Q: My understanding is that if I am involved in an accident with a government (city, county or state) vehicle, and the driver of that vehicle is at fault, my insurance would still have to pay to repair my car? Also, would the driver of the government-owned vehicle be cited? -- Michael B. Martin, Marietta
A: You may be in luck if you are involved in an accident in which a local government vehicle is negligent, Mitch Madaglia, the public information officer for Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens, told Q&A on the News in an email. Madaglia said the details of every accident are different and there are possible exceptions that can affect every outcome. In general, however, Georgia insurance code authorizes local governments to buy insurance for the negligent operation of its vehicles, Madaglia said. Georgia law, which is not a part of the insurance code, has established the minimum damage amount before a local government can invoke a sovereign immunity defense, which is based on "the idea that the sovereign or government is immune from lawsuits or other legal actions except when it consents to them," according to law.cornell.edu. Anyone involved in an accident with a state-owned vehicle should contact the Georgia Department of Administrative Services at customerservice@doas.ga.gov or 404-656-5514. Madaglia said citations for the driver of the government vehicle can be given at the discretion of the law enforcement officer who responds to the accident.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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