Athens car accident lawyer
Know your rights after a car accident injury.
Being in a car accident can cause you significant problems, from vehicle repairs to painful injuries. They can even have an impact on your ability to work and support your family.
When you have been in a car accident that was caused by someone or something else, you are entitled to compensation.
Your compensation should include damages to cover your repair costs, medical bills, and any impacts the accident has upon your life.
If a claim or lawsuit seems complicated, that’s because it is. Working with an Athens car accident lawyer will ensure that you receive the full amount you are entitled to. For more information, read on, and reach out to a local car accident attorney from Rafi Law now at (706) 995-7547.
Examples of our success*
$1.6
Million
Pedestrian Accident
$1
Million
Motorcycle Accident
$3
Million
Tractor Trailer Accident
$637
Thousand
Passenger Car Accident
*Our previous results have no impact on how much you can recover from your injury or that of a loved one. The stated amounts cover the recoveries, verdicts, and awards before deduction of attorney fees and court costs.
Car Accidents in Athens
Athens is situated in Clarke County, a place where car accidents are not entirely uncommon. In 2019, Athens, GA was the scene of:
- 12 fatal accidents
- 20 vehicles overall involved in fatal accidents
- 3 fatal accidents involving DUI
- 4 fatal accidents involving pedestrians
March and September are the months during which accidents are most likely to occur in Clarke County. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are the days of the week when accidents happen most often.
Car Accidents at UGA
The University of Georgia, voted the 16th-best public university in the United States, is home to thousands of students spread across eighteen different schools and colleges. Tens of thousands of college students mean far more cars on the roads, increasing the chance of accidents.
College students are also notorious for staying up late and getting to class early. On a related note, two very common causes of accidents are drunk driving and drowsy driving.
If you have been in a car accident with a UGA student, you could be entitled to compensation. Collecting evidence will help determine what the student was doing in the moments before the accident, identifying whether they were drunk driving or driving drowsy.
Your Athens car accident attorney will collect the evidence for you to support your case so that you can focus on recovering from your injuries.
How an Athens Car Accident Lawyer Can Help You
Connecting with a lawyer as soon as possible after your car accident will support the best possible outcome in your case. Your car accident attorney handles everything for you from claim to compensation, including the following steps.
- We’ll thoroughly investigate your case.
You can only collect damages for injuries and expenses that you can prove, and you can only collect compensation when the accident was caused by someone or something else. Your attorney collects evidence from other drivers, witnesses, and even the damaged vehicles themselves to determine what caused the accident, and how we can best help you recover the full value that you are entitled to. - We’ll help you understand the full value of your claim.
Measuring your full damages includes not only looking at the cost of immediate medical bills, car repairs, and lost wages, but also the long-term implications of your injuries. The long-term costs associated with your injuries like rehabilitation, treatment, or ongoing medication should be included in your compensation so your family isn’t left paying these bills in the future. If you cannot return to work, or to a job that pays as well, your family is entitled to the change in compensation from the time of your injury through your working life. This requires expert opinions. Your Athens car accident lawyer will schedule these appointments for you to collect the evidence you need. - We’ll file a demand letter with the at-fault party’s insurance company.
To start the process of collecting compensation, a demand letter is filed at the at-fault party’s insurance company. The demand letter must include sufficient evidence for your damages for the insurance company to verify your costs. Even if your demand letter is entirely accurate and proper, the insurance companies have been known to deny rightful claims. This can in the hopes that you won’t appeal and they never have to pay a cent to you or to encourage you to negotiate and accept less than you deserve. Your Athens car accident lawyer handles all the drafting and collecting of evidence, then takes over communications for you with the insurance company. - We’ll review and negotiate any settlement offers.
It is not wise to accept a settlement offer from the insurance company without consulting with a lawyer first. The insurance company works for profit, and the amount they pay out to injured parties like you is a cost. In pursuit of profit, insurance companies try to reduce their costs however possible, which at times means offering far less to injured persons they deserve, or by denying proper claims. Your attorney will negotiate the best possible settlement for you with the insurance company. - We’ll take your case to trial if necessary.
If the insurance company is not willing to offer you a fair settlement, then we will take them to court to force them into paying you the amount that you deserve. When insurance companies will not settle, the process of taking your case to trial begins with drafting a filing in line with court rules, then submitting it in line with court procedures. Without legal training, this can be an extremely difficult process, and your Athens, GA car accident attorney is here to help you through every step of the process.
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Common Car Accident Injuries
The following are some of the most common car accident injuries to watch out for.
Brain Injury
When you experience a bump, blow, or penetrating wound to your head, the soft tissues of your brain can be damaged. This can lead to chemical changes in your brain that can affect everything from how you behave to whether or not you can work.
Whiplash and neck injuries
When a collision causes your head or neck to move quickly at an unnatural angle, you can experience what is known as whiplash, a common cause of brain injury and spinal cord injury.
Spinal cord injury
Your spinal cord is responsible for sending signals throughout your entire body to keep everything working. When a car accident damages your spinal cord, you may be unable to move and control your body like before which can impact your ability to enjoy your personal and professional life.
Back injuries
Back injuries are very common in car accidents. They may accompany other injuries like brain injury or spinal cord injury, with any significant injuries to your back leading to significant challenges across all areas of your life.
Internal injuries
Motor vehicle collisions can cause substantial internal injuries, like ruptured organs or internal bleeding. These can require significant medical treatment to overcome.
Fractures and broken bones
Broken bones in car accidents are very common, and they can keep you from working for some time until they heal, entitling you to compensation for your lost income.
