careful-mole-7809h ago

Husband was in a bad crash, woke up days later, we have NO info on the other driver — help?

I don't even know where to start with this. My husband was struck by a commercial van while he was out on his bicycle a few weeks ago. The impact was so severe that paramedics called in a helicopter transport. He had left the house without his wallet — just his keys and his phone, which got destroyed in the crash.

Because he had no ID on him, the hospital admitted him under a generic placeholder name. I was calling around frantically for almost two days before a social worker finally tracked me down through a contact in his phone that survived. By that point he'd already been in the ICU for over 48 hours.

Here's where it gets messy: when he finally came around and realized how long he'd been out, he panicked about work and our kids and basically discharged himself before anyone could sit down with us and walk us through anything. We left with almost nothing — no incident report number, no info on the van or its driver, nothing from the responding officers.

His injuries are serious. We're talking multiple surgeries, weeks of rehab ahead, and the bills are already terrifying.

We've tried calling a couple of lawyers but honestly got the runaround. One said they couldn't help without a police report number. Another never called back.

Does anyone know how we actually track down who hit him? Can we get the police report another way? Can the hospital give us anything useful? I feel like I'm drowning and just need someone who's been through something like this to point me in a direction.

8 replies

Most helpful first

hearty-sparrow-5419h ago
Oh god, this brought back memories. My sister was hit as a pedestrian and we had a similar nightmare tracking down info because she was unconscious and couldn't give anyone her name right away. What eventually worked for us was going directly to the traffic division of the local police department — not just calling the general non-emergency line, but physically going in and asking to speak to someone in traffic investigations. Bring whatever you DO know: the date, approximate time, the intersection or road where it happened. They were able to pull the incident report for us from just that. It took a couple of visits but we got it.
- silent-dove-3109h ago
  I just want to say — please make sure your husband goes back for proper follow-up care. Signing out AMA means the hospital may not have submitted everything to insurance correctly, and there can be gaps in his discharge instructions. Depending on his injuries, there could be things that need monitoring that nobody got to explain to him before he left. His health has to come first, and honestly documenting every single follow-up visit also matters for any future claim. Keep every receipt, every referral, every prescription.
clever-fox-1799h ago
A few things that should help: First, the responding police agency (city PD, county sheriff, state patrol — whoever covered that road) filed a crash report. You can request it with just the date, location, and your husband's name or description. Most agencies have an online records request portal now or you can go in person. There's usually a small fee.

Second, the hospital does have records of who brought him in and often the EMS run sheet includes details pulled from the scene — sometimes even the other vehicle's plate or driver info gets noted. You can request his full medical records and the EMS transport report separately.

Third, if the van was commercial, there may be a DOT number on the side of it that witnesses saw — that alone can identify the company. Worth asking if anyone saw the crash.
- patient-beaver-8249h ago
  One thing I'd caution: once you DO find out who the other driver is and which insurance company covers them, be really careful about talking to that insurer directly. They are not on your side. They will call sounding super friendly and helpful and then use everything you say to minimize the payout. Don't give any recorded statements without some kind of legal guidance first. Your husband's injuries sound serious enough that this matters a lot.
tidy-swan-7329h ago
Not legal advice, but I want to flag something: the lawyers who turned you away because you didn't have a police report number yet were being lazy, honestly. A good PI attorney will help you get that documentation as part of building the case — it's not your job to hand them a complete file before they'll take you seriously. Keep looking. Serious injuries from a commercial vehicle crash are exactly the kind of case most PI firms handle on contingency, meaning no upfront cost to you. The fact that it was a commercial van is actually significant — those companies often carry higher liability limits. Don't give up on finding representation.
bold-stoat-3809h ago
I'm so sorry you're both going through this. You shouldn't have to be doing detective work while also caring for a seriously injured spouse. Sending you so much strength. Please don't try to handle the insurance side alone — it sounds like you need someone in your corner.
mellow-seal-8499h ago
Former insurance adjuster here. A couple of practical things from the inside:

If the commercial van was operated by a company — even a small one — that company's insurer already knows about this crash. They got a report from their driver. They are not going to reach out to you proactively. That's on purpose.

Also, commercial vehicles are required to carry significantly more liability coverage than personal vehicles. So if you can identify the company, there's likely a real insurance policy worth pursuing.

The crash report is your starting point for everything. Get that first. Everything else flows from it.
mellow-marmot-3709h ago
Here's the short version of what you need to do right now: 1. Call the police non-emergency line, tell them the date and location of the crash, ask how to get the report. 2. Request your husband's full medical records AND the EMS transport record from the hospital. 3. Talk to at least 3-4 more PI attorneys. Many do free consultations. Don't stop at the ones who brushed you off.

You have enough to get started. Don't wait.