Accidents often occur when drivers run red lights or otherwise make dangerous maneuvers when they should be coming to a stop. Skilled drivers know the rules of the road, but distracted driving, lapses in judgment, alcohol and drugs, and other factors may cause a driver to disregard a red light.
The consequences can be serious, if not deadly. By failing to observe the stop signal, a reckless driver could rear-end someone, T-bone a car (ram into it sideways), or even hit it head-on.
These types of accidents are exceptionally dangerous and, unfortunately, quite common.
If you’ve been hit when you least expected it, you’ll want an experienced attorney to represent your rights. Accidents can cause serious injuries and complications that will follow you into the future.
As the head of one of America’s fastest-growing law firms, Ali Awad of The CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm has represented many car accident victims. He’s won millions of dollars for his Georgia-based clients.
If you want to learn about how he can help you, call today at (404) 777-8800 or fill out the online contact form.
What an Atlanta Red Light Accident Attorney Can Do for You
Red light collisions are among the most common types of car accidents. They’re usually the result of someone running a red light and colliding with a driver who has the right of way.
These accidents can be devastating because of the speed and unpredictability of the impact. In fact, angle collisions — where cars collide at right angles — cause the greatest number of car accident deaths.
Serious injuries are highly common in angle collisions, as well.
It’s advantageous to hire a Atlanta personal injury attorney after this type of collision for the following reasons:
- Gain a legal advocate: Unfortunately, car accident victims can get pushed around in the process of negotiating with insurance companies, medical providers, and other parties involved in the accident. If the other driver retains an attorney, you’re at a disadvantage unless you have a representative to advocate for your rights. In Georgia, drivers can claim compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. However, many accident victims don’t realize this. Instead, they manage the burdens of medical debt, lost paychecks, and grief on their own. An attorney can be your sounding board and guide as you seek justice for your accident.
- Help you navigate the legal system: The legal system can be incredibly complex and overwhelming. As you craft your case, you have to consider state laws, federal laws, local statutes, precedents from past cases, and other factors. Even though drivers in Georgia have the right to compensation for their injuries, you still have to prove that negligence occurred and that you deserve what you’re asking for. This is where an attorney’s insight and skill are invaluable. A good attorney will see your case from all angles and identify the best strategy for lodging a successful claim.
- Achieve the maximum amount of compensation: Your attorney should advocate for you to get the maximum amount of compensation that you can reasonably receive. They’ll arrive at this figure by gathering documentation of your expenses up to this point and making projections about future costs from ongoing medical care, lost wages, and other factors. You don’t want to risk losing out on funds because of improper planning or poor projections. An experienced attorney will pull all the levers they can to help you get what you deserve.
Common Injuries From Red Light Accidents
Since every car accident is different, you can’t reliably predict what injuries you’ll incur during a car crash. However, the force from being T-boned or hit head-on when a driver runs a red light often causes serious damage.
Some of these common injuries are described below.
Whiplash
Whiplash occurs when the force of being hit causes your head and neck to rapidly jerk back and forth. Whiplash can be minor or significant. In severe cases, whiplash may damage the fragile ligaments in your neck or even injure your spinal cord.
Spinal cord injuries can affect your range of motion and alter your brain function; therefore, whiplash cases should be taken seriously. You should always be assessed by a doctor for further complications if you’ve experienced whiplash.
Broken Bones
The force from being either T-boned or hit head-on can cause broken bones. Whether you hit metal or plastic components inside of your car or forcefully make contact with your airbags, there is a risk that you’ll fracture, sprain, or break a bone.
Wearing a seatbelt reduces the risk of forcefully hitting another object and prevents a scenario where you’re thrown from the vehicle.
Organ Damage
Organs can sustain serious damage from being crushed, twisted, or punctured. Your body may be contorted in unexpected ways from the force of being hit.
Organ damage also may cause internal bleeding, which is a serious issue that must be addressed immediately. Without urgent medical care, internal bleeding can be fatal.
