FAQ
Common Questions About Georgia Injury Law
Georgia Car Accident Questions
Determining fault in a car wreck case is not always easy. If you are stopped at a red light and get rear-ended, it is easy to determine fault, but in other instances it can be complex. To determine fault in more complex cases, you must investigate all of the circumstances surrounding the accident, read the police reports and witness statements, and in some cases get physical evidence from the scene, such as skid mark measurements and vehicle damage location. Ultimately, fault will be determined based on the negligence of each driver, if any, as well as by the applicable state law. In Georgia, we recognize comparative negligence. That means you compare the negligence of each driver. In the case of being rear-ended at a red light, the stopped driver would have 0% fault but the rear driver would have 100% fault. In a failure to yield while making a left turn crash, the facts could show that the turning driver has 70% fault, but the straight ahead driver has 30% fault because he or she did not slow down or avoid the negligence of the turning driver. This is why you need an experienced attorney. An experienced injury attorney can be sure the facts are gathered and relayed to the at fault driver’s insurance company showing 100% fault on the other driver.
There is great risk in talking to the other driver’s insurance company, or even to your own insurance company, without first consulting with an experienced injury attorney. Why is this? Isn’t State Farm a good neighbor and Allstate the good hands people? No and No. Insurance companies are businesses and they do not want to pay on claims that will decrease their profits. Before you speak with an insurance company, you need to speak with an experienced attorney to help you not say or do something that can give the insurance company the ability to put some or all of the blame on you. You should never give a statement to an insurance company without first consulting with an attorney and discussing what happened and what law applies to the facts of the crash. An attorney is not going to tell you to lie about the facts, but an experienced attorney will help you focus on the relevant facts and present them in the way that shows you were not at fault for the crash. Insurance adjusters are highly trained at getting you to talk and make seemingly innocent comments that might be used against you to show fault on your part, or to later help lessen their responsibility to pay damages for the harms you suffered.
The requirements to report an accident claim to an insurance company and file a claim against the other driver are different. The requirement to report a claim to an insurance company normally comes from the applicable insurance policy. Insurance policies contain different language on when a claim must be reported. One policy may say a claim must be reported within 30 days, while another policy might say the claim must be made as soon as possible, and a third policy might say the claim must be reported in a reasonable time period. The important fact is that a claim must be reported so that the insurance company can gather facts and evidence and investigate the crash to determine fault and the policy’s exposure to pay damages. The time to file a claim is different. This normally refers to a statute of limitations, which is a state law that requires a case be settled or filed in court by a certain period of time or the claim is lost. In Georgia, the law normally requires that a claim be settled or filed in court within 2 years from the date of a crash, but there are shorter and longer times depending on certain facts or the type of person who caused the crash. It is very important to speak with an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as possible after an accident to ensure that you do not miss the deadline for reporting your claim or filing your claim. If you miss a deadline, it can cost you thousands and maybe even hundreds of thousands of dollars by ending your case before it even starts.
Yes and no. Can you handle a car wreck claim on your own? Maybe you can but will you get the best result? The odds are slim. Unless you have a lot of experience with injury claims the odds are if you handle your own claim you will get taken advantage of by an insurance company. They know the law and what can decrease your claim value and you have to trust them to do the right thing. When you remember they are a for profit business and their employees get bonus money off of saving the insurance company money, do you really expect them to treat your fairly? It is like trusting a car salesman to give you the best deal on a car. They are wanting to make money on the sale and the salesman makes more money by selling you a car at a higher price. You know not to trust the salesperson because they are in an adversarial position to you. In the same way, the insurance adjuster is in an adversarial position to you. For these reasons, you need to have an experienced personal injury attorney on your side. Insurance industry research has shown that auto accident victims get many times more money when they are represented by an experienced attorney. That is why many insurance companies try to aggressively settle car wreck claims with you before you can speak with an attorney and find out what rights you have and what your claim is really worth. The insurance company has adjusters and attorneys that fight to protect their rights and interests. You need an experienced law firm who will fight hard to protect yours!
