Insurance is required of all drivers, but it is notoriously complicated and expensive. It is not unusual for drivers to unknowingly allow their insurance policies to lapse or go without insurance because they cannot afford it.
If you are involved in an accident and do not have insurance, you might be in a bit of trouble. Driving without insurance is a traffic violation, and you might have a harder time getting compensation for your injuries. After such an accident, you should call for help and contact an attorney. Since Georgia follows a fault-based insurance system and does not have a “no pay no play” law, you can file a third-party insurance claim with the other driver’s insurance. Your lack of insurance might come with a few legal complications, and your attorney can help you work them out. You might deal with an expensive traffic ticket, and your insurance status might not exactly help you if you take your case to court.
If you did not have insurance at the time of your crash, call Howe Law at (844) 876-4357, and our Georgia car accident lawyers can arrange for a free, confidential case review.
What Do I Do After a Car Accident in Georgia if I Have No Insurance?
If you are in a car accident, but you do not have insurance, you might be unsure what to do next or whether you might be in any trouble. While driving without insurance is a problem, you should still treat the accident like you would if you were insured.
First, you should call for emergency help. If anyone is injured, they should be taken to a hospital immediately for medical attention. Even if you feel fine, you should get to a doctor for evaluation as quickly as possible.
Second, you must speak with the police. Leaving the scene of an accident before law enforcement arrives may be considered a hit-and-run, and you might end up in even more trouble. While the police might give you a traffic ticket for driving without insurance, they likely will not arrest you or take you to the police station.
Finally, contact a lawyer as soon as you can. If you do not have insurance, you might be vulnerable to claims made by the other driver. They might accuse you of causing the accident. If they cannot file an insurance claim because you do not have insurance, they might sue you. You could be on the hook for their damages and have to pay out of pocket.
Our Georgia car accident lawyers can help you prove that you did not cause the accident and that the other driver is the real culprit. A lack of insurance should not prevent you from getting fair compensation or protect the other driver from the consequences of their bad behavior.
How to Get Compensation for a Car Accident if You Are Uninsured in Georgia
Drivers are required to have insurance. They tend to rely on insurance to help cover damages and expenses related to the accident. When a driver does not have insurance, compensation is still possible, but drivers might need to explore other options or figure out how to work around their insurance issues.
File a Claim with the Other Driver’s Insurance
Georgia is a fault-based auto insurance state as opposed to a no-fault state. In a no-fault state, drivers must carry personal injury protection insurance and file a claim with their own insurance rather than another driver’s. In no-fault states, drivers are covered by their own insurance regardless of who is at fault for the collision.
Since Georgia is a fault-based state, drivers do not carry no-fault insurance and must instead file third-party claims with the other driver’s insurance company and prove the other driver is at fault. If you do not have insurance, you should have no problem filing an insurance claim with the other driver’s insurance. However, the other driver will likely want to file a claim of their own but cannot. In that case, you might be vulnerable to a lawsuit.
File a Lawsuit
If your third-party insurance claim does not work out, or the other driver is uninsured, you can file a lawsuit to get fair compensation. Some states have “no pay, no play” laws that prevent people from suing if they do not have auto insurance. Georgia has no such law, and you may sue the other driver for damages regardless of your insurance status.
Consequences of Driving Without Insurance in Georgia
While you can still pursue fair compensation after a car accident even though you do not have insurance, there are some other legal hurdles you might have to overcome. One possibility is that you might get a ticket from the police. While traffic tickets are not exactly part of your criminal record or carry any significant consequences other than fines and points on your license, they can be very expensive and a headache to deal with.
Getting new insurance might be hard. When you obtain or renew your insurance, it might be more expensive. Insurance companies may look at your driving record and, if they see violations related to insurance, might charge higher premiums.
While the defendant might try to present your lack of auto insurance in court, it might not make a huge difference. The fact that you were uninsured at the time of the accident does not somehow diminish the defendant’s negligence in the crash.
The defendant may plan to present evidence of your lack of insurance to convince the jury that you are an irresponsible person and more likely to have caused the crash. We can quickly squash this with a pretrial motion to suppress evidence pertaining to your insurance status. We can argue that details about your insurance or lack thereof are overly prejudicial, as they do little to illuminate the issue of liability while doing a lot to tarnish your character.
Call Our Georgia Car Accident Attorneys for Assistance
Call Howe Law at (844) 876-4357, and our Georgia personal injury lawyers can arrange a free, confidential case review.
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