Yes. In Georgia, anyone can file a lawsuit, including the driver who caused the crash. They can even win something, as long as a jury finds they were less than half to blame. Being sued isn’t a finding that you did anything wrong. A Marietta car accident attorney can tell you where you stand once you’ve been served.
Why can the driver who caused the crash still sue me?
Because fault isn’t settled at the scene. A police report carries weight. It doesn’t bind a court, and the officer didn’t watch the crash happen. The other driver can tell a different story about who had the light, or say you were speeding on Cobb Parkway when you weren’t.
Georgia also lets someone who is partly to blame collect something. That’s modified comparative fault, and it’s why an at-fault driver can still bring legal action against you.
How much fault ends their claim in Georgia?
Half. Under Georgia’s comparative negligence statute, a person who is 50 percent or more at fault for their own damages recovers nothing.
Below that line, the award drops by their share of fault. Say a jury values their damages at $100,000 and finds them 40 percent at fault. They collect $60,000.
The bar is 50 percent or more, not more than 50 percent. A driver found exactly half at fault in Georgia walks away with nothing.
Who pays for a lawyer to defend me?
Your insurance company, in most cases. Liability coverage usually carries a duty to defend. That means your insurer hires and pays a defense lawyer even if it never pays a dollar on the claim itself.
Two things to do the day you’re served. Send the paperwork to your insurance company, and stop talking to the other driver’s adjuster. Insurance claims get harder to defend once your recorded statement is already in the file.
It’s important to read what you were served with, too. The complaint says what the other driver claims happened and how much money they want. The summons says how long you have to answer. Miss that deadline and a court can rule against you without hearing your side.
Can I sue them back in the same lawsuit?
In Georgia, you generally have to. A claim that comes out of the same crash is a compulsory counterclaim, so it belongs in that lawsuit rather than in one you file later.
If you hand the suit to your insurer and stay quiet about your own injuries, you can lose the chance to raise them at all. That covers your medical expenses, lost wages, property damage, and pain and suffering.
A personal injury attorney can put that counterclaim in for you. The same evidence that defends you often proves it, since the crash photos and the repair estimates do both jobs.
How long do they have to sue me?
Two years from the date of the crash. Georgia’s injury deadline applies to their claim against you, and once the window closes, a claim generally can’t be brought. That’s also why evidence in car accident cases is worth preserving as early as possible.
Your own claim runs on the same two-year clock, and it doesn’t pause because somebody sued you first. That’s a reason to have a lawyer look at your side the week you’re served, not the month your answer is due.
Injured and need a fighter? Call Nick Schnyder!
Our firm has handled Georgia car accident cases since 2016, and Nick Schnyder is a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America. If you’ve been served, or you were hurt by the person now suing you, a personal injury lawyer on our team can look at both sides of it. The consultation is free. Call (470) 837-3403 or contact us online.
