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Truck Accident Injury Compensation in Georgia: What You Should Know

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Truck Accident Injury Compensation in Georgia: What You Should Know

As destructive as a typical car accident in Georgia may prove, am accident involving a car and a commercial vehicle can create even more devastation due to the sheer size and bulk of these vehicles. If you’ve suffered a debilitating injury from such an accident, you need to understand your legal options for pursuing financial compensation. Let’s take a look at the unique features of Georgia truck accident claims and lawsuits.

Who Holds Liability in a Georgia Truck Accident?

Georgia counts as a modified comparative fault state. This means you can sue for damages in a personal injury case as long as you hold less than 50 percent of the responsibility for the accident. But who do you sue?

Unlike straightforward car accidents in which one driver sues another driver, liability in a Georgia truck accident injury can include the driver, the driver’s employer, the vehicle owner, and/or these parties’ insurance provider. For instance, the driver may have practiced negligence while representing the trucking company, or the entity responsible for the truck’s maintenance may have allowed the vehicle’s brakes to fall into disrepair.

When Should You Consider Legal Action?

The insurance company that represents the other party or parties in your personal injury case may push you to accept a cut-and-dried financial settlement. Don’t agree to such a settlement until you’ve first consulted an experienced personal injury attorney.

You need to consider all the long-term financial implications of your injury, from loss of income and immediate medical bills to (in some cases) a lifetime of ongoing medical and non-medical care. To obtain the compensation you really need, you may have no choice but to reject an insurance settlement offer and file a lawsuit instead.

In some cases, an improperly-packed shipment may fall from a truck and cause an auto injury. In these situations, the injured party would sue the shipping company instead of the truck owner or driver.

How Do You Pursue a Truck Accident Injury Lawsuit?

In most cases, plaintiffs in Georgia traffic injury cases have two years from the date of the accident to file a claim. The case itself may prove more complex than a standard car accident injury lawsuit due to the number of potential defendants involved, and the need to show exactly how much liability each defendant might hold. Your attorney can use driver logs, carrier hiring records,  and other data to demonstrate negligence.

As you can see, complex cases like truck accident injury lawsuits require expert legal representation. Contact Amanda Hall Injury Law today for a consultation with our skilled, experienced attorneys.

How Does Georgia’s Helmet Law Affect My Injury Case?

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According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, motorcycle accidents cause roughly 5,000 fatalities per year. A majority of U.S. states have implemented helmet laws to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries occurring in these accidents.

The state of Georgia implemented its mandatory helmet law in 1969. This law is Section 40-6-315 in the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, and it can affect your motorcycle injury case.

The Georgia Helmet Law

The Georgia helmet law is stricter than helmet laws in other states. The law requires all people on the bike to wear a helmet. This applies to bikers and passengers of all ages.

An exception to the Georgia helmet law is when a rider is in a motorized cart or enclosed cab. The biker does not need to wear a helmet while enclosed.

Helmets used by passengers and operators must be DOT-approved. Helmet standards are outlined in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 218. Motorcyclists must also wear DOT-approved eye protection, including most helmet shields or goggles.

Helmets and Personal Injury Claims

A common and effective defense against a personal injury case is that the plaintiff caused their injuries by not wearing a helmet. This defense is especially effective when the case involves head injuries. The defendant can prove the injuries would not have occurred or would not be as severe if the individual was wearing a DOT helmet.

Personal injury claims regarding other areas of the body are less reliant on whether the plaintiff was wearing a helmet. The helmet should not play a role in the plaintiff’s compensation for injuries unrelated to the head or helmet. However, the defense will still try to use the fact that the biker was not wearing a helmet to sway the case.

Comparative Fault in Georgia

The state of Georgia often allows the plaintiff to receive some compensation for injuries the biker may have caused to themselves. A plaintiff who the jury finds less than 50 percent at fault for his injuries may receive compensation. The jury will decide for what percentage of the injuries the biker is at fault.

Hire a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

A qualified motorcycle accident lawyer is the best choice when dealing with a motorcycle personal injury case. The experts at Amanda Hall Injury Law know Georgia motorcycle law inside and out. We aim to help you receive the best possible compensation for your injuries, whether you or your passengers were wearing a helmet or not.

