Like Family.
Auto Accidents
Atlanta Automobile Accident Lawyers
Since 1949, lawyers at Johnson & Ward, Atlanta’s first personal injury specialty law firm, have treated clients like family while successfully recovering hundreds of millions of dollars for those clients.
Our current team includes past presidents of the State Bar of Georgia and Atlanta Bar Association, a past chair of the motor vehicle collision section of the American Association for Justice, the lead author of a book on personal injury practice in Georgia, board certification from the National Board of Trial Advocacy, and lawyers honored in Best Lawyers in America® and Georgia Super Lawyers®, State Bar of Georgia Tradition of Excellence Award, and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum®.
We often become like family with our clients. In one post-pandemic case, after we obtained every dollar of available insurance for a couple seriously injured when a drunk driver rear-ended them on I-285, the clients invited us to join in a thanksgiving celebration with over 200 of their friends and family making a joyful noise in a hotel ballroom. On sadder occasions, when clients succumbed to their injuries after a long struggle, we were asked to attend funerals with their families. Recently, we attended the 70th birthday party of a client who was relieved to have survived to that age after an injury. We prefer hugs of joy over hugs of grief, but we have experienced both.
Types of automobile accidents.
The most common setting of serious personal injuries and wrongful deaths in Atlanta, Georgia, is in car and truck accidents. Some of the common types of automobile accidents include:
- Rear end collisions
In highway traffic that includes intermittent stops and slowing, following drivers may be inattentive or distracted, and collide with a vehicle in front. If alcohol or drugs are involved, or if the following driver is distracted by a cell phone, reaction times are further diminished. When this happens at high speed on freeways, the outcome can be catastrophic. We have represented clients in thousands of rear-end collision accidents in metro Atlanta. In one recent case, we recovered $8 million in rear-end collision case in which a truck driver did not slow down as he approached a line of stopped traffic at a red light. - Side impact collision.
Intersection collisions often involve side impact as one vehicle strikes the side of another. If the striking vehicle is traveling at high speed, it may deeply intrude into the side of the other car and may even flip it over. Depending on the physics of the specific impact, injuries may be catastrophic. - Rollover accidents.
When cars roll over in an accident, the potential patterns of injury multiply as bodies interact with car interiors in a multitude of ways. Seat belts may have inertial unlatching, a car roof may crush in just as a passenger’s head lurches up, and doors may spring open. We have had confidential seven-figure settlements with manufacturers where passengers in rollover crashes were killed or rendered quadriplegic or paraplegic. - Head-on collision.
Vehicles traveling in opposite directions collide in several types of situations, all of which we have handled for clients. If a car or truck enters a freeway going the wrong direction that may produce a high-speed head-on collision. Such high energy collisions are often fatal. Sometimes a driver turns the wrong way down a one-way street. While resulting collisions may be at lower speeds than those on expressways, serious injuries may result. - Turning collisions in intersections.
The Rules of the Road and traffic lights govern who has the right of way at an intersection when one vehicle is turning. Eyewitness testimony and video evidence from intersection cameras and neighboring properties are often crucial in determining fault. We have long experience with such collisions.
Types of injuries in automobile accidents.
Representing clients in automobile accident cases, we have many years of experience with a wide variety of injuries including:
- Car accident deaths.
Often people are killed instantly in a car crash. Others may linger for hours, weeks, or even years in a severely impaired condition. In such cases, Georgia wrongful death law specifies who has the right to the lawsuit. Priorities for wrongful death recovery are a surviving spouse, surviving children, parents, and if none the representative of the estate. We have seen many situations in which we had to start by sorting out confused family relationships to determine who had the right to recovery. In Georgia, the measure of damage for wrongful death is the full value of the life, including both economic and non-economic factors. There may also be a claim for the estate of the deceased including pain and suffering before death, medical expenses, funeral costs, and other items. - Brain injuries.
