Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer

Areas of Atlanta Personal Injury Law

One of the first pieces of information an Atlanta personal injury lawyer will tell you is that you have longer to file an Atlanta personal injury claim than you do in most other large cities in the United States. This is because there are different Statutes of Limitations in each State, that determine how long you have to file a personal injury claim after you have been involved in an accident.

However, it is best to file a personal injury claim, with the help of an Atlanta personal injury lawyer as soon as possible after an accident, in Atlanta and other cities in the United States, as if you wait too long, you may miss your opportunity to recover any damages for your injuries, no matter how serious they are.

The best way to understand the differences between an Atlanta personal injury claim and those of other cities is by speaking with an Atlanta personal injury lawyer and looking at the laws themselves:

1)Statute of Limitations: In Atlanta, and the rest of the state of Georgia, you must file a personal injury claim within 4 years of the accident/injury occurring. In the case of a malpractice suit or a defective product personal injury claim, that timeline is reduced to 2 years. If you have further questions about these limitations, you should contact an Atlanta personal injury lawyer today.

2)Caps on Punitive Damages: While there is no other cap on the awards one can receive for most cases, for punitive damages you may only be paid up to a maximum of $250,000

3)Georgia is a “Fault State”: Many States in America follow this system of determining fault and assessing damages, and Georgia is no exception. If you want to know more about the specifics of these laws and how they can affect your Atlanta personal injury claim¸ you need to contact an Atlanta personal injury lawyer in your area.

It is clear that there are many differences between an Atlanta personal injury claim and those made in other States. Unfortunately, knowing the differences between these differences is only part of the information you will need to know if you are to file a successful personal injury claim in Atlanta. In order to file a personal injury claim in Atlanta, there is a process that needs to be followed:

Step 1: Protect and Notify If you’ve suffered a personal injury, the first step is to protect the evidence surrounding the case and notify the party who caused the injury of the situation and your intentions to file a personal injury claim. If a witness, for instance, saw the injury occur, you should exchange contact information with them, as they can help verify your claim. Evidence in an Atlanta personal injury claim becomes more and more important the longer a claim goes on.

Sometimes identifying who is at fault is not as simple as it seems. In these cases, you may need to notify several parties of your intention to file a personal injury claim. An Atlanta personal injury lawyer can also help you determine who is at fault. Filing a claim against the wrong party will mean losing the time and money invested in the initial claim and more headaches when you have to re-file.

Step 2: The Response After you let the party responsible for the injury know what has happened, they will have a chance to respond to you. There are cases where an Atlanta personal injury claim ends here. If both parties agree on who is at fault as well as what damages should be paid there is no need for further action. While this happens from time to time, most cases of personal injury do not end here. This is because there is either no response from the party responsible or the response is negative.

Step 3: Filing a Lawsuit If your claim has not been resolved after sending a complaint to the the responsible party, your next step is filing a lawsuit. This requires the assistance of an Atlanta personal injury lawyer. From here the lawyers of both parties exchange information and hold a meeting. The proceedings are to determine if a resolution can be found. Many cases of personal injury are resolved at this stage, but some still require further action.

Step 4: Trial If no resolution has been found a date is set and your case is tried in court. It is here where your Atlanta personal injury lawyer will prove his worth as they will have you fully prepared to present your case in the most professional and effective way in the courts, giving your personal injury claim the highest chance of success in the courts. An Atlanta personal injury lawyer will prove to be invaluable throughout the claim process