A handful of states in the U.S. are “no-fault” insurance states where the law requires car accident victims to file claims against their own car insurance regardless of who caused the accident with limited exceptions. Georgia is NOT a no-fault insurance state for car accidents. In Georgia, it matters who causes an accident. Georgia is a modified comparative negligence insurance state, allowing car accident victims to gain compensation after a car accident as long as they are less than 50% at fault.
Under Georgia Code § 51-11-7, the law states the following:
“If the plaintiff by ordinary care could have avoided the consequences to himself caused by the defendant’s negligence, he is not entitled to recover. In other cases, the defendant is not relieved, although the plaintiff may in some way have contributed to the injury sustained.”
Atlanta personal injury attorneys explain that in other words, when a car accident occurs in Georgia, a number of entities investigate the accident, including the police who generate an accident report at the scene, the insurance adjuster assigned to the case, and often a car accident lawyer for the injury victim. Depending on the results of the accident investigation, one driver may be fully at fault for the accident, or both drivers could share fault. An accident victim may recover compensation for their damages as long as they are less than 50% at fault but the insurance company deducts their percentage of fault from their insurance payout.
In many car accidents, one driver’s negligent or reckless actions behind the wheel cause the accident, leaving them 100% liable for damages such as medical expenses, lost wages, and compensation for pain and suffering to injury victims. For instance, suppose a distracted driver is texting and driving, causing them to miss a stop sign and T-bone a vehicle in an intersection. The texting driver could bear complete liability for the victim’s damages with 100% of the fault. But what if the driver in the intersection did not have their headlights on and it was a foggy dawn morning? The investigation could conclude that had the driver in the intersection had their lights on, the lights would have caught the distracted driver’s attention and they may have been able to stop or swerve to avoid the collision.
In this example, the distracted could be assigned 75% of the fault for the accident, leaving them unable to recover compensation. The other driver could recover the compensation available to them, minus 25% for failing to have their lights on. If their claim was for $100,000 in damages, they could still recover $75,000.
No one is at their best after an accident, even when they aren’t injured. If they are dealing with serious injuries it’s even more difficult to take purposeful action; however, by taking a few simple steps at the scene—mostly using their cell phone—they can help protect themselves. Comparative negligence laws incentivize insurance companies to assign fault to injury victims to reduce the compensation they have to pay. At the scene, use a phone, or ask an uninjured person to use one for you, and then do the following:
The accident report, your medical report, and receipts for medical payments and related expenses all help to prove another driver’s liability and the full extent of your damages. A car accident attorney in Atlanta uses this and other evidence to defend their client’s right to full compensation or the maximum amount available to them.
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