When you are injured in any sort of accident, there is always a chance that you’ll be entitled to damages. As long as your Douglasville car accident attorney can prove that the other party caused the crash, you’ll have the option of suing them. When you do this, you’ll technically be suing both the other driver and their insurance carrier. In Georgia, you only have a certain amount of time in which to do this. For personal injury cases, such as yours, the deadline is two years from the day of your crash. Here, we will explain how the statute of limitations works and how it can impact your case. If you have any questions or concerns, call our office and schedule your free, initial consultation.
Every State Has Something Called a Statute of Limitations
Regardless of where your car accident took place, you’ll have to worry about the statute of limitations. Every state has their own version of this statute. The statute of limitations outlines how long plaintiffs have to file a lawsuit against the other party. For personal injury lawsuits, the statute of limitations is two years. This means that you have two years from the date of your accident to file suit. If you miss this deadline by even one day, your lawsuit will be dismissed and you’ll be prohibited from suing the defendant ever again. At that point, your Georgia injury lawyer won’t even be able to settle your case. Once the judge dismisses your case, the defendant’s lawyer knows they have no legal obligation to pay.
The Statute of Limitations for a Car Accident Lawsuit is Two Years
In Georgia, you have two years to file a lawsuit against the other driver in your car accident. When we first tell our new clients this, they look at us like we are crazy. At first, two years sounds like an awfully long time. However, time often flies by when you’re trying to convince the insurance company to pay your claim. It’s usually been a few months before our clients even call our office. By the time our Douglassville car accident attorney is ready to file the lawsuit, close to a year may have passed by. This is because it doesn’t make sense to file suit right away. You always want to give the insurance company a chance to do the right thing. Many of our car accident cases settle long before trial. Your Georgia injury lawyer will try to negotiate a settlement with the defendant’s insurance carrier from day one. This is because nobody wants to go to trial. Trials are expensive and time consuming. There’s also a chance that you could lose at trial. If this happens, you and your Douglassville car accident attorney will walk away with nothing.
Your Douglassville Car Accident Attorney Will Need Time to Prepare Your Complaint
Some people wait until the last minute to call a Georgia injury lawyer. They figure all they have to do is call and say they want to sue, and a complaint will be filed the next day. It doesn’t work this way. Your Douglasville car accident attorney needs time to prepare your case. First, they need to meet with you and make sure your case is worth pursuing. Second, they need to gather whatever information they can about your car accident. Third, they’ll need to talk to the insurance adjuster and find out where they stand as far as paying your claim is concerned. Finally, if your claim is still unpaid, your Douglasville car accident attorney will file suit against the other driver.
Your Lawsuit Will Be Dismissed if You Miss the Statute of Limitations Period
If you happen to miss the statute of limitations period, your lawsuit is going to be dismissed. The judge is not going to give you an extension. Nor will they make an exception for you and move the case along. All the defendant has to do is file a motion to dismiss your case for lack of prosecution. Even if they don’t do this, the court clerk is going to see that you’ve missed the deadline and advise the judge to dismiss your complaint. Either way, you will lose your chance to sue the other driver and will walk away with nothing.
Schedule a Date and Time to Meet with One of Our Georgia Injury Lawyers
Like anybody else who is involved in a car accident, you probably aren’t sure if you want to hire a Georgia injury lawyer. Most people try to resolve the matter by themselves before they reach out for help. That is normal. Why would you want to have to pay a Douglassville car accident attorney a percentage of your settlement if you don’t have to? We understand why you would feel this way. However, you also have to realize that the chances of winning or settling your case are much higher if you are represented by a seasoned Georgia injury lawyer. Not only do they know the law, but they are also very familiar with how the insurance companies operate. They won’t let you be taken advantage of. Nor will they let you accept a settlement that doesn’t at least cover your out-of-pocket expenses.
We offer all new clients a free, initial consultation. This gives you a chance to sit down with one of our Douglassville car accident attorneys before you have to make any decisions. For example, if you’re afraid your lawyer will take most of your settlement proceeds, you can talk to them one-on-one and find out if this is true. Your attorney can also answer any questions you may have. For somebody who is not familiar with the law, it isn’t always a good idea to try to take on an insurance company by themselves.
Since the consultation is free, and since you don’t have to pay anything upfront, you have nothing to lose. You can bet the other driver will have a team of lawyers working for them. You need to have someone on your side as well.
