Today we have Attorney Jonathan W. Johnson answering some of the most commonly asked questions about auto accident cases.
What Should I Do if I get into a car accident?
Well, there are several things you need to do if you get into an auto accident, the first thing to
do off course is call the police, call 911 if you are injured always do that first. If you’re not so badly injured
that you need to be away from the scene immediately you should try to get the
names of members of any witnesses, also take photographs of the vehicles
and locations of the vehicles at the scene and document any other useful information there is that
portrays the facts of the accident.
You should also give a statement to the police officer and try to get the insurance information from any other
parties in the incident.
How long does it typically take to resolve an injury case like mine?
Every auto accident case is different in terms of the unique facts of the case, the facts about the accident injuries and the type of nature of the insurance involved.
In a simple case we can easily get it done within 30 to 60 days once the medical treatments is completed and we have all of the medical records. If it’s a complicated case where liability is disputed by the other party or if there is a complicated issue about the causation of the injuries, the case can last a year or more just based on the opposition from the other side, but we will always fight for your money.
How often will you communicate with me about my case?
We try to communicate with our clients approximately every two weeks, certainly we are able to communicate with them any time they want to speak with us. We usually return phone calls the same day or the next day. We respond to written communications most the time the same day that we receive it, sometimes it may be the next day; we stay in good contact with all of our clients.
What is my recovery based upon?
Your recovery is based upon several things, one is the reliability facts which should be held clear that neither party is at fault; second thing is the amount of injuries you have, that includes diagnosis and
treatment that you received for the injuries, the amount of medical bills incurred as a result of those
injuries, the lost wages your and your marital status, in Georgia you can recover what is called laws of consortium if you’re married if and there’s an injury to your spouse. All of those things are factors that go into evaluating what a case is worth. The other thing we would need to look at is the amount of insurance from the other party which he has available, your own uninsured motorist coverage and other important factors; what county the case would be brought up because Georgia has many counties and some of those counties juries give a much larger awards and they do in some other counties so it’s always important to know the county where the case will be filed.
Will I be able to speak with you directly if I need you?
All of out clients can reach me directly if they need me, we have a good support staff that deals with the many day-to-day routine matters, but any important decision in the case I’m typically involved directly with the client.
What is your contingency Fee?
Our contigency fee in most auto accident cases is one third of the recovery, if we don’t recover we don’t charge a fee. We advance and costs associated to prosecute the case up until we get the recovery.
Will I be responsible for any advanced case costs at all if we lose the case?
In an auto accident case we will advance the costs necessary to prosecute the case, if we don’t achieve a recovery we typically do not request the client to reimburse those costs?
What if the other person doesn’t have insurance?
If the other person does not have insurance then you’re in a more difficult situation, but you can still
recover from what’s called uninsured motorist coverage, if you have uninsured motorist coverage on your vehicle, and I strongly recommend that everyone had that in case you get hit by an uninsured driver, in case they do not have insurance you can present that to your carrier and in most cases if you could show that the other driver is at fault you can still recover. For car fleets it’s interesting to seek a gps tracker for car no monthly fee
If I can’t work will I be compensated for that?
If you are unable to work you can recover for lost wages, we typically ask to produce tax
returns for clients when they have a lost wage claim or other documentation to support
the lost wages, but lost wages for time missed from work is a compensable element of your
damages, so any lost wages you can prove you sustained due to your accident you can recover.
Can anything be done or is there anything that I can do to improve the chances of the case being successful?
The main thing you can do is documented everything well at the scene. Get a police report, get medical treatment they need appropriately and in a timely fashion, get a good attorney on board as soon as you can because obviously the attorney can help you navigate the process of getting better compensation for your case
If you have any questions about cases are you please feel free to call us for a free consultation
