There were roughly 36,640 deaths tied to motor vehicle collisions in 2025, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a 6.7% decrease from the previous year. During just the first half of the year, NHTSA had estimated about 17,140 deaths, an even sharper 8.2% drop compared to the same period in 2024. Despite this, millions of incidents still happen every year.
Car accidents can happen unexpectedly in many ways, and it is possible for any car accident to be a life-changing event for those involved. These incidents can cause catastrophic injuries, extensive financial losses, and a host of complex legal challenges.
According to car accident lawyer Dalton Trammell, having a personal injury lawyer on your side can mean having someone who will advocate for you, who knows the insurance and legal systems, and who can make it their goal to help you in the pursuit of your desired outcomes.
Knowing when a driver may be sued after an automobile accident, what proof needs to be produced to show that the driver was at fault, and how the liability is established could be useful for both parties after a collision.
Insurance Is Usually the First Line of Recovery
Even those who have insurance may face lawsuits, because their coverage may not be sufficient to cover all that the other person is experiencing, especially when there is any form of bodily harm, disability, or death from the accident.
Most states, including Georgia and California, operate under a fault-based system for auto accidents, meaning the driver responsible for causing a crash is financially responsible for the resulting damage. In practice, the at-fault driver's auto insurance policy first carries that responsibility.
A person injured in a crash typically files a claim against that policy seeking compensation for medical bills, vehicle repairs, and lost income before any lawsuit is ever discussed. Processes for most accidents are settled without either party setting foot in a courtroom.
When a Lawsuit Becomes Necessary
Can you get sued for a car accident? A lawsuit is only required if the amount of damages suffered by the victim is more than what the insurance of the at-fault driver will cover. Insurance minimums differ greatly from one state to another, and in most cases, they are set far too low to cover the expenses incurred by an injury.
For example, in the state of California, the requirement is $30,000 worth of bodily injury liability insurance per person (raised from $15,000 as of January 2025), but that is still very quickly exhausted once the victim goes to the hospital. Once the limits of the policy are exhausted, then it becomes a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault driver.
Comparative Fault Can Reduce What You Owe
Getting sued doesn't automatically mean you will pay the whole amount a plaintiff is asking for. In many states, there’s some version of comparative negligence, so the plaintiff’s money is trimmed based on how much blame is theirs in the accident.
For instance, if a driver is claiming $100,000, but later it’s decided they were 30% responsible for the crash, then the payout gets reduced by that 30%.
On top of that, some states even stop recovery entirely once the plaintiff passes a certain fault limit, so figuring out how the collision really played out and who did what can end up mattering just as much as the dollar amount being claimed, maybe even more.
What a Lawsuit Can Take From You
A judgment against an at-fault driver can end up covering both economic harms, like medical costs, vehicle fixes, or replacement costs plus lost wages, and also non-economic harms like pain and suffering.
Georgia is one of those states where there isn’t any statutory cap on pain and suffering damages in motor vehicle cases, but the state’s modified comparative fault rule can stop a plaintiff from collecting anything at all once they’re judged more than 50% at fault.
Since these rules can be different so dramatically from state to state, the real financial risk of getting sued after a crash depends a lot on exactly where the accident occurred.
Protecting Yourself After an Accident
Whether or not a case ever really reaches a courtroom tends to hinge on the choices made in the hours and days right after a crash.
In case of an accident, there are important steps you need to take. This includes getting 911 involved so there’s a police report that exists, steering clear of any wording that could be read as an admission of fault, and jotting down what happened by taking photos plus getting witness contact details. All of them end up shaping how a claim, and later on any kind of lawsuit, turns out.
The deadline to file a personal injury claim is usually counted in just a couple of years from the date of the crash, but it can be shorter based on the state. As such, drivers on both sides of the accident are generally better off getting a handle on their possible exposure early instead of sitting back and waiting for a demand letter to show up.
