or be coordinated with that claim.
What if my parked car was hit and the driver left?
Damage to a parked car after a hit and run is usually handled through collision coverage, if you have it. Report the crash to police and take photos of the damage to help document the claim.
Does my uninsured motorist coverage apply if I was a passenger in someone else’s car?
A passenger hurt in a New Jersey hit and run can often claim UM benefits under the policy covering the car they were riding in, and sometimes under their own household policy as well.
Because New Jersey generally does not allow UM limits to be stacked, the policies’ terms decide which one applies, so both are worth reviewing.
How long do I have to report a hit and run to my insurance company?
New Jersey auto policies generally require prompt notice of a hit and run, and the exact timing is set by each policy’s terms. Reporting to the police and your insurer as soon as reasonably possible protects the UM claim from a late-notice dispute.
Is a hit and run that injured me a crime in New Jersey?
Leaving the scene of a crash that causes injury is a serious offense in New Jersey, and it becomes a crime when the crash causes serious bodily injury or death.
Any charges are handled separately by police and prosecutors, while compensation for your losses comes through a separate civil or insurance claim.
Pursue Your East Orange Hit and Run Claim Even if the Driver Is Never Found
Richard Goldstein, Hit and Run Accident Lawyer
A missing driver changes how a claim is pursued, but it does not necessarily end it. Many hit and run victims have more insurance protection than they realize, and finding it is a large part of our job.
Goldstein & Goldstein, LLP offers free consultations in person, by video, or by phone. Send us a message and we will look at every policy that may cover you, starting with the ones closest to home.
Results depend on the specific facts of each case, and no particular outcome can be predicted.
