Georgia Personal Injury Lawyer
Our Georgia personal injury lawyers are dedicated to helping when you’ve been seriously injured because of the carelessness of others. You don’t deserve to be stuck with overwhelming medical bills, pain, suffering, and an uncertain future. We can help you recover financial compensation for everything taken from you so that you can get back on your feet again.
If you or your loved one has been harmed because of someone else’s carelessness, our Georgia personal injury lawyers can help you pursue significant compensation. Contact us today for a free consultation.
Our personal injury law offices in Georgia have access to all of the resources of our large firm. This means our attorneys can take the time to give you and your case the individual attention you deserve while still being able to successfully fight large insurance companies.
We’ve been helping injured individuals and grieving families recover significant compensation since 1979, and our team of talented personal injury attorneys in Georgia is like no other.
Lee Page is one of our Atlanta personal injury attorneys who has represented large companies, served as an assistant attorney general, worked in the public defender’s office, provided veteran advocacy support, and worked in bankruptcy court. His experience has given him insight into the inner workings of insurance companies and a deep understanding of the human side of what injured people go through.
Bradley Robinson is a Savannah personal injury lawyer who previously worked as a prosecutor, which makes him an experienced trial lawyer who is unafraid to face down the largest of companies in a courtroom. Personal injury lawyers willing to take cases to trial have powerful leverage during settlement negotiations, which has helped Bradley win substantial compensation for our clients.
These are just some examples of the well-rounded Georgia personal injury lawyers you’ll find at our law offices. Our attorneys combine strengths, skills, and experience to give you the most effective representation available anywhere. Call us today at (877) 245-6707, and let us put our experience to work for you.
Our Georgia Personal Injury Case Results
Our results are no accident. They are the product of caring, understanding, hard work, and experience. We can leverage our experience and record of past success to make reluctant insurance companies pay the compensation you deserve. Below are just a few examples of our successful case results:
- $5 million medical malpractice recovery for a client who sustained a brain injury in an emergency room.
- $3.3 million boat accident verdict when a pleasure boat hit a barge.
- $2 million truck accident verdict for a 47-year-old man who sustained shoulder, neck, and back injuries after being rear-ended by a 12-ton tractor-trailer.
- $2.5 million car accident recovery after a pickup struck an automobile.
- $1.5 million workers’ compensation recovery for the children of a woman killed due to poorly maintained machinery.
- $750,000 recovery for a woman injured at a major supercenter retailer after falling in a puddle of water.
What Our Clients Say About Working With Our Georgia Injury Law Firm
Below are a few examples of the client testimonials we have recently received for our Georgia personal injury lawyers’ hard work:
“A big thank you to Glory Padgett and Jasmine! My experience with Farah & Farah was smooth and easy from the start. Doctors, insurance, hospital bills, and everything else involved after a motor vehicle accident felt like too much to handle along with everything else in life. Glory handled everything, always updated me in a timely manner, and was always available to me whenever I needed her. All I had to do was go to my doctor appointments and Glory and her team handled the rest, along with getting me a settlement that I’m happy with. I would absolutely recommend Glory and Farah & Farah to any friend or family.”
–Whitney L. in Savannah
“Since dealing with Farah and Farah, I had a great experience. My attorney Bruce was great. He did an outstanding job on my workers’ comp case, and Ed the case manager was also very professional. I will use them always and will recommend them .”
–Dawn B. in Valdosta
“Miranda in the Brunswick office was fantastic to work with. I fell in a restaurant. My injuries weren’t terrible, but I needed medical care. I tried very hard to get the restaurant to work with me, but they just ignored my calls. My health insurance was going to deny every claim; I was so lost as to what I should do. From the first conversation with Miranda, I felt better. I went through my physical therapy, got better, and she dealt with all the rest. I kept saying throughout that I just wanted my bills paid. Thanks to Miranda’s work and persistence, every bill was paid, and there was a little extra for me. Thank you!”
–Holly H. in Brunswick
Our Personal Injury Lawyers Serve Communities Across Georgia
When you need a personal injury lawyer in Georgia, you never have to go far to find us. In fact, all it takes is one phone call, and we will come to you. You can reach us anytime by calling (877) 245-6707.
