Military Legal: A Free Public Resource For Service Personnel

A lot of clients come to me extremely confused about what their rights are and unsure if they should even hire a lawyer to handle their injury claim. Each case is different and I have written extensively elsewhere about the following subjects:

• Can I handle my Georgia Injury Case Without a Lawyer?

• What is My Georgia Injury Case Worth?

• Georgia Uninsured Motorist Law

• Punitive Damages in Georgia

• Georgia Car Accident Do's and Don'ts

Here are a couple of general pieces of good advice based on 12 years of personal injury trial experience

1. Don't Hire A Law Firm that You Find on TV

Why not?

a. Most of the people you see in the ads are actors. Robert Vaughan does not live in Georgia and does not have a law degree. Hire a real Georgia Injury lawyer. 

b. They are mills that provide no customer service and crummy results. If you don't believe me just tell them you want an in person free consultation before you sign the contract and see what they say.

c. They are lousy attorneys that do nothing but push paper and recommend settlement. Trust me on this.

2. Don't hire an Atlanta injury attorney that you learned about from an anonymous phone call after the accident or from some random employee at the hospital. They are getting a kickback. Their actions are illegal and they are runners. The lawyers that use these people cannot get business by legitimate means and they are lousy as a group.

3. Don't go to a Lawyer suggested by the Chiropractor. If you already made the mistake of going to a chiropractor (not because the care is bad, it is a mistake because it cripples the legitimacy of the claim in the jury's eyes) don't compound the mistake by going to the lawyer they suggest. They are in business together and send each other cases. This leads to an inherent conflict of interest where the lawyer will look out for the chiro, possibly to your detriment. The lawyers tend to be low grade (although not always) and it usually does not go well. 

4. If you are hurt, don't tough it out and fail to report it to your family doctor or the emergency room. I have had dozens of clients with serious injuries where they waited too long to get medical care and shot themselves in the foot. To put it simply, if you don't report it to a legit medical provider, the pain was not there. That is unfortunately how the jury sees it. If you are hurting on day 3 of the crash, go to your primary care physician and report your symptoms. If it clears up, great. You paid a $35.00 copay to make sure the claim can be brought later if you find out it is serious. A Georgia disc herniation lawyer can get a recovery in excess of $100,000.00 for you if there is enough insurance, but if you waited 3 months to see the doctor, it is worth nothing. Be vigilant! 

See my previous list of do's and don'ts. How do you know whether you have a valid claim? Ask yourself;  if I were a juror looking at my situation objectively, would my choice of medical care look fishy for any reason. If so, you are doing the wrong thing. 

Insurance Coverage

A. Liability Insurance in Georgia

A lot of people are totally confused by liability and Uninsured Motorist insurance in Georgia.Lets put it this way, liability insurance is what protects you from lawsuits when you screw up. It is a shield that only works to protect you for your liabilities. Got it? In my Atlanta Injury lawyer blog we did a detailed discussion of liability coverage in Georgia. Read through that article and you should have a pretty good understanding of what it is for. Remember it shields you from claims and does not provide you with help for your own claims.

B. Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Insurance in Georgia

These coverages are shields that provide coverage to you and your passengers when you all get injured by a driver that has either no or minimum coverages. Georgia Uninsured Motorist Law is discussed in detail on my main page so check it out first and remember that the law changed in January 2009 so crashes after that date deal with the new Georgia Uninsured Motorist Insurance laws. 

C. Medical Payments Insurance

You should at least carry $5,000.00 worth of med pay. It is dirt cheap and can cover your deductibles and guarantee payment in a crash even where you are at fault. I wrote this article on Georgia Medical Payments Insurance. 

D. Comprehensive and Collision Insurance

Not required by law but if your car is newer, the finance company will require it. Remember to buy gap insurance. Most people are upside down on their cars for the first 3 years after purchase and when a driver totals out your car, you are on the hook for the balance owed on the loan as compared to the market value of the car unless you have gap insurance.