New Georgia Law Helps People Seriously Injured in Automobile Accidents

The state of Georgia recently enacted a new law that allows the victims of automobile accidents to access more insurance coverage. Under the new law, car owners can purchase uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage that can be “stacked” on top of liability insurance of the driver who caused the accident. This is helpful when you are injured in an automobile accident by a negligent driver and the negligent driver does not have enough insurance to fully compensate you for your personal injuries.

As an experienced Georgia Injury Lawyer, I can’t over-emphasize how important this is here in Atlanta, where many drivers on the road carry minimum insurance limits. What is especially troubling about this situation is that these are usually the very same drivers that cause catastrophic wrecks and do not have the personal assets to satisfy a large judgment against them.

The new law enables you (the injured driver in an automobile accident due to the fault of someone else) to collect the other driver’s liability insurance and then access your own uninsured motorist coverage after the other driver’s insurance coverage is exhausted. Prior to the new law, many Georgia motorists who had paid premiums for uninsured motorists coverage would not be allowed to collect these benefits because their coverage would only “kick in” if the uninsured motorists coverage exceeded the at-fault driver’s liability coverage.

This law is great and long overdue. It should help compensate auto accident victims who otherwise would not be able to recover. However, there is much more you can do to properly protect yourself against catastrophic injury. We urge you to discuss you insurance limits with your insurance professional and to make sure you are taking full advantage of the new law. Be sure to ask what the monthly rates are for additional amounts of uninsured motorist coverage. Many times the cost is nominal yet provides you with critical coverage that comes into play only after you have been badly injured.

As discussed above, if you have been seriously injured in an auto accident, acting quickly is imperative to protect all of your legal rights, properly investigate the accident and determine all available insurance.

Attorney Robert J. Fleming has been handling wrongful death cases, bus accidents, car accident cases and construction site injury cases for individuals and families who have been harmed, injured or died as a result of the carelessness or negligence of another for more than 20 years in and around Atlanta, Georgia and its surrounding areas, including Alpharetta, Austell, Avondale Estates, Chamblee, College Park, Conyers, Duluth, Decatur, Doraville, Hapeville, Johns Creek, Jonesboro, Lawrenceville, Norcross, Peachtree City, Riverdale, Roswell, Sandy Springs, Stone Mountain, and Smyrna. If you have been seriously injured in a car accident and would like quality legal representation, contact Robert J. Fleming directly on (404) 525-5150 or contact us online.