Crashes that involve injury or death. Felony classifications, mandatory minimums, and what civil claimants need to know.
Call 904-383-7448Reviewed by Graham W. Syfert, Esq., Florida Bar No. 39104. Last updated .
Section 316.027, Florida Statutes, makes leaving the scene of a crash with injury, serious bodily injury, or death a felony. The driver of any vehicle involved in such a crash must stop, render reasonable assistance, and provide identifying information. Failure to do so is a third-degree felony for an injury crash, a second-degree felony for a serious bodily injury crash, and a first-degree felony for a death crash, with a four-year mandatory minimum.
For civil purposes, a hit-and-run does not end the case. Your uninsured motorist coverage under section 627.727 stands in for the missing driver. The full statute is at syfert.com.
"The driver of a vehicle involved in a crash occurring on public or private property which results in injury of any person must immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the crash, or as close thereto as possible, and must remain at the scene of the crash until he or she has fulfilled the requirements of s. 316.062." Section 316.027(1), Florida Statutes (paraphrased; see full text). Read the full statute.
Section 316.062 sets out the duty to render reasonable assistance and to give name, address, registration, and (if requested) insurance information.
Up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Up to fifteen years and a $10,000 fine. "Serious bodily injury" carries a specific statutory definition.
Up to thirty years. Mandatory minimum of four years under section 316.027(2)(c). The mandatory minimum was added by the 2014 "Aaron Cohen Life Protection Act," named after a cyclist killed in a Miami-Dade hit-and-run.
A criminal conviction for leaving the scene is admissible in a related civil case as evidence of the driver's identity and conduct. Beyond that, leaving the scene is itself the basis for a punitive damages claim, where the conduct rises to the level required by section 768.72.
For the injured plaintiff whose at-fault driver flees, the case typically proceeds against the plaintiff's own UM carrier as a first-party contract claim. The UM carrier may demand corroboration of the hit-and-run (an independent witness or physical contact, depending on coverage terms) before paying.
If your driver fled, photograph everything. Skid marks, debris, paint transfer on your vehicle, anything that corroborates contact. UM carriers love to deny "phantom vehicle" claims for lack of corroboration.
Find witnesses fast. Knock on nearby doors. Check for traffic cameras and Ring doorbells. The forty-eight hours after a hit-and-run are the best chance to identify the missing driver.
Tell the client the criminal investigation is the State's case, not the civil case. Cooperate with police, but the civil claim does not depend on the State filing charges. UM coverage runs whether or not the driver is ever caught.
Yes, when the crash involves injury or death. Section 316.027.
Your uninsured motorist coverage stands in for the missing driver. Section 627.727 governs UM.
Four years under section 316.027(2)(c).
UM corroboration disputes, witness identification, criminal-civil interaction. Call.
Call: 904-383-7448