Car Accidents

Thousands of Georgia residents are injured each year as a result of automobile accidents. These accidents are are the leading cause of brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, as well as a leading cause of orthopedic injuries and neurologic injuries and even death. Because the devastating impact of injuries from car accidents can be so serious, often the vicitms find themselves fighting the insurance companies to get the settlement they deserve. Having an experienced Georgia auto accident attorney on your side can help you get what you deserve for your injuries.

Car Accident Causes

In addition, car accidents can involve complex insurance issues that require an experienced injury attorney to sort out. Many times there is more than one company liable for the injury. Insurance companies hire experienced adjusters and defense attorneys to protect their interests. An injured accident victim needs aggressive legal representation by an experienced Atlanta car accident attorney to ensure that the claim is handled in a fair manner.

Car Accident Statistics

-Texting while driving increases the risk of a car wreck by an incredible 23.2 times.

-Talking on a cell phone multiplies one's risk of a car accident by 1.3 and dialing the phone by 2.8.

-Almost of third of all car accidents are side impact crashes.

-Another third of car accidents are rear end wrecks.

-Roughly a fourth of all fatal car accidents in Georgia are the result of the alcohol or drug use.

-Atlanta has the highest number of fatal car accidents in Georgia.

-Around 35% of car accidents involving fatalities occur due to collisions with other vehicles.

-Head on car wrecks cause 10% of all fatalities, while only accounting for 2% of all car accidents.

-You are more likely to be killed in a small or mid-sized car than a SUV or truck

Do I Need a Georgia Car Accident Attorney?

If you been seriously injured in an auto accident or a loved one has suffered a serious personal injury which was caused by a car accident, please contact an experienced injury lawyer to review your case. 

Motorcycle Accidents

Georgia Motorcycle Accident Claims

Motorcycle accidents often result in more catastrophic injuries such as quadriplegia, traumatic brain injury and death. In many cases motorcycle riders are left with permanent injuries, outrageous medical bills and lifelong emotional damages.

Do I need a Georgia injury lawyer for my motorcycle crash?

In today's economy insurance companies now more than ever have tightened their "claim purse strings." These insurance companies are making it harder for injured victims to receive the benefits they are entitled to under Georgia law. To maximize your settlement value you need an injury attorney that has experience taking insurance companies to court when they don't pay.

Georgia Bike Accidents

There are some wonderful places to ride a bicycle all over the beautiful state of Georgia. Riding your bike in Atlanta or other congested metro areas can be a bit more of a challenge. With the city's reputation for brutal traffic, you have to be careful as a cyclist and even the most skilled bicycle rider can be the victim of a careless driver. If you have been injured by a careless motorist while riding your bike, call the Accident lawyer for a free consultation.

What Can I Recover?

If you have been injured in a bicycle accident by a negligent motorist, a careless bus driver, or other responsible parties, you may be entitled to damages due to pain and suffering, medical expenses and lost wages.

Do I Need a Georgia Bike Accident Attorney?

If you been seriously injured in an pedestrian accident or a loved one has suffered a serious personal injury which was caused by a car or other vehicle, please contact an experienced bicycle accident lawyer to review your injury case. To learn more about your rights and options,  Please contact the Georgia bike accident lawyers .

DUI Accidents

Sadly every year lives are lost due to the negligent driving of people under the influence of drugs or alcohol. DUI is a major problem that results in thousands of wrongful deaths every year. 

Passengers of Drunk Drivers

If you’ve been injured in a DUI you can seek damages that include but are not limited to, medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. You can also seek punitive damages in your personal injury clam or wrongful death claim against a drunk driver. Punitive damages are damages above and beyond medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering. These are additional damages that serve as a punishment for the negligent driver’s reckless behavior.

If you’ve been involved in a DUI accident, hiring an experienced personal injury attorney can make a difference in the outcome of your case. The experienced attorneys  specialize in maximizing client’s recovery and making sure that they obtain the compensation they deserve. If you try to proceed without an attorney you may be pressured into a quick settlement by the insurance adjuster. 

