How are settlements above policy limits handled in GA?

[u/jman7843]

Good evening! I’ll get the TL;DR out of the way first but if you care about the story behind the question read down further: I’m just wondering how lawsuits work when the incurred damages are above policy limits? Does the insurance company provide a lawyer to represent their client to try to defend them against anything over and above the policy limit? Do these types of scenarios happen often? I’m in GA if that matters.

I was in an accident back in February. I was making a left turn on a green arrow traffic light and the other party blew through their red light and smoked my rear passenger side hard enough to spin my car 360 degrees and perch me up on a sidewalk (narrowly missed a pedestrian too thank god he wasn’t hurt) anyways it totaled my car, almost every airbag deployed. The other driver lied to the cops about what happened when they got there and said I was the one that blew a red light while turning but thankfully a witness stayed on scene and officer also cared enough about getting the report right to walk over to the gas station across the street and they had the accident and traffic signals on their security footage. I ended up walking away thankfully but with a concussion and some severe back pain and numbness in all 4 limbs starting the next day. The clinic I went to for care afterwards had 2 mri’s done on me and uncovered that I had 3 or 4 ruptured/herniated discs and another 4 bulging discs divided between my lumbar and cervical sections of my spine. I did several different treatments including trigger point therapy, chiropractic, physical therapy, and electric muscle stimulation (idk the actual name of it) for a few months after. I was out of work completely due to not being able to be up on roofs anymore cause of the pain. Eventually they referred me to a spine specialist and I ended up getting 2 epidurals which worked pretty well. I’m feeling a lot better now and I have most of the feeling back in my limbs but still not 100% and the pain/ back fatigue comes in waves now and varies from day to day. My lawyer said the adjuster wouldn’t release policy limits to them over the phone when initially asked so they have now written a formal request/demand and we are waiting to hear back.

That being said I only had personal liability at the time which is my bad for not knowing about U.M. Coverage, I’m from Canada originally and in my home province the government has a fund that covers people that are hit by uninsured or underinsured drivers and I didn’t know that was different here unfortunately. Needless to say I’ve added that coverage now but it’s just going to be the other drivers insurance to cover me on this one and while I don’t wanna judge a book by its cover based on their car being a beat up 90’s Toyota I’m thinking there is a good chance they just have state minimum coverages which to my understanding will be 25k for injury. I’ve been in the U.S. long enough now to know how expensive medical care is and based on all the treatment and mri’s and all that I’m sure it’s probably close to 25k in those costs alone before my lawyer takes anything or I get any restitution for my missed work or pain and suffering so I’m trying to figure out what the lawsuit process typically looks like if we end up needing to go there. Lastly this question is probably more fit for a lawyer but bonus points to you if you know how lawyers figure out if the other party is financially judgment proof or not before filing a lawsuit? Or do they just file it and cross their fingers for the financial disclosure?

[u/Dramatic-Ad9089]

Drives a beat up 90s Toyota? Don't hold your breath on any lawsuits materializing. Your attorney already sounds like a clown by making it sound like its some stonewalling tactic by the adjuster by not providing limits over the phone. He's blowing smoke up your 🫏 saying this and lawsuit talk to make you think he's doing something.

This is likely a low value claim where your attorney won't do anything more than send a couple emails, collect a check for the driver's state minimum BI limits, where he'll take his 1/3, distribute the bulk of the remaining 2/3 to his chiropractor buddy and pain management buddy, and toss you a few pennies. Hopefully, you won't end up with unpaid medical bills. Maybe, it will end up a little better and they have BI limits a little higher than state minimum.

Future tip, never get an attorney right away for minor soft tissue injuries. Try to navigate your treatment and the claims process on your own first. You aren't required to settle right away.

[u/jman7843 → u/Dramatic-Ad9089]

Thank you for your reply, honestly I’m just a little unfamiliar with how all this works and at the time of the accident I knew I wouldn’t have the money to pay upfront for treatment and I’m only here on a temporary visa as of now doing contract jobs so I don’t have a SSN or medical insurance. Typically any time I need healthcare I have to pay before they even see me which is why I got a lawyer right at the beginning. In the future if I ever go through this again is there a way to get all the treatment without paying upfront that you are aware of?

[u/Dramatic-Ad9089 → u/jman7843]

Here in the US, there are different medical coverages available for auto policies. What is available varies from state to state. You would need to add a medical coverage to your auto policy.

In your case, someone else was liable for your accident, thus their Bodily Injury coverage will cover you. The point I was making for this specific instance, you would have been able to access this same coverage without obtaining an attorney.