Losing someone you love in a car crash is a kind of pain that nobody should have to experience. Dealing with insurance companies and financial matters often makes it worse. A fatal car accident lawyer in Alpharetta can carry that legal weight for you, so your family has room to grieve.
The Alpharetta car accident lawyers at Van Sant Law have served Georgia families since 2008, recovering hundreds of millions of dollars for people hurt by someone else’s carelessness. Founding attorney David M. Van Sant once worked for the insurance companies, which means he knows exactly how they try to shrink a claim.
We’ll use that knowledge to your advantage and fight to ensure you’re treated fairly. We handle wrongful death claims with care, honesty, and a plan built around every source of compensation you deserve. Make the Right Call.
Why So Many Families Hesitate to File
Here is something we hear often: “I don’t want to sue someone.” That reaction makes complete sense. Most people are not looking for a fight, especially in the middle of grief.
The important thing to know is who the claim is really against. In most cases, you are not going after the other driver personally. You are dealing with their insurance company.
Insurance exists for exactly this reason. It is there to cover the harm when a serious accident happens. An Alpharetta personal injury lawyer pursues the insurer, not to wreck someone’s life, but to make sure your family is not stuck paying for a loss you did not cause. Holding the insurance company accountable is the whole point.
The Insider Advantage Van Sant Law Brings
Most lawyers learn how insurance companies think from the outside. David Van Sant learned it from the inside.
Before he represented families, he worked as defense counsel for a large insurance firm. He handled cases for some of the biggest motor carriers in the world and saw firsthand how insurers evaluate a claim, where they look for weak spots, and how they try to pay out as little as possible.
That background changes how we build your case. We know the playbook, so we can see the low offers and delay tactics coming. When an Alpharetta fatal car accident attorney from Van Sant Law handles your claim, we use that insider knowledge to make sure you aren’t taken advantage of.
Finding Every Party Who Should Pay
It is important to identify every responsible party in a car crash to ensure you have the best chance of recovering the full amount of damages. While the at-fault party may seem obvious, it isn’t always as simple as it appears in every situation.
Take a crash caused by a commercial truck. The driver may be at fault, but so might the trucking company, the company that loaded the cargo, or a mechanic who ignored a safety problem. A bar that overserved a drunk driver can share responsibility too, under Georgia law.
David Van Sant spent years representing large motor carriers, so he knows how these companies are structured and where the coverage hides. Van Sant Law looks past the first name on the police report to find every avenue of compensation because one policy is rarely enough to cover the loss of a life.
What Your Family Can Recover
Georgia splits a wrongful death case into two parts, and knowing the difference helps you see what is at stake. The losses fall into a few clear groups.
- The full value of the life lost: This covers what your loved one would have earned and provided, along with the care, guidance, and companionship they gave the family.
- Medical expenses: The cost of any treatment your loved one received between the crash and their passing.
- Funeral and burial costs: The very real bills that arrive at the worst possible time.
- Your loved one’s pain and suffering: Compensation for what they endured before death, brought on behalf of the estate.
Every family’s situation is different, so the mix of these losses shifts from case to case. Van Sant Law reviews each category closely so nothing your family is owed gets overlooked. Our firm works on a contingency fee basis, so there is no upfront cost to get the legal help you need.
Georgia’s Rules on Fault and Deadlines
Two rules tend to catch grieving families off guard, and both can quietly cost you your case if no one flags them early.
The first is Georgia’s comparative negligence rule. Your family can recover as long as your loved one was less than 50 percent at fault for the crash. Any share of blame placed on them lowers the recovery, which is exactly why insurers may work so hard to pin part of the fault on the person who died.
The second is the deadline. Georgia generally gives you two years from the date of death to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Miss it, and the court can turn your case away no matter how strong it is. Van Sant Law’s fatal car accident attorneys in Alpharetta will work to protect the evidence and answer the fault arguments before they take root.
Talk to an Alpharetta Fatal Car Accident Lawyer Today
Reaching out for legal help should not add another errand to a family already stretched thin. We built our process around that idea.
You do not have to drive anywhere or sit in a formal office to get started. We can sign your case electronically, with no face-to-face meeting required. If you would rather meet in person, we are glad to schedule an in-home visit that works around your schedule.
We can also point you toward medical resources when your family needs them. Van Sant Law works to lift burdens off your shoulders, not stack more on. Our attorneys live in Georgia and represent Georgia families, so the people helping you are part of the same community. Contact us today for a free case evaluation to find out how we can help.
