On this page, our car accident lawyers will look at Georgia auto accident lawsuits. We will review key points of Georgia law that apply to auto accident injury cases and we will discuss how much settlement compensation plaintiffs typically get in Georgia accident cases.
Auto Accidents in GeorgiaGeorgia is home to 10.7 million people, which makes it the 8th largest state in the U.S. in terms of population. Georgia’s population is dispersed over 58,000 square miles of land, which ranks Georgia 24th for population density. There are just over 7 million registered drivers in Georgia.
Georgia averages around 400,000 police-reported vehicle accident each year. Over the last decade, an average of around 154,000 Georgia car accidents involve physical injuries and 1,400 result in fatalities. In 2022, Georgia had the 4th highest number of fatal auto accidents in the U.S, with 15 vehicle fatalities per 100,000 residents. The percentage of drivers with at-fault accidents on their record in Georgia is 20% higher than the national average.
Georgia Auto Accident LawsGeorgia has its own laws that apply to car accidents. These include traffic laws (rules of the road) and vehicle insurance laws, which are set forth in the Georgia statutory code, and tort law which applies to liability for injuries. Below is a brief outline of all the key Georgia laws that apply in car accident lawsuits.
You Have 2 Years to File a Car Accident Lawsuit in GeorgiaGeorgia has a strict time limit on how long you can wait before filing a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault driver. This law is called a statute of limitations.
The statute of limitations for auto accident lawsuits in Georgia is 2-years ( GA Code § 9-3-33). This means that if you want to file a lawsuit to get compensation for injuries in an Alabama car accident, you must file the lawsuit within 2 years of the date of the accident. If you don’t file your case within the 2-year deadline it will get dismissed by the court.
Georgia Follows the Modified Comparative Fault RuleIn a lot of auto accident cases, both drivers may have been partly to blame for causing the accident, even though one of them is considered legally at-fault. In these shared fault cases, Georgia follows the legal rule known as modified comparative fault. Under comparative fault, a plaintiff’s damages are reduced by their percentage share of fault. So if a plaintiff is found to be 10% at-fault for their own injuries, their damages would be reduced by 10%. Under the modified version of comparative fault adopted in Georgia, if a plaintiff’s share of fault exceeds 50%, then they are totally barred from recovering any damages.
Damages Available in Georgia Car Accident CasesGeorgia law has not maximum limits or caps on the amount of damages that plaintiffs can be awarded in an car accident injury lawsuits. Plaintiffs in Georgia auto tort cases are entitled to the all economic and non-economic tort damages available in personal injury cases. These categories of damages in Georgia car accident are listed below:
Lost Income (Past & Future): Plaintiffs in Georgia are supposed to get damages for any and all lost income or lost wages that they incurred as a result of injuries caused by the car accident. This includes not just past lost income, but also future lost income. For example, if you suffer a permanent injury that will prevent you from working for the next 6 months or a year, you would be entitled to lost wages for that period.
Medical Expenses (Past & Future): Georgia law give car accident plaintiffs the right to recover damages for all medical expenses related to injuries suffered in the accident. This includes everything from the cost of any hospital trip, diagnostics images like x-rays, physical therapy, medication, doctor visits, and everything else.
Damages are available not just for medical expenses you have already incurred, but also future medical expenses they expect to incur if they are related to injuries suffered in the accident. For example, if you injure your back in a car accident and you doctor says you need back surgery next year, that cost can be included in your damages.
Pain & Suffering: Georgia law also allows damages to be awarded for mental pain and suffering related to injuries sustained in a car accident. The more severe and painful the injury, the more pain and suffering damages. The judge or jury determines pain and suffering damages if a case goes to trial.
Settlement Value of Alabama Auto Accident CasesThe settlement value of a car accident injury case in Georgia is based on several different factors. The most significant factor that always drives the settlement value of a case more than any other is the nature and severity of the plaintiff’s injuries. More serious injuries involve more medical expenses and more pain & suffering, which equates to a higher settlement value. The chart below shows the average settlement value range of Georgia car accident cases based on the severity level of the plaintiff’s injuries.
| INJURY SEVERITY LEVEL | SETTLEMENT VALUE |
|---|---|
| LEVEL I | $17,000 - $34,000 |
| LEVEL II | $52,000 - $145,000 |
| LEVEL III | $186,000 - $490,000 |
Below are recent 2022-2023 verdicts and reported settlements from Georgia car accident lawsuits. These cases are provided for informational purposes only and are not a guarantee of value in your case.
$100,000 Verdict (Fulton County 2023): The plaintiff slowed down to make a left turn on a street in Atlanta and the defendant rear-ended her because he was following too closely a high speed. Alleged injuries were whiplash (cervical neck sprain), chronic headaches, and a knee injury which required surgery.
$150,000 Settlement (DeKalb County 2023): A 30-something woman was sideswiped. She suffered cervical bulges and a knee tear which required future ACL reconstruction surgery. She found it difficult to perform household tasks. She alleged that the defendant was negligent for improperly changing lanes. This case settled for $150,000.
$110,000 Verdict (Fulton County 2023): The plaintiff was rear-ended by the defendant who was driving a large pickup truck that made a negligent left turn out of a gas station. The plaintiff allegedly suffers injuries to her back, neck and shoulder, which require surgery and extensive treatment.
$240,000 Verdict (Fulton County 2022): The plaintiff, male is his mid-30s, suffered a ligament tear to his wrist which required reconstruction surgery, as well as cervical sprains, when his westbound host vehicle was struck by a southbound vehicle operated by the defendant. Liability was admitted and the case went to trial in Fulton County to determine the appropriate amount of damages. Past medical expenses were $70,000, which means the jury gave $170,000 for pain and suffering.
$45,000 Verdict (Gwinnett County 2022): Plaintiff, a female in her 30s, suffers from neck and lower back pain and headaches after being hit by an intoxicated driver who fails to yield right-of-way. The plaintiff suffers a disc herniation in her lower back.
Hire a Georgia Car Accident LawyerThe personal injury attorneys at Miller & Zois can help you with your Georgia car accident lawsuit. We work local counsel in Georgia at no additional cost to our clients to deliver the maximum possible compensation for your case. Contact us today at 800-553-8082 or contact us online.