The goal of the insurance adjuster is to save the insurance company money at your expense. The attorneys will make sure that you are compensated for the full value of your case. While we realize that money cannot put your life back together or replace the loss of a loved one, it is often essential to rebuilding after a tragic accident. You will need money for future medical treatment and other expenses especially, if you are unable to return to your pre-injury employment. If a family member dies dues to the negligence and recklessness of another Georgia law allows recovery for wrongful death. Surviving family members such as a spouse, children and parents are allowed to recover for the loss of a loved one.

Litigating a personal injury or wrongful death claim can be difficult. Hiring a personal injury attorney that knows the law can make the process a lot easier. The attorneys know your rights and will help protect these rights. Another reason for hiring an attorney to help litigate your claim is that they can identify the insurance policies that affect your claim and help you navigate through the process of recovering these proceeds from the insurance company.

Georgia law requires each driver to carry a minimum amount of insurance. However, often times drivers will purchase more insurance than required or in some cases drivers will not be insured at all. In the case of an uninsured motorist, you will need to look to your own insurance policy regarding uninsured motorist coverage. Unfortunately, your own policy may be your only means of defense against an uninsured motorist. An attorney will be able to advise you on whether you are able to sue the negligent driver for his or her negligence personally. 

If you are hurt as a result of a DUI accident your medical cost could be astronomical. The experienced attorneys will help you maximize your recovery to ensure that you get all the compensation to which you are entitled.

Pedestrian Accidents

Advocate for Injured Pedestrians in Atlanta

Major urban areas like Atlanta require that drivers pay special attention to pedestrians. Unfortunately, not all drivers are respectful of people traveling on foot. The Atlanta pedestrian accident attorneys have helped numerous Georgia residents recover from injury accidents and receive the compensation to which they are legally entitled. If you were injured in a pedestrian accident, contact the Accident lawyer for a free case evaluation.

Pedestrians Are Especially Vulnerable in Vehicle Accidents

According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, there are more than 2,000 pedestrian accidents every year in the state of Georgia. Because of the nature of pedestrian accidents, nearly all involve some kind of injury. Georgia drivers are required by law stop for pedestrians (1) in a crosswalk on the same side of the road as the driver or (2) in a crosswalk on the opposite side of the road but walking toward the driver's side of the road. Those who do not may face liability to the pedestrians they injure.

Drivers Who Injure Pedestrians May be Liable for Damages

A pedestrian who is injured in an accident can file a lawsuit to seek damages to compensate her for her injuries. Most pedestrian lawsuits will allege negligence on the part of the driver that struck the pedestrian. In alleging negligence, the pedestrian must prove that:

-The driver owed a duty to the pedestrian; The driver breached the duty; and The driver's actions were a cause of the pedestrian's injuries.

Drivers in Georgia owe a duty to other people on the road — including bicyclists, drivers, and pedestrians — to drive reasonably. If a driver speeds, drives while distracted, or fails to yield the right of way pedestrians in a crosswalk, the driver has likely acted unreasonably and has therefore breached this duty. Such a driver could be held liable under Georgia law to pedestrians injured as a result of his actions.

Even if a pedestrian injured by a negligent driver was partly responsible for his own injuries, the pedestrian may still have a case. As long as the pedestrian was less than 50 percent responsible for the accident, he can bring a lawsuit and seek a portion of his damages.

Pedestrians Injured by Negligent Drivers Can Recover Damages

If a jury finds for the plaintiff in a pedestrian accident case, the plaintiff is entitled to compensatory damages. The aim of compensatory damages is to compensate the plaintiff for costs of the accident, such as medical expenses, lost wages, and emotional distress. In some cases, the plaintiff may also collect punitive damages. For these damages the defendant must have acted with a conscious indifference for the consequences of his actions or with some other particularly egregious state of mind. If the accident was caused by a drunk driver, the Georgia cap on punitive damages may not apply.

Hold Negligent Drivers Accountable

Because of a pedestrian's particular vulnerability when stuck by a car, pedestrian accidents can be costly. The Atlanta pedestrian accident lawyers can help you recover money to pay expenses and compensate you for your injuries.

Truck Accidents

Georgia Truck Accident Lawyer

The truck accident attorneys represent accident victims that have been seriously injured and families of people killed in truck accidents in Georgia.

