A serious injury could present you with multiple challenges, such as mounting medical expenses, physical discomfort, lost income, permanent disability, and damaged property. It’s challenging to determine the available avenues for seeking restitution, but if someone else’s negligence caused your injury, you shouldn’t have to shoulder the burden alone.
Regrettably, navigating insurance claims often proves frustrating for many injured people. Despite assurances of assistance, insurance adjusters prioritize cost-saving measures for their companies.
Employing a number of strategies, they work to minimize settlements or outright reject claims, leaving the injured parties to deal with the costs on their own. What can you do to protect your legal rights after a significant injury interrupts your life?
A Douglas County Personal Injury Attorney Can Review Your Claim Today
Effectively maneuvering through the nuances of a personal injury case or insurance claim is a job for a seasoned personal injury lawyer. At the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm, we provide free consultations to address your questions and concerns and explain the legal pathways available to you.
Operating on a contingency fee basis, we only collect payment upon achieving a favorable resolution for your case, so you have nothing to lose. Take the first step towards rightful compensation by reaching out to us today.
What Kinds of Injuries Count as “Personal Injuries”?
We’ll discuss the most common types of personal injury cases and some of the challenges that may arise, but any injury caused by another party’s negligence might be a personal injury case. To be sure, we advise you to speak with an attorney who can help you determine if there is sufficient evidence of negligence.
If so, we may be able to recover damages for your injuries.
Here are some of the most prevalent types of personal injury cases:
Motor Vehicle Accidents
Motor vehicle accidents are a frequent problem in Georgia, causing almost 1,800 fatalities and over 8,600 serious injuries in 2021 alone. While there are many contributing factors, most car accidents are caused by one or more negligent drivers.
Often, both drivers disagree about fault, and the responding officer has to write an opinion about who caused the accident based on available evidence. This may be minimal in some situations, so an accurate conclusion isn’t always possible.
Fortunately, the section of the police report that calls for the officer’s opinion on fault is just that—an opinion. If you feel the police report is incorrect, please speak with a lawyer—with the right evidence, we may be able to challenge the report.
It’s also helpful to understand that both drivers can share responsibility under Georgia’s modified comparative negligence laws. If you and the other driver both made mistakes, the motorist who is more than 50 percent responsible is considered to be at fault.
That means you can still collect damages if you are partly at fault (less than 50 percent), with one stipulation—any percentage of fault assigned to you will be deducted from your final settlement.
This is one problem people often run into when they make an insurance claim for a car accident (or any other type of personal injury). The insurance adjuster will dissect the police report and other evidence, searching for any hint you had some fault in the accident.
If they find something they interpret as indicating a fault on your part, they have a reason to reduce your settlement.
The best way to deal with this issue is to engage the services of a personal injury lawyer. We’ll conduct our own investigation, compile as much evidence as possible, and create a strategy to win or settle your case for the highest amount possible.
If the insurance company has assigned you more fault than you have, we’ll fight for a fair accounting of your contributions (if any).
Other Vehicle Accidents
Although less common than car accidents, incidents with other types of vehicles also lead to personal injury cases. We often handle accidents involving boats, golf carts, ATVs, and other recreational vehicles.
In some cases, these vehicles move more slowly than a car, but an accident can still be very dangerous due to a lack of seatbelts, airbags, or other safety features.
Georgia doesn’t require liability insurance for boats and most recreational vehicles (unless you’re going to drive a golf cart on the roads where legally permitted). However, many people invest in liability and sometimes other types of insurance.
As with car insurance, an adjuster will review your claim and search for a reason to reject it or reduce your settlement. Your attorney will work to achieve the best outcome possible despite their efforts.
Defective Products
A product that doesn’t live up to its hype can be annoying, but if it crosses the line into injuring you, the manufacturer may be liable. Georgia allows consumers to file a product liability case on the grounds of strict liability, which means you don’t have to prove negligence.
However, you do have to prove the following:
- The product caused your injuries. We recommend seeking medical attention immediately, which will give you the best chance of recovery and establish a record of your injuries.
- The product was unreasonably dangerous when it was sold. The unreasonably dangerous condition may be due to a defect in design, manufacturing, or marketing. A design defect is an inherent problem in all items of a particular model, while a manufacturing defect is usually a temporary problem affecting certain lots or batches of the item. A marketing defect is sometimes known as a “failure to warn” claim based on the manufacturer’s failure to provide appropriate warnings about the product. Marketing defects are common in pharmaceutical cases, where a medication might be dangerous for people with certain conditions.
- The defective item left the factory and reached the customer in its defective condition. If a distributor or seller altered it, they might be liable instead of the manufacturer. Often, your attorney’s team will spend time narrowing down fault since there may be more than one potentially liable party.
- The product harmed you or your property. It’s a good idea to take pictures of the damage caused by the defective product—for example, cuts on your arms and face, a hole in your wall, etc.