Anyone who can answer this question early on is either lying or guessing. Nobody can give a meaningful answer to this question without knowing important facts and data, which is not normally available early after a crash. The amount of compensation that you may be entitled to receive for your injury claim will depend on the specific circumstances of your case. Factors that will impact the amount of compensation include: the clear negligence of the other driver, the severity of your injuries, the amount of your medical bills, the length of time you experienced pain and suffering, the extent of your lost wages and other economic losses, and the amount of insurance coverage on the at fault driver. A claim with $100,000 in medical bills may only be worth $25,000 if there is only $25,000 of liability insurance available, there is no other insurance that can be found and no assets owned by the at fault driver. However, a claim with $100,000 in medical bills may be worth much more than $25,000 if there is only $25,000 of liability insurance available if an experienced injury attorney can uncover other insurance policies that can provide much higher coverages. An experienced personal injury attorney can help you not only find additional insurance policies to provide more coverage, but help you value your claim and negotiate with the insurance companies to obtain the maximum compensation. It normally takes time to uncover the facts and data needed to maximize the claim value. Until then, nobody can really tell you what your claim is worth. The important thing to know is to get help from an experienced injury attorney who will do the work to gather all of the information needed to honestly and fully value your claim.
There is no formula. An experienced injury lawyer will know how to maximize your pain and suffering recovery. The compensation will depend on many different factors. These include: how serious your injuries were, the nature and extent of the pain, the length of time you experienced pain, the effect the pain had on your quality of life, and the effect the pain had on your abilities to do your daily activities. You, your doctor, your therapist, your spouse, your family, your co-workers and your friends can testify about your daily pain, the pain medications you needed to deal with the pain, your inability to engage in daily activities, such as showering, driving, shopping, cleaning house, exercising, doing hobbies or even playing with your children to help establish the amount of pain and suffering experienced by you because of your injuries. If the case goes to a trial, a jury will be charged on how to determine an award for pain and suffering. The jury is instructed by the trial judge to use their “enlightened conscious” and life experience to determine what to award for pain and suffering.
If the other driver is uninsured, or if the other driver is underinsured, meaning has less insurance than is needed to cover the harm done, you may be able to recover compensation for your injuries, harms and losses through your own insurance policy. Depending on the terms of your own policy, you may be entitled to receive significant compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, pain and other damages, if you bought uninsured or underinsured motorist (UM) coverage. UM coverage is not required in Georgia, but is very smart to have. Your UM coverage can cover most of your injuries, harms and losses if the other driver has no insurance or has a small policy. An experienced injury attorney can uncover other insurance policies that can provide much higher coverages and put more money in your pocket. However, all UM policies have notice requirements and if you fail to put an insurance company on notice properly of a potential claim, they can later deny coverage because of lack of timely notice. Notice is very important and an experienced injury attorney can be sure notice is timely given and properly given to an insurance company to protect your rights under a UM policy. Just recently, we saw a valid UM claim denied when a person did not notify their insurance company properly of the crash. They notified their agent of the crash, but not the insurance company, and when the person later settled with the at fault company and tried to get additional compensation under their UM policy, over a year after the crash. The UM insurance company was able to deny coverage based on an untimely notice defense, which was upheld by the court. The person gave notice to an insurance agent who was not an employee of the insurance company, only an independent agent, and that was not good notice under Georgia law. If the injured person had only contacted us early on, rather than one and a half years after the crash, we could have properly notified the UM insurer and they would have recovered thousands more in compensation.
In Georgia, the answer is yes. It is irrelevant and inadmissible that an injured person was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. In some other states the law is different and if it can be proven that your failure to wear a seatbelt contributed to your injuries, then your damages may be reduced.