Georgia Statute of Limitations

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The Statute of Limitations concerning a claim is among the most important deadlines to know when dealing with a car accident. Whether you dealt with a fender bender in Atlanta or a serious car accident in some other part of Georgia, you’ll need to make sure that you properly file a lawsuit against the offending party before you lose your right to forever pursue that claim. Understanding the statute of limitations for car accident claims in Georgia is essential to ensure your protection in a court of law.

Today, we are going to delve into car accident claims in Georgia to better support your understanding of the statute of limitations.

Different Limitation Periods For Your Car Accident

When we talk about filing a claim in Georgia for your car accident, we aren’t just talking about phoning the offending party’s insurance company to notify them of the claim and accident. What we are instead focusing on is the actual lawsuit you will file against the at-fault individual to acquire compensation.

In Georgia, there are two separate claims with their respective statutes of limitations.

First, a claim for property damage suffered against your vehicle must be placed within four years of the offending accident. This is a Georgia guideline and the statute of limitations can and will change depending upon where you are at in the country.

Second, a claim can be made against the at-fault party for injuries to your person. To pursue a personal injury claim, you will need to make a claim within two years of the offending accident while living in Georgia. This is a general guideline as there are exceptions that can exacerbate the timeline, granting more time.

General Exceptions For Timeline Extensions

While the Statute of Limitations for filing a claim in Georgia will sit between two and four years (depending on the claim), there are exacerbating circumstances. In Georgia, if you were injured while still under the age of majority, your two-year statute of limitations will not begin until you reach the age of majority. This gives you potentially many more years to pursue a claim.

Other circumstances may change the statute of limitations regarding the claim you are filing in Georgia. To make sure that you are properly represented for your claim, contact the team at Ananda Hall Injury Law for support.

Amanda Hall Injury Law Can Help Today!

For more than 25 years, the team at Amanda Hall Injury Law has been fighting for justice on behalf of their clients. Whether injured in an accident or harmed by the negligent actions of others, Amanda Hall Injury Law fights tooth-and-nail to become a powerful voice for their clients.

Amanda Hall Injury Law promises

  • Exceptional Attention
  • Experienced Service
  • No Recovery, No Cost

Contact Amanda HallInjury Law today at (678) 445-7423

Long Term Effects of Brain Injury

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From an increased chance of concussion to radical changes in personality, medical science is still exploring and discovering long-term effects of brain injury. When brain injury occurs, the immediate damage may not be visible. Effects may linger for months or years thereafter, and their significance and prominence can strongly vary.

What Happens After a Brain Injury?

Short-term, the brain may swell and headaches, confusion, loss of consciousness, memory issues, and/or nausea may occur. But it’s a mistake to assume that you’re fine after you stop feeling the immediate effects. A brain injury can cause long-term issues, such as anxiety, depression, and other mood-related problems. Traumatic brain injuries can potentially make it difficult or impossible to hold down a job, make it difficult to maintain interpersonal relationships, and otherwise make it difficult to manage your day-to-day life.

What Should You Do After a Brain Injury?

Any injury to your head, even very slight, could potentially cause a brain injury. Even if the immediate results aren’t dramatic, it’s possible that they could become more severe over time. If you experience a blow to the head, a severe car accident, or other type of head injury, you should immediately go to the doctor and thoroughly document what occurred. If someone else was responsible for your injury, or if it was a workplace incident, you’re going to need thorough documentation to as evidence. Further, you will want to continue going to the doctor for follow-ups to chart your progress.

Why Is a Brain Injury Dangerous?

Once you’ve experienced a TBI, any subsequent brain injury can be that much more dangerous. Having a concussion previously puts you at risk for issues such as concussion syndrome. If you are hit in the head again later, the results could be far more severe than if you had never experienced a brain injury before. Because of this, your recovery from subsequent injuries can be that much more involved, complex, and uncomfortable. It’s important to have thorough medical documentation for any TBI for these reasons and more.