- If you need a personal injury lawyer in Marietta, Atlanta, Decatur, Dunwoody, Brookhaven, Forest Park, or anywhere else in the Atlanta metro area, you can count on our Atlanta personal injury lawyers to be there for you.
- If you’re injured in Savannah, Bloomingdale, Tybee Island, Fort McAllister, Richmond Hill, or anywhere in between, our Savannah personal injury lawyers are just a phone call away.
- Our Valdosta personal injury lawyers will be there for you when you’ve been injured anywhere near the Florida/Georgia line, whether you’re in Morven, Bemiss, Naylor, Windsor Park, Ousley, Dasher, or anywhere in southern Georgia.
- If you’ve been injured in Brunswick, Spring Bluff, Hickory Bluff, Country Club Estates, or on any of the islands, contact our Brunswick personal injury lawyers now to schedule your free consultation at the location of your choosing.
- If you’re injured in the Southern Rivers Region, you will have the benefit of being represented by the talented, understanding, and compassionate Albany personal injury lawyer Christle Guinyard, who will meet with you in Albany, Beloit, Pretoria, Williamsburg, Whispering Pines, or anywhere in between.
- Alex Fadoul is a Macon personal injury lawyer with exceptional courtroom skills and experience who has successfully settled thousands of cases. If you are injured in Macon, Wesleyan, Payne, East Macon, Rutland, or anywhere else in central Georgia, Alex and his team will meet you where you are and fight for the compensation you deserve.
- If you’re injured in Waycross, Deenwood, Sunnyside, Astoria, Blacksheer, Waresboro, or other nearby areas, contact our Waycross personal injury lawyers today for a free consultation at a convenient location.
Our Georgia personal injury attorneys care about all people in the communities where we live and work, and we consider it a moral obligation and an honor to use our resources to improve the lives of our fellow Georgians. As a personal injury law firm in Georgia, we provide college scholarships to academically promising high school seniors every year through our Empowering Greatness scholarship program.
We also encourage our individual attorneys to support their local communities, and they have taken it upon themselves to go above and beyond our expectations in a loving demonstration of how much they care about people.
For example, Savannah personal injury lawyer Glory Padgett volunteers as a court-appointed advocate for foster children in Chatham County. Our Savannah personal injury lawyers have also sponsored Traffick Jam, an organization fighting to end human trafficking, and they regularly donate school supplies to local schools.
Our Valdosta and Waycross personal injury lawyers support Five STAR Veterans Center, which helps disadvantaged veterans get back on their feet. Christle Guinyard, a personal injury lawyer in Albany, volunteers with the ASPCA and the Albany Humane Society.
Community giving is just one way our Georgia personal injury lawyers demonstrate how much they care. Our compassion and care drive us to fight for injured clients and refuse to give up, and this is the kind of determination you need when going against a large insurance company in Georgia. Contact us now for a free case review.
Types of Cases Our Georgia Personal Injury Lawyers Handle
When selecting a personal injury attorney in Georgia, choosing an attorney with extensive experience handling your type of claim is important. We work in nearly all areas of personal injury law in Georgia, so you can confidently call your nearest Farah & Farah office at (877) 245-6707 when you need to file a personal injury claim.
Car Accidents
Car accidents happen throughout Georgia because careless drivers drive while they are drunk, distracted, or drowsy. Some drivers jeopardize the safety of others by speeding, disobeying stop signs or other traffic controls, failing to yield, and driving aggressively.
The most dangerous driving city in Georgia is Atlanta, which is home to almost all of the most dangerous roads in Georgia. In fact, Atlanta is one of the most dangerous driving cities in the nation. According to Drive Smart Georgia, Atlanta has more distracted drivers than any other city across the United States.
While careless drivers are to blame for most car accidents, our Georgia car accident lawyers often find other parties that share fault, including negligent mechanics, manufacturers of defective vehicle parts, employers, and government agencies that fail to maintain safe roads.
If you’ve been injured in a car accident, contact our Georgia personal injury lawyers immediately so we can determine how much compensation you can recover.
Truck Accidents
Georgia leads the nation in drunk driving violations by commercial drivers, with 480 violations in 2022. This number is rising. In 2023, that number surpassed 500 by the first week in August.
