Yes, if the driver is identified. That condition carries almost all the weight in a hit and run claim.
The obstacle in these cases is rarely the law. Liability tends to settle itself when someone leaves an injured person in the road. The problem is structural: a lawsuit needs a named defendant, so the practical answer turns on whether the driver is found. When nobody ever is, Nevada law points to a recovery most people do not expect, and it comes with two conditions that catch people out.
At Bromson Law, we handle these claims for injured people across Clark County. Call or text (702) 213-0100 to talk it through.
What Happens If the Driver Is Identified?
When the driver is identified, a hit and run lawsuit works like any other Nevada injury case. You have to show the other driver owed you a duty of care, breached it, and caused your injuries. Fleeing does not create a special category of claim. It simply gives you an at-fault driver who has already made a poor impression.
Identification often turns on small things. A partial plate, a doorbell or business camera, a witness who followed the car, paint transfer on your bumper, or debris left at the scene can each lead police to a registered owner. Once there is a name, the claim proceeds normally through that driver’s liability insurance, or against them personally if they carried none.
Is a Hit and Run a Crime or a Civil Case in Nevada?
It is both, and they are two entirely separate proceedings. The distinction matters because people often assume the criminal case will take care of them, and a Nevada hit and run lawsuit is a claim you have to bring yourself.
Under NRS 484E.010, a driver involved in a crash causing injury or death must stop at the scene, remain there, and meet the requirements of NRS 484E.030, which include giving their name, address, and vehicle registration, and rendering reasonable assistance to anyone hurt. Failing to stop is a category B felony punishable by two to twenty years in prison and a fine of $2,000 to $5,000. The statute treats each injured or killed person as a separate offense, and the prison sentence cannot be suspended or replaced with probation.
However serious those penalties are, they do nothing to pay your medical bills. A criminal court can order restitution, but restitution is generally limited and tied to the sentence rather than to the full value of what you lost. A conviction, in other words, is not compensation.
What If the Driver Is Never Identified?
This is where the honest answer stops being about lawsuits.
You cannot practically collect from a person nobody can name. The claim may be perfectly valid in every other respect and still have nowhere to go. However, Nevada does not leave you with nothing in that situation. The recovery simply comes from your own insurance policy rather than from a courtroom.
How Nevada’s Uninsured Motorist Rule Works After a Hit and Run
Under NRS 690B.020, Nevada insurers must include uninsured motorist coverage in every auto policy issued in the state unless the policyholder rejects it in writing. The statute treats a hit and run vehicle as an uninsured vehicle, which is what opens this path. Coverage must be offered at no less than Nevada’s minimum bodily injury liability limits, and policyholders can carry more.
Here is the part that surprises people. For a driver who is unknown or cannot be found after reasonable diligence, which insurers often call a phantom vehicle claim, the statute imposes two conditions, and both must be satisfied.
The Physical Contact Requirement
The injury must have resulted from physical contact between the unknown vehicle and you or the vehicle you were occupying. Nevada courts have read this strictly. In a 1993 decision, the Nevada Supreme Court held that the statute clearly requires physical contact as a prerequisite to recovery under uninsured motorist coverage.
The practical consequence is difficult to hear. If a driver runs you off the road and never touches your car, and nobody can identify them, the statutory path to uninsured motorist coverage may be closed even though their driving caused everything that followed. A “miss and run” is not the same as a hit and run in the eyes of this statute. Whether any coverage applies in that situation can depend on your specific policy language and the facts of the crash.
The Reporting Requirement
The crash must also be reported to the police department where it happened, or to the county sheriff or Nevada Highway Patrol if it happened in an unincorporated area, within the time Nevada’s crash reporting statutes require. In practice, this is the condition people lose claims on. Someone gets hit, feels shaken but not badly hurt, decides not to make it a whole thing, and calls the police two days later when the neck pain arrives. That delay can jeopardize the coverage they have been paying for.
Call the police from the scene, every time, even when it feels like an overreaction.
