After sustaining severe injuries in a motor vehicle accident or any other accident resulting in a serious injury, accident victims and their loved ones are often confused and stressed. Accident victims can face long recovery periods and significant financial losses, and their families often must help them shoulder the financial burden from medical expenses and other financial damages. Often, legal action is an essential aspect of ensuring that those expenses are covered by the at-fault party. The Decatur negligence accident lawyers at Marks Law Group have helped thousands of Decatur residents pursue justice and financial compensation during this difficult time and we can help you too.
Our personal injury law firm has decades of experience handling personal injury claims related to bodily injuries or deaths resulting from motor vehicle accidents, truck crashes, slip and fall accidents, construction accidents, motorcycle crashes, medical malpractice, and nursing home abuse, or neglect. We'll stand with you at every step of the legal process, including the initial investigation, collecting evidence, filing insurance claims, negotiating a settlement, and pursuing litigation as needed. To schedule a free initial consultation, contact our Decatur GA personal injury lawyers today at (678) 251-9309.
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How Do You Know Whether You Have A Valid Negligence Claim?
If you sustain bodily harm because of another person's negligent action or lack of action, then that person or business entity is held liable for the harm you suffered.
Negligence cases are civil cases, which are also referred to as “tort actions.” In Georgia, negligence law allows you to sue another persona for the harm they caused you either through their reckless actions or an action. Negligence occurs when a person's actions or failure to act falls below a reasonable standard of care.
In Georgia, those filing a personal injury lawsuit must meet the following criteria for establishing the negligence of the at-fault party:
- Standard of due care: The injured party must prove that the negligent party didn't take proper actions that would have avoided an unreasonable injury risk to the defendant. For example, in a motor vehicle accident injury lawsuit, you must prove that the negligent driver violated traffic rules or didn't maintain or service their car as required, causing the accident.
- Breach of duty of care: The defendant also must prove that circumstances warranted a duty of care toward other parties. For example, a business owner has a duty of care for the safety of customers entering his building to buy products or conduct business. Conversely, if a secured building has a "No Trespassing" sign and you're injured while illegally breaking in, the judge may rule that the property owner had no duty of care for your safety, even though you were injured in the building.
- Proof that the injuries resulted from negligence: You must prove that the extent of your physical injuries or death directly resulted from negligence or misconduct of the defendant. For instance, a car crash might have resulted from a driver’s negligence, however, if you weren't wearing seat belts or the airbags didn't deploy properly, the extent of your injuries might not be attributed solely to the at-fault driver’s actions.
- Proof of damages: The courts recognize people are prone to make mistakes and accidents happen. If no actual damages resulted from negligence, you might not have a case. For instance, if a surgeon uses his or her best efforts to meet the standard of duty of care and due care, but prescribes the wrong medication that doesn't cure your ailment but causes no additional harm or injuries, a judge may rule there were no actual damages associated with the at-fault party's negligence or error.
How Much Is My Personal Injury Claim Worth?
Your Atlanta personal injury lawyer will research your personal injury claim and look at past settlements and verdicts in similar negligence lawsuits. The following factors determine a potential accident settlement:
- Past and future medical bills,
- Rehabilitation and therapy costs,
- Pain and suffering, and
- Lost income and future wages.
Also, your Decatur personal injury lawyer will use a formula to determine how you're entitled to in your personal injury settlement. Your attorney will total all the incurred medical costs and then multiply the total by a factor between 1.5 and 5. Then he or she will add the lost wages to the total and the resulting amount is the figure you should ask for during negotiations. However, this is only a basic starting point because there are other factors you should consider, including:
- The extent of your personal injuries and/or medical treatment. If your bodily injuries are severe or if rehabilitation will last for a prolonged period, then you ask for a higher settlement amount.
- Insurance policy limits. Often, your compensation can’t exceed a predetermined figure set by insurance companies.
- Going to trial. Often, it’s daunting to predict juries, so whether your case settles out of court or goes to trial, this can influence your settlement amount.
- Legal representation. Whether you hire a negligence accident attorney can affect your compensation. An attorney has the knowledge and experience to navigate through the legal language and guide you through the legal process. Often, personal injury victims with a personal injury attorney on their side receive more compensation.
Finally, it’s imperative to note that every personal injury case has a unique set of details, and past outcomes can't guarantee future settlements.
What Cases Does a Negligence Accident Lawyer Handle?
No matter how they occur, accidents and personal injuries can have devastating effects on people’s lives. At Marks Law Group, we have been helping personal injury victims get fair compensation for serious and catastrophic injuries, such as spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, back injuries, head injuries, broken bones and fractures, quadriplegia, paraplegia, and burns resulting from fires, electrocution, and chemicals.
Our personal injury law firm handles a wide range of personal injury cases, including:
- Construction accidents,
- Bicycle accidents,
- Motorcycle accidents,
- Catastrophic injury accidents,
- Motor vehicle accidents,
- Truck accidents,
- Uber accidents,
- Pedestrian accidents,
- Wrongful death claims,
- Medical malpractice and negligence,
- School Bus Accidents,
- Defective Products, and
- Negligent Security.
Our Decatur negligence accident attorneys understand that catastrophic injuries have significant physical, emotional, and financial effects on families. We're committed to helping our clients recover the financial compensation necessary to move forward with their lives. Thus, we prepare every negligence case as if it's going to trial and have had a significant level of success in achieving favorable jury verdicts for our clients.
Should I contact a Negligence Accident Attorney After a Car Accident?
After a motor vehicle crash, car accident victims often have to deal with severe injuries and rising medical expenses on their own. Often, insurance companies offer accident victims low-ball settlement offers that are a fraction of what they need to recover. Insurance adjusters don’t have your best interest in mind—the only thing they care about is their shareholders and reducing their liabilities. They pressure accident victims into signing a settlement offer too quickly and you can end up with less than you need to cover your financial losses.
After an accident, the clock starts ticking. The financial hits start coming your way because of your physical injuries. For many people, that first financial hit is a missed paycheck. Then the first medical treatment cost comes in, and soon, you find yourself with a financial burden that you don’t know how to solve.
Thus, it’s vital that you call one of our experienced Decatur negligence accident lawyers as soon as possible following your accident. This will make sure that our legal team can collect crucial evidence and witness statements that could be lost. Also, it allows our defense team to go to work quickly to build a strong insurance claim for you. The sooner you contact an experienced attorney, the sooner you can get the monetary compensation you deserve to cover your medical bills, lost wages, property damage, pain and suffering, and other financial damages.
Contact Our Experienced Decatur Negligence Accident Lawyers Today for Legal Advice!
If you have suffered bodily harm in an accident caused by another person’s negligence, you can seek financial compensation for your personal injuries and financial damages by filing a personal injury lawsuit. While you can pursue monetary compensation on your own, working with an experienced negligence accident lawyer will give you a better chance to recover fair compensation because an attorney has the expertise needed to build a solid personal injury claim and negotiate with the responsible person and their insurance company on your behalf.
At Marks Law Group, our Decatur negligence accident lawyers are committed to helping you pursue the financial compensation you’re entitled to. With the help of our experienced legal team, Decatur residents injured in bicycle accidents, car accidents, trucking accidents, motorcycle accidents, and slip and falls can pursue compensation for their bodily injuries and protect themselves and their families from further harm. To schedule a no-cost initial consultation, call us today at (678) 251-9309, or chat with us online to learn how we can help.