Severe, debilitating and permanent injuries are often caused by auto accidents. These injuries generally result in substantial financial losses to the individuals who were in the auto accident and their families. Fortunately, the law provides persons injured in auto accidents with the right to recover their damages from the responsible party. The damages which can be recovered due to an auto accident include, but may not be limited to, medical expenses, lost wages, funeral expenses and other economic losses. Individuals involved in auto accidents are also entitled to recover for the pain and suffering arising from their injuries and treatment. The spouse of a person injured in an auto accident is also entitled to recover for the loss of consortium or services of their spouse. Although a monetary recovery will never repair the damage which an individual in an auto accident has suffered, it can at least ease the financial burdens created by a car accident.

The insurance company of the individual who is responsible for the auto accident will very often start an investigation on the day of the auto accident. It is the responsibility of the insurance company to limit the recovery of the person injured in the auto accident to the lowest possible amount. Therefore, insurance companies have very specific and elaborate procedures for handling auto accident claims, especially immediately after the auto accident has occurred. During this time the insurance company will obtain recorded statements from persons involved in the car accident, examine the vehicles, take photographs, acquire the police report on the auto accident and try to verify the level of injuries suffered in the auto accident. The insurance company usually accomplishes all of these items within several days after the car accident and many of them within the first 24 to 48 hours after the auto accident.

The tactics of each insurance company in dealing with auto accidents vary between insurance companies. Many companies attempt to reach an immediate settlement with a person injured in an auto accident. The purpose of this approach is to eliminate their responsibility for future medical expenses, lost wages and other damages that are likely to develop due to an auto accident. A person injured in an auto accident needs to avoid this trap. It often takes months for a person injured in a car accident to fully assess their injuries. A person injured in an auto accident may need surgery or other extensive treatment. The injuries from an auto accident may leave them permanently disabled even after corrective surgery. Accordingly, the true value of a claim arising out of an auto accident may only be determined after a firm prognosis has been reached by a qualified physician. In Georgia, most, but not all, cases have a two-year period of time before a lawsuit for an auto accident claim must be filed or permanently lost. Therefore, a person injured in an auto accident generally should not rush to reach a settlement with the insurance company of the driver who caused the auto accident. You may regret the settlement later if your injuries from the auto accident become progressively worse.

Other significant issues may also develop for persons injured in car accidents. For instance, the health insurance company for the person injured in the auto accident very often will try to obtain reimbursement from your settlement. Significant limitations exist on the right of a health insurance carrier to obtain reimbursement for the medical bills they have paid as a result of injuries from an auto accident. If you were working for your employer when injured in an auto accident, the worker's compensation insurance company may also seek reimbursement of their payments for medical expenses and lost wages caused by the auto accident. Again, significant limitations exist as to the right of a worker's compensation insurance company to obtain reimbursement after an auto accident claim is settled. These issues are important for you to understand prior to agreeing to any settlement of your auto accident claim because they will substantially impact your recovery from the auto accident.

In Georgia, owners and drivers of automobiles are required to maintain liability insurance coverage on their cars in the event of an auto accident. The minimum limits for bodily injury auto liability insurance coverage in Georgia are $25,000.00 per person and $50,000.00 per auto accident. These insurance limits often are insufficient to compensate a person injured in an auto accident. Many times a person injured in an auto accident must determine what other insurance coverage is available to the person who caused the auto accident. The driver responsible for the auto accident may have the right to insurance coverage from the policies of family members, an employer, rental car company or from an "umbrella" policy. Further, other persons or companies may also be responsible for the auto accident. For example, if the road or a light was defective, a city, county or the State may share responsibility for the auto accident and the injuries it caused. In addition, your auto insurance policy often will provide you with insurance for injuries you sustained in an auto accident.

Determining the appropriate settlement value of a personal injury claim arising out of an auto accident is complicated. It requires an evaluation of the nature and extent of the injury, the financial losses which can be recovered, and the liability issues related to the auto accident. The county where the trial of the auto accident claim will take place and any previous injuries suffered by the claimant are issues which must be factored into the settlement of an auto accident injury claim. Insurance companies are well equipped to evaluate auto accident injury claims and always seek to pay the lowest amount possible. Accordingly, it is important for a person injured in an auto accident to have an attorney with considerable experience dealing with insurance companies handle their auto accident injury claim. It is best to retain an Atlanta auto accident lawyer who regularly handles auto accident injury claims and is prepared to file a lawsuit on your behalf if the insurance company is not willing to settle your auto accident claim for a fair value.

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