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Lawyers in the House with Montlick - Your Legal Podcast
029 Hit and Run Accidents

029 Hit and Run Accidents

Lawyers in the House with Montlick

Attorneys in Podcast: Jason Saltzman, Esq.| Bill Parker, Esq.

What happens if you’re injured by a driver who flees the scene before you can get any information? You’re hurt, you’re confused, but are you out of luck? Not necessarily.

Montlick attorneys Bill Parker and Jason Saltzman are in the house to talk all things hit & run accidents. These accidents can be especially tricky to resolve, and it’s a problem that unfortunately happens more often than we’d like to think.

Bill and Jason break down everything you need to know, from how to react on-scene to the ins and outs of an attorney’s investigation, and even how financially recovery is possible, even if the at-fault driver is never found.

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The purpose of this show is to provide general information about the law. Our guests will not provide any individualized legal advice. If you have a personal situation and need legal advice, contact us for your free legal consultation with a Montlick attorney.

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00:05	ANNOUNCER: Welcome to Lawyers in the House with Montlick. Wish you had a lawyer in the family? Now you do. Here’s your host. Veronica Waters. VERONICA: Hey everybody, it’s Lawyers in the House. Thanks so much for being here with us. I’m your host, Veronica Waters. Welcome. Come on in, make yourselves comfortable.
00:28	VERONICA: I wanted to share that there are some stories that I cover as a journalist that are exceptionally infuriating. And what we’re talking about today is actually one of them. It seems not a month goes by without reports of hit and run accidents. But interestingly enough, I don’t want to talk to you about the stuff that I’ve talked about in the news: a little boy crossing the street, a guy making a run to the corner store, a woman walking home from work.
01:02	VERONICA: I got an email from a woman named Sophia. And this is what she wrote. And I’ll try to shorten it a little bit, but she said, “Dear Lawyers in the House, I’m not sure if this is a case, but I wanted to ask just in case. I was at the intersection of Peachtree and West Peachtree when a little white Toyota sedan smacked me from behind. I really think she was on her phone, because there is just no way she could not have seen me. She acted like she was going to pull over. But then when I stopped at the gas station on the corner, she drove right out through the other side and went down the street toward Buckhead.
01:35	VERONICA: “I didn’t get her license plate or anything because I really thought she was going to stop. Now my neck is hurting and I’m losing sleep from stress over all of the money from me going to the chiropractor, not to mention damage to my bumper. Can I still have a claim?” That is from a woman named Sophia in Sandy Springs. And I thought, what a great question. And it.. doesn’t it tie perfectly into hit and run? It’s a hit and run.
02:06	VERONICA: In a way that we maybe haven’t thought about before. Do you have a claim if you’re the victim of a hit and run? Or is this something where you just got to throw up your hands and say, I am up the creek on this one? This is what we’re talking about here on Lawyers in the House. And with us today… Hey guys, thanks for sitting through that email with me. We’ve got two returning veterans of the show. We’ve got Bill Parker and Jason Saltzman. Hey guys, what’s happening? JASON: Hi, Veronica. BILL: Good morning.
02:35	VERONICA: Look at us all in shades of blue. Don’t we look so gorgeous today? So, let’s start off with a little sort of refresher about who you guys are. Now, Jason, please don’t get tired of me constantly reminding all of you that I want you to imagine this guy -handsome young man here- running around in diapers in the hallways of Montlick when he was just a little toddler because he was, right? He was. JASON: Yes. VERONICA: Deep family ties with Jason and Montlick, and why is that, Jason?
03:08	JASON: It’s amazing. I mean, my father has been at the firm since I was one years old or one year old. And I used to come into the office all the time as a kid. And then in college I interned here and then I went to law school and then I started as an attorney here. It’s all I’ve ever done. VERONICA: Yeah. Did you think when you were a kid watching your dad that you would grow up to follow in his footsteps? JASON: I didn’t realize it at such a young age. I realized it more in college.
