Hit by a Company Vehicle in Georgia: Who Pays?

Usually the employer pays. Georgia makes an employer liable when its employee causes a crash while doing the company’s work (O.C.G.A. § 51-2-2). The company’s commercial auto insurance usually pays the claim. Call a personal injury lawyer who handles commercial vehicle and trucking claims, because these cases turn on company records and layered insurance.

The answer can change if the driver was commuting, was an independent contractor or was driving a personal car. This guide covers each situation.

Who Pays When a Company Work Truck Hits You in Georgia?

Under the rule called respondeat superior, a company is liable for an employee’s negligence committed within the scope of the employee’s work (O.C.G.A. § 51-2-2). A plumber driving between jobs or a driver on a delivery route usually fits.

Ownership of the vehicle helps you. Georgia presumes that an employee driving the employer’s vehicle was acting within the scope of employment (Allen Kane’s Major Dodge, Inc. v. Barnes, 243 Ga. 776 (1979)). The company can overcome that presumption only with clear, positive and uncontradicted evidence. If it does, you must point to other evidence that the driver was on company business (Bedford v. Awod, 248 Ga. App. 28 (2001)).

Commuting and personal errands

Driving to or from work is generally treated as personal, unless the employer sent the driver on a special mission. In Betsill v. Scale Systems, Inc., 269 Ga. App. 393 (2004), an on-call manager driving a company truck on a Saturday was outside the scope of his job because he chose his errands himself.

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 1, 2026.

Can You Also Sue the Company for Hiring or Trusting a Bad Driver?

Often, yes. A company can be directly liable for its own negligence in hiring, training, supervising or keeping a driver. It can also be liable for entrusting a vehicle to an unsafe driver.

Georgia’s Court of Appeals used to end these claims once the employer admitted the driver was on the job, unless the injured person also had a valid punitive damages claim. The Supreme Court of Georgia ended that rule in Quynn v. Hulsey, 310 Ga. 473 (2020). It held that a jury may assign fault to the employer for its own negligence, even when the employer admits agency (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33).

You still must prove the company’s own negligence. Driving records, background checks and prior complaints are the usual proof. These claims can also fail if the driver was not doing company business at the time (Centurion Industries, Inc. v. Smithwick, Ga. Ct. App. 2019).

What If the Driver Was an Independent Contractor?

Companies often say the driver was a contractor. In Georgia, an employer generally is not liable for a contractor who runs an independent business and is not under the employer’s immediate direction and control (O.C.G.A. § 51-2-4).

That defense has exceptions. A company may still be liable if it kept the right to control the time and manner of the work. It may also be liable if it breached a duty imposed by statute or by its own contract, or ratified the wrong (O.C.G.A. § 51-2-5).

Owner-operators and leased trucks

Trucking adds a federal layer. When an owner-operator leases a truck to a motor carrier, the lease must give the carrier exclusive possession, control and use of the truck. The carrier must also assume complete responsibility for its operation (49 C.F.R. § 376.12(c)(1)). Georgia’s Court of Appeals has held that a motor carrier is responsible to the public for the operation of its leased trucks, whether the driver is called an employee or an independent contractor (PN Express, Inc. v. Zegel, 304 Ga. App. 672 (2010)).

Delivery networks raise the same question. See our pages on delivery vehicle accidents and Amazon delivery accidents.

Which Insurance Pays After a Company Vehicle Crash?

Usually the company’s commercial auto policy. Many businesses buy more than the legal minimum, which depends on the vehicle and the business:

• Ordinary company cars, pickups and vans: at least $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident and $25,000 for property damage (O.C.G.A. §§ 33-34-4, 40-9-37 and 33-7-11).
• Georgia for-hire carriers: carriers certified by the Department of Public Safety generally need at least $100,000 per person, $300,000 per accident and $50,000 for property damage, unless another rule sets the amount (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 570-38-2-.05). Passenger carriers have their own schedule (r. 570-38-4-.04).
• Interstate for-hire trucks: $750,000 for general freight in vehicles of 10,001 pounds or more, $1,000,000 for oil and many hazardous materials, and $5,000,000 for certain high-risk hazardous materials (49 C.F.R. § 387.9).

These are minimums, not caps. Our guide to how much insurance trucking companies carry in Georgia explains how to find every policy.

Can you sue the insurer directly?

Usually not. Georgia’s direct action statutes cover only certain motor carriers, and for crashes on or after July 1, 2024, Senate Bill 426 narrowed them further. You may join the carrier’s insurer only if a carrier tied to the claim is insolvent or bankrupt, or if the driver or carrier cannot be served after reasonable diligence (O.C.G.A. §§ 40-1-112(c) and 40-2-140(d)(4)).

What If the Employee Was Driving a Personal Car for Work?

Then the driver’s own auto policy usually pays first. The employer’s non-owned auto coverage, if any, usually applies as excess.

