Car Accident Lawyer

When you file a lawsuit after a car accident, this is a civil case. You need to complete the paperwork for your Complaint (the legal document that sets out your case) to give your version of the facts and set out the amount of money you wish to claim. The Complaint must also state which court has jurisdiction in your case. The forms for the Complaint can be a little confusing and our clients are grateful to have a skilled attorney complete them on their behalf.

Once you have filed the Complaint, you must serve a Summons on the defendant – this means you have to tell the person you have named in your claim. In Georgia, the Summons needs to be delivered by hand to the defendant in their own home.

We recommend you get help if you plan to file a lawsuit. The process can be confusing if you are not familiar with the legal system and a lawyer or attorney can help you avoid common pitfalls.

If your actions contributed to your car accident, the insurance companies will argue about the exact % of liability each of the drivers should take. Georgia state law follows a system called Comparative Negligence. This means your compensation is reduced by the percentage you are judged to be at fault. So, if you are 10% at fault, you will receive 90% or the full claim amount. Because Georgia has adopted a modified version of this legal principle, it means you can only claim compensation if you are 49% or less at fault. If your liability is 50% or more, you cannot make a claim.

Georgia is a “fault” state so the “at fault” driver is responsible for paying for personal injury and property damage after a collision. That means if the accident isn’t your fault, the other driver’s insurance is typically responsible for paying you compensation. This sounds pretty clear-cut, but remember insurance companies aim to pay you as little as possible. They often encourage you to give a recorded statement, have you sign a bunch of documents, and try to get you to settle your case right away. A dedicated car accident lawyer will protect you from this type of situation and make sure you get the full amount of compensation for your accident.

The amount of compensation you can claim will depend on how badly you are injured and the impact of those injuries on your life. Our lawyer will look at the immediate effects of your injuries on time off work, loss of household income, any additional costs you incur to help with household or childcare tasks, and property damage.

If your injuries are complex and life-changing then we will also look at any longer-term impacts. If you can’t return to your usual employment or if you need to modify your property to accommodate your needs, if you are stopped from enjoying your usual leisure activities or if you suffer from PTSD, these factors will affect your claim amount.

Working out how much to claim – and how much to accept from the other person’s insurance company – is complex. A proficient lawyer will guide you to create a full list of the factors that you need to think about when building your claim.

Car accidents are the same as all personal injury cases. In Georgia, you typically have 2 years to file a claim for injuries from an accident but there is a Statute of Limitations (a time limit) on making a claim. Like most states, in Georgia this is 2 years but, if someone dies after a car accident, the 2-year Statute of Limitations starts at the time of death.

No matter what the circumstances are if you have been injured in a car crash, we recommend you talk to an experienced car wreck lawyer as soon as possible. At Murphy Law Firm, we let you know what you are going to be able to claim and how soon you should make that claim.

The most important factor in how long it takes to settle your claim is the length of time you need for medical treatment and recuperation. We need to know the full extent of your injuries before we can assess the value of your claim. Once the doctors are ready to sign your case off, we can compile all the bills for your medical expenses – this usually takes 1-2 months but it can take over a year if your injuries are complex.

Other things that affect how fast we can reach a settlement include how quickly the insurance companies respond and how cooperative the other people involved in the car accident are willing to be.

We settle the majority of claims without needing to go to trial. If your case does need to go before the court, it will create more delays.

The owner of every motor vehicle in Georgia must have insurance. As a vehicle owner, you must have minimum liability coverage of:

• $25,000 for the injury or death of one person (a passenger, another driver, motorcyclist, or pedestrian) in an accident you cause to a maximum of $50,000
• $25,000 for property damage resulting from an accident you cause.

If the driver who caused your accident is uninsured, we will help you make a claim through your own Uninsured Motorist Policy if you have one.

The most important thing to check after an accident is whether or not anyone is injured. Just like any other situation, you should call 911 if the injuries need urgent medical treatment. Even if someone doesn’t think their injuries are serious, we recommend getting checked out by a doctor as soon as possible after the event.

It is a really good idea to get photos of the vehicles if you are well enough to do this. You should also take pictures of the road and any hazards or obstacles that might have contributed to the accident or affected any of the drivers’ sightlines as they approached the scene. You should also make a note of things like the position of the sun or any other factors to do with the climate that might be important. In farming areas, we know that wet mud can make roads very slippery for example.

You must exchange contact details and insurance company details with everyone else involved in the accident. It is also really useful to get the names and addresses of anyone who witnessed the accident.

If the damage is going to cost more than $1,500 to repair, you must file a report with the local police within 10 days of the accident. Do not make a statement and keep strictly to the facts at this stage. You need to talk to an attorney as soon as possible. Your insurance company will be looking carefully at everything you say so that they can devalue your claim.

There is no fixed answer to this because every accident is different and every victim of an accident has different injuries. Having said that, there is a rule of thumb that you can follow. This estimates that the final settlement will be three times the size of your total medical expenses.

When you choose a lawyer with a deep and detailed understanding of car accident claims, this person will be able to give you the best support. This is what we offer at Murphy Law Firm and this means we will always get the maximum compensation we can for your case.

We know it can be hard to find the right law firm to help with your claim. The important thing is to find someone reliable and trustworthy – but how can you tell? We recommend that you look for a firm with good reviews and a solid reputation. If you pick a firm that has earned the respect of people in the local community, that’s always a good sign.

No matter how good the reputation, you still need to feel like you are in safe hands when you talk to your lawyer or attorney. We suggest you schedule an initial meeting – Murphy Law Firm offers a free first consultation – so you can check that you can have confidence in the person who will be handling your claim.

Finally, you want to know that there is substance behind everything you have heard. At your first consultation, ask the lawyer for evidence to back their reputation. You might ask about their credentials, the number of successful claims, and the size of settlements in similar cases. Whichever attorney you pick in Douglas County, you want to be sure it’s the best one for your situation.