Why Choose BMW Law Group
- Our car accident lawyers have a long track record of successful results, including a $1.925 million outcome for a truck accident and $1.1 million for a car accident at work.
- We are compassionate and caring car accident lawyers in Duluth. Your lawyer from BMW Law will personalize your legal experience, pursue your unique goals and communicate with you often.
- We keep our legal services affordable. Our Duluth car accident attorneys operate on a contingency fee basis, meaning you’ll only pay our fees if we win your case.
Why Should I Hire an Duluth Car Accident Lawyer?
A lawyer can protect you from tactics that insurance companies may use to devalue your claim and give you the ability to focus on your recovery instead of the stress of legal processes. While handling the entire legal process, including settlement negotiations, your Duluth personal injury lawyer can fight for maximum financial compensation for your past and future losses. Having a accident lawyer on your side can ensure your family receives what it needs to pay for necessary medical care, such as surgeries or physical therapy, in the future.
How Can an Duluth Car Accident Lawyer Help With My Case?
Although Georgia law does not require you to hire a car accident attorney to represent you during a car accident claim or injury lawsuit, it is wise to do so if you have serious injuries or a complicated case. In these circumstances, insurance companies may try to take advantage of you if you are representing yourself. An Duluth car accident lawyer will have the resources, experience, and skill to aggressively go up against an insurer on your behalf. A personal injury lawyer can perform many important tasks during your injury claim, including:
- Conduct a comprehensive investigation of your collision
- Preserve and collect evidence of fault
- File the necessary court papers and documents
- Calculate a fair settlement value
- Help you negotiate with a car insurance company
- Go to trial, if necessary
- Ensure you receive full compensation for your injuries
Having a legal team take care of the complicated legal aspects of your car accident claim can give you the peace of mind to focus on recovering while a trained professional handle the legwork of your case. Hiring a Georgia car accident lawyer can also lead to a better financial recovery than you would have received on your own, which is especially important if you have serious injuries and future medical expenses.
How Much Does an Duluth Car Accident Lawyer Cost?
If you want to hire a car accident lawyer to represent you during a claim but are afraid of how much one will cost, find a law firm that operates on a contingency fee basis. This type of arrangement makes sure that you don’t take on any of the financial risks associated with your lawsuit. It is a solution to ensure that every accident victim has access to high-quality legal representation.
With a contingency fee basis, you won’t pay any legal fees upfront to start your claim. The initial consultation will be free and there won’t be a retainer required to secure the attorney’s services. Instead, you will only pay if and when the car accident attorney secures financial compensation for your claim.
If the attorney is successful, he or she will charge legal fees as a percentage of the overall amount secured rather than billing you directly. That way, you never have to pay your attorney out of pocket. If your claim does not result in financial compensation, you won’t owe anything in attorney’s fees. This is how our No-Win, No-Fee Guarantee works at BMW Law Group.
What Damages Can I Recover After a Car Accident?
Filing a car accident claim could help your family in many ways. It can bring you closure and justice by holding a driver or another party accountable for causing the wreck. It can also repay you for the money spent while recuperating from the car accident, such as the costs of your medical expenses and property damage. Car accidents can result in financial compensation for the following expenses:
- Medical bills and ongoing necessary medical treatment
- Disability costs and accommodations
- Lost income and employment benefits
- Vehicle and other property repairs
- Rental car costs and other out-of-pocket expenses
- Legal fees, attorney’s fees, and court costs
- Physical pain, mental anguish, and emotional distress
- Lost quality or enjoyment of life
- Punitive damages
- Wrongful death
No average settlement value exists. The value of your case will depend on its unique elements, such as the severity of your accident injuries and how long they will impact your life. Our Duluth car accident attorneys can carefully review your case to give you an accurate evaluation of its worth. Then, we will strive to achieve maximum compensation. It is important to consult with an attorney before you accept an insurance companies settlement. Insurance adjusters will make you a settlement offer, but that amount may not come close to covering the true cost of your accident injuries.
How Long Do I Have to File an Injury Claim After a Car Accident in Duluth?