Interstates 75, 85, and 20 are full of tractor trailers hauling goods through Georgia and all over the country. With busy Georgia residents filling these arteries with passenger vehicles, the roads are busy enough. Adding the thousands of truck drivers with heavy loads and tight schedules and the situation only becomes more dangerous. Many of these truck drivers are exhausted from their long, grueling schedules, which increases the possibility of a truck accident with a car. Sometimes loaded are not secure which can cause an extremely dangerous situation on the interstate. Entire truck fleets can be poorly maintained and when one of these semi trucks are weighed down with 50,000 pounds of cargo the results can be fatal for someone in an automobile.

Georgia Truck Accident Causes

There are many reasons why a truck drivers become involved in accidents. In some cases the driver is the sole cause while in other instances it is only partially the drivers fault. It is essential in all truck accidents that all parties are included in the legal proceedings. Common reasons for truck driver caused accidents include:

    Truck Driver Fatigue

    Aggressive Driving

    Tailgating

    Driver Negligence / Carelessness

    Alcohol and/or Drugs

    Failure to Inspect Truck, Van, and/or Trailer

    Speeding

    Greed

Truck Driver Fatigue

Although there are rules and regulations governing the length of time a truck driver can drive, many drivers ignore these rules, or engage in other strenuous activities when they are not driving. Stress can be another source of a driver's failure to maintain safe driving standards.

Drugs and Alcohol

There are strict rules and regulations regarding the use of drugs (even over-the-counter drugs or medication) and/or alcohol for truck drivers. Drugs and alcohol can impair a truck driver's reaction time or impair a truck driver's decision making skills. If a truck driver takes any drug (prescription, illegal, or over-the-counter) that will affect his or her ability to safely operate the vehicle, then the Georgia law prohibits that truck driver from operating a commercial vehicle. You need an attorney that has the skills necessary to get these important facts and the experience to ensure you receive the best legal representation in your truck accident claim.

Train Accidents

True, the advent of locomotive transportation was a major boon for the American economy. It is quite possible that America would have never experienced the Industrial Revolution if not for the invention of the steam engine. However, advances in transportation come with a price and increased safety risk. It is no small wonder that extremely heavy trains moving at fast rates of speed can pose such a substantial danger to its occupants or to those people who come near.

Over 2,900 people are injured each year as the result of a train accident.  train accident attorneys are ready to help you recover your due financial recompense from the responsible parties in any train accident.

The United States contains over 140,000 miles of transport railway, with Georgia containing more than 4,000 miles of railway. Whether it is the MARTA system in Atlanta, an Amtrak line cutting across the state, or the myriad of commercial and industrial railways, there are countless miles of railway that provide a commercial benefit as well as pose a risk to the safety of those people who cross the tracks. Given the enormous amount of mass belonging to a train, most train accidents and train collisions cause very serious consequences, injury, and likely, death. A train hitting a car is comparable to car hitting a can of soda. The difference in mass between a train and a car or, even worse, a train and a pedestrian is catastrophic. In the case of a catastrophic injury from a train accident injury, you need to turn to a lawyer who has demonstrated success in the courtroom and who will leave no stone unturned in the process of helping you recover financially.

While the technology and experts needed to do accident reconstruction for a traditional motor vehicle accident are exceptional and highly specialized, deconstructing the engineering and physics factors for a train accident can be even more demanding. That is why you need a law firm who understands which experts to use and who has access to the technology required to properly determine causation, liability, and damages in the event of a train accident. Fortunately, the train accident attorneys here  are ready to take your Georgia train accident case and provide you with experienced trial lawyers who know how to properly represent you or your family member if injured in this way.

Because most, if not all, trains are owned by large corporations, the at-fault party for the company who owns the train in question, will likely have an arsenal of lawyers and experts on their side, determined to limit their liability to an injured victim of a train accident. The train accident lawyers are ready to help you no matter how big of an uphill battle it may seem at first. You deserve an honest and determined legal team who will employ all of the nuances available by law and help ensure that you are given the justice you and your family deserve.

