When someone is killed in a hit-and-run accident, their loved ones often feel that they have been victimized twice. Not only do they suffer grief and anguish due to the loss of a family member, but they also experience financial costs for which they cannot be reimbursed because they don’t know whom to hold responsible. After all, you can’t file a personal injury lawsuit if you don’t name a defendant.

That’s why there is a bit of a happy ending for the family of a 59-year old woman who died earlier this month. Early on the morning of Monday, April 16, the woman was trying to cross Boulder Highway near Boulder Station, which is just north of Desert Inn Road in Las Vegas. The woman was struck by a vehicle and died at Sunrise Medical Center several hours later. The driver left the scene; but later that day, the 85-year old man turned himself in to authorities. He claimed that he didn’t realize that his vehicle had hit a person, which is why he didn’t remain at the accident site.

The driver was not charged or arrested in connection with the auto-pedestrian accident. But it does appear that he will be held primarily or fully responsible for the death of the woman. As a result, her surviving family members could file a wrongful death lawsuit against the man if they choose to do so. Such legal action could reimburse them for hospital and burial expenses, and provide them compensation for loss of care and companionship as well as pain and suffering.