Recovering the compensation you need and deserve after a car accident is complicated enough with insurance. Getting into a wreck when the at-fault driver has no auto insurance can make things incredibly difficult. You might assume that your chances of getting money are close to zero.
Fortunately, there are options for Georgia drivers to recover damages (monetary losses) if they get hit by an uninsured driver. It helps to have a creative and experienced Georgia personal injury attorney by your side.
Georgia, like most states, is an at-fault, or tort, state when it comes to car accidents and personal injury claims. That means the driver who bears the majority of the responsibility for an accident is financially liable for the other driver’s damages.
Georgia isn’t just an at-fault state; it uses a modified comparative fault system to determine the amount of damages drivers and other personal injury victims can recover. The modified comparative fault system in Georgia prevents compensation recovery for individuals who bear 50% or more responsibility for the accident that caused damages.
Drivers who bear partial responsibility (less than 50%) for an auto accident are still eligible to recover damages, but the amount they can recover gets reduced by their proportion of fault. For instance, a driver who suffers $40,000 in an accident for which they were 20% at fault can only receive $32,000 (80 percent of 40,000).
In order to register your vehicle in Georgia, you must prove that you carry mandated insurance policies. Georgia drivers must carry liability insurance that has the following limits:
These limits (25/50/25) are the bare minimum your auto insurance must cover in a Georgia car accident. Your insurance may offer policies with higher limits or policies that can cover your expenses no matter which driver was at fault for an accident.
One of the most important things you need to do after any car accident is prove that you were not at fault. After reporting the accident to your insurance company, an insurance adjuster will likely start a post-crash investigation to determine fault. Adjusters often examine police reports, witness statements, crash scene photographs, and other pieces of evidence to support their conclusions of fault allocation.
After confirming that the other driver was completely or mainly at fault and did not carry car insurance, you need to determine the best route for recovering damages. You might have insurance that can pay out if an uninsured driver hits you (more on that below). If not, filing a lawsuit against the at-fault driver may be your best option. An experienced Georgia personal injury attorney can examine your circumstances and advise you on ways to proceed.
If you cause an auto accident in Georgia and do not have insurance, your personal assets might be in danger of getting seized. The other driver may file suit against you in order to recover damages; if the lawsuit is successful and you cannot pay out-of-pocket for the settlement or judgment, the court may order you to surrender some of your belongings. An injured plaintiff who wins a judgment can also place a lien against the debtor-defendant’s property to satisfy the amount of the judgment.
Assets you might have to give up include:
Paying for a settlement or judgment without insurance is only part of the problem if you are caught without car insurance in Georgia. Driving without required car insurance is a misdemeanor in Georgia; those found guilty may get their license revoked for at least 60 days and have to pay fees totaling ranging from $200 to $1,000.
The penalties for driving without car insurance in Georgia only get more severe with repeat offenses. Fees can add up to over $1,000 for repeat offenders, and the license suspension period may last 90 days or longer. Additionally, drivers who get caught without insurance more than once face up to a year in jail.
Georgia law does not require licensed drivers to carry uninsured motorist (UM) coverage. Not having this optional coverage can save you money in premiums, but it can come in handy if an uninsured driver crashes into you.
Let’s say you’re stopped at a red light, and a driver with no insurance rear-ends you. You did nothing to contribute to the accident, so the determination of fault is fairly straightforward. The damage to your car comes out to $6,000. You also suffer whiplash and some broken bones, which require a few doctor’s appointments and some time off of work. Your medical bills total $12,000, and you lose out on $2,000 of wages.
If the at-fault driver had the required liability insurance, you would file a third-party claim against their insurance company to recover the $20,000 in damages you incurred. However, since the at-fault driver doesn’t have insurance, you should check to see if you have UM coverage. Good news—you do!
You weren’t aware that you had UM coverage, but you do because you didn’t reject it in writing when your insurance provider offered it. Your UM coverage, which has the exact same limits as the liability policies required in Georgia (25/50/25), is more than enough to pay for your damages.
Generally, underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage will not pay for damages caused by a driver with no insurance at all. UIM policies can help pay if the at-fault driver’s liability insurance is not enough to cover damages after a crash. For example, if you suffered $100,000 in damages but the at-fault driver only had the minimum state-mandated insurance policy limits, your UIM could kick in for the difference for the balance. Similarly, UM coverage will not typically help out if the at-fault driver has liability insurance.
Many insurance providers offer bundled UM/UIM policies. You should consider getting a bundled policy or, at the very least, UM coverage.
One of the most frustrating situations after a car accident occurs when an insurance company does not operate in good faith. Giving policyholders the compensation they deserve is the least an insurance company can do after the policyholders pay premiums on time and abide by the policy’s many rules.
The line between bad-faith actions by an insurance company and offers that are simply unfair can be difficult to identify. An insurance company’s lowball offer does not necessarily qualify for a bad-faith action (it sometimes does), but the following usually do qualify:
Not having UM coverage when you get into an accident with an uninsured driver in Georgia means a lawsuit may be your only way to recover compensation. An attorney can look at your case and determine whether or not you should file one.
If you decide to file a lawsuit, the process will unfold much like the following:
Filing a personal injury lawsuit and preparing for trial isn’t something most people regularly do. Thompson Law’s car accident attorneys have pursued legal action countless times and delivered for clients. We understand which pieces of evidence you need for success and which situations might be conducive to settlements.
The legal process can be incredibly confusing, if not overwhelming, for plaintiffs. You shouldn’t have to walk the path alone.
Focusing on your recovery after a car accident is a full-time job. You deserve to let an experienced and tenacious personal injury attorney handle everything else.
Thompson Law takes personal injury cases on a contingency basis, which means you don’t pay us anything unless we recover money for you. We offer free, no-obligation consultations for prospective clients. Contact our staff to set up yours today.
Thompson Law charges NO FEES unless we obtain a settlement for your case. We have put over $1.9 billion in cash settlements into our clients’ pockets.
Contact us today for a free, no obligation consultation to discuss your accident, get answers to your questions, and understand your legal options. State law limits the time you have to file a claim after an injury accident, so call today.
