Who Pays When a Hit-and-Run Driver Hits You in Encino?

Arya Firoozmand, Esq. — Founding Partner

Local Encino Injury Attorney · UCLA Law

Arya Firoozmand is the founding partner at L&F Brown. He grew up in Woodland Hills and knows the 101/405 interchange and Ventura Boulevard through Encino firsthand. He graduated from El Camino Real High School and UCLA Law School and has spent his career representing injured clients across the San Fernando Valley.

You were hit by a driver who fled the scene in Encino. Maybe it was on Ventura Blvd, or at the Sepulveda and US-101 interchange, or on a side street near Balboa Park. You are now dealing with vehicle damage, medical bills, and possibly time off work, and the driver who caused all of it is gone.

The first question almost everyone asks is: who is going to pay for this?

The answer depends on a few factors, primarily whether you have uninsured motorist coverage, and whether LAPD ever identifies the driver who fled. Here is a clear breakdown of how each scenario plays out.

Scenario One: The Driver Is Never Identified

This is the most common outcome in hit-and-run cases where there is no camera footage and no witnesses with a complete license plate. When the driver who caused your injuries cannot be identified, there is no liability insurance policy to claim against. Your only path to compensation is your own uninsured motorist (UM) coverage.

UM coverage is an optional add-on to your auto insurance policy, but California law requires every insurer to offer it when you purchase coverage. If you accepted it, your own insurance company steps into the position of the at-fault driver and compensates you for:

• Medical bills, including your emergency visit to Encino Hospital Medical Center (16237 Ventura Blvd, Encino), follow-up care, imaging, and physical therapy
• Lost wages for time you could not work due to your injuries
• Pain and suffering, including physical pain, emotional distress, and impact on your daily life
• Property damage to your vehicle, up to your property damage limits

UM coverage pays up to your policy limits. If your limits are low and your injuries are serious, there may be a gap between what you recover and what you actually lost. An attorney can help you identify whether any other coverage applies to close that gap.

Scenario Two: The Driver Is Identified Later

Hit-and-run drivers are identified more often than people expect, particularly when the crash occurred on a commercial corridor like Ventura Blvd in Encino, where business cameras, ATMs, and gas station cameras frequently capture the vehicle and plate.

If LAPD Valley Traffic Division identifies the driver who fled your crash, your claim strategy changes significantly. You can now pursue that driver's liability insurance directly. California requires all registered vehicles to carry a minimum of $15,000 per person in bodily injury liability coverage. Depending on the driver's policy, that limit may be higher.

Additionally, if the driver is identified and has no insurance, you can still file a UM claim against your own policy and potentially pursue a civil judgment against the driver personally.

If you started a UM claim before the driver was found, an attorney can redirect the claim appropriately to maximize your total recovery.

Scenario Three: You Have No UM Coverage

If you declined UM coverage when you purchased your auto insurance, and the hit-and-run driver is never identified, your options are more limited. However, you are not necessarily without recourse.

Possibilities to explore include:

• Health insurance: Your health coverage can pay for medical treatment at Encino Hospital Medical Center and other providers. You would not recover lost wages or pain and suffering this way, but it addresses the medical bills.
• MedPay coverage: If you purchased medical payments coverage on your auto policy, it can pay for medical bills regardless of fault, even without UM coverage.
• Uninsured motorist coverage through a household member's policy: If you live with someone who has UM coverage on their vehicle, California law may allow you to stack that coverage onto your claim even if you were not in their car at the time.
• State programs: California has a Victim Compensation Program for crime victims that may cover some losses in hit-and-run cases since leaving the scene is a criminal offense.

None of these options fully replace UM coverage, which is why having adequate UM limits matters so much. If you are reviewing your policy after this crash, talk to your agent about increasing your UM coverage going forward.

The LAPD Report Requirement

California requires a police report for UM coverage to apply to a hit-and-run claim. This is not optional. Without a report documenting that a hit-and-run occurred, your insurer can deny UM benefits entirely.

In Encino, the reporting agency depends on where the crash happened. Surface streets including Ventura Blvd and Sepulveda Blvd are LAPD jurisdiction. The US-101 and I-405 corridors are CHP jurisdiction. File your report as soon as possible after the crash, ideally the same day. Keep the report number, case number, and the name of the responding officer or the report filing unit.

Your LAPD report also initiates the criminal investigation into the hit-and-run. California Vehicle Code Section 20002 makes leaving the scene of a property damage accident a misdemeanor. Section 20001 makes leaving the scene of an injury accident a felony. The existence of an active criminal investigation can sometimes accelerate the process of identifying the driver.

What About Van Nuys Courthouse West?

If your hit-and-run case results in a civil lawsuit, it would be filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. Encino cases typically fall under the Van Nuys Courthouse West venue. Most hit-and-run cases resolve through insurance settlement or UM arbitration before a lawsuit is filed, but knowing the courthouse that covers your area matters if the claim becomes contested. An attorney handles all of those filings on your behalf.

How Long Do You Have to File?

California's statute of limitations for personal injury claims is two years from the date of the collision. For property damage, it is three years. Missing these deadlines eliminates your right to recover.

However, the practical deadline for the most important evidence is far shorter. Surveillance footage from Ventura Blvd businesses is typically overwritten within 24 to 72 hours. Acting quickly is not just about meeting legal deadlines, it is about capturing the evidence that may identify the driver entirely.

L&F Brown represents hit-and-run victims throughout Encino on a contingency basis, meaning no upfront cost to you. Visit our Encino hit-and-run attorney page to learn more about how we handle these claims, or visit our Encino personal injury page for a full overview of how we can help.