The employer can still be liable if the employee was doing the employer’s work, such as making a delivery. But the ownership presumption does not arise when the employee drives a personal car (Centurion), so you must prove the work connection with evidence. If the limits are too low, your own uninsured motorist coverage may help.

What If a City, County or State Vehicle Hit You?

Different rules apply, starting with written notice before suit. Notice is generally due within six months for a city (O.C.G.A. § 36-33-5), 12 months for a county (O.C.G.A. § 36-11-1) and 12 months for the State (O.C.G.A. § 50-21-26). The rules are technical, so act quickly. See Georgia filing deadlines.

What Evidence Proves the Company Is Responsible?

If you can, collect these at the scene:

• The company name, logo, truck number and any USDOT number on the doors.
• The driver’s name and employer, and anything the driver says about where they were headed.
• Photos of the vehicle, its plate and any equipment or cargo, plus witness names and the police report number.

The stronger proof is in the company’s hands: GPS and telematics data, dash camera video, dispatch and job records, maintenance records and the driver’s file.

Motor carriers covered by the federal hours-of-service rules must keep drivers’ records of duty status and supporting documents for six months (49 C.F.R. § 395.8(k)). Many lighter pickups and vans fall outside those rules, so their data may be kept only as long as company policy says.

A preservation letter asks the company to save specific records. Georgia law requires a party to preserve evidence once litigation is actually or reasonably anticipated, and a letter gives the company actual notice (Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. v. Koch, 303 Ga. 336 (2018)). See what evidence a trucking company has to keep after a crash.

How Did Georgia’s 2025 Tort Reform Change These Claims?

Senate Bill 68 and its companion, Senate Bill 69, both signed April 21, 2025, changed trial rules that matter here:

• Medical bills. For crashes on or after April 21, 2025, recovery is limited to the reasonable value of medically necessary care, and juries may see what health insurance would pay (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-1.1).
• Seat belts. In lawsuits filed on or after April 21, 2025, a jury may consider seat belt nonuse on negligence, causation and fault, and it may reduce your damages, subject to the judge’s evidence rulings (O.C.G.A. § 40-8-76.1(d)).
• Split trials. Any party may elect, in writing before the pretrial order, to have the jury decide fault before damages, with limited exceptions (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-15).
• Pain and suffering amounts. A lawyer may suggest a dollar figure only after the evidence closes, and it must be rationally related to the evidence (O.C.G.A. § 9-10-184).

SB 68 does not cap damages or change the two-year deadline to file suit (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33). Our SB 68 guide explains each change.

What Kind of Lawyer Should You Call After a Company Vehicle Crash?

Call a personal injury lawyer who handles commercial vehicle and trucking claims. These cases turn on employment status, layered insurance, federal safety rules and company records.

Jonathan Flack spent two and a half years on the insurance side of commercial truck, tractor-trailer and medical transport van cases. He knows how companies and insurers investigate in the first days after a crash, and he files suit when an insurer will not pay fairly. See our Atlanta truck accident attorney page.

Results include $650,000: Tractor-Trailer Head-On Collision in Peachtree City, and $100,000: Trucking Crash on I-20 Near Augusta. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Call (678) 653-0309 for a free consultation. You can speak directly with Jonathan Flack. You owe no fee and no case costs unless we recover money for you.

Company Vehicle Crash Questions

Who pays if a company truck hits me in Georgia?

Usually the company’s commercial auto insurer, if the driver was working at the time (O.C.G.A. § 51-2-2).

Is a company liable if its employee was driving home from work?

Usually not. Georgia generally treats commuting as personal unless the employer sent the driver on a special mission, even in a company vehicle.

Can I sue the company even if it admits the driver was on the job?

Yes. Since Quynn v. Hulsey (Ga. 2020), admitting agency no longer ends claims for negligent hiring, retention, entrustment or supervision. You still must prove the company’s own negligence.

What if the company says the driver was an independent contractor?

The company may still be liable if it controlled the work (O.C.G.A. § 51-2-5). A motor carrier may be responsible for a leased truck operating under its authority, whatever the driver is called.

Can I sue a trucking company’s insurance company directly in Georgia?

Only in limited cases for crashes on or after July 1, 2024. The insurer may be joined if a related carrier is insolvent or bankrupt, or if the driver or carrier cannot be served after reasonable diligence (O.C.G.A. § 40-1-112(c)).

How long do I have to file a claim against a company in Georgia?

Usually two years from the crash (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33). If a city vehicle hit you, written notice is generally due within six months, so act sooner.

Related Guides

• Atlanta Delivery Vehicle Accident Lawyer: Amazon, FedEx, UPS and Food Delivery Crashes
• Atlanta Amazon Delivery Accident Attorney for Van, Flex and Truck Crashes
• What Evidence Does a Trucking Company Have to Keep After a Crash?
• How Much Insurance Do Trucking Companies Carry in Georgia?

See all our guides for people hurt in Georgia crashes.