If you are injured, you can comply with this notice requirement by reporting the injury to your immediate supervisor, your foreman, or your employer’s HR representative. Your employer may have a specific claims form it uses to begin the workers’ compensation process. However, Georgia law does not require you to give notice in writing.
Note that if your injury occurred due to the negligence of an employee or agency of the government (whether at the local or state level) in Georgia, you'll need to play by a different set of rules if you want to get compensation for your losses.
The first step is usually to file a formal claim with the proper government agency, and give them time to respond. Get the basics on injury claims against government entities.
Joel is consistently recognized as one of the best trial lawyers in Georgia. Joel limits his practice to cases involving trucking and automobile wrecks, bicycle and pedestrian injuries, premises liability, product liability, professional malpractice, wrongful death, fraud, breach of contract, and bad faith insurance claims.
A law called a "statute of limitations" applies to all civil lawsuits filed in Georgia's court system. Georgia Code section 9-3-33 says: "Actions for injuries to the person shall be brought within two years after the right of action accrues."
If you have a consumer complaint, please contact our Consumer Protection Division at (404) 651-8600 or (800) 869-1123 toll free outside Metro Atlanta. You may also file a consumer complaint online.
The most common penalties for violating ethical rules are disbarment, suspension, and public or private censure. Disbarment is the revocation of an attorney's state license, permanently rendering the attorney unqualified to practice law.
Perhaps the most common kinds of complaints against lawyers involve delay or neglect. This doesn't mean that occasionally you've had to wait for a phone call to be returned. It means there has been a pattern of the lawyer's failing to respond or to take action over a period of months.
Failing to timely contest a will can result in you missing out on what you would have otherwise been entitled to from an estate had you successfully challenged the will. If your attorney failed to make you aware of the deadline to bring suit, then they could be liable for malpractice.
These principles include the lawyer's obligation zealously to protect and pursue a client's legitimate interests, within the bounds of the law, while maintaining a professional, courteous and civil attitude toward all persons involved in the legal system.
Within the context of civil law, sanctions are usually monetary fines, levied against a party to a lawsuit or their attorney, for violating rules of procedure, or for abusing the judicial process.
A claim of malpractice may exist if your lawyer exhibited negligence in your representation. If your lawyer's negligence caused you to suffer harm or a less advantageous outcome or settlement in your case, you may have a claim to sue your lawyer for professional negligence.
Five things not to say to a lawyer (if you want them to take you..."The Judge is biased against me" Is it possible that the Judge is "biased" against you? ... "Everyone is out to get me" ... "It's the principle that counts" ... "I don't have the money to pay you" ... Waiting until after the fact.
Formal complaint against [name of lawyer or law firm] describe what the lawyer had been hired to do for you [for example dealing with the sale or purchase of a house] • say when this was [give the date or dates when the problem occurred]. My complaint is that [list what you think went wrong or wasn't done properly.
Legal malpractice is a type of negligence in which a lawyer does harm to his or her client. Typically, this concerns lawyers acting in their own interests, lawyers breaching their contract with the client, and, one of the most common cases of legal malpractice, is when lawyers fail to act on time for clients.
If your attorney is not experienced or efficient, they may have missed a deadline or made another mistake and aren't willing to confess their error. There could also be some bad news that is entirely outside of the attorney's control.
If the attorney loses the case, the client is still responsible for legal fees as stipulated in the original retainer contract. Some attorneys may agree to withhold billing until the end of a case, but they will still expect payment regardless of how the case ends.
It's crucial to understand and abide by Georgia's statute of limitations in injury cases, because if you try to file your lawsuit after the two-year window has closed, the court will almost certainly refuse to hear it, and you'll lose your right to get compensation for your injuries. T he filing deadline could be extended in certain circumstances. Talk to an experienced Georgia attorney for details on how the statute of limitations applies to your situation.
You were traveling 10 miles per hour above the speed limit at the time. It's determined that the other driver was 90 percent at fault for the accident, and you were 10 percent at fault. Georgia's modified comparative fault rule reduces your damages by an amount that is equal to the percent of fault assigned to you.
Georgia's modified comparative fault rule reduces or eliminates damages if you're found to be partly or mostly at fault for your accident. Here's an example: You're driving through an intersection when you're hit by a driver who ran a red light. You were traveling 10 miles per hour above the speed limit at the time.
A law called a "statute of limitations" applies to all civil lawsuits filed in Georgia's court system. Georgia Code section 9-3-33 says: "Actions for injuries to the person shall be brought within two years after the right of action accrues." That means, after any kind of accident, an injury claim must be filed within two years. The clock usually starts running on the date of the accident.
