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A personal injury attorney in Atlanta, Georgia typically charges one-third (1/3), or 33.33%, for a standard motor vehicle collision case. Other types of cases, such as tractor-trailer collisions, medical malpractice, and premises liability cases, typically require significantly more time and resources in order to get a favorable recovery for a client. For these cases, it is not uncommon for attorneys charge a fee of 40%. The Atlanta, Georgia personal injury attorneys at Finch McCranie, LLP only receive a fee in the event we are able to recover a settlement or verdict on behalf of our clients. In other words, our client never pays us anything out of pocket. We only recover if you recover.

In short, yes. Unfortunately, insurance companies routinely try to take advantage of injured persons who have not retained a competent Atlanta, Georgia personal injury attorney. The insurance company will typically try to contact an injured person very shortly after the incident and offer to pay all of the person’s medical bills. While this may sound like a generous offer, it is disingenuous for two reasons.

First, by offering to pay medical bills very quickly after the incident, many times the insurance companies pay the outstanding bills and then have the client sign a release, waiving all claims for future treatment. Unfortunately, many times injuries can linger, or manifest themselves well after the incident. We have seen many cases where an unrepresented person has accepted compensation from the insurance company very shortly after the accident, only to discover that their injuries had not completely resolved, and in some incidents had gotten much worse, requiring surgery.

The second problem with insurance companies offering to settle quickly after the incident and pay medical bills in exchange for signing a release, is most injured persons do not realize they are entitled to compensation for other things in addition to their medical expenses. For example, in many instances, an injured person is forced to miss time away from work while treating for their injuries. Under Georgia law, injured persons are entitled to recovery for lost wages. In the event that the incident causes a person permanent impairment which leaves them unable to perform their job, an injured person is entitled to future lost wages as well. Any person who has been seriously injured in a motor vehicle collision or other incident will tell you that it causes a substantial amount of mental and physical pain and suffering. Under Georgia law, an injured person is entitled to recover damages for past, present and future pain and suffering.

Again, many injured persons who are not represented by an attorney are unaware of the recovery available to them following an incident where they are significantly injured. An insurance company is very unlikely to disclose this to an injured person when they are trying to settle with them cheaply. As an example, the Atlanta Georgia personal injury attorneys at Finch McCranie LLP recently settled a case on behalf of a client for $500,000. The pre-suit offer by the insurance company before we got involved in the case was only $10,000. This is just one of many examples we have seen over the years of insurance companies trying to take advantage of unrepresented persons. It is critical that you consult with a highly experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyer with a long track record of success as soon as possible following an incident.

If you are considering hiring an Atlanta personal injury lawyer, you should inquire about the lawyer’s track record and experience. Many cases that appear to be fairly simple, straightforward injury claims, may actually be much more complex. For example, you want to be sure that the personal injury attorney you that you retain has extensive experience in identifying potential sources of recovery. It is critical that your attorney investigate whether the person who caused the harm was “on the job” at the time of the incident. If so, there may be a large insurance policy provided by the employer to cover its employee, which could be an available source of recovery. Also, clients should always purchase uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. This protects you in the event the at-fault person who injures you does not have any insurance. Essentially, your insurance company has the option of stepping into the shoes of the at-fault driver and defending the case in their name. If you have purchased uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, this will protect you in the event that you are injured by someone who does not have any insurance.

As outlined above, you need to be sure that the Atlanta personal injury attorney you hire has extensive experience and a long track record of successful verdicts and settlements. In addition to those qualities, you need to talk with the attorney and make your own decision as to whether you trust the attorney, and whether your personalities are compatible. Personal injury victims often feel vulnerable, or even scared, and therefore it is imperative that the client have the utmost trust in the lawyer they retain to represent them. There is no “one size fits all” approach here. The injured person should use their best judgment and decide, on a personal level, whether they are comfortable with this person being their lawyer.

This is a question the personal injury lawyers at Finch McCranie receive regularly from clients. This is a complicated question that is highly fact specific. The bottom line is it depends on the unique facts of each case. For example, even if you believe the other party is completely at fault, a good defense lawyer may be able to raise doubts as whether you had some responsibility in causing the harm. It is important to retain your own attorney as quickly as possible so the attorney may investigate the incident while the evidence is still available, and while eyewitness memories are fresh. How much you can expect to recover is also highly dependent on the insurance coverage that is in play.

For example, in a case where a person is catastrophically injured in a motor vehicle collision, if the defendant driver only has the minimum limits, i.e., $25,000.00 per occurrence, and the potential client does not have any uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, and if the at-fault driver was not on the job at the time of the wreck occurred, it is likely that the recovery would be limited to the $25,000.00 limits, despite the fact that the injuries and the client’s suffering are worth far more. As noted above, this is why it is critical that the personal injury attorney you decide to hire has experience in identifying potential sources of recovery, i.e., available insurance proceeds.