If you’ve been injured in a car accident and it’s not your fault, Georgia law allows you to make a claim for economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages are your calculable losses for out of pocket medical expenses, present and future lost earnings or business revenue and other present and future costs. Non economic damages translate your subjective pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life into monetary compensation. The best car accident attorneys in Georgia know how to maximize the value of both types of damages so that you can collect the largest possible amount of money.
Policy Limits
It’s virtually impossible to collect a judgment against an individual directly, so it’s unlikely you’ll be able to get more money than the total limits of the insurance policies of the responsible parties. In Georgia, drivers must carry liability insurance that pays out a minimum of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per incident for injuries and $25,000 for property damage. If the sole person responsible for your accident carries this minimum policy, this is the maximum amount you can collect. Some types of commercial vehicles have additional minimums and if you’re suing a municipality or a large corporation, the sky’s the limit. That’s why the best car accident attorneys in Georgia always do a thorough investigation to uncover additional sources of revenue for seriously injured clients.
Establishing Liability
In Georgia, in order to collect money damages for an accident, you must be less than 50% responsible. Once this is established, your money damage claim can be reduced by the percentage that you were at fault for causing the accident. For example, if you’re injured in a crash where the other car went through a stop sign, you’re likely to be found less than 50% responsible, but your claim may be reduced because you might have avoided the accident by driving more slowly and watching more closely. The best car accident attorneys in Georgia are skilled at presenting evidence that proves that the other vehicle was responsible for the accident.
The Value of Injuries
There are two criteria that are used to value injuries in Georgia. The first step is calculating your economic losses and anticipated costs such as:
- The amount that’s been paid out for medical costs;
- A projection of anticipated costs for the rest of your life;
- The loss of earnings or business revenue that’s been sustained;
- The loss of earnings or business revenue for the rest of your life, including the cost of retraining and
- Expenses for accommodations to your home and vehicle.
A highly paid fashion model that sustains a facial scar could be entitled to millions of dollars in lost earnings. On the other hand, a cashier that sustains a back injury that makes it impossible to work as a cashier, won’t collect very much for future lost earnings if it prompts him to go college and train for a more lucrative career.
A dancer that’s now a paraplegic, an artist that’s blind – the sky’s the limit for non economic damages and it’s the reason we hear about jury verdicts for tens of millions of dollars.
Putting It All Together
If you’ve been injured in a car accident, you can only collect damages from the other vehicles if you are less than 50% at fault. Once this is proven, the next step is to calculate your economic and non economic damages. This amount will be reduced by any fault of yours for the crash and you’re unlikely to collect more than the available insurance. The best car accident attorneys in Georgia have a great deal of experience in these types of cases and a track record for getting the highest possible amount of money for their clients through settlements or jury verdicts.
