Hit-and-Run Accident in Georgia: Who Pays Your Injuries?

In most Georgia hit-and-run crashes, your own uninsured motorist (UM) coverage pays your injury claim. Georgia law treats a driver who cannot be identified as uninsured, so UM can cover medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering (O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11(b)(2)). To use it, you need physical contact with the other vehicle or an eyewitness other than you, and the crash must be reported to police immediately (O.C.G.A. §§ 33-7-11(c) and 40-6-273).

MedPay, health insurance and a household member’s UM policy may also help. You generally have two years from the crash to settle or sue (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33). This guide explains each source and the steps to protect your claim in the first days.

Who Pays Your Medical Bills After a Hit-and-Run in Georgia?

When the driver is not found, there is no at-fault insurance policy to claim against. Your own auto policy steps in. Georgia requires every auto liability policy to include UM coverage unless a named insured rejected it in writing (O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11(a)(1) and (a)(3)).

That means the insurer you pay each month becomes the company you negotiate with. It owes you a fair evaluation, but it still has an interest in paying less. If the driver is later identified, their liability insurance pays first, and your UM coverage can add to it.

Adjusters usually test a hit-and-run UM claim first on the contact, eyewitness and reporting rules below. Our guide to uninsured motorist coverage in Georgia covers UM in more depth.

Written by attorney Jonathan Flack. Before founding Flack Injury Law, Jonathan spent two and a half years on the insurance side of commercial truck, tractor-trailer and medical transport van cases. Super Lawyers Rising Star (2024 to 2027). The National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40, Civil Plaintiff (2026). GTLA member. Last reviewed: November 3, 2026.

What Georgia Law Requires of a Driver Who Leaves

A driver in a crash that injures someone must stop and stay at the scene (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-270(a)). The driver must:

• Give their name, address and the vehicle’s registration number.
• Show their driver’s license if asked and if it is available.
• Give reasonable help to anyone injured, including arranging transport for medical treatment when it is needed or requested.
• Make every reasonable effort to contact emergency medical services and police if an injured person cannot communicate.

Knowingly leaving a crash that causes death or a serious injury is a felony punished by one to five years in prison (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-270(b)). Leaving after a less serious injury is a misdemeanor (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-270(c)).

A criminal case is separate from your injury claim. Police may not find the driver, and your UM claim does not depend on an arrest.

When Does Georgia Treat a Hit-and-Run Driver as Uninsured?

A vehicle is “deemed to be uninsured if the owner or operator of the motor vehicle is unknown” (O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11(b)(2)). To recover, you must meet one of two conditions and a reporting rule.

Condition 1: physical contact

The statute requires that “actual physical contact shall have occurred between the motor vehicle owned or operated by the unknown person and the person or property of the insured.” Contact with your body or your car counts.

Condition 2: an eyewitness other than you

Contact is not required “if the description by the claimant of how the occurrence occurred is corroborated by an eyewitness to the occurrence other than the claimant.” This matters when a driver runs you off the road without touching your car.

The reporting rule

You, “or someone on his behalf,” must “report the accident as required by Code Section 40-6-273” (O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11(c)). That section requires notice “immediately, by the quickest means of communication.” Inside a city, report to the local police. Outside a city, report to the county sheriff or the nearest State Patrol office.

The statute sets no number of days, and Georgia courts read “immediately” strictly. In Navarro v. Atlanta Casualty Co. (Ga. Ct. App. 2001), a passenger’s UM claim failed because the crash was reported four or five days later. In Pender v. Doe (Ga. Ct. App. 2005), a 29-day delay barred the claim, even though the injured rider had knee surgery. If you are hospitalized, a family member can report for you.

How Much Can Your Uninsured Motorist Coverage Pay?

Your UM limit is on your declarations page. Georgia’s minimum UM limit is $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident (O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11(a)(1)(A)). Many people carry more.

Add-on or reduced-by coverage

Georgia’s default is “added-on” UM. It pays in addition to the at-fault driver’s insurance, up to your total losses (O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11(b)(1)(D)(ii)). “Reduced-by” UM, which you must select in writing, pays only the difference between the other driver’s limits and yours.