Common Causes of Car Accidents in Athens
There are many common causes of car accidents in Athens, including the regular suspects like speeding and drunk driving, as well as others unique to the area like UGA.
Speeding
One of the most common causes of accidents is speeding. In the United States in 2019 alone, speeding killed 9,478 people. Speeding is involved in 26% of all fatal accidents. When there is a motor vehicle collision, speeding results in more serious injuries for all parties involved in the accident as well as a greater likelihood of death.
Illegal Lane Changes
Driving responsibly includes following the rules of the road, which includes signaling before changing lanes, and not changing lanes across a solid line. Not all drivers adhere to this, and when a driver makes an illegal lane change and causes an accident, they will be liable for the damages.
Drunk/Impaired Driving
Driving while impaired by drugs or alcohol is illegal, and makes the driver at-fault for any accidents that they cause. Drunk driving is responsible for the deaths of 10,142 people in the US in 2019, and is illegal in all fifty states. If you were hit by a drunk driver and were injured or experienced damages, you are entitled to compensation, and your Athens, Georgia car accident attorney is here to help.
Distracted Driving
Distracted driving includes any activity that takes attention away from the road. This can include texting or talking while driving, speaking with a passenger, eating while driving, or even applying makeup.
Aggressive Driving
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration defines aggressive driving as “The operation of a motor vehicle in a manner that endangers or is likely to endanger persons or property”. If a driver is engaging in reckless behavior that is aggressive and could cause harm to a person or property, they are at fault for the accident for multiple reasons, and you are entitled to compensation.
What to Do After a Car Crash
1. Move your vehicle to a safe location.
Immediately after the accident, it is important to move your vehicle to a safe location, if possible. The purpose of this is to help prevent additional collisions and the potential for further injury and damage.
If someone seems injured or unable to move, do not try and move them yourself to avoid risking making the injury worse
2. Check for injuries.
Once your vehicle is in a safe position, or if it cannot be moved, the next step is to check for injuries of all occupants in the vehicle. Knowing whether everyone is okay is more important than making sure your vehicle is not damaged, as injuries can demand immediate attention.
3. Call 911 (ambulance and police).
Once you’ve determined if anyone is injured, and even if everyone seems alright, call the police and an ambulance.
The police will help you exchange information with the other drivers involved in the accident and should also help you collect information from any witnesses present so you can contact them later.
The ambulance will check the health of all occupants, to ensure that the excitement and adrenaline associated with the accident do not cover any injuries. The police will make a report of the accident, which can be used later as evidence for your case.
4. Gather evidence.
Make sure to leave the scene with the contact information of all the other drivers and any witnesses present.
Take photos of the accident if you have a camera or smartphone available, as once the cars are removed from the scene it can be difficult to determine their exact positioning in the accident.
Whatever evidence you are able to collect at the scene will help your case later.
5. Notify your insurance company.
Reaching out to your insurance company will kick-start the process of having your immediate costs covered like medical bills and repair expenses.
However, additional costs outside of that, like lost earnings ability, long-term medical expenses, and others, will be collected from the at-fault drivers in the accident.
Determining fault and collecting evidence to assemble your case is best supported by an Athens car
accident attorney.
6. Hire a car accident lawyer.
Your Athens, GA car accident attorney will review the evidence available, begin to collect additional evidence, and assemble the best possible claim for your case.
Your attorney steps into your shoes, and handles your case and claim for you every step of the way so that you can focus on recovering from your injuries while your attorney focuses on recovering the fullest damages possible for your accident.
Types of Damages You May Be Able to Recover
There are many losses that you can experience in an accident. Your Athens car accident attorney will collect evidence for you to verify your complete compensation.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are the damages that have a set amount of money attached to them. For economic damages think medical bills, car repair bills, and the amount of any pay periods that you missed out on while recovering from your injury.
Economic damages also include the long-term costs associated with your injuries, like ongoing medical treatment or any change in your earnings ability. The purpose of economic damages is to put you in as close a financial position as possible as though the accident had not happened.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages can include losses such as physical disfigurement, loss of reputation, emotional distress, blindness, loss of a limb, loss of sexual functions, or loss of enjoyment in life.
These amounts are determined more by looking at prior cases and their outcomes, which your Athens car accident attorney will be familiar with. They can put that data to work in support of your case or claim.
Punitive Damages (only in certain situations)
Punitive damages are damages that are meant to punish a specific party from engaging in a particular activity, in addition to deterring other people from engaging in the same activity.
Punitive measures are available only in specific cases, which your car accident lawyer can advise you on.
Make Sure to File Before the Deadline
When it comes to filing a claim or case for the damages associated with your car accident, it is important that you file before the deadline. If you miss the deadline, you will be unable to bring a claim at all, and your family will be left covering all the costs associated with your car accident and related injuries. The deadline that applies to your accident can vary and may depend upon the unique facts and circumstances of your accident. The best way to ensure that you get your claim filed before the deadline is by working with an Athens car accident attorney.
Injured in a crash? Call Rafi Law.
The sooner you have a lawyer on your side, the sooner your Athens car accident attorney will collect the full damages that you are entitled to. While you might worry that you cannot afford a car accident attorney, you might be surprised to learn that we are only paid if we win money for you. Your initial case consultation is free of costs and obligations. Reaching out to an attorney for a free case consultation will help you determine if you have a case, and will line up the assistance and advocacy you need to recover the full amount of damages you are entitled to. To make the most of your damages and to receive the fullest compensation possible in your case, reach out to Rafi Law now to schedule a consultation,, or call (706) 995-7547 today!