What If the Driver Is Found Six Months Later?
Police investigations run on their own schedule, and your legal deadline does not wait for them.
Under NRS 11.190, most personal injury claims in Nevada must be filed within two years of the crash, and vehicle and property damage claims generally allow three. That clock runs from the date of the crash, not from the date police finally knock on someone’s door. Therefore, if an identification arrives late, the window to bring a Nevada hit and run lawsuit may already be narrow.
There is no reason to sit still while an investigation proceeds. An uninsured motorist claim does not depend on police finding anyone, and it can move on its own timeline regardless of whether a name ever surfaces.
Can a Nevada Hit and Run Lawsuit Include Punitive Damages?
Sometimes, though it is not automatic. Under NRS 42.005, a court may award punitive damages in addition to compensation where the defendant acted with oppression, fraud, or malice, proven by clear and convincing evidence. That is a higher standard than ordinary negligence requires.
Leaving an injured person on the road is exactly the kind of conduct that raises the question, and whether a court sees it that way depends on the facts of the case. It only matters, of course, once there is a defendant to pursue.
What Should You Do After a Hit and Run in Nevada?
The decisions made in the first hour tend to matter more here than in an ordinary crash, because both the identification and your coverage can depend on them.
- Get a police report number before you leave the scene
- Write down anything you saw about the vehicle, even a partial plate, a color, or a dent
- Look for cameras: businesses, doorbells, traffic signals, and parking structures often capture what you did not
- Ask nearby witnesses for their names and numbers before they disperse
- Photograph the damage to your vehicle, since paint transfer and impact patterns are physical evidence of contact
- Get medical attention promptly, which protects your health and documents the connection between the crash and your injuries
- Notify your own insurer, since uninsured motorist coverage may be your actual path to recovery
Under Nevada’s comparative negligence rule at NRS 41.141, you can still recover as long as you are 50 percent or less at fault, with your award reduced by your share. Expect your own insurer to look closely at that question on an uninsured motorist claim, which is one reason independent evidence is worth gathering early.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will my rates go up if I use my own uninsured motorist coverage?
Not for a crash you did not cause. Under NRS 687B.385, an insurer cannot refuse to issue, cancel, refuse to renew, or increase your renewal premium because of a claim for which you were not at fault. That protection is one of the reasons uninsured motorist coverage exists.
Do I have to sue my own insurance company?
Usually not. An uninsured motorist claim begins as a claim with your own carrier, and it can be resolved through negotiation. Litigation or arbitration becomes an option only if the insurer denies the claim or values it far below what the evidence supports. It is worth knowing that on this claim your insurer sits on the other side of the valuation, however friendly the process feels.
What if I do not have uninsured motorist coverage?
Check your declarations page before assuming you do not. The coverage is usually listed there as UM or UMBI, and many people carry it without remembering the conversation. If it genuinely was rejected and the driver is never found, the remaining routes are narrow: health insurance for treatment, and collision coverage for the vehicle if you carry it, which pays regardless of who was at fault.
What does it cost to talk to a lawyer about a hit and run?
Nothing to ask. Consultations are free, and Erik A. Bromson handles injury claims on a contingency fee basis, so there is no upfront cost and fees are collected only if the case results in a settlement or verdict.
Talk With Bromson Law About Your Hit and Run
Being hit by someone who then drove away leaves a particular kind of anger, and the practical questions underneath it are real ones: whether anyone will be found, whether your own policy will step up, and whether any offer on the table reflects what this actually cost you.
We offer free consultations so you can get those answers without committing to anything. Erik A. Bromson has spent more than 15 years representing injured people across Nevada, and he handles each case personally.
If you or someone you love was hurt by a driver who fled in Las Vegas, Henderson, Laughlin, or Mesquite, call or text Bromson Law at (702) 213-0100. We take time to listen, review what happened, and explain how Nevada law applies to your situation. You can also learn more on our hit and run accident page, or read about how we handle crash claims generally on our Las Vegas car accident lawyer page.