According to Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33), you have 2 years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. This deadline is set and applies to most personal injury lawsuits in Georgia.
What Is the Average Car Accident Settlement in Duluth?
It is important not to base the value of your claim on a preconceived notion of what an “average settlement” looks like. As stated above, this value does not actually exist. Some car accident victims achieve multimillion-dollar jury verdicts for their injuries while others receive less than $10,000 for the total value of their medical bills and property repairs. The dramatic difference in settlement and judgment awards is why it is impossible to base a claim on an alleged average amount.
There is no hard and fast rule about how to calculate a car accident settlement. Instead, an insurance company, judge or jury determines values based on the specific facts of each case. These facts may include injury severity, permanent disability, the pre-crash value of the vehicle, the income level of the victim and the amount of insurance coverage available. This is why it is important to consult with an attorney who can give you a personalized estimate of your case value before you say yes to an insurance settlement.
How Do the Courts Calculate Pain and Suffering?
One of the main things that can affect how much your car accident case is worth is the amount of pain and suffering related to the collision and your injuries. Pain and suffering, also known as non-economic damages, refers to an accident victim’s intangible losses. These can include emotional injuries and psychological trauma, such as post-traumatic stress disorder or grief over losing a loved one.
In Georgia, there is no cap on the amount of damages that can be awarded for pain and suffering in a car accident case. Pain and suffering is not calculated using medical bills or invoices, like economic damages. Instead, it is up to an insurance company or jury to determine how much a plaintiff deserves in pain and suffering based on the severity of the injuries and how greatly they impact the plaintiff’s life. It is up to a plaintiff to prove pain and suffering with evidence such as an injury journal, psychological reports and medical records.
Although an insurance company or jury is not required to use an equation to determine pain and suffering, a common method used to calculate a fair amount is the Multiplier Method. This multiplies a victim’s economic damages by a number that is reflective of the gravity of his or her injuries. Another equation is the Per Diem Method. This multiplies the victim’s daily wage by the number of days he or she will be incapacitated from the injury.
Do I Have a Car Accident Case?
Under Georgia law, accident victims have the right to file a lawsuit against the person or party at fault for causing a car wreck. You will only have grounds to file a lawsuit against someone, however, if he or she was negligent. In-car accident law, negligence means a defendant was careless and this caused an injury to another person. To establish negligence, you or your Duluth auto accident attorney must present evidence that proves the defendant owed you a duty of care, breached this duty, caused your car accident, and gave you compensable losses. These are the four elements that comprise the legal doctrine of negligence.
There must be evidence that the defendant committed an act that fell below the accepted amount of care and that this caused or substantially contributed to the collision. As the plaintiff in an accident case, it is your burden to prove the defendant caused your accident based on a preponderance of the evidence. This standard means clear evidence that convinces an insurance company, judge, or jury that the defendant more likely than not caused the car crash. In other words, another party was more than 50 percent responsible for causing your crash. A car accident lawyer in Duluth can help you with the burden of proof.
Common Causes of Car Accidents in Duluth
Motor vehicle accidents occur for many different reasons in Duluth – most of which are entirely preventable. After a car accident in Georgia, you or your lawyer will have to determine the cause of the crash to identify the defendant. The main cause of car crashes in Duluth is driver error. Drivers can make many mistakes behind the wheel that increase the risk of collisions. The most common reasons car accidents happen to include:
- Speeding
- Distracted driving
- Drunk driving
- Reckless driving
- Dangerous intersections
- Drowsy driving
- Following too closely
- Failing to yield the right-of-way
- Red-light running
- Dangerous roadway conditions
- Auto part defects
Georgia is a fault-based insurance state, meaning the party at fault for the crash is financially responsible for accident injuries and related losses. In a no-fault state such as Florida, on the other hand, all drivers recover through their own insurers, regardless of fault. If another driver carelessly or recklessly causes your car crash in Georgia, his or her insurance company pays for your damages.
