A car accident is never easy to go through. Whether you walked away with minor cuts and bruises or your car was completely totaled, and you incurred major injuries such as head trauma or a spinal injury, car accidents have the ability to affect the way that you live your life.
Car accidents are made even worse, however, when you get into a collision with an uninsured motorist. This can cause major complications when you’re trying to get compensation for your medical bills or to fix your car.
Here are a few things you need to know if you’ve been in an accident with an uninsured driver.
Georgia Law Requires Liability Insurance, but Not Uninsured/Underinsured Coverage
Georgia law requires drivers to carry accident liability insurance of at least $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident for injury to two or more people, and $25,000 for property damage. However, it does not require drivers to purchase uninsured/underinsured coverage or personal injury protection coverage, which is an additional expense on your monthly insurance premiums. Additional personal injury protection on your coverage can be used to cover out-of-pocket expenses, co-pays, or medical deductibles that will pop up while you’re receiving treatment for your injuries. Your insurance company will pay for this no matter whose fault the accident was. However, if you don’t have that additional protection then you may have to pay those expenses out of pocket.
Adding this extra expense to your insurance each month will give you peace of mind if you ever have the misfortune of getting into an accident with any driver—including those who are uninsured.
What if the Other Driver is at Fault?
Georgia, unlike many other states, is not a no-fault insurance state. Georgia has a Modified Comparative Fault rule, which means that a driver who is more than 50 percent responsible for the accident cannot sue the other party for damages.
So, if the other driver was found to be at fault in the accident, their insurance company would be responsible for paying for your medical bills. This amount may depend, of course, on the severity of the injury. This is often the critical part of the lawsuit (determining how much money the injured party will receive). Your insurance company and the other driver’s insurance company will battle behind the scenes to come to an agreement on who will pay for what.
If, however, the other driver who was responsible for the car accident does not have auto insurance, then it can get a bit more complicated. You may be able to get compensation from your own insurance company if you have uninsured motorist coverage on your insurance, which protects you from an at-fault driver who doesn’t have insurance. Additionally, it protects you from hit-and-run drivers.
Have you been involved in an accident with an uninsured driver in Georgia? You’re going to need a legal team that understands the ins and outs of navigating how to get compensated for your injuries when dealing with this specific kind of situation. Call the Fry Law team at 404.969.1284 to learn more about pursuing legal action.