03:35	VERONICA: Yeah. And what was it that made you sort of pull the trigger on this as a career? JASON: I started realizing I was more interested in litigation and trials and stuff of that nature. Adversarial stuff. And I got really interested in it about sophomore year of college, and it just kind of all fell into place right after that. VERONICA: You’re a brawler, is what you’re saying. JASON: One way of saying it, yeah. VERONICA: Jason has been practicing law for a little more than a decade now.
04:06	VERONICA: And in 2022, was recognized by Super Lawyers as a rising star, which is a designation given to fewer than 3% of lawyers in every state. And so of course, you remember Jason from previous shows, too. I’m going to run out of amazing things to say about this guy. No, I could never run out of amazing things to say about this guy. Bill Parker also joining us again here on Lawyers in the House. Another southerner. BILL: That’s right. VERONICA: Right?
04:31	VERONICA: This guy born and raised in the low country of South Carolina. And interestingly, Bill, you said that when you were a kid, somebody told you, you were going to be a lawyer. I have to know this story because I’m just imagining like you running around with like a little tiny briefcase and a tie. BILL: Yeah, so actually my mom reminded me of the story last week. She just moved out to Los Angeles to spend some time with my sister. But she’s like, you know, I knew from the time that you could almost walk and talk that you were going to be a lawyer because every single time I asked you to do something, you would look up to me…
05:07	BILL: But why mom? But why? She’s like, you know, you were always asking questions. Always trying to argue and get your point across. And so yeah, I… growing up in a small town… I mean, when I grew up in the 70s, 80s, you know, I was going to be a lawyer. I mean, that was the only thing I knew. Or thought about. So that was, that’s kind of the path I took. BILL: And I’ve been doing it for 24 years. VERONICA: 24 years, it’s almost a quarter of a century, sir. BILL: Yeah, don’t remind me.
05:38	VERONICA: You were described by someone before as being sort of relentless, always petal to the metal. You’re a brawler, too, when it comes to fighting for justice for your clients. BILL: Yeah, I am. I mean, I feel like I’m a little bit maybe a kind brawler. I like to fight, but I’m not like… I’m not like Nathan. You know, I don’t like to stick it in people’s ribs, but I do… I do like to fight for my clients, and I’ll do what it takes to get them the recovery.
06:07	BILL: But not too antagonistic. VERONICA: Yeah, so Nathan was on the show. And honestly, I think he actually described you as a softer version of him, like a kinder version of him. But you guys both have this trait that I have found in a lot of the attorneys I’ve met from Montlick. You’re all like so hard charging and really determined to sort of solve these mysteries and get justice for your clients, which I think is an incredible thing to do when you’re talking about a hit and run case.
06:36	VERONICA: So, thanks so much for being in the house with me, your girl, Veronica, one more time. BILL: Thank you for having us. JASON: Thanks for having us. VERONICA: So, I do find Sophia’s email to be a little interesting because it makes me realize that I never thought of hit and runs as personal injury cases myself, because I think whenever we talk about car accidents in particular or pedestrian accidents, you kind of know who did it, right? The car is right there. What happens if somebody makes you a victim and then they take off?
07:07	VERONICA: So, what is a hit and run? Is it as simple as it sounds? BILL: Yeah, so I mean, so what happened to Sophia happens hundreds of times daily, probably in Atlanta and everywhere else in the United States where somebody causes a wreck and they either… one or two ways, they can cause a wreck by physical contact actually. One way it happens if you were somebody who ran into the back of her and then for whatever reason decide to leave the scene of the wreck without stopping to render aid to a potential victim that they injured or to give their identification of their license.
07:44	BILL: Another way that it happens is somebody might run somebody off the road with no physical contact. In that situation, there’s no damage to the vehicle, but someone has caused a wreck and you might be injured, or your car is damaged. So, I mean, it happens generally one or two ways- in those two ways.
