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how to sue insurance co.

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nottelybill

Member
What is the name of your state? Georgia
My wife was hit from behind and her neck was injured. Allstate Insurance doesn't even offer to put medical bills in full so she is going to take them to small claims court. The accident was in Cobb County and so is my wife and the guy who hit her. She is also going to sue the guy who hit her. Any advice and how does she go about suing the insurance company? What address would you use some local one?
 


Y

You Are Guilty

Senior Member
nottelybill said:
What is the name of your state? Georgia
My wife was hit from behind and her neck was injured. Allstate Insurance doesn't even offer to put medical bills in full so she is going to take them to small claims court. The accident was in Cobb County and so is my wife and the guy who hit her. She is also going to sue the guy who hit her. Any advice and how does she go about suing the insurance company? What address would you use some local one?
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I strongly suggest you read the following before filing anything:
http://www.georgiacourts.org/aoc/selfhelp/faq.html
and
http://www.brodheadlaw.com/faqs.asp#16


*(The second link is for information purposes only - I have no connection to the owners of the site and make no representation as to the accuracy of their website or their qualifications).
 
M

moburkes

Senior Member
You may be under the mistaken impression that the person who hit your vehicle has purchased a higher amount of insurance than they really have. You sue the person that caused the damage, by the way, not their insurance company with whom you have no contract.
 
G

GulfBreeze

Member
moburkes said:
You may be under the mistaken impression that the person who hit your vehicle has purchased a higher amount of insurance than they really have. You sue the person that caused the damage, by the way, not their insurance company with whom you have no contract.
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wow...and i thought florida's PIP was a crook of poop. What is the purpose of having insurance then? If you are in a wreck, I thought the insurance took care of any damages to the car and people. In GA, apparently you sue the person....lol Better hope a rich person hits you, otherwise you wont get a dime.
 
M

moburkes

Senior Member
GulfBreeze said:
wow...and i thought florida's PIP was a crook of poop. What is the purpose of having insurance then? If you are in a wreck, I thought the insurance took care of any damages to the car and people. In GA, apparently you sue the person....lol Better hope a rich person hits you, otherwise you wont get a dime.
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For example, the state minimum insurance in GA is $25,000/$50,000/$25,000. The maximum the insurance company in GA will pay, if the at fault party had the state minimum coverage is the 1st number, or $25,000. If the OP's wife's medical bills totalled $35,000, for example, then the insurance company is only going to pay $25,000, since that is all that was purchased.

You don't pay for 2 hamburgers at McDonald's, but expect 3, because there are 3 people eating. You get what you paid for, which is 2. So, if the at fault party only paid for minimal insurance, then he's only going to get minimal coverage.
 
S

Some Random Guy

Senior Member
If the other party's insurance is not sufficient to cover your damages, look to your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. With the large number of illegal aliens, unlicensed and uninsured drivers out there, it would be crazy not to have this coverage.

For your court case, look into the limits for small claims in GA. If the medical bills are too high, you may not be able to file in small claims. I would suggest using a lawyer if small claims is not available to you.
 
Zigner

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
GulfBreeze said:
wow...and i thought florida's PIP was a crook of poop. What is the purpose of having insurance then? If you are in a wreck, I thought the insurance took care of any damages to the car and people. In GA, apparently you sue the person....lol Better hope a rich person hits you, otherwise you wont get a dime.
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Gulf -
Why do you believe that you would sue the insurance company? What did the insurance company do to injure you? (not you personally in this case of course).
 
N

nottelybill

Member
My wife has plenty of auto insurance and medical insurance. But why should they pay,they didn't cause the accident. Small claims court in Ga. has a $15,000 limit and we are not talking about that much. I guess I am old fashion but to not even pay for the full medical bills much less the pain and suffering ( I can assure you from my stand point there was a lot of that.) But you are right -go after the guy who caused it all and let him deal with his insurance company. thanks for all the input , now any other advice, before we file?
 
T

tammy8

Senior Member
Okay so you are saying that your wife's injuries are over the minimum limit (or over the limits that the person causing the accident has) or do you and your wife think that you deserve more money than the final payout of the settlement from the insurance company?

While I totally believe like you in that people need to be held accountable for their actions, I am just trying to get the full picture so that we can help advise you to your best and easiest route.

Again what are your uninsured AND UNDERINSURED coverages----I am mainly interested in UNDERINSURED COVERAGES?
 
