Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer

Get Compensated for Personal Injury from Car Accidents
Have you ever been in a car accident? It is very traumatic, and that is putting things lightly. Car accidents are, fortunately, a rare occurrence but not something that you can absolutely sure that would never happen to you. Hopefully, it would amount to nothing more than a ding that car insurance can solve in a snap.

However, things are different if there is already personal injury involved. This can occur even for slow moving vehicles, but is more common when a driver is intoxicated or speeding. Head-on collisions are even worse, as it would cause more damage to you or your passengers, and it may affect other vehicles as well.

What to Do in an Accident?

Should you find yourself in a car accident, it is very important to stay calm. Check yourself for injuries as well as the status of your passengers. Should everyone be okay, then you have to make sure that your vehicle’s brakes are engaged and that you turn off your engine. This is very important especially if there is danger of fire that may be caused by the accident. It may also be wise to turn on your hazard lights to inform surrounding traffic to take caution when approaching you.

Take note that your safety as well as the safety of others around you take precedent. Offer first aid as needed, if and only if you are qualified to do so, and call paramedics should you think they may be needed. Once all of that is out of the way, then it would be a good time to call a personal injury lawyer.

What is a Personal Injury Lawyer?

A personal injury lawyer is someone who specializes in litigation for injuries caused during car accidents and other situations. They are the ones that will guide you on how to seek proper compensation for your injuries. They will also do the coordination with everyone involved in order to build your case, and they will the ones who will communicate with the defendants on whether they would like to settle for a certain amount or if they would like the case to be brought to the court.

Many law firms have personal injury lawyers on their team, while there are also individuals and groups that you can find that actually specialize in these types of claims. As such, every driver should have the name and contact inform of at least one personal injury lawyer handy in these types of situations.

Why Do I Need a Personal Injury Lawyer?

Injury caused by car accidents vary, from simple whiplash to broken bones and even internal bleeding or damage in the cause of high speed or head-on collisions. Some insurance companies may compensate you for your vehicle’s damages, but you may get little coverage for your own injuries as well as those of your passengers.

Thus, you may have to pay for treatment from your own pocket. The same goes for rehabilitation and medicines. You would also not be able to work during your healing time, costing you even more money in the form of lost wages. Of course, there’s the emotional damage and trauma that the injury and accident may have caused.
With this, a personal injury lawyer can definitely help you get what you deserve. They will be the ones who will go through all of the motions to make sure that you are properly compensated for the pain, trauma, and inconvenience that the incident has caused.

What Do You Need to Do?

A personal injury lawyer would definitely require you to do some things immediately after the accident. They would require you to document the scene as accurately and as freshly as possible. The best images are the ones at the point of impact, both zoomed in and zoomed out, with the concerned vehicles not having moved.

Pictures of your injuries and the injuries of your passengers would also have to be documented. Videos are even better, as you could document and record things that photographs cannot represent.

A lawyer would even recommend getting the photograph of all the surrounding areas of the accident, as well as of those involved in the accident. In the event of investigation and litigation, there is no such thing as too much documentation.

If there is no chance of the other vehicle driving away, then there is no need to approach the driver. You can just stay in your vehicle or somewhere close to it and tend to your party’s injuries until police arrive. Otherwise, you can try and get the information of all persons involved. You may get their name, contact information, and insurance information and make sure that it is properly documented either by writing it down or by taking pictures or videos.

Perhaps most importantly, never discuss the accident without legal counsel. Never admit guilt or even provide information about what happened. A personal injury lawyer will be in charge of that, as he will investigate or hire out a team to check what really happened, and this data would be used should you decide to pursue a case against the other persons involved in the accident. In this case, staying quiet is definitely the best decision as anything and everything you say can and will definitely be used against you, especially if there is a presence of the police around to hear you.

Of course, make sure to check yourself into the hospital and have a doctor treat your wounds as well as look for less obvious injuries that may worsen over time. Have yourself X-rayed and have a CT scan done if necessary so that you don’t have to worry about other broken bones or brain injuries. Lastly, make sure to jot down your doctor’s name as your personal injury lawyer may require to talk to him as part of his investigation as he builds your case for you.

Final Thoughts

Car accidents are really unfortunate, but they do happen whether we like it or not. The best that we can do is to be careful out there on the road and be better defensive drivers. If the unforeseen does occur, however, make sure to have a personal injury lawyer by your side so that there would be someone that would take your best interests in mind. The money that you will get may not compensate fully for everything that you have experienced, but it is definitely a step in the right direction.

What is the average settlement for a personal injury?