08:05	VERONICA: So interestingly enough, I did not really think of that either as I would call a hit and run because I’m thinking hit, you know, means like actual physical contact. But that doesn’t necessarily have to be the case. But I wonder if that’s like… does it vary from state to state? Because you guys are like getting cases from all over the country. So, is that one of the things that’s the same no matter where you are or does it vary?
08:29	JASON: I think there’s things that are generally the same and then there’s other things that vary. Like there are laws in Georgia about that second situation Bill described about if there’s no contact with the vehicle. Like for instance in Georgia, you would either have… to make an uninsured motorist claim with your own policy you would either have to have contact or you’d have to have a witness that saw the incident of some type. But that second part can change from state to state. VERONICA: Yeah, somebody ghosts you on the road, right? I got ghosted by a hit and run driver.
08:59	VERONICA: I am curious to know… it does sound like a very common problem. But what would make this chick like… be like, you know… I’m just imagining her saying… you know, and then as soon as you pull over, she takes off. Why would she do that? BILL: Yeah, go ahead. JASON: You got entire studies on this. I mean, psychological studies on it.
09:24	JASON: I mean, you’ve got… in my experience, I find that it’s either because a person has a warrant out for their arrest, they may have a, you know, they may have drugs or alcohol in the car. They might be intoxicated. Or some people just get scared. You’ll see that with like teenagers sometimes. But you also have like people that just freak out and they leave. And it is against the law. I mean, it’s a crime. So, you can go to jail for it. VERONICA: Yeah, when I’m talking about it in the news, it’s usually like police need your help identifying this so and so.
09:54	VERONICA: Like I said, I never really thought about… shame on me. I never really thought about this as like a personal injury thing. It was more so the criminal aspect of it and trying to track down the person who did this. But you’re leaving behind somebody who was hurt in your wake. BILL: Right, so there’s a two part. So, it is a crime to leave the scene of a wreck without identifying yourself and providing aid to a potential victim. And so, it can be called hit and run or leaving the scene of the wreck or whatever, however you want to call it.
10:23	BILL: But like Jason said, there’s a reason why somebody is doing that. Whether they’re hiding a current crime, they’ve got drugs in the car, they’re intoxicated, they’re hiding a past crime, they’ve got a warrant against them. Or they don’t have insurance or they’re unlicensed or you know things like that. There’s a reason why people do that because generally if you don’t have anything to hide, you’re going to stick around. And take care of somebody.
10:50	BILL: And this is not really a show on uninsured motorist or underinsured motorist coverage, but hit and runs and leaving the scenes of the wreck and UM (abbreviated for uninsured motors coverage) kind of have an important connection. Because if someone causes the wreck in a hit and run situation and they leave, and you’re not able to find them… well, guess what? There’s no insurance available to fix your car, your property damage.
11:18	BILL: There’s no insurance to compensate you for your bodily injuries. And so, you know, I would… I would ask the viewers to maybe go back and look at the uninsured segment and uninsured motorist coverage segment and kind of refresh their memory. But we are going to be talking a lot about uninsured motorist coverage today because it is vital that you have that to protect yourself in a situation where you are involved in a hit and run. Because there have been studies done by the Insurance Institute in Georgia, for example, and this is crazy to imagine.
11:54	BILL: But one out of every 8 cars on the road in Georgia is uninsured. JASON: It’s crazy. VERONICA: What did you just say? BILL: So when you’re driving… when you drove into town today and you pass hundreds and hundreds of cars, there were probably, you know, dozens and dozens of those cars that were uninsured. And if you are unlucky and get hit by one of those, you know, you better have protected yourself with purchasing uninsured coverage to help you if you are involved in a wreck like that. VERONICA: So, I had to make the claim on my own insurance company.
12:25	VERONICA: Maybe I don’t want to, but what choice do I have? Give me an example of a case right quick that… like a hit and run case that comes to mind. JASON: I mean, I had one years ago. I mean, this is a perfect example. I mean, Bill… kind of piggybacking on what Bill said. I had a client who had a really serious injury on I-75. They didn’t know who hit him, but his car flipped, and the person fled. And he lived in a household with his parents, and his parents had $600,000 of uninsured motorist coverage.
