Car crashes often involve property damage alone or even just minor dings and scratches. However, once in a while, car accidents involve injuries that could send you to the hospital and lead to other damages. In these cases, it is vital to work with a lawyer to make sure that you do not miss out on damages you could have claimed.
Insurance claims are usually filed with the at-fault driver’s policy after any first-party benefits you might have. In expensive claims, the insurance company is going to be reluctant to pay you the full value of your case, and you may need to take the claim to court to get paid.
For a free review of your potential case, call our car accident lawyers at Howe Law today at (844) 876-4357.
Are Car Accidents in Lawrenceville, GA “Fault” or “No-Fault”?
In a no-fault insurance claim, the claim is paid by the driver’s own insurance regardless of who caused the crash. In a fault accident, on the other hand, the at-fault driver pays for damages. There are benefits to each system, such as the no-fault system’s benefit of getting damages paid faster and without the need to prove fault or the at-fault system’s benefit of getting more damages paid because pain and suffering can be covered.
Georgia uses a fault system, but you might still have some first-party benefits on your car insurance policy that you can get paid from first. Optional coverage like MedPay can pay for some of your medical bills without you needing to prove who was at fault, allowing you to get some care paid for while you wait for a response from the other driver’s insurance or wait for a lawsuit to go through.
One of the major benefits of Georgia’s fault system is that it does not restrict your right to file a lawsuit if the insurance claim is going poorly. Insurance companies are often reluctant to pay you in full, and with no-fault systems, your right to sue is limited to only cases with “serious” injuries. In Georgia, you can always take the case to court if it is going too slowly, if the insurance company is trying to dodge payment, or if they are denying their driver’s liability and will not pay you. Our car accident lawyers can analyze your case and negotiate with insurance, advising you on when it is a good idea to file a parallel lawsuit to increase the pressure on the defense.
Who Pays Damages in a Lawrenceville, GA Car Accident Case?
Since we use a fault system in Georgia, the at-fault driver is the one who typically pays damages. You need to prove that they were at fault before the court can order them to pay you anything. However, many cases end in settlement before ever going to trial.
While the driver is technically the one who pays you for your damages, things can be a bit more complicated when insurance is involved. Insurance companies agree to cover the damages their customer would have to pay, allowing you to file a claim with the insurance company instead of suing. However, if you do end up taking the case to court, you would sue the driver directly, but the insurance company would ultimately pay you on their behalf.
There are some other complex situations where other parties might pay the damages, too. First, if the crash was caused by maintenance or mechanical issues with the other car, and someone other than the owner was driving it at the time, you may have a case against the owner of the car rather than the driver. This is common in crashes involving company cars or commercial vehicles like trucks and buses. Second, if the driver was a commercial driver working as an employee for a company when the crash occurred, you may be able to sue the company to have them pay for what their driver did wrong. Lastly, some crashes are caused by defective auto parts or problems with the roadway, allowing you to sue the auto manufacturer or the local government responsible for road upkeep. Even so, some of these cases against the government are quite difficult to bring.
What Damages Can Injured Drivers and Passengers Claim in Lawrenceville, GA?
Damages are usually divided into two major categories: compensatory damages and punitive damages. Compensatory damages pay you back for some harm that you suffered, while punitive damages are issued purely to punish the defendant and prevent them and similar parties from doing the same thing again in the future. Punitive damages are rare, but they are available in cases of very serious crashes caused by recklessness.
Compensatory damages can further be divided into two subcategories: economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages, also called special damages, pay you for each of the specific financial harms you faced because of the crash. This could cover medical bills as well as vehicle repair costs, lost wages, and any other expenses you face at home during your recovery or to help you live with your injuries. Non-economic damages or “general” damages cover the harms that flow generally from an accident and injury. This includes things like physical pain, mental and emotional distress, and general suffering the injuries cause you. These have no receipts or bills like economic damages do, so putting a value on them is often more complex.
The goal of compensatory damages is to try to restore you, as much as possible, to the position you were in before the crash. Injuries cannot be undone or reversed, but these damages can pay for the medical costs and reimburse you financially for the physical and mental harms you faced. Punitive damages, on the other hand, do not compensate you and are instead valued based on how bad the defendant’s actions were.
Call Our Car Accident Lawyers in Lawrenceville, GA Today
For a free evaluation of your car accident case, call the car accident attorneys at Howe Law at (844) 876-4357.