Most lawyers do not charge money up front for an injury case. Most lawyers, including our firm at Dan Chapman & Associates, work for you on a contingency fee basis, meaning that we do not charge you anything until and unless we get you a settlement or win your case at trial. If you do not recover anything, you don’t owe anything. Some of the bigger firms with expensive TV ads charge a flat contingency fee of 40% of the recovery. At Dan Chapman & Associates, we have a split contingency fee arrangement, meaning we charge less fees if the case is settled without filing suit. We only charge 40% if the case is filed and litigated in court. In addition, at Dan Chapman & Associates, we have a low fee policy that promises that if we settle you case without a suit, we guarantee that our client will walk away with more money than our firm, even if there are high medical bills and low insurance coverage. In such instances, we will lower our contingency fee percentage so the client’s recovery is more than our fees.
Georgia Workers Compensation Questions
The overwhelming majority of workers’ compensation cases filed within the state of Georgia are resolved through settlement. There are two basic methods through which workers’ compensation cases are settled. Most commonly, your attorney will engage in informal settlement negotiations with the Insurance Company or their attorney, if an attorney has been assigned. These negotiations commonly take place over the phone or via email. This process will almost always begin with your attorney sending a settlement demand to the Insurance Company. Once a settlement demand has been made, the ball is now in the Insurance Company’s court to make a settlement offer. The parties will go back and forth with subsequent counter-demand and counter-offers until the parties reach an agreed-upon settlement amount.
The second method through which workers’ compensation cases are settled is through mediation. There are two types of mediations – private mediations and Board mediations. Regardless of whether the parties attend a private mediation or a Board mediation, the process is essentially the same. The mediation will begin with your attorney make a demand to the Insurance Company, or their attorney, and the parties will go back and forth with counter-demands and counter-offers until the parties reach an agreeable settlement amount.
The settlement process is extremely nuanced and settling a workers’ compensation claim for its true value involves a considerable amount of skill and expertise. In order to maximize the amount of your settlement, it is advisable that you seek the services of an experienced workers’ compensation attorney who can guide you through the settlement process to make sure that you get you the money that you deserve.
In Georgia, if you have been involved in a compensable workers’ compensation claim, you are entitled to two types of benefits – income benefits and medical treatment. When discussing income benefits, it is important to understand what is meant by the term “average weekly wage” and how the average weekly wage is calculated.
By law, there are three (3) methods through which your average weekly wage can be calculated:
- Thirteen (13) Weeks Of Employee’s Earnings: Pursuant To O.C.G.A. § 34-9-260 (1), The Preferred Method Of Calculating An Injured Worker’s Average Weekly Wage Is By Reviewing The Worker’s Wages From The Thirteen (13) Weeks Preceding The Date Of The Injury And Then Taking The Average Of Those Thirteen (13) Weeks Of Earning. For Example, If The Injured Worker Earned $13,000.00 During The Thirteen (13) Week Preceding His Accident, Then He Would Have An Average Weekly Wage Of $1,000.00.
- Thirteen (13) Weeks Of Similarly Situated Employee’s Earnings: If The Injured Worker Has Not Worked “Substantially The Whole” Of The Thirteen (13) Weeks Preceding The Date Of Injury, Then The Injured Workers’ Average Weekly Wage Must Be Calculated By Using The Wages Of A Similarly Situated Employee. Pursuant To O.C.G.A § 34-9-260 (2) A Similarly Situated Employee Is A Person Who Performs A Similar Type Of Job For The Same Employer. If A Similarly Situated Employee Is Identified, Then The Injured Workers’ Average Weekly Wage Will Be Calculated Based Upon The Same Metrics Above Using The Wages Of The Similarly Situated Employee.