Yet, this is one of many errors that can lead to big truck accidents. Drowsy driving is another significant problem among truck drivers. The Federal Motor Carrier Association allows truck drivers to work 14-hour shifts with up to 11 hours of driving time. Trucking companies often impose unrealistic delivery schedules, which causes drivers to feel pressure to exceed these limits.
Careless truck driving is more deadly than car accidents because a car weighing 4,000 pounds is no match for an 80,000-pound tractor-trailer. Driving a truck requires more skill and attention because of the excessive potential for harm, but truck drivers don’t always take their responsibility seriously, and some lack training.
Truck drivers aren’t the only ones responsible for the safe operation of big trucks. The following parties may also be liable if you’ve been injured in a big truck accident:
- A company that improperly loaded a truck’s cargo, resulting in uneven weight distribution that could lead to a rollover accident.
- The trucking company that imposed unrealistic schedules, failed to train the driver, hired the driver without performing the appropriate screening, or failed to enforce and comply with truck maintenance requirements.
- A negligent mechanic that cleared an unsafe truck to be driven or provided inadequate repairs.
- A manufacturer or distributor of an unsafe or defective truck component, most commonly tires, brakes, and airbags.
Trucking companies are large corporations that often fight against paying the compensation they owe. It takes significant resources to fight these companies, yet they are no match for our Georgia truck accident lawyers.
We have won millions in compensation from even the most reluctant trucking companies because our Georgia personal injury lawyers refuse to be intimidated by wealthy companies, and we have the resources, skills, and experience to beat them at their own game. If you’ve been injured in a truck accident, call our big truck lawyers now at (877) 245-6707.
Motorcycle Accidents
The Georgia Department of Highway Safety recorded 185 motorcycle rider deaths from accidents across the state in 2021. Motorcycle riders are vulnerable roadway users because they are more likely to be involved in accidents. They are harder to see and more likely to be seriously injured or killed when they are in accidents.
Although motorcycle riders have a legal right to use the roads, motorists often fail to watch for them. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration reports that 42 percent of fatal motorcycle crashes occur when a motor vehicle turns left in front of a motorcycle going straight.
Motorcycle crashes also happen when inattentive drivers switch lanes into motorcycles, rear-end stopped motorcycles, or fail to yield the right-of-way. While potholes, gravel, and other sub-par road conditions may not affect larger motor vehicles, these conditions can cause motorcycles to lose control.
It’s not uncommon for insurance companies and the general public to point fingers at the motorcycle rider, but many factors outside the rider’s control cause and contribute to these accidents. Our Georgia motorcycle accident lawyers aren’t here to blame you. We’re here to work for you.
When you call our Georgia personal injury attorneys at (877) 245-6707 after your motorcycle crash, we will investigate the contributing factors and hold those responsible who caused your crash.
Pedestrian and Bicycle Accidents
Pedestrians and bicyclists are killed in Georgia by inattentive and impaired drivers. In 2021 alone, 306 pedestrians and 15 bicyclists were fatally injured throughout the state after being hit by cars. There is truly no excuse for a driver to hit pedestrians and bicyclists.
Contact our Georgia pedestrian accident lawyers or our Georgia bicycle accident lawyers now if you or your loved one has been injured while walking or riding a bicycle anywhere in Georgia.
Our compassionate and award-winning Georgia personal injury lawyers recently won a $250,000 wrongful death recovery for the family of an individual with dementia hit by a car after wandering into traffic.
Slips and Falls
Slips and falls are more than an embarrassment. They are traumatic events that can result in serious injuries, including spinal cord injuries, broken bones, and traumatic brain injuries. The property owner may be liable if your fall occurs on someone else’s property, such as a supermarket, apartment complex, or even a private home.
According to Georgia law, property owners are liable for damages when they fail to maintain a safe premises, allowing a customer or visitor to be injured. This type of personal injury law is known as premises liability. The following hazards create an unreasonable risk of slips and falls:
- Wet or slippery floors.
- Uneven pavement.
- Loose gravel.
- Broken or poorly maintained steps.
- Broken handrails.
- Inadequate lighting.
- Trip hazards, such as cords in a walkway.
- Poorly maintained exits and entrances.
When you hire our Georgia slip and fall lawyers, we will thoroughly investigate your accident and gather the evidence necessary to prove the owner was negligent.
