“Personal injury” is any injury to a person, either physically or emotionally, suffered due to an accidental or intentional injury. Personal injury law has developed over centuries to enable injured people to be compensated for harms done to their body or mind. Damages can include the injured person’s medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and diminished quality of life.

If you have been injured, you may be dealing with significant pain and facing significant medical expenses as well as loss of income. An experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyer can inform you of your rights can guide you through the process of making a claim for personal injury or the wrongful death of a family member. If you or a family member has been seriously injured due to the fault of another, consult an Atlanta personal injury lawyer as soon as possible.

Two years in most cases, but there are exceptions and traps for the unwary.

The limitation period for filing a personal injury lawsuit in Georgia is two years, with a four-year limit for loss of consortium claim by the spouse of the injured person. O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33.
The time limit for filing suit is suspended until criminal charges against any defendant is concluded, up to six years.

In wrongful death claims, the time limit for filing suit runs from the time of death, not the time of a fatal incident.

For injuries to minors, the time limit for filing suit runs from the 18th birthday, which sets the time limit at the 20th birthday. O.C.G.A. § 9-3-90(b).

In claims against state government in Georgia, a notice of claim must be sent within 12 months of the date the loss was discovered or should have been discovered. O.C.G.A. § 50-21-26. That notice must be in writing specifying the basis of the claim and the amount claimed up to the statutory limit of $1, sent by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery return receipt requested, to the Risk Management Division of the Department of Administrative Services, with a copy to the head of the agency involved. But this time limit may be suspended in circumstances that would suspend running of the statute of limitations.

Claims against municipalities must be sent within six months of the incident. The statute of limitation is tolled for claims against a municipality between the time a valid pre-suit notice and demand is served and the city’s taking action (O.C.G.A. § 36-33-5). This does not apply to claims against counties or the state government.

Claims against counties must be given to the county governing authority within 12 months. Otherwise, the normal limitation period and tolling rules apply except that “minors or other persons laboring under disabilities shall be allowed 12 months after the removal of the disability to present their claims.” O.C.G.A. § 36-11-1.

If a defendant leaves the state, “the time of his absence from the state until he returns to reside shall not be counted or estimated in his favor.” OCGA 9-3-94.

Medical malpractice claims have a strict two-year statute of limitation. O.C.G.A. § 9-3-73. If a child under age five is injured by medical malpractice, the child’s suit must be filed in court by the seventh birthday. O.C.G.A. § 9-3-73(b). The statute of limitation may be tolled in limited circumstances where the plaintiff or plaintiff’s attorney seeks medical records following strict statutory procedures (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-97.1).

The complex interaction of these rules under the facts of individual cases may form traps for the unwary.

For injuries to mentally incompetent people, time limits for filing suit generally run from the time the disability is removed.

For claims of unrepresented estates, the time limit for filing suit is suspended for up to five years.

For unrepresented estates of deceased parties, the statute of limitation is tolled for up to five years (O.C.G.A. §§ 9-3-92, 9-3-93).

Fraud preventing the claimant from taking action may toll the statute of limitation under certain circumstances (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-96).

Where there is a pending criminal charge against any defendant, the limitation period may be extended until the prosecution of such crime or act has become final or otherwise terminated, provided that such time does not exceed six years. (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33.10).

At Johnson & Ward, when we handle your personal injury or wrongful death case, you only pay if we win your case. We advance all expenses of the litigation to be reimbursed at the end, and our fee is an agreed percentage of what we recover for you. We get paid when you get paid. That is how our firm has worked since 1949.

To make a personal injury claim in Georgia courts, you must establish fault, meaning you must meet the burden of proof or “preponderance of the evidence” in a personal injury case before the burden to rebut the claims shifts to the defendant.

You have to prove these four elements:

Duty: The defendant owed you a duty of care or had a responsibility to you.

Breach: The defendant breached their duty or failed to act reasonably. Most personal injury cases involve negligence as defined in Georgia Code Section 51-1-2, which states, “In general, ordinary diligence is that degree of care which is exercised by ordinarily prudent persons under the same or similar circumstances. As applied to the preservation of property, the term “ordinary diligence” means the degree of care which every prudent man takes of his own property of a similar nature. The absence of such diligence is termed ordinary negligence.” When negligence is a proximate cause of injury to another person, the negligent party may be liable for such injury and damages.”

Injuries: The defendant’s breach was your actual, proximate cause. The legal explanations of “proximate cause” can sound confusing, but it usually boils down to common sense.
Losses: You suffered a loss due to your injuries, whether economic or non-economic. Seasoned trial lawyers make judgment calls about which damages are worth pursuing and how best to present them.

Insurance companies attempt to use any preexisting condition to diminish how much they must pay for legitimate personal injury claims. However, an injured person is still entitled to recover damages for any aggravation of a preexisting condition. It is extremely important to be forthcoming, honest, and candid about preexisting conditions in order to maintain credibility and avoid being labeled as a liar. It is often prudent to treat most new injuries as aggravations of preexisting conditions. Many seasoned personal injury lawyers view a well-proven aggravation of a preexisting condition may have greater value than a new personal injury with no preexisting condition.

There are some key questions to ask in choosing a personal injury lawyer:

1. How long has the firm been established in personal injury litigation? Johnson I& Ward has been a leading personal injury law firm in Atlanta since 1949.

2. Does a lawyer have extensive experience in jury trials? Lawyers at Johnson & Ward have been active in trial work across Georgia since 1949. Current members of the firm have tried hundreds of cases before Georgia juries and have handled cases is a majority of Georgia’s 159 counties.

3. Has the lawyer earned top ratings from peer review organizations, not just the phony “awards” that sound good but any lawyer can buy for $250? For example, the National Board of Trial Advocacy is authorized by the American Bar Association to administer specialty certification programs that require substantive recommendations from judges and colleagues, a review of experience in the specialty, and an extensive written examination. Our firm includes the first Georgia lawyer to earn three board certifications from the National Board of Trial Advocacy.

4. Has a lawyer been a leader in the profession? At Johnson & Ward, for example, Ken Shigley is a past president of the State Bar of Georgia, received the Traditions of Excellence Award, and was chair of the largest practice area section of the American Association for Justice, the national organization of plaintiffs’ personal injury lawyers. Bill DeGolian is a past president of the Atlanta Bar Association.

5. Has a lawyer lectured and published in the area of personal injury litigations? Ken Shigley was the lead author of eleven annual editions of a practice manual in personal injury trial practice, taught other lawyers in scores of seminars across Georgia and the United States, wrote a chapter in the treatise Handing Motor Vehicle Accidents Cases (2nd Edition), and was chair of the Institute for Continuing Legal Education in Georgia.
Bill Lanham and Clark McGehee coauthored” Sample Settlement Brochures,” published at 31 AmJur Trials 527.