For most people, getting insurance is just part of owning a car. In fact, the law requires it if you own a vehicle in Johns Creek. But one out of every nine drivers on Georgia’s roads is uninsured. If you are in an accident with one of these drivers, you may be facing huge medical bills and wondering who is going to pay for it all. But you are entitled to recover ALL the costs of your accident, and we can help you do it.
Claims against uninsured drivers can be complicated, but at John Foy & Associates, we have been getting results in uninsured and underinsured motorist cases for more than two decades. Someone made a bad choice when they decided to drive without insurance, but we don’t want you to be the one to pay. Let us give you a free consultation to explain what we can do.
Call us at 404-400-4000 and get your free consultation today.
What Kind of Insurance Are You Supposed to Have in Johns Creek?
The City of Johns Creek follows Georgia law when it comes to auto insurance. Georgia requires all vehicle owners to have liability coverage. This insurance pays for injuries and damage to other cars if you cause an accident. To prevent drivers from getting worthless coverage and claiming they’re complying with the law, Georgia also requires that liability coverage is for at least a certain amount. The minimum coverage you can have and still comply with the law is:
- $25,000 in bodily injury coverage, per victim
- $50,000 total bodily injury coverage
- $25,000 in property damage coverage
There are other types of insurance that are optional. Collision coverage pays if there is damage to your own car in an accident. Comprehensive coverage covers other types of events, like hail damage or a rock cracking your windshield.
There are two other types of optional coverage, and these are designed to protect you if you are in an accident with a driver who doesn’t have enough insurance to pay for all your injuries and property damage. Uninsured motorist insurance pays if the other driver has no insurance, and underinsured motorist insurance coverage pays if the other driver doesn’t have sufficient insurance.
Underinsured motorists are a major problem in Georgia because the minimum insurance required by law isn’t enough to pay for all the injuries and damage from a serious car crash. And no matter what, an insurance company will never pay more than the insurance policy limits.
That can leave you holding the bag for tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills and other costs, even though the other driver had the insurance the law required.
Get the strong arm
How Should I Handle an Accident With an Uninsured Driver in Johns Creek?
Immediately after the accident, try to stay calm and collected. Identify whether anyone seems to need medical treatment and call and ambulance if you need to. Also call the police. A police report is essential to any claim you might make later. It’s also required for any injury accident, so it’s is important to get an officer to the scene right away.
While you are waiting for the officer to arrive and complete the report, there are some additional things you can do that will help you preserve your rights and make a more effective insurance claim.
- Use your cell phone camera to snap a photo of the other driver’s license plate, the damage to the vehicles, anything relevant along the roadway such as skid marks or a bashed-up guard rail, and the overall accident scene.
- Exchange information with the other driver. This includes drivers’ licenses and insurance cards. A driver who “can’t find” the insurance card and won’t tell you the name of the insurance company and agent is a telltale sign of an uninsured motorist.
- Talk to anyone who is at the scene. People who witness accidents often stop to help, so try to talk to them and get their contact information before they leave.
- Go to the emergency room or a doctor as soon as possible. This is important for two reasons. First, it establishes that any injuries you have were caused by the accident. Second, accident injuries tend to heal better if you start treatment immediately.
If you believe the other driver doesn’t have insurance – or not enough insurance – your next step is to get in touch with an uninsured motorist lawyer. It is possible to recover money without insurance, but it is more complicated and difficult than just making an insurance claim. You need a lawyer’s help.
How Will I Be Able to Recover Money If There Isn’t Insurance?
Chances are, the uninsured driver who hit you isn’t a multimillionaire who will happily write you a check out of his own pocket. And that means we may need to use several strategies to get you the money you are entitled to. Some of the ways we might recover money in an uninsured or underinsured motorist case include:
- A claim on your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, if you have it.
- Filing a lawsuit in the local courts and getting an order requiring the other driver to pay you out of pocket. With this in hand, we can pursue several ways of collecting the money, including taking money from the other driver directly and placing a lien on the driver’s property.
- Exploring other insurance policies that might apply to the accident.
- Exploring whether anyone else might be liable for your accident.
Our law firm has an investigative team and years of courtroom experience that we can use you to get you the best financial recovery possible. But it is important to act quickly – the law gives you only a limited amount of time to make a personal injury claim.
Talk to a Johns Creek Uninsured Motorist Lawyer
At John Foy & Associates, you shouldn’t have to pay the price because someone else foolishly decided not to get car insurance. Give us a call and we’ll discuss your case for free. In fact, we’ll never charge you a thing if we don’t get you money. Let us give you a free consultation.
Call us at 404-400-4000 or fill out the form to your right and get your FREE consultation today.
404-400-4000 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
