If you have been injured in an accident in Georgia due to another person's negligence and want to recover damages to help pay for medical bills, lost time from work and other costs that resulted from your accident, you will need to first file a Georgia personal injury claim. Of course, insurance companies have teams of lawyers that will use their knowledge and experience with accident victims to pay as little of your claim as possible, if at all.
While you don't require a lawyer to file a Georgia personal injury claim, it is generally a good idea to work with one if you are facing injuries that require long-term or permanent care. If the insurance company isn't interested in paying you a fair settlement for your injuries, which is what often happens, your attorney can negotiate on your behalf or if necessary, take your claim to court as a lawsuit.
After an accident in Georgia, you'll likely be overwhelmed with the immediate consequences of your injuries and starting the recovery process. The insurance company is hoping that you are not aware of your legal rights and are so desperate to end the issue that you'll accept a settlement for far below what your injuries will cost you in the long-run.
Working with an experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyer during your Georgia personal injury claim may help prevent you from any mistakes that could jeopardize your chance at fair compensation.
What You Need to File Your Georgia Personal Injury Claim
One of the most crucial steps in recovering damages in your Georgia personal injury claim is gathering the necessary evidence that proves the party you are claiming damages against was the main cause of your accident and resulting injuries.
It's important to start gathering evidence as soon as possible after the accident as a number of factors can affect the quality of the evidence and as result, the damages you can recover from your Georgia personal injury claim, including:
- evidence can go missing or get damaged;
- witnesses can move, become impossible to locate or simply forget what they saw if too much time has passed; and
- the scene of the accident can be altered.
At this point, you may want to start working with an Atlanta personal injury lawyer who can help with the collection, organization, storage and presentation of this evidence. Since the injury claims process can take years from start to settlement, it is important to keep all of this evidence organized and accessible. Every accident is different and any mistakes concerning your evidence may hurt your Georgia personal injury claim.
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