This is often called a "one bite" rule. In Georgia however, a specific statute (Georgia Code section 51-2-7) makes anyone " who owns or keeps a vicious or dangerous animal " liable if they allow the animal to run free and injure someone.
Some states have caps on damages in personal injury cases. These laws limit the amount of compensation an injured person can receive for certain types of losses, or in certain kinds of cases. In 2010, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that damage caps violate the right to a jury trial established in the state constitution, so there are currently no restrictions on how much compensation a personal injury plaintiff can receive in Georgia's courts (although judges may still be free to reduce excessive awards in certain cases).
This is often called a "one bite" rule.
If you slipped and were injured while on someone else’s property, you may be entitled to compensation. If the property owner failed to properly maintain or otherwise keep the property safe and the consequence was the injuries you suffered, you may be able to hold the responsible parties accountable.
If you have suffered physical injury and subsequently incurred medical expenses as a result of the careless, intentional, or reckless acts of another, you are entitled to compensation for the reasonable value of all health care costs incurred as a result.
If you have injuries that were caused by someone else, do not worry about how you will afford treatment, contact an experienced personal injury lawyer in Douglasville, Georgia. Call today to schedule a free consultation.
He is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale Hubbell and has been described as one of the best accident attorneys in Georgia. Mr. Morrison's team handles trucking accidents, car, motorcycle, and pedestrian accidents, wrongful death claims, work accidents / workers' compensation, personal injury, social security disability claims, traumatic brain injuries, and other catastrophic accident lawsuits.
Attorney Cummings has an extensive career in criminal law. She began her career in criminal justice at Gwinnett County Police Department as a Crime Scene Investigator where she investigated all types of all types of crimes scenes from burglaries to homicide for almost 10 years. She...
Managing partner Nathan Taylor Williams devotes 100 percent of his practice to litigation and is known throughout Georgia as a premier litigator. He is admitted to practice law in all Georgia courts, the Supreme Court of... Read More »
The Murray Law Firm has obtained millions of dollars in compensation for our injured clients throughout the United States. We have been recognized as a Top 100 Trial Lawyer by The National Trial Lawyers organization, and... Read More »
Joel is consistently recognized as one of the best trial lawyers in Georgia. Joel limits his practice to cases involving trucking and automobile wrecks, bicycle and pedestrian injuries, premises liability, product liability, professional malpractice, wrongful death, fraud, breach of contract, and bad faith insurance claims. Joel is admitted to practice in Georgia and Alabama. In just the first year after opening his own firm, Joel obtained over 5 million dollars in verdicts and settlement for his clients.
Damages in a personal injury case include money an injured party has lost due to an injury. Georgia Personal Injury Damages can include, but are not limited by, medical bills, prescriptions, time off from work, recovery time, and pain and suffering. Insurance policies in cases in states such as Georgia are available in many cases to cover the damages suffered by injured clients. Insurance companies and injured victims do not always agree on the value of the damages to the injured person. A free consultation with an attorney can assist in evaluating the damages suffered in a personal injury.
A personal injury lawyer can assist in investigating your accident. Key evidence can disappear. Witnesses can move or change phone numbers. Memories can fade. The more information collected regarding the accident helps create a better picture of the incident. Information collected can help attribute fault and prove negligence. Investigation can include:
A statute of limitations is a law that creates a strict time limit on an injured person’s right to file a lawsuit in civil court. When an injured person misses the statute of limitations, the defendant can use the statute of limitations as a defense against the suit. Rare exceptions do apply to extend the filing deadlines. Every case is different and every state has its own statute of limitations. It is important to contact an attorney in the jurisdiction in question for legal advice as to the statute of limitations in your state (including states such as Georgia ).
Collisions can cause serious head injuries. Your head can experience serious injuries especially if it makes impact with anything. Serious brain injury is one possible injury from an automobile accident. Some injuries include:
Most Georgia car accident personal injury cases do not need to go to trial. The insurance company will typically make your attorney a fair offer on the case to reach a settlement. However, if the case does not settle, a georgia personal injury trial attorney can fight for you in the court room.
A traumatic brain injury can change your personality and leave you unable to perform a simple task. Traumatic brain injury symptoms can be delayed following a trauma. Traumatic brain injuries are unique and sometime require specialized care. You are going about your day and then tragedy happens – you are struck by an inattentive negligent driver in the blink of an eye or you fall and hit your head.
This is a significant and common occurrence in Georgia because the state uses a modified comparative negligence law. This bars financial recovery for claimants who have 50 percent or greater responsibility for causing the accident. This stipulation means that a 50/50 accident fault determination would allow the insurance company to deny your coverage and benefits.