A traumatic brain injury can be frightening. Importantly, you must never assume that you’re entirely out of the woods as far as injuries go, because there may be long-term issues far beyond what you’ve experienced thus far. For more information about TBIs, the law, and how to pursue compensation for injuries, contact the professionals at Amanda Hall Injury Law.

What is Premises Liability in Georgia?

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In the state of Georgia, a property owner can be held accountable for any injuries that occur on his or her property so long as it can be proven the owner was negligent in efforts to prevent the accident. It can be very difficult to prove negligence. So, if you have been injured, it is important to review the details of your case with an attorney who has experience and success trying these types of cases.

What is Premises Liability?

Georgia statute O.C.G.A 51-3-1 defines premises liability of the failure of a property owner to keep the property safe for those who are lawfully visiting. This means that if someone slips, falls, or is hurt in any other manner, it is possible to seek monetary damages from the property owner. It must be proven that the property owner’s actions or inaction contributed to the injury.

Examples include the following.

  • The owner failed to perform structural repairs or regular maintenance on the property.
  • The owner did not provide adequate security, making the property unsafe for its guests.
  • The owner did not properly mark hazards, such as identifying wet floors and trip, slip or fall risks. Warnings should be posted so that visitors are aware of the hazards.
  • The visitor was invited to the property. This could include customers and workers who frequent a business property.

It is important to understand that the property owner is not always held liable for injuries. In order to prove negligence, you need to show that the owner’s actions were egregious and irresponsible. If a hazard is clearly visible to everyone, for example, the property owner cannot be found at fault if someone is injured on the property.

The property owner must also be aware that there is a defect or hazard on the property in order to be held liable as well. If the hazard was something that had not been discovered during previous inspections, the owner cannot be expected to be held accountable. It can be very difficult to prove that a property owner had sufficient advance notice that there was a hazard on his or her property.

Failure to Address Known Issues

Examples in which property owners can be proven negligent usually involve some sort of history of incidents. For example, if people have tripped over a defect in the sidewalk before, but the owner never performed repairs, this can show that the owner was aware of the problem and chose to do nothing. This puts anyone who visits his or her property at risk.

Due to the complexity of premises liability claims, these cases are more likely to go to court than other types of personal injury claims. Many accident cases are settled out of court because the facts are clear and cannot be contested. If you are seeking damages in a premises liability case, you should be prepared to go to court because it will be much more difficult to argue the facts behind your claim.

The Representation You Choose Matters

It is important that before you pursue a claim for premises liability that you obtain qualified counsel. You don’t just want an attorney with personal injury law experience, but one that has been able to win premises liability cases in the past. While it is possible for you to collect the compensation to which you are entitled, an inexperienced lawyer may be in over his head.

Amanda Hall Injury Law has over 25 years of experience working with complex legal cases. If you are in the Woodstock or Acworth area, contact us today to arrange a free case review.

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Fewer Cars on the Road Means an Increase in High Speed Accidents

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With restrictions due to the pandemic, it’s no surprise the amount of traffic on the road has dramatically decreased this year. You may often see much emptier roads than usual, even during typical rush hour times because more people are working from home and not heading out as much. While this can offer a more relaxing ride when you do need to go out, fewer cars on the road often means an increase in high-speed accidents. With less traffic, people are more likely to drive faster, sometimes without even realizing it, increasing the risk of collisions on the road.

Dangerous Speeds Are Increasing

It’s estimated traffic has reduced about 45 percent from what it was back in March, leaving open roads in many areas, even major metropolitan areas. Rather than traveling the set speed limit, more people are exceeding those limits and driving upwards of 100 miles per hour, even in cities where the average speed limit is lower than the open highway out in the countryside. Some motorcyclists have even been stopped going over 170 miles per hour, which can have disastrous results if an accident occurs. Changing lanes and making turns at these speeds can be extremely dangerous for everyone involved. When these high-speed crashes occur, it has devastating effects on not only the vehicle, but those who are inside it. Even though officers are issuing more tickets than ever for individuals who are driving 100 miles per hour or higher, it doesn’t seem to be slowing down.

