Primary Location
Seal Beach Personal Injury Lawyers
207 Main St, Seal Beach, CA 90740
Phone: (213) 214-1592
Call us at (855) 855-8910
Call us at (855) 855-8910
After a regular car accident, you exchange info at the scene. Names. Insurance cards. Maybe a few photos. A hit-and-run? You get none of that. Someone hit you and drove off. Now you're hurt, confused, and you have no idea who did it.
That's a crime in California. Vehicle Code 20001 [1] makes it a felony to leave the scene when someone is injured, with up to four years in state prison. For property-damage-only crashes, Vehicle Code 20002 treats it as a misdemeanor, up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
But here's the thing. Criminal charges against the other driver don't pay your medical bills. The civil claim is what gets you compensated. And if nobody ever finds the driver, your own uninsured motorist (UM) coverage becomes the only path to recovery. Insurance companies fight those claims hard.
If your own insurer refuses to pay your UM/UIM claim fairly, our insurance litigation team in Seal Beach can sue on your behalf.
We handle hit-and-run cases from our Seal Beach office at 207 Main St. The work involves chasing surveillance footage, knocking on doors for witnesses, pulling police reports, sometimes bringing in private investigators. It's a grind, but it's how these cases get won.
Just this past month, in March 2026, a kid on an e-bike hit a 70-year-old woman at Main Street and Ocean Avenue. She ended up in the hospital with serious injuries. That crash is a reminder of how fast things go wrong on these streets, and how quickly the person responsible can vanish.
Small town, real traffic problems. That's Seal Beach in a nutshell.
PCH is the biggest concern. Pacific Coast Highway pushes high-speed traffic straight through the city. Someone clips a cyclist or pedestrian at 50 mph, panics, and floors it. Good luck getting a plate number at that speed.
Down on Main Street near the pier, it's a different story. Lots of foot traffic around the restaurants and bars, especially Friday and Saturday nights. Drivers pulling out of tight spots or cutting through side streets hit people and keep moving. The bar scene after dark makes it worse.
Residential areas see their share too. Sideswipes along parked cars, dings in parking lots. The driver leaves, no note, nothing. You come back to a smashed mirror and zero information.
The San Gabriel River Bike Trail crosses several Seal Beach roads along its 38-mile route. Cyclists at those crossings are sitting ducks for drivers who don't yield, and some of those drivers bolt after contact.
Seal Beach Blvd gets dark at night. Poor lighting along certain stretches means crashes happen with nobody around to see them.
Pedestrians and cyclists always pay the highest price. No airbags. No crumple zones. Just you and the pavement.
The driver disappears. Your injuries don't.
Pedestrians and cyclists who get struck deal with broken bones, traumatic head injuries, and road rash bad enough to need skin grafts. A head injury from a hit-and-run doesn't care whether police find the other driver. It'll change your sleep, your memory, your mood for months. Sometimes permanently.
People inside vehicles aren't spared either. Whiplash, herniated discs, concussions. And the emotional weight of knowing the person responsible just left? That anger and helplessness slow down recovery in ways medical charts can't capture.
One thing people don't realize: you can still get compensation even if the other driver is never identified. California law lets you recover through your UM policy or a civil lawsuit if the driver surfaces later. So get to the doctor. Your medical records starting on day one build the foundation of everything that follows.
We recovered $500,000 for a pedestrian an uninsured driver struck, leaving them with a broken leg. Full policy limits, obtained through the client's own UM coverage. No liable driver's policy needed.
Our team helps hit-and-run victims from across the region. That includes people coming in from Long Beach, Huntington Beach, Westminster, Garden Grove, and Cypress.
Those first hours? They're everything. Do this:
Statute of limitations runs two years for injury claims under CCP 335.1. Property damage gives you three years. But waiting is a bad idea. Footage gets deleted. Witnesses relocate. Memories fade. Pick up the phone and call (855) 374-1714.
So the other driver's gone. Now what? You've actually got more options than you think.
Your UM policy comes first. If nobody ever identifies the driver, uninsured motorist coverage on your own auto policy pays for medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering. Up to your policy limits. The problem? Your own insurance company will fight you on the amount. They're not your friend here. Having a lawyer changes that dynamic fast.