12:54	JASON: And we were able to get the entire thing for him in a case where we had no idea who the driver was. VERONICA: Amazing. But how much more of a mystery is it? How much more Sherlock Holmes do you have to be in addition to Perry Mason when you don’t know who the driver is, and you have to track him down. We’re talking about hit and run cases here on Lawyers in the House with Jason Saltzman and Bill Parker. I’m Veronica Waters. See you in a minute.
13:29	You’re listening to our podcast, Lawyers in the House with Montlick. Join us 8 a.m. every Sunday if you want to listen live on 95.5 WSB. VERONICA: Welcome back to Lawyers in the House with me, your host Veronica Waters here with the dashing and debonair Bill Parker and Jason Saltzman. We’re talking about hit and run accidents today.
13:52	VERONICA: Do you or do you not actually have a claim if you are the victim of one? It’s where Sherlock Holmes meets Perry Mason and these guys are here to talk about it. How critical is it? When you are trying to track down the at fault driver, the person who hit you. Is that a really big part of bringing these cases or no? BILL: Well, it plays… it obviously plays a very important part.
14:19	BILL: As it relates to punitive damages, if you have a phantom hit and run driver meeting that you can’t find the person, you never are able to locate the person who hits you and then left. As opposed to someone who might flee the scene but is later caught. If you… if the police later catch the person who hit you, you can actually bring a punitive damages claim against them. If- for leaving the scene of the wreck in and of itself- but again, they’re leaving the scene for some reason, right?
14:50	BILL: And so, whether the cop tracks them down to their house an hour later, and they’re drunk… You can also bring a punitive damage claim for drinking and driving possibly if they’re intoxicated. Obviously, it’s important in a punitive damages aspect if you’re able to find the person. But of course, a lot of these wrecks involve phantom drivers where they hit you, they run you off the road, and then they take off and flee and you never are able to find them, which again is why it’s so important to have uninsured motorist coverage to be able to pay for your property damage and to pay for your bodily injuries if you’re injured in the wreck.
15:26	VERONICA: You got ghosted on the road. It really is a ghost, a phantom driver. Have you had a phantom driver case Bill? BILL: Yeah, absolutely. I had a lady one time that was actually on a ramp at the 285/20 interchange. One of those interchanges. And she was in the left-hand lane and a tractor trailer merged into her lane. Whether the tractor trailer driver saw her or didn’t see her… but ran her off the road. And she struck a guard rail and suffered significant injuries and her car caught on fire.
15:57	BILL: Lucky for her, because what Georgia requires in a phantom vehicle situation is that there’s not physical contact between the two vehicles that there is an eyewitness that actually… an independent eyewitness actually saw the wreck. Lucky for her, there was another driver who stopped who also was able to tell the police that the tractor trailer had come into her lane. So. VERONICA: That is awesome. So, sort of good Samaritan who pulled over and said, I saw the whole thing. BILL: That’s right. And if you’re in one of these situations, you hope that somebody does that.
16:28	VERONICA: Absolutely. So that is a little bit about how we can help somebody else. If we see a hit and run, what are the steps that we can take to help ourselves if we are the victims of hit and runs? That’s what we’re going to talk about next on Lawyers in the House with Bill Parker and Jason Saltzman. I’m Veronica Waters. Be right back. You’re listening to our podcast, Lawyers in the House with Montlick. Join us 8 a.m. every Sunday on 95.5 WSB.
17:01	VERONICA: Hey, thanks so much for sticking with us and hanging out here on Lawyers in the House with Montlick. I’m Veronica Waters, and I’m here with Montlick Injury Attorneys Bill Parker and Jason Saltzman, giving us some really good information about what happens when you’re ghosted on the road because you’ve been a victim of a hit and run. There were some real interesting nuggets in the first part of the show. So, if you missed them, don’t worry, don’t panic. We got you, just go online. You can listen to us on your favorite podcast platform.
