Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyers

Many personal injury lawsuits are brought under a theory of negligence. This means showing that the defendant owed you a duty of care, departed from the duty of care, and caused your damages. If you can establish liability, you may be able to recover compensatory damages. Georgia follows the rule of modified comparative fault. This means that your damages can be reduced by an amount equal to your degree of fault, if any. You cannot recover damages if you were 50 percent or more at fault. Our personal injury attorneys can help Atlanta residents prevent defendants from improperly shifting blame to them.

After a car accident, you can sue an at-fault driver for damages. In most cases, you will need to show another driver’s negligence. Common reasons for car accidents include speeding, driving while distracted, driving while fatigued, drunk driving, talking on a cell phone, driving unsafely for weather conditions, and tailgating or driving aggressively. After a complex car accident with multiple parties potentially at fault, your Atlanta car accident lawyer may conduct accident reconstruction to determine all the parties that should be brought into the case to maximize your damages.

Truck accidents can be especially devastating because of the size and weight of the truck. Many truck accidents could have been prevented if the truck driver and the trucking company had followed safety regulations. For example, some accidents result from a truck driver failing to follow hours of service and rest break rules. The truck driver may bear some fault, and their employer may have contributed as well by failing to check the driver’s logbooks or by actively encouraging him to break the rules to make faster deliveries. Our Atlanta personal injury attorneys can hold truckers and trucking companies accountable to victims.

Motorcycle riders may suffer catastrophic or fatal injuries when they collide with a larger vehicle. Drivers of larger vehicles may not see motorcyclists or may fail to understand that motorcyclists have the same rights as them. Often, insurers and juries are biased against motorcyclists and may look closely for ways in which they might have been at fault. This makes it crucial to retain an attorney who knows how to present your case in the way that is most likely to yield a favorable outcome.

Not all property owners abide by their duty to use reasonable care to keep their premises safe for visitors. When a property owner does not warn about or fix a dangerous condition on their premises, and you are harmed as a result, you may have a basis to bring a premises liability lawsuit. You will need to show that the owner knew or should have known about the dangerous property condition before the accident. Showing notice can be complex, but we understand how to preserve, gather, and present evidence to prove the liability of a property owner.

Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor or other health care provider fails to abide by their professional duties and causes injuries. Common examples of medical malpractice include surgical errors, misdiagnoses, medication errors, and birth injuries. Your Atlanta personal injury lawyer will need to retain a qualified expert even before filing suit to evaluate the facts and medical records, and to determine whether you have a viable basis to recover damages. With the complaint, we will need to file an affidavit by the expert that states at least one negligent act perpetrated by the defendant health care provider and provides a factual basis for the complaint.

When you place a loved one in a nursing home, you probably do not imagine that they might sustain serious injuries or death as a result of the staff’s actions. Unfortunately, nursing homes may be understaffed, or staff members may not be adequately trained to care for elderly or disabled people. Nursing home abuse may involve emotional, physical, or sexual abuse. All nursing homes are required to follow federal and state regulations and laws. If they fail to follow these regulations or laws, this may substantiate a claim of negligence.

If you were injured because a product was defective, you may be able to sue the manufacturer or seller for damages. Generally, products can be defective in terms of marketing, manufacturing, or design. A product liability lawsuit may be pursued under a theory of negligence or strict liability. When strict liability is asserted against a manufacturer, you will not need to show that the manufacturer’s actions fell below a standard of care. Instead, a personal injury and accident lawyer in the Atlanta area will need to prove that the product was defective when it left the manufacturer’s control, and the defective condition of the product caused your injuries.

Dog bites can result in catastrophic and even fatal injuries to adults and children alike. Sometimes victims may need reconstructive surgery or other expensive treatments. Dog owners may be held liable for the injuries that their dogs cause to others. Under Georgia law, someone who owns or keeps a vicious or dangerous animal of any sort may be held liable for injuries caused by the animal if they allowed the animal to run free or carelessly managed the animal.

When you lose a loved one in an accident, you may be overcome with grief, and you may also face substantial expenses. A wrongful death lawsuit has two parts. The estate claim allows the estate to recover medical expenses, funeral expenses, and damages for pain and suffering before the death. Meanwhile, the full value of the life of the decedent is a distinct claim. In most cases, this is a surviving spouse’s claim. However, when there are also surviving children, the reward should be shared. The decedent’s spouse should not get less than one-third of the recovery.

If you were injured on the job, you may be able to obtain medical, rehabilitation, and income benefits through the workers’ compensation system. This is no-fault insurance. In other words, you do not need to prove that your employer was at fault for your injuries. Likewise, your employer cannot get your compensation reduced by showing that you were partially to blame for your accident, as it could in a civil lawsuit. You are covered by workers’ compensation from your first day working for your employer.

If you sustained injuries in a serious accident, you should consult the seasoned personal injury attorneys at Van Sant Law. We are committed to seeking justice for accident victims. We have offices in Atlanta, Alpharetta, Athens, Cumming, Duluth, Lawrenceville, and Gainesville. Call us at (855) GA-INJURY or complete our online form.