In a hit and run there is usually no defendant to sue, so the claim runs against your own uninsured motorist coverage. That sounds reassuring until you notice what it means: the company you have paid premiums to for years is now the party with a financial interest in paying you less.
Updated September 2026
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Missouri requires drivers to stop and identify themselves after a crash, and a driver who leaves commits a crime. That fact is of limited comfort when nobody knows who they were.
What actually determines whether you recover is your own policy: whether you carry uninsured motorist coverage, how much, and whether you comply with the notice and cooperation requirements written into it. Those requirements are strict, they are enforced, and most people have never read them.
Missouri requires uninsured motorist coverage on auto policies, and it is what responds when the at-fault driver cannot be identified. Underinsured coverage, which is optional and which many people decline, is what responds when the driver is identified but carries too little insurance. Which coverage applies changes the whole shape of the case.
Policies contain notice requirements, and many specifically require prompt reporting of a hit and run to law enforcement. A delay can give an insurer a coverage defense entirely separate from the merits of your injury. Report to both, promptly, and in a form that creates a record.
If a driver ran you off the road without ever touching your car, insurers frequently dispute that the other vehicle existed at all. Independent corroboration matters enormously here: a witness, a camera, or physical evidence at the scene.
In a UM claim your carrier stands in the shoes of the driver who fled, and it will investigate accordingly. It may take a recorded statement, request an examination under oath, dispute how the crash happened, and dispute your injuries. The relationship is contractual, not loyal, and Missouri does impose duties of good faith that can matter if a carrier behaves unreasonably.
Our client suffered a head injury caused by a driver who did not carry enough insurance to cover it. There was no deep pocket on the other side and no prospect of one.
The recovery came from his own insurance company, and it was $250,000.
That is the mechanism a hit and run claim relies on. The identity of the driver turns out to be less important than the coverage available and whether somebody presents the claim properly to the carrier that has to pay it. In a separate case, a driver who ran a red light and caused a head injury affecting memory and vision produced a recovery of the full $250,000 policy limit — again, the ceiling was the coverage, not the harm.
These are results from claims where the available insurance, rather than the severity of the injury, set the ceiling on recovery. Past results do not guarantee a future outcome, and every case depends on its own facts.
A head injury caused by an underinsured driver. We recovered $250,000 through our client's own insurance coverage. Read full story →
A young driver ran a red light and caused a serious head injury affecting memory, vision, and quality of life. We secured the full $250,000 policy limit. Read full story →
A professional musician suffered a traumatic brain injury after being struck while crossing the street. The insurer opened at $350,000. Read full story →
Many policies require prompt reporting of a hit and run to law enforcement as a condition of uninsured motorist coverage. This is not a formality; failing to do it can hand your carrier a coverage defense that has nothing to do with how badly you were hurt.
Color, body style, damage, a partial plate, a decal, a direction of travel. Partial information is frequently enough to identify a vehicle when combined with camera footage or a body shop canvass, and it fades within hours.
Doorbell cameras, business surveillance, traffic and transit cameras, and other drivers' dashcams are how these drivers get identified. Retention is often measured in days. Canvassing quickly is the single highest-value thing that can be done.
Report promptly to satisfy the policy, but understand that in a UM claim your carrier's interests are adverse to yours. You are generally required to cooperate, which is different from being required to handle it alone.
Usually yes, through the uninsured motorist coverage on your own auto policy. Missouri requires that coverage on auto policies, and it exists precisely for this situation. The claim proceeds against your own carrier, which steps into the position of the driver who fled and is entitled to contest both fault and the extent of your injuries.
Uninsured motorist coverage applies when the at-fault driver has no insurance or cannot be identified, as in a hit and run. Underinsured motorist coverage applies when the driver is identified but carries limits too low to cover the harm. Uninsured coverage is required in Missouri; underinsured coverage is optional, and declining it is a decision many people do not realize they made.
A claim in which you were not at fault is treated differently from an at-fault claim, and you paid premiums for exactly this coverage. Concern about rates is a common reason people absorb serious injuries themselves, which is the outcome the coverage exists to prevent.
Sooner than you would think, because two separate clocks run. Your policy imposes its own notice requirements, often including prompt reporting to police, and failing to meet them can defeat coverage independently of the legal filing deadline. Report immediately and have the policy language reviewed.
That is a phantom vehicle claim, and it is harder. Insurers frequently dispute that the other vehicle existed, so independent corroboration becomes critical: an independent witness, camera footage, or physical evidence at the scene. It is provable, but it needs support beyond your own account.
In a serious injury case it is worth having one. A UM claim is adversarial despite involving your own carrier, and it may involve a recorded statement, an examination under oath, medical examinations, and disputes over how the crash occurred. We recovered $250,000 for a client with a head injury through his own coverage.
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