Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyers

Understanding your rights following an injury can be confusing and, in many cases, a party may assume that they have no rights at all, or that trying to do something about the fact that they’ve suffered severe injuries will be too time-consuming or cost-intensive. At the law offices of Bailey, Javins, & Carter L.C., our experienced Atlanta personal injury attorneys are here to guide you through your options and assist you in recovering the full value of compensation you’re owed after an accident caused by someone else’s fault.

Our Personal Injury Practice Areas

Our lawyers have years of experience working with those who have been injured in myriad accident types. Whether you have been in a car accident, injured on a work site, or have been injured in another manner that involves the negligence of another party, our law firm is here to help. Our personal injury practice areas include:

• Motor vehicle accidents. Most of the personal injury claimants that we represent have been injured in motor vehicle accidents – car crashes are a leading cause of injury and death in our state. We also represent those who have been injured in motorcycle accidents.
• Truck accidents. Often even more severe than standard motor vehicle accidents, and certainly more complicated, truck accidents can cause tragic injuries. We know what it takes to investigate truck accidents and bring claims against large trucking companies.
• Workplace injuries. Most employers provide a safe working environment. When that isn’t the case, an injury, sometimes a fatal injury, can result. If a third party or a defective part was responsible for your injury, we may be able to help you hold the negligent party responsible.
• Construction worksite injuries. Construction workers come to come to work every day, often before the sun comes up, thinking they will return home that day, safely, without injury. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case. And, sometimes those injuries are a direct result of negligence. If that is the case, our attorneys can help you recover damages for your injuries.
• Pedestrian and bicycle injuries. Pedestrians and bicyclists who are involved in accidents may not live due to the severity of their injuries; if they do survive, the injuries could very well be catastrophic and permanently disabling.
• Catastrophic injuries. Caused by motor vehicle accidents, premises liability accidents, defective product accidents, and more, if you’ve suffered a traumatic brain injury, amputation injury, spinal cord injury, or another catastrophic injury type, our lawyers will work hard to get you compensation to pay for all of your medical bills and other expenses.
• Premises liability accidents. If you are harmed on another’s property, you may have a cause of action against the property owner. Common types of premises liability claims include dog bite claims, drowning and near-drowning claims, retail store injury claims, and more.
• Wrongful death. Losing a loved one in an accident can be tragic and shocking. While there is nothing that we can do to restore your loved one to you, we can help you to bring forth a wrongful death action for compensation.
• More. If you’ve been injured in an accident type that you don’t see listed above, please don’t hesitate to contact our law firm. We are happy to review your case free of charge and, if we cannot help you, we can refer you to someone who can.

How Our Personal Injury Firm Helps You

When you call our Georgia personal injury lawyers, we want you to feel as though you have an advocate on your side who is invested in you from the first moment that we meet. Our personal injury lawyers will commit to handling all elements of your case while you focus on more important things, like recovering from your injuries. Services that we perform when you hire us include:

• Investigating your case. Winning a personal injury claim requires proving that your harm would not have occurred but for the defendant’s negligence. This, of course, requires numerous types of evidence. Our lawyers are skilled investigators who will open an investigation into your case as soon as you call us. We also have the resources necessary to hire experts to investigate your case, too.
• Handling all claim documents. There will be numerous documents and paperwork associated with filing your claim, ranging from things like medical bills and receipts to settlement papers and, if you file a lawsuit, complaint paperwork. Our team is responsible for gathering and organizing all of this paperwork on your behalf.
• Calculating your damages. Understanding the value of your claim may be difficult, especially if you are entitled to noneconomic damages, such as compensation for pain and suffering. Our lawyers know how to determine the value of your case and fight for your right to your full recovery award.
• Negotiating your claim. One of the most important hats our lawyer wears is that of negotiator. When you are offered a settlement, our lawyer will review it and, if it is unfair, reject the settlement and enter into negotiations. If negotiations fail, we can also file a lawsuit and litigate your case in court.

Statute of Limitations in a Georgia Personal Injury Case

If you think that you may have a personal injury claim, we encourage you to act quickly to start the claims process, initiating the process by calling a lawyer as soon as possible. This is because the statute of limitations for personal injury claims can limit your ability to file a claim for damages. Dependent on the circumstances surrounding your claim, the statute of limitations can be up to two years, with some claims having a much shorter time frame. If you wait longer than the allotted statute of limitations to bring forth your civil action, you will be unable to recover compensation. The clock is ticking, so contact our experienced Georgia personal injury attorneys today.

The two-year statute of limitations applies to most types of personal injury cases in Georgia, including auto accidents, product liability, medical malpractice, and wrongful death. It is important to note that the clock does not start taking on the two-year deadline until the plaintiff became aware (or should reasonably have become aware) of the injury and the causal connection between the injury and the negligent actions of the defendant.

For example, when someone gets into a car accident, they might not realize right away that they are hurt. In some cases, it takes a few days or even a week or two to start feeling the effects of the injury. At that point, they might go to the doctor and receive a diagnosis. In a situation like this, a case could be made that the statute of limitations should not start until the plaintiff first started to feel injured.

