One way is to go by referral.  If you have a friend that filed a personal injury claim, ask them.  They can tell you if they had a good experience or not.  Maybe they will recommend a great attorney.  Maybe they will not recommend the accident attorney they used.  Maybe that attorney was in Decatur or Atlanta, who knows.  Maybe they loved their Decatur attorney.

Another way is to check out there website.  Read what they have to say.  Do they only talk is sales copy.  The whole website is just a brochure for what the law firm does.  It gives you some buzz words, but never any real details about what happens.  They do not answer the questions you have.  They leave you relying on trust in the lawyer.

But, if you find a site that lays things out for your, then you might have a lawyer that will discuss your case with you in real terms.  They will not try to snow you and up sell you on the front end, and undersells you as the case moves forward.  Honesty works both ways and is the cornerstone of a good attorney-client relationship.

If you like what is on this website, then think about call me today at (770) 775-0938.  We can be your Decatur and Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer with one call.

The case involved several people driving in Griffin, Georgia on an old, narrow county road.  The driver of one car, the at-fault driver, swerved into the middle of the road as both cars were going over a bridge.  My clients’ car could not avoid the accident and a head-on accident occurred.

One of my clients suffered a back strain and a bruised pelvis.  She went to the emergency room and a few months of physical therapy.  My other client suffered a back strain and a cervical sprain.  He did not go to the emergency, but underwent many months of physical therapy and at-home exercises.

I represented two of the three people in the car.  The other person in the case settled for $7,000 early in the case.  The at-fault driver had a car insurance policy with limits of $25,000 per person with a maximum of $50,000.  The car my clients were driving was a family member’s car that was also insured.

We were able to secure a settlement for $25,000 for one client using the at-fault driver’s insurance policy.  We were also to get our other client the full $25,000 from the uninsured motorist coverage.  To do this, we received the balance of the at-fault drivers policy with a limited release settlement agreement.  This allowed us to settle with first insurance company, Direct Insurance Company, and continue negotiating with the uninsured motorist company, Mercury Insurance Company. This allowed us to get the remaining money, so that our second client received $25,000 settlement for his injuries.

We were also able to secure an additional $5,000 for each client through the medical pay insurance plan.

If you need a Griffin personal injury lawyer, call me today at (770) 775-0938.

Our office is convienently located in Jackson, Georgia.  We have several clients in Griffin that we often meet in Griffin for lunch to discuss their case.  This might be a better option for you instead of coming to the Jackson office.

Serving Spalding County, Butts County, Monroe County, Lamar County, Henry County, Jasper County, Clayton County, and Dekalb County as well as the cities of Jackson, Griffin, Barnesville, Forsyth, McDonough, Monticello, Jonesboro, Stockbridge, Decatur and Atlanta.

So, what can you do to help your own personal injury case early in the case.  The Georgia Accident Lawyer has put together some tips to follow to help with just that.

Keep a personal injury diary. Do you remember how you felt each day last week after the car or truck accident?  I cannot remember what I ate yesterday.  So, keep a journal of important things.  How you feel, anxiety, list of doctor’s appointments, important dates, questions you want to ask the lawyer, and whatever you can think of are all good things to keep notes on.  Your Georgia personal injury lawyer will love you for it.

Go to each of your medical appointments. Hurt people act hurt.  People who are not very hurt accept other responsibilities as priorities.  Your priority should be to get better after your Atlanta car accident.  You do that by going to each of your appointments until you are done.  Further, if the doctor gives you things to do and not do at home, you should follow those rules.  Once again, your personal injury attorney will love you for it.

Stay out of trouble. Do not get into trouble.  So, what do I mean?  Do not go to jail or blow your good reputation.  Remember, the jury would prefer to give money to a good guy and not a bad one.  So, stay classy.

Avoid other litigation. No one likes people who go around suing everyone.  If you have the ability to hold off on other litigation in your life without messing up those cases, I would recommend it, generally.  If the insurance company or a reasonable juror can think that you are in it for the money, then the bottom just fell out of your case.  You are the good guy.  They are the bad guy.  Let us keep the plot line that simple and straightforward.

