A Personal Injury Attorney Atlanta Trusts

Injured victims deserve financial compensation that is equivalent to the full value of their losses. In Georgia, personal injury compensation is available for both direct economic losses and intangible (noneconomic) damages. Of course, most personal injury cases are defended by corporations or big insurance companies, which will always fight aggressively to try to limit settlement offers.

To get fair compensation, injured victims should always obtain high-quality legal representation. Our personal injury lawyers help victims seek recovery for:

• Emergency room costs and ambulance fees.
• Mental anguish
• All other medical bills.
• Disfigurement.
• Long-term disability (LTD).
• Loss of limb.
• Lost current and future wages.
• Loss of life. enjoyment.
• Pain and suffering.
• The wrongful death of a family member.

To hold another party legally responsible for your injuries in Georgia, you must prove that they were ‘at fault’ for your injuries. What types of actions (or inactions) constitute negligence will always depend on the specific facts of the case. As such, it is imperative that victims work with an experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyer. To prove negligence, your attorney must establish the following four basic elements:

• The defendant owed you a duty of care.
• The defendant breached that duty of care.
• The defendant’s breach of duty contributed to your injuries.
• You sustained real harm in the accident.

It should be noted that even if you are partially responsible for the accident that led to your injuries, you may still be entitled to compensation under Georgia’s comparative negligence law (Ga. Code Ann. Sec. 51-12-33). The statute, which establishes a modified comparative negligence rule with a 50 percent bar, holds that you can be up to 49 percent liable for what happened and still collect damages for your injuries. Your compensation will be proportionately reduced according to your degree of fault. An attorney can advocate on your behalf to reduce any finding of comparative fault, ultimately maximizing your damage award.

1. Relevant Experience

A Georgia personal injury attorney must have relevant experience to be effective. If you were injured in a commercial truck accident, you will want to hire an Atlanta truck accident lawyer. Likewise, if you are a victim of a criminal attack, you want to hire an experienced negligent security attorney. Relevant experience matters.

2. Trial-Tested

It’s true the vast majority of personal injury lawsuits are resolved without a trial. In fact, according to data provided by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), less than 5 percent of all tort cases ever make it to the trial phase. That being said, injured victims should always work with a trial-tested attorney. You never know where the specific facts of your case will take you. Keep in mind that even if liability isn’t substantially challenged, you may still face a courtroom battle over how much should be paid in damages. But even if your case never makes it to court, know that insurance companies take claims far more seriously  when they are represented by a top-rated legal advocate with the skills and experience to hold them accountable before a judge and jury if necessary.

3. A Proven Track Record of Success

Ultimately, nothing is more important than results. Working with an Atlanta personal injury attorney who can secure the compensation you need to pay for your medical bills and provide support for your family is essential. You should be able to focus on your recovery, while your injury attorney handles the rest. At Apolinsky & Associates, LLC our proven track record of success in cases like yours speaks for itself.

Negligence is the driving force behind the majority of Atlanta personal injury claims. It is defined as the failure to exercise a certain degree of care to minimize the risk of injury to others. As defined in O.C.G.A. 51-1-2, the “ordinary diligence” expected in most cases is the degree of care that would be exercised by an ordinarily prudent person in the same or similar circumstances. The absence of such diligence is what defines ordinary negligence. (Gross negligence stemming from reckless actions displaying a complete lack of care is tougher to prove, but may result in higher damages.)

There are many situations in which one owes a legal duty of care to another. For instance, a driver who exceeds posted speed limits on Georgia roads or goes faster than is safe for the current conditions can be held legally responsible for loss of life or injuries that result from careless conduct. Similarly, property owners have a responsibility to make sure their site is reasonably safe for lawful guests and to warn about any foreseeable risks that are not obvious. They can be held liable for resulting injuries when they fail to do so.

To be “liable” means one can be compelled to pay the injured person or surviving family a monetary sum to compensate for their losses. The whole point of personal injury litigation is to “make whole” those who have sustained losses as a result of another’s careless or criminal conduct.

Of course, our Atlanta personal injury lawyers recognize that in some cases, the idea of being “made whole” seems incongruous, because the truth is, life will never be the same again. In every personal injury and wrongful death case that we take on, our aim is to fight to ensure full and fair compensation for our clients so that they are as prepared as possible for the next chapter.

If you or a family member was injured in an accident in the state of Georgia, you will only have a limited amount of time to bring legal action. Georgia personal injury claims are governed by the state’s strict statute of limitations (Ga. Code Ann. Sec. 9-3-33). For the most part, you must file your lawsuit within two years of the date of the accident. (This is true for wrongful death as well.) While there are some limited exceptions to this rule, such as cases involving minors or cases in which the injury was not discoverable, it’s important not to delay a consultation with an injury attorney.

If you fail to file your lawsuit before the statute of limitations clock runs out, you will likely not be able to bring a legal claim at all. Do not let yourself lose out on the compensation that is owed to you because you waited too long to get started. Get your case into the hands of a top-quality Atlanta personal injury attorney as soon as possible after your accident. This will allow your attorney to begin an immediate and comprehensive investigation of your case.