Typically, the driver’s car insurance covers pedestrians hit by a car. However, this can change depending on who was at fault for the accident and whether the driver carried the necessary amount of insurance.

How Much Can I Recover from the Driver Who Hit Me?

In Georgia, drivers must maintain liability coverage for auto accidents. Drivers must carry at least $25,000 to cover any injuries they cause in an accident. You can recover injury and loss compensation up to this limit. If the driver’s policy limit is higher, you can recover up to that limit.

What Other Options Do I Have to Recover Compensation?

If the driver was uninsured or if he fled the scene, if your injuries eclipsed the driver’s liability coverage, or if you were at-fault for the accident, you have a few different options to cover your injuries:

  • Uninsured Motorist (UM) Coverage: If you carry UM coverage on your vehicle, it will likely cover your injuries in a pedestrian accident as well. Double check your policy to make sure. UM coverage will also pay out if you were involved in a pedestrian accident where the driver fled the scene.
  • Medical Payments Coverage: Like its name suggests, medical payments coverage covers medical bills. If you have this policy for your car insurance, it will protect you in a pedestrian accident as well. If you do not have a medical payments policy, you may be able to use a family member’s policy. Discuss your situation with your family member’s insurer to determine your options.
  • Health Insurance: You may be able to use your health insurance coverage to pay for your accident injuries. However, many health insurance policies exclude car accident injuries from coverage. Call your health insurance company to determine whether your policy pays for accident injuries.

Insurers must offer both uninsured motorist and medical payments coverage to all drivers purchasing car insurance. You must reject these coverages in writing. If you do not remember rejecting them, you likely have these to help you out after an accident. Check your car accident policies to see what your insurance covers.

What Costs Does Insurance Cover in a Pedestrian Accident?

Of course, medical payments coverage covers medical payments. Liability and uninsured motorist policies cover much more. You can recover any of the following from these policies:

  • Medical Bills: This includes ambulance fees, doctor’s visits, medication, physical therapy, and more.
  • Long-term Medical Costs: If your accident leads to long-term or permanent injuries, you should receive compensation for this as well.
  • Lost Wages: A pedestrian car accident can leave you unable to work for long periods of time. Calculating your missed hours/days at work and wages is often a big part of your settlement.
  • Diminished Earning Potential: Some accidents leave victims unable to perform their previous roles at work. If your Atlanta pedestrian accident left you unable to continue your career, you could claim compensation for lost potential income. Or, your compensation could cover the cost of training in a new field.
  • Pain and Suffering: The recovery process is physically taxing. You can recover compensation you any pain and suffering you endured.
  • Emotional distress: In addition to the physical stress, a pedestrian car accident is also emotionally stressful. This is also compensable.

Should I Contact the Driver’s Car Insurance Company Myself?

S. Burke Law does not recommend contacting the insurance company — yours or that of the driver — yourself. The insurance company will make every attempt to avoid paying you what you deserve for your injury claim.

For your own insurance company, this might mean wrongfully denying or offering you less than your policy limit for your UM or medical payments claim.

The other driver’s insurer will likely try to place the blame on you or get you to agree that your injuries are not as severe as you claim. Both of these tactics can decrease your settlement or make you ineligible to recover any type of compensation.

Sheryl Burke started her career as an insurance adjuster. This experience allows Sheryl to anticipate how an insurance company might attempt to railroad your claim. When you work with S. Burke Law, you can be sure our team will do everything it can to protect you from greedy insurers.

Call S. Burke Law Today for Help with Your Pedestrian Accident Claim

Sheryl Burke has represented countless clients in pedestrian accident cases over the last 20 years. In that time, she has fought for the rights of Atlanta’s citizens to recoup the compensation they deserve after all types of accidents. Call S. Burke Law now at 404-842-7838. We offer free consultations to give injured accident victims the answers they need.