Hit-and-Run Accident Lawyer in Las Vegas

When a driver leaves after a crash, the person responsible leaves too. The Sookiassian Firm, Ltd. handles injury and business matters from its office in Downtown Summerlin. We help people hurt in hit-and-runs piece together what happened and decide where a claim can go. If the other driver stayed at the scene, see our page on car accident claims in Las Vegas.

What to do after a hit-and-run in Las Vegas

Hit-and-runs happen on busy roads like Charleston Blvd, Sahara Ave, and Las Vegas Blvd along the Strip corridor. They happen on quiet side streets too, at any hour. Late at night, or with heavy visitor traffic, fewer people may be around who noticed anything. That makes the first hour after the crash more important.

1. Look after your health first. If you or anyone else is injured, call 911. Get checked at the scene or see a doctor soon afterward. Some injuries take time to show.
2. Let the other car go. Chasing a fleeing driver puts you at risk. Put your attention on what you saw and remember.
3. Report the crash to police, from the scene if you can. Ask for the officer's name and the event or report number.
4. Describe the car before the details fade. Note its color, body type, make or model if you caught it, and any damage, stickers or racks. Write down any letters or numbers from the plate and the direction it went. A voice memo on your phone works.
5. Ask who saw it. Get names and phone numbers from people nearby. That includes other drivers, rideshare drivers, and people working in shops along the street.
6. Look up for cameras. Note storefronts, gas stations, parking lots, and homes with doorbell cameras that face the road.
7. Photograph everything. Take pictures of your injuries, your vehicle from several angles, any paint left on it, broken parts on the road, and the layout of the street.
8. Keep what the other car left behind. A piece of bumper, a mirror, or part of a headlight can help identify the vehicle. Don't repair your car until the damage has been photographed.
9. Let your auto insurer know a crash happened. Keep a copy of what you send.
10. Keep your medical paperwork together from the first visit onward.

Many other steps apply to any crash. Our guide to the steps after any Las Vegas car crash covers them.

Which police agency to call, and do you need a report?

Crashes on Las Vegas and unincorporated Clark County streets are usually handled by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD). Henderson and North Las Vegas have their own police departments. Crashes on highways, including I-15, may be handled by the Nevada Highway Patrol (NHP).

If you aren't sure which agency covers where you are, call 911 and tell the dispatcher your location.

Yes, you should report it. If you were driving and someone was hurt, Nevada law requires you to report the crash right away to police or the Nevada Highway Patrol when no officer is at the scene (NRS 484E.030(2)). A report also gives investigators a starting point.

How the driver may be found

Drivers who flee are sometimes identified days or weeks later. No one can promise that will happen, but these sources often help:

• The police investigation. Officers may collect evidence at the scene and follow up on leads. Keep your event number handy so you can pass along anything new you learn.
• Cameras. Cameras on businesses and homes near the crash may have caught the car before or after it happened. Many systems record over older video, so ask early.
• Witnesses. Someone may have seen the plate, the driver, or where the car went. Even a short description can confirm or rule out a lead.
• Dashcams. Some rideshare, delivery, and commercial drivers keep a camera running while they drive. A driver who passed by may have the moment on video.
• Partial plates. A few characters, together with the color and model, can narrow the search.
• Debris and paint transfer. Broken pieces left on the road can sometimes point to a make or model. Paint left on your car shows the other car's color.

If the driver is identified

Once police name a driver, the claim usually turns toward that driver and their liability insurance, if they have any. You can present your medical bills, lost income, and other losses to that insurer. Our guide to what losses an injury claim can include in Nevada explains the categories.

Sometimes police identify the vehicle before they can show who was driving it. Nevada requires an owner's liability policy to cover people who drive the vehicle with the owner's permission (NRS 485.3091), so the owner's policy may still matter even if someone else was driving.

Nevada sets minimum liability limits, and a serious injury can cost more than those limits cover. Your own policy may also matter; see the coverage link in the next section.

If you opened a claim with your own insurer before the driver was found, the two claims can affect each other. If your insurer has already paid you under your uninsured motorist coverage, Nevada law lets it, subject to your policy's terms, recover what it paid from a later settlement or recovery from the person responsible (NRS 690B.020(5)). Talk with us before you sign a release or accept an offer from either company. If the driver's insurer calls asking for a statement, you can ask them to contact us first.

If the driver is never found

If the driver isn't found, your own uninsured motorist coverage may apply. Whether it does depends on Nevada law and on your policy's terms. Our page on how uninsured motorist coverage works after a hit-and-run explains the details. We can read through your policy with you.

Pedestrians, motorcyclists and cyclists

When a driver hits someone walking, riding a motorcycle, or cycling and keeps going, the injuries are often serious. The injured person also may have no car of their own to photograph. In these cases, the evidence is often in what you were wearing or riding:

• torn or marked clothing
• a cracked helmet
• a bent bike frame
• the motorcycle itself

Keep these as they are, unwashed and unrepaired, until they've been photographed.

• Walking when you were hit: see our pedestrian accident lawyer in Las Vegas page.
• On a motorcycle: see our page on Las Vegas motorcycle crash claims.

The criminal case vs your injury claim

In Nevada, leaving the scene after a crash that injures or kills someone is a category B felony (NRS 484E.010).

The criminal case belongs to the State. Prosecutors decide whether to file charges and what to seek. Your injury claim belongs to you and asks for money for your own losses. The two are separate cases, and your injury claim does not depend on whether charges are filed.

A criminal court may order a convicted driver to pay restitution for certain losses. (NRS 176.033(3)). That is a different process from an injury claim. If prosecutors or investigators contact you as a witness, tell us, so we can follow both tracks.

Some drivers who flee were impaired. See our drunk driving accident lawyer page.

How we handle hit-and-run claims

• Preservation letters. We write to nearby businesses and property owners and ask them to save video and other records that may show the crash or the car.
• Records requests. We request the crash report and related records from the investigating agency, and we keep checking as the investigation goes on.
• Witness follow-up. We contact witnesses while their memories are still fresh.
• Insurer contact. We handle communication with your insurer, and with the driver's insurer if a driver is identified.
• Medical documentation. We collect the records and bills that show your injuries and what they have cost.
• Language help. You can work with our office in any of the languages listed below.

Founding attorney Jaklin Sookiassian holds law licenses in Nevada and New York and speaks Armenian and English. If you can't come to the office while you recover, ask about meeting at home or in the hospital.

Deadlines

In Nevada, you generally have two years from the date of the injury to file a personal injury lawsuit (NRS 11.190(4)(e)). Some claims have different or additional requirements, including claims under your own policy. Claims against government entities are subject to special procedural rules and notice requirements under Nevada law. See Nevada's filing deadline for injury lawsuits, and talk with a lawyer early.

Hit-and-run FAQs

Talk with us about a hit-and-run

Tell us what happened and what you have so far: the event number, photos, and the names of any witnesses.

Call (702) 518-8584

The Sookiassian Firm, Ltd. · 1980 Festival Plaza Dr, Suite 460, Las Vegas, NV 89135 (Downtown Summerlin) · Open Monday–Sunday, 8:00 AM–6:00 PM

Serving Las Vegas, Summerlin, Henderson and North Las Vegas.

We speak English, Armenian, Russian, and Farsi (Persian).