Hit by a driver who drove off in Las Vegas: what can I claim, and how?

Last updated October 18, 2026.

You can usually claim against the driver's insurer if police find the driver, and against your own uninsured motorist coverage if they never do. That second route needs physical contact and a prompt police report (NRS 690B.020(3)(f)). So the call you make on the day of the crash protects the whole Las Vegas car accident claim.

Leaving the scene of an injury crash is a felony in Nevada, and police do look for these drivers. But not every driver is identified, and some who are identified turn out to have no insurance. A good hit-and-run claim is built to work either way, which is what this page walks through.

What should you do after a driver hits your car and leaves, step by step?

Call 911 from the scene. Nevada requires a driver in an injury crash to stop and stay (NRS 484E.010), and requires every driver in a crash to give name, address and registration (NRS 484E.030). The driver who left broke those rules; your job is to get the crash on record. In the City of Las Vegas and unincorporated Clark County that is usually LVMPD; on the freeways, often the Nevada Highway Patrol. Our page on which agency handles your crash and how to get the report covers each.
Write down what you saw, right away. Plate letters, make, color, damage, direction of travel, the time and the nearest cross streets. Partial plates matter.
Look for cameras before the footage is gone. Gas stations, casinos, stores and neighbors' doorbells often record the street. Ask the same day; many systems overwrite.
Get medical care and keep the records. The ER or urgent care chart ties your injury to the date of the crash.
Notify your own insurer promptly, in writing. Tell them it was a hit-and-run, give the police event number, and ask which coverages apply: uninsured motorist (UM), medical payments, collision.
File the DMV report if required. If the crash caused injury or $750 or more of damage and no officer investigated with insurance details in the report, you have 10 days (NRS 484E.070). See when the SR-1 report is required.
Follow the criminal case if the driver is found. A conviction can bring a restitution order (NRS 176.033(3)), and the civil claim against the driver runs on its own 2-year clock (NRS 11.190(4)(e)).

Who pays: the driver is found, or the driver is never found

Situation	Where the injury claim goes	Your car	Key rule
Driver identified, insured	The driver's liability insurer, at least $25,000 per person	The driver's property coverage, at least $20,000	NRS 485.185
Driver identified, uninsured or below minimum	Your own UM coverage, to the extent of the gap	Your collision coverage, or the driver personally	NRS 690B.020(3)(a), (b)
Driver identified, insurer denies coverage or is insolvent	Your own UM coverage	Your collision coverage	NRS 690B.020(3)(c), (4)
Driver never found, and the car hit you	Your own UM coverage, if the crash was reported in time	Your collision coverage	NRS 690B.020(3)(f)
Driver never found, and no contact	Depends on your policy; the statute's hit-and-run definition requires contact	Your collision coverage, by policy terms	NRS 690B.020(3)(f)(1)
You were walking and the driver fled	Your own auto policy may apply; Victims of Crime may also help	Not applicable	NRS 217.070(1)(e)

Nevada's uninsured motorist coverage pays damages for bodily injury, sickness or death (NRS 690B.020(1)). Car repairs after a hit-and-run usually come through your collision coverage, which is optional, so check your declarations page.

What exactly does the hit-and-run rule require?

The statute treats a vehicle whose "owner or operator ... is unknown or after reasonable diligence cannot be found" as uninsured, but only if two conditions are met (NRS 690B.020(3)(f)):

Physical contact. The injury must have resulted from physical contact of that vehicle with you or with the vehicle you were in.
A timely report. You, or someone on your behalf, must have reported the crash within the time required by NRS 484E.030, 484E.040 or 484E.050, to the city police where it happened, or in an unincorporated area to the sheriff or the Nevada Highway Patrol. Those statutes speak of reporting "forthwith" or "immediately."

LVMPD took the place of the Clark County Sheriff's Department and the old Las Vegas Police Department in 1973, so it covers both the City of Las Vegas and unincorporated Clark County. Our page on who handles a crash in unincorporated Clark County explains the boundaries. Henderson and North Las Vegas have their own departments, described on our Henderson crash page.

If the other car never touched you, read our guide to no-contact crashes. It is written for riders, but the coverage rule it explains is the same statute.

What changes the answer

Whether you have UM coverage. UM must be included in Nevada auto policies unless a named insured rejected it in writing on the insurer's form (NRS 690B.020(1)). Ask for any signed rejection before assuming you have none.
Your UM limit. It must be at least the 25/50 bodily injury minimum and can be higher (NRS 690B.020(2)). If you have more than one policy in the household, ask whether each applies.
Whether the driver turns up later. If your insurer pays and the driver is later found, the insurer is entitled to the proceeds of any recovery from that driver to the extent it paid (NRS 690B.020(5)).
The 60-day presumption. When the driver is identified but no proof of insurance is given to the DMV within 60 days after an injury crash, the vehicle is presumed uninsured (NRS 690B.020(6)).
Whether the DMV can name the other person. DMV crash reports are confidential, but the DMV may tell a person involved, or that person's insurer, who the other person was when that identity is not otherwise known or the person denies being there, and the name of the insurer and policy number (NRS 484E.070(6)).
Whether you were on foot. A pedestrian hurt by a driver who failed to stop is a "victim" for the Victims of Crime Program (NRS 217.070(1)(e)); people hurt inside a vehicle in an ordinary crash generally are not, unless the driver was impaired or used the car as a weapon (NRS 217.220(1)(a)). See being hit by a car while walking.
Your share of fault. Even in a hit-and-run, the insurer may argue you were partly at fault; you can recover if your share is not greater than the other driver's (NRS 41.141).

