What Is the Average Settlement for a Car Accident in Georgia?
If you’ve been injured in a motor vehicle collision, you may wonder what kind of settlement to expect. Depending on the severity of your injuries, you may receive anywhere from a few thousand dollars to millions. It all depends on the specific details of the crash and what you suffered as a result.
Calculating the appropriate amount of compensation in a car accident case is a complicated process. A Georgia car accident lawyer can review all the circumstances and how the crash has affected you to determine a fair amount of compensation to seek.
What Factors Can Affect the Amount of My Car Accident Settlement?
Contents
- 1 What Factors Can Affect the Amount of My Car Accident Settlement?
- 2 Do Certain Types of Injuries Result in Higher Settlements?
- 3 What Types of Damages Might Be Available in a Georgia Car Accident Case?
- 4 Does Georgia Have Any Caps on Car Accident Damages?
- 5 How Are Car Accident Settlement Amounts Determined?
- 6 Should I Go to Trial or Settle Out of Court?
- 7 Does Georgia Have a Statute of Limitations for Car Accident Claims?
- 8 Contact a Georgia Car Accident Lawyer
A variety of factors can affect how much you might receive in a Georgia car accident settlement. Mainly, the overall severity of the accident will determine the settlement amount. Your attorney will consider the extent of your injuries and their likely impact on your health and livelihood when deciding how much compensation to pursue.
Other factors that can affect your compensation include who was at fault in the accident, how much insurance coverage is available, the cost of your medical bills, how much property damage you sustained, and how much your life has been affected.
In other words, if you suffered relatively minor injuries and minimal property damage and your prognosis is good, you’re likely to receive less compensation than if you suffered severe, life-altering injuries and your vehicle was totaled.
Do Certain Types of Injuries Result in Higher Settlements?
Injuries that require extensive medical treatment or result in lifelong complications usually lead to higher settlement amounts than those that are easily treated and generally permit a full physical recovery. The following may yield larger settlements:
- Spinal cord injury
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- Loss of vision
- Loss of use of extremity or limb
- Injuries resulting in chronic pain
Depending on your circumstances, these types of injuries can prevent you from working, operating a motor vehicle, performing daily activities, participating in hobbies, and otherwise enjoying the quality of life you experienced before the collision.
What Types of Damages Might Be Available in a Georgia Car Accident Case?
There are two main categories of losses for which you can seek compensation in a car accident case:
- Economic damages – The first is losses with a definitive financial cost, such as current and future medical expenses, lost wages, loss of future earning potential, and repairing or replacing property damage.
- Non-economic damages – These losses are more difficult to quantify but still clearly impact your life. You may seek compensation for physical and emotional pain and suffering, loss of quality of life, loss of companionship, and more.
Your attorney will take all of these losses into account when calculating an amount of compensation to pursue through a car accident claim.
Does Georgia Have Any Caps on Car Accident Damages?
Georgia does not place a limit on the amount of compensation you can receive for the losses described above. However, the court may award punitive damages in car accident cases in which the at-fault party’s actions were especially egregious. These funds are intended to punish the responsible party rather than to compensate the injured victim.
In most cases, there’s a $250,000 cap on punitive damages. However, this cap does not apply in certain cases, such as accidents involving drunk drivers.
How Are Car Accident Settlement Amounts Determined?
Your Georgia car accident lawyer will calculate a dollar amount to demand in your claim. They’ll do this by adding up your quantifiable losses and using their past experience with car accident cases and understanding of the legal system to determine a value for your subjective losses. The amount they’ll pursue will ultimately depend on the severity of the accident – they’ll seek more for major injuries than for moderate or minor ones.
Should I Go to Trial or Settle Out of Court?
Your car accident case will be resolved in one of two ways: you’ll arrive at a settlement through negotiation, or your case will go to trial. Your case won’t go to trial without your attorney first trying to secure a settlement out of court with the at-fault driver’s attorney.
It can be tempting to accept a settlement offer when you need the money. However, you should always consult an attorney before taking an offer. The insurance company will likely make an initial offer that’s far lower than what you might be able to get with an attorney’s help.
While negotiated settlements may take time, trials typically take much longer. Trials also involve the risk that the court may side with the other party. An experienced attorney can help you decide when the risk is greater than the potential reward.
Does Georgia Have a Statute of Limitations for Car Accident Claims?
In Georgia, you have two years from the date of the collision to file a car accident lawsuit seeking compensation from the at-fault parties. Failure to take legal action within two years can prevent you from recovering the funds you need to move forward. It’s important to contact an attorney as soon as possible after a collision to ensure they have time to build a solid case and meet all applicable legal deadlines.
Contact a Georgia Car Accident Lawyer
When you’ve been hurt in a vehicle collision due to another driver’s negligence, you’re likely facing a difficult physical recovery, a significant financial burden, and the stress that comes with being unable to work. You shouldn’t have to deal with a complicated legal case, too.
A Georgia car accident attorney from R. Alan Cleveland, LLC can lift this burden from your shoulders. When you contact our firm, you can expect personalized attention and a commitment to pursuing full and fair compensation on your behalf. You pay nothing upfront – we don’t get paid unless we recover funds for you. Contact us today to get started with a free, no-risk consultation.
An Athens resident Alan Cleveland grew up in Rockdale County. As a founding partner of the personal injury law firm of R. Alan Cleveland, LLC he proudly serves his community and provides skilled representation to injury victims and their families all around Georgia. Alan earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia and went on to graduate, summa cum laude, from Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School. He is also a graduate of Gerry Spence’s renowned Trial Lawyers College (TLC) in Wyoming. In his free time, Alan frequently speaks at continuing legal education seminars. He also volunteered as a youth baseball coach and assists with Georgia’s high school moot court competition held annually. Alan serves as a Trustee of Historic Athens and is a member of the Development Authority of the Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County.
