Injuries from a car accident can change your life in an instant. Adding to your physical pain, medical bills can quickly mount, creating financial stress and tremendous anxiety – especially if you are missing time at work while you recover.
If another individual or entity caused your wreck, you have the right to demand that they compensate you for your losses. This can happen through an insurance settlement or jury verdict. A Savannah personal injury lawyer from our law firm can represent you through this process and fight to get you the compensation you deserve.
How Much Compensation Can You Get from a Car Accident Claim or Lawsuit?
If our lawyers can prove that another person’s negligence caused you to suffer an injury, you could receive compensation to cover your economic and non-economic injury-related losses. This compensation is referred to as “damages.”
The damages you could recover depend on your specific injury and how it affects you today and into the future.
Economic and Non-Economic Damages You May be Entitled to
Examples of some of the economic (or “special”) damages common in car accidents include:
- Doctors’ fees and surgeons’ fees (past and future)
- Physical therapy and rehabilitation
- Prescription medicines
- Hospitalization
- Emergency transportation
- Home modification (ramps, widened doorways)
- Mobility devices (wheelchair, crutches)
- Lost wages and benefits
- Diminished future potential earnings
Georgia laws account for the equally significant but less tangible losses a car wreck injury could cause. These are called non-economic (or “general”) damages and include:
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Emotional distress
- Diminished quality or enjoyment of life
- Scarring and disfigurement
Our lawyers will investigate your accident and work with medical and other experts to determine the value of your case.
For a free legal consultation with a car accident lawyer serving Savannah, call 404-214-2001
Our Savannah Car Accident Attorneys Bring the Power of Experience
Our law firm has been protecting the rights of the injured people of Savannah for multiple decades. We have the experience that makes a difference when negotiating settlements and when presenting to a jury.
Over the years, our attorneys have won millions of dollars in insurance settlements and verdicts for our clients. Our successes in representing victims of car accidents speak volumes. Consider this sampling of wins:
- $11 million (car accident)
- $5,750,000 (roadway-defect-caused accident)
- $4,325,000 (DUI car accident)
- $900,000 (car accident)
Savannah Car Accident Lawyer Near Me 404-214-2001
Proving Negligence in Your Car Accident
Many people mistakenly assume they can collect money from a person by proving that individual caused their car accident. Personal injury law is more complicated than this.
In Georgia, to recover damages, the plaintiff in a car accident case must prove the at-fault party’s negligence. This requires that we prove four key elements:
- Duty of care: Someone owed you a legal obligation to act in a way (drive safely, for example) that would keep you safe from harm.
- Breach of duty: This person violated their duty of care (perhaps by failing to use a turn signal before switching lanes).
- Causation: The individual’s breach of duty caused the accident that caused your injury (had they used their turn signal you would not have rear-ended them).
- Damages: You suffered economic, emotional, and occupational losses as a result of your injury (medical bills, time missed at work, and pain and suffering).
We will gather the evidence to prove the above elements by:
- Visiting the scene of the car accident
- Getting the police accident report
- Gathering your medical records
- Obtaining testimony from witnesses
- Reviewing photos and videos
- Working with accident reconstruction specialists
- Collaborating with medical experts
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How Georgia’s Fault Laws Could Affect Your Compensatory Damages
Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety reports that the state continues to report disappointing numbers of serious injuries—projected at 5,945—in traffic accidents happening between 2016 and 2020. Sometimes these accidents happen because of a single individual’s negligence. However, Georgia lawmakers take into account the fact that car accidents often happen as the result of the actions of two or more parties.
O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33 instills in Savannah car accident cases the 50 percent rule of contributory negligence. Under this law, if a court finds you at least 50 percent at fault for your auto collision, you cannot recover damages. If your fault is less than 50 percent, you can recover damages, but they will be reduced accordingly.
For example, if you are found to be 10 percent at fault for the crash, you would receive 90 percent of the total compensatory award.
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Types of Negligence That Cause Car Wrecks
When Savannah Mayor Van Johnson was involved in a car accident at the intersection of W. Oglethorpe Avenue and Fahm Street, the driver of another vehicle was found to be at fault, according to coverage. Savannah Morning News reported that Johnson “limped away…slowly” from the collision, which resulted from another driver failing to yield while making a left turn.
Failure to yield is one of several common causes of car accidents. Other negligent acts known to cause crashes include:
- Driving at excessive speeds
- Driving while distracted (texting, talking on phone)
- Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
- Following too closely
- Aggressive driving
- Object on the road
- Unfavorable weather conditions
- Failure to obey stop sign or traffic signal
- Driver loses control of their car
- Failure to yield
- Improper lane change
- Driving while fatigued
- Malfunctioning car or car components
You Have a Limited Window of Time to Take Legal Action
Although most personal injury cases are settled without having to go to trial, in some cases, the insurance company refuses to agree to a reasonable settlement. Our law firm does not hesitate to take these matters to civil court.
However, Georgia places time constraints on our ability to file a lawsuit on your behalf. The state specifies these restrictions in various statutes of limitations. O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33 gives you around two years from the date of your car accident in which to file a lawsuit against any negligent parties. The state shortens this timeline in cases where the negligent party liable for your accident injuries is a government agency.
The sooner you hire us to handle your case, the more time you give our legal team to work through gathering evidence, determining the value of your losses, and negotiating with the insurance company. This way, if we find ourselves in the position of having to file a lawsuit, we can do so before Georgia’s statute of limitations expires.
Connect with Our Savannah Car Accident Lawyers
If a car accident caused you to suffer an injury, you have the right to pursue compensation for your losses. We understand that as you try to recover from your injury, the thought of taking on the insurance companies can be daunting. Our attorneys can relieve you of the stress of recovering damages, leaving you to tend to your physical and emotional well-being.
Contact Kaine Law today for a free case evaluation. Remember, we charge legal fees only when and if we win you compensation from an insurance settlement or court award. Call us today at (404) 214-2001.
Call or text 404-214-2001 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