If you need a seasoned and excellent train accident attorney in Georgia, give The train accident attorneys a call today . You will pay nothing upfront and you will pay nothing if we are not victorious on your behalf. attorneys are ethical, determined, experienced, and ready to work tirelessly on your behalf. If a train has injured you, get in touch with today and speak directly with an attorney. Given the high probability of the other side’s voluminous legal team, time is of the essence and you need to speak with a train accident attorney as soon as possible. 

SUV Rollover Accidents

Atlanta SUV Rollover Lawyer | Georgia SUV Rollover Attorney

There are risks involved in driving an SUV, knowing the risk may help prevent SUV rollover accidents.

During a rollover accident, the vehicle turns over on its side or roof. This usually occurs when the vehicle is moving too fast or making a sharp turn. Although cars can rollover too, rollover accidents occur with SUVs much more often. Since SUVs have a higher center of gravity than most vehicles, they are top heavy. The center of gravity is one of the most important factors in determining a SUV rollover.

To rectify this, either the center-of-gravity needs to be lowered or the wheel track widened.

There is a common misconception that if you add more weight to an SUV it will stabilize it, when in fact, the opposite is true. More weight increases the chance of an SUV rolling over. Because SUVs are supposed to be able to carry a heavy load and lots of equipment, they are increasing becoming family cars instead of being used as off-road vehicles. Since SUVs are being used more as family cars there is an increasing concern about their safety, especially the earlier models. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) began looking into the safety of SUVs several years ago. Safety engineers and experts agree that the best way to make these vehicles safer is to lower the center of gravity and widen the wheel track. However, this is expensive and manufacturers have been slow to make this change.

SUVs were initially intended for off-roading and were equipped with roll protection. However, when SUVs began to be used as family cars, they were starting to be manufactured without the roll bars but the center-of-gravity and wheel track remained the same. The removal of roll bars coupled with the fact that everything else remained the same made SUVs more prone to rolling over and the accidents much more fatal. Needless to say, SUV rollover accidents are very dangerous. Wearing your seat belt during a rollover accident may reduce the risk of death by 75%.

All SUV manufacturers are required to place the following warning in each sport utility vehicle by the driver: SUV WARNING LABEL

You should read driving guidelines and instructions in the Owner's Manual."

Need help for your injury? Please contact the Georgia car accident lawyers 

Uninsured Motorists

Dealing with insurance companies is hard enough when there are questions of fault, liability, and determining appropriate damages after a car accident. However, what happens when you are in an accident and the other driver simply drives off before determining a license plate number or if there are no other witnesses on scene to help track down the responsible, at-fault driver? Or, what happens when you are sitting at a right light and you are rear-ended, only to discover that the driver who hit you has no insurance whatsoever?

It is for this reason that Georgia drivers are given the option of carrying an Uninsured Motorist clause in their insurance coverage package. If, in the case of a hit-and-run or when the at-fault driver has no liability insurance coverage, you find yourself the victim of someone’s carelessness and they are at fault but there is no insurance policy to go after on their side, your personal Uninsured Motorist coverage will help you recover. However, even dealing with your own insurance company under such circumstances can be difficult and may not always provide you with the fair compensation you deserve. For this reason, you need an experienced attorney to help you navigate the uninsured motorist waters. Let the uninsured motorist attorneys  help you today.  

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage is a very complex and tricky area of law in the state of Georgia.  attorneys  make sure that we stay on top of the nuances and ensure that we consistently adapt to any changes in this area of the law.

To illustrate the tip of the iceberg in the way uninsured motorist policies work in the state of Georgia, it is useful to look at three different scenarios:

Stackable Uninsured/Underinsured Coverage:

This is the most preferred type of insurance coverage. The attorneys  recommend that every driver have a stackable uninsured/underinsured insurance policy in their auto insurance package because it offers you the greatest amount of protection, especially when the other driver has hurt you and he has insurance, but it doesn’t cover the amount of your hospital bills. Let’s look at an example. Assume you were rear-ended by someone and they are completely at fault and it leads to $80,000 in medical bills for you. If you have YYY insurance and you have coverage of $50,000 for yourself and someone hits you with ZZZ insurance and he has $50,000 in liability insurance, then all of your medical bills will be covered if your insurance policy is stackable ($50,000 + $50,000 = $100,000).