17:29	VERONICA: Make sure you like and subscribe. You can also get notifications every time a new episode drops. Same thing on YouTube, where you can also see our smiling faces. And get a little bit of, you know, feel like maybe you’re sitting in the House with us, you know, during the show. Why not? You know, pull up, get it.. get you a cuppa and come on, put up your feet. Don’t forget, you can also follow us anytime on social @MontlickLaw and drop us a line. Check out every single episode and send us an email at LawyersintheHouse.com. Hit and run accidents.
17:59	VERONICA: We’re talking about and what you need to do if you’re the victim. So, we’ve heard from Bill that an eyewitness could actually help you. But what do you do to help yourself? First steps, Jason? JASON: I think that in the beginning, you know, you’re going to be caught off guard by it, but if you can try to get a description of the vehicle, get the tag. You may not get the tag, maybe get some letters of the tag. Description of the vehicle and even maybe description of the driver.
18:28	JASON: We’ve had a lot of people who are able to catch, you know, get the tag and they were able to describe the driver, what kind of vehicle it was. The officer runs the tag and it’s the exact same. Like if it’s a red Honda and then they run it and it’s a red Honda, then that is a lot of evidence to show that that’s the person who hit you, right? VERONICA: But how often or easy is it to actually get it right? What if it’s like one letter on a license plate? JASON: Well, if it’s one letter, you’re probably not going to get that, but at the same time, you know, it’s different for every single case.
18:57	JASON: Not every single one of these people bolt out, you know. Not everyone is really good at fleeing the scene. You know, sometimes you might actually see some stuff before. And if you can just… I’ve had people snap photos. I’ve had people with dash cams. I’ve had people also… and I do not, you should not do this, but don’t go after the driver. I’ve had people do that too. But you should not do that under any circumstances. But we’ve had dash cams, we’ve had all kinds of, we’ve had witnesses catch tags as well.
19:29	JASON: And often the officer is able to run it, find the person, and then arrest them, and we’ll do open records requests on most cases in this situation. And we’ll find a supplementary arrest report where there’s more stuff about this driver. Maybe that driver was drunk. We’ve had people get arrested and there’s a supplemental arrest report and it gives more indication on why they fled. Maybe there was a warrant out for their arrest or something. VERONICA: Yeah, okay. So, I can try to do my own little mini detective work just with my eyes and ears right there on the scene because obviously I’ve stopped.
20:01	VERONICA: I’ve called the police, right? That’s so important. You got to get documentation about the accident. JASON: But do it safely, you know. VERONICA: What do you mean do it safely? What are you talking about? JASON: Don’t try to be the vigilante. VERONICA: Oh no. You know. Yeah, you know what? There’s a news story about that, actually. That someone tried to be a vigilante. She wasn’t even involved. We’re not going to get into that. But it does happen. You’re right. To your point it does happen. And before this, I probably would have thought, nobody’s going to do that. But you know what? Let me just be honest. I have such a temper. I probably would try to chase down somebody if they fled, you know.
20:32	VERONICA: If only for pictures though, I’m just trying to get your license. JASON: You don’t want to get in another accent. VERONICA: Definitely not. Because you know what, I don’t have any stunt driver training, what am I doing out there? So, the police are on the case. How can a lawyer help though? BILL: Yeah, and I was going to… just to also reiterate what Jason was saying, you know. Be an advocate for yourself at the scene if you’re not critically injured. Look around. Observe, is there a gas station?
21:01	BILL: Is there a commercial business? Is there something around there that might have captured it on surveillance video? And advocate for yourself at the scene and tell the police officer, hey, you know, it was a hit and run, but there’s a gas station right there. The car came from that direction. Maybe they got the car. Maybe there’s a license plate on that surveillance video. VERONICA: Like the girl in the email, the woman in the email. JASON: But you got to do that quickly because many of the footage you’re going to see at private entities like a gas station, it’s going to auto delete after a certain period of time.