- Contracted Rate Of Hire: If Neither Of The First Two Methods Can Be Utilized In Determining The Injured Worker’s Average Weekly Wage, Then The Third Method Of Determining The Injured Worker’s Average Weekly Wage Is To Take The Injured Worker’s Contracted Rate Of Hire (Or Their Hourly Wage) And Multiplying That Rate By The Number Of Hours They Are Contracted To Work. For Instance, If The Injured Worker Earns $10.00 Per Hour And Is Contracted To Work 40 Hours Per Week, Then The Injured Work Would Have An Average Weekly Wage Of $400.00
Accurately determining your average weekly wage is significant in that it serves as the basis for determining what your weekly compensation rate will be. An injured worker is entitled to receive two-thirds (2/3) of their average weekly wage as their weekly workers’ compensation payment — up to a maximum of $675.00 per week. Using the example above, if the injured worker has an average weekly wage of $400.00, then the corresponding compensation rate would be $266.67.
In some tragic instances, a worker may sustain injuries so severe that he or she may never be able to work again. Typically, injured workers are only entitled to receive 400 weeks of income benefits. However, in the event that an Injured Worker is determined to have sustained what is known as a “catastrophic injury,” then he or she may be entitled to receive a lifetime of income benefits, along with a lifetime of medical treatment.
Under Georgia law, you may be entitled to a catastrophic designation if you have suffered one of the following types of injuries:
1) a spinal cord injury involving severe paralysis of an arm, leg, or trunk;
2) the amputation of an arm, a hand, a foot, or a leg involving the effective loss of use of that appendage;
3) a severe brain or closed head injury;
4) significant second or third-degree burns;
5) total industrial blindness.
Further, if your injuries render you unable to perform your prior job or any other job for which you may be qualified, then you may also be entitled to receive a catastrophic designation.
If you have been involved in a workplace accident resulting in any of these traumatic injuries, it is important that you speak with an experienced workers’ compensation attorney in order to ensure that you get all of the benefits to which you are entitled.
If you have been injured in the course and scope of your employment, you may find yourself asking “do all employees qualify for workers’ compensation benefits?” Unfortunately, the answer to that question is “no.” Under Georgia law, there are certain types of employees who are not covered under Georgia’s workers’ compensation system. Specifically, there are six types of workers who are generally not covered under the Georgia Workers’ Compensation Act. These workers include 1) employees of an employer who has less than three (3) employees that regularly perform work for the employer; 2) farm laborers; 3) railroad employees; 4) independent contractors; 5) domestic servants; or 6) employees of the United States Government.
If you have suffered a workplace accident and think that you fall into one of the categories of employees referenced above, do not be discouraged. Contact an experienced workers’ compensation attorney in order to make sure that your claim undergoes the pertinent legal analysis. You may be covered under a workers’ compensation policy and not even know it.
If you are injured in the course and scope of your employment, and your injury may have been fault, you may wonder whether you are barred from filing a workers’ compensation claim. The good news for workers injured in Georgia is that, generally speaking, even if your workplace accident is your fault, you are still entitled to receive workers’ compensation benefits. This is because Georgia is what is known as a “no-fault state.” Under Georgia law, unless your injury is the result of horseplay or is caused by your willful disregard for a company policy, then you should be entitled to receive workers’ compensation benefits, even if you are at fault for the injury.
If you have been involved in a workplace accident, you may wonder whether you have the right to sue your employer. You were hurt at work, so it would stand to reason that you should be allowed to sue your employer, right? Unfortunately, in most instances, the answer to that question is no. Under Georgia law, if you have been involved in a workplace accident, you are not permitted to sue your employer. This being the case, the workers’ compensation system (i.e. filing a workers’ compensation claim) is your exclusive remedy against your employer. Having said that, the workers’ compensation system is beneficial to employees in that they do not have to file a lawsuit against their employer – a process which can years – and that employees do not have to prove that their employer was at fault for their injuries in order to receive workers’ compensation benefits.
If you have been injured in the course and scope of your employment, it is important that you understand exactly what is meant by the term “workers’ compensation.” At its most basic level, workers’ compensation is essentially an insurance policy that your employer has taken out to cover their employees in the event that they sustain a workplace injury. Workers’ compensation coverage will provide the injured worker with a consistent income, along with medical treatment, in an effort to get the injured worker back to work as soon as possible.
