A personal injury occurs when a person negligently injuries an individual during an accident that they cause. A personal injury may be physical such as a broken arm. It may also be property damage such as a totaled car. Georgia law allows anyone injured in an accident caused by someone’s negligence to sue in court for damages. Damages is the money awarded to the victim of a personal injury case.
Accident attorneys in Atlanta can help you obtain the money needed to financially recover from an accident another person caused. Contact personal injury attorney Atlanta today.
Negligence
Who was liable for the accident? A lot of people, including the individual at fault will point fingers at the people they think was at fault in the accident. Georgia law requires a person to prove an individual or company caused the accident.
Negligence in Georgia is defined as the one who is negligently harmed an individual in an accident. The more specific negligence definition depends on the type of personal injury caused. For instance, wrongful death negligence occurs when a person’s actions leads to another individual dying. An intentional tort negligence, or an assault or battery, occurs when a person deliberately cause an injury to a victim.
A car accident attorney Atlanta can help anyone injured in a vehicle accident that wasn’t their fault. Accident attorneys in Atlanta will settle a claim or go to trial to get the financial justice you deserve. Contact us today.
Proving Negligence in a Georgia Personal Injury Case
Negligence is generally proven in four steps. The plaintiff, or individual suing, must prove the defendant had a duty to protect them from harm. For instance, in a medical malpractice claim, a surgeon has the duty to protect their patient from further injury during surgery.
The plaintiff then must show the defendant violated that duty. This violation happens when the defendant doesn’t act in the same or similar way another individual would in the situation. For example, a driver would have obeyed the speed limit on a Georgia street. The defendant didn’t obey the speed limit and crashed into the plaintiff, they violated their duty to protect them from harm.
A third step, or element involves connecting the defendant’s actions to the plaintiff’s injury. If it wasn’t for the defendant violating their duty to the plaintiff, they wouldn’t be injured.
Damages is the last proof needed in a personal injury case. Damages depend on the plaintiff’s injuries and can include:
- Lost wages
- Medical bills
- Pain and suffering
- Funeral and burial expenses if a family member’s suing for wrongful death
Damages include economic damages like medical bills and lost wages. It also includes what’s called non-economic damages. You may have read pain and suffering in the list of damages. Pain and suffering is a non-economic damage because the amount of money can’t be easily calculated as with medical bills.
Georgia does allow for putative damages. Putative damages aren’t based on injuries sustained in the accident, but wrongdoing by the defendant. The court seeks to punish the defendant and deter anyone from committing the same accident.
Not everyone receives punitive damages. Generally, if the accident was done with malice or fraud, then the defendant may pay punitive damages. The amount for punitive damages may range from $1 to $250,000.
Modified Comparative Negligence
Georgia also uses the legal doctrine called Modified Comparative Negligence. This type of negligence assigns fault to the defendant, plaintiff or both parties. The plaintiff can only receive damages if they are less than 50 percent at fault. For instance, a defendant was speeding and ran a red light. A plaintiff was texting and didn’t see a stop sign at the end of the street and kept going. The defendant hit the plaintiff’s vehicle and injured them. If a jury or judge finds the plaintiff was 51 percent at fault and defendant was 49 percent at fault, then the defendant doesn’t pay.
Also, the plaintiff can only receive damages according to their fault. For instance, the plaintiff was assigned 20 percent of the responsibility. They were suing for $10,000. The court would deduct 20 percent from their award. Thus, they’d received $8,000 instead of $10,000.
Injured in a car accident? You have a limited amount of time to seek compensation. Let a car accident attorney Atlanta help you.
Georgia Statute of Limitations
Statute of limitations refers to the amount of time a plaintiff has to sue for the injuries they sustained in an accident. Georgia gives a personal injury victim two years from the date of the accident to sue in civil court. For any injuries caused by a city or county, a person has six months from the date of the injury to file a claim. Claims against a state agency has a two-year statute of limitations.
Here are the other areas we cover:
- Medical malpractice
- Workers compensation
- Brain injuries
- Dog bites
- Trucking accidents
- Car/Motorcycle accidents
We are the personal injury attorney Atlanta, and we deal exclusively with these types of cases.
Getting Help from a Personal Injury Attorney Atlanta
You’ve been injured. The other side is claiming you are totally or partly at fault. Don’t let that scare you from seeking the money you need for the injuries you sustained. You have the right to file a personal injury lawsuit against the individual or company who harmed you.
Contact us for help. We fight for every client. You deserve to have someone on your side whether it’s to obtain a settlement or go to trial. Contact us today.
