Personal Injury Law | In Open Court

Do I Need a Georgia Lawyer – Motorcycle Accidents

ReNu Recall 13.10.2014 Comments Off on Do I Need a Georgia Lawyer – Motorcycle Accidents

Good morning!

I’m Gary Martin Hays.

Do I Need a Lawyer – Motorcycle Crash

And so you will have that phone number handy at any time, go ahead and enter it into your cell phone.

The call is completely confidential, there is no obligation, and the consultation is free.
Or you can email me your question. The address is Gary@garymartinhays.com.
Now let’s go to the next question from one of our viewers.
About

“Gary – I’d love to have your advice on this. And then it happened. This elderly woman pulls out of a fast food restaurant’s parking lot. She was trying to turn left and pulled out in front of me. I broke my right ankle and actually had to have surgery on it because it was really messed up.

You need a lawyer and I would be happy to help you.

* In 2011 in Georgia, there were 149 motorcycle accident fatalities.
* Most of the motorcycle accidents in Georgia occur within the metro-Atlanta area.
* But the majority of the motorcycle related deaths in Georgia occur on rural roads versus city streets.
* Motorcyclists are 35 times more likely to experience a deadly accident on the road than those in passenger cars.
* A 2009 report from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety showed that 42% of fatal motorcycle crashes involved a vehicle turning left while the motorcycle was going straight, passing, or overtaking the vehicle.
And Glenn – that is what you said happened in your wreck. The at fault driver was attempting to turn left out of the fast food restaurant driveway when she pulled out in front of you.
Now what is the main reason these motorcycle accidents happened?
The driver of the other vehicle did not see the motorcycle before the collision, or did not see the motorcycle until it was too late to avoid a collision.

First – from the perspective of the person riding the motorcycle.
Here are 5Tips I’d like to share:
(1) Perform a Bike Safety Check BEFORE you ride!
Start with the tires. Make sure they are property inflated by using a good tire pressure gauge.
Look at your tires to see if they have any surface cuts or foreign objects in them.
Check your lights, turn signals and brakes. Please make sure they are in working order.

And this really does apply to all of us, not just to motorcycle riders.

(3) Wear a quality protective helmet.
Head injury is the #1 cause of deaths in motorcycle crashes.

In 2008 in Georgia, 97 motorcyclists lives were saved because they were wearing a proper helmet at the time of their crash.
Georgia requires all riders and passengers to wear a helmet.

Make it a habit to do this – even in daylight hours.
This is just one other factor that may help you be seen by other drivers.
(5) Wear high visibility, protective clothing.

And it is always a good idea to wear thick pants, boots, shirts with long sleeves or a heavy protective jacket.

ALWAYS check your blind spot before changing lanes or merging into traffic. Motorcycles can be harder to see than other types of vehicles.
You should always double check to make sure the road is clear before you pull into a roadway from either a stop sign, a yield sign, or a driveway.
Let’s be attentive to the road when we operate our vehicles.
(2) Keep your eyes on the road!
Please put down that cell phone when you are behind the wheel.

Glenn: you were hurt in this wreck because the other driver pulled out in front of you.
She received the ticket for failure to yield.
However, just because she was cited for causing the wreck does not mean her insurance company is going to compensate you fairly for your injuries.

Insurance adjusters are trained to act like your long lost friend. They will tell you things like “You don’t need a lawyer. We are here to help you.”
And as soon as they hang up the phone with you, they pick up the phone to speak with THEIR lawyer.

So just by talking with a lawyer the injured victim received 40% more money than when they tried to handle the claim on their own.

Suppose an injured victim that DID NOT have an attorney settled their claim for only $3,000.00. If they had hired an attorney, they could have settled the case for $10,500.00.
If you have been hurt in a wreck and you don’t hire an attorney, you are letting the insurance company hang onto YOUR money. Plain and simple.

The consultation is FREE and completely confidential.

Personal Injury Law

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Do I Need a Lawyer – 3 Things You Have to Prove in a P.I. Claim in Georgia

Lymerix 28.08.2014 Comments Off on Do I Need a Lawyer – 3 Things You Have to Prove in a P.I. Claim in Georgia

What are the 3 things YOU must prove in your personal injury claim?
Good morning!
Welcome to “Do I Need A Lawyer?”