The plaintiff is required to file the complaint at the beginning of the legal action, and respondents are served a process notification of the lawsuit filing. They can then prepare their defense to be presented during the discovery hearing.
If the respondent fails to respond, then the case is ruled in summary due to defendant default. This rarely happens in an injury case, however, as insurance companies and their clients almost always contest a claim in the initial procedures of a suit.
If the discovery negotiation doesn’t yield an agreement or settlement between the parties, the court will then schedule a trial date where all case particulars and assertions of each party are presented formally. The plaintiff’s attorney will present their side first. This sets out the legal reasoning behind the claim, which is always evidence to support a claim of liability due to a failure to provide a reasonable duty of care to the plaintiff on the part of the primary negligent actor.
The jury or judge is the final arbiter when a personal injury case goes to court, and insurance company attorneys are well-known for being ruthless in the trial. The extent of injury often doesn’t matter to the insurance provider and the actual negligent respondent could still be liable for damages beyond insurance protection.
This legal technicality clearly works to the advantage of the insurance providers in Georgia, and they always use the law when there could be an effective comparative negligence defense. This applies to slip-and-fall cases and other premises liability claims in addition to auto accidents claims. These cases require aggressive legal representation from an experienced Georgia personal injury lawyer when maximum damages are being sought.
The final say on comparative fault will be determined by a judge or jury, which is why it is vital to have an experienced Georgia trial attorney representing your case to minimize your degree of fault.
Georgia also has a five-year statute of repose which cuts off all medical malpractice lawsuits five years after the action that gave rise to your injury.
According to O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33, you typically have two years to file a lawsuit for most personal injuries. The clock starts ticking from the date that your legal claim accrues.
But if a surgeon left a foreign object in your body, § 9-3-72 creates a one-year statute of limitations. The clock starts ticking after you discover the object.
The BJS found that medical malpractice makes up about 15% of all tort claims and that the plaintiffs received an astounding $697,000 as the median amount of damages. Unfortunately, patients only win less than 20% of the medical malpractice cases.#N#Georgia medical malpractice trials are complex and involve qualified litigation attorneys. Nevertheless, a fair amount of these cases are unsuccessful because they simply lack proof of fault for the doctor or hospital or other health care provider.
Slip and fall cases are among the most common forms of premises liability cases. This type of personal injury lawsuit occurs when a landowner or manager fails to protect the plaintiff from a dangerous hazard. Here, a plaintiff proves fault by showing that the defendant knew about the hazard yet failed to warn the plaintiff or correct the problem. Neglecting to clean up a spilled substance is among the most common example of premises liability, but anything from not chaining up a dog to having a raised edge on a sidewalk can lead to a premises liability lawsuit in Georgia. Here again, the standards of negligence are applied to determine how much a plaintiff can recover.
In other words, the defendant wanted to harm the plaintiff. This is different from a negligence case where someone caused harm by accident or due to careless behavior. Common intentional torts involve fraud, false imprisonment, assault, etc. As you may guess, intentional torts are crimes, and criminal charges accompany these cases.#N#In order to prove fault in these personal injury cases, the plaintiff’s attorney will demonstrate that the defendant intended to harm the victim and that the victim suffered as a result of the defendant’s actions. Plaintiffs typically win these trials and the damages are quite significant. The BJS report stated that the median damages in these cases were approximately $100,000 and that punitive damages were often awarded to these plaintiffs.#N#It’s important to note that sometimes that a judge or jury doesn’t find the defendant’s actions to be intentional. The case isn’t lost, however. If the plaintiff suffered as a result of the defendant, then the defendant is still at fault. Thus, the plaintiff would win the damages that accompany a negligence claim despite the lack of proof of intent.
Though a few states in the US still follow this “no-fault” rule and apply contributory negligence, Georgia isn’t one of them. Instead, Georgia is a modified comparative fault state.#N#Georgia holds that any injured person may recover damages in a lawsuit so long as they were less than 50% to blame for whatever incident resulted in injury. For example, a judge or jury panel might decide if jogging while listening to loud music put you at fault when you were hit by a car.#N#Fault also plays a role in how your damages are calculated. Your total compensation is reduced by your percentage at fault. Using the above example, if your damages total $200,000, but you were found to be 25% at fault for jogging to loud music, you’re only eligible to recover $150,000.#N#As you can see, you’ll lose damages by being at fault, but the amount of compensation may still be far greater than anything the insurance company offers. Consult with a personal injury attorney to take a hard look at the numbers and fault calculations.