Key Takeaways
- Under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33, a personal-injury claim from a Georgia car accident must be filed within two years of the crash — missing this deadline almost always extinguishes the claim entirely.
- Georgia's modified comparative negligence rule (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33) reduces your recovery by your share of fault and bars it completely at 50%.
- Georgia Department of Transportation crash data consistently shows urban arterial roads, intersections, and entrance ramps as the leading crash locations across the state.
- Hit-and-run drivers violate O.C.G.A. § 40-6-270, but criminal prosecution does not pay medical bills — recovery comes through your own UM coverage under O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11.
Vehicle accidents are all too common on Georgia’s roads. Often, they happen out of the blue and involve innocent people who then have physical injuries and material damage to cope with.
Receiving appropriate compensation can be difficult, especially in the case of an accident involving an Uber or Lyft driver. Hiring a professional car accident attorney quickly can help.
Uber Collisions
Uber rides are convenient and relatively inexpensive. Becoming a Lyft or Uber driver is a great way to supplement income or work according to the driver’s schedule.
The downside is that with so many rideshare drivers on the road, accidents are bound to happen. Collisions involving rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft can cause significant damage, not only to rideshare drivers and their passengers but also to other motorists, pedestrians, pets, and property.
Compensation in Uber accidents is complicated because they involve independent contractors (the rideshare drivers) and a huge, powerful corporation. For a quick overview, see our FAQ on whether you can sue Uber or Lyft after an accident. Understanding whether to make accident claims against the driver’s personal policy or if the rideshare company shares responsibility can be confusing.
Experienced legal advice from rideshare compensation professionals can make a big difference in the chances of receiving help paying medical bills and for other accident-related expenses.
Rideshare Coverage and Uber Vehicles
Car insurance for a rideshare driver depends on how the vehicle is being used at the time of the accident:
- If the accident occurred while the driver was transporting an Uber passenger, Uber maintains insurance of $1 million liability coverage and an additional $1 million to cover uninsured or underinsured motorist bodily injury.
- If the accident occurs while the Uber driver is on duty and waiting for a customer’s ride request, Uber’s commercial insurance policy provides $50,000 for bodily injury coverage, which goes up to $100,000 if more than one person is injured, and $30,000 for property damage.
- Uber drivers must have personal auto insurance, and it must include comprehensive and collision coverage for Uber’s insurance to kick in. If the Uber driver is not working when an accident occurs, this is the only personal insurance coverage the driver or any injured party can claim against.
Why Contact an Attorney After an Uber Accident?
Uber is one of America’s major businesses. It employs teams of lawyers to help protect its vast profits, so anyone attempting to dispute insurance settlements or start personal injury proceedings after an accident will be challenged.
Although Uber does provide rideshare insurance coverage to its drivers, anyone who has made a claim against a personal auto insurance policy knows that insurance adjusters work hard to minimize payouts from insurance policies. Amounts received from auto insurance rarely cover personal or property damage completely.
Trying to receive an adequate insurance settlement from a big company’s liability insurance provider is harder still. They routinely offer meager settlements, hoping injured parties don’t understand what they are eligible for or that accepting the offer waives any rights to further compensation.
Even when an insurance company is willing to settle fairly, the amount of collision insurance compensation available is limited.
A covered accident that is serious involves medical expenses, lost wages, and other damages that can soon add up to much more than third-party liability coverage limits. Gaining necessary compensation often involves initiating legal action against the rideshare company.
Hiring an attorney with experience negotiating with transportation network company insurance providers makes a fair settlement more likely and means everything will be in place should legal action become necessary.
Hiring a Law Firm Immediately Is a Good Idea
Here’s why–Uber is a powerful company with aggressive insurance negotiators and legal teams who are hard to deal with. Personal injury lawyers with experience in Uber cases understand what victims are liable for and the tactics auto insurance companies and corporate lawyers representing rideshare companies use to deny it to them.
Hiring a lawyer immediately means you have someone knowledgeable negotiating with insurance adjusters and legal teams. Your lawyer knows how you should be compensated and how to fight for it.
Often, just knowing the plaintiff has hired a lawyer is sufficient for Uber to start behaving fairly. In fact, the majority of rideshare driver accident cases involving lawyers are settled satisfactorily outside court.
But What if I Can’t Afford a Lawyer?
The good news is that most personal accident lawyers don’t take a penny until they secure a settlement for their clients. So, hiring an experienced legal team to help you gain the compensation you need after an accident with an Uber or Lyft driver is a smart and affordable option.
Contact Us
The team at Georgia Auto Law has vast experience successfully pursuing settlements in accidents involving Uber and Lyft drivers. Our team will help you every step of the way, and we are available to answer questions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
To learn more, call today at 404-662-4949.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer?
No. The adjuster’s job is to minimize the payout, and recorded statements are mined later for any admission of fault, exaggeration, or inconsistency. You can decline politely and refer them to your attorney or your own insurer.
How is fault determined in a Georgia car accident?
Fault is determined through the police report, scene photos, witness statements, traffic-camera footage where available, vehicle damage patterns, and (for serious crashes) accident-reconstruction analysis. Insurance adjusters apply Georgia’s comparative-negligence rule under O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33 when allocating fault percentages.
How long do I have to file a car-accident claim in Georgia?
Two years from the date of the crash under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33 for personal injury and wrongful death. Property-damage-only claims have four years under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-32. Missing the deadline almost always bars the claim entirely, even if the at-fault driver clearly caused the crash.
What is modified comparative negligence in Georgia?
Under O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33, a Georgia plaintiff who is less than 50% at fault can still recover, but their damages are reduced by their percentage of fault. At 50% or more, recovery is barred entirely. This is why insurance adjusters work hard to assign you any percentage of fault they can.