21:30	JASON: So, you got to tell the officer if you think there’s cameras; and officers, if they’re doing what they’re supposed to do and most of them are, they’ll go to that gas station and they’ll get the footage and it will become a part of the file. And you can get that footage in an open records request and it can support your case. VERONICA: I would think that they would be willing to help, you know. Maybe they don’t feel like being bothered by going to rewind tape or something, but I would think most people would be like, yeah, let’s get you some justice. Let’s get you some help. JASON: Most people are, I think. VERONICA: Yeah, yeah. What kind of cases come to mind when you guys think about the issues that we’re talking about today?
22:00	VERONICA: Because these things, these cases have so many wrinkles. BILL: Yeah, I had a case back when I first… almost first started practicing the law back in 2000 that actually went to the Court of Appeals. It’s called Langlois v. Wolford case. It was a Court of Appeals case. And it kind of… I think the Court of Appeals in that particular case ruled that leaving the scene of an accident in and of itself, it can be a claim for punitive damage. You can get punitive damages, even if there’s no other aggravating circumstances, like the person was drunk or anything like that.
22:31	BILL: Just simply leaving the scene without checking on the other driver, you can get punitive damages. VERONICA: And punitive damages means…? Punishments. BILL: That you get to… That the jury can punish the defendant for doing something wrong. And so, in that particular case, our client was just was sideswiped. Had his window down. Was sideswiped by another driver and their mirrors collided with each other. And he had glass that flew in and got in his eye. He only had about $650 in medical bills.
22:59	BILL: The driver fled the scene, but as luck would have it, he drove into… the defendant drove into an apartment complex and the security guard observed that he had recent property damage on his vehicle. And was not very friendly to the security officer. So, he called the police. And when the police showed up, they tied the two wrecks together.
23:25	BILL: But luckily for us and for the victim, he hired our law firm -or my uncle’s old law firm that I used to work for down in South Georgia. We sent our investigator out there. We were able to find these witnesses who actually said, yeah, not only was he in this wreck and we see the property damage, but he was drunk. And was stumbling out of his car and all that stuff.
23:50	BILL: So, he ended up getting arrested for leaving the scene of the wreck. But in the trial of that case, we were able to bring out that he was also intoxicated and that’s the reason why he was fleeing the scene of the wreck. Because there’s always a reason. And so, we ended up getting 300 and… I think $305,000 verdict. $300,000 in punitive damage and only something like $5000 in compensatory damages. And that’s what makes the difference when you can get punitive damages on a case like that.
24:20	JASON: Yeah, the cases could have a high value because of the punitive damages. VERONICA: Yeah, a jury is not going to look kindly on somebody who fled the scene, I think, right? BILL: That’s right. VERONICA: That’s the whole thing. I wonder… so Sophia could probably get the… she can kindly ask if it hasn’t been too long. And you know there are office buildings around there too. Maybe they have cameras out front. I don’t know. Maybe it could help. Like you guys should call, you guys. Sophia, if you are listening to the show, which you probably are, yes, you might have a claim. Make sure if you haven’t already, make sure you call these guys at Montlick because they know what they’re talking about, right?
24:54	VERONICA: I am thinking too, though… Bill, who… and you know, I didn’t tell you that Bill is one of the top 100 trial lawyers in Georgia. So named by the National Trial Lawyers Association. Is it hard to prove these cases in front of a jury when you don’t have a defendant there? Or is it easier? BILL: Well, so, you know, in a situation where you have a known defendant, right?
25:22	BILL: Where they fled the scene, the cops were later… were able to find them. And you got somebody who’s left the scene and didn’t render aid. A jury doesn’t… is not going to like that person, right? Whether they were drunk or not, or under the influence. So, you have that going in, you have a little bit of an advantage because the jury is not going to… Jury’s not going to like that person.
