Georgia Pedestrian Accident Statutes of Limitation
The term “statute of limitations” may not be something you have heard before. Essentially, the statute of limitations is your legal deadline to get your case filed by. Every state in the US has varying statute of limitations for the personal injury cases that exist. In Georgia, you are given two years starting from the date of the accident.
What you need to understand is that a pedestrian accident claim can be complicated and time consuming. You will want to give your attorney as much time as possible to build a strong case for you. The sooner you call one of our Augusta pedestrian accident attorneys attorney to take on your case, the more time they have to work with and a less chance that your evidence will have gone missing.
9 Mistakes That Will Ruin Your Pedestrian Accident Case
How Georgia Pedestrian Accident Compensation Works
In Georgia, the laws of compensation are modified comparative negligence laws. These laws dictate how much of your compensation award you are allowed to collect. Compensation is awarded based on three primary things:
- Past and future lost wages
- Past and future medical bills
- Past and future pain and suffering
When a number has been determined to represent your damages, the next thing that goes into determining what you can collect is your role in causing the accident. Modified comparative negligence law says:
- A victim with 0% fault gets a full compensation award.
- A victim with 1% - 50% fault gets a reduced compensation award.
- A victim with more than 50% fault does not get a compensation award.
We work to protect your right to full compensation. An example of someone with a reduced compensation award would be a pedestrian who was using their phone while they walked through a crosswalk. Depending on the circumstances of the driver who hit them, the right of way, etc. they will be deemed a certain percent at fault. If they are, for example, 30% at fault for the accident, their compensation award is going to be reduced by 30%.
First Step for a Successful Pedestrian Accident Case in Augusta
If you want to have a successful pedestrian accident case, you need to make sure that your first step is to get yourself in front of a medical professional. Your health is the top priority. You cannot necessarily have an injury case if you don’t get treatment for an injury.
A doctor will take note of your injuries, start your treatment, then possibly give you follow up options. The insurance company will see these records. If you waited to get treatment, then they may say that you lied about your injuries. They may also say that you lied about how you get hurt to begin with. They will do anything they can to reduce or eliminate your claim so that they can protect their bottom line.
Don’t give them a reason to do this. Get to a doctor as soon as you can to get the treatments you need to starting recovering.
Talking to the Insurance Company for the Liable Party
Something that you want to avoid if you are interested in collected compensation is a phone call with the liable party’s insurance company. The representatives will try to convince you to give them a recorded statement to get you to slip up and say something wrong. They will tell you that a statement is going to help your case resolve quickly, but your case will not resolve in your favor if you give them a statement.
The wisest move from here is to hand your case over to an attorney who knows what they are doing. They will be able to protect your case from the insurance company and provide the answers without jeopardizing your case. The sooner you call an attorney, the more likely it is that they can protect your rights to full and fair compensation.
Contact Our Augusta Pedestrian Accident Attorneys Today
If you are looking for a skilled and dependable attorney to take on your pedestrian accident case, please call our office right away. You can set up a free initial consultation to go over the details of your case with our Augusta pedestrian accident attorneys. You deserve to get full and fair compensation and we will work hard to get that for you.
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