Augusta Truck Accident Lawyers

Georgia Truck Accident Statute of Limitations

Something you need to understand right off the bat when it comes to dealing with a truck accident is that you are not given an unlimited amount of time to bring your case. You have two years to file your claim in civil court, and that time starts the date of your accident.

If you decide to wait to talk to an attorney, you are running the risk of making their job of defending you harder. It takes time to build these cases, and you want to give them as much time as possible.

Those two years can get away from you, so the sooner you reach out to an attorney, the better. If you miss this statute of limitations, you will no longer be allowed to collect compensation for your damages and injuries.

How Truck Accident Compensation Works

Georgia state law declares that all personal injury cases must be in accordance with modified comparative negligence laws. These laws dictate how much you can be compensated for depending on your role in causing the accident.

The rules for modified comparative negligence are as follows:

• If you are not at fault, you will get full compensation
• If you are partially at fault, you will receive reduced compensation
• If you are more than 50% at fault, you will be barred from receiving compensation

An example would be if you were trying to get around a swerving truck by going slightly over the speed limit and they ended up crashing into you anyway. In that scenario, you may be considered 10% at fault. If you were to receive a compensation award of $100,000, you would be able to collect $90,000 of the award to account for your fault.

There are three main damages that go into determining a compensation award.

• Past and future medical bills
• Past and future lost wages
• Past and future pain and suffering

Generally speaking, if those damages are more severe, you can receive more compensation. There will be deliberations made about how much all of those damages are worth and a fair number will be negotiated by your attorney.

First Step for a Successful Truck Accident Case

If you want to ensure that you are eligible to receive compensation, you first and foremost need to understand that you are going to have to see a medical professional as soon as you can. Your health is the number one priority.

The importance of seeking medical attention is two-fold. One, you want to recover and feel better as quickly as possible. These injuries won’t take care of themselves and you should treat them as such. Two, you want to be able to have written proof from your doctor that you were injured and that these injuries were caused by a truck accident.

Talking to the Insurance Company for the Liable Party

There is one mistake that, in all personal injury cases, we urge our clients not to make. After your accident, the insurance company will be reaching out to you to get a statement from you. It may seem like they are helpful and want to resolve your case. This is not their goal. If you want to maximize your results, you won’t give them this statement.

The insurance companies have adjusters trained to ask you questions that would result in you saying something damaging to your case. Once they have you on record giving this damaging response, they can refer to it as evidence to prove that they can reduce or eliminate your claim based on your statement.

Our Augusta truck accident lawyers can take over this communication for you, protecting your rights from insurance adjusters who are trying to save their company money.

Call Our Augusta Truck Accident Lawyers Today

If you have been seriously injured in a truck accident, we want to help. Please call our office today to set up a free initial consultation with our dependable and skilled Augusta truck accident lawyers. Allow us to take on your case and protect your right to full and fair compensation.

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