Sandy Springs Personal Injury Lawyer

The third-largest city ever to incorporate, Sandy Springs is a suburb of Atlanta situated in northern Fulton County, Georgia. Multiple festivals and art events call it home, including the Sandy Springs Festival with around 30,000 attendees annually, the free festival Sandy Springs Artapalooza, the Fourth of July Stars and Stripes Celebration, and the Chattahoochee River Summer Splash. The city also has dozens of parks and the Heritage Sandy Springs Museum.

In recent years, the city government has made or planned road improvements in an effort to increase safety and make the city more walkable. However, sometimes serious car collisions can happen in spite of safety efforts. If it happens to you, there is a possibility of severe injury or even permanent disability or death. You need a skilled Sandy Springs personal injury lawyer on your side. Ali Awad, the CEO Lawyer, understands the best methods to seek the compensation you need during these tough times in your life. Filing an injury claim can be difficult and confusing, so you want someone savvy and focused on getting you results.

If you or a loved one has been hurt in a car accident, don’t hesitate to call Ali Awad for a no-obligation consultation of your case. The CEO lawyer and his injury and accident attorneys work on a contingency basis, and that means they don’t get paid unless you do. There is nothing to lose by calling (833) 254-2923 to discuss the issues of your case. 

Road Improvements in Sandy Springs

Since its incorporation in 2005, the city of Sandy Springs has worked to improve road conditions and traffic safety. The Sandy Springs Traffic Management Center, or TMC,  has been operating since 2008, providing a website with real-time traffic conditions. The city also broadened Abernathy Road in between Johnson Ferry and Roswell Roads, taking the street from a two-lane to a four-lane and adding a road median.

In September of 2021, the city announced it would partner with the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) to replace the bridge at Mount Vernon Highway over I-285. This will be part of the I-285 Westbound Auxiliary Lane Extension from Roswell Road to Riverside Drive plan. The city’s current policy calls for the new bridge to only have a six-foot sidewalk for pedestrians. However, the city has asked GDOT to add bicycle accommodations plus pedestrian accommodations and lighting beyond the proposed six-foot sidewalk. Sandy Springs will pay the extra $3.2 million in costs for the project, with Mayor Rusty Paul noting that the city government is committed to converting Sandy Springs into a more walkable city.

Making Walking Safer for Pedestrians

A study by the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) ranked the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metropolitan area as one of the top twenty most dangerous metropolitan areas for pedestrians. Between 2010-2019 this area saw 1,160 pedestrian fatalities, while Georgia as a whole is the ninth most dangerous state for walkers.

Older adults (age 50 and up, and especially those over the age of 75), people of color, and people who live in lower-income neighborhoods are the most likely to be struck by a car and killed when walking. This is believed to be at least partly due to road design – fewer intersections increase the risk of pedestrian accidents. Frequent, well-marked intersections and narrower lanes put continuous pressure on drivers to slow down and pay attention in a way that simple speed limit signs do not. (Many pedestrian accidents involve speeding drivers.) Road improvements can improve these situations, but in the meantime, motorists can and should stay vigilant and follow these safety tips from the NHTSA:

• Always be on the lookout for walkers or bike riders, everywhere and at all times.
• Be particularly careful and slow down when visibility is low, like at night or in poor weather conditions.
• Slow down and be ready to stop whenever you’re turning or going into an intersection.
• You should always yield to pedestrians in crosswalks. It’s also important to stop. leaving a space between your vehicle and the crosswalk, as this makes it easier for other drivers to see pedestrians.
• If you see other vehicles stopped at a crosswalk, don’t try to pass them. The other drivers may have noticed a walker or biker that’s shielded from your view.
• Don’t drink and drive.
• Obey the speed limit, and slow down more when you see people on the street, or you’re in a school zone or neighborhood with kids around.
• Be very careful and keep an eye out for pedestrians when backing up.

When Car Collisions Happen

Car accidents can cause serious harm, whether you’re a pedestrian or in your own vehicle. Many people suffer broken bones, head, and neck injuries, back or spinal cord injuries, internal bleeding, anxiety or PTSD, and other medical issues that require prolonged treatment after a car crash. 