Swimming Pool Accidents
Swimming pool accidents may result in traumatic and non-traumatic brain injuries. Traumatic brain injuries result from a blow to the head, such as hitting your head in a fall on wet concrete near the pool. Non-traumatic brain injuries occur when you are deprived of oxygen due to nearly drowning.
Swimming pool accidents at public pools may occur due to poorly maintained surfaces near the pool, which become slippery when wet. Near drownings may occur due to a failure by the recreational company to keep an adequate number of qualified, attentive lifeguards on duty. Drain problems can also lead to drowning, near drowning, and internal injuries.
Swimming pool accidents may also occur when a homeowner fails to lock up a visible pool to prevent unsupervised children from entering. Although premises liability laws in Georgia do not impose a duty of care on owners for trespassers other than to avoid intentionally harming them, there is an exception for children.
A swimming pool is known as an attractive nuisance because it can tempt young children to enter at their own peril without their parent’s knowledge. Under long-established Georgia laws, if it is reasonably foreseeable that a child may sneak in and use the pool, the owner is liable, even if the child was trespassing.
Contact our Georgia swimming pool accident lawyers now if you or your loved one has been injured while at a swimming pool in Georgia.
Workplace Accidents
When you or your loved one has been injured on the job, you should be able to apply for workers’ compensation benefits to quickly access medical care and replace your lost wages. Unfortunately, employers don’t always make it easy for employees to receive their due benefits.
Workers’ compensation is an insurance program employers are required to provide. They must pay monthly payments, known as premiums, to maintain this insurance. The more often employees file claims, the higher their premiums. This incentivizes some employers to fight employees who file legitimate claims.
The Bureau of Labor & Statistics recorded 187 work zone fatalities in Georgia in 2021, and the highest number of fatal injuries occurred in the transportation of goods and construction industries. The most common causes of fatal accidents were as follows:
- Transportation incidents
- Violence
- Exposure to harmful substances or environments
- Slips, trips, and falls
Whether you have already been denied benefits or still need to file your workers’ compensation claim, you can count on our Georgia workers’ compensation lawyers to get you the benefits you are due. Attorney Kyle Lankhorst is a Farah & Farah workers’ compensation lawyer in Savannah who accepts cases throughout the state.
As a former assistant state attorney, Kyle has the confidence and persistence to take your case all the way to trial if needed, and he has won outstanding results when the odds were stacked against our clients. He recently won $100,000 for a 21-year-old who sustained a foot injury on the job and could not continue in the same line of work.
In addition to workers’ compensation benefits, we can also help you file a civil lawsuit against parties other than your employer who contributed to your injuries, such as manufacturers of defective equipment, premises owners, and vehicle drivers. Call our Georgia personal injury law firm today at (877) 245-6707 so our nationally recognized lawyers can put their experience to work for you.
Defective Products
When you purchase a product that malfunctions and causes you to be injured, the manufacturer, distributor, and retailer may be liable for your injuries. Our experienced product liability attorneys in Georgia have helped Georgians recover millions after being severely injured by defective drugs, medical devices, and consumer products such as pesticides, toys, tools, and foods.
Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice occurs when you are injured by a health care provider’s failure to provide a reasonable standard of care. Examples of medical malpractice include failing to follow accepted medical practices, neglecting to perform appropriate testing, failing to consult a specialist, or making incompetent decisions during surgery.
Medical malpractice cases are some of the hardest personal injury cases to win. The most important legal decision you can make when you’ve been harmed by medical malpractice is to hire a competent Georgia medical malpractice lawyer with extensive experience handling medical malpractice cases and a successful track record.
Our experienced and resourceful Georgia personal injury lawyers have won millions on behalf of clients injured by negligent doctors, nurses, radiologists, surgeons, anesthesiologists, pharmacists, and other health care providers who committed the following types of medical malpractice:
- Misdiagnosis
- Delayed diagnosis
- Failure to diagnose
- Emergency room negligence
- Surgical errors
- Medication errors
- Birth injuries
- Nursing home abuse and neglect
Health care providers are supposed to make your health better, not worse. If a careless health care provider has harmed you, call us immediately at (877) 245-6707.
Wrongful Death
If your spouse, child, parent, or next-of-kin died from the negligence, our Georgia wrongful death lawyers may be able to help you recover damages for your financial and emotional losses, including funeral costs, your loved one’s lifetime income had they lived, loss of companionship, loss of parental support, and more.