It’s always wise to be evaluated by a medical professional after a car accident to ensure there is no internal bleeding.
Brain Injuries
You may sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a result of colliding with another vehicle. TBIs occur when the brain hits the skull due to excessive force or if your head gets punctured by a sharp object.
TBIs can be mild or severe, with symptoms including headaches, vomiting, seizures, slurred speech, confusion, memory loss, or behavioral changes. People with TBIs may need to enter therapy and receive ongoing treatment to reclaim a sense of normalcy.
Surface Injuries
Cuts, scrapes, bruises, lacerations, and punctures are highly common in car accidents. These injuries occur as you hit metal or plastic components inside of the car or if you’re wounded by broken glass or loose objects.
Surface injuries may seem insignificant, but they can quickly turn dangerous if left untreated. The risk of infection is high without proper treatment.
What to Do After a Red Light Accident
Taking the proper steps after an accident is key for covering your bases and staying safe. If you’ve been hit, be sure to do the following:
- Move to safety: If you are uninjured and your car is still usable, make sure to pull off to the side of the road as soon as you can. Blocking traffic is dangerous for you as well as other drivers.
- Call the police: No matter the severity of the accident, you should call law enforcement. The police will document the scene, take witness statements, speak with the involved parties, and maintain records of the incident. They can also check the red light cameras, which can prove that the other driver acted negligently by running a red light. Your insurance company will need these records to successfully process any claims that arise from the accident.
- Seek medical attention: This step supersedes all the other steps if you have clear injuries that necessitate medical attention. That said, you should call for medical help even if you don’t have obvious injuries. Internal bleeding and TBIs, for example, are serious issues that may not be noticeable at first. You should always be evaluated after an accident to ensure there isn’t hidden damage. Keep your medical records handy since your attorney may reference these when you file a personal injury claim.
- Call your insurance company: As soon as you can, let your insurance company know about the accident so that they can put your claim in motion. Your insurance may be able to provide you with a rental car while you wait for yours to be assessed or repaired. They’ll need key details, such as contact info for the other involved parties and police reports, to process your claim.
- Reach out to an attorney: Georgia has a 2-year statute of limitations on personal injury claims. However, you should initiate your claim while the accident is still fresh in your mind so that you don’t forget key details. An attorney will gather the facts about what happened and help you determine the best path forward for receiving compensation.
Atlanta Yellow Light Accident Lawyer
All of the above recommendations and processes apply to yellow light accidents. If a driver hit you while improperly accelerating through a yellow light when they should have slowed down and prepared to yield, then they could be found negligent and liable for any injuries and resulting damages they have caused.
Atlanta Red Light Camera Lawyer
One handy tool red light accident claimants can look to is an automatic traffic camera, which can catch a red-light-runner in the act, taking a photo of their plate. In rare cases, the traffic camera may have even caught a glimpse of the wreck.
You can rely on your attorney to request any available photo evidence from the intersection, including any cameras stationed there. You can also ask to be provided with any citations issued against the at-fault driver through discovery or an evidence request.
Atlanta Red Light Ticket Lawyer
Officers who respond to the accident scene may issue a citation to one or more drivers because of the actions they took. While these citations are not indisputable proof of fault, they can nevertheless provide crucial evidence of cause-and-effect while demonstrating that the ticketed driver failed to take the expected precautions at the intersection.
Contact an Atlanta Red Light Accident Law Firm Today
If you’ve been hit by a driver running a red light, you may be facing extensive medical treatments, large bills, and uncertainty about your future. You don’t have to face the fight alone; Ali Awad of The CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm is here to represent your interests.
Awad has won millions of dollars for clients in just a few years. He works on a contingency basis, meaning he doesn’t receive any compensation for his work unless you get a payout; therefore, there’s no financial risk to you if you decide to engage his services.
Give the CEO Lawyer a call at (404) 777-8800 or fill out the online contact form today to schedule a no-obligation consultation with an experienced red light accident attorney near you.
