Filing A Personal Injury Lawsuit In Georgia
If you are interested in filing a personal injury lawsuit in Georgia, then you will need to be familiar with some specific laws. While there are many general rules for how personal injury lawsuits are conducted, every state has its own statutes as well. Here are some places to start:
The Time Limit
First of all, you need to make sure that you file within the statute of limitations. If you do not, then your case might simply get thrown out before you have a chance to present your evidence. In Georgia, you have 2 years when filing against a private party or the state and 6 months when filing against a city or county.
There are a couple of situations where the statute of limitations may be extended, the most common of which are cases involving a minor and cases involving damage that was not discovered until much later.
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If a minor plans on filing a lawsuit, then the timer starts ticking from when they legally become an adult.
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In cases where damage was not discovered until later, the clock will start counting down from the point at which you discovered the injuries. This can be pretty difficult to handle in the lawsuit, since you will need to directly link your new injuries and the offending incident via evidence.
Damage Caps
Many states place specific limits on the kinds of compensation that you can pursue and how much money you can be awarded. Economic damages such as medical bills are often unrestricted, but subjective issues like pain and suffering or punitive damages are often strictly limited.
Fortunately for you, Georgia is not one of those states. In 2010, Georgia's Supreme Court ruled that such damage caps are unconstitutional. Therefore, you are unlikely to be restricted by law when it comes to the size of your damage claims.
Auto Insurance Fault
Many states disagree on how individuals should be allowed to pursue compensation in the aftermath of a car accident. Some states let individuals sue the other party for damages, file a compensation claim with their own insurance company, or even file a claim with the insurance company of the other party in the accident. Other states only allow individuals to get money from their own insurance company.
Georgia falls into the former category, giving you a wide variety of options in how you want to approach the situation. On top of that, you aren't limited to picking a single option. For instance, you could attempt to file a lawsuit in court, and if that is unsuccessful, then you could go down the insurance route.
For more information, contact Richard M Altman or a similar legal professional.