Under O.C.G.A. 33-7-11 (2010), no automobile liability policy or motor vehicle liability policy shall be issued or delivered in Georgia unless the owner of the vehicle is issued uninsured motorist coverage for bodily injury, loss of consortium or death, or for injury to or destruction or property.
The minimum coverage requirements for uninsured motorist is not less than $25,000 for bodily injury or death of one person in any one accident, $50,000 for bodily injury or death of two or more persons, and $25,000 because of injury to or destruction of property, or equal to the limits of liability because of bodily injury to or death of one person in an accident or two or more persons in any one accident.
Essentially, in Georgia, auto insurance policies are issued with uninsured motorist coverage unless the policyholder specifically rejects the uninsured motorist coverage in writing.
At The Kalka Law Group, we recently represented a client who was involved in an auto accident with an uninsured driver. The car accident occurred on July 15, 2010 with the uninsured driver. Unknown to our client at the time, she had suffered from a Vertebral Arterial Dissection (VAD). In other words, the artery leading to her brain tore and in effect caused a blood clot.
Shortly after the accident she began experiencing headaches and nausea, but at the time she did not relate these symptoms to the accident. She began training for a triathlon with Team in Training, and her nausea increased and the headaches intensified. In November of 2010, she went to dinner with friends from Team in Training after one of their training sessions. Her vision became severely distorted and she went to the hospital. After running a number of tests, doctors discovered that she had suffered from a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA), which is frequently referred to as a mini-stroke.
Between November of 2010 and March of 2011, our client underwent numerous CTA’s, MRI’s, and MRAs to determine the cause of the TIA. The battery of tests confirmed that she did have a VAD. Since January of 2011, she has been treated for this condition by a neurosurgeon at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Our client’s doctor is the preeminent neurosurgeon in the southeast for the treatment of VADs.
As of August 7, 2013, our client had incurred medical expenses of at least $39,804.99. We submitted a demand for an uninsured motorist claim with our client’s own auto insurance carrier, and we just settled this case for $85,000.00 – a number which we are very satisfied with.
If you or someone you love was recently injured in a car accident or in any other type of accident due to the negligent or reckless actions of another, we encourage you to contact an Atlanta personal injury attorney from our firm to file a claim for compensation.