Whether from direct impact of the head with the interior of a vehicle in a crash, or from the brain bouncing around with the skull during a crash, traumatic brain injuries may result. These range from a mild concussion to permanently disabling conditions. We have had clients who went through long periods of brain injury rehabilitation at Shepherd, Emory and other rehabilitation hospitals. - Spinal cord injuries
Spinal cord injuries can lead to permanent paralysis, either quadriplegia or paraplegia. Such injuries require highly specialized treatment and rehabilitation. In Atlanta, we are blessed to have access to the Shepherd Center, the leading spinal cord and brain injury rehabilitation center in the Southeast. We have represented many clients with paraplegia and quadriplegia whose grit has inspired us. One young woman who was paraplegic completed her rehab program at Shepherd, later moved to California, and became Ms. Wheelchair California. A man who had a doctorate and became quadriplegic due to injuries focused on getting the technology and assistance to return to a productive life; he went to teach in a college out west and write books. - Neck and back injuries.
While comedians may joke about whiplash injuries, if you really have it, it’s no joke. Strains and sprains to the neck and back occur most often when the neck snaps backward and forward on impact. It can take weeks or months to recover. - Fractures.
Auto accidents may produce a wide variety of broken bones. The most obvious are fractures to long bones such as the femur, tibia, humerus, ulna and radius, and extremely painful rib and sternum fractures. Less obvious in the beginning may be subtle fractures of the pelvis, small bones in the hands and feet, and in joints. A severe impact may cause a crushing fracture to a vertebra in the spine. Of course, if a leg and ankle fracture is so extreme that the foot flops from side to side, that is immediately obvious. We’ve handled injury cases for clients with all these types of fractures. - Organ damage.
Either blunt force trauma or penetrating injuries from impact, may injure the spleen, liver, intestines, or any other organ in the body, and internal bleeding. The resulting damage may be temporary or lifelong. - Heart damage.
Blunt force trauma to the chest may bruise the heart, causing long term damage. The stress of an auto accident may trigger a heart attack. People with preexisting conditions and older people may be more susceptible to heart attacks, stroke, and artery dissection in weeks and months after a crash. These require prompt medical attention and expert evaluation. - PTSD.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a legitimate psychological injury that may result from extremely traumatic events and may require professional attention. Overdiagnosis of PTSD in relatively minor crashes may cheapen the severe cases of the sort encountered among combat veterans. While we resist the temptation to claim PTSD in every wreck, if it’s real we deal with it as part of the case.
Frequently asked questions about auto accident cases.
- What is the time limit to file a personal injury lawsuit for an auto accident?
The best rule of thumb is to get to a competent personal injury lawyer as soon as possible because a wide variety of rules that may come into play. It is important to gather evidence before it disappears and nail down priority if there are multiple claims.
The simple, general rule is that there is a two-year statute of limitations to file a personal injury case in court. The time limit for filing a spouse’s claim for loss of consortium is four years. However, if a claim is against a state or local government, written notice of claim must be provided in proper form within twelve months. If there are criminal charges against anyone in the collision, the time may be extended until the charges are finally resolved. If a minor under 18 is injured, the time limit is two years for a parent’s claim for the minor’s medical expense and the 20th birthday for pain, suffering, and disability, but it would rarely be wise to wait that long. An experienced lawyer can guide you through the reefs and shoals of all these rules and exceptions to rules. - What types of compensation can I receive for my auto accident personal injury?
Compensation may include medical expenses, lost wages, property damage, pain and suffering, and, in some cases, punitive damages if the other party’s behavior was particularly egregious. - How is fault determined in car accident cases?
To prove your case, you must establish that the other driver owed you a duty of care, breached that duty (e.g., by speeding or running a red light), caused the accident, and that you suffered damages as a result.
Sometimes it’s simple, often it’s not. If a drunk hits you in the rear, that’s usually simple. If multiple vehicles pile up in a complex construction zone, it’s often complicated. Key factors are determining how each party may have violated the standard of care, usually defined by traffic laws. If you were partially at fault but less than 50% to blame, you may still recover a proportionate portion of damages under Georgia’s comparative negligence rules. Fault and damages may be apportioned if multiple parties bear some portion of the fault. If the at-fault driver was operating for some distant corporation that was not identified at the time, that can be quite challenging. Judges often scratch their heads over exactly how to apply that in specific situations. - How will my medical bills be paid after an auto accident?
