In Georgia, causation is one of the two main things that an injured party has to prove in a tort case (personal injury case): You must prove that the other person had a duty to do something (like put out some kind of warning that a floor was slippery) or not do something (like make …
Attorney-Client Privilege
You might have heard the term “attorney-client privilege” a lot on television or in films. Unfortunately, because of this, there are lots of misconceptions on what it exactly means. We provide a concise and straightforward explanation of attorney-client privilege, how it functions, and how it applies to you when filing a claim for personal injury. …
Appeal
When a party loses their case at trial, they have the option to appeal the result to a higher court. In an appeal, the court will review the facts and arguments of your legal claim and determine whether the lower court was correct in their ruling. No new evidence is permitted if you appeal your …
Answer
When you file an answer, will set out whether the defendant denies or admits certain allegations in your complaint. It will also set out any affirmative defenses. The defendant can also assert a counter-claim in their answer as well, but that type of response rarely arises in tort cases (injuries) like truck accident cases or …
Burden of Proof
The term “burden of proof” establishes who is responsible for proving the elements of a claim in order to win their case. In almost all cases, the plaintiff (e.g. the victim of a car accident) must prove these elements to win their case. So, if you were in a car accident, the burden of proof …
Party
When you hear about personal injury cases, you’ll often hear them described as one “party” filing a lawsuit against another “party.” But who are these parties and what does the term mean? In the legal profession, a party is simply a person or group that’s involved in a legal action. This wording is used because …
Defendant
In legal talk, the two sides of a personal injury case are known as the defendant and the plaintiff. The plaintiff is the person who was injured; the defendant is the party responsible for the injury. However, it’s rare for the actual person who caused the injury to be the defendant. Instead: In a car …
Objections in a Personal Injury Case
Everyone has seen movies where lawyers object in the courtroom. While often exaggerated, objections are a real part of the legal process and an important protection. An objection is a protest, where a lawyer asks the judge to disallow something. This can be a piece of evidence, a witness’s answer to a question, or even …
Hearsay
Hearsay is perhaps one of the most common objections heard at trials. It’s also well known to anyone who watches courtroom drama movies or TV shows. But outside the legal profession, hearsay is not well understood—and it can affect your case. Hearsay means something you heard someone say, which cannot be verified. For example, let’s …
Dismissal
Most of the time, personal injury claims like car accident cases and slip and fall cases are resolved based on the evidence. That can mean going to court and getting a decision from a jury, or it can mean negotiating a financial recovery based on the strength of your claim before the court date ever …
Estoppel
Estoppel is a mouthful to say, but it refers to some simple ideas that help keep the legal system fair. Estoppel is the principle that you must be consistent in all your claims or court cases related to a single matter. For example, you cannot claim you own a piece of land in one legal …
Witness
Most personal injury lawsuits will make use of one or more witnesses. A witness is anyone who has firsthand information about the specifics of a case. This could range from a bystander who saw a car accident happen, to an employee of a company who observed wrongdoing or negligence. The information that witnesses give is …
Verdict
Most personal injury cases do not go to trial; they are resolved out of court. Cases that do go to trial, however, will end with a verdict. A verdict is the official, final decision reached by the jury. This includes who is right in the case, whether you are entitled to damages, and how much …
Venue
Venue is an essential but often overlooked part of a lawsuit. In any personal injury case, you must choose where to file your lawsuit—including which county to file in. Depending on your case, there may be only one location where you can file, or you may have your choice of several areas. These are known …
Testimony
Witnesses are common in many personal injury lawsuits, such as car accident cases and faulty medical device claims. When a witness answers questions under oath, the information they provide is known as testimony. Testimony is considered a form of evidence and can be used to help decide cases. This is because there are rules and …
Summons
Every lawsuit starts with a summons. Without a summons, a lawsuit cannot take place. In basic terms, a summons is an official notice to one party that you are suing them. All parties involved have a right to defend themselves. A summons allows the ability to do so and respond to the lawsuit appropriately. The …
Speculation
Many kinds of evidence are used in personal injury cases. While documents are most common, such as police reports and medical records, testimony from witnesses is also common. This presents a problem: witnesses can provide valuable information about what happened, but they are also human, and humans have opinions—opinions that can be wrong. When a witness …
Process
All civil lawsuits follow a process set by law. This includes cases such as car accident claims, slip and fall claims, and faulty medical device claims. Although the types of cases heard by civil courts are very different, the legal process they must go through is the same and follows identical steps. Before the Lawsuit …
Order
The judge in a personal injury claim has a great deal of power over the proceedings and the parties involved. Although personal injury cases in Georgia are tried by jury, the judge remains the main decision maker in the time leading up to the trial and during the proceedings of the trial itself. This includes …
Motions in a Civil Case
When you file a personal injury lawsuit, your case is assigned to a judge and the judge will oversee the legal process from the beginning, often months before there’s a trial. During this time, both sides of the case may want to make requests of the judge—asking that certain evidence be ruled out, for example, …