In a true hit-and-run, there is no at-fault policy to subtract, so either type usually pays up to your UM limit. The choice matters if the driver is later found and turns out to be insured.

Household policies and more than one policy

Georgia’s UM statute covers the named insured and, while living in the same household, a spouse and relatives “while in a motor vehicle or otherwise” (O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11(b)(1)(B)). So a parent’s or spouse’s UM policy may cover you, even if you were walking. Georgia courts have allowed UM coverage from separate policies to be stacked when you are an insured under each one, but your combined recovery cannot exceed your actual losses (Horace Mann Insurance Corp. v. Mercer, Ga. Ct. App. 2002). The terms of each policy still matter.

Our client was injured in a T-bone (side-impact) collision in Atlanta, Georgia. We pursued every available policy, including the client’s stacked uninsured motorist coverage, and resolved the claim for $325,000 for the client. That case did not involve a hit-and-run, but the same search for every policy applies. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. See our case results.

Other Ways to Pay Medical Bills While Your Claim Is Open

UM claims take time, and treatment for neck, back and other injuries can last months. These sources can help in the meantime:

• Medical payments coverage (MedPay). It is optional in Georgia. If your policy has it, it reimburses medical costs “without regard to the insured’s liability for the accident,” for people in the covered vehicle (O.C.G.A. § 33-34-2(1)).
• Health insurance. Use it for treatment. Your plan may seek repayment from a settlement.
• Collision coverage. It can pay for your car’s damage, subject to your deductible.

See how to manage medical bills while your claim is pending.

What to Do in the First Days After a Hit-and-Run

• Call 911 or the local police right away. Georgia requires an immediate report, so calling right away helps protect your UM claim. Get the report number, then read the Georgia crash report for errors.
• Write down what you remember. Note the color, make, partial plate, damage and direction of travel.
• Find witnesses. Get names and phone numbers. An independent eyewitness can satisfy the UM rule if there was no contact.
• Ask for video quickly. Gas stations, stores, homes with doorbell cameras and transit buses may have footage. Some systems record over old video, so ask in the first days.
• Photograph everything. Your car, paint transfer, debris, the scene and your injuries.
• Get medical care and follow up. Pain that lasts for months needs a clear treatment record that links it to the crash.
• Notify your own insurer promptly. Your policy likely has notice terms. Give the facts, but be careful with recorded statements about your injuries.

If you were walking when you were hit, see what to do after being hit by a car while walking in Atlanta.

How a John Doe Lawsuit Works, and the Two-Year Deadline

Many UM claims settle without a lawsuit. If yours does not, Georgia lets you sue the unknown driver as “John Doe” (O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11(d)). A copy of the suit must be served on your UM insurer “as though the insurance company were actually named as a party defendant.”

• Your insurer may defend the case in the name of “John Doe” or in its own name.
• You choose where to file: the county where the crash happened or the county where you live (O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11(d)(1)).
• The two-year deadline still applies (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33). File the suit and serve your UM insurer well before it runs.

If the driver is found, the claim can shift to their insurance, with your UM coverage as backup. When the at-fault insurer will not pay, see what to do when the other driver’s insurance won’t pay.

Why Hit-and-Run Victims Call Flack Injury Law

A hit-and-run claim is usually a claim against your own insurer, decided on technical rules. We represent injured people only. Jonathan keeps a limited caseload and works directly on every case, from finding every UM policy in your household to filing a John Doe suit when needed.

Call (678) 653-0309. Calls are answered 24/7, and the consultation is free. You owe no fee and no case costs unless we recover money for you.

Hit-and-Run Accident Questions

Related Guides

• Do You Have Enough Uninsured Motorist Coverage in Georgia?
• Insurance Denied Your Injury Claim in Georgia? What to Do Next
• Hit by a Car While Walking in Atlanta: What to Do, Who Pays and Who to Call
• How to Read a Georgia Crash Report (and Fix Mistakes in It)

See all our guides for people hurt in Georgia crashes.