If you or your family member are injured in any sort of motor vehicle accident, you may be entitled to damages. The best way to find out is to visit one of our East Point personal injury lawyers. They can review your case and let you know what it may be worth. If you decide to retain our services, one of our Georgia injury attorneys will reach out to the insurance carrier and try to negotiate a settlement. If that isn’t possible, you’ll have no choice but to file suit.
If You Do Need to Sue the Defendant, There Will Be Court Fees and Associated Costs
Ideally, your East Point personal injury lawyer will be able to settle your case with the insurance carrier. However, there are times when this is impossible. There are other times when the defendant doesn’t have any insurance and you’re pursuing them personally. In either situation, you may have no choice but to file a lawsuit against the defendant.
When your Georgia injury attorney does file suit, they’ll have to pay the associated fees and filing costs. Between the actual filing fee for your civil complaint and the money it costs to serve the defendant, you’re looking at several hundred dollars. This is on top of any fees for research, copies, and postage. These fees gradually add up to the point where you’re looking at several thousand dollars. When we settle your case, we can keep these costs to a minimum. However, if your case goes to trial, there’s not much we can do to keep the costs down because we want to take every measure possible to win your case.
If Your Case Goes to Trial, Your East Point Personal Injury Lawyer Will Have to Dedicate More Time to Your Case
Typically, our East Point personal injury lawyers can handle a dozen cases at any given time. Many of them are working toward a settlement. Others are only at the demand letter stage. If your lawyer learns that they have to take your case to trial, they will have to either reassign some of the other cases they’re working on or put them on the back burner. This is because your lawyer will have to spend an inordinate amount of time preparing for trial.
Your lawyer will have to gather all the evidence and prepare your exhibits. They may need to depose eyewitnesses. They will have to sift through hundreds of pages of medical records to prove your injuries. They will also need to gather the proof needed to show that the other party was at fault. This takes time. The time that your attorney has to dedicate to your case is time they cannot spend on other cases. As a result, they have no choice but to charge a higher percentage for your case.
Trials Are Also Extremely Expensive
One thing a lot of our clients don’t understand is that trials are extremely expensive. In addition to the extra filing fees and costs your attorney will have to pay, there are other expenses that you wouldn’t have to pay if your case settled. Some of these expenses include the following:
- Your Georgia injury attorney may have to pay expert witnesses to testify on your behalf
- You may need to hire an accident reconstruction specialist to prove that the other party was at fault
- Depending on the nature and extent of your injuries, you may need to have your doctor come in and testify as well
- Your East Point personal injury lawyer will need to spend money to prepare exhibits and other materials for trial
- You will likely have to pay court reporters in case you have any depositions
- You may have to pay the transportation costs of any experts you do need to use at trial
Obviously, these costs add up. In a typical car accident case, our Georgia injury attorneys spending upwards of $5,000 to $10,000. This money will have to be repaid as soon as you get your settlement proceeds. The first thing that you’ll pay when you settle is your attorney’s contingency fee. After that, you’ll have to reimburse the firm for any costs associated with your case. From that point on, it’s a matter of paying any outstanding creditors related to your case. Whatever is left will be yours.
Your Georgia Injury Attorney Has Your Best Interests in Mind
In the days and weeks following your car accident, you will likely have to fight with the insurance company. Whether it’s by phone or e-mail, the insurance carrier will demand