Car Accident Attorneys

The statute of limitations in Georgia is two years, meaning that claims must be brought to court within 24 months of the accrual of claims. This is a distinction from the date of the accident since, sometimes, plaintiffs may not know that they were injured in an accident until some time afterwards.

Possibly. In some cases, the insurance will settle your claim before there is any court hearing and you will not have to go to court. If not, there will likely be some kind of court hearing on the record where you will have to testify. Even if you do not have to go to court, there is the possibility that you will be required to have your deposition taken, which is a courtlike proceeding under oath with lawyers present. However, there is no judge or jury present at a deposition. Sometimes, cases will not settle until after the parties know a little bit more about the facts of the accident.

The first two steps to take are to get medical care immediately and contact and retain a lawyer. In addition to treating your injuries, prompt medical care will document your injuries for purposes of filing a claim and receiving compensation. In order to be fully compensated, there needs to be an understanding of the nature and extent of your injuries. When you are dealing with the litigation process, it is vital to have an attorney who knows and understands how to most effectively file a personal injury lawsuit. Steps that you take when getting medical care and dealing with the insurance company may dictate whether you receive compensation and how much you get. An attorney will help you deal with all of the parties and will ensure that you present the best case for a claim.

It depends. The technically answer to this question is that the compensation you receive should put you in the same position as if the accident never happened. This means that you will be compensated for all of your lost work time, pain and suffering, medical bills and property damage. Of course, the insurance may try to make sure that you do not receive what you are due, and that is why you need a car accident lawyer on your side.

A car accident lawyer will cost you nothing out of your pocket. This does not mean that the car accident lawyer is working for free. Instead, it means that they will be paid on a contingency basis. The lawyer is compensated with the same percentage of the settlement or jury award that you receive regardless of the amount of time or money that they invest in the case. The percentage will be determined and set out in writing when you first retain them. If you do not receive any money, you do not have to pay the lawyer anything.

Negligence is the determining factor as to who is responsible for the car accident and is required to compensate the other party. If your case goes to trial, the jury will attempt to figure out which one of the parties did not act as a reasonable driver would under the circumstances. Almost the entirety of your case will be trying to prove that it was the other driver who was negligent and not you.

It depends on whether the insurance company’s settlement offer fairly compensates you for the injury that you have suffered. Know that insurance companies will rarely, if ever, make their best offer first. Instead, they are trying to lowball in an attempt to get you to settle the case quickly. They are banking on the fact that you may need the money so you will take what is offered when it is offered. A car accident lawyer will know and understand the full value of your claim and will alert you to the fact that the insurance company is trying to put one over on you when it comes to giving you the compensation that you deserve.

While you may not have the case against the other driver, you will have a viable claim against either the manufacturer of the car part or the retailer who sold it to you. In that case, the nature of the case becomes completely different. Instead of proceeding as an insurance claim and negligence type case, you will be filing a product liability lawsuit where your attorney will have to prove the product was defective in its design or manufacturing. You may even be able to receive punitive damages in a product liability case, which may increase the amount of your award.

There are some tricky legal issues involved in rideshare claims because the drivers are not employees of the rideshare companies. Rather, they are independent contractors so the rideshare companies can escape liability for the drivers’ actions. Nonetheless, drivers are required to carry a certain amount of insurance which may be enough to compensate you for your injuries. Thus, the case will proceed as a normal insurance settlement case. Unless the law changes, requiring rideshare companies to treat their drivers as employees, there is a low chance that you will be able to sue Uber or Lyft.

This is one of the toughest things that accident victims face after an accident, and there is no easy answer to this question. The insurance company will pay for some of these costs, but they will not write an unlimited blank check. Many of these costs will not be due immediately, but rather will become part of the negotiation between the insurance companies. You will be compensated when the case settles if you are not at fault for the accident. An attorney can help you negotiate bills with a medical provider while the case is making its way through the legal system.

Absolutely. A drunk driver is liable for the damage that they cause just like any other driver. The fact that the drunk driver can be charged criminally does not preclude you from being able to sue them in a civil proceeding. In fact, as a drunk driver, a jury may also award punitive damages to punish the drunk driver for their conduct.

You should not be giving statements to the other driver’s insurance company. You are under no obligation, but if you do speak with them, make sure that it is with the advice of your attorney. In general, when you give a statement to your insurance company, you will also want to consult with your attorney first as what you say can impact the chances of success for your claim. You may not be able to refuse to give a statement to your own insurance and still be able to make a claim, but what you say can be used against you. Make sure that you take the time to prepare for your statement and do not speak without preparation.

It depends. In Georgia, courts use a test called comparative negligence to decide if someone who has been negligent themselves can receive compensation. You could generally receive some compensation so long as you were not more than 50 percent responsible for your injuries. For example, if the jury determines that the other driver was 80 percent responsible and your failure to wear a seatbelt means that you bear 20 percent of the responsibility, then your recovery will be reduced by the amount that you are responsible. However, if there was a minor fender bender and your injury almost completely resulted from the fact that you were not wearing a seatbelt, then you may not be able to be compensated for your injuries. Still, in the case of not wearing a seatbelt, you could still be compensated for the property damage so long as the other driver was at fault for the collision.