Personal injury law is an extensive topic with many complexities, and anyone injured by another party needs to consult with a Roswell personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. Georgia has its own state laws and regulations applicable to a successful personal injury claim, and the complexity and subtlety of these laws mean that you should always work with an experienced personal injury lawyer if you think you may have a compensable personal injury claim.

Types of Personal Injury Claims

There are many different kinds of personal injuries for which you can seek recovery.  In each type of incident, different standards apply, and issues arise.  If you were involved in a case like this, you should speak with a knowledgeable lawyer as soon as you can.

Car, Bus, Truck, or Motorcycle Accidents – Traffic accidents can involve cars, buses, trucks, motorcycles, and other motorized vehicles. Many people can suffer injuries in these crashes, including drivers, passengers, cyclists, pedestrians, or anyone else in the vicinity. In any of these cases, you have suffered a personal injury if the accident happened due to someone else’s negligence.

Drunk Driving Injuries – Drunk driving cases may allow for punitive damages as well as compensation for your injuries. Also, the burden of proof for drunk driving in a civil case is lower than in the related criminal case, so you may still recover even if the drunk driver was acquitted.  

Boating Accidents – Boating accidents are common in Georgia because of our 100-mile coastline and many lakes and rivers.  Specific Department of Natural Resources rules apply to boating accidents, and these rules will define the ordinary negligence standard used for your accident.  Boating accident claims are made more complicated by maritime insurance rules, for which you will need the help of experienced counsel.

Public Transportation Injuries – Under Georgia law, vehicles providing public transportation are subject to the rules for common carriers.  A common carrier is a person or entity owning or operating a mass transportation facility.  These owners/operators are typically presumed to be liable unless the injury resulted from an act of God or by enemies of the state.  A different standard of care applies to common carriers.

Slip and Fall Injuries – Slip and fall injuries happen when you are injured on another party’s premises by tripping or falling due to an existing obstacle. Whether you can recover and the standard of conduct applied to the owner that governs recovery depends on your status as an invitee, licensee, or trespasser.

Dog Bites – When it comes to dog bites, Georgia is a modified one-bite state.  In other words, a dog owner will not be held liable for the first incident in which the dog bites someone.  However, Georgia modifies this rule by making owners liable if they knew that the dog was vicious, the animal was not leashed, or the attack was not provoked.

Product Liability – Product liability cases are unusual because they don’t necessarily require proof that someone was at fault.  In Georgia, a product liability claim can be based on either strict liability or negligence.  Strict liability does not require proof of negligence, but it does require proof that:

• The defendant made or sold the product
• The product had inherent defects when it left the company’s control; and
• The defect led to your injury

The cases can involve a defect in the design or manufacturing of the product or the maker’s failure to warn users, consumers, or purchasers of a nonobvious foreseeable risk from the everyday use of the product.

Catastrophic Back, Neck, and Brain Injuries – These are the kinds of injuries that leave the victim permanently disabled and facing a lifetime of challenging circumstances.  These injuries often relate to the head, neck, back, or brain, and nervous system.  They result in long-term incapacity, permanent symptoms, and a long or essentially impossible recovery.  Other factors will include paralysis or a loss of quality of life and the need for constant or live-in care.

Wrongful Death – In Georgia, all successful damages in a wrongful death case must arise directly out of the deceased individual’s injury or death.  Damages suffered by the family resulting from the death are not compensable in Georgia wrongful death cases.  Generally, what you can recover is:

• Funeral costs, medical expenses, other fees or costs resulting from the injury or death
• Medical expenses and the decedent’s pain and suffering, and any additional costs or expenses occurring between the injury and the death
• The total value of the deceased person’s life, as shown by the evidence.

Georgia Personal Injury Laws

Successful recovery in personal injury cases can be complicated due to the doctrine of comparative negligence used in Georgia personal injury cases. Georgia law allows parties to recover even if they were up to 50 percent responsible for the accident. Often, defendants will try to place more than 50 percent of the blame on an injured victim to avoid liability. Because of this, working with an experienced Roswell lawyer can be critical to your potential recovery.

Even if you are successful in your claim, damage caps set by state law can limit the dollar amount recovered for certain types of damages in personal injury cases, regardless of the amount of the actual damages suffered by the victim. In Georgia, damages caps in tort cases are mostly no longer permitted under the state constitution.

However, there are some exceptions to this rule.  There have been no caps on the recovery of damages on economic or non-economic damages such as pain and suffering in Georgia for several years.  There are, however, limits on punitive damages, and a lawyer can advise if these limits might apply to your case.

Contact a Roswell Personal Injury Lawyer Today

As you can see, the law of personal injury covers a lot of complicated ground in Georgia.  But, if you’ve been injured in Roswell, it may be time for you to contact an experienced personal injury lawyer.  In a free initial consultation, you will discover the potential merits of your case and receive help in obtaining the damages to which you may be entitled.