Suppose you suffered injuries in a car accident. Who is liable? If you accrued medical costs, lost your wages, had vehicle or property damage, and experienced pain and suffering, who would pay for it? How do you get the compensation you need to make a full recovery from the injuries you sustained—physically, monetary, or otherwise?
Read on and learn more about no-fault law states versus tort law states and see what you can do to recoup your damages after your traffic collision with the help of a Carrollton, Georgia car accident attorney.
No-Fault Law Versus Tort Law
In America, each state handles car accident injury cases in two ways: fault or no-fault. What is the difference?
No-fault States
No one argues about who caused the car accident in the new system as each person’s injuries get paid by their insurance—regardless of who is at fault.
This system puts fairness at the forefront. The only way you would not get compensated is if you chose not to carry insurance, which means it is easier to get your money after an accident because you only must communicate and deal with your insurer. A drawback in a no-fault state is that car insurance costs tend to be higher.
In America, there are seven no-fault states: Kansas, Kentucky, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Utah, and North Dakota.
In addition to the seven no-fault states, an additional five are verbal threshold states, meaning there must be a resulting injury in complete or partial loss of a body member or function before a lawsuit can be brought against the negligent party. Those five states include Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.
Tort States
Tort states, or fault states, like Georgia, follow the traditional system where every individual must pay for the damages or injuries that they cause. This means their insurance company will pay the costs in a car accident case, but they may have to pay out of pocket if they do not have enough insurance or their insurance is not enough.
This system helps bring a sense of justice to the case—the person who caused the accident must pay for it. A drawback to a case like this is the lengthy legal battles over who is at fault. It can also cause unfair situations, like getting hit by an uninsured driver and not knowing how you will receive compensation.
Personal Injury Protection
Regardless of whether you live in a fault or no-fault state, all of them have one thing in common: every driver must have personal injury protection (PIP) and liability insurance.
You would only receive compensation for injuries and damages if the other driver were at fault while in a state without no-fault laws or PIP. PIP will pay for damages and injuries up to the policy limits only. Even in states without no-fault laws, it may still be smart to buy PIP because liability insurance will only cover the other party’s losses, and you would not receive reimbursement for your car’s damages or any of your sustained injuries.
Georgia’s Fault Laws
Georgia manages car accidents in the following ways:
- Every car owner must carry car insurance on their vehicle. Otherwise, they break the law. They must have $25,000 of bodily injury coverage for each driver and $50,000 per accident. Drivers must also have a minimum of $25,000 per occurrence in property damage liability. Georgia does not require insurance for physical damage (although most banks require you to have it to finance a car).
- Police and insurers work to figure out who was at fault when a car accident occurs.
- If one person was at fault, that person or their insurance pays the costs of everyone involved.
- If more than one person shares the fault, the costs get split between them or their insurance companies.
Contact Us
If you were involved in a car accident, always make sure to call the police, exchange information with those involved, and get medical attention as soon as you can. Then, reach out to the personal injury lawyers at the Law Office of John B. Jackson in Carrollton, Georgia. Its professional attorneys have the trial experience you need to get a speedy settlement, so contact the Law Office of John B. Jackson today!