For example: a sideswipe on Tropicana Avenue

Imagine a driver named Lena heading west on Tropicana Avenue near the airport. A gray sedan changes lanes into her, spins her into the curb and speeds off toward the freeway. Lena hits her head and her shoulder is injured. This is a hypothetical example, not a real case.

Lena calls 911 from the curb and LVMPD responds; she gives the officer three letters of the plate and the color. That same afternoon her husband asks a nearby gas station to save its camera footage. At the hospital she gets a scan and a sling. The next morning she emails her own insurer: hit-and-run, LVMPD event number, a request for the UM, medical payments and collision coverages on her policy.

Two months pass with no arrest. Because the sedan made contact with her car and the crash was reported to the police immediately, Lena's injury claim can proceed under her UM coverage as if the sedan were uninsured (NRS 690B.020(3)(f)). Her car repairs go through her collision coverage. Her insurer must acknowledge the claim within 20 working days and, once she sends a complete proof of loss, accept or deny within 30 working days (NAC 686A.665, 686A.675).

Now suppose police identify the sedan's driver in month four. If that driver has insurance, Lena can claim against that policy, and her insurer can recover what it paid from any recovery (NRS 690B.020(5)). If the driver is prosecuted and convicted, the court can set restitution (NRS 176.033(3)). Through all of this, the 2-year lawsuit deadline from the crash date keeps running (NRS 11.190).

Common mistakes after a hit-and-run

Driving home and calling police the next day. The hit-and-run rule ties coverage to a report within the time the statutes require, and those speak of reporting forthwith.
Chasing the other car. It is dangerous, and it takes you away from the scene, the witnesses and the cameras.
Assuming there is no coverage because the driver is gone. Your own UM coverage is designed for exactly this.
Not asking about video the same day. Footage from businesses and homes is often recorded over within days.
Calling it a "minor bump" to your insurer. Describe what happened and that you are getting checked; injuries from these crashes can show up later.
Waiting for the arrest before you claim. The criminal case and your insurance claim move separately. Waiting can cost evidence and time.

What to do this week

Confirm the police report exists and write down the event number.
Request the report copy once it is available (LVMPD asks people to allow at least 10 business days).
Send your insurer written notice of a hit-and-run UM claim and ask for your full policy and declarations page.
Ask nearby businesses and homes for camera footage, in writing, with the date, time and location.
Photograph your car's damage, especially paint transfer, before repairs.
Keep every medical record and bill in one folder.
If you were walking, read about the Victims of Crime Program and its reporting rules.
Mark the 2-year injury deadline on your calendar.

Frequently asked questions

How serious is leaving the scene of a crash in Nevada?

If the crash caused injury or death, failing to stop and remain is a category B felony, with 2 to 20 years in prison and a fine of $2,000 to $5,000, and the sentence may not be suspended (NRS 484E.010(3), (4)). Leaving a crash that damaged only property is a misdemeanor (NRS 484E.020). The penalties are for the driver; your claim is separate.

Will my rates go up for a hit-and-run UM claim?

The UM statute does not address premiums, and we cannot predict an insurer's pricing. What it does say is that this coverage protects people injured by uninsured and hit-and-run vehicles (NRS 690B.020(1)).

The driver was caught but has no insurance. Now what?

Then the claim is an ordinary uninsured motorist claim, and the driver can also be pursued personally. Our page on claims when the other driver had no insurance explains the next steps.

Someone hit my parked car and left. Is that the same?

A driver who hits an unattended car must stop and find the owner or leave a written note with name and address (NRS 484E.040), and on a highway must also notify police immediately (NRS 484E.050). If nobody was in the car, there is usually no injury claim, so the damage goes through collision coverage or the driver if found.

Can I still get help if the driver was drunk and fled?

Yes, impairment can open more options if the driver is found, including punitive damages without the usual cap (NRS 42.010). Read how a DUI criminal case and an injury claim fit together.

What if the other driver's insurance is too small for my injuries?

If the driver is found but carries only the minimum, your own underinsured motorist coverage may pay the difference up to your limit. See underinsured motorist claims in Nevada.

If a driver hit you and left, attorney Maysoun Fletcher can help you line up the report, the coverage and the evidence while it is still fresh. Call 702-333-6339 for a free consultation; the phones are answered 24/7.