Georgia Auto Accident Law

Motorists and passengers may also suffer injuries at the hands of defective vehicles. Failure of airbags to deploy represents a common culprit. Brakes, steering wheels, and computer systems that control the movement of the car may have design or manufacturing defects. Products liability cases arising out of these defects bring the specter of strict liability. That is, the manufacturer faces responsibility for injuries even in the absence of negligence.

Comparative Negligence in Georgia Car Accident Cases

Comparative negligence recognizes that an injured party should recover something even if partly at fault for the wreck. The principle allocates responsibility for injuries between the plaintiff and the other driver or driver. For instance, suppose that your damages total $150,000.00. If you are one-fifth, or 20 percent, at fault, you get $120,000 as your compensatory damages (0.80 multiplied by $150,000).

Thanks to Georgia’s modified comparative negligence law, your negligence cannot exceed 49 percent. If you’re at least half at fault, you do not recover anything. The allocation of fault takes into account those drivers who are not sued but were involved. Modified comparative negligence holds your level of fault against all other parties as a group.

If you’re a Georgia resident who travels to neighboring states, keep in mind their rules on comparative and contributory negligence. Tennessee adopts the same approach as Georgia in barring recovery for plaintiffs whose fault is 50 percent or higher. South Carolina imposes a 51 percent bar on claimants. Under that modified comparative negligence rule, an auto accident victim must be less than 51 percent at-fault to recover.

North Carolina and Alabama follow the pure contributory negligence rule, which prevents a plaintiff who is in any way or part at fault from recovery. This applies even if the vast majority of the negligence falls upon the other driver. In these jurisdictions, you can avoid the effect of negligence if the other party had the “last clear chance” to avoid the wreck, but did not do so. Also, contributory negligence does not apply where the would-be defendant acted in a grossly negligent or intentional matter.

Florida takes the “no-fault” route. Injured motorists do not have to prove fault to recover for personal injuries. Under this mechanism, Florida motorists must carry personal injury protection (PIP) insurance that pays up to $10,000 for personal injuries. PIP pays benefits without regard to the fault of any party involved.

The Georgia Car Accident Statute of Limitations

A statute of limitations sets the deadline for filing a lawsuit. The time bar exists to reduce the risk that witnesses, documents, and other evidence becomes lost or unavailable. In automobile crash cases, the investigating offer may have retired, been reassigned, or moved.

Georgia law fixes the statute of limitations for motor vehicle wrecks and other personal injury cases at two years. Section 9-3-33 of the Georgia Code uses the term after the “right of action accrues.” You have a right to sue when you are injured by someone’s wrongdoing. In automobile wreck cases, this is the date of the automobile accident.

The date of the accident controls because you have suffered some hurt or property damage when the crash occurs. The fact that the full extent of your harm is not revealed or realized does not suspend the running of the statute.

Consider that, when the accident happens, you may have been transported to the hospital or emergency room. You likely have suffered some pain, shock, bruises, fractures and other injuries. Your medical expenses include the emergency room stay, initial treatment, prescriptions, and the ambulance ride. Georgia law recognizes these types of damages.

The two-year window gives you enough time to seek further treatment, therapy, and prescriptions. You will also have evidence of lost wages, any lasting disability, and evidence of the lost ability to work or engage in daily activities.

Before the deadline expires, personal injury lawyers often take the medical records, expenses, crash reports and other evidence to the at-fault driver’s insurance. Doing so helps facilitate a possible settlement of the case without a lawsuit.

Note: In products liability cases, the statute of limitations stands at two years from the date of crash. If you seek to hold the manufacturer responsible based on strict liability, Georgia law bars any claim after ten years from the first time the vehicle is purchased and used by a consumer.

Georgia Auto Insurance Requirements

Motorists in Georgia must carry auto liability insurance. From this coverage, parties seek compensation for injuries. However, liability coverage may not adequately cover all of your economic and non-economic damages from a motor vehicle accident. Georgia law requires minimum coverage of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per crash.

If your injuries go north of $25,000, you will need to resort to underinsured motorist coverage. Your automobile insurer provides it to pay for injuries above what the at-fault motorist’s insurance pays. To recover from your underinsured coverage, you must prove that the other driver was at least 51 percent at fault. Effectively, your insurance company defends the other driver against you.

The same general principles apply if you elect uninsured motorist coverage on your policy. This kicks in when the at-fault driver does not have liability insurance.

Unlike liability insurance, underinsured and uninsured coverages stand as optional in Georgia.

Requirement to Report Accidents in Georgia

You must call 911 to report an accident involving death or more than $500 in property damage. As a practical matter, you must report an accident serious enough to take you or someone else to the hospital or that might lead to a legal claim. Also, certain municipalities or your insurance company may mandate accident reports. Insurance companies may suspect fraud and otherwise may deny claims for crashes which are not reported to law enforcement.

Reporting the wreck allows injured drivers to get information critical to making a claim. Officers on the scene get statements from the drivers, passengers, and other witnesses. They might notice the presence of cameras that might have captured footage of the wreck. From the investigation comes a narrative and a depiction.

Crash reports themselves do not determine liability and do not serve as admissible evidence in trial. However, they provide important information for you to pursue a claim. The crash report identifies the vehicles involved by make, model year, license plate, VIN# and insurance companies. You have the name and addresses of the drivers and vehicle owners.

If the wreck occurs within a municipality, then the police department of that city or town will investigate the crash. For example, the Atlanta Police Department responds to automobile wrecks that result in injuries within its city limits. Beyond the city or town, you will look to either the county sheriff’s department where the wreck happened or the Georgia Highway Patrol.

You or your attorney can obtain the crash reports from the Georgia Department of Transportation.

What to Do after an Accident in Georgia

Calling 911 fulfills your duty to report the accident and gets you immediate medical attention. When speaking with first responders, be truthful, but do not unnecessarily minimize your pain or injuries. Statements such as “I’m fine” or “I don’t need to go to a hospital or doctor” undermine later claims of personal injuries. Even if you don’t need an ambulance ride, go to the hospital or doctor as soon as possible after the officer releases you from the wreck scene.

Also, drivers mistakenly make statements such as “I’m sorry” or “It’s not your fault.” These may appear to diffuse stress and offer comfort. These also afford the other driver or their liability company fodder to deny or reduce responsibility for the wreck.

If you can physically do so, take photographs of the vehicles and scene. Images of the vehicle can show the type of collision — rear-end, t-bone, or head-on. Significant damage to the vehicles indicate considerable force and speed were involved in the wreck. If your photographs show no airbag deployment despite a high-speed or high-impact collision, you might consider a products liability claim. Crash scene photographs depict the presence of stop signs, one-way signs, and speed limit signs.

As you get medical attention, compile a list of the ambulance provider, physicians’ offices, hospitals, pharmacies, and therapists. Medical records show the extent of injuries, pain, suffering, and inability to work or earn wages. Keep your medical bills and medical insurance papers. In pursuing your claim, W-2 forms, tax returns, and paystubs help establish your lost wages.