Our empathetic and devoted wrongful death lawyers in Georgia understand that money cannot make up for the loss of a loved one. Financial compensation is aimed at providing a measure of financial security for your family and a form of justice for your loved one. Our caring and devoted staff will lovingly support you during this difficult time.
What Our Experienced Personal Injury Lawyers in Georgia Do To Help Clients Win Substantial Compensation
You can count on our nationally recognized Georgia personal injury attorneys to stand with you and guide you through every phase of your case from your initial phone call until you receive your compensation.
Free Case Evaluation
When you call any of our Georgia personal injury law offices at (877) 245-6707, we will schedule your free consultation, during which time we will meet with you at our office, your home, the hospital, or a public place of your choosing and listen to your side of the story of how you became injured.
We will ask many questions during your consultation and use the information you provide us to determine whether we can help you. If you have any evidence, such as photos, videos, or witness contact information, it is helpful to have this with you during our meeting. If we accept your case, we will go right to work fighting for the compensation you deserve.
Accident Investigation
Investigating the incident that led to your injuries is the most important step our personal injury lawyers in Georgia take in your case because the evidence we gather becomes the foundation of your personal injury claim. This evidence can help us determine all the liable parties and clear you of fault.
When investigating your accident, we will work with forensic analysts if your accident was a motor vehicle accident. For all accidents, we will look for video and photographic evidence, interview eyewitnesses, and hire private investigators if necessary.
Taking the time to find strong evidence is worthwhile because it gives us an upper hand in settlement negotiations. It allows us to show insurance companies that we are prepared to win at trial if they refuse to pay the compensation you deserve. You can trust that our Georgia personal injury lawyers are thorough, and we won’t miss a shred of evidence that will help you.
An Assessment of Your Injuries
We will perform a detailed investigation of your injuries, including their severity, the amount of pain and suffering you have experienced, how much suffering you will experience in the future, and your disabilities after you reach your maximum recovery level.
This step requires thoroughly reviewing your medical records, consultations with medical experts, and interviews with your health care providers. Proving the full extent of your injuries is necessary for justifying the damages we pursue for you.
The insurance company may minimize your injuries, accuse you of faking them, or claim you caused your own injuries. Our experienced Georgia personal injury lawyers know what evidence is needed to overcome these tactics, and we know how to get it.
Calculation of Your Case Value
Your case value is the dollar amount of damages you should be able to recover due to the other party’s negligence based on the available insurance coverage. This is the amount we will pursue on your behalf. To calculate this amount, we must consider the following:
- Your past and future medical costs.
- Your missed days at work.
- Whether you will ever be able to return to work.
- The difference in your earning capacity before and after the accident.
- How painful your injuries are.
- How much your injuries affect your quality of life.
- How long your quality of life will suffer, and to what extent.
This is not an exhaustive list. Every case is unique, and what goes into your case’s value will differ from other injury victims. You can rest assured that our determined personal injury lawyers in Georgia are committed to getting you the maximum compensation available, and we will account for every penny you deserve.
Demand Letter
We send A demand letter to each liable party and insurance company requesting the damages we calculated. The liable parties may agree to pay the compensation, make a counteroffer, refuse to pay any compensation, or fail to respond. If the responsible parties do anything other than agree to pay the amount requested in full, we will file a personal injury lawsuit on your behalf.
Civil Lawsuit
Once we file your lawsuit, the defendants have the right to request access to the evidence we’ve gathered during our investigations.
This will give the defendants access to our forensic analysis, your medical records, camera footage, and any other evidence we’ve uncovered. The defendants may also require you to give sworn testimony in an informal procedure known as a deposition. You can count on our attorneys to be there for the deposition and ensure you are well-prepared.
Each insurance company’s aim during this time is to poke holes in our evidence to persuade you to accept a lower settlement. Our job is to ensure your case is airtight. This is why your Georgia personal injury lawyers must complete the investigation before filing your claim.
Settlement Negotiations
After the defendants have viewed the evidence, settlement negotiations begin. During negotiations, the liable insurance companies will likely attempt to make a series of lowball offers. Because we are successful trial lawyers, we can confidently refuse these offers in pursuit of fair compensation.
