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Contract-10-300x225Families don’t look the same as they did 30 or even 10 years ago. Although traditional families still tend to be the norm, there is a greater emphasis and acceptance of a chosen-family. Sadly, Georgia law has not caught up with the new social norms which leaves many families unable to legally advocate for their loved ones in many situations. Wrongful deaths leave a wake of disaster that spreads beyond an individual’s life. This article will outline some of the most important information you need to know about the wrongful death statute in Georgia and who can file a suit to find justice for their loved one.

What is Wrongful Death?

People die by tragic accidents every day, but some (or most) accidents can be prevented. Wrongful death occurs as a direct result of negligent, reckless, intentional, or criminal behavior or acts of another person or entity. For example, if a company fails to recall a dangerous faulty product and someone dies as a result, this could be considered a wrongful death. The damages that are collected after a wrongful death vary depending on the impact that person’s death has on their loved ones. Although the financial restitution will never undo the life-altering trauma from a wrongful death, it can help lighten the economic burden and give room for loved ones to grieve. 

Health-27-300x200Many people inadvertently downplay their accidents for many reasons. It makes sense that no one wants to be perceived as a “victim,” but when it comes to injuries caused by negligence, the best option is to file a claim. In this blog series, we have examined several ways in which an accident can impact someone’s life, and how that affects the damages calculation. In part I, we examined physical injuries; in part II, we discussed medical bills and lost wages. In the final part of this series, we will take a look at how accidents can impact daily life, and what that means for your damages claim. 

Disability

The main difference between being considered “disabled” and “abled” is access. A lifetime of dealing with a disability comes with physical and psychological challenges that can never be fully understood by those who have been abled their entire lives. Being suddenly and permanently disabled through an accident – especially through no fault of your own – has a tremendous impact on how you perceive the world, and how you move through it, in its own unique way. 

national-cancer-institute-NFvdKIhxYlU-unsplash-1-300x200An accident can impact someone’s life in ways that they never expected. In our last blog post in the series, we discussed damage calculation as it pertains to permanent or temporary injuries. In Part II of the series, we will discuss how medical bills and lost wages contribute to the damages calculation in personal injury cases.

Economic Damages

After an accident, the only thing you should be concerned about is getting better and returning life to normalcy as quickly as possible. An unfortunate reality for many individuals is that the fear of medical bills and loss of income quickly take precedence over recovery efforts. This is why personal injury lawyers work so diligently to educate and provide assistance to those affected by negligence. Economic damages are thankfully a tangible number that can be provided when filing a personal injury claim so those who are injured can obtain the medical care they need. Examples of economic damages include lost wages and medical bills.

 Personal-Injury-1-300x200After an injury, your mind is full of complicated emotions. While in recovery, the last thing you want to be concerned about is “How will I pay my bills after this?” Feelings can be especially bitter when your injury is caused by the negligence of another individual. Once everything is said and done, you’re likely entitled to a payout. One of the most common questions personal injury lawyers receive is: “How do you evaluate a case, and what are my injuries worth?” In this blog series, we’ll cover the specifics of several scenarios to give you a better picture.

Permanent Injury

An important marker of damage evaluation is the extent of the injuries. One of the worst outcomes of any injury is to be saddled with a permanent injury. Permanent injuries can range from a minor annoyance to completely life-altering. Regardless of how physically obvious an injury seems, if it brings pain and suffering, then it can be used as a qualifying factor.

sew-for-christ-photography-eBknbEBuYY0-unsplash-300x225Serving as a juror is an essential part of American citizenship. The sixth amendment of the United States Constitution grants every individual accused of a crime the right to an impartial jury, but did you know that you may also be called to serve as a juror in a civil trial as well? If you have never been selected for jury duty in the state of Georgia, there are several things to expect during the process. 

The Summons

You may have received a letter in the mail calling you to perform your civic duty to sit as a juror, however not everyone is eligible. Here are some of the criteria you must fit in order to serve on a jury in Georgia:

Health-5-300x203Workplace injuries are unfortunately common, especially in industries where employees have to handle dangerous equipment, perform repetitive motions, or work under potentially hazardous conditions. If an accident occurs, workers’ compensation is the clear recourse in most cases, but not all. There are some situations where your best interests may be served by waiving workers’ comp and speaking to a Georgia personal injury lawyer instead.

Negligence of a Third Party

If your injuries were caused by a third party such as a contractor, subcontractor, or property owner, you may want to consider waiving workers’ comp and filing a personal injury lawsuit against the party responsible. Examples include a contracted forklift driver who fails to operate their equipment safely or a property owner who does not make the premises safe for you to do your job.

