If you were injured in an accident through no fault of your own, you may have a legal right to recover money. Don’t take on the cost of medical treatment, property damage, and lost time from work by yourself. You need to talk to a personal injury lawyer in Duluth as soon as possible.
At John Foy & Associates, our law firm was created to help people deal with their injuries. We began more than 20 years ago with a small local law office, and we have built one of the largest and most successful legal practices in Georgia.
What Should I Do if I’m Injured?
Always see a doctor if you are injured, even if you don’t have to be rushed to the emergency room. It is also important to be careful when dealing with insurance companies or making statements about your injury. Here are two important things to remember:
Do Not Sign Any Insurance Company Paperwork
Many times, an insurance company will step in and offer money right away. It’s a tempting offer, especially if you are already worried about paying your bills. But you must understand that insurance companies are offering you this money because they hope to resolve your claim quickly and cheaply, earning a bigger profit for themselves.
Accepting the money means signing away your right to potentially recover much more money later, after you understand what your injuries will really cost. Always talk to a lawyer before taking money or signing anything from the insurance company.
Do Meet With a Personal Injury Lawyer
A good personal injury lawyer in Duluth, GA, has years of experience with injuries like yours and is an old hand at dealing with insurance companies. A lawyer levels the playing field between you and the insurance company, working to get you the full amount of money you are legally entitled to.
A lawyer can tell you if you have a strong case and can send you to the right doctors to get a full diagnosis and estimate of what your injury will cost. Meeting with a lawyer is the single best thing you can do to protect yourself after an injury.
A woman with a head injury after an auto accident. If you sustained injuries due to someone else’s negligent behavior, a Duluth personal injury attorney can help you pursue compensation.
How Can I Tell If I Have a Legitimate Personal Injury Claim?
If you were injured and it was not your fault, you probably have a claim. After an injury, it’s natural to look for explanations, blaming yourself or chalking it up to a freak accident. But the law sees things differently.
Legally, everyone has a duty to be careful in their actions, whether that means following traffic laws, paying attention, keeping property safe for visitors, or controlling animals. Most of the time, injuries happen because someone wasn’t as careful as they should have been.
In legal terms, they were “negligent.” A negligent party is liable for your injuries. Some of the most common types of personal injury claims include:
- Car, truck, or other vehicle accidents
- Slip or trip and fall accidents
- Pedestrian and bike accidents
- Assault injuries
- Nursing home injuries
- Injuries caused by defective products
- Injuries from dangerous medical devices
- Injuries from harmful prescription drugs
Duluth Personal Injury Lawyer Near Me 404-400-4000
What If I’m Partially to Blame for My Injuries?
Insurance companies may try to scare you by saying that such-and-such action made you partially at fault. Until you can talk with a lawyer, you can’t be sure. Also, even if you did contribute to your injuries you may still be able to recover substantial compensation.
Georgia uses a comparative fault system for dividing compensation between parties. In brief, as long as you are less than half responsible for your injuries, you can recover compensation. That compensation will be lowered by the percentage of your responsibility.
However, there are many cases where the other party is 100% responsible for the accident. Part of the job of your personal injury lawyer in Duluth, GA, will be to convince the insurer and, if necessary, the court that you had as little responsibility for your accident as possible.
Will I Have to Sue Somebody to Win My Personal Injury Claim in Duluth?
Probably not. Occasionally we run into a stubborn insurance company that absolutely refuses to negotiate a fair amount. Sometimes they have too much confidence in their own evidence, and sometimes they think they can undermine your witness testimony at trial.
Regardless of the reason, if the insurance company won’t bend in your case, our lawyers will explain your options and give you our opinion on the strength of your case. If you decide to file a case in the local courts, we will be with you the whole way.
More often, however, we use our “Strong Arm” negotiating tactics to convince the insurance company to offer you a reasonable financial recovery. Our Duluth personal injury attorneys can do this because we are always prepared.
We investigate every claim ourselves, drawing on police reports, expert medical evidence, witness testimony and more to build the strongest case possible. When the insurance company sees our evidence, it will often offer significantly more money.
For a free legal consultation with a personal injury lawyer serving Duluth, call 404-400-4000
What Must Be Proven to Win a Personal Injury Claim?
In general, any personal injury case needs to do four things for the plaintiff (the injured party) to win compensation:
- Identify the proper responsible parties.
- Prove they acted in a negligent manner.
- Prove that your injuries were caused by that negligence.
- Show how the injury has damaged you economically and otherwise to justify the amount we’re claiming.
The insurance company lawyers will do their best to disprove these things. Much of the work of a personal injury lawyer happens while they’re gathering evidence and building a case. With our investigative team, our “Strong Arm” lawyers will build a case difficult for an insurer to disprove.
What Will a Personal Injury Lawyer in Duluth, GA, Cost Me?
Our Duluth, GA, personal injury lawyers don’t think it’s fair to charge you out of pocket for legal help after an injury. That’s why we have a different payment structure at John Foy & Associates:
- You pay nothing for your consultation
- You pay nothing up-front, ever
- You pay nothing at all if we don’t win you money
If we do get you money, you’ll pay us a percentage at the end. This is called a contingency fee in the legal world. Your requirement to pay us is contingent on victory in court. With this system, you have the legal help you need, and we take the financial risk.
Is There a Time Limit for Filing an Injury Claim in Duluth?
Duluth follows state and federal laws that set strict deadlines for injury claims. These deadlines vary depending on your situation, so some injury victims have much more time than others.
Many people have up to two years to file a claim (per Ga. Code § 9-3-33), but some only have a matter of weeks. To avoid missing a deadline and giving up your rights, it is important to meet with an injury lawyer right away.
Speak to a Duluth Personal Injury Lawyer for Free
At John Foy & Associates, we help injured people. It’s all we do. Let us show you how our experienced personal injury lawyers can get you the money you need to recover as fully as possible.
Our personal injury lawyers in Duluth, GA, will give you a free consultation to talk about your case and explain your options. Call us or fill out the form to your right and get your FREE consultation today.
Call or text 404-400-4000 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form