Located in Fulton County, Johns Creek, Georgia is named after a tributary of the Chattahoochee River. It’s home to the Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra, which gives several performances a year. Arts and festivals are also a big part of life in Johns Creek, including the Fall Family Festival, the Arts on the Creek art show, The Johns Creek International Festival, “The Taste of Johns Creek” food festival, and Founder’s Week at the end of the year. Home to six golf facilities, Johns Creek is also a popular destination with golfers, tennis players, and other athletes.
With so much to do in Johns Creek, no one wants to be sidelined by a serious car accident. Unfortunately, sometimes bad car wrecks do happen, and if another driver’s negligence has left you with injuries, you need effective legal representation. Ali Awad, the founder and managing attorney at The CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm, is not afraid to tackle large insurance companies for his clients. Also known as The CEO Lawyer, Mr. Awad has grown a small business to an 8-figure firm in only three years. In recent years, the firm was voted the fastest-growing law firm in the United States, beating out 499 others in 2021. The CEO Lawyer has over a million followers on social media, where he discusses legal topics and issues.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, make the call to Ali Awad for a no-obligation consultation about your case. The CEO Lawyer and his injury and accident attorney team work on a contingency basis – that’s a system where they don’t get paid unless you do. You have nothing to lose by contacting us through our website or by calling (470) 323-8779 to discuss the details of your car accident or other personal injury situation.
Car Accidents, Pedestrians, and Cycling in Johns Creek
Three state highways – State Routes 120, 121, and 140 – run through Johns Creek. In 2021, the Gwinnett County Commissioners and the Johns Creek City Council completed a three-year project first approved in January of 2018 to make upgrades on State Bridge Road and Pleasant Hill. As a result, sidewalks were pulled from existing bridges, and a pedestrian bridge for walkers and bike riders was built out of an old bridge over the Chattahoochee River. The bridge was finished and opened in August of 2021, providing more safety for pedestrians while connecting Gwinnett and Fulton Counties.
Walking and bicycling are great forms of exercise and carbon-neutral methods of transportation, but unfortunately, sometimes collisions happen between vehicles and pedestrians or bikers. Here are some common causes of vehicle-bike collisions:
- The vehicle doesn’t yield or doesn’t yield enough room to the cyclist
- The vehicle turns into the biker’s path
- Vehicles passing too close to the rider
- Drivers who are under the influence of alcohol or drugs
- People opening car doors and striking a cyclist going by (this one is sometimes surprising, but it happens a lot)
Being struck by a vehicle while riding a bike can be shocking and scary. You may be on the ground, assessing your injuries and trying to figure out what happened, when the driver comes over and starts asking questions: “Are you all right? Why were you in my way? Didn’t you see me?”
Not surprisingly, vehicle drivers in these situations often try to blame the bike rider. If you can think clearly, try to remind them that bicycles are considered vehicles under Georgia state law, and have the same right to be on the road. Then ask for the driver’s name, contact info, and insurance information as you will need these later. Call 911 to report the accident, and request an ambulance if you need medical attention. Even if it isn’t an emergency, you should still see a doctor if you have any pain or discomfort after an accident. Sometimes people don’t realize they’ve been seriously hurt until a few hours or days later.
Under Georgia law, pedestrians frequently have the right-of-way over cars, especially in crosswalks. Drivers are required to yield to walkers who are in the crosswalk on the same side of the street as the vehicle, or within one lane of it and approaching. (However, walkers should never “dart out” in front of a moving vehicle that doesn’t have time to stop.)
Pedestrian accidents in crosswalks are almost always the vehicle driver’s fault and this is usually easy to determine. Pedestrian/car collisions outside of marked crosswalks are a little more difficult when it comes to assigning blame. In general, cars already on the road have the right-of-way, and walkers should wait to cross until there are no cars coming.
However, this also goes for walkers who previously entered the street safely – if there were no cars coming and then a vehicle shows up out of nowhere and hits the pedestrian, the driver is usually negligent. In these cases, if a walker doesn’t see any vehicles and starts across the street, and a car still hits them, it’s usually because the car was going very fast and probably exceeding the speed limit, or its lights were off. Both these situations are the fault of the driver.
