Sued by your own passenger after a crash you caused, while you are hurt and out of work

Attorney Answer

If you have been served with a lawsuit, send the papers to your insurance company the same day, because a served defendant has 30 days to answer. Whether your passenger can still reach you personally depends on what they signed when they settled with your insurer, if they did. Under a limited release, the suit can go on only to reach other insurance, such as the passenger's own uninsured-motorist coverage, and you are released from personal liability beyond that.

Your passenger can sue you. O.C.G.A. § 51-1-36:

The operator of a motor vehicle owes to passengers therein the same duty of ordinary care owed to others.

If they settled under a limited release. O.C.G.A. § 33-24-41.1(b):

(b) The limited release provided for in subsection (a) of this Code section shall:

(1) Release the settling carrier from all liability from any claims of the claimant or claimants based on injuries to such claimant or claimants; and

(2) Release the insured tort-feasor covered by the policy of the settling carrier from all personal liability from any and all claims arising from the occurrence on which the claim is based except to the extent other insurance coverage is available which covers such claim or claims.

So a suit after a limited release is usually aimed at the passenger's own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. In Thompson v. Allstate Insurance Co., 285 Ga. 24, 673 S.E.2d 227 (2009), the Supreme Court of Georgia held that a claimant who signed a limited release preserving those claims could keep suing the released driver to establish them, once the liability limits were exhausted. If what your passenger signed was a general release, it may end the claim altogether; a lawyer needs to read it.

Who defends you. Your policy decides that. Whether your insurer still has to defend you after paying out its limits depends on the policy's wording: in Gibson v. Preferred Risk Mutual Insurance Co., 216 Ga. App. 871, 456 S.E.2d 248 (1995), a policy said the duty to defend ended when the limit was exhausted, and good-faith settlements that used up the limit ended it.

The deadline to answer. O.C.G.A. § 9-11-12(a):

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, a defendant shall serve an answer within 30 days after the service of the summons and complaint upon the defendant, unless otherwise provided by statute.

Your own losses. Because you were the driver at fault, you would have a claim against someone else only if someone else shared the fault, and Georgia bars recovery at 50 percent. O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33(g):

(g) Notwithstanding the provisions of this Code section or any other provisions of law which might be construed to the contrary, the plaintiff shall not be entitled to receive any damages if the plaintiff is 50 percent or more responsible for the injury or damages claimed.

Your own policy may include medical payments coverage, which generally pays regardless of fault; check the declarations page.

What you can do

1. Send any lawsuit papers to your insurer and your agent the day you receive them, and keep proof that you did.

2. Ask your insurer whether your passenger settled, and for a copy of any release they signed.

3. Do not discuss the crash or the lawsuit with your passenger or their lawyer; refer them to your insurer.

4. Keep your medical records and proof of lost work, in case someone else shared the fault.

5. Even if you are handling this yourself, you would be best served by a brief phone consultation with a local Georgia attorney before you act. Most lawyers offer a short initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts — and on how your court actually handles this — is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. A served defendant must answer within 30 days of service under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-12(a)(1). Missing that deadline can lead to a default judgment, so do not wait to hear back from your insurer before calling a lawyer.