Personal Injury Attorney Serving Atlanta, Georgia

Personal Injury Lawsuits: Understanding the Basics

Personal injury law can be complicated. To maximize chances of success, you should understand the basic elements of personal injury lawsuits – even if you have one of our specialist lawyers working on your case.

What Is a Personal Injury?

In legal speak, a personal injury is an injury to a person’s body, mind, or emotions.

However, sustaining an injury – no matter how serious – is not enough to make someone eligible to file a personal injury lawsuit. To do that, a person would also need to prove that the harm they suffered was someone else’s fault.

Some personal injury accidents can be fatal. In such cases, the victim’s surviving family members may be able to file a wrongful death suit.

What Are Some Common Personal Injury Accidents?

The vast majority of personal injuries in our practice area result of:

• Car accidents

• Commercial vehicle accidents 

• Slip and falls (premise liability)

• Defective or dangerous products (product liability)

What Compensation Can You Recover?

Typically, you can get compensation for medical expenses, loss of earning potential, and emotional pain and suffering. In wrongful death suits, the victim’s family members may also recover funeral costs.

Most personal injury disputes resolve out of court through informal insurance settlements. The process involves private negotiations between the injured party, the party at fault, and their insurers and legal representatives. A typical case settlement will include a written undertaking in which both sides forgo further legal action.

Sometimes, however, the parties are unable or unwilling to settle. In such cases, our clients will often file a personal injury lawsuit.

How to Win a Personal Injury Claim

Personal injury trials are civil proceedings. That means the standard of proof is lower than in criminal cases. To win the case and recover damages, we need to prove that the other party was unreasonably negligent or intentionally reckless.

Proving Negligence

To show that the other side was negligent, we need to prove that they:

• owed you a duty of care;

• the person breached said duty of care; 

• that breach caused you harm; and

• their behavior was unreasonable in the circumstances.

First Steps to Take After an Injury

Preparing a future personal injury claim may be the last thing on a person’s mind in the immediate aftermath of an accident. Nevertheless, it is crucial to act fast to protect potential interests and build a strong case.

The first step to take is to collect and preserve as much evidence as possible. Take detailed notes and pictures of the incident and your injury. Be sure to keep all medical and other documents related to the accident.

The second step is to consult with a personal injury lawyer right away. They will explain your options and how to pursue the highest compensation possible.

Did You Suffer a Personal Injury?

We can help. 

The Walker Law Group attorneys have many years of experience in successfully defending personal injury cases. 

Thanks to our core, non-negotiable principles of client care, client communication, and client focus, we deliver tangible results and will make sure you get the compensation you deserve.