It’s unlikely your car insurance will cover you if you're injured in an accident in another person’s car. Whoever was at fault technically should pay for damages because Georgia is an at-fault state. Review the answer to the common question: What does my car insurance cover?
When will my car insurance cover me?
If you happen to have personal injury protection on your auto insurance plan, your insurer likely would cover injury-related costs. If it’s necessary, sometimes the driver can turn to his or her own health insurance coverage. But with either situation, it’s important to check the terms of the policies to ensure injuries from a car accident are covered.
Typically, the insurance company of the at-fault driver covers damages unless both drivers were at fault, in which case you need to start the claims process for multi-party liability in an auto accident.
If you were a passenger in a car and the driver of another vehicle caused the collision, his or her bodily injury liability should pay for expenses. In Georgia, drivers are required to carry a minimum $25,000 bodily injury liability for the injuries or death of one person and $50,000 for the injuries or death of more than one person.
However, if the driver of the car you are a passenger in was responsible for the crash, his or her insurance company would cover your costs only if that individual happened to have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage or medical payments coverage. And because both are optional, it’s possible the driver has no insurance that will pay for your medical expenses and other damages.
When the aforementioned options aren’t available or they aren’t enough to cover your costs adequately, it may allow for a personal injury lawsuit to be filed. An attorney could explain one’s right to pursue compensation this way -- whether it’s against the driver of the car you were a passenger in or the driver of another vehicle. Of course, it would be a good idea to seek legal advice anytime someone has been seriously injured in a crash, whether your car insurance covers you or not. Call Jason R. Schultz’s law office for more information on a claim at 404-474-0804.