If you have private health insurance, use it first, but ask for assurance that your doctors accept your insurance for auto accident injuries. Some don’t, partly because they don’t want to testify in injury cases. We may have to reimburse the insurance company after settlement some portion of what they pay out at insurance rates, but that is generally less than paying the full “sticker price” for treatment. If your auto insurance policy includes a line item for “medical payments,” that can help. Sometimes, if an injury victim does not have applicable health or medical payments coverage, it is possible to get doctors who treat on liens and get paid at the end of the case but that may be subject to attack by the insurance company’s lawyers.
Note that ambulance companies typically don’t submit bills to insurance but wait to be paid in full out of a settlement at the end of a case, so it is necessary to file ambulance bills directly with your insurance company. - How are lawyers paid to represent auto accident personal injury victims?
Lawyers representing injury victims in the United States work for a contingent fee, an agreed percentage of what you recover at the end of your case. If we don’t get money for you, we don’t get paid. Our incentives are aligned with your interests. The fee percentage can vary. We can discuss that when we evaluate your case. The initial evaluation is free and we are paid only when you are paid. - What are some first steps to take after an auto accident?
After an accident, ensure everyone’s safety. Immediately turn the car engine off to reduce fire risk, and turn on hazard flasher lights. If you are on a dark road or near the crest of a hill, put our flares if available or weigh the safety of getting someone to stand outside the traffic lane waving a flashlight to warn other drivers.
Call 911 and report the location as precisely as you can. Don’t let anyone talk you out of it. Pleasantly disregard offers to settle for immediate payment at the scene if you don’t call the police. Seldom would that work out well.
Document the scene with photos, exchange information with other parties, and seek medical attention, even if injuries seem minor.
Photograph the scene and vehicles before the cars are moved, preferably from multiple angles, and of the people involved. You don’t need to make a big production of it, but if you are able get some quick photos. They may be invaluable later.
If there are no major injuries and vehicles are operable, pull out of the traffic lanes to clear traffic.
Stay calm. Arguing, shouting, name calling and accusations do not help.
Do not admit fault. Calm reflection and analysis may differ from an instinctive reflex.
Do not give your Social Security number. Nobody needs it.
Get the other driver’s name, address, phone number, driver’s license number and insurance information. Cell phone photos of driver’s license and insurance cards can expedite that. - What if I am partially at fault for the accident?
In Georgia, comparative fault law states that a plaintiff can recover damages if they are less than 51% at fault. Your damage award is reduced by your percentage of fault but if the jury decides you are more than 51% at fault, you may get nothing. These factors weigh heavily in settlement negotiations before trial. - What role does insurance play in personal injury cases?
Auto accident personal injury cases are intimately entwined with insurance coverage issues. The at-fault driver’s insurance should compensate the injured party, but insurers try to minimize payouts. Understanding both driver’s insurance policies and the business practices of the insurance companies is essential. - What if the at-fault driver is uninsured or underinsured?
If the at-fault driver lacks insurance or enough coverage, you may file a claim with your own insurance company if you have uninsured/underinsured (UM/UIM) motorist coverage. This can help cover your expenses. In Georgia, there are two types of underinsured motorist coverage. Add-on or excess coverage is added to the amount of the at-fault driver’s liability coverage. For example, if the at-fault driver had $100,000 liability coverage and you had underinsured motorist coverage of $300,000, you could collect up to the total of $400,000. Reduced-by or difference in limits coverage allows UIM benefits only for the amount it exceeds the at-fault driver’s liability coverage. Thus, if the at-fault driver had $100,000 liability coverage and you had $300,000 “difference in limits” UIM coverage, you could only collect up to $300,000.
We have had recent catastrophic cases in which the at-fault driver had only $25,000 liability coverage but we were able to collect another $500,000 in add-on underinsured motorist coverage. - How long does a motor vehicle accident personal injury case take to resolve?
The duration of a personal injury case can vary widely, depending on the complexity of the case, the willingness of parties and insurance companies to negotiate, and court schedules. Cases may be resolved in a few months to several years. We use all the leverage we can to move cases faster.
If you are a family member have been seriously injured in an auto accident anywhere in Georgia, call us at (404)253-7862.