How to Prevent High-Speed Accidents

While slowing down is the obvious answer, there are a few other steps you can take to ensure you aren’t one of those people who finds they have vastly exceeded the speed limit, increasing the risk of a high-speed accident. First and foremost, plan your route ahead of time and make sure you leave early enough to ensure you don’t find yourself feeling rushed, which is one of the biggest contributors to speeding issues. It’s also essential to pay close attention to your speedometer. Strive to keep your speeds at or below the speed limit, rather than ignoring your speedometer and just going with the flow. You can also now download speeding apps to help keep you in check as you drive. These apps, such as the Waze app, alert you when you exceed the speed limit, giving you an audio indication you need to slow down.

Nothing is worth getting into a serious accident, even arriving to your destination late. Even though there’s less traffic to contend with, there’s no reason to vastly exceed the speed limit in the name of reaching your destination more quickly. Stay safe on the road!

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The Family Purpose Doctrine and How it Affects your Car Accident Lawsuit in Georgia

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Recently, the Georgia Court of Appeals gave an opinion regarding the applicability of the family purpose doctrine in Georgia. It was in reference to a car accident lawsuit. The specific accident occurred in 2016 when a minor was the driver of a vehicle where the father was a passenger. The minor was in an intersection and turned left when an approaching car continued straight into the minor’s car. The other car struck the passenger side of the minor’s car and resulted in the father’s death. The widow filed a wrongful death suit, and the defendant maintained a counterclaim stating the accident was the fault of the daughter. The defendant also imposed Georgia’s family purpose doctrine as a defense in this lawsuit.

According to Georgia’s family purpose doctrine, the accident victim can hold the owner of the car who caused the accident liable for damages. But, certain factors must be proven. Here’s a list of those factors:

  • The negligent driver was a family member living in the household of the owner
  • The defendant had control of his own vehicle
  • The owner let the driver use the car for the convenience or pleasure of that family member
  • The driver had the consent of the owner for “family purpose” at the time of the accident
  • An agency relationship exists between the owner and the family member

In this particular case, the defendant argued that the family purpose doctrine did apply. The father who owned the car let his daughter use the car with permission and as a family member of his household. In addition, the vehicle was a family purpose car and that establishes agency. Did the family doctrine apply in this case?

In the partial summary judgment, it was argued that the family purpose doctrine is a plaintiff’s rule and cannot be put on a third party for recovery of damages. The court analyzed the issue and took into account Georgia’s law OGCA 51-2-2. This decision was that this law does not put the liability on parents based on the parent-child relationship. The court made it clear that the doctrine is intended to permit the plaintiff to recover from a negligent child’s parent with certain conditions. In the end, the third party was not permitted to use the family doctrine as a defense, and the widow prevailed.

If you or a loved one has incurred injuries or died in a car accident in Georgia, it’s important to contact an experienced personal injury lawyer. An experienced personal injury lawyer will understand the complexities of the family doctrine and assist you in recovering compensation for yourself and your loved ones. Keep in mind that the law is complex and an experienced personal injury lawyer can explain the law to you so that you understand it. Our experienced personal injury lawyer will also act as your advocate and fight for your rights for the best outcome.

 

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What Is Personal Injury Law?

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What You Should Know About Personal Injury Law

At some or other, you may find yourself either filing a personal injury lawsuit or defending yourself against such a lawsuit. If you aren’t familiar with the world of personal injury law, this situation can seem confusing, unsettling or intimidating. Here are some primary points of injury injury law to help you navigate the necessary processes and procedures more confidently and successfully.

Personal Injury Law Defined

Personal injury covers issues related to injuries inflicted on a person’s body. This focus differentiates it from other types of litigation that might involve damage to someone’s property or reputation. the injury inflicted may be physical, mental, emotional, financial, or any combination of the above. Many individuals file personal injury lawsuits after discovering that they cannot achieve proper compensation for their losses through insurance claims or other means.

