Most car crashes in Georgia are inconvenient but not life-altering. They damage someone’s vehicle and disrupt their day, but everyone eventually moves on from the situation with minimal losses. Unfortunately, a small percentage of the crashes that occur in Georgia each year result in people dying. Crashes where someone hits a pedestrian, motorcycle rider or cyclist could very easily prove fatal. Collisions between two motor vehicles can also lead to fatalities.
When a crash costs someone their life, surviving loved ones often have to take legal action to protect themselves and hold the driver who caused the crash accountable. Frequently, families choose to file wrongful death lawsuits after fatal collisions. Why is litigation a common choice after a deadly wreck in Georgia?
Lawsuits can potentially cover what insurance will not
Technically, every driver in Georgia must carry liability coverage to reimburse those affected by crashes they cause. Unfortunately, the mandatory insurance in Georgia is not nearly enough to cover major medical expenses and a lifetime of lost wages.
Many drivers only have $25,000 worth of bodily injury liability coverage. There could be more than that available if they have better coverage, but some drivers don’t have an active policy at all despite the law requiring them to purchase a policy. A crash could cause multiple times the amount of available insurance in losses for a family or even more. While insurance is subject to very strict policy limits, wrongful death lawsuits allow families to recover the full economic impact of losing a loved one.
Survivors need closure
Wrongful death lawsuits are also a means of providing those who lose a loved one with a sense of justice. Even if the state prosecutes someone for irresponsible driving habits, the consequences they face may pale in comparison to the impact of losing a loved one in such an unexpected and tragic manner. A successful wrongful death lawsuit creates more consequences for irresponsible drivers or businesses that cause fatal collisions. Prevailing in court can give families a sense of closure and justice otherwise denied to them. There is nothing frivolous or inappropriate about holding someone accountable for the true impact of a deadly collision.
Learning more about wrongful death lawsuits can help people demand justice when they tragically lose a loved one after a motor vehicle collision caused by another’s negligence.