Georgia Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Lawyer

What happens if I'm hit by an uninsured driver in Georgia?

You may still have a claim. After a crash with an uninsured driver in Georgia, The Scott Pryor Law Group looks first at your own uninsured motorist coverage, if you have it, then at every other source: the driver personally, an employer if the driver was working, and anyone else who shares the fault.

Georgia follows an at-fault system: whoever caused the crash is liable. O.C.G.A. § 51-1-6 With no insurance behind the driver, collecting is the hard part, so we look at your own coverage early.

Many people do not know whether their policy includes uninsured motorist coverage. Check your policy, or send it to us and we will read it with you.

If you were just hit by a driver with no insurance, here is what to do:

• Call 911 and get a police report. Write down the report number.
• Get the other driver's name, license and plate number, and photograph the vehicles and the scene.
• Get medical care, and keep a record of every visit, bill and symptom.
• Report the crash to your own insurer promptly and ask for a claim number.
• Talk to a lawyer before you give any insurer a recorded statement.

What if the other driver's insurance is not enough to cover my injuries?

When the at-fault driver's policy is too small for your losses, your own underinsured motorist coverage may apply, if your policy includes it. The Scott Pryor Law Group finds every policy that applies to a Georgia car accident and presents the full value of your claim to each insurer.

A policy at the required minimum may not come close to covering a serious crash: the ambulance, emergency care, imaging, surgery, follow-up treatment, lost wages and long-term pain. People who hear that the other driver was insured often assume they are covered. After a serious injury, many are left badly underinsured.

That is why we look beyond the first policy. We investigate every source of recovery, including your own underinsured motorist coverage, umbrella policies, employer coverage, commercial policies and rideshare coverage where it applies.

We value the claim once the extent of your injuries is known, counting your medical bills, future treatment and lost wages along with pain and suffering. Then we present it to each insurer with the records that support it.

Your underinsured motorist carrier may require arbitration to resolve the claim. If it does not, whether arbitration or a lawsuit suits your case better is a decision to make with a lawyer.

What if the driver who hit me drove off?

Your own uninsured motorist coverage may pay when the driver who hit you leaves the scene and is never found. After a hit-and-run in Georgia, The Scott Pryor Law Group works to identify the driver and opens a claim under your own coverage at the same time.

A driver who leaves the scene makes it harder to identify who caused the crash and harder to recover from insurance, so the first hours count. Call 911 and get medical help. If you can do it safely, photograph the scene and write down anything you remember about the other vehicle: its color, make and damage, any part of the plate, and which way it went.

Ask anyone who saw the crash for their name and contact details. Witnesses can help identify the driver.

When you hire us, we look for video from nearby businesses and traffic cameras, follow up with witnesses and track the police investigation. If the driver is found, we pursue that driver and any insurance behind them.

Report the crash to your own insurer promptly as well, and ask for a claim number. Then let us handle the calls that follow.

Do I need a lawyer for an uninsured motorist claim?

A lawyer helps, because in an uninsured or underinsured motorist claim your own insurance company pays, and it has the same reason to pay less as any other insurer. The Scott Pryor Law Group handles Georgia UM and UIM claims against the insurer, from the first report through settlement, arbitration or a lawsuit.

The adjuster may be friendly, and may work for a company you have paid for years. The job is still to protect the company's bottom line. The same cautions apply as with any insurer: no recorded statement before you talk to a lawyer, no blanket medical authorization, and no settlement papers you have not had reviewed.

Your policy also sets out what you must do and when, so we read it with you at the start.

When you hire us, we report the claim, gather the police report, medical records and bills, value your losses and negotiate with the insurer. Our legal assistants handle claim setup, adjuster calls and open records requests for liability and uninsured motorist claims alike. If the insurer will not be fair, we take the next step, whether that is arbitration or a lawsuit.

How long do I have to file an uninsured motorist claim in Georgia?

The Scott Pryor Law Group tells Georgia drivers hurt by uninsured or hit-and-run drivers not to wait for the legal deadline. Victims generally have two years to file a personal injury lawsuit. O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33 Do not wait to tell your own insurer, either: If your insurance company is not notified of an accident within a reasonable amount of time, you may lose your rights to uninsured motorist benefits. Reasonable notice is not defined under state law, so notify your insurance carrier as soon as possible.

The legal deadline is for filing a lawsuit, and many uninsured motorist claims resolve without one. But talks with an insurer can run for months, and arbitration or a lawsuit takes preparation. Having a lawyer track every date from the start keeps your options open.

Evidence goes stale too. Witnesses to a hit-and-run become harder to find, and video from nearby businesses can be recorded over.

Early medical records matter as well. They link your injuries to the crash and make it harder for an insurer to blame an earlier condition.

If months have already passed, call anyway. We want to hear from you, and we will give you an honest answer about where your claim stands, even a hard one.

Should my uninsured motorist claim go to arbitration or court?

Arbitration is private and usually faster and less costly than a trial, but there is no jury, and an arbitrator is usually less moved by your story than a jury can be. The Scott Pryor Law Group helps you weigh both paths for a Georgia uninsured motorist claim, unless your underinsured motorist carrier requires arbitration.

What if I don't have uninsured motorist coverage?

You may still have options. When a Georgia car accident involves an uninsured driver and you have no uninsured motorist coverage, The Scott Pryor Law Group looks for other sources of recovery: the driver personally, an employer if the driver was working, and any vehicle defect that contributed to the crash.

Health insurance can cover immediate medical bills while the claim is open. We can help with those claims and, in some cases, negotiate with medical providers for reduced payments or payment plans until your case resolves.

If the crash involved an Uber or Lyft driver who had accepted a trip or was carrying a passenger, the rideshare company's policy typically includes uninsured and underinsured motorist protection. Our rideshare accident page explains which policy applies when.

For the future, we advise carrying uninsured motorist coverage for yourself, your family and anyone riding in your car. Carry as much medical payments coverage as you can afford too. It pays medical bills for you and your passengers even if the crash was your fault.

Whatever coverage you have, call before you decide you have no claim. We will look at every policy and every party, and tell you honestly what we find.