If you or your close family member has been in a car crash, it’s important to talk to an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as possible. Injuries that seem minor often turn into more serious conditions that need extensive treatment and can lead to months or years of pain and disability.
The medical bills for these injuries can easily climb into the tens of thousands of dollars, compounded by time lost from work. One of our car accident lawyers in Austell at John Foy & Associates is ready to help you get compensation to pay for these high medical bills.
Reach out to our Austell personal injury lawyer to learn more about your legal options.
What Can an Austell Car Accident Lawyer Do for You?
Many people hesitate to hire a lawyer after a car accident because they believe the car insurance company will give them plenty of money to pay for their treatment. Unfortunately, things don’t usually work out that way.
Insurance companies operate for profit, and they will try to pay you as little as possible—even if it doesn’t cover nearly all your expenses. Their tricks include the following:
- Having a friendly representative call and ask you innocent-sounding questions, like how you’re feeling. Then, they use your answers against you in your claim.
- Offering you money right away. But beware of accepting any money before you have a full medical evaluation and know exactly what your injuries will cost over time. If you take the quick cash, you also give away your right to ask for more money later.
- Taking months to process your claim or offer you anything. They hope that when they do finally make an offer, you’ll be so desperate you’ll take anything you can get.
- Disputing your claim, either by blaming you for the accident or claiming that you’re exaggerating your injuries.
Most people don’t expect or recognize these tactics, so it’s hard to fight against them. But an experienced car accident lawyer in Austell understands how insurance companies operate.
Insurance companies have teams of lawyers on their side. When you hire a lawyer, you get someone who can stand up to the insurance company and its lawyers and fight for what you deserve.
Who do You Call First, Your Attorney or Your Insurance Company?
You should absolutely call your attorney before your insurance company immediately after a car accident. You don’t want to speak to your insurance company one-on-one. No matter how much damage you suffered or how severely you were injured, an insurance company is a business.
Just like any business, they don’t want to have to part with their profits, even if you deserve a fair payout on your claim. Let us try to negotiate for the fairest possible settlement with the insurance company on your behalf.
They’re often more likely to negotiate with an attorney, rather than with you, because they know we have the experience necessary to take them to court and are more likely to win based on our knowledge of the law. They also know that we won’t back down from a fight.
How do You Get Compensation After a Car Accident?
The amount of money you can recover will depend on the circumstances of your case. But in general, you can get all your costs and expenses caused by the accident. Our Austell car accident attorneys frequently recover costs for:
- Medical bills
- Prescription medicine
- Car repair or replacement
- Lost time from work
If you had a more severe loss because of your accident – including severe pain, a permanent injury, or a disability – you may be eligible to recover much more. We don’t believe that money can ever make up for the way a serious accident changes your life, but it can give you the financial power to pay your bills and continue with your treatment.
Types of Damages You Can Include in Your Claim
Some of the damages you can include in a car accident claim include:
- Pain and suffering
- Vehicle repairs, and repairs to any other property that may have been damaged in the accident
- Compensation for medical costs and lost wages while you recovered
- Compensation for lost wages going forward if you can no longer work in the same capacity as you did before the accident
Atlanta Roots, Nationwide Reach.
Distance is no obstacle. We work with clients across the country and make sure every one of them feels taken care of, no matter how far the call travels.
How Much Money Could I Receive for a Car Accident Claim?
There is no easy answer to this question without knowing more about your case. What we can say is that we’ll fight for a fair settlement under the law. If we must go to trial, we will do our best to justify economic and non-economic damages and, if possible, punitive damages.
When we go to the insurance company with a settlement demand, we will document as much of your costs as we can. We will also present a persuasive argument for monies beyond that for your future care and lost wages.
What Is Considered a Valid Car Accident Claim in Austell?
Many types of car accidents can lead to valid accident claims where the victims receive a substantial financial recovery. The best way to tell if your injury claim is valid is to consult with an Austell car accident attorney who can evaluate the facts and the law.
We find many people blame themselves after an accident, or dismiss it as “one of those things.” But legally, many accidents happen because someone was careless or broke the law. They were “negligent,” and must pay your costs. Some of the types of car accident claims we have handled involve:
- Head-on crashes
- Rear-end collisions
- “T-bone” collisions
- Dangerous driving conditions such as fog, rain, and ice
- Distracted driving such as texting
- DUI
- Defective tires or other equipment
- Whiplash injuries
We have recovered money for victims even when the other driver was uninsured or left the accident scene.
Will You Have to Go to Court for a Car Accident Claim?
Not usually, no. But there are cases where the insurance company will not negotiate or pay a fair amount, and our clients pursue their claims in the local courts. If your case seems headed in that direction, we will advise you on your chances of success at trial. If you decide to file a lawsuit, our litigation team will take care of everything.
For most car accident cases, litigation is the exception, not the rule. We work hard to develop a strong case and present it to the insurance company in a way that will convince them to pay.
We begin every case with an investigation. We look at police reports, witness statements, and medical evaluations to find out exactly what happened and what you will need to recover as completely as possible. When presented with our evidence, the insurance company will often offer a fair settlement.
What If I’m Partially at Fault for My Car Accident?
Georgia is a fault state, which means that whoever is at fault pays for the cost of a car accident. However, it is also a comparative fault state. This means that your compensation will be reduced by the percentage of fault you had in the accident.
If the court believes that you are more than half at fault for your accident, you could be denied compensation in the court. The insurance companies will fight to make that happen. We will fight back to make sure it doesn’t.
How Much does a Car Accident Lawyer in Austell Cost?
Car accidents cause financial stress as well as physical injuries. We don’t think you should have to pay for a lawyer on top of everything else. So, at John Foy & Associates, our car accident lawyers in Austell have a simple fee plan:
- Your first consultation is completely free, with no obligation
- You don’t pay anything upfront for our services
- You won’t ever pay anything if we don’t win money for you
Our fee is set up as a percentage of the money we are able to recover for you. You keep the rest. This allows you to get legal help when you need it most, without taking on any financial risk yourself.
How Much Time do You Have to File Your Car Accident Claim in Georgia?
It depends on the circumstances of your accident. All cases in the City of Austell follow deadlines set by state and federal law. Although the deadlines vary, the general rule as set forth by Ga. Code § 9-3-33 is:
- Many accident victims have two years to file a claim
- Some accident victims have a much shorter time frame—sometimes only a matter of weeks
Missing the deadline carries serious consequences—you will probably be unable to recover any money at all. Because of this, it is critical that you speak to a good accident lawyer as soon as possible.
Talk to an Austell Car Accident Lawyer for Free
You don’t have to bear the financial burden of an accident that wasn’t your fault. At John Foy & Associates, our Austell car accident lawyers have a 25-year track record for getting injured victims the money they need to continue on the road to recovery.
We offer a free consultation to discuss your case and explain how we can help. Call us or fill out the online contact form and get your FREE consultation today.
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