With something like an auto accident, those involved should know about their injuries fairly soon after the accident, but things are not always so clear-cut in other injury cases. Medical malpractice is a good example of an area of law where things can get very complicated.

For example, if a doctor prescribes a medication that causes the patient to develop a severe or fatal condition, it could take several months or longer to realize that the patient was injured and that the injury was caused by the doctor’s negligence. For situations like this, Georgia has a “statute of repose” which allows an injured person to bring a medical malpractice suit within five years under certain circumstances.

Other Exceptions to the Georgia Statute of Limitations

There are some types of Georgia civil cases that have a deadline other than two years for bringing a lawsuit:

• Libel or Slander: 1 year
• Property Damage: 4 years
• Trespassing: 4 years
• Breach of Contract: 4 years for oral, 6 years for written
• Legal Malpractice: 4 years

Tolling the Statute of Limitations

The medical malpractice scenario discussed earlier is an example of “tolling”, which essentially means delaying the deadline or stopping the clock until a pertinent issue is resolved. The statute of limitations could be tolled because of delayed discovery, and also for injuries involving individuals who are minorities (under age 18) or mentally incapacitated, or when a defendant leaves the state of Georgia before the plaintiff is able to file a lawsuit and serve them. In the latter case, the clock would most likely be stopped until the defendant returned to live in the state.

Personal Injury Lawsuits against Government Agencies

Lawsuits against government entities operate on a vastly different timetable than lawsuits against private parties. Many government agencies require a claimant to provide notice of their intent to file a lawsuit within six months or 12 months of the injury, and failure to do so could cost an injured person the right to file a claim. So, for example, if you are involved in an auto accident with a vehicle that is owned by the city of Atlanta or Fulton County, you might have as little as six months to file a notice of action with the appropriate government body.

The Most Common Types of Personal Injury Claims

Car Accidents and Other Vehicle Accidents

Vehicle accidents are easily the most common source of personal injury claims. There are over six million car accidents in the United States every year, and many of these accidents cause mild to moderate injuries. Those that cause serious injuries or fatalities often lead to massive personal injury cases.

Victims of car accidents are often entitled to medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering if their claim is successful. Circumstances vary, depending on the type of accident and which vehicles are involved. Accidents involving passenger vehicles are the most common, but accidents involving a tractor-trailer often cause much more damage.

Premises Liability Claims

Premises liability claims refer to accidents that happen on someone else’s property. This may be a friend’s home, the walkway of an apartment building where you deliver food, or a store that you visit. Quite a few of these cases involve slip-and-fall accidents, which may occur because of slippery walkways, unforeseen obstacles, or spills. Other types of premises liability claims include swimming pool accidents and trampoline accidents on private property. Claims are often settled with homeowners’ insurance or a business’ insurance policy.

Product Liability Cases

Products that are poorly designed, manufactured, or marketed can put the public at risk. When these products cause injuries or other types of harm, the manufacturers often face product liability claims. With this type of personal injury claim, a victim may be able to seek compensation for the money they spent on the product, medical bills related to the use of the product, and the pain they sustained due to their injuries. If they can show that the manufacturer knew about the defect but chose not to fix it, the victim may also be able to recover punitive damages.

Dog Bites and Animal Attacks

Dog bites are among the most frightening and traumatizing personal injury cases we see. Victims of dog bites or other types of animal attacks often suffer long-term mental anguish, PTSD, and a lifelong phobia of the animal that attacked them. Compensation for a dog bite is often recovered from the owner’s homeowners’ insurance, renters’ insurance, or personal assets.

As is the case with any type of personal injury claim, there are exceptions to dog bite claims. You may not be able to recover compensation if you were trespassing on the owner’s property at the time of the attack, as the dog may have just been protecting its property. You might be unable to seek compensation if you provoked or aggravated the dog until it attacked you.

Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice is an extremely complex area of personal injury law. It typically refers to actions taken by a doctor, nurse, or other medical care provider. However, these cases can also include hospitals or clinics with unsafe protocols, hiring practices, or safety issues that lead to patient harm. Birth injuries make up a substantial portion of medical malpractice cases, but patients also seek compensation for botched surgeries, missed diagnoses or misdiagnoses, and other errors. Proving medical malpractice is extremely difficult and requires an attorney well-versed in medical standards and laws, so it is important to choose an attorney with extensive experience in medical malpractice.

Workplace Accidents

According to a study by the AFL-CIO, nearly 4 million Americans suffer from work-related injuries or illnesses, and workplace accidents and events kill an average of 150 Americans each day. Although workplace accidents are usually covered by the employer’s workers’ compensation policy, a large number of these accidents are the result of third-party negligence. This is especially true in industries like construction, where there are architects, engineers, electricians, and other outside parties that are heavily involved in a typical project. Defective machinery is also frequent contributor to workplace injuries, and many are also transportation accidents that could be the fault of another driver.