This is a particularly tricky question to answer, because the settlement amount in most personal injury cases will be kept private and confidential. It is also difficult to 'estimate' how much one would receive from their case, simply because there are a lot of factors at play which will impact the final settlement. 

However, from the data that we do have, the average settlement for a case is somewhere in the region of $24,000. However, do bear in mind that this is the average.

It could be a lot higher, or it could be a lot lower than this. Our lawyers should be able to provide you with guidance how much you could potentially receive.

How do you calculate pain and suffering?

When we talk about pain and suffering, we are talking about the physical and mental stress somebody may receive in auto accidents.

The calculation will be dependent on where you live, and the circumstances of your case. If you are dealing directly with an insurance company, then they will often multiply the cost of your medical bills between 1x and 5x, dependent on the severity of your injury. 

This is a calculation that will often be carried out in court during personal injury cases too. In some cases, particularly if you have a 'lifelong' injury, you may be dealing with figures higher than the 5x multiplier.

Whatever you claim, your lawyer must be able to justify that you are entitled to that amount, however and claiming for pain and suffering is going to be difficult in most cases.

How long does it take to get a personal injury settlement check?

This will be determined based upon the circumstances of the accident. For example; minor motorcycle accidents may pay out a lot quicker than severe auto accidents.

If you are expecting a hefty settlement, then expect the insurance company to take a while to determine every single aspect of what actually happened. If you are just looking for a few thousand dollars to cover a medical bill, then it will be a lot quicker.

On average, it should take somewhere between four and six weeks to deal with most settlement claims. Before the check is released, you may be asked to sign a waiver which states that you are accepting the settlement and removes your right to sue the other party in court.

You may wish to talk to your lawyer before you accept any settlement payment. If you do decide to take your case to court, then it may take a whole lot longer to deal with. Many months, and sometimes years, in fact.

What are the chances of winning a personal injury lawsuit?

95% of all personal injury claims will never get anywhere near the courtroom. They will be dealt with between the insurance company and the impacted party. It is estimated that about 90% of cases that do end up going to court will end up failing. There are plenty of reasons for this.

Perhaps the main is that the insurance company will spend a lot more time investigating the claim, and the standards of succeeding with your claim will be a lot higher than if you were dealing with the insurance company alone.

Evidence which may be fine for the insurance company may not be fine for the courtroom, or may be dismissed for whatever reason. On the other hand, if you do have a strong claim, there is a chance that the settlement you are given in court will be a lot higher than what the insurance company would have provided you with.

Understanding Personal Injury Accidents & Settlements

A personal injury can occur after a traumatic event such as a car accident. Car accidents are serious and require medical attention after a victim has crashed with another car. 

This can cause personal injury as a result of the incident. Personal injury settlements are important as they allow the victim to receive compensation for their injuries. The average settlement for personal injury is anywhere from $3,000 to $75,000. Cases that do not go to trial are typically settled pretrial with a personal injury settlement.

Many people want to know how long it takes to receive a personal injury check after the settlement has been confirmed. It typically takes between four and six weeks to receive the settlement check. This process can vary in length as a result of the insurance policies and paperwork.

For example, insurance companies will first analyze all the aspects of the situation before agreeing on a settlement. Once a settlements has been reached, the victim will receive their personal injury check shortly after.

The chances of successfully winning a person injury lawsuit are high. Most personal injury lawsuits are settled pretrial and allow victims to receive compensation for their injuries and suffering.

Many victims receive compensation for their pain and suffering during the course of their injury. Other factors are also included in personal injury lawsuits such as hospital bills and damage. There are many reasons to file a personal injury lawsuit once you are involved in a car accident. Ensuring you are compensated for your injuries is important and therefore should be filed as soon as possible.

Other main factors that contribute to a lawsuit are the duration of time it took the victim to file, the extent of the injuries as well as specific details of the accident. For example, once an accident occurs, first reasoners such as police and ambulances arrive on the scene of the crash. After the police have taken note of all the information relating to the crash such as the drivers involved and their vehicles, they build a report.

Once a demand has been drafted for an accident, the information is sent to the insurance companies. The insurance companies will analyze the information and make their decision.

If we can't resolve the case pre-suit, a lawsuit may be needed to help the victim to be compensated for their injuries as well as suffering. This is very important as it pays for hospital bills and any other bills they will need to pay in order to recuperate. 

This process is very important and should be advised by a personal injury attorney. In order to increase the chances of winning a personal injury lawsuit, victims should ensure they work with an attorney in order to help complete their case.

This is very important as attorneys understand the state law better than anyone else. Once the lawsuit is officially filed, we will make sure to guide you through the entire process.