However, we will always present serious offers from the insurance companies to you. We will advise you, but the decision will be yours on whether to accept an offer or pursue more compensation. In most cases, insurance companies ultimately agree to pay fair compensation to our clients to avoid the risks and costs of going to trial.
If however, the insurance company refuses to be reasonable, your case may proceed to trial.
Trial
Before your case goes to trial, the court may require you and the defendants to undergo mediation. This informal dispute resolution process takes place in front of an impartial third party who will facilitate communication and attempt to help you reach an agreement with the defendants. We will attend mediation with you, and the defendant’s attorneys will also be there.
If we cannot reach an agreement during mediation, your case will proceed to trial. The defendants may attempt to have your evidence excluded and the case dismissed, but these common tactics are rarely successful.
After the trial begins, we will present witnesses in front of a jury and cross-examine the witnesses presented by the defense. The defense will also cross-examine our witnesses and present its own. If your testimony is required, the defense will also cross-examine you. We can anticipate the questions you will be asked and ensure you are well-prepared to answer them in court.
Settlement negotiations may continue throughout your trial. We have reached many settlements after the trial has begun. Any settlement must be reached before the jury announces a verdict. If the jury finds in your favor, the jury will issue a second verdict after further deliberation to determine your award.
What Types of Damages Can Farah & Farah’s Georgia Personal Injury Lawyers Help Me Recover?
The following damages may be available when you’ve been injured because of the careless actions or omissions of others:
- Special damages - Also known as economic damages, these are compensation for your monetary losses, such as past medical expenses, future medical expenses, lost wages, loss of earning potential, property damage, and more.
- General damages - Also known as non-economic damages, these are compensation for losses to your quality of life and include physical pain, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of family relationships, disfigurement, loss of bodily functions, disability, and other intangible losses.
- Punitive damages - In rare cases of gross negligence or deliberate misconduct, you may recover punitive damages. Unlike special and general damages, these damages are awarded not to compensate you but to punish the defendant and deter future misconduct.
Punitive damages awards are limited to $250,000 in most personal injury cases. There is an exception for cases involving defective products. In these cases, there is no limit on punitive damages, but 75 percent of punitive damages awarded in defective product cases are paid to the state after deducting attorney fees and the cost of litigation.
It is important to note that in all claims other than defective product claims, you do not have to share any portion of your punitive damages to the state.
There are no economic or non-economic damages limits for most personal injury claims, except in medical malpractice cases. The law limits non-economic damages to $350,000 in medical malpractice claims involving one medical facility, regardless of the number of individual health care providers sued. If more than one medical facility is involved, the non-economic damages limit is $700,000.
Factors That Can Impact Your Settlement
Several factors can influence your compensation in a personal injury case in Georgia. The following factors generally have the most significant impacts on your case:
- The severity of your injuries - More severe injuries with longer-lasting effects can raise your compensation.
- The strength of the evidence - The stronger your evidence, the more likely the insurance company is to settle for the amount you deserve.
- The conduct of the at-fault party - If the at-fault party’s conduct leading to your accident qualifies you for punitive damages, this can drastically impact the settlement we can get for you.
- Who is at fault for the accident - If multiple parties are at fault for your accident, this could increase the available insurance and collectible assets, resulting in higher compensation for you.
- The reputation of your attorney - A lawyer with a record of winning at trial gets higher settlements because insurance companies will pay more to avoid facing such an attorney in court. All the major insurance companies in Georgia know that our Georgia personal injury lawyers are successful trial lawyers they do not want to face in court.
If You Wait Too Long To File Your Personal Injury Lawsuit, You Could Lose Your Right to Pursue Damages Forever
The statute of limitations for most personal injuries in Georgia is two years from the date of the incident, but some exceptions may allow the statute of limitations to be extended.
Loss of Consortium
Loss of consortium is loss of love, affection, and marital relations with a spouse. In Georgia personal injury cases, a spouse has up to four years to file a claim for loss of consortium.
Defendant’s Absence from the State
If a defendant leaves the state, the clock on the statute of limitations is paused until the defendant returns. Upon the defendant’s return, you have as much time left to file the claim as you had before the defendant left the state. Pausing the clock in this manner is known as tolling the statute of limitations.
Minority and Disability
The statute of limitations is paused for minors and people found mentally incompetent by the court. A minor is anyone who is under 18 and unemancipated. The statute of limitations begins to run when the minor becomes an adult or when an incompetent person becomes competent.
