Automobile Accidents | Atlanta,
Georgia Auto Accident Attorney
My Atlanta Auto Accident Law
Firm has extensive experience handling claims for all types of motor vehicle
accidents, including but not limited to motorcycle, car, truck, moped, and
bicycle accidents. As an experienced Atlanta
Accident Lawyer I will promptly and thoroughly investigate your
case to assess damages and determine fault. Once hired, I will communicate with
the insurance company on your behalf. I
will give them only the information they need to evaluate your claim and
protect your privacy. If the insurance
company refuses to recognize the true value of your case, I will not hesitate
to file suit and present your case before a jury so that you can be awarded the
compensation you deserve.
Why Should You Hire an Atlanta Car Accident Attorney?
The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) reports that in 2008, motor vehicle collisions were the leading cause
of death for individuals ages 3 to 33, and responsible for nearly 2.3 million
injuries. On average, an individual is killed in America once every 12
minutes as a result of motor vehicle collisions, and injured at a rate of
nearly 7,400 per day.
An auto accident can dramatically alter a
person’s life, especially when the injuries are catastrophic, like severe like
brain damage, broken bones, spinal cord injuries, torn rotator cuffs, torn
tendons or torn ligaments. Often times, even minor and moderate auto accidents
can also cause painful injuries, such as whiplash, concussions, bruising,
lacerations, and scarring. Because many injuries caused by vehicle accidents
require expensive and extensive medical care, physical therapy, and possibly
even surgery, you will likely need the help of an Atlanta, Georgia Auto
Accident Attorney.
The insurance company for the driver whose fault
caused the auto accident will start an investigation immediately. It is the
insurance company's responsibility to try to limit the compensation of the
injured person to the lowest possible amount in order to protect their profits.
Insurance companies have established very specific and elaborate policies on
handling auto accident claims, especially in the early stages. Insurance
company will take recorded statements from the persons involved in the car
accident, have the vehicles examined, have photographs taken, obtain the police
report and try to establish the extent of the injuries suffered in the auto
collision. The insurance company is usually completes these tasks within the
first week after the auto collision and many of them within the first 24 to 48
hours after the auto collision.
Insurance companies try to reach a quick
settlement with an injured person. They
often do this before the true extent of you injuries are known. Their purpose is to avoid responsibility for
future medical expenses, lost wages and other damages that are likely to
develop. This is a situation that an experienced Atlanta Auto Injury Attorney can help you avoid. When a person is injured in an auto accident,
it very often takes months to completely assess the person's injuries. At that
point, the person may need surgery, physical therapy or other extensive
treatment. The injuries may even leave the person permanently disabled.
Therefore, the true value of a claim can only be assessed after most of the
medical treatment has been completed. The State of Georgia provides in most,
but not all, cases a two-year period of time in which to file a lawsuit on a
claim. Accordingly, there is no need to rush to a settlement with an insurance
company.
Other areas where an experienced Georgia Auto Accident Attorney can help
you.
There are other significant issues that develop
for persons injured in a car accident. For instance, if your health insurance
company pays for your medical bills they will very often seek reimbursement
from your settlement with the other driver's insurance company. There are
several legal limitations on these rights to reimbursement. An experienced Atlanta Auto Injury Attorney can use the various laws in Georgia to
maximize the amount of recovery that you, the injured individual, gets to
keep.
If you were on the job when injured, the worker's
compensation insurance company will try to obtain reimbursement of their
payments for medical expenses and lost wages. There are several legal
limitations on these rights to reimbursement as well. An experienced Atlanta Auto Injury Attorney can use
the various laws in Georgia to maximize the amount of recovery that you, the
injured individual, gets to keep. These
are important issues that you need to understand prior to agreeing to any
settlement.
An experienced Atlanta Auto Injury Attorney can often find additional insurance
coverage to help you be completely compensated.
Georgia law requires individuals to maintain
liability insurance coverage for their automobiles. The minimum requirements
for bodily injury liability insurance coverage in Georgia are $25,000.00 per
person and $50,000.00 per accident. Since these insurance limits may be
insufficient to completely compensate you, very often an experienced Georgia Car Injury Attorney must
explore what other insurance is available to the responsible driver or the
extent of the driver's personal assets. The responsible driver may have the
right to coverage from insurance policies of family members, an employer, a
rental car company or from an "umbrella" policy.
In addition, other unknown persons or entities
may also have liability for the auto collision. For instance, if the road or a
light was defective, a government agency may share responsibility for the
collision. In addition, your own insurance policy may provide you with coverage
for your injuries.
An experienced Atlanta Auto Injury Attorney can also determine whether or not your
“uninsured” or “underinsured motorist” insurance coverage can be utilized to
help completely compensate you.
Since insurance companies have vast experience in
evaluating car accidents, they often will pay the lowest compensation possible.
It is important to have an attorney on
your side with considerable experience dealing with these insurance companies.
It is always best to have an attorney who will not settle your case for
anything less than its full value. If
the insurance companies are not being reasonable in their valuation of your
case, you need an attorney who will fight for you, who will file a lawsuit,
take your case to trail and prove why you deserve to be compensated. My law firm will do that for you.