Personal Injury / Auto Accidents

 Liability coverage in Georgia drivers must carry a minimum level of insurance.  Requirements in Georgia include: 

• $25,000 bodily injury liability per person 
• $50,000 bodily injury liability per accident
• $25,000 property damage per accident 

These minimum coverages refer to the maximum that your insurance company will pay following an accident if you're at fault. Bodily injury liability only covers medical that you cause to another driver and their passengers. Property damage only covers damages that you cause to another driver's personal property. It does not cover your own property damages in an accident. 

Uninsured motorist coverage is an optional coverage that your insurance company must offer to you. It is used to protect you in the event that the at-fault driver does not have any insurance, or in the event that the other driver leaves the scene and cannot be found. Under those circumstances, you want to have a backup plan for being compensated for your injuries. 

Uninsured motorist coverage pays for your medical bills and lost wages if a driver without insurance causes your damages. This covers you if the other driver has no insurance, or not enough insurance, to cover your damages. In Georgia, you can stack your uninsured limits, which means you can accept a reduced rate or the new, add-on rate, which increases your limits. 

Underinsured motorist coverage is an optional coverage that your insurance company must offer to you. It is used to protect you in the event that the at-fault driver does not have enough insurance coverage to pay for all of your damages. 

MedPay is another optional coverage that you can purchase, and it is used to pay for your medical bills in the event that you are injured in an accident. This is in addition to any reimbursement from the at-fault driver’s insurance company, and can be used even if you were at fault for the wreck.

If you were in fact at fault, then this is an obvious defense. However, sometimes the actual at-fault driver will tell their insurance company that you were at fault to prevent a rise in their insurance cost and the insurance company may buy it and outright deny liability – and this can happen even if the police report lists the other driver as being at fault for the wreck. 

Georgia follows what is called a “Modified Comparative Negligence” rule, meaning that if you are partially at fault, your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault. However, if you are 50% or more at fault, you lose the right to any recovery. 

Some insurance policies contain language that states that if a driver isn’t specifically listed as an insured, they are excluded meaning that the insurance policy does not cover payment for damages caused by that driver. Other times a particular driver may be specifically listed as an excluded driver and therefore the policy doesn’t cover damages they caused.  

 One of the most common defenses used by insurance adjusters to avoid paying for a particular injury is that the injury was “pre-existing” or that the source of pain and discomfort is not because of the wreck, but rather because of “degenerative issues”.  

If another driver causes a wreck while having a seizure, heart attack, etc., the insurance company may argue that they are not liable because there is no fault.