What Should You Do If You Need Expensive Medical Care After A Bike or Pedestrian Accident?
Bicycle and pedestrian accidents can lead to serious injuries, as riders or walkers lack the protection a person in a car would have, such as seatbelts and airbags. Some common injuries we see in bicycle accidents include:
- Back, neck, or spinal cord injuries or nerve damage, which can lead to paralysis or constant pain
- Head injuries, skull fractures, concussions, or traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- Broken bones, torn ligaments, and dislocated joints
- Internal bleeding or bruising
- Cuts and lacerations
- Psychological trauma from the accident that may lead to mental health issues like anxiety, depression, insomnia, or PTSD
Even with good insurance, medical care can be expensive. There’s always something that isn’t covered! Worse, your injuries may force you to miss work for days, weeks, or even months, so you may not have as much income. What can you do?
Usually, the first option is to file a claim with the driver’s insurance company. This can go several ways. The insurance company may refuse to pay the claim by saying you were at fault. This is frustrating, but it’s not unusual! Insurers are always looking for ways to avoid paying claims and this is often an easy one. Georgia comparative negligence laws give insurance companies an out if the pedestrian is found to be more than 49 percent at fault for the accident. Damages are reduced if the walker is found to be negligent by some percent less than 49. Because of this situation, it’s in the insurance company’s best interest to try to pin the blame on you. As a result, we strongly recommend you don’t talk to the driver’s insurance company without first consulting a Johns Creek personal injury attorney. If they call and start asking questions, simply tell them you can’t talk right now and hang up, then phone your lawyer.
Another possibility is that the driver’s insurer will just make you an offer. This seems like a better outcome, but it can also be tricky. It’s very common for an insurance company’s first offer to be lower than the damages you actually suffered. For example, it may not cover all of your current and future medical bills, let alone your pain and suffering, lost wages, or other damages. Another issue is that the insurer is only required to pay within policy limits, and Georgia law doesn’t require more than $25,000 in liability insurance per person. So if your bills exceed $25,000, you may have a problem.
It can be easy to panic if you learn that the insurance company can’t or won’t cover all your costs, especially when you need continued care and have no idea how much it’s going to cost in the future. But in many cases, an experienced Johns Creek personal injury lawyer can find other options to obtain compensation for you, including:
- Suing the driver. This may not be a good option if they don’t have many assets. There is no point in spending a ton of money on court costs just to have the driver go bankrupt and pay nothing. However, in situations where the driver does have significant assets, it may be a good plan worth considering.
- If the driver was working for someone else at the time of the accident, you may be able to sue their employer. This is true whether they were driving a commercial vehicle like a delivery truck, or their own personal vehicle.
- Occasionally you may be able to sue other third parties. For example, if the driver was drunk, in some cases you can sue a person or business who served them alcohol – but only if the person or entity knew the driver was drunk and likely to drive when they served them.
- If you have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, you may be able to make a claim with your own insurance to get the rest of your bills covered. This is another thing that surprises some people. Yes, even though you were not driving at the time, your insurance coverage for uninsured or underinsured motorists should still cover your accident.
Sometimes people wonder if it is necessary to go to court to receive compensation. In many cases, no, it isn’t. We always start by trying to negotiate with the insurance company/companies and other parties involved. Sometimes we’re able to arrive at an agreement that provides appropriate compensation for the client without going to court. However, in some situations, the other party or parties won’t agree to a reasonable settlement, and then it is necessary to go to court. If this happens, your attorney will work to gather evidence for your case, by following up with witnesses and going over related documents or videos.
When the chips are down, you need an inspired and dedicated attorney like Ali Awad in your corner. He and The CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm team will fight aggressively to uncover the evidence and legal reasoning needed to improve your odds of success in seeking compensation for your injuries. Contact us online or call (470) 323-8779 today.