It is important to remember that workers’ compensation is not a vehicle through which workers can attempt to punish their employers for their alleged wrongdoing. That is to say that workers’ compensation does not provide for so-called “punitive damages.” Instead, the purpose of workers’ compensation is to provide medical treatment (including paying for certain hospital bills, doctors’ bill, physical therapy, and prescriptions) and income benefits in an effort to return the injured worker to work.
If you have been involved in a workplace accident, it is important to take the following steps in order to ensure that your rights are adequately represented.
1) NOTIFY YOUR EMPLOYER
Under Georgia law, an Injured Worker has 30 days in which to notify his or her employer of a workplace accident. Notice can be verbal and can be given to your direct supervisor. While you may have 30 days to notify your employer of your workplace accident, it is always in your best interest to notify your employer of your injury as soon as possible.
2) GET MEDICAL TREATMENT WITH A PANEL DOCTOR
By law, nearly all employers in Georgia are required to maintain what is known as a “panel of physicians.” In most cases, this panel must include a list of at least six (6) doctors from which you are allowed to choose to seek medical treatment. After you have notified your employer of your injury, be sure to ask your employer to see the panel of physicians and then choose a doctor from that list. Your employer cannot tell you where to seek medical treatment – you have the right to choose.
3) YOUR HEALTH IS WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT
When you have been hurt at work, getting medical treatment is the most important thing you can do. In the event that your employer either does not have a panel of physicians or does not make the panel of physicians available to you, seek treatment at an emergency room or walk-in clinic. Should you be forced to treat at an emergency room or walk-in clinic, make sure that you tell the doctor that you were hurt at work and explain to them the circumstances surrounding your accident.
4) MAKE SURE THE DOCTOR ADDRESSES WORK RESTRICTIONS
Whether your end up seeking medical treatment with a panel physician or at an emergency room/walk-in clinic, make sure that the doctor treating your specifically addresses your ability to return to work. When treating for a workplace injury, a doctor will likely either remove you from work completely, allow you to return to work with certain light duty restrictions, or release you to return to work at full duty without restrictions. The type of work restrictions placed upon you following your accident will be of vital importance moving forward, so be certain that your doctor addresses your work restrictions following the accident.
5) CONTACT AN ATTORNEY WHO SPECIALIZES IN WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
When you are injured at work, it is never too early to obtain legal counsel in order to ensure that your rights are protected and to ensure that you receive all of the workers’ compensation benefits to which you are entitled.
Have you or a loved one been involved in a workplace accident? It is important that you contact an attorney who specializes in workers’ compensation in order to ensure that your rights are adequately represented. Contact the attorneys at Dan Chapman & Associates at 678-242-7626. We offer free case evaluations and collect no fees unless you win!
After you claim has settled and the settlement documents have been approved by the State Board of Workers’ Compensation, by law, the Employer/Insurer will have 20 days (17 days if the insurer is located outside of Georgia) in which to issue the settlement checks. In the event the settlement checks are not issued within 20 days of the Board’s approval of the settlement documents, then the Employer/Insurer may be subject to a late-payment penalty equal to 20% of the total settlement amount.
It important to note that the Employer/Insurer will issue two separate checks – one check to cover the attorney’s fees and expenses, and a second check made payable to the Injured Worker. These checks will often be mailed to your attorney’s office and your attorney will contact you once they have received the settlement proceeds.
Have you or a loved one been involved in a workplace accident? It is important that you contact an attorney who specializes in workers’ compensation in order to ensure that your rights are adequately represented. Contact the attorneys at Dan Chapman & Associates at 678-242-7626. We offer free case evaluations and collect no fees unless you win!
There are a number of ways that your workers’ compensation claim may settle – your claim may be resolved through your attorney negotiating a settlement on your behalf with the Employer/Insurance Company, or, in some instances, the parties may opt for a settlement mediation. In either event, in order for any settlement to be “official,” it must be approved by the State Board of Workers’ Compensation.
