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If you were hurt in Newnan and it was someone else’s fault, you’ve been the victim of a personal injury accident. That means, under Georgia law, you may be entitled to recover for all expenses related to your injuries and other damages.
Whether the accident was major or minor, that money can help pay your bills and work to move on from what you’ve suffered. Don’t miss out on your chance to potential recovery. Contact a Newnan personal injury lawyer who can help.
This is what we do at John Foy & Associates. Focusing solely in personal injury cases, we fight for the rights of accident victims. We know how painful and overwhelming an unexpected injury can be in your life, and we want to help you recover as fully as possible.
For a FREE consultation with one of our personal injury attorneys—where we’ll go over the details of your accident and your options—call us today. Dial 404-400-4000 or reach us online by filling out the form on this page for your free consultation.
How Can I Prove the Accident Was Not My Own Fault?
It’s true that in order to financially recover for a personal injury accident, you must prove the other person or party was at fault. In some accidents, such as a rear-end collision accident, it’s fairly obvious who was at fault. Other times, the fault may seem more ambiguous—like in a car accident with a phantom driver or a slip and fall accident that no one witnessed.
Either way, to prove fault you’ll need to show evidence. That means gathering information about the accident as soon as you can by:
- Reporting the accident to the police and telling officers what happened
- Taking pictures of the entire accident scene, including any skid marks, broken glass, traffic signs or signals, and all sides of each vehicle in a car or truck accident or the obstacle that caused your injury in a slip and fall accident
- Talking to any witnesses and asking for their contact information
Also, see a doctor as soon as you can after the accident and keep track of all bills and other expenses you now face. These details matter because you’ll need to include them in your claim to the at-fault person’s insurance.
When you file your claim with the insurer, they will assign an adjuster to the case. This person will look at the facts you present—including the police report, a statement from witnesses, evidence at the scene, and injuries and property damage—and give their take on who was at fault for the accident. However, they are biased and you should be prepared to negotiate if they deny your claim or put some of the blame on you.
It helps tremendously to have a personal injury lawyer on your side from the beginning, as they can assign their own investigators to the case and look at what happened. Your lawyer will also help you make a case against the at-fault person and use the evidence they gather to help prove their fault.
Proving fault can seem daunting or near impossible, many of our clients are surprised to see it’s more easily done than they thought.
What if I’m Not Sure if I’m at Fault or Not?
We find that accident victims are often inclined to blame themselves after an accident, even if they didn’t do anything to cause it. They also might be hesitant to file an insurance claim against someone else. But if you are not at fault for an accident, you are legally entitled to file a claim for damages you didn’t cause. Plus, you’re usually making a claim against the person’s insurance company—not the individual him or herself.
If you truly are not sure whether or not you’re at fault for the accident, contact a Newnan personal injury lawyer. They can look at the details of your case with a legal eye to determine what happened.
Even if you are partially at fault, in Georgia you can still seek damages if you are less than 50 percent at fault—so don’t assume you don’t recover until you’ve looked at all the facts.
How Much Money Can I Win for a Personal Injury Claim?
The exact amount you can recover depends largely on the details of your case, including the:
- Full extent of your damages
- Degree of fault
- Type personal injury accident
- Insurance coverage of the at-fault person
It mostly comes down to your damages. Here are some of the most common damage you can recover for after a personal injury accident.
Medical Bills
Injury costs make up the bulk of most personal injury claims. That includes bills from doctor visits, tests, consultations, and medications you’re prescribed. You’ll want to keep track of all medical records related to the accident as proof of your expenses.
Lost Wages
If you had to miss work because of the accident and your recovery, lost wages can be included in your claim. Whether you had to use vacation time or didn’t get paid for those days at all, it’s all a loss you wouldn’t have experienced if the accident hadn’t occurred.
Property Damage
This includes costs of repairing or replacing a vehicle after a car accident or other personal possessions that were damaged in any type of accident.
Pain and Suffering
The damages mentioned so far are known as special damages because they have specific, easily-measured costs. But pain and suffering fall under general damages, which are losses that directly impact the victim’s life. These damages can include:
- Anxiety, depression, or post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Other social disorders
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Mood swings
- Fear or humiliation
General damages are often related to changes that can’t be reversed or cause the victim suffering. If they accompany physical injuries, you can usually include them in your claim.
Calculating a dollar amount for pain and suffering is much harder than adding up medical bills and lost wages. It takes the help of an experienced Newnan personal injury lawyer to ensure your claim includes the full value you deserve for pain and suffering or other general damages.
Talk to a Newnan Personal Injury Lawyer for Free Today
A personal injury accident can change your entire day-to-day life and leave you with unnecessary pain and stress. Don’t suffer alone. Get the help of a Newnan personal injury lawyer on your case as soon as you can.
At John Foy & Associates, we can help. With more than 20 years of experience helping personal injury victims get the compensation they deserve, we know what it takes to win cases. For a FREE consultation today, call us at 404-400-4000 or complete the form on this page to get started.
