Conyers Car
Wreck Attorney
Have You Sustained Injuries Due To a Car Wreck?
Sustaining severe injuries in a car wreck is a stressful experience. Besides dealing with physical pain, you could find yourself out of work indefinitely while recovering from your injuries. The situation provokes even more anxiety when you have a stack of medical bills you cannot pay. When another driver causes significant injuries through negligence, Georgia allows accident victims to initiate a personal injury lawsuit within two years of the date of occurrence. Mark Thomas, an experienced Conyers Car Wreck attorney, is available to help you navigate the lawsuit process.Call our office today at 404-999-3258.
Steps to Take Immediately After a Car Wreck
If you were recently involved in a car crash and have not yet received medical attention, you should do so right away. Ideally, people involved in a car accident should receive immediate emergency treatment even if the injuries do not appear to be serious.
Seeking prompt medical attention is especially important if you are considering filing a personal injury lawsuit against the other driver because it lends credibility to your case. Defense attorneys routinely try to paint personal injury victims as responsible for their injuries. When you avoid going to the emergency room or an urgent care clinic, it sends the message that the injuries you received from the car accident were not that serious.
All drivers involved in an accident must exchange information with each other to include their name, contact information, insurance company name, and policy number. You do not need to offer the other driver any more information than the minimum required.
Someone at the accident scene should call 911 to request the police to come and take a report. Be sure you do not leave the accident scene until this occurs since police reports can become vital pieces of information later. The report should indicate the following:
- Names of the drivers involved in the incident
- Passenger and witness names along with their contact information
- The date and time the accident occurred
- How the accident occurred
Keep in mind that a police report only states the facts. Police officers will not give their opinion regarding who caused the accident. Even so, the report is valuable to collaborate your reporting of the accident later if you decide to pursue a personal injury lawsuit. If your injuries do not prevent you from doing so, take pictures at the accident scene and jot down notes to refresh your memory in the days and weeks ahead. This information is also helpful to provide to your Conyers car wreck attorney.
Georgia is a Fault State with a Comparative Negligence Statute
Georgia is one of 38 states that operates on a traditional liability system for car accidents. That means that insurance adjusters assign each party a percentage of blame for actions that contributed to the crash. The insurance company for the driver assigned the most responsibility then pays the claim.
State law allows you to sue for personal injury and property damage if your percentage of blame is 50 percent or less. The agent from the other party’s insurance company may try to say you cannot sue if you share any responsibility. While this is true in some states, Georgia is not one of them. Someone also needs to call the police to report the accident, even if it seems minor. A police report provides legal written documentation of the date and time of the accident and the circumstances that caused it. Take pictures if you have a camera available and jot down any details while they are still fresh in your mind. While specific information may seem unimportant now, your insurance agent and attorney could need them later.
Other Tactics You Can Expect from the At-Fault Driver’s Insurance Company
As an experienced Conyers Car Wreck Attorney in private practice since 1998, Mark Thomas is familiar with stall tactics, and intimidation techniques insurance companies attempt to use against injured clients. Although it is frustrating to hear, you need to remember that insurance companies are for-profit businesses. Doing what is best for you is not a priority since an insurance agent’s primary goal is to save the company money.
Pressuring injured people to settle a case before they know the full extent of how the injuries will affect them is one common insurance company tactic. It would be best if you never accepted the first offer from the other party’s insurance company before discussing it with your Conyers car wreck attorney.
Another trick insurance companies use to deflect blame is to send the injury victim a release of information form to obtain medical records. If you sign this form, it means that the insurance agent can go through your entire medical history looking for something else that could have caused your symptoms.
Because you lose all confidentiality when you sign a release for your medical records, you should not do so without talking to your attorney. However, Mark Thomas is still available to represent you if you did sign the form due to pressure and not understanding what the insurance company would do with your medical records. His decades of legal experience allow him to argue effectively against any potential false allegations.
What Can You Expect if You Win Your Car Wreck Lawsuit?
Several factors determine the amount of a personal injury settlement, including the severity of your injuries. If the attorneys from both sides cannot agree on a settlement amount, your case will proceed to court. You need to present yourself as a believable witness with whom the jury can sympathize to win your case and receive a fair settlement.
This is the point of a jury trial where it helps to have an experienced Conyers car wreck attorney on your side.
When Should I Hire a Conyers Car Wreck Attorney?
Mark Thomas will prove the car accident happened as you said it did and that you deserve maximum compensation for your injuries.
You could potentially receive compensation for actual expenses such as medical costs and missed time from work. The jury may also grant you compensation based on their interpretation of your level of pain and suffering. While these are the most common types of personal injury compensation, you could qualify for even more depending on your circumstances.
A serious car accident can disrupt your life, but Conyers car wreck attorney Mark Thomas is here to help you put it back together. Please contact Mark Thomas, Car Wreck Attorney, to request your initial consultation today.