Sometimes the driver does get caught. Surveillance cameras, forensic clues like paint chips or broken parts left at the scene, witness descriptions. These lead somewhere more often than people expect. Once the driver is identified, their insurance becomes the target. Or you sue them personally.
And don't forget overlapping coverage. UM benefits, MedPay from your auto policy, your personal health insurance, and the at-fault driver's assets if they turn up later. Multiple sources can stack.
Our attorneys subpoena business records, coordinate with detectives, and bring in investigators when needed. Partial plates, one good witness, a single traffic cam. That combination has cracked cases weeks after the hit-and-run.
One important detail: California requires physical contact between you (or your car) and the uninsured vehicle for UM claims. Phantom driver situations, where someone swerved and caused your crash without touching you, are trickier. Not impossible. But trickier.
The driver running doesn't shrink your claim. You're owed the same damages regardless:
Where it gets different is the funding source. No identified driver means your UM policy pays. Driver found? Their liability coverage and personal assets become fair game.
Our legal team got a $1 million recovery for a child who was hit walking to school. Concussion, closed head injury. We obtained full policy limits.
When injuries are catastrophic, recoveries reflect that. We secured $6 million for an auto accident involving traumatic brain injury and wrongful death.
Every case is different. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Across California and Arizona, our firm has recovered over $600 million for injured clients. A few results from cases involving car crashes, pedestrian accidents, and UM claims:
A pedestrian struck by an uninsured driver suffered a leg fracture. We secured $500,000, the full policy limits on our client's UM coverage.
In a confidential pedestrian-auto case, our team recovered $2.5 million for the injured victim.
Two consolidated car accident cases left our client with a mild traumatic brain injury and fractured sternum. We obtained $630,000.
Every case is different. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Many hit-and-run drivers flee after rear-ending a slower vehicle, and the same evidence framework we use in fault-presumption rear-end cases drives the investigation when the fleeing driver is eventually identified.
Can you handle a UM claim alone? Technically, yes. Should you? No. And here's why.
The claims adjuster on your UM case works for your insurance company. Their annual review doesn't reward them for paying you fairly. It rewards them for saving the company money. That's who you're negotiating with.
What a hit-and-run attorney brings to the table:
The Simon Law Group is one of just two firms with an actual office in Seal Beach. We're at 207 Main St. Available around the clock, every day. Over 250 years of combined PI experience across our team.
Zero cost to you unless we win. Call (855) 374-1714 for a free case review.
For broader car accident representation in Seal Beach, visit our main page.
Our attorneys have handled personal injury cases across California and Arizona. We know how Seal Beach insurance companies operate, and we know how to push back.
That number reflects real results for real families — medical bills paid, lost wages recovered, and futures protected.
You pay nothing upfront. Our fee comes out of your settlement or verdict. If we do not win your case, you owe us nothing.
Accidents do not follow business hours. Neither do we. Call (602) 905-7766 any time — nights, weekends, and holidays.
Our Seal Beach team works out of 207 Main St. We know the roads, the courts, and the insurance adjusters you are up against.
“After a crash, you need a team that answers the phone, explains your options, and fights for every dollar you are owed. That is what we do at The Simon Law Group.”
Over 250 years of combined attorney experience
Seal Beach office at 207 Main St | Licensed in California and Arizona
Yes. Your own uninsured motorist coverage can pay for your injuries and damages even without identifying the other driver. California law allows UM claims for hit-and-run accidents as long as you report the crash to police within 24 hours.
Yes. California requires you to report the hit-and-run to police within 24 hours to qualify for uninsured motorist benefits. You also need to file a claim with your insurance company within 30 days.
A partial plate, combined with the vehicle description and crash location, may be enough for police and investigators to identify the driver. Security camera footage and witness statements can fill in the gaps.
If the accident caused injury or death, leaving the scene is a felony under Vehicle Code 20001, punishable by up to four years in prison. Property-damage-only hit-and-runs are misdemeanors under Vehicle Code 20002.
The statute of limitations is two years from the date of the accident under CCP 335.1. Property damage claims have a three-year deadline. But don't wait. Evidence fades and surveillance footage gets deleted quickly.
Our Location
Primary Location
207 Main St, Seal Beach, CA 90740
Phone: (213) 214-1592