Who Pays Your Bills After a Hit-and-Run in Woodland Hills?

Arya Firoozmand, Esq.

Local Woodland Hills 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 has spent his career representing injured clients across the San Fernando Valley. He still lives in the area today.

You were hit. The driver left. Now you have a damaged car, medical bills coming in from West Hills Hospital and Medical Center, possibly time away from work, and no one who has admitted fault. The question that keeps coming up is: who actually pays for this?

The answer depends on a few factors, and none of them are simple.

Why Woodland Hills Hit-and-Runs Happen Where They Do

Woodland Hills sits along two of the most heavily traveled roads in the western San Fernando Valley: the US-101 (Ventura Freeway) and Ventura Boulevard. The US-101 through Woodland Hills carries tens of thousands of vehicles daily, with high-speed merges near Topanga Canyon Blvd and De Soto Ave creating conditions where rear-end crashes and sideswipe collisions are not uncommon.

Hit-and-run rates are higher on high-speed and high-volume roads. Drivers who flee are often uninsured, unlicensed, impaired, or on suspended licenses, all of which are reasons they do not want to stay at the scene. Knowing that helps explain why your standard two-party claim process is off the table.

Payment Source #1: Your Own Uninsured Motorist Coverage

This is the primary recovery path for most hit-and-run victims in California when the at-fault driver is not identified.

California law requires auto insurers to offer uninsured motorist (UM) bodily injury coverage when you purchase a policy. The current state minimum for UM is $15,000 per person / $30,000 per accident, the same as the minimum required liability coverage. Many drivers carry higher limits, and some policies include uninsured motorist property damage (UMPD) coverage as well.

If you declined UM coverage when you bought your policy, you may have signed a waiver. Check your declarations page, the front page of your insurance documents, to see what coverage you have. If you have UM coverage, it pays for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering up to your policy limits, regardless of whether the driver is ever caught.

There is a catch: California requires that physical contact occurred between the hit-and-run vehicle and your car for most UM claims. A driver who forces you off the road without touching your vehicle creates a more difficult UM case. If there was direct contact, even minor contact, document it carefully with photos and your police report.

Your insurer is not automatically on your side in a UM claim. They have financial reasons to minimize the payout. This is one of the strongest arguments for having a hit-and-run accident lawyer in Woodland Hills negotiate on your behalf rather than handling the claim yourself.

Payment Source #2: The At-Fault Driver's Liability Insurance (If Caught)

Hit-and-run cases do get solved. LAPD West Valley Division investigates hit-and-run collisions on Ventura Boulevard, Canoga Ave, Mulholland Drive, and other city streets in Woodland Hills. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) handles investigations on the US-101 itself.

When there is a partial plate, a description of the vehicle, or surveillance footage from one of the many commercial cameras along Ventura Blvd or near Westfield Topanga and Warner Center, cases have a real chance of being cleared. If the driver is identified and has liability insurance, you can file a direct claim against their policy, just like a standard two-car accident.

If the driver is caught but has no insurance, or has minimum-limits coverage that does not cover your damages, you can pursue both their personal assets and your own underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage to bridge the gap.

You can check the status of your police report by contacting LAPD West Valley Division directly. Having an attorney follow up periodically on the case status, and making sure investigators know about any camera footage you located, can make a difference in whether the case is actively pursued.

Payment Source #3: California Victim Compensation Board

If you have no UM coverage, the driver is never found, and you are left with significant out-of-pocket losses, the California Victim Compensation Board (CalVCB) may offer a last-resort option.

CalVCB can help crime victims, hit-and-run is a crime under California Vehicle Code 20001 and 20002, pay for medical expenses, mental health counseling, lost wages, and related costs. Limits apply, and the program is not designed to replace full civil recovery. But for victims with no other payment source, it can provide meaningful help with medical bills and lost income.

To be eligible, you must file a police report and apply within three years of the crime. You do not need a conviction or even an identified suspect. The program exists specifically for situations where the at-fault party is unknown or unable to pay.

What If the Driver Is Caught Months Later?

This is more common than people expect. Hit-and-run investigations sometimes take weeks or months, particularly when officers are following up on partial plates or waiting for DMV records. If the driver is caught after you have already settled with your UM insurer, the situation becomes more complex.

In some cases, your insurer may have a right of subrogation, meaning they can pursue the newly-identified driver to recoup what they paid you. In others, you may be able to pursue additional damages beyond what UM paid, depending on how your settlement was structured.

This is exactly why having an attorney structure your UM settlement carefully from the start matters. Settling too quickly and too cheaply, just to close the claim, can leave you with nothing to pursue if the driver is later caught and has a collectible insurance policy.

What California's Minimum UM Coverage Actually Means

The $15,000 California minimum UM limit sounds like it covers something meaningful. But a single emergency room visit at West Hills Hospital and Medical Center, imaging, physician fees, any procedures, can exceed that in one visit. Add follow-up care, physical therapy, a specialist visit or two, and lost wages from even a couple of weeks off work, and $15,000 disappears quickly.

If your policy has higher UM limits, your insurer still has incentive to minimize the payout within those limits. If your policy only has minimum coverage, you may be in a situation where a lawyer can help you squeeze every dollar out of what is available while also exploring whether CalVCB or other sources can supplement your recovery.

The Bottom Line

Hit-and-run victims in Woodland Hills are not without options. The payment sources are real, but they require action, filing a police report with LAPD West Valley or the CHP on the 101, preserving surveillance evidence fast, checking your UM coverage, and knowing how to negotiate with an insurer that is not automatically on your side.

L&F Brown handles hit-and-run cases for Woodland Hills residents on a contingency basis, no upfront fees. Learn more about working with our team on the Woodland Hills personal injury page or call us for a free consultation to go over your specific coverage and options.