G

GulfBreeze

Member
Zigner said:
Gulf -
Why do you believe that you would sue the insurance company? What did the insurance company do to injure you? (not you personally in this case of course).
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The insurance company wasn't the one who hit the person....But they insured them. The purpose of insurance is to protect your assets from being taken away or lost. If I were in a car collision (not accident since accident tends to imply that they was no fault or unpreventable...its collision because there was an impact caused by items colliding)...anyways, if I were to be in a collision and it was my fault, I would expect my insurance to pay for my damages (if I had full coverage) and also pay for the damages to the other car since it was my fault. That is what insurance is for. Why in the world do we have it if not? In FL, if you have this situation....your insurance pays for your damages, and my insurance pays for mine...its called NO FAULT insurance (no fault state was to relieve the courts of lawsuits about who was at fault in these collisions) and that is what is used in FL. PIP covers personal injury protection and it doesn't matter who is at fault. Your PIP covers your injuries...AND:eek: FL doesn't allow for anything else such as pain and suffering unless it is permanent...just actual medical bills and only up to the limit on your policy minus any deductible if applies. The amount that is over this would have to be recovered by your medical adjuster from your company or if push comes to shove, hiring an attorney to sue the company for it. I know this all too well as it happen to us not too long ago. People in NW FL don't know how to drive. Red lights are nothing more than ornaments hanging in intersections. Stop signs are nothing more than objects for kids to throw stuff at. People drive around like they are the only ones on the road and see no other cars. Brakes are rarely used and the gas peddle would be welded to the floor id possible. Granted most people who drive poorly are from South AL who drive over the border, but not all. And you would think people around here know how to drive in rain....wrong.

I know this isn't the same state and we are getting off subject.

I just thought insurance companies were insuring us....not just collecting money for nothing. Now if my insurance policy had a limit of 25,000 and the other side had more damages and were not at fault..then I would be expected to be sued.
 
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G

GulfBreeze

Member
nottelybill said:
My wife has plenty of auto insurance and medical insurance. But why should they pay,they didn't cause the accident. Small claims court in Ga. has a $15,000 limit and we are not talking about that much. I guess I am old fashion but to not even pay for the full medical bills much less the pain and suffering ( I can assure you from my stand point there was a lot of that.) But you are right -go after the guy who caused it all and let him deal with his insurance company. thanks for all the input , now any other advice, before we file?
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pain and suffering? in FL you must show that it is permanent...not old school where you show up to court with a c-collar and say it hurts. They will pay for chiropractor visits and rehab but if its not an injury that will last forever with some sort of disability, in the state of FL you are SOL. We also have the NO FAULT clause. The other driver in our accident was with GIECO as well as us. That made matters worse since we were going after our insurance company but against a different adjuster who was trying to save their customer and ultimately their money (the insurance company's). Best of luck with your situation in your state...Just don't ever move to FL..you will be in for a rude awaking.
 
E

ecmst12

Senior Member
You ALWAYS, in every state, sue the at-fault driver and NEVER his insurance company. His insurance company has a contract with HIM, not you. The party that damaged you is the DRIVER, not his insurance. The insurance company merely has a duty to defend their insured (up to the policy limits) and pay out any judgements awarded (up to the policy limits).

The only time you would sue an insurance company would be if it was your OWN insurer and you felt they were not handling your case in good faith. In rare cases you might have a claim for bad faith against the other person's insurance, but since that company does not have a contract with you, it would be very rare.
 
E

ecmst12

Senior Member
And Gulf, quit hijacking other people's threads to rant about your state. Florida's laws have NOTHING to do with this post.
 
M

moburkes

Senior Member
GulfBreeze said:
The insurance company wasn't the one who hit the person....But they insured them. The purpose of insurance is to protect your assets from being taken away or lost. If I were in a car collision (not accident since accident tends to imply that they was no fault or unpreventable...its collision because there was an impact caused by items colliding)...anyways, if I were to be in a collision and it was my fault, I would expect my insurance to pay for my damages (if I had full coverage) and also pay for the damages to the other car since it was my fault. That is what insurance is for. Why in the world do we have it if not? In FL, if you have this situation....your insurance pays for your damages, and my insurance pays for mine...its called NO FAULT insurance (no fault state was to relieve the courts of lawsuits about who was at fault in these collisions) and that is what is used in FL. PIP covers personal injury protection and it doesn't matter who is at fault. Your PIP covers your injuries...AND:eek: FL doesn't allow for anything else such as pain and suffering unless it is permanent...just actual medical bills and only up to the limit on your policy minus any deductible if applies. The amount that is over this would have to be recovered by your medical adjuster from your company or if push comes to shove, hiring an attorney to sue the company for it. I know this all too well as it happen to us not too long ago. People in NW FL don't know how to drive. Red lights are nothing more than ornaments hanging in intersections. Stop signs are nothing more than objects for kids to throw stuff at. People drive around like they are the only ones on the road and see no other cars. Brakes are rarely used and the gas peddle would be welded to the floor id possible. Granted most people who drive poorly are from South AL who drive over the border, but not all. And you would think people around here know how to drive in rain....wrong.

I know this isn't the same state and we are getting off subject.

I just thought insurance companies were insuring us....not just collecting money for nothing. Now if my insurance policy had a limit of 25,000 and the other side had more damages and were not at fault..then I would be expected to be sued.
Click to expand...
You have the wrong idea about NO FAULT. You're partially right, but where you are wrong you are so wrong.
 
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