If you were injured and feel your accident was the fault of someone else, you may have the grounds for a personal injury lawsuit. Navigate your injury claim with a leading Georgia personal injury attorney. While this isn’t legally required, it is highly recommended. This is the best way to ensure you have everything you need in place and done correctly in order for the responsible party to compensate you.

Georgia Tort Law

Personal injury law is known as “Tort Law.” It permits an injury victim to initiate a civil action and receive financial compensation, known as damages, for all losses resulting from an accident. This can happen when one person’s injury and therefore the resulting medical bills, property damage, and other losses were due to someone else’s negligence.

Personal injury cases are common in Georgia, in part because of the many different kinds. Personal injury lawsuits include:

Car accidents

Workplace accidents

Dog bites

Slip-and-fall accidents

Wrongful death

Product liability

Medical malpractice

Medical negligence

It’s worth noting that your accident may not have been an “accident” at all. Personal injury claims can also include cases of intentional torts, such as assault.

Understanding the Statute of Limitations

All civil lawsuits filed in Georgia’s courts must be filed within the statute of limitations. Under Georgia Code section 9-3-33, actions for personal injury cases must be filed within two years after the accident occurred. In most cases, the clock begins to tick on the date of the accident. There are a few exceptions, though, like if the injured victim was a minor at the time of the accident.

It’s absolutely vital to keep this date in mind. The court will most likely refuse to hear your complaint after the two-year deadline has passed, and you will forfeit your right to compensation. It’s also important to keep in mind that putting off until close to the two-year mark isn’t a good idea. Crucial evidence can be lost in the months following your case, eyewitnesses can forget what they saw or become unreachable, and insurance companies can claim you don’t really need the compensation if you’ve gone so long without it.

Moving Forward with a Georgia Personal Injury Claim

At-fault parties, or in some cases their insurance company, may settle personal injury claims out of court. This happens quite often in personal injury cases. If negotiations do not result in the injured victim getting enough compensation to cover their medical bills, loss of income, property damage, as well as other pain and suffering, the case may be tried in court. Injured parties have the right to all of these, above and beyond medical expenses. This is one reason working with a personal injury attorney is so beneficial. This expert lawyer knows exactly what to include in your claim, oftentimes future expenses you haven’t thought of.

The goal of the personal injury system is to allow injured victims to receive financial compensation after suffering harm due to someone’s negligence. Yet, it’s not simple to handle on your own. Our legal system is complex, and personal injury law is no exception to this rule. Particularly in a car accident, you can bet the other side’s insurance company has a team of lawyers working to attempt to pay out as little as possible. You need your own legal representation to make sure this doesn’t happen.

It’s critical that you seek the advice of an experienced Georgia personal injury attorney before taking legal action after your accident. Don’t wait another day.