There exists a claim under Georgia law known as negligent entrustment. Negligent entrustment occurs when an owner entrusts the owner's vehicle to another person who the owner knows to be incompetent or unfit to use it. Such a claim would apply in this case if your friend has a bad driving... View More

Yes. You and your girlfriend have a personal injury claim for the bodily injuries you suffered in the collision. If you (or the police) are able to locate the at fault driver and his/her insurance company, you both can bring a claim against that insurance company. If the at fault driver is not... View More

There is a difference between a claim and a lawsuit. If your friend is pursuing a claim, he can do that directly with the insurance company. However, if he is filing a lawsuit, you will be sued as the defendant since you are the alleged negligent party. Whenever a person is named in a lawsuit,... View More

Generally speaking, Georgia law provides 30 days to file a response to a lawsuit (known as an Answer). The 30 day "clock" begins to run from the date of service. Missing the 30 day deadline can bring with it dire consequences as then a default can be entered.

In your case, I... View More

I would strongly, strongly urge you to retain counsel to represent you. Filing an answer is not easy. If some defenses are not raised, they are waived forever. Nevertheless, if you insist on proceeding pro se, you can find an Answer form at the following link:... View More

You need to serve USAA's registered agent. You can find the registered agent by looking on the website for the Office of the Georgia Secretary of State - Corporation's Division. Here is the link - https://ecorp.sos.ga.gov/BusinessSearch. My only word of caution is to make sure you have... View More

I am concerned the insurance adjuster is attempting to take advantage of you. The adjuster should be issuing to you a settlement check which compensates you for medical bills + lost wages + pain and suffering. The fact that the adjuster is attempting to pay the medical care providers directly for... View More

Not exactly. Rule 6.6 of the Uniform Superior Court Rules provides "[m]otions for summary judgment shall be filed sufficiently early so as not to delay the trial. No trial shall be continued by reason of the delayed filing of a motion for summary judgment." The fact that the MSJ was... View More

Your question would be best directed towards your attorney since he/she knows the particular facts of your case best. Nevertheless, in an effort to provide you a response, I will answer your question the best I can.

For starters, insurance companies are not the named defendant in a... View More

This issue is governed by the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act since both Florida and Georgia adopted the law. Please see OCGA §§ 24-13-110 — 24-13-116 and follow it accordingly in order to have Georgia witness appear in court.

Under Georgia law, there can be no recovery for emotional distress unless you also suffered a physical injury. Georgia has what is known as the Impact Rule. This Rule provides that in order for a person to recover for emotional distress, there must be (1) a physical impact to the victim, (2) the... View More

Following an accident in which a vehicle is totaled, the owner of the totaled vehicle is entitled to the fair market value (FMV) of the vehicle at the time of the crash. In other words, if your vehicle had a FMV of $5,000 at the time of the crash, $5,000 is all you can recover no matter the amount... View More

There are two kinds of subpoenas: (1) a witness subpoena and (2) a subpoena for the production of evidence. Since your question pertains to a private company, I assume you intend to subpoena documents (i.e., evidence). In any case, the subpoena statutes may be found from OCGA 24-13-20 to OCGA... View More

This statute (O.C.G. A. § 33-24-41.1) addressed instances when there are two insurance policies which apply to the same claim. It allows for a claimant (i.e., the injured person who is asserting the claim) to recover the policy limits from the primary policy and then pursue a second policy. The... View More

Indemnification clauses (also known as hold harmless agreements) are standard in every release signed by a personal injury claimant. In fact, it would be shocking if the insurance company failed to include such a clause in the release.

In terms of of the court action, I assume you are... View More

There are two separate issues which you have combined in your question: Personal jurisdiction and service. Personal jurisdiction refers to a court's authority to adjudicate the rights and liability of the defendant. In an auto wreck case, a court has personal jurisdiction if the wreck... View More

If there is no lien, I have never heard of an insurance company insisting on paying the medical bills and the pain and suffering separately. In fact, one would think the insurance company would not want deal with the hassle of paying individual medical care providers. Simply issuing one check to... View More

Yes, providing your social security number is typical. The reason that insurance companies ask for your social security number is they want to confirm whether Medicare/CMS paid any of your medical bills. If the answer is yes, Medicare/CMS has a lien which, if left unpaid, can result in the... View More

Definitionally speaking, general damages are those which the law presumes to flow from any tortious (i.e., wrongful) act. There is no formula in calculating them. Ultimately, general damages (frequently referred to pain and suffering) are determined by the enlightened consciousness of fair and... View More

In order to pursue a dental malpractice claim, you (or your attorney) would need to establish that the treatment provided by the dentist fell below the acceptable standard of care and caused you personal injuries. In order to make out such a claim, you (or your attorney) would have to obtain an... View More