A motor vehicle crash may leave injured victims facing substantial medical costs, time away from work, and a range of additional questions about how to go about securing their rights under the law.
Whatever those laws or regulations may be, learning more about what may be applicable following any type of collision can offer some insight for people who have been in an accident recently. Additionally, speaking with a car accident attorney in Atlanta can present an opportunity to discuss state rules and regulations, look at the role that evidence plays in demonstrating the other driver’s fault in a particular crash, and think more generally about damages that may or may not be recoverable for certain types of people under Georgia law.
Why Legal Rights Matter After a Collision
The effects of a motor vehicle collision can reverberate far beyond the physical damage to a car. Injuries such as broken bones, spine damage, or traumatic brain injuries may prompt medical care, therapy, or alterations to daily activities. Even injuries that do not seem significant at first can evolve into lingering problems.
The laws in Georgia offer a mechanism to assign fault after someone suffers harm due to a lack of care on the part of another. Drivers must use reasonable care behind the wheel. When a driver’s actions, such as speeding, sending text messages, running a red light, or failing to yield, contribute to an accident, that breach of a legal duty can become the basis for a claim.
To prove fault, there needs to be factual evidence. Police reports, photographs, and documentation of the scene, as well as testimony from people who saw what happened, can help explain how an accident occurred and who it affected. Saving this information can help identify the legal options available.
Documenting Injuries and Financial Losses
The victim should obtain adequate care following an accident. This will help them catch injuries they may not notice right away. It will also create a paper trail linking any medical procedures to the incident. It is important for the patient to follow their doctor’s advice and keep all appointments. This signals that their injury was serious enough to warrant medical care.
Again, a patient must closely examine their personal finances. A settlement should repay every expense related to the accident. This may cover time spent in an emergency room, a hospital stay, post-accident medications, and a recommendation to see a physical therapist. If the patient needs to miss time from work while they heal, these lost wages should be accounted for. If they no longer have the ability to make money later in life, you can sue for loss of earning capacity. Many injuries also warrant additional damages like pain and suffering. Many of these expenses are not simple to add up.
Keeping receipts, pay records, and medical bills and notes about your treatment can provide a better idea of these losses. If an injury affects your ability to work or take part in other daily activities, documents from medical professionals and your employer can also help demonstrate your situation.
How much compensation you can recover depends on the circumstances of the crash, the evidence that’s available, the nature and extent of the injuries, and the law. A claim will ideally address the documented losses and reasonably supported future needs instead of counting only on immediate expenses.
How Georgia’s Fault Rules Affect an Injury Claim
Georgia is a modified comparative negligence state. This means that if you are injured in an accident, you can’t collect damages to compensate for your injuries if you are determined to be 50% or more at fault. If you were less than 50% at fault, your damages in a jury award or settlement are reduced in accordance with your percentage of fault.
For example, if you sustain $100,000 in damages and are found to be 20% at fault, a jury would reduce any potential award or settlement by $20,000. This is a judgment call based upon the facts of your case and whether your case goes to a jury trial.
Insurance companies will look at driving logs, examine your statements, your photographs, and any other evidence to determine who was at fault. It is important that you provide accurate data. At the same time, you should not speculate on fault without a professional examination of the evidence that is available to you. It’s possible that you were not at fault at all.
Georgia has a two-year statute of limitations for most personal injury claims, under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33. There are exceptions, and there are limitations periods for claims against agencies or municipalities. You should be sure to know what the relevant statute of limitations is. The failure to bring a lawsuit within the appropriate statute of limitations can bar you from recovering.
Making Informed Decisions During Insurance Discussions
Insurance companies may ask questions about a crash, demand statements, and also ask for medical authorizations, records, and other items that help establish fault or calculate what a claim is worth. When an insurance company undertakes an investigation or analysis of a claim, they will likely ask for specific information that may be beneficial for an injured person or claimant to understand.
Like many other components of a potential settlement offer, people should also know that no offer is likely to be good to have to make a decision on if you are still seeking treatment or you do not know the long-term effects of your injuries. Once an offer is accepted, often as a result of this decision, you accept a release provision and give up your right to pursue a claim associated with the subject accident against someone for additional damages.
Having an attorney is helpful in helping to explain an offer, the applicable law, and the situation you are in, allowing a potential client to better digest information in order to make an informed decision rather than having to feel like you must take the offer and resolve the matter as quickly as possible.
Protecting Your Recovery While Your Claim Progresses
Recovering from a car crash is an experience that can lead to months of medical appointments, financial changes, and the process of making tough choices. Provided that the person is keeping good records, following medical advice, understanding what deadlines are in place to seek justice, and being fully aware of how the laws apply, a person can make well-informed decisions about holding the other party responsible and making sure that they are made whole.
Personal injury law exists to allow injured individuals a way to handle the damages they’ve suffered from someone else’s inappropriate actions. Once they determine what they have been through and what the extent of their damages are, they can then apply the rules of law that apply and make an informed choice whether they wish to hold the at-fault party accountable and pursue a reasonable outcome.