Medical Malpractice
While the statute of limitations is still two years in medical malpractice cases, this can vary based on the facts of your case.
Discovery of the Injuries
Medical errors are often not discovered until months or years after the error took place. For example, if you’ve been misdiagnosed, you may not realize it until your condition worsens or fails to improve with treatment.
In these cases, you have two years from the date you discovered or should have discovered your injury to file your medical malpractice lawsuit. However, there is a hard limit of five years after the health care provider committed the error, regardless of when you discover the injury. This limit is known as a statute of repose.
The law does provide one exception to the statute of repose. If you’ve discovered that doctors left a foreign object in your body during surgery, such as a surgical instrument or a sponge, you have up to one year to file a lawsuit after the discovery, regardless of how many years have passed.
Medical Malpractice Committed Against Minors
In cases involving minors over five, the statute of limitations is the same as for adults. However, the statute of limitations is more complex for injuries that occur as a result of medical errors involving children younger than five, such as birth injuries in Georgia.
- For injuries discovered right away, you must file a claim on behalf of your child on or before your child’s seventh birthday.
- For injuries discovered later, you have up to two years after you discover the injuries, but never past the child’s 10th birthday.
The Statute of Limitations and Exceptions
The Georgia statutes of limitations are complex, and you should never assume your case qualifies for an exception without first talking to an experienced personal injury lawyer in Georgia. If you make an incorrect assumption and file your claim late, you can forever lose your right to pursue damages for your injuries.
With over 40 years of experience, our attorneys can correctly determine how the statute of limitations applies to your case and ensure your lawsuit is filed on time.
Don’t wait to contact us. Your case will need extensive investigation before your lawsuit can be filed. Additionally, the evidence we need to prove your case may only be available briefly. If you’ve been injured because of someone else’s carelessness in Georgia, call us today at (877) 245-6707 to schedule your free case evaluation.
Georgia Personal Injury And Negligence Laws
The only way to win a Georgia personal injury lawsuit is to prove that the defendant’s acts and omissions meet the state criteria for negligence. You must also prove that most of the fault lies with the defendant rather than you.
The Five Elements of Negligence in Personal Injury Cases
To prevail in any civil case, you must prove that all five of the elements of negligence below are present in your case.
1. The Legal Duty to Exercise a Reasonable Standard of Care
The standard of care is a legal obligation to behave in a manner expected of a reasonably prudent person in similar circumstances. This duty extends to all people in nearly every human interaction.
- Drivers owe other drivers a duty to follow traffic laws and pay attention.
- Doctors owe patients a duty to provide care according to established protocols.
- Property owners owe visitors, customers, and vendors a duty to maintain safe premises and remove safety hazards in a reasonable amount of time.
2. A Breach of Duty
A breach of duty is also known as carelessness, and it occurs when someone fails to exercise reasonable care to avoid injuring others.
3. A Provable Injury
You must prove that you suffered an injury that caused you to experience verifiable financial losses. If the defendant’s carelessness does not result in an injury, there is no cause of action.
4. Cause-in-Fact
Cause-in-fact is also known as actual cause. It means you must prove that your injuries would not have occurred if the defendant hadn’t breached the duty to exercise reasonable care.
For example, if you are suing a doctor for wrongful death stemming from a cancer misdiagnosis, it will be necessary to prove that death would not have occurred if the doctor had diagnosed the cancer as early as a reasonable doctor would have.
5. Proximate Cause
Proximate cause means the defendant’s actions were direct enough in the chain of events leading to your injury that they can legally be held liable. One important means of establishing this is proving that the defendant should have foreseen that you would suffer harm due to their careless conduct.
What Happens if You Are Partially at Fault in Georgia?
According to Georgia’s comparative negligence law, if you are found partly at fault for an accident leading to your injuries, you can still recover damages from another at-fault party, but your compensation will be reduced by the percent of the fault assigned to you. However, you cannot recover compensation if you are 50 percent or more at fault.
One of our most important jobs as Georgia personal injury lawyers is proving who is really at fault. In the event of a motor vehicle accident, the police may have found you at fault, but they are not infallible.
