As an experienced Georgia personal injury lawyer, I have had the pleasure of representing many clients injured in car accidents. Some questions come up quite often and I thought it would be helpful to cover those questions here in a series of blogs so that those injured in Georgia car accidents would be better informed from the start. The questions are in bold and are followed by the answers:
I was involved in an automobile accident. It was the other driver’s fault and I have been seriously injured. Who is responsible for paying my medical bills?
Under Georgia law, the at-fault driver is responsible for paying all of your damages that result from the car wreck. The at-fault driver is responsible for paying your medical bills; your out-of- pocket expenses; any lost wages that you have incurred in the past or will likely incur in the future as a result of the wreck; and an amount of money to fully compensate you for the pain and suffering caused by the automobile accident. If you are married, your spouse is entitled to fully recover for the “loss of consortium” that the accident has caused. Since loss of consortium compensates one for the loss of their spouse’s marital relations, these damages can be substantial, but are derivative of the claim of the injured spouse. In other words, if the claim for the injured spouse is not successful, the loss of consortium claim is lost.
Should I hire a lawyer?
The short answer is, “Yes, you should hire a lawyer to represent you.” Studies show that injured people who hire an experienced personal injury attorney to represent in a automobile accident case recover over $35,000 to resolve their case, while those who do not hire an attorney and settle on their own get about $6,624. If you have any doubts whether you should hire a lawyer, just ask the insurance company defending the at-fault driver if you need to hire an attorney. The resounding response will be, “No.” The insurance company will do everything in their power to stop you from hiring an attorney. Why? Because they know what we are discussing here: seriously injured people are compensated much better for their injuries when they are represented by an experienced Georgia personal injury attorney. Yes, you must pay the attorney’s fees, but you are much better off in the end. And not to belabor the point, but the more serious your injuries, the higher the stakes and the more you need to hire an experienced personal injury lawyer.
Attorney Robert J. Fleming has been handling wrongful death cases, bus accidents, car accident cases and other injury cases for individuals and families who have been harmed, injured or died as a result of the carelessness or negligence of another for more than 20 years in and around Atlanta, Georgia and its surrounding areas, including Alpharetta, Austell, Avondale Estates, Chamblee, College Park, Conyers, Duluth, Decatur, Doraville, Hapeville, Johns Creek, Jonesboro, Lawrenceville, Norcross, Peachtree City, Riverdale, Roswell, Sandy Springs, Stone Mountain, and Smyrna. If you have been seriously injured in a car accident and would like quality legal representation, contact Robert J. Fleming directly on (404) 525-5150 or contact us online.