You were seriously hurt in a car accident. Then comes another piece of bad news.
The driver who caused the crash only has $25,000 in insurance.
For someone facing medical bills, lost income and injuries that may affect the rest of their life, hearing “$25,000 policy limit” can make it sound like the case is already over.
It may not be.
One of the things we look at closely in serious North Georgia car accident cases is whether there are other insurance policies that may apply to the collision.
We have seen firsthand how much that investigation can matter.
A Gainesville Car Accident With an Uninsured Driver
We recently spoke with a client in Gainesville who had been seriously injured in a collision.
There was an immediate problem: the other driver had no insurance.
If you stopped the investigation there, it would be easy to assume there was no meaningful insurance coverage available from which to compensate our client.
We didn't stop there.
We investigated the available coverage and determined that there were two uninsured motorist policies totaling $350,000 that could help compensate our client for injuries and damages from the crash.
That is a very different conversation than simply telling an injured person, “The other driver doesn't have insurance.”
It is also why identifying insurance coverage is one of the first things we work through when evaluating a serious accident case.
A Canton Case That Looked Like It Had Only $25,000 in Coverage
We saw a different version of the same problem in Canton.
Our client had been seriously injured, and initially it appeared that the driver who caused the collision had only a $25,000 insurance policy.
For serious injuries, $25,000 can disappear quickly.
But there was another fact that mattered.
Through our investigation, we learned that the driver who caused the crash was working at the time of the collision.
That changed the insurance picture.
The driver's employer had a $1 million insurance policy that could help cover our client's serious injuries.
The underlying crash had not changed. Our client's injuries had not changed.
What changed was our understanding of who was involved and what insurance coverage was available.
Why a North Georgia Car Accident Lawyer Should Look Beyond the First Policy
When someone comes to Hasty Pope after a serious collision, we don't want to know only what policy the other driver's insurance company initially identifies.
We want to understand the entire situation.
Was the driver working?
Was the vehicle owned by someone else?
Are there uninsured or underinsured motorist policies that could apply?
Are there multiple applicable policies?
Is there another person, company or insurance policy connected to what happened?
Those questions matter because serious injury cases are rarely just about a damaged vehicle and an emergency room bill.
A person may need surgery, rehabilitation, additional medical treatment or future care. They may miss months of work. Some injuries create limitations that don't disappear when the insurance adjuster wants to close the claim.
So when the obvious insurance coverage is inadequate, the investigation becomes especially important.
What If the At Fault Driver Has No Insurance?
This is another question we hear from injured people in North Georgia.
If the person who caused your accident was uninsured, that does not automatically mean there is no insurance available for your injuries.
Uninsured motorist coverage may become important.
The Gainesville case is a good example. The driver who caused the collision had no insurance, but our investigation identified two uninsured motorist policies totaling $350,000.
The important point is not that every uninsured driver case will have additional coverage. They won't.
The point is that you should know what coverage actually exists before deciding there is nothing to pursue.
What If the At Fault Driver Was Working?
This is a detail that can easily be overlooked after a crash.
Someone may look like an ordinary driver in an ordinary vehicle. But what were they doing when the collision happened?
Were they making a delivery?
Traveling between job sites?
Running an errand for an employer?
Performing some other work related task?
The answers can matter.
In our Canton case, discovering that the driver was working led us from what initially appeared to be a $25,000 policy to an employer with $1 million in insurance coverage.
That is why we don't like making assumptions early in a case.
We investigate.
“Is $25,000 All I Can Recover?”
Not necessarily.
But there is also no honest way to answer that question without looking at the facts of the individual case.
Sometimes $25,000 really may be the available liability coverage. In another case, there may be uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. An employer may be involved. Additional policies or responsible parties may need to be investigated.
Every case is different.
What we would not do is assume the first policy we find tells us the entire story.
For someone with minor injuries, that distinction may not ultimately change much.
For someone who has suffered a life changing injury, it can change everything.
Seriously Injured in Gainesville, Canton or North Georgia? Ask About All Available Insurance Coverage
If you've been seriously injured in a car accident in Gainesville, Canton, Hall County, Cherokee County or elsewhere in North Georgia, don't assume a small insurance policy means there are no other options.
Ask questions.
Find out whether uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage applies. Find out whether the driver was working. Find out whether other policies or responsible parties may be involved.
At Hasty Pope, our attorneys have handled serious personal injury cases in Georgia for decades. When the injuries are significant, we believe part of doing the job correctly is investigating the case far enough to understand every potential source of insurance coverage that may apply.
Because the first policy you find isn't always the only policy.
If you have questions after a serious North Georgia car accident, contact Hasty Pope for a free consultation. Before you assume $25,000 is all that's available, let's find out what is actually there.