- You used the product as directed by the manufacturer. The defective product must be unreasonably dangerous when used per the manufacturer’s instructions. Almost any product can be dangerous if misused.
- The product was in the same condition when it caused your injuries as when you acquired it. In other words, you didn’t tinker with or alter the product in such a way that you caused the defect.
If you still have the product in question, please preserve it in its current state if possible. We may want to examine it or ask an expert to look at the product to determine what went wrong.
Premises Liability
People often have concerns after an injury on another person’s property. Was the accident their fault? Was the owner negligent?
Is there a way to recover your damages without suing someone you know?
If you were hurt on another party’s property, you could seek compensation from the property owner if their negligence caused the injury. That means:
- There was a hazard on the property that the owner knew or should have known about.
- This hazard caused your injuries.
- You suffered damages as a result.
Here are some examples of premises liability cases:
- Slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall accidents. Unfortunately, this is one of the most frequent premises liability issues we see. Property owners have a duty to keep floors and walkways clear of obstructions and should take reasonable steps to maintain safe walking areas. The owner can’t be expected to respond to every spilled drink instantly, but someone should be regularly checking the floors for issues and cleaning up as needed. If the owner or manager knew or should have known about a hazard and didn’t act to correct it, they may be negligent.
- Pool accidents. These cases are often about access. A pool owner should fence off the pool to prevent unsuspecting children from falling in. If the gate is left unlocked or the pool is too easy to access, the owner might be liable for some pool accidents.
- Toxic chemicals. Sometimes, an individual or business has a need to use strong chemicals for cleaning, producing a product, performing a service, etc. However, any potentially toxic chemicals should be locked up and only used by properly trained employees. If the owner fails to follow these guidelines and a guest is unwittingly exposed to something toxic or harmful, the owner could have been negligent.
- Elevator and escalator incidents. Each year, accidents with elevators or escalators cause about 17,000 serious injuries and around 30 fatalities. These may include events where the elevator is stuck between floors or starts and stops so abruptly as to injure the occupants. Escalator incidents often involve a limb or article of clothing that becomes caught in the escalator, injuring the user. In some cases, the owner’s lack of maintenance may lead to these injuries.
- Falling objects. Often a problem in stores, this type of accident occurs when an item placed up high is too close to the edge and tumbles over, striking someone underneath. Store managers should instruct employees to carefully place items so they aren’t hanging over the edge, and they should scan the upper shelves when periodically checking the aisles.
- Negligent security. A business owner or manager is responsible for cultivating a secure environment with adequate security to discourage criminal acts like robberies, muggings, or assaults. Of course, there are some criminals who overcome impressive security measures, so the business owner is not always at fault when a guest is harmed. However, if we find they didn’t use reasonable security measures for the situation—surveillance cameras, a silent alarm for the clerk, an on-site security staff for larger venues, etc.—the property owner may be liable for injuries you suffered due to criminal activity on the property.
- Parking lot injuries. In some cases, a property owner might be responsible for injuries caused by some hazard in the parking area. This might be an unexpected pothole or damaged area of pavement that causes a person to trip. In other cases, confusing signs could lead to car accidents when both parties are confused about where to go or how to exit the lot. Negligent security can be an issue here as well—for instance, if the parking lot is poorly lit with no security cameras, it might encourage muggers or other criminals.
Not every premises liability injury fits into one of these categories, but any time you’re injured on someone else’s property, it’s a good idea to consider why. Take pictures of the location where you were hurt, seek medical attention for your injuries right away, and consult with an attorney to learn your options.
Sometimes, premises liability incidents occur at the home of a friend or relative, and the injured person is reluctant to sue someone they know and care about—but they can’t absorb the costs on their own. If this is the case, a confidential conversation with an attorney can help shed light on your options.
We may be able to find an amicable solution, like seeking restitution from a homeowner’s or business liability insurance policy.
Dog Bites
In Georgia, dog owners can be held liable if their dog bites someone, and the owner knew or should have known the dog could be dangerous. This is a modified version of the “one bite” rules in many other states.
The owner may also be negligent if their dog bites you while running unleashed in violation of a local leash law.
Contact a Douglas County Personal Injury Law Firm Today
If you or a loved one have questions or concerns about a potential personal injury matter, please contact the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm for a free consultation. Our legal team is standing by to review your case and discuss your options.
If there’s a way to recover your damages, we’ll find it.
Attorney Ali Awad founded the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm only a few years ago and has since expanded it into one of the fastest-growing law firms in the country. He and his team have over twenty years of combined experience in personal injury law and have recovered millions of dollars in compensation for their clients.
You can also find Mr. Awad on social media, offering no-nonsense legal advice to more than a million followers. Work with his team of experts today when you call (470) 323-8779.
