Cumming Personal Injury Lawyers

Establishing a Claim

Most personal injury claims are settled before a lawsuit is needed, and, even then, most resulting in litigation are resolved before an actual trial is necessary. The direction of a claim, be it settlement or litigation, depends upon several different factors ranging from the mechanism of injury, monetary damages, future impact, and ultimately your expectations. 

The first step in making a personal injury claim, however, is to determine whether insurance coverage is in place that will cover your claim and how much coverage is available. We do this by sending a notice of claim to the insurance company that includes the insured party’s name, policy number, your information, the date of the accident, a copy of any police report, and a notification that you were injured and intend to file a claim. 

Once insurance coverage is determined, we can help you organize your claim and file it against the at-fault party. In some instances when coverage is lacking, it may be filed under your own underinsured/uninsured motorist insurance coverage. 

A common misconception is that a personal injury claim is a lawsuit or requires suing someone personally. However, that is not the case, as nearly every claim starts with a simple notification to the at-fault driver’s insurance company, as described above. Even when a lawsuit is required, in most cases, the claim still exists against the insurance company rather than an individual.

Gathering Evidence

It is important to document as much physical evidence pertinent to your claim as soon as possible after an accident. Photographs, statements, medical records, police reports, receipts, and other physical evidence are crucial to being able to piece together what happened, determine fault/liability, and begin laying the framework for a successful claim. 

Witnesses can also be very helpful to your personal injury claim if your case allows them. If it is possible to take down a witness’s name and contact information, you should try to do so. Also, survey the surrounding area and take note of any surveillance cameras that may have captured the incident. 

We will take the time to talk you through the accident to help identify any potential witnesses or evidence that may have been overlooked. We can then contact these potential witnesses and interview them to see if we can use their testimony to support your claim. 

Determining Fault

The next step after gathering evidence is determining fault.

Georgia law follows a comparative negligence theory in tort claims. This is a fancy way of saying that an injured person may have contributed to an incident in some way but may still be able to collect for sustained injuries if that contribution was less than the other party’s. Damages may be lessened if you are found to have contributed in some manner, but the claim is not completely lost. 

The general rule is that a person must exercise ordinary care to avoid another’s negligence but does not have an absolute duty to do so. In motor vehicle claims, pleading guilty to a traffic violation/citation, or even simply paying the fine, can impute liability. 

That is not to say that liability cannot be shown when a traffic citation is not issued to the at-fault party. It is just that a traffic citation and guilty plea help in proving liability. If you believe you are not at fault but have been cited in a collision, it is imperative that you consult counsel before pleading or paying any fines.