Three Things You Have to Prove in a P.I. Claim in Georgia

Or you can email me your question.
Now let’s go to the next question from one of our viewers.
Youtube

Or you can email me your question.

Jeff in Decatur
Gary: My wife and I were hurt in a car accident about a month ago. The other driver slammed into the passenger side door where she was riding. We are already getting a lot of medical bills in the mail.
Jeff – thanks for the question though I’m sorry to hear about your wife’s injuries and the wreck.
There are several things we have to prove in these personal injury claims:

* We have to prove the damages our client sustained in the wreck.
This may sound somewhat complicated so let me break down each of these 3 elements for you:
Negligence: this essentially means who is at fault.
We have to prove that someone (besides yourself) was at fault for causing the wreck.
The injured party has the burden of proof in showing that the Defendant driver was negligent in causing the wreck.
For example: When the defendant rear-ends your car because they did not maintain a safe following distance or they failed to keep a proper lookout of the road ahead, they were negligent.
When the defendant rear-ends your car because he did not get his brakes repaired, even though he knew they were not working properly, he is negligent.
Other examples could include:

Speeding or traveling too fast for conditions
Tailgating
Driving under the influence of alcohol or some illegal drug
Failure to yield while turning left

Here is an example:
You are at a complete stop at a red light.
The Defendant is not paying attention to the road ahead and crashes into the rear of your car. Your head hits the steering wheel causing a huge cut on your chin and you chip a couple of your teeth.

Here is another example:
You have a green light allowing you to proceed straight through the intersection.
The Defendant is traveling in the opposite direction.
He does not see you and he attempts to turn left in front of your car and crashes into your vehicle. You sustain a broken arm and leg in the crash.
His failure to yield while turning left is the proximate cause of the collision and your injuries.
(3) Damages:
When we prove that the Defendant was negligent and his negligence was the proximate cause of the wreck, we must now prove what damages were inflicted upon you.
Damages could include compensation for:
Medical bills, including:
-ambulance
-emergency room physician
-radiology

-chiropractors

This is easy to prove as all of these health care providers/suppliers will issue an itemized statement for the services they provide to our clients.

Typically, if someone misses a week of work due to a car wreck, it can be proven with a couple of check stubs showing the time missed from work, a doctor’s disability slip, and a wage verification form signed by the employer.
It can be very problematic, however, if someone misses time from work but is paid “under the table” and there is no record on the books. It gets even messier when there is no mention of this work on the tax returns.
Transportation costs

This is clearly money that is coming out of your pocket that you would not have lost if the car wreck never happened.
You should be compensated for this loss.
Gas is expensive.

Keep track of your round trip mileage to these appointments and save those parking receipts!

No one has a crystal ball to tell you everything the future is going to hold for you medically. However, doctors can sometimes tell us to a reasonable degree of medical certainty what they anticipate you will incur should you eventually need a surgery or have to undergo some additional tests.

FUTURE lost wages
The standard for proving future lost wages is simple, yet can sometimes be a difficult hurdle to overcome.
The way a jury measures future lost income is for them to determine what the plaintiff would otherwise have earned in his job or profession but for the injury.
The future lost earnings cannot be speculative and you must have documentation to substantiate your claims.
Punitive damages:

The purpose of punitive damages is to punish, penalize, or deter the Defendant from repeating the conduct.
For example, punitive damages can be sought in wrecks where:

– The Defendant was driving their vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
There is a legal presumption under Georgia law that a person is driving under the influence if their blood alcohol level is above .08.

The amount of the damage for pain and suffering is based upon the enlightened conscience of fair and impartial jurors that apply the facts and law to that specific claim.

Now – if you have questions about a potential claim, please give us a call.

You have absolutely nothing to lose by calling a lawyer, but think of all you can lose if you don’t!

The consultation is FREE and completely confidential.
You can also visit our website – www.GaryMartinHays.com.
It is loaded with information about personal injury claims and you can learn a lot more about me and my law firm.

You owe it to yourself – to your family – to get the help you need.
So give us a call right now. (770) 934-8000.
And stay tuned for more of “Do I Need A Lawyer”

Personal Injury Law

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