How Georgia Handles Rental Car Accident Claims
The rental car market is at least a $100 billion industry. While fees may seem fair on their face, everyone knows what happens when you get to the rental car counter: optional insurance for nearly the same price as the rental and extra fees for added drivers and gas. If you decline the optional insurance and get into an accident with or involving a rental car, the experienced accident lawyers at Essa, Janho & Associates, LLC in Georgia will be able to help you.
Primary Insurance Liability for Rental Car Accidents in Georgia
Vehicle owners are responsible for insuring their cars under Georgia’s mandatory auto insurance laws. When you get into an accident that’s not your fault, the insurance policy covering the vehicle must generally pay your bodily injury claims, including:
- ER and ambulance bills
- Medical transportation
- Doctors’ and nursing costs
- Medications and medical equipment
- Lost income and benefits
- Physical pain
- Emotional suffering
- Inconvenience and frustration
The insurance must also cover vehicle damage and incidentals, such as the cost of transporting you home if you’re injured on vacation in Atlanta. However, it doesn’t work this way with rental cars.
While rental companies must carry mandatory auto insurance, the driver’s personal auto insurance policy kicks in to cover bodily injury claims. This means you must obtain the liable driver’s private insurance information or the additional optional personal injury coverage offered by some rental car companies. If the driver was renting because he or she did not have insurance, you must file a claim with your uninsured motorist policy.
How the Federal Graves Amendment Applies to Rental Car Accidents
When you’re involved in a traditional car accident, the negligent driver is the primary liable party. Injured claimants can also sue the vehicle owner, and if applicable, a working driver’s employer under vicarious liability laws. These laws hold vehicle owners and employers liable for allowing a negligent driver to operate the vehicle. Although this legal principle should apply to rental car companies – as the companies own the vehicles – the ‘Graves Amendment’ protects them from vicarious liability.
This federal law (49 U.S.C. § 30106) shields rental car companies from financial liability for accidents caused by negligent drivers operating rental vehicles. However, an experienced rental car liability lawyer might help you hold the company liable by showing that it rented an unsafe vehicle or otherwise allowed a driver to operate it in violation of the law. Examples include renting the vehicle to an unlicensed driver or allowing cars off the lot with flat tires.
Atlanta Area Rental Car Accident Injury Attorneys
If you’re injured in an accident involving a rental car, which isn’t uncommon around the busiest airport in the world, different insurance liability laws apply. You still have the right to obtain personal injury damages from liable drivers and their insurers, but it can be difficult to file the correct claim.
In some cases, our experienced Georgia rental car accident lawyers might also help you hold the rental car company directly liable for allowing an unsafe vehicle or driver on the road. Discuss the best options for maximizing available compensation in rental car crash cases with our dedicated legal team today.
Call us today at 770-955-8322, English or Spanish, 770-771-3658, or contact us online to schedule a free consultation.