25:45	BILL: In the situation of a phantom driver, you’re bringing what’s called a John Doe action against your uninsured motorist carrier, so there’s just nobody there other than your insurance company that’s defending it on whatever reason. Maybe they don’t believe that you were injured or something like that. VERONICA: So, my own insurance company will fight me on my claim. BILL: That’s correct. VERONICA: Wow. BILL: Yeah, after you’ve paid premiums to them for years and years, they will show up to trial and defend the case and try to prevent you from recovering. JASON: They step into the shoes of the defendant.
26:15	JASON: Essentially, this unknown defendant. VERONICA: Come on, insurance companies don’t be shady. What is it? You know, I guess it’s just business. That’s what they do. It’s probably policy for them. BILL: Yeah, it’s the law in Georgia, and that’s the way it is. When I explained that to my clients, it’s hard for them to comprehend that that’s the law, but that is the law. VERONICA: You said law in Georgia, is it in other states too? They do that? JASON: Different nuances, but it’s very similar in other states. VERONICA: Okay. Jason, give me… you were just, you and I were talking off air about a case that I thought was amazing.
26:47	VERONICA: A hit and run driver, and the driver was not a total stranger. JASON: Yeah, this was bizarre. And this was actually a recent case I had like last year where I had my client was… he was just jogging in his neighborhood. And he got hit by a man who lived in the neighborhood and fled the scene. He hit him as a pedestrian. He went over the hood of the vehicle. There were two witnesses to it who recognized the neighbor. They recognized the car.
27:16	JASON: And one of the guys was a retired police officer, which was just like, you know… VERONICA: This is like the perfect storm. JASON: Yeah, exactly. Yeah, exactly. And then he called the police and they arrested this man at his house the next day. His wife answered the door. She couldn’t even believe that he had been… that he was involved in this accident. She was so shocked by this. This man was like a white-collar, well-to-do gentlemen. And we did get a very good recovery for this client.
27:45	JASON: He subsequently moved out of the neighborhood, I found out later. But it’s just amazing. It’s like, it’s an example of a person who’s not even necessarily a criminal or someone who’s drunk. It’s just the person who flees and there’s no real explainable reason why. VERONICA: Did he ever try to explain why he left? Did he say, I didn’t know I did it? Or was he afraid for some reason? JASON: He had a criminal process going on in this. So, a lot of that stuff ended up getting sealed because I think he took like some type of a plea deal and he got it expunged because it was like a first-time offender type of thing.
28:18	JASON: So, we didn’t have to get there because the insurance company offered a very generous amount of compensation to the client under the circumstances. So, but yeah, I mean, it was really bizarre. It was one of the most… it was the strangest… it was one of the strangest hit and runs I’d ever encountered because it was just such a, it was done by a person that you just would never have predicted would have done it, you know?
28:44	VERONICA: Yeah, because I think a lot of us probably think to the example about uninsured motorists, we probably think somebody hit me and they don’t have insurance, or they’ve got maybe some kind of criminal thing going on. They’ve got cocaine in the car or it’s a DUI. You’re not thinking about a guy who’s on his way to work in the morning who’s driving like a super… like a six-figure vehicle down your street. You know, he lives like three houses down. It’s like, hey, Jack, sorry I hit you and you went over my hood. I’m out of here. Gotta go, dude, you know. Peace out.
29:12	VERONICA: And I just think hit and run. They’re like the great equalizer when it comes to personal injury. JASON: It’s a terrible thing to do to someone. You know? BILL: It’s a lack of conscience for someone to leave someone injured on the side of the road. VERONICA: Do you think that people can handle these kinds of cases by themselves? That seems like a softball question, but…
29:34	BILL: It would be difficult, you know, again… you know, lawyers have the resources to be able to send out investigators to be able to really know what to look for as far as surveillance tapes and commercial or even residential ring cameras and try to go out and secure evidence and preserve evidence for that person. So, it’s really important to handle to hire a lawyer that has experience in handling these types of cases.
