Legal Question in Personal Injury in Georgia
My husband was in an accident involving a minor pedestrian in a parking lot in Georgia. The child ran into the side of his vehicle (darted out from between parked cars) injuring her leg. The police found the accident to be no fault of my husband as did his insurance carrier. Claims were filed by the child's parents but our insurance carrier has denied them. However, we were told that the family of the child may file a law suit against my husband personally in an attempt to gain a settlement which could easily exceed the limit of the policy. We realized that in a case concerning a child, there can be a sympathy element that surpasses who is legally at fault. My question is if the child's family won a monetary award, would my husband be soley responsible or would we both be financially responsible as a married couple? He is 60 yrs cold, unemployed, in poor health & has very little assets having lost his business due to the recession. My mother recently passed away and left me her small condo in FL. It is deeded to me alone and is currently our residence. Would my inheritance be considered his asset because of our marital status? I did not own the condo at the time of the accident. Sorry this is so wordy. We have never had faced a legal matter such as this before. Thank you.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Never worry about a non-existent problem.
In the event you are sued, you will have great lawyers paid by your insurer who certainly will not want to pay out a lot. Unless a case is actually filed, stop thinking about it.
Your assets, unless his name is on them, are not at risk.
While I agree generally with the previous answer by Mr. Ashman there is cause for concern if your husband gets sued "in excess of the policy limit" of his policy. I think you need a personal attorney to monitor the situation who is an expert in insurance/tort law. There are several in Cobb County who would meet that definition. If you contact me I will refer you, free of charge.