When an accident disrupts your life, you need a car accident lawyer who stands by your side. Sometimes, this becomes more complicated if your health insurance doesn’t cover some or all of the bills. Will your car insurance cover it? What about the other driver’s insurance? What about damages? Can I be compensated for my pain and suffering?
If your injuries have left you out of work, your bills may pile up quickly, and your bank account dwindles even faster. You need the experience and skill of an Atlanta car accident attorney who can help you determine what happened and how to seek damages for your car accident injuries.
With a reputation for relentlessly pursuing justice, the CEO Lawyer is a champion for Atlanta’s injured. Call our team of experienced car accident attorneys at (404) 777-8800 for a free consultation of your case.
The CEO Lawyer Is Your Trusted Atlanta Car Accident Attorney
Atlanta car accident lawyer Ali Awad is one of the youngest personal injury attorneys to bring a brand new firm to an 8-figure legal empire in only three short years! He and his team at the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm bring their collective experience to your car accident case, whether you need an accident lawyer to negotiate with an insurance company or file a lawsuit.
Have you been hurt in a car accident, or is someone you love suffering because of one? If so, please contact the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm today for a free consultation to discover the options for addressing this difficult situation. Our team of car accident lawyers works on a contingency basis, so you have no upfront cost. Don’t hesitate to call to discuss your car accident and how you can get the compensation you deserve to pay for your recovery costs.
What Should I Do After a Car Accident?
To ensure maximum compensation for your car accident claim, knowing what actions to take and avoid after a car accident is crucial. A single mistake can have a significant impact on your claim amount.
- Collect the police report related to the accident. If you haven’t received a copy, call the law enforcement agency that responded to the accident scene, and they should be able to get you one.
- Gather your medical bills.
- Determine how long you’ve been out of work and calculate the pay you’ve lost so far.
- Include any bills for repairing damage to your vehicle.
- Include any bills for repairing damage to any possessions harmed in the crash.
Do I Need an Attorney If I Was Injured in a Car Accident?
In most circumstances, yes. You should contact an Atlanta car crash attorney for a free consultation to evaluate your situation. An experienced Atlanta car wreck lawyer should be able to figure out where to seek compensation. Often this is the other driver’s insurance company, but in some cases, they may advise you to sue other parties who may have been responsible for the accident.
How Long Do You Have to File a Car Accident Claim in Atlanta?
You generally have two years from the date of the accident to file a claim with a personal injury lawyer in Atlanta. However, it’s advisable to contact an Atlanta car wreck attorney as soon as possible to start the legal process.
What Type of Damages Can an Atlanta Car Crash Lawyer Help Recover?
If you were not at fault at all, your recovery depends on a wide array of factors, including how severe your injuries were, the number of your medical bills, if you’re expected to need future medical care, how much time you missed at work, if you are permanently disabled, how much property damage your car sustained, and sometimes other factors. Here are some specific damages you might ask for in a settlement:
- Medical expenses. This includes all of your existing bills, such as hospital bills, doctor’s visits, prescriptions, physical therapy, etc. It may also include an estimate for future care if you are still in treatment.
- Missed wages. This includes all time you’ve already missed at work and possibly an estimate of the future time you may miss if you are still out of work.
- Disturbance of your quality of life. If the accident has reduced your ability to live and enjoy your life, you may seek damages for this.
- Pain and suffering. This includes both physical and mental pain and suffering.
- Disfigurement or permanent disability. If this has caused you to be permanently unable to work, you may also request damages for lost earning potential, whether or not you were employed at the time of the accident.
- Loss of companionship in the event of a wrongful death.
- Damage to your vehicle and any possessions that were damaged in the car accident.
Does My Health Insurance Pay For My Medical Bills?
Your health insurance may cover your medical expenses, but you could also seek compensation through a car accident claim.
What If My Accident Injuries Don’t Show Up Right Away?
Delayed injuries are common in car accidents. Always seek immediate medical attention after an accident to diagnose and document any potential injuries. Your Atlanta car accident attorney can assist in compiling medical records for your claim.
Do You Need to File a Lawsuit to Recover Damages After a Car Accident?
Not necessarily. In many Atlanta car accident cases, we can secure a settlement from the insurance company. This is actually more common than going to court to settle a car accident claim. However, there are some circumstances where filing a lawsuit may be necessary:
- Insufficient insurance. Under Georgia law, motorists are only required to carry $25,000 in insurance. Some may have more than this, but not everyone does. Additionally, you may be involved in a crash with an uninsured driver. Even if the other driver has the minimum coverage, if your medical bills alone are in the six figures, $25,000 isn’t going to be close to compensating you for the other driver’s negligence. In these types of situations, you may need to file a lawsuit against the party you believe is responsible for the accident.
- A settlement can’t be reached. Sometimes the insurance company disagrees with the amount you’re seeking or with their obligation to pay. In this case, it may be necessary to sue the insurance company.
- If a third party is also responsible. Less commonly, an accident may be caused not by either driver but by a third party such as a car manufacturer. For example, maybe you bought a new car, and a few weeks later, your brakes inexplicably failed, causing you to crash. Or, the accident may have been caused by one or both drivers, but your injuries were made worse by some defect in your car, like an airbag that didn’t deploy. In this type of situation, you may have a case against a third party.
