Car accident claims in Georgia are complex legal matters due to the state’s fault-based insurance laws which require an injury victim to prove another driver’s fault and liability for the accident to recover compensation from their insurance. This already demanding process becomes more complicated when a careless or reckless driver flees the scene in a hit-and-run accident. Many victims of hit-and-run accidents in Georgia ask, “What compensation is available after a hit-and-run accident and how do I recover my damages?”
In many cases, compensation is still available after a driver leaves the scene of a car accident in Georgia. Although Georgia doesn’t require drivers to carry uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, the state compels insurance providers to automatically include this coverage unless the driver requests in writing that it be dropped from their policy. If you left this coverage on your auto insurance policy, you can collect car accident compensation by filing the claim against your uninsured motorist policy even if the at-fault driver isn’t identified.
When law enforcement identifies and apprehends a hit-and-run driver, other options to recover compensation may become available depending on the circumstances. If the driver has insurance, an injury victim can pursue a claim for damages against the at-fault driver’s insurance. They may also recover compensation through a lawsuit against the driver, but this is only a viable option if the driver has significant financial assets.
Car accidents with injuries are expensive as well as terrifying and painful. The consequences of a car accident are the victim’s “damages” in a compensation claim. Courts and insurance companies divide car accident damage into two categories, economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages are tangible damages that are easy to calculate by adding up bills, receipts, and hours lost from work. Typical economic damages after a car accident include:
Non-economic damages are intangible and more difficult to quantify, but because they are usually the worst consequence to the victim, the courts allow car accident victims to recover compensation for these damages. Experienced Atlanta personal injury attorneys suggest compensation for non-economic damages could include any or all of the following:
Although compensation for non-economic damages cannot undo the harm caused by the car accident, it helps provide a sense of justice to injury victims and substantially increases the amount of their compensation so they are better able to access the resources required to achieve the maximum medical improvement after their injury.
Often, after a hit-and-run car accident, injury victims turn to the experienced legal counsel of an Atlanta car accident attorney who meticulously investigates all the available options for recovering compensation before choosing the best pathway forward for the most compensation possible.
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