After the parties have agreed upon the financial terms of the settlement, the Employer/Insurer’s attorney will draft the settlement documents. Copies of the documents will be sent to your attorney for review. After your attorney has reviewed the settlement documents, they will likely schedule a time for you to meet with them in person to review and execute the settlement documents. After you have executed the settlement documents, your attorney will return the executed documents to the Employer/Insurer’s attorney, who will file the settlement documents with the State Board for approval. Upon receiving the executed settlement documents, the State Board will typically approve your settlement within five (5) to seven (7) business days. Once your settlement has been approved by the State Board, the Employer/Insurer has 20 days (17 days if the Insurer is located outside of Georgia) within which to issue the settlement checks.
Attorney’s fees in Georgia workers’ compensation cases are regulated by statute. Specifically, O.C.G.A. § 34-9-108 dictates that with respect to workers’ compensation claims, attorney’s fees cannot exceed 25% of the injured worker’s award of weekly benefits or settlement. As it relates to settlements, it is important to note that attorney’s fees are not taken against any portion of a settlement that is specifically designated for the injured workers’ future medical treatment.
While attorney’s fees for other types of litigation may exceed this amount, when it comes to workers’ compensation cases within the state of Georgia, no attorney can charge a fee of greater than 25%. This is yet another way in which workers’ compensation claims are drastically different from other types of litigation.
When settling a workers’ compensation claim in the state of Georgia, it is important to understand that there are two distinctly separate types of settlements – those involving liability stipulations and those involving no-liability stipulations. The type of settlement agreement that you will enter into will depend upon the specific nature of your case.
In situations in which both parties agree that the underlying workers’ compensation claim is compensable, meaning that the Injured Worker is entitled to receive workers’ compensation benefits, the parties will enter into a liability stipulation.
Conversely, in situations in which there is a dispute as to whether the underlying claim is compensable, likely meaning that the Injured Worker has not received workers’ compensation benefits, then the parties will enter into a no-liability stipulation.
In either event, it is important to remember that the settlement of your workers’ compensation claim is a completely voluntary process. Neither the Injured Worker nor the Employer/Insurer is required to settle a workers’ compensation claim. Before agreeing to settle your Georgia’s workers’ compensation, it is recommended that you consult with an attorney in order to maximize your recovery.
When it comes to settling your workers’ compensation claims, mediation is often a useful tool the parties can utilize in resolving a claim. Mediation is a process in which representatives from both parties (the Injured Worker and the Employer/Insurer) sit down with a neutral third party – known as a “mediator” – in an effort to resolve a case. There are two types of mediation – private mediation, which often take place at a mediator’s office, and a Board mediation, which typically takes place at the State Board of Workers’ Compensation.
During the course of mediation, a representative from each party will provide the mediator with a brief summary of the facts of the case as they see it. The parties will then go into separate rooms to “caucus” and the mediator will go back and forth between the parties with updated settlement demands and settlement offers. Throughout the mediation, the mediator will often provide their input with respect to the relative strengths and weaknesses of each party’s case. During this process it is important to remember that the mediator is a neutral party, meaning they do not side with either party. It is also important to remember that the mediation process is confidential and information shared or disclosed during the course of the mediation will not be shared outside of the mediation.
In most instances, the mediation process is a voluntary process. This means that both parties have the right to leave the mediation at any time. Having said that, Injured Workers are strongly advised to allow the mediation process run its course. The mediation process is aimed at providing both parties with a resolution and is certainly a worthwhile endeavor. While the process may be frustrating to some at times, mediation is ultimately a powerful tool in resolving claims and typically results in equitable results for Injured Workers.
CONTACT US FOR FREE
Request Free Consultation
Main Office
900 N. Main St.
Conyers, GA. 30012
Phone: 678-831-8875
