Hit-and-Run on Van Nuys Blvd in Van Nuys: What to Do Next

Arya Firoozmand, Esq.

Local Van Nuys Injury Attorney · UCLA Law

Arya Firoozmand is the founding partner at L&F Brown. He grew up in Woodland Hills, graduated from El Camino Real High School and UCLA Law School, and practices regularly at the Van Nuys Courthouse where most Valley injury cases are heard.

If you were just hit on Van Nuys Blvd and the other driver took off, you're probably standing on the sidewalk right now trying to figure out what happens next. The adrenaline is still going. You might be hurt. The car that hit you is already gone. This is a stressful situation, but the steps you take in the next hour or two matter more than anything that happens later. Here's what to do, in order.

Step One: Stay Where You Are and Call 911

Do not chase the other vehicle. People try this, and it creates more problems than it solves. You could cause another accident, you could lose track of where you are, and anything you do while emotionally escalated could complicate your claim later.

Call 911 from the scene. Tell them there's been a hit-and-run and give them the location on Van Nuys Blvd. If you're between Sherman Way and Victory Blvd, that's LAPD Van Nuys Division jurisdiction. If you saw even a partial plate number, a color, a make, or a direction of travel, give that to the dispatcher.

LAPD will send officers to take a report. That report number is the single most important document in your case. Every insurance claim, every legal filing, and every evidence request ties back to it.

Step Two: Document Everything You Can

While you're waiting for LAPD to arrive, use your phone:

Photograph your vehicle damage from multiple angles. Include wide shots that show your position on Van Nuys Blvd and any skid marks, debris, or paint transfer from the other vehicle.

Photograph your injuries. Even if they seem minor now. Bruising, swelling, and redness that are visible today will be used to support your claim months from now.

Look for witnesses. Van Nuys Blvd between Sylmar Ave and Sherman Way has steady foot traffic, especially near the Van Nuys Civic Center and the commercial storefronts. If anyone saw what happened, get their name and phone number. Witness statements from the scene are worth ten times more than statements taken weeks later from memory.

Note the time and conditions. Was it daylight or dark? Wet road or dry? Heavy traffic or light? These details matter for reconstruction and for establishing the other driver's negligence.

Step Three: Get Medical Attention

If you feel any pain at all, go to the hospital. Valley Presbyterian Hospital on Vanowen St is the closest major facility to most of Van Nuys Blvd. If paramedics responded to the 911 call, let them evaluate you and document their findings.

Here's what a lot of people don't realize about hit-and-run injuries: the force of impact is often asymmetric and unexpected because you didn't see the collision coming. Your body didn't brace for it. That makes whiplash, concussions, and internal injuries more likely than in a collision where both drivers saw the crash coming.

The medical records from your initial visit become foundational evidence. If you wait three days to see a doctor, the insurance company will argue that your injuries either didn't happen in the crash or weren't that serious. Go to the ER the same day.

Step Four: Preserve Surveillance Footage

This is the step most people miss, and it's often the difference between identifying the driver and never finding them.

Van Nuys Blvd is lined with businesses that have exterior security cameras. The retail strip near Sherman Way, the restaurants near Brent's Deli, the offices around the Van Nuys Civic Center, and even the Van Nuys Airport perimeter cameras along the western side of the boulevard all potentially captured footage.

The problem is timing. Most commercial surveillance systems record on a loop and overwrite footage every 7 to 14 days. If nobody requests that footage within that window, it's gone permanently.

A Van Nuys hit-and-run lawyer can send written preservation demands to nearby businesses within 24 to 48 hours of the crash. These letters create a legal obligation for the business to hold the footage. Without that formal request, a business has no reason to save it.

LADOT may also have traffic camera footage from intersections along Van Nuys Blvd, but those requests go through official channels and take longer to process. Getting an attorney involved early is the fastest way to secure both private and public camera footage before it disappears.

Step Five: Open Your Insurance Claims

Contact your auto insurance company and open two claims: a collision claim for your vehicle damage and an uninsured motorist (UM) claim for your injuries.

The UM claim is critical. Under California law, a hit-and-run driver who flees the scene is treated as an uninsured motorist. If you carry UM coverage on your policy, your own insurer pays your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering up to your policy limits. This is true even if the other driver is never identified.

One important requirement: California Insurance Code Section 11580.2 requires physical contact between the two vehicles for a UM hit-and-run claim. If the other car sideswiped you, rear-ended you, or clipped your mirror on Van Nuys Blvd, that contact element is satisfied. If the other driver caused you to swerve and crash without contact, the claim becomes more complicated and you may need a witness to corroborate the phantom vehicle.

What Compensation Looks Like

Hit-and-run cases on Van Nuys Blvd typically involve the same categories of damages as any collision: medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and property damage. What makes hit-and-runs different is the emotional component. Courts and arbitrators recognize that being hit by someone who fled creates a distinct psychological impact, including anxiety while driving, anger, and a sense of injustice that goes beyond the physical injuries.

If your UM claim goes to arbitration, the case originates from Van Nuys Courthouse on Sylmar Ave. The arbitration process replaces a jury trial with a neutral decision-maker, but the types of evidence and argument are similar. Medical documentation, proof of lost wages, and a clear narrative of how the crash affected your daily life all factor into the outcome.

The Statute of Limitations

You have two years from the date of the hit-and-run to file a personal injury lawsuit in California. For UM claims, your policy may have its own contractual deadline for initiating arbitration, which can be shorter. Don't assume you have unlimited time to figure this out.

Don't Wait to Act

Hit-and-run cases are time-sensitive in ways that other car accidents are not. The driver who hit you is getting further away. The footage that might identify them is being overwritten. The witnesses who saw it are forgetting details. Every day you wait makes the case harder.

If you were hit on Van Nuys Blvd and the other driver fled, our Van Nuys personal injury attorneys can start the evidence preservation process immediately. Consultations are free, and we handle hit-and-run cases on contingency, so there's no cost unless we recover money for you.