Practice Areas
After an accident, you may want to look up police reports online to see the actual report on your collision. There are several ways to do this, but starting with the local police department or other law enforcement agency that responded to your accident is the easiest. If things are a little hazy due to the stress and confusion of the crash, you can start with where the accident happened and look up local jurisdiction.
It can take a few days before the report is ready, and if you cannot find yours, you should check with the officer who responded to the scene. If you can’t recall their name, call the non-emergency number for the agency that responded and explain what you’re looking for. In most cases, they can put you in contact with the right person. Usually, you can get the report emailed or mailed to you for a minor fee, although a few smaller police stations may require you to collect it in person. If all else fails, you can also purchase a police report online.
Once you have a copy of your police report, you may be wondering how to get your medical or car repair costs covered. If the other driver was at fault, their insurance should provide coverage. But this is where the situation may become complicated for some accidents. Your report may not indicate who is at fault, and some drivers aren’t sure themselves. It’s also possible that you and the other driver made errors that contributed to the accident. Now, what should you do?
The best way to resolve any confusion about who was at fault or where you should turn for insurance coverage is to speak with an experienced Georgia car accident lawyer. Attorney Ali Awad is ready to help fight for your legal rights after a car accident. He quickly grew the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm into the fastest-growing law firm in the country, recently beating more than 499 other firms for the top spot. You can also find the CEO Lawyer on social media, where he offers no-nonsense legal knowledge to more than a million followers.
So What Are the Options for Compensation After an Accident?
This depends on several factors, including each party’s available insurance coverage. As we discussed earlier, the usual assumption is that the at-fault driver’s insurance company will be responsible. However, there are many situations where fault isn’t entirely clear, or where both parties may have contributed to the crash. What happens then?
Georgia uses comparative fault statutes for personal injury claims, including car accidents. This system is designed to address the many accidents where errors were made by both drivers. If one of these cases goes to court, the jury will have to assign a percentage of blame to each driver, ranging from 0 to 100. A party who was assigned less than 50 percent responsibility for the crash can collect damages from the other party (or, in most cases, their insurance carrier), but their compensation will be reduced by the percentage they were at fault. So if driver A is 70 percent responsible and driver B is 30 percent responsible, driver B’s damages will be diminished by 30 percent.
Do All Car Accident Cases Go to Court?
No. In fact, most of these claims settle out of court. When we work on a claim, we start by trying to negotiate with the applicable insurance carrier to secure compensation for the client. However, fault is still an issue even if the case never makes it to court. Often insurance companies will say that the claimant is at fault, and therefore they don’t have to pay the claim, or they don’t have to pay all of it. This is why it’s important to have a skilled injury and accident attorney on your side. Your lawyer knows all the ins and outs of insurance law in Georgia. They are also skilled negotiators who know how to fight for the compensation you deserve.
Unfortunately, many people who deal with the insurance company on their own don’t receive all the compensation they’re entitled. They’re also less likely to receive any compensation at all, with 91 percent of claimants who have a lawyer receiving a settlement, and only 51 percent of those without a lawyer getting one.
What if Fault in an Accident Isn’t Clear?
If no one was cited in an accident, it might not have been obvious to the responding officer who was at fault. Without evidence that anyone broke traffic laws, they likely had no reason to write a ticket or speculate about who was at fault. However, the police report may still be useful in illuminating other avenues for investigation. While the police are very busy and may have limited time to look into a car accident, your attorney’s investigators have the time and resources to conduct a thorough investigation.
Frequently, we are able to track down witnesses who may not have been present when the officer arrived at the scene, but were there earlier when the accident happened. Or we may find traffic camera, dashcam, or doorbell footage, or video someone took on their phone. We also analyze any electronic data available from the cars themselves. In many situations, this allows us to build a case showing the other driver’s fault in the collision.
If You Can Prove the Other Driver Was at Fault, Will Their Insurance Company Cover All Your Bills?
This is the general idea of having car insurance, but in reality, it depends on what your damages are versus the limits of the other driver’s insurance policy. Remember that damages can include your medical bills (current and future), lost income from missing work, car repair bills, pain and suffering, permanent disability, and more. Sometimes these damages exceed the limits of the other party’s insurance, which may be as little as $25,000 in bodily injury liability per person in Georgia. The minimum coverage for property damage liability is also $25,000. So if you have $50,000 in medical bills alone, you may only be able to collect $25,000 from the other driver’s insurance company.
However, your attorney will seek out other options for acquiring the remaining compensation you need. Your own uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance may provide additional coverage. You may also be able to sue the other driver directly, or in less common situations, sue other third parties who may have contributed to the accident or your injuries (such as the makers of a defective braking system).
Get Top-Rated Legal Representation from the CEO Lawyer
If you or a loved one have been hurt in a car accident, the best thing you can do is contact a car accident lawyer right away to learn the possibilities for pursuing a claim. Please contact us at the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm for a free consultation. There’s no obligation, and we work on a contingency basis, so if we take your case, you don’t pay anything until we win.