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It happens all the time. It’s likely even happened to you. 

Every year, thousands of Georgia residents are injured because property and business owners fail to keep their premises safe for the public. Bunched carpeting, unmopped spills, poor lighting, and cracked sidewalks can all result in sprains, broken bones, and even brain or spinal cord injuries. These incidents are all premises liability cases, and property owners and managers may be liable for your medical expenses, pain and suffering, and other damages.

Who is Responsible?

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Demonstrating physical and emotional harm is critical to winning a personal injury lawsuit. In addition, Georgia law allows injured parties to receive compensation for all physical and emotional effects of their injuries. The term ‘pain and suffering’ is often used to describe these damages.

“Pain” refers to any discomfort and injuries caused by the accident, such as broken bones or spinal cord injury. “Suffering” encompasses conditions such as depression, anxiety, and despair at no longer being able to care for your family. These conditions can be both immediate (after the accident) and long term. 

Calculating Pain and Suffering

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Lately, I am seeing more and more advertisements, on T.V., on Youtube, on Court TV, on Instagram, on Tik Tok, essentially on every Internet Platform you can think of, of lawyers who tout their legal acumen and ability to get an injured person a lot of money with very little effort. Some of these advertisements have fake clients in them who look perfectly normal, healthy and uninjured, claiming their attorney got them a check for $350,000.00 or some high dollar amount “just like that” with “one call.” Some of these advertisements brag about their lawyers being “trial lawyers” when they actually haven’t even tried very many cases, if any.  Some of these advertising lawyers claim to be “elite” (they actually use that word) and yet haven’t even tried 10 cases. Some of these advertisements actually mislead the injured consumer with false statements about what the law and ethical rules allow.  Some of these advertisements brag that their lawyers have secured more money in verdicts than any other firm in the “universe” or the “metaverse,” and yet aren’t even licensed to practice law in the State of Georgia.   Some of these advertising lawyers brag about obtaining a verdict but upon closer inspection, it was a bench trial, decided by a judge, with no opposition. Things that make you go hmmm…. As a Georgia trial lawyer with over 34 years of experience, I am really just plain sick of it.

I want to help the person who has been injured as a result of someone else’s or some entity’s negligence who is looking for a bona fide Georgia Trial Lawyer to represent them with their case, all the way through trial and appeal if necessary.  These are things you should know when hiring a trial lawyer.

  1.  Is the attorney actually licensed to practice law in the State of Georgia? Any member of the public can find this out very easily, thanks to the State Bar of Georgia. Simply go to the State Bar’s website, gabar.org, and on the right side you will see a “Member Directory” where you can search for the person’s name. It will tell you if that person is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, where the person went to law school, and when the person first started practicing law in Georgia. This member search on gabar.org will also tell you whether the lawyer has been subject to any public discipline.  This tells the consumer how much experience the lawyer has with the law of Georgia.  Do you really want to entrust your case to someone who has been a lawyer for only two years? If you are looking at a  law firm’s website, you should search every member of the firm here. If only one out of the entire firm is actually licensed to practice law in Georgia, that should tell you how little experience that one Georgia lawyer, in all likelihood, actually has in Georgia law and especially Georgia trial law.  Stay away.

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When you’re injured, your first concern is usually getting back to your life as normal. As such, you’re likely concerned about the settlement you may get from your personal injury case and whether or not it will be enough to cover all of the bills and expenses that have piled up while you’ve been injured. While there is no sure-fire way to guarantee that you will get the settlement amount you want, there are several factors that could play a role in the final payout you receive.

To start, the type of accident you were involved in plays a large role in the value of your case. If you were injured in a pedestrian accident or a car accident that was caused by someone else’s negligence, you will likely receive significantly more compensation than if you were involved in a car crash that was partially your fault.. However, if you sustained an injury as the result of a defective product (such as a malfunctioning airbag or defective bicycle helmet), the amount you can recover may be significantly more, depending on whether or not the manufacturer was negligent in their creation of the product.

Another factor that could affect your final settlement is the nature and severity of your injuries. The more severe your injuries are, the harder it will be for you to return to work and the more you’ll need to recover in order to pay your medical bills and other expenses. As a result, you may receive a larger settlement if your injuries are severe or permanent rather than if they are only temporary. On the other hand, if the injury you received is relatively minor and did not cause any serious complications or lasting effects, you might not receive any compensation at all. Although you can receive compensation for pain and suffering in a personal injury case, arguing for damages due to mental and emotional distress can be significantly more difficult than physical injuries. As a result, your claim could be worth much less if the emotional impact of your injury is your main point of contention.

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