Types of Car Accident Cases We Handle in Duluth
Selecting the right lawyer to represent you during a car accident claim is critical to the overall success of your case. Not all lawyers are equal in terms of experience, skill, resources, and results. The ideal attorney for your particular case is a trained professional with experience in your practice area. At BMW Law, we have experience handling cases involving:
- Passenger cars
- Uber and Lyft (rideshare) vehicles
- Truck accidents
- Buses or public transit vehicles
- Motorcycles
- Bicycles
- Pedestrians
- Driving under the influence
- Uninsured or underinsured drivers
- Hit-and-run accidents
- Automobile defects
- Government liability
- Catastrophic injuries
- Wrongful death
Car accidents could end up leaving you with thousands of dollars in medical bills, lost wages, and BMW Law has successfully represented individuals and families in Georgia for many years. After any type of car accident in Duluth or the surrounding area, our attorneys can answer your questions and concerns. We can guide your family through the legal process from beginning to end, protecting your legal rights every step of the way.
Duluth Car Accident Statistics
According to the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), 331,796 total crashes occurred in Georgia. 124,493 vehicle accidents in Georgia resulted in injuries and 1,588 resulted in death. In Duluth, there were over 24,000 crashes in 2020. This resulted in 11,777 injuries and 53 deaths.
Georgias Comparative Fault Laws
When it comes to at-fault in an accident, many states apply comparative negligence while others implement contributory negligence. Georgia is a modified comparative negligence state. If you are less than 50 percent at fault in an car accident, you may receive compensation for your injuries according to Georgia’s comparative negligence statute. However, if you are over 50 percent at fault for the accident, you are unable to recover damages.
What to Do After a Car Accident in Duluth
Immediately after a car accident, you are most likely shaken up and distraught. It can be difficult to think clearly about what you need to do to protect your rights. It is important, however, to try to stay calm and take the following steps after a motor vehicle collision:
- Pullover and check for yourself for injuries. Get to a safe place, if possible, and check for pain, swelling, tingling, numbness, or bleeding. Keep in mind that your adrenaline may be masking injury symptoms.
- Call 911 to report the accident. Find out if your passengers or others are injured and render aid, if necessary. Call the police to report the crash immediately, no matter how small.
- Exchange information with others at the scene. While you wait for the police to arrive, exchange contact and insurance information with the other driver.
- Don’t admit fault. it is important not to admit fault, including apologizing to the other driver. Even if you think you caused the car accident, wait for an investigation to determine fault. There may be other elements at play that you are unaware of.
- Collect evidence before you leave. If you can, collect evidence before you leave the accident scene. This includes eyewitness information and photographs of the crash site and vehicle damage. Write down your police report number, as well.
- Go to a hospital. Do not delay in getting professional medical care, as this could give the insurance company a reason to deny your car accident claim. Go to the closest hospital immediately, even if you feel fine; you may have hidden injuries.
- Collect information. Before you start with the car insurance process, gather basic information about your collision. This includes the location, time and date, as well as the other driver’s information and the number of injuries.
- Notify your insurer. Call your own car insurance company first for an initial insurance claim. If the other driver caused the crash, call their company, as well.
- Be careful who you talk to. Do not post about your car wreck on social media. Be careful what you tell your friends, as they could be called as witnesses.
- Contact an Duluth accident lawyer. Before you accept any insurance settlement, contact a car accident lawyer for assistance. A lawyer can let you know what your case is worth and help you seek compensation.
At BMW Law Group, we can help you with a personal injury claim at any stage – whether or not you completed all of these steps. Find out how we can help your family today.
Contact an Duluth Car Accident Lawyer Today
If you were recently injured in a car wreck in Duluth, discuss your rights with the car accident lawyers at BMW Law Group. We can investigate your crash, gather evidence, hire qualified experts and help your family or a loved one in many other ways during this difficult time. Request a free consultation today. Send us a message online or call (770) 225-4710 anytime to talk to an attorney at BMW Law.
BMW Law Group Car Accident Verdicts and Settlements
- $1.925 Million – Car Accident Involving a Commercial Vehicle
- $1.1 Million – Car Accident While at Work
- $734.5k – Car Accident