Filing a Georgia Personal Injury Claim for an Auto Accident

Every 13 minutes, one person in the United States loses their life in an auto accident. That equates to approximately 110 lives lost every single day in the United States alone. To make matters worse, more than half of these accidents were caused primarily by the carelessness or recklessness of another driver. That means that hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent victims sustain devastating physical injuries at the hands of another driver’s negligence behind the wheel.

If one of those unlucky 110 individuals who lose their life in an auto-related accident happens to be your loved one, you may be entitled to compensation under a wrongful death claim. Alternatively, if you yourself were involved in an auto accident and managed to escape with your life, but now suffer from personal injuries and a stack or related medical bills or other associated monetary damages, you deserve compensation for the injuries and damages that you sustained at the hands of a careless or reckless driver.

While it is certainly true that auto accidents are a frequent occurrence in the state of Georgia, do not let this fool you into thinking that filing a personal injury lawsuit is a “run of the mill” process. Certainly, you are entitled to represent yourself under Georgia law. However, you may wish to think twice before doing so.

The legal complexities that accompany a claim for auto accident related personal injuries, not to mention the requisite discovery that will be necessary to prove and substantiate your case, are anything but simple by their very nature.

If you have been involved in an auto accident in the Douglasville, Georgia area, an experienced personal injury attorney from the Law Office of John B. Jackson wants to help you recover the compensation for your personal injuries, property damage, loss of income, pain and suffering, or other category of damages that you sustained because of a careless or reckless driver.

What to Expect During a Georgia Personal Injury Lawsuit

Once you have retained a well-versed personal injury attorney to take on your case for auto accident related injuries and damages, you can expect the following general course of events:

The Gathering and Preserving of Evidence

As is common knowledge of any experienced legal representative, the first step in recovering for auto accident related injuries and damages will be the preservation of evidence. Not only do memories fade over time, but physical evidence has a predictable tendency of getting lost, destroyed, or otherwise forgotten. As such, a good personal attorney will ensure that all key physical evidence is preserved before it is too late.

Discovery

This is the most complex, lengthy, and unbelievably important phase of any Georgia personal injury action. This particular phase of litigation is especially important in the world of injuries sustained following an auto accident. The overall purpose of Discovery is the joint exchange of evidence and investigative materials that each party has gathered in support of their theory of liability and damages.

This phase of civil litigation could fill a series of chapter books all on its own. Navigating the relevant complexities will require a legal representative who is familiar with Georgia auto accident law. You can expect to encounter the following during the discovery phase of your personal injury claim following an auto accident:

• Written Discovery
• Your Deposition
• Undergoing an Independent Medical Examination

Mediation or Trial

Very few cases actually make it to trial. All those popular legal series that air on cable or Netflix represent only a small percentage of lawsuits. This is because most cases settle long before trial becomes necessary. The discovery phase is intended to streamline the legal issues in dispute and allow each involved party to have a full and fair understanding of the strength and weaknesses of their case. It is at this point that most cases mutually agree to mediation in an effort to come to an informal resolution in light of all evidence exchanged among the parties.

Common Types of Georgia Auto Accidents

For the purposes of personal injury actions resulting from auto accidents, there are some peculiar and unique considerations at play in the discovery phase. For starters, you may be surprised just how many different types of auto-related accidents exist. For instance, auto accidents may fall into any of the following categories:

• Rear impact
• Rollover collisions
• Side impact
• Backup collisions
• Collisions that result in one vehicle being run off of the road
• Striking an animal with one’s vehicle
• Pedestrian or bicyclist related accidents

The relevance of the various types of potential auto related accidents is directly tied to the types of injuries and damages that could realistically be caused by the related mechanisms of each different type of auto accident. Even among each individual category of car wrecks, the mechanism and circumstances of each auto accident will vary from one accident to the next.  

As such, the retention of accident reconstruction experts and biomechanics are a typical aspect of the discovery phase. These experts are retained to conduct an investigation to determine whether the physical evidence such as skid marks and the damage to the involved vehicles is ultimately consistent with witness statements and the alleged injuries.

Bear in mind that in addition to these commonly utilized experts in a personal injury accident for injuries sustained following an auto accident, there are also various other experts that may be employed depending upon the circumstances of each individual case.

Reach out to a Georgia personal injury attorney to ensure that all key discovery is completed, including the retention of all key experts that may be helpful in proving your particular injuries and damages.

Seek Legal Counsel from a Georgia Personal Injury Attorney for Your Auto Accident Case

The moments after getting into a car accident can be stressful. It is likely that you are in pain or your car was severely damaged. If the auto accident was caused by the negligence of another driver, you should not have to carry the financial burden of the accident on your own. Reach out to a Georgia personal injury attorney at the Law Office of John B. Jackson to discuss the details of your case.