Common Personal Injury Cases Handled by Atlanta Lawyers

Personal injury laws in Georgia cover a wide variety of accidents and injuries. The majority of personal injury cases are based on negligence. Personal injury lawyers help victims and their families seek compensation after being injured in an accident. 

Suffering a serious injury can result in lost wages, expensive medical bills, and other financial challenges. The parties who caused your injury should be held accountable for the devastating losses you experienced as a result of their negligence. 

This article will discuss some of the many different types of cases that Atlanta personal injury lawyers handle. 

Car Accidents

Car accidents are one of the most common types of personal injury claims. Millions of people are harmed in car collisions every year, resulting in serious injuries caused by another driver’s negligence. 

Examples of car accident cases personal injury lawyers handle include:

• Rear-end accidents
• Hear-on collisions
• Rollovers
• Side-swipe accidents
• Taxi accidents
• Hit-and-run accidents
• DUI accidents
• Multi-vehicle accidents
• Rideshare accidents

When handling a car accident case, a personal injury lawyer will gather evidence to determine fault and liability. This may include reviewing police reports, speaking to eyewitnesses, examining video surveillance footage, obtaining copies of medical records, and more. 

Premises Liability Accidents

Premises liability is the area of personal injury law that holds negligent property owners liable when others are harmed on their property. Home, land, and business owners have a legal obligation to keep their property reasonably safe for guests and visitors and to warn of any known hazards or dangers present.

Types of premises liability accidents commonly handled by personal injury attorneys include:

• Slip-and-fall accidents
• Swimming pool injuries and drowning
• Amusement park accidents
• Animal attacks
• Injuries involving asbestos, lead paint, mold, or other toxic materials
• Elevator and escalator accidents
• Negligent security
• Daycare accidents

Property owners may try to fix a problem immediately after the accident to eliminate any evidence that could be used against them. This is one of the reasons you should contact a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible after your accident. Your lawyer will act quickly to gather the evidence needed to establish fault. 

Slip-and-Fall Accidents

Slip-and-fall accidents, another common type of personal injury claim, fall under premises liability law. Property owners can be held liable for damages if a person is injured on their property. 

Premises liability laws apply to homeowners, business owners, commercial property owners, landlords, transit companies, and others. 

Causes of slip-and-fall accidents include:

• Uneven surfaces
• Dim or insufficient lighting
• Loose or torn rugs or carpet
• Potholes
• Broken handrails
• Broken stairs
• Recently mopped or waxed flooring
• Debris in walkways

Proving liability in a slip-and-fall accident can be challenging. Your Atlanta personal injury lawyer will investigate your claim and gather evidence to prove that the property owner knew or should have known about the hazardous condition that caused your fall. 

Truck Accidents

A fully loaded semi-truck can weigh up to 80,000 pounds, while a car usually only weighs about 4,000 pounds. It is not difficult to see why, when a passenger vehicle is involved in an accident with a large truck, it is usually those in the smaller vehicle who are severely injured. 

Determining liability in a truck accident case can be complex due to the multiple parties potentially involved. 

In addition to the truck driver, other liable parties may include:

• Trucking companies
• Vehicle manufacturers
• Mechanics
• Cargo loaders
• Maintenance contractors
• Government entities (such as those responsible for road maintenance)

Trucking companies will often have powerful insurance companies and lawyers representing them after an accident. For this reason, it is important for truck accident victims to have their own personal injury legal teams on their side to defend their rights. 

In addition to the standard evidence collected in car accident cases, an Atlanta personal injury lawyer may request trucking logs, maintenance records, data from the truck’s electronic data recorder (EDR), and other essential evidence. 

Dog Bites

A dog bite attack can leave a person with serious physical injuries and mental trauma. Tragically, children are the most common victims of dog bites. 

In Atlanta, dog bite cases are mainly governed by Georgia’s dog bite statute. Georgia follows a modified version of the one-bite rule. 

Establishing liability involves:

• Demonstrating that the dog owner failed to take reasonable steps to prevent the attack
• Proving that the dog owner knew or should have known about the dog’s dangerous tendencies
• Showing that the victim was legally allowed to be in the location where the attack occurred
• Proving that the injured party did not provoke the dog

In most situations, compensation for dog bite injuries will come from the dog owner’s homeowner’s insurance policy. However, insurance companies may deny or attempt to minimize payouts. Atlanta personal injury attorneys with experience in handling dog bite cases will be able to handle all negotiations with the insurance company on your behalf.

Motorcycle Accidents

According to a recent annual report from the Georgia Department of Driver Services, 2019 saw 4,269 motorcyclists involved in crashes. Motorcycle accidents can have devastating consequences, often resulting in severe injuries or fatalities. 