Don’t give up if you’ve been found at fault for an accident. Call us immediately at (877) 245-6707. With the help of our own accident reconstructionists and forensic investigators, we will uncover the truth behind your accident so you can get the compensation you need and deserve.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Should I Look For When Seeking the Best Georgia Personal Injury Lawyer?
When you need a personal injury lawyer in Georgia, you’ll encounter a lot of fancy advertisements that might make every law firm seem qualified to handle your case. Fortunately, it only takes a little digging to determine whether you can trust a Georgia personal injury law firm to live up to the promises in its ads.
Regardless of how persuasive the ads are, make sure the law firm you choose has the following characteristics:
- Experience. Every type of personal injury claim has unique challenges and requirements. When interviewing a law firm, ask if how many years of experience it has handling your specific type of claim, whether it’s a medical malpractice claim, a big truck accident, or a slip and fall claim. We have more than four decades of experience handling all types of personal injury claims.
- Willingness to go to trial. Personal injury lawyers that are scared to go to trial get low settlements. Our experienced Georgia personal injury attorneys have a reputation for winning large verdicts at trial. This helps us get higher settlements because large companies don’t want to face us in court.
- Successful track record. The most important gauge of a personal injury law firm’s ability to get you the results you need is its case history. When interviewing law firms, ask how much they have won in settlements and verdicts. Our personal injury lawyers at Farah & Farah have won more than $2 billion for our clients.
- Significant Financial Resources. Going against large companies requires significant upfront investments for filing fees, expert witnesses, forensic analysts, and more. A law firm with sufficient financial assets can afford to invest every penny needed to prove your case and get you the compensation you deserve. At Farah & Farah, all of our personal injury lawyers have access to the resources of our entire law firm.
- Attorneys that care. When your personal injury lawyers care about you as a person rather than seeing you as a payday, they will work harder for you and do more to help you through what may be the most difficult time in your life. The best way to tell if a law firm cares is to look at its client testimonials. Our clients regularly tell us how much they appreciate our genuine care and concern for their well-being.
Where Do I File a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Georgia?
Personal injury cases in Georgia may be filed in the county where you live or where the incident occurred. If the dispute involves $15,000 or less, it should be tried in a Magistrate Court. Premises liability and car accident claims are generally tried in Superior Court in the defendant’s county.
Medical malpractice claims and any other claims not specifically under the jurisdiction of the Superior Courts are tried in state courts.
What if My Injury Resulted From Government Negligence in Georgia?
Personal injury cases against government entities in Georgia are handled differently from claims against private parties, with shorter deadlines and more restrictions on compensation than other personal injury claims.
The state legislature has waived sovereign immunity for the negligent conduct of employees and state officers carrying out their duties. This means the state government will accept liability for these government employees. It also means the employees cannot be sued personally for conduct they commit while operating in their capacity for the state government.
Before you can file a claim against the state, you must file a Notice of Claim with the Department of Administrative Services within 12 months of the incident date or when you discover your injury. After the Department denies your claim or fails to answer within 90 days, you may file a civil lawsuit.
Damages from the state are limited to $1 million per claim, regardless of the number of agencies involved in the incident. If you were injured in the same incident with multiple other parties, the state is only liable for up to $3 million for all related claims. The state cannot be ordered to pay punitive damages.
How Much Does It Cost To Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer in Georgia?
It costs nothing to hire a personal injury lawyer at any of our Farah & Farah locations in Georgia, unless you win. If we accept your case, we will not require any upfront payment from you.
If we win and successfully recover your damages, we will collect a percentage of the recovery as our fees in addition to any costs we paid on your behalf in advance, such as court filing fees and the cost to retain expert witnesses. If we don’t win, you don’t owe us anything.
How Long Do Personal Injury Cases Take To Settle in Georgia?
Personal injury cases in Georgia can settle in as little as a few weeks, but some cases take a year or longer, especially if they go to trial. We successfully settle most cases within several months, but complex cases involving hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars in compensation tend to take longer.
We understand how important it is to recover your compensation as quickly as possible, and our passionate and skilled lawyers are committed to working hard to get you a speedy resolution while still getting you the compensation you deserve.
Contact Our Georgia Personal Injury Lawyers Today
You can count on us to be there for you when you need us the most. Call our Georgia personal injury lawyers today at (877) 245-6707 to schedule your free consultation.
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