30:04	VERONICA: I hope you’re listening, Sophia. We’re talking about hit and runs. What to do, what not to do, and maybe what not to do means “don’t try to handle it on your own”. We’re talking to Jason Saltzman and Bill Parker from Montlick Injury Attorneys. Next up: the Montlick closing argument. Stay with us. You’re listening to our podcast, Lawyers in the House with Montlick. If you want to listen to our radio show live, you can hear it every Sunday, 8 a.m. on 95.5 WSB.
30:37	VERONICA: Welcome back to Lawyers in the House. It is time for what you’ve been wanting all hour long: the Montlick closing argument. I’m here with Jason Saltzman and Bill Parker from Montlick Injury Attorneys. gentlemen, the floor is yours. BILL: You go ahead, Jason. JASON: Well, I think, you know, for me, I think Sophie has a case, as far as what is… she might have a case, depending on if she has uninsured motorist coverage and there might be some footage of who hit her.
31:02	JASON: So, she should definitely have someone investigate it for sure because if she has her own uninsured motorist coverage or if she lives with a family member who has auto insurance and they’ve got uninsured motorist, she may be able to pursue a bodily injury claim through that. That’s called resident relative coverage. VERONICA: What you were talking about in the first segment, right? That was the same kind of thing. JASON: Yes. VERONICA: Got it. JASON: Definitely, definitely. It’s very important, you know, if you witness a hit and run to try to do the right thing. Try to get the description of the vehicle, get the tag. If you can.
31:33	JASON: And also try to get a description of the driver because even if you get the tag in the vehicle, you know that that person who fled the scene is probably going to say, oh, I wasn’t driving the car. So, if you can get a description of the driver too, that can really help prove that that person hit you. VERONICA: Last note, Bill, what do I need to do? I don’t go, I don’t go running. BILL: No, no, don’t go running after them, but be an advocate and be aware of your surroundings like I talked about earlier.
32:00	BILL: And also, if you do observe a hit and run, and even if you don’t want to get involved as a good Samaritan, stop long enough and say, hey, here’s my name and my phone number. I’m not going to stick around, but if the police want to talk to me, I saw the whole thing, right? Because that could be… that could make or break somebody’s case. And certainly if it happened to you, you would want somebody to have that same, you would want the same thing to happen to you that someone cared enough to stop.
32:29	BILL: And so always try to help, you know, your fellow citizens out there. VERONICA: You know, I’m not usually… I didn’t go to law school. I don’t know if you guys know this. I did not go to law school. So, I rarely get an opportunity to sort of correct an attorney. But I do want to point out that I think, contrary to what you said in our first segment, this show has a lot to do with uninsured motorist coverage, Bill Parker. BILL: It does. It does.
32:52	BILL: And again, if you… if you’re in a hit and run and you haven’t taken the necessary steps to protect yourself by purchasing uninsured motors coverage for yourself, you could be left with extraordinary medical bills, property damage. Your car could be totaled, and you don’t have the money to get it fixed. I mean, insurance agents do a really poor job with educating people on the importance of uninsured motorist coverage, especially now on the Internet days where you can just go online and click on whatever coverage you want. And a lot of people just want the cheapest coverage you can get.
33:28	BILL: And they don’t understand the importance of protecting yourself with uninsured motorist coverage in a hit and run or any other circumstances. So, it’s really important to sit down and really understand why you need uninsured motorist coverage. VERONICA: Make the investment now so you don’t have to pay later. And you know what? I just realized I have a story for you off the air. I just realized from this show… I got… I was the victim of a hit and run driver. I got sideswiped at that same intersection Sophie did. The guy and I looked at each other like, did that just happen?
33:57	VERONICA: And then we went our separate ways. I turned into the into the station. He turned and kept going toward Buckhead. Crazy, right? Hit and run drivers. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us today. Bill Parker and Jason Saltzman, I’m your host, Veronica Waters, see you next time on Lawyers in the House. You’re listening to our podcast, Lawyers in the House with Montlick. Catch us live every Sunday, 8 a.m. on 95.5 WSB.

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