How Is Fault Determined in a Car Accident in Atlanta?
Georgia is an at-fault state when it comes to car accidents. In general, there are some basic rules about determining fault:
If one driver breaks some traffic law, such as speeding, running a red light, driving while impaired, etc., they are usually found to be at fault. When drivers behave negligently, such as being distracted by their phone while driving, they are usually found to be at fault.
When one of the cars didn’t receive appropriate maintenance, which directly led to the accident, that car’s driver is generally at fault. For example, if the other driver had a bad light they didn’t fix, and this caused a crash, they would probably be at fault. In most cases, rear-end accidents are assumed to be the rear driver’s fault for failing to maintain a safe following distance.
However, these basic rules may be complicated because Georgia is also a modified comparative negligence state. This law recognizes that in many cases, more than one party may be partly responsible for an accident. For example, maybe the other driver was speeding or looking at their phone, but your car had maintenance issues that may have affected the accident. The other driver’s car accident lawyer will likely argue the crash was all your fault, and your lawyer will argue it was their fault. In reality, you may both have had some responsibility.
With modified comparative negligence, you can still recover damages from the other driver if you are found to be less than 50% at fault. In this case, your recovery will be downsized by the amount you were found to be at fault. If you are 50% or more at fault, you will not be able to collect any damages.
People often have questions about whether some issue may have made them partly at fault in an accident and by how much they might be at fault. This is a question the jury will have to decide, but a car accident lawyer in Atlanta can help you understand the issues of your case. They can also advise you on whether your claim is likely to be successful.
It’s also important to remember that the other driver’s attorney will need to prove not only that you did something wrong but that it contributed to the accident occurring. If the other car hit you head-on, it probably wasn’t because your tail light was out, for example. Even if there was some fault on your end, the jury might not find that you were more than 50% at fault.
How Long Does an Accident Stay On Your Record in Atlanta?
In Atlanta, a car accident typically stays on your driving record for 3-5 years, affecting your insurance rates.
How Long Does It Take for Points to Come Off Your Driving Record in Georgia?
In Georgia, points from minor traffic offenses, including accidents, usually come off your driving record after two years.
Should I Talk to Another Party’s Insurance Company After an Accident?
Generally, you should not speak to another party’s insurance company without consulting your Atlanta car accident lawyer first.
An insurance adjuster’s job is to save as much money as possible for the insurance company. This means paying out as little as possible. Sometimes that may mean refusing to pay a claim entirely, but other times it means offering the claimant less than their claim is really worth. In some cases, the adjuster may call and make you an offer while you’re still in the hospital dealing with your injuries. At this point, you probably haven’t seen the hospital bills yet and have no idea what you’ll owe. You also probably don’t know how much more care you’ll need. Will you need one follow-up appointment with your doctor or six over the next year? Will you need another operation if you don’t recover as well as you hoped? How long will you need to be in physical therapy?
Do I Have to Accept a Settlement Offer?
No, you are not obligated to accept a settlement offer. If an insurance company has made you an offer after an accident, it’s very important that you discuss your case and their offer with an experienced Atlanta car accident lawyer before accepting or declining it. If you accept an insurance company’s offer without knowing what your total costs will be, you may not have enough money to cover your medical costs alone, let alone any of the other damages listed above.
Additionally, insurance adjusters can be pushy if they want you to accept a settlement. If you do answer the phone, they may want you to commit to accepting an offer right away. The smartest move is to ask them to send you the offer in writing and let them know you’ll review it and respond when you’re ready. Then, hang up the phone and call a car accident attorney in Atlanta. This serves two purposes: You won’t accept an offer without knowing if it’s reasonable, and you won’t be able to say anything the insurance company may use against you in the future.
Should I Give a Statement to the Insurance Company?
Before providing any statements to an insurance company, consult your car accident attorney in Atlanta to protect your interests.
Insurance adjusters may call to talk about your settlement and then start asking you questions about the accident. These may seem innocent, but the adjuster often tries to twist your words or get you to say something that can be construed as indicating the accident was your fault. Worse, this conversation could take place when you’re unable to think clearly because you’re either in pain from your injuries or taking strong medication for the pain. Keep in mind that you don’t have to talk to them the minute they call. If you’re in a lot of pain or groggy from painkillers, it may be helpful to let a trusted loved one screen your calls until you feel better. Otherwise, you can simply let the insurance adjuster’s calls go to voicemail until you’ve had a chance to speak with a lawyer.
Do I Need to Give a Recorded Statement?
It’s usually not recommended to give a recorded statement without first consulting your car accident lawyer in Atlanta. Such statements can be used against you later.
An Atlanta Car Accident Law Firm That Cares, Call the CEO Lawyer
Before making any decisions about a possible settlement, contact our Atlanta car crash lawyers for a free consultation to understand better what kind of damages you should be seeking. You may feel overwhelmed during these moments, but accident attorney Ali Awad, the CEO Lawyer, is here to stand up for your legal rights.
Don’t accept lowball offers, and don’t take insurers at face value. The benefit of having an experienced car crash lawyer on your side is that they can negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf if you realize the offer is too low. With the CEO Lawyer, you will not have to call the insurance company back and argue with them. Contact us online or call (404) 777-8800 to get started today.