Factors that contribute to motorcycle accidents include:

• Driver negligence: Distracted driving, speeding, and failure to yield are common causes of motorcycle crashes. 
• Vehicle blind spots: Motorcycles are much smaller than other vehicles, making them more difficult to spot. This can lead to collisions when drivers fail to check their blind spots. 
• Road conditions: Poorly maintained roads, debris, and inclement weather can pose major hazards to motorcyclists. 

Insurance companies often try to blame the motorcyclist rather than the other driver in motorcycle accident cases. An Atlanta personal injury lawyer handling a motorcycle accident case can gather the evidence needed to prove fault and liability. 

Pedestrian Accidents

Many people in Atlanta enjoy walking as a healthy and cost-effective alternative to driving. Unfortunately, with thousands of people speeding around in cars, trucks, and motorcycles, pedestrians are sometimes involved in motor vehicle accidents. 

Pedestrians who are involved in a collision with a motor vehicle are often left with serious injuries such as:

• Broken bones 
• Neck injuries
• Head injuries
• Road rash
• Lacerations
• Internal organ damage
• Spinal cord injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries

If you were a pedestrian injured in an accident, you may be contacted by the other party’s insurance company. However, it is recommended not to accept a settlement offer without first speaking to an Atlanta personal injury lawyer. A lawyer will be able to accurately assess the full value of your personal injury claim. 

Medical Malpractice

When doctors and other medical professionals in Atlanta fail to meet the accepted standard of care, patients can suffer harm, both physically and emotionally. Doctors, hospitals, and other medical providers who cause injuries to those under their care can be held liable for damages. 

Examples of situations that could be grounds for a medical malpractice case include:

• Failure to diagnose or misdiagnosis
• Emergency room errors
• Prescription drug errors
• Failure to receive a patient’s informed consent
• Surgical errors
• Birth injuries
• Failure to obtain a patient’s complete medical history
• Use of defective medical products

Medical malpractice cases are often complex and can be difficult to win. If a healthcare provider injured you, you want to be sure to choose an Atlanta personal injury attorney who has the knowledge, experience, and resources needed to successfully handle your medical malpractice case. 

Product Liability Claims

Product liability refers to the legal responsibility of manufacturers, distributors, and retailers to provide safe products to consumers. 

There are three main types of product liability claims:

• Design defects: These occur when a product’s design is inherently flawed or dangerous, making it unsafe for its intended use. Even if the product is manufactured correctly, the design flaw still may pose a risk to consumers. 
• Manufacturing defects: These types of defects occur during the manufacturing process, resulting in a product that is different from its intended design. A manufacturing defect may affect just one product on the line or an entire shipment.
• Failure to warn: Manufacturers have an obligation to provide adequate warnings about any potential dangers associated with the use of their products. If a company fails to warn consumers about a known risk and someone is injured, it can be held liable for damages.

If you were injured by a defective product, it is unlikely that the manufacturing company is going to admit liability and voluntarily take responsibility for your injuries. Additionally, if you are going against a large corporation, you can be sure that they will have their own lawyers and insurance companies defending it. 

Atlanta personal injury lawyers handling product liability cases will gather evidence such as product samples, expert testimony, and documents of similar incidents to support your claim. 

Wrongful Death

A wrongful death occurs when the negligent or intentional acts of one person cause the death of another person. The loss of a loved one in death is a devastating experience, and when it happens due to someone else’s actions, the pain can be combined with a sense of injustice. 

Georgia law allows eligible family members to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the party whose actions caused their loved one’s death. Eligible family members include surviving spouses, children, and parents. If there are no surviving family members, a personal representative is to file a wrongful death claim on behalf of the victim’s estate. 

An Atlanta personal injury attorney may be able to help surviving family members recover the following wrongful death damages:

• Burial costs
• Funeral expenses
• Medical expenses from the accident
• Loss of future financial support
• Loss of consortium
• Pain and suffering

How an Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help You After Being Injured in an Accident

After being injured in an accident, a lawyer can be your legal advocate, helping you navigate the personal injury claims process and securing the compensation you deserve. 

Ways a lawyer can help with your personal injury case include:

• Explaining your legal rights and options
• Investigating the cause of your injuries
• Gathering evidence
• Identifying all liable parties
• Using the personal injury law firm’s resources to hire accident reconstructionists and other experts
• Calculating the value of your personal injury claim
• Filing your claim
• Handling all communications and negotiations with the insurance company
• Filing a personal injury lawsuit if a fair settlement agreement cannot be reached

Contact Our Atlanta Personal Injury Attorneys Today

Have you or a loved one been injured in a personal injury accident caused by someone else’s negligence? If so, you deserve financial compensation for your losses. 

At Hoffspiegel Law, our Atlanta personal injury attorneys have successfully represented clients with all types of cases involving injury and wrongful death. When you choose our law firm as your legal representative, you will have direct access to your lawyer and personalized service based on your specific case. 

We accept personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis. This means you do not pay any upfront costs or fees for our legal services. You can give us a phone call 24/7 or click the Contact Us button on this page to get started.