Then the medical bills start to arrive. Even the best health insurance policies don’t cover everything, and some won’t cover anything. Worse, being injured and hospitalized can cause you to miss work and lose income. Some accident victims say they’re shocked at how quickly a car wreck was able to completely derail their lives.

If this has happened to you, the best way forward is to contact a Sandy Springs personal injury attorney for a free consultation to find out all your rights in this situation. Sometimes people don’t think there’s anything they can do if an insurance company has rejected their claim, but that isn’t always true.

Understanding Insurance Policies

The insurance carrier for the at-fault driver is supposed to cover the costs of an accident, including property damage (wrecked cars) and medical care for injuries. Unfortunately, the fault is often disputed and may not be clear to the officer who responds to the scene. Georgia’s comparative negligence laws complicate matters, as they allow insurers a way out of paying claims: If they can prove the accident was more than 49 percent your fault, even if it was also partly their policy holder’s fault, they don’t have to pay anything.

Needless to say, insurance adjusters often spend a lot of time trying to make the accident sound like your fault. This is one reason we don’t recommend communicating with the negligent driver’s insurance company. You are not legally required to do so, and the person you talk to will probably record the conversation, with the hope that you’ll say something they can interpret to mean the crash was your fault. Yes, even if you start the conversation by saying it wasn’t your fault. The best solution is to let your attorney handle the insurance adjuster – they have the knowledge and experience to negotiate to get you the settlement you need.

What If You Have A Full Coverage Car Insurance Policy?

Sometimes we meet people who are upset because they bought a “full coverage” policy, only to find out…some stuff isn’t covered! Unfortunately, “full coverage” just doesn’t mean what people think it does. Typically these policies, which carry higher premiums than the state’s minimum insurance requirement of $25,000 in liability coverage, will offer full coverage if your vehicle is damaged or totaled after a collision. These repair and replacement costs are covered even if the accident was your fault or if it was damaged in some sort of natural disaster, like a tornado or flood.

Now, cars and car repairs are expensive, so this is a good thing to have. However, full coverage insurance won’t necessarily pay your medical costs. If you have no or limited health insurance coverage and an accident was your fault, you may find yourself stuck with the bill. However, you can add medical payments coverage to your current policy, and this is generally a good idea.

What About When the Other Driver Is At Fault, But Their Insurance Company Says It’s Not Covered?

Aside from trying to blame you, insurance companies have many other tactics for claiming your damages aren’t covered. You may also run into issues with policy limits. For example, if the other driver had only the minimum $25,000 in liability coverage, and you have $100,000 in medical bills, you may need a lot more help than you’re going to get from the insurance company. 

We always try to negotiate with the insurer, but if that doesn’t work out, don’t worry – there may still be some other options for recovering damages:

• Suing the other driver. This makes the most sense when the negligent driver has a reasonable amount of assets you could hope to seize. Suing someone who is broke is likely to be a waste of time and court costs.
• If you have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (another type of coverage you may want to add to your current policy), you may be able to recover damages from your own insurance company.
• Sometimes you can seek damages from third parties. In certain situations, a person who owns a car and furnishes it to a family member who then causes an accident can be held liable. This is most commonly seen when a teenager causes an accident – the teen likely has only minimum coverage and no assets. However, if their parents provided them with a car for their enjoyment, you may be able to ask the parents to pay your damages.
• Another third-party situation involves drivers who are working when they cause an accident. Whether they’re in a company-provided vehicle or their own if they were driving somewhere to perform work for their employer when they hit you, a lawsuit against the employer may be possible.
• People who provide alcohol to someone who then drives drunk and causes an accident may be liable under certain circumstances. However, they must have known the driver was already inebriated, and that they planned to drive somewhere.

Bottom line: Don’t be sure you’re out of options for paying your car accident bills until you’ve spoken with an experienced attorney who does personal injury law in Sandy Springs.

Followed by millions on social media, attorney Ali Awad knows all about insurance companies, and he knows the factors to focus on to get results. It can be hard to aggressively pursue your own claim, but with the CEO Lawyer on your side, you can go toe-to-toe with big insurance companies and other parties to get the settlement you need. Contact us online or call (833) 254-2923 to begin your case.