Have You Been Injured by Another Person’s Negligence?

A personal injury caused by another’s negligence – in a traffic crash or another accident scenario – can saddle you with costly medical bills, prevent you from working, and burden your family for weeks, months, or in some cases, for life. An Atlanta personal injury attorney can help.

Georgia is an “at-fault” auto insurance state, and the state’s personal injury and negligence laws are based on the principle that the person who causes an accident should pay for the damages, including medical expenses, lost wages, personal pain, suffering, and related damages.

If you are entitled by law to recover compensation, it’s not just handed to you. You will need medical evidence that confirms your claim, and your Atlanta accident lawyer will have to demonstrate that the other party was, in fact, negligent in a way that directly caused your injury.

What Injuries Are Commonly Sustained in Accidents?

Traffic crashes, construction accidents, slip-and-fall accidents, sports collisions, and swimming pool accidents can cause traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), spinal cord damage, multiple broken bones and fractures, contusions, and injuries that require amputations.

Even a low-speed car accident can cause a TBI, a spinal cord injury, nerve damage, whiplash, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders, and post-concussion syndrome.

Treatment and care for catastrophic and disabling injuries can cost millions of dollars over a lifetime. To recover that kind of compensation after an accident, you must be advised and represented by an Atlanta personal injury attorney.

Why Are Immediate Medical Examinations Imperative for Traffic Accident Victims?

If you aren’t treated at the scene of a traffic accident – or rushed to an emergency room – you must submit to a medical examination, for both legal and medical reasons, within 14 days of the accident (and within 24 hours if possible) because:

  1.  Left undiscovered and untreated, a hard-to-detect injury or a latent injury may emerge – days or sometimes weeks after an accident – as a significant medical condition.
  2.  Without medical proof that you were injured in a specific accident, the other motorist (or that motorist’s insurance company) could claim that you weren’t really injured, or that you were injured in another place and another way.

What is Georgia’s 14-Day Rule?

After a Georgia traffic accident, the state’s “14-day rule” applies. If you do not have a medical exam within 14 days of a crash, you may lose the right to claim personal injury protection (PIP) insurance coverage. Adhering to the 14-day rule protects both your health and your rights.

The failure to submit to an immediate medical exam or to keep follow-up appointments raises doubts about someone’s purported injury. Seeking an immediate medical examination, keeping your follow-up medical appointments, and following doctor’s orders means that you are:

  1.  making your health a priority
  2.  creating the medical documents you’ll need if you file a personal injury claim
  3.  avoiding a mistake that too many accident victims make

What Compensation is Available to Injured Accident Victims?

If you’re unable to work because you’ve been injured, you’ll need compensation for your lost earnings as well as compensation for medical expenses. Along with the financial burden, injury victims often face considerable personal, emotional, and physical challenges.

If you suffer a severe injury or a long-term or permanent disability, your lawyer will fight for the compensation you’ll need to pay pending and future medical expenses, replace your lost income and projected future lost income, and compensate you for other accident-related damages.

Don’t make any statement to the other driver’s insurance company or sign any insurance papers before you’ve consulted an accident attorney, and don’t accept a first settlement offer. In almost every case, a good accident attorney can negotiate a more generous settlement on your behalf.

What Will Your Attorney Do for You?

If you’ve been injured because another person was negligent, an Atlanta accident lawyer will answer your questions and address your concerns. Your lawyer will thoroughly investigate how the accident happened, examine the evidence, and speak with any witnesses.

If it’s needed, your lawyer will seek assistance with your case from accident reconstruction experts and medical authorities. When liability for the accident is established, your lawyer will negotiate with the liable party’s insurance company for an acceptable settlement amount.

In Georgia, that’s how most personal injury claims are resolved. Claims go to trial only if liability for the accident is disputed or if no fair and just settlement offer is made during the out-of-court negotiations.

What Happens at a Personal Injury Trial?

At a personal injury trial, your lawyer will explain to the jury how you were injured, how extensively you were injured, and why the other party should be held liable. Your lawyer will then ask jurors to order the liable party’s insurance company to compensate you.

In Georgia, the statute of limitations – that is, the deadline for taking legal action – is two years from the injury date. With only the narrowest exceptions, if you don’t file a claim within two years of the injury date, your case will not be heard by a Georgia court.

But if you can’t work because you’ve been injured, how can you pay for an attorney’s help? Don’t let finances stop you from seeking justice. Accident lawyers in Georgia represent clients on a contingent fee basis, so you’ll owe no lawyer’s fee until you recover your compensation.

Who Should Handle Your Accident Claim?

Hundreds of lawyers practice in the Atlanta area. How can you find the personal injury lawyer who will fight effectively for the compensation you need and make your case a priority? Let Sessoms Law Group handle your personal injury claim.

Attorney Kamala W. Sessoms represents injured victims who are involved in a car or truck accident in the Metro Atlanta area and provides high-quality representation for each of her clients. The insurance companies have aggressive attorneys, so your own attorney must be just as skilled and aggressive.

Sessoms Law Group can level the playing field for you. If you’re injured now or in the future because someone else was negligent, learn more about your rights and schedule your first legal consultation by calling Sessoms Law Group at 678-853-7402. Se habla español.