Non-Stacking Uninsured/Underinsured Coverage:

With this type of insurance coverage, using the same example as above, your insurance company (YYY) is said to be in the shadow of the at-fault driver’s insurance coverage. Therefore, even though you have $50,000 in coverage and the other driver has $50,000 in coverage, your $80,000 medical expense will not be completely covered and you will be left to pay the remaining $30,000 yourself.

No Uninsured Motorist Coverage:

Many people try to do everything possible to save money when shopping around for car insurance and therefore will elect not to obtain uninsured motorist coverage, thinking that having “full coverage” is enough. However, this is simply not the case and it is not until someone is seriously injured in a car accident as the result of an uninsured motorist that they discover how financially detrimental it is not to carry Uninsured Motorist Coverage.

If you find yourself driving and you don’t have an Uninsured Motorist policy on your car insurance and you are injured as the result of a careless, uninsured driver, there still may be options for you and your attorney to pursue. This is where it becomes even more imperative for you to contact the Uninsured Motorist attorneys  because we can help find other avenues to pursue to take care of your medical bills and injuries.

For instance, we want to examine whether the car you are driving is covered by an uninsured motorist policy even though you might not carry this for yourself and your own vehicle. We would also want to know whether there are other relatives with whom you live that have their own insurance policies. As you can see, there are a myriad of ways that an experienced attorney can help you if you are injured by an uninsured motorist and we encourage you to call The Accident Lawyer for a free consultation as soon as possible if you find yourself in this position.

If you do have the Uninsured Motorist policy for your car insurance, it is extremely important that your attorney is experienced enough to utilize it the proper way. As mentioned above, your attorney needs to take full advantage of any stackable insurance options. Also, the uninsured motorist attorneys  can help you determine when and under what circumstances it is wise to employ this provision, if available. If you already have two not-at-fault accidents or Uninsured/Underinsured claims within the preceding 36 months, attorneys will conduct a careful cost-benefit analysis to determine whether it is advisable to make a third claim against your own insurance company with a 36-month span. O.C.G.A. 33-24-44(c) stipulates that your insurance company cannot cancel your policy if you make an Uninsured/Underinsured claim against them as long as it is not three or more within a 36-month span.

As you can see, this is a very complex area of personal injury law in the state of Georgia. There are countless issues and permutations surrounding Uninsured Motorist law requiring an experienced and strategic legal mind to help you. If an uninsured motorist has injured you, please contact us Accident Lawyer and receive a free consultation by one of our Uninsured Motorist attorneys.

Fifteen-passenger Van Rollovers

Just about every school, sports team, and civic club travels at some point and needs to carry its members in a safe way from one place to another. Perhaps you currently have a son, daughter, brother, sister, or parent in one of these organizations and you have helped to see them off on their trip. If so, it is likely that you saw everyone load into fifteen-passenger vans for their trip. Approximately 0.25% of passenger vehicles in the United States are fifteen-passenger vans.

Despite the fact that these large vehicles are efficient at carrying a large number of people, they also pose a unique set of dangers and have a much higher likelihood of being involved in accidents, ranging from minor to the most catastrophic.

There are many reasons for this and several important controlling factors, including road conditions, driver age, driver alcohol/drug involvement, occupancy level, and vehicle speed.

When a fifteen-passenger van is fully loaded, the center of gravity shifts rearward and upward, thereby increasing the vehicle’s propensity to rollover and increasing the potential for a driver to lose control during a sudden driving maneuver in response to an emergency. In fact, 81 percent of the fifteen-passenger van occupant fatalities occur in a single-vehicle rollover accident.

As previously noted, vehicle occupancy is an important factor in determining the safety value of a fifteen-passenger van. Research has shown that these vans with 10-15 occupants have a rollover ration of 85% compared to a ratio of 29% for vans with fewer than 5 passengers. Despite the documented and well-known design issues associated with these fifteen-passenger vans, every type of group uses them all the time.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a fifteen-passenger van accident, call the experienced fifteen-passenger van rollover attorneys . We want to help you recover the maximum amount available for your case. Whether a minor accident or the most catastrophic, call Accident Lawyer for a free consultation.

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