If you have been involved in a car wreck in Suwanee or the surrounding area, you may be dealing with serious injuries that leave you unable to work, a car that no longer runs and a variety of other consequences that can have a dramatic impact on your life. The good news is you don’t have to face the aftermath of your car wreck alone.
At Andersen, Tate & Carr, our Suwanee car accident lawyers have decades of combined experience representing victims of personal injury. We are intimately familiar with the local court systems and the laws that will affect your case. With this knowledge and experience, we will do all we can to help you get the compensation you deserve.
Call us at 770-237-9860 or contact us online for a free, no-obligation consultation with our Suwanee car accident lawyers today.
How Much Is Your Case Worth?
If there’s one thing our lawyers have learned over the years, it’s that no two cases are the same. There are always unique factors that have to be considered. That means there’s no simple answer to the question about how much your case is worth.
Of course, the insurance company will set a number based on their own calculations, then send you a settlement offer. Chances are, that settlement offer will be a lot lower than what you deserve. Once you accept that settlement offer, however, you forfeit your right to seek greater compensation. That’s why it’s so important to speak to an experienced attorney to determine if you’re entitled to more compensation than what was offered.
When our lawyers take your case, we will seek two main forms of compensation: economic and noneconomic. Economic damages related to the real money you lost because of your wreck. This could include past and future medical bills, property damage, lost wages, and more.
Noneconomic damages compensate you for losses that have nothing to do with money. These damages may include pain and suffering, permanent disability, mental anguish and more. Because these damages are more subjective, our Suwanee car accident lawyers will work with experts who can evaluate the severity of your injuries and help determine how much you’re owed.
How Negligence Is Proven After a Car Accident in Suwanee
Though some accidents may be caused by someone’s intentional acts or truly unforeseeable events, the majority of collisions occur because of negligence. In legal terms, negligence occurs when a person acts in a way that a reasonable person wouldn’t, and therefore causes injury. In general, there are four criteria that must be proven in order to show negligence:
- Duty of care: Every driver is required to follow all laws and rules of the road and take reasonable steps to avoid causing an accident.
- Breach of duty of care: If a driver does not follow their duty of care, such as by running a red light, they are said to have breached it. However, if the collision was caused by a truly unforeseeable event, the other driver may not be held liable for the wreck.
- The breach of duty caused injury: You must have suffered injuries directly caused by the wreck in order to seek compensation. This may include new injuries, and it also includes the worsening of old injuries and conditions.
- There are real, compensable damages: Finally, you must show that you had real losses for which you should be compensated. This can include medical bills, lost wages, property damage, pain and suffering, and more.
Georgia follows a modified comparative negligence statute. This means even if you are partially at fault for the wreck, you may still be able to receive compensation. However, you must be found 49% or less at fault for the accident to recover compensation. The amount you receive will be reduced by the percentage for which you’re at fault.
As an example, let’s say you’re driving down Peachtree Industrial and change lanes. However, there’s a driver in the same lane you just moved into, and because he’s speeding and texting, he does not see you and ends up rear-ending your vehicle. You suffer major injuries and property damage. Because you switched lanes improperly, but the other driver was speeding and texting, you are found to be 25% at fault for the accident.
At the end of the trial, you are awarded $100,000 for your injuries and other damages you suffered. However, because you were 25% at fault, you would only receive $75,000 in compensation.
How a Suwanee Car Accident Attorney Can Help You
After a car accident, dealing with the legal system is probably the last thing you want to do. After all, you still must worry about work, your home life, how you’re going to get around and everything else that comes with modern living. The good news is the right car accident attorney can take most of the burden off your shoulders so you can go on living your life.
At Andersen, Tate & Carr, we understand the stress you’re under. Our goal is to help you get the full compensation you deserve. Best of all, we don’t get paid unless we win your case. You owe us nothing upfront; we get paid from the compensation we win on your behalf!
Remember: the insurance company is looking out for its profit margin over everything else. That means every time you talk to them, they’re looking for a way to pay you less than you deserve. Before you give any written or recorded statement, talk to an experienced Suwanee car accident lawyer. Our attorneys can help make sure you don’t say anything that will damage your case.
Call us at (770)-822-0900 or contact us online for a free, no-obligation consultation with our Suwanee car accident lawyers today.