Comparative Fault in Georgia

Another important thing to know about personal injury claims in Georgia is that the state adheres to a modified comparative fault rule. This means that if you are found to be partly at fault for your accident, your recoverable damages award will be reduced in proportion to your degree of fault. If you are found to be 50 percent or more at fault for your injuries, however, you will be barred from recovery.

When Should I Contact a Personal Injury Attorney?

The short answer to this question is – as soon as possible. Every situation is unique, but no matter what the circumstances of what happened to you, it never hurts to at least talk with a personal injury lawyer. Initial consultations are always free, and this is a good opportunity to have your case examined and learn what your legal rights and options are. This way, you can make the most informed decision on how you wish to proceed.

It is best to get in contact with an attorney sooner rather than later, because the longer you hold off on getting in touch with one, the more challenging it will be to recover full and fair compensation for your injuries. Evidence and witnesses tend to disappear over time, and by getting an attorney involved right away, they are able to preserve the important facts and pieces of evidence, so you are in the best possible position to secure a favorable outcome.

You might be thinking that your injuries are minor, and you can handle the insurance claim on your own. If you only have minor injuries, then it may be true that you do not need a lawyer. But as we mentioned earlier, you may not always know the extent of your injuries right away, so you might want to talk to a lawyer just in case.

Here are some indicators that you are probably going to need a personal injury lawyer to help you with your claim:

• The injury was severe enough to warrant a trip to the hospital, emergency room, and/or multiple doctor visits.
• You have medical bills totaling into the thousands or tens of thousands of dollars.
• You have been forced to miss a significant amount of time from work.
• There is a chance that your injury could be permanent and debilitating.
• There is a question about who was at fault for the accident.
• Your injury happened at work, but it might have been caused by a third party other than your employer.
• There were multiple parties involved in the accident and/or other complicating factors.
• The insurance company is delaying or denying your claim.

Important Questions to Ask a Personal Injury Lawyer

Regardless of whether you talk to us or someone else, there are some very important questions you need to ask of any personal injury lawyer you are considering:

What areas of law do you specialize in?

Not all personal injury lawyers are the same. Some practice personal injury law, but they may also do other areas like family law, criminal defense, and estate planning. These are commonly known as “generalists.” A generalist attorney might be perfectly equipped to handle something like a minor car accident claim, but if there are any complex aspects to your case, you should look for an attorney whose primary focus is personal injury law.

An attorney who specializes in personal injury law works in this field day in and day out, and they will have dealt with more complicated cases. This gives them the ability to identify important factors that are not always known unless you have run across them before. So, in the vast majority of cases, you want your personal injury lawyer to be a specialist rather than a generalist.

How many years have you been practicing personal injury law?

Every lawyer has to start somewhere, but with so much at stake, you want your lawyer to be someone who has a number of years of experience under their belt. And if you are speaking with a lawyer who has limited experience, they should at least be working with a firm that has more seasoned attorneys that will be working on the case.

How many cases like mine have you handled before?

Just as important as the previous question is how many times the attorney has handled a case like yours before. Personal injury is a vast area of the law that covers a wide range of events, and some attorneys who are generalists and/or do not have much experience might not have seen a case like yours before. It is very important to find this out, because something like a commercial truck accident case, for example, will be a lot more complicated than a standard auto accident.

Then there are other areas like workplace injuries for example where some attorneys focus solely on workers’ comp claims while others with more experience have the ability to identify other parties who could be held liable. If you work with the latter type of attorney, this could open the door to a personal injury lawsuit and the ability to recover a higher amount of compensation.

What has your success rate been with these types of cases?

Follow-up to the previous question, have they been successful with the kinds of cases they have handled that are similar to yours?

How much time and attention to devote to my case?

Find out if the attorney you are talking to will be working on your case, and if so, how much energy and attention they will be able to devote to it. You want an attorney and firm that has the experience and resources to successfully handle your case but is also able to devote the personal attention needed to the case and to you the client.

Will my case be going to trial?

Most personal injury cases are settled before they end up at trial. But that said, your attorney should approach your case with the expectation that it will be litigated and prepare for this potential outcome. Oftentimes, it is the credible threat of litigation that brings the other side to the table and compels them to make a fair offer. Your lawyer should have extensive trial experience and be ready and able to litigate if necessary.

How long will it take for my case to be resolved?

No attorney can give a definitive answer to this question because there are too many unpredictable factors – like whether or not the case goes to trial, for instance. However, they should be able to give you a good general idea of how long the case will take and what to expect throughout the process.

What do you need me to do for this case to be successful?

This question is an acknowledgment that a personal injury action is a partnership between you and your attorney. And as such, both parties have some responsibilities. Your lawyer will handle all of the complicated legal tasks and deal directly with the other side, while your primary responsibility is to focus on your recovery.

Reach Our Personal Injury Lawyers Today for a Free Consultation

We know that you have many questions and may be intimidated by the idea of pursuing a personal injury lawsuit. Our lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, which means that you’ll never be asked to pay for our services upfront, or at all if we are unsuccessful in getting you a settlement. We also offer free consultations and are happy to sit down with you to discuss your legal options today. To get started, please visit our Atlanta office in person, send us a message, or call our law firm at 678-981-5370 today.