Never talk to the insurance company. They are pros.  Give them a couple of minutes and your case is in the tank.  Trust me, let them know what you will settle for at day one, and my job just became impossible.   Why?  Because they know you will break if they get close to that number, regardless of what your accident attorney told you.

Keep a list of all doctors and appointments you go to.  This one is similar to the personal injury diary, but it is so important it deserves its own post.  Let us say that you go the doctor in Atlanta several times.  But, on one occasion you go to a specialist in Griffin, Georgia.  If you do not tell us, we may not be able to track down those medical bills and records.  In this situation, since it was a specialists, the bills and records will be very important to your case and/or settlement.

Keep a list of all the medical bills you receive. This is just as important as the advice above.  Nothing will feel worse than settling a case and getting a bill in the mail for two reasons.  Reason number one, you have to pay it.  Reason number two, we could have settled the case for more if only we had known about the extra bill.

Atlanta Women, 75, Runs into Liquor Store

Sure, everyone has ran their car into at least one building.  But the same building twice is beyond joking.  Oh, did I tell you that the building was a liquor store.  Well, that is just the case this week in Atlanta Accident News.  For those of you who drive on Ponce Leon Avenue, you know Green’s liquor store over by the Kroger.  Well, a lady drove her car into the store for the second time.  Seriously, wouldn’t you just go to another store after the first wreck.  All kidding aside, an employee in the store suffered a brain injury when a bottle fell on her head.  At time of this article, no video has been produced.  But, you know, that store must have cameras everywhere.

Georgia Power Worker Burned in Accident

Kylan Warren, 25, of Ellijay was the Georgia Power employee who was seriously injured this past week.  Kylan Warran, who had worked for GP for 6 years, was working in a bucket some 35 feet in the air when a natural gas line exploded and a fire broke out.  He jumped out of the bucket.  Mr. Warren sustained burns  on 80% of his body.  He was working on a gas line at the time.  Warren was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital.  Georgia Power and Atlanta Gas Light are looking into the cause of the accident at this time.  Our best wishes go out the family.

Georgia Bulldog Gets DUI

This is a sad post for all of Bulldog fans.  Dontavius Jackson of the University of Georgia is transferring to another university according to recent reports.  Dontavius Jackson, a back up running back who had four carries last year, was arrested last week for underage possession, driving under the influence, and leaving a scene of an accident.  Now, just because he was arrested does not, of course, mean he is guilty.  But, to any degree, former Bulldog Dontavius Jackson is out.  Most likely because, Coach Richt suspended Jackson for the first six games of the 2010 season after learning about the arrest.

Note:  Drunk driving, although just a misdemeanor, is a serious offense.  It puts the driver and the insurance company on the hook for punitive damages if the facts are just right.  If you have been injured by a drunk driver, never handle this type of case on your own.  It will be a huge mistake.

Georgia Based Ducking Company Resumes Boat Trips

You may have heard in the news that a local company with tours set up around the county had a fatal accident in Pennsylvania recently.  One of their tour boats hit another boat and killed two passengers who were Hungarian students.  The Georgia company, Ride the Ducks, stopped all tours including the one in Stone Mountain, Georgia.  After reviewing all of their safety standards, the company decided to start tours again with the except of the tours where the fatal accident happened.

Note:  When a business is responsible, if they were, for an accident, the same rules of liability apply.  If the business is responsible for an injury or death, they must compensate the injured for their special damages such as lost wages, medical bills, and other out of pocket expenses and general damages which are items such as pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life.

Seven Year Old Dies in Crash

More sad road news.  Recently a seven year old girl died in a car accident.  She and her father were traveling from Georgia to Texas when the accident happened in Mississippi.  Her brother and father were also injured in the fatal auto accident.  According to reports, the family was traveling with a U-Haul when they lost control.  The vehicle went off the road and hit some trees.  At the time of this article, no other drivers were sited as being responsible for the wreck.

Note:  U-Hauls can be very dangerous.  They create a unique dovetail when you drive one.  It is probably like driving a commercial vehicle, although I have never driven a rig.  But when you are pulling something with your car, it is much more difficult to maintain your lane and drive the same as you would otherwise.

The Law Office of Joseph P. McClelland, a Georgia Car Accident Lawyer,  represents injured victims all over the state of Georgia.  We have individual pages of certain cities that provide more city centric information on personal injury cases.  Bounce around the site.  With around 200 pages, we probably have answered a question you may have.  Some of the cities we represent clients are southern cities in Georgia such as Jackson, Monticello, Conyers, Covington, Griffin, Forsyth, Barnesville, Locust Grove, Flovilla, Jenkinsburg, McDonough and more.  We also represent clients in the Metro Atlanta area such as Stockbridge, Riverdale, Jonesboro, Atlanta, Lithonia, Rex, Decatur, Stone Mountain, Buckhead, Midtown, Virginia Highlands, Piedmont Park, Dunwoody, Alpharetta, Roswell, Marietta, as well as Cobb County, Dekalb County, Fulton County, Gwinnett County, and Clayton County.

Come back next week for more Georgia Accident News.

Now, if you live in the city near Midtown Atlanta or Virginia Highlands, you are familiar with the liquor store at 737 Ponce de Leon Avenue called Green’s.  Well, have you seen it lately?  Noticed some boarded up windows?  Now, don’t start worrying that they have closed down in this terrible economy.  That is not the case.

The situation is much different.  We all know that lightning does not strike in the same place twice, but how about a car accident?  Well, it turns out that it does.  For the SECOND time, Constance Chapman drove her car through the window at Green’s Package Store.  Just think about that, for the second time she drove her car into a building.  For the second time, she drove her car into the same building.  For the second time, she drove her car through same liquor store.  Is there a connection?  Gee, one has to wonder who would have such bad luck that their brakes would fail twice at the same place while buying booze.

Did I mention that she is 75 years old?  Also, a worker at the store suffered a brain injury from a bottle falling on her head.  From a legal standpoint, Ms. Chapman’s insurance company will be writing a check very soon for their full policy amount. So, for all of you over on Ponce De Leon Avenue, Highland Avenue, Virginia Avenue, and Moreland/Briarcliff can still go in, but do so on foot.

The McClelland Law Firm represents clients throughout the state of Georgia. For information on specific cities other than Atlanta (go the the homepage) see our location information about McDonough and Griffin.  McDonough is located in the fast growing Henry County.  Griffin, Georgia is located near McDonough in Spalding County.  For information on other cities just follow the appropriate links.

The story goes something like this.  George Michael was driving around London after 3:00 in the morning when he drove into a building.  He claims the building slammed on its brakes, but I don’t believe him.

If you are a building that has been hit by a member of Wham or anyone who has a hit song about giving you their love at Christmas, contact my law office today.

As a kid, I remember when Wham broke up.  I could not believe that other guy, whose name I did not know, was the one leaving.  It made no sense to me  and millions of other people.  Then, you start hearing these stories.  Now, it becomes clearer.  When someone does crazy stuff like that, they are doing it on smaller levels all day long.  By the way, he says he used to smoke 25 joints a day.  Can you image?  25 joints a day?  None of the current reports indicate that he was high, but if that is what you say about yourself in the press…we can only image.  The only way he wasn’t high is if his high had worn off by that time of the morning.  Joking aside, he sounds like he was drunk.

This was a quick post by the Atlanta Wrongful Death Lawyer.

Let us all take extra precaution and make sure the other drivers around us are not being foolish.  If you notice such behavior, I always make sure to get out of their way, or to be sure that when they crash I will have ample time to stop or go around them.  Of course I would still call 911, but safety first, then teamwork.

This is a post from the Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer.  We represent clients all over the state in car accidents, motorcycle accidents, slip and fall cases, wrongful death cases, and more.  Contact us today at 770-775-0938 for a conversation with Mr. McClelland.

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