Norcross is a small but busy suburb of Atlanta reached by six major roadways, including Interstates 85 and 285, three state roads, and US Route 23. Most people traveling these roads through or around Norcross are careful drivers, but it only takes one negligent motorist to cause a serious accident.
When this happens, you could be left with chronic pain, lost income from missing work, medical bills, and many other challenges. However, the at-fault driver’s insurance company may not be in any hurry to approve your claim or pay an appropriate settlement.
How can you get the help you need after your accident?
Contact a Norcross Car Accident Attorney Today
Insurance companies are primarily concerned with money—especially theirs. While your insurance adjuster might say their job is to help you get your claim paid, their main task is to reduce the company’s costs.
In some cases, they might assert that you caused the accident or are at least partly to blame. Or, they could undervalue your damages, ignoring or downplaying some losses and lowering your settlement offer.
It’s natural to want to stand up for yourself with the insurance company, but doing so alone can be treacherous.
Insurance adjusters are well-versed in Georgia laws, as well as the nuances of their company’s policies. It’s highly unlikely that you will succeed in changing their mind, and in many cases, claimants who try unintentionally worsen the situation.
However, you can still take action by contacting an experienced car accident lawyer who has the knowledge and skill to negotiate with the insurance carrier for you.
The CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm is always ready to help with your car accident questions or concerns. Please contact us for a free consultation so we can learn about your situation, answer your questions, and define your options for recovering compensation. Hablamos Espanol!
How Long Do You Have to File a Car Accident Claim?
You have two years from the accident date to file a personal injury claim in Georgia. However, most people want to file their claim sooner than that.
Remember that your lawyer will need time to investigate your accident, gather evidence, and build a strong case.
What if Insurance Doesn’t Cover Your Accident?
Most car accidents are covered by an insurance policy, even if it isn’t the at-fault driver’s policy. If you think you’re not covered by insurance for some reason, we recommend speaking with a car accident lawyer right away.
We will analyze the police report, determine fault, and then review several considerations. You may have insurance coverage after all.
Here are some common situations and how insurance coverage might apply:
- The other driver was at fault or primarily at fault. If you are less than 50 percent responsible, you should be able to recover from the more responsible driver, which usually means making a claim on their car insurance. The insurance carrier could argue that you were at fault or inflate your percentage of responsibility, but an experienced car accident lawyer will fight to get you the settlement you deserve.
- The other driver was at fault, but they had insufficient or no insurance. A little more than 12 percent of Georgia drivers are uninsured, and those insured may not have enough coverage to pay for a more serious accident. The best solution in these cases is to use your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UI) to pay for your injuries and car repairs. If you don’t have this optional policy, you may have difficulty collecting your compensation. In some cases, we can sue the driver or a third party, but if that isn’t an option, you may be without insurance coverage.
- You are partly at fault, so the other driver’s policy only covers some of your damages. As discussed earlier, you should review the insurance company’s decision with an attorney. If your percentage of fault has been overestimated or there is evidence you really did not contribute to the crash, we may be able to recover additional compensation from the insurance carrier.
- You are at fault. If you are at least 50 percent responsible, the other driver’s insurance company doesn’t have to pay your claim, and the other motorist can make a claim on your insurance. If you only have the liability insurance required by the state, your insurance company should pay the other party’s claim up to the policy limit, but they do not have to pay for your damages. That means your medical bills, lost income, and car repairs will be your responsibility. However, if you have additional, optional policies, including Medical Payments (MedPay) and Collision, these will cover your medical bills and car repairs, even if you were at fault.
Again, it’s important to check with an attorney to ensure you are at fault. Some people incorrectly believe they provoked an accident when they didn’t.
There are some situations in which insurance coverage may not apply:
- Liability policies are for accidents, not intentional acts. If you tell the police you think the other driver was trying to ram your car on purpose, the insurance company may reject your claim on that basis. It’s difficult to determine fault from only one perspective, so we may investigate the crash further. If we find evidence that it was an accident, we might be able to appeal the claim rejection.
- If the insured driver was racing or engaging in very high-risk behavior, the claim could be rejected.
- Sometimes, a person will be specifically excluded from an insurance policy. Typically, insurance covers the insured party’s immediate family and others who might drive their car legally. But suppose the insurance company has reason to be concerned about a family member’s high-risk behavior. In that case, they might ask the insured to sign an exclusion agreement explicitly stating this person will not drive the car. For instance, if your spouse had several DUIs, the insurance company might want assurance they will not drive the car, or the insurance carrier could cancel your coverage. If the excluded person drives the car anyway and causes an accident, the insurance company can deny any resulting claims.
- There may be issues with business use or rideshare use of a personal vehicle. If a driver insures a pickup truck for personal use, but the insurance company finds out they were using it to make deliveries for their business, the claim could be denied. Likewise, most insurance companies now require additional insurance for drivers using their cars in a rideshare capacity. We may still be able to make a claim on the rideshare company’s liability policies in these situations.
- If the driver made modifications to their vehicle but did not inform the insurance company, and these modifications caused the accident, the insurance company could reject the claim. Occasionally, we see these situations where the driver has added aftermarket components that caused a collision.
Do You Have Any Recourse When Your Claim Is Specifically Excluded?
You should always check with an attorney to learn the options in your individual situation. We will check the policy language to verify the insurance company has a valid reason for refusing your claim. If so, we’ll consider other options:
- If the at-fault driver’s insurance company has a valid reason for refusing the claim, we will evaluate the driver’s ability to pay the claim personally. Although you can always sue the driver, it’s not a worthwhile endeavor if they have no significant assets we can seize. We won’t advise you to go through the stress of a lawsuit if you can’t collect on a judgment when it’s over.
- When suing the driver is not a good option, we can occasionally file a third-party claim against another party that contributed to the crash. For instance, if your airbag failed to deploy, worsening your injuries, you might have a claim against the car or airbag manufacturer. However, third-party claims are only feasible in a few cases.
- Sometimes, the best option is to turn to your own insurance policy, even if the other driver was clearly at fault. Depending on your coverage, we may be able to recover some of your damages from your insurance policy.
What Should You Do if the Other Driver or Their Insurance Company Blame You?
You should contact a lawyer immediately so they can help you search for evidence to support your case. Often, the insurance adjuster will look for any reason to transfer responsibility to the injured party so they don’t have to pay the claim.
The evidence involved may be minor or inconclusive, and with a more thorough investigation, we might be able to demonstrate that you were not at fault.
Doesn’t the Police Report Say Who Is At Fault?
Not definitively.
The police report contains a section where the responding officer can draw a picture of what they believe happened and another section where they write out an opinion of who was probably at fault. This is based on interviewing the drivers and observing other evidence at the scene, such as vehicle damage, tire marks, etc.
In many cases, the responding officers have limited time to investigate the accident. They will do their best to determine what occurred, but the available evidence could be minimal.
At the end of the day, their opinion is just that—an opinion, and it can be challenged if we find evidence to the contrary. We frequently review the police report with clients to determine if everything seems correct.
Many people tell us that the other driver’s statement to the police was wrong, or they don’t believe the accident happened that way. In these cases, we may assign an investigator to seek corroboration in the following ways:
- Our investigative team will canvas the area where the collision occurred. Sometimes, the police report says there were no witnesses besides the two drivers, but it’s possible there were witnesses who left the scene before the police arrived. In some situations, witness testimony can help clear up how the accident transpired.
- We’ll take note of any cameras in the area—doorbell cameras, traffic cameras, security cameras, etc. If we begin our investigation shortly after your accident, we have a better chance of recovering a video of the collision. As more time passes, the likelihood of an existing video of the crash being deleted grows higher.
- If possible, please take pictures at the scene after your accident, as evidence like debris is usually removed quickly to prevent difficulties for other drivers. Many people think to capture photos of the damage to their vehicle and the other motorist’s vehicle. Some may also take pictures of their own injuries. However, not as many people photograph the roadway and surrounding area, and these images may prove valuable. We can analyze tire marks at the scene to learn more about what happened, and sometimes pictures of the area can reveal weather conditions, visibility problems, or issues with the road.
- Electronic evidence. Most modern vehicles have event data recorders or EDRs that provide a wealth of data about an accident. We can learn how fast each vehicle was moving, what direction it was headed in, and what actions the driver took. Additionally, we can request phone records if we believe the other driver might have engaged in distracted driving.
How Can You Learn More From a Norcross Car Accident Law Firm?
When you need help recovering your damages after a Norcross car accident, please contact the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm for a free consultation. If there’s a way to recover compensation, we’ll find it.
There is no obligation, and if we take your case, you won’t pay anything until we win or settle it.
Attorney Ali Awad is the founder of the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm. While building it into one of the fastest-growing law firms in the country, he has recovered millions of dollars in compensation for injured people and their families.
He and his team have a 99.5 percent success rate and are always ready to review your case. When Mr. Awad isn’t fighting for clients in the courtroom or the boardroom, you can find him on social media, offering down-to-earth legal advice to more than a million followers.
Work with the CEO Lawyer and his team when you call (470) 323-8779.