Types of Personal Injuries

Personal injury covers a wide range of injury types and scenarios. Common examples include:

  • Automobile accident injuries
  • Wrongful death due to negligence or dangerous working conditions
  • Slip-and-fall accidents or other workplace injuries
  • Various forms of assault, including sexual assault and assault and battery
  • Injury caused by defective products
  • Medical malpractice

Personal Injury Damages

An individual who has suffered a personal injury may have the right to request multiple kinds of damages due to hardships caused by the injury. For example, accident injury sufferers may be faced with enormous medical bills, not only for past treatment but for ongoing care. They may also have lost substantial wages or the ability to earn a wage going forward. Their lawsuit may demand financial compensation for these losses.

Personal injury damages can also take a less tangible form. You may have reason to seek financial compensation for your pain and suffering, for instance, or for the destruction of your quality of life. You might even have grounds to sue on the grounds of consortium, the loss of family or marital relations. Your attorney can help you figure out exactly what kinds of damages you should request and what dollar amounts those damages should assume.

Determination of Liability

The determination of liability can make all the difference between the full award of damages, no damages at all, or some in-between compromise number. Personal injury lawsuits generally require the plaintiff (the person bringing the lawsuit) to show that the defendant  (the person or entity being sued) caused the injury either directly or through inaction, negligence, incompetence, or other faulty behaviors.

Different states have different laws regarding how they assign or distribute liability. In a state that upholds the principle of contributory negligence, plaintiffs cannot receive any damages if they shared even one percent of the blame for the event that caused the injury. Most states, however, follow some sort of comparative negligence rule. This means that the plaintiff will receive a percentage of the requested compensation based on the percentage of fault assigned to the defendant by the court.

Our law firm can answer all your questions about personal injury cases and compensation while helping you build an effective case. Contact us today to learn more.

 

Coronavirus and Personal Injury Cases

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The novel COVID-19 or “Coronavirus” pandemic has impacted the entire nation. Businesses have shuttered, schools have moved online, and plans have been changed all over the nation. Even in areas where everyday life is starting to slowly grind back into motion, the future remains unclear.

This is particularly true if you have an ongoing personal injury claim or would like to file one. Has Coronavirus affected the legal system? Is your personal injury claim even still valid?

The short answer is “Yes” to both of those questions. Yes, the pandemic has affected the legal system and standard operation procedures. But yes, your personal injury claim is still valid, and you are also able to file a new one.

Filing a Claim When You Are Still Under ‘Stay At Home’ Orders

While many towns and regions are starting to relax their ‘Stay At Home’ orders, many others are still under strict effect. Even in those that are reopening, social distancing is still practiced in most business and legal arenas and will be for quite some time. The first step for filing a personal injury claim will be to contact an experienced personal injury lawyer. Most of your interaction with them will now be done through online teleconferencing, email, phone, etc.

It’s important to realize that obtaining the documents and other evidence you need for your claim may take a bit longer than usual at this time. When your claim is filed, you will most likely be advised to settle out of court. Not only are most courthouses still closed to the public, but they are also experiencing a backlog of cases. Many hearings are taking place via videoconferencing, which slows proceedings further.

Furthermore, it’s important to understand that personal injury cases in general usually take two to three years to reach a settlement, and even longer when matters are taken into court. Because of this, it’s very likely that any new personal injury claims being filed will most likely not see the inside of a courtroom at all during 2020, and possibly not for the immediate years to come.

Other COVID-19 Considerations

It’s not just the courts moving slower. When filing a personal injury claim (or waiting on one that has already been filed), there are many new things to consider because of the ongoing pandemic:

  • The statute of limitations may be affected in your cases, though some states are allowing citizens to obtain waivers when applicable.
  • More people are uninsured now because of income loss, making getting injury compensation more challenging.
  • More businesses are declaring bankruptcy, further making it difficult to collect compensation.
  • Medical evaluations / documents are tougher to get now because of office closures and scheduling restrictions.
  • Both insurance companies and businesses may try to take advantage of the current economic situation you if you are injured on their watch. Always speak to your attorney before accepting any offer.

The Bottom Line

Your personal injury case is currently more challenging to navigate, but it is far from impossible. Consult with an experienced personal injury lawyer before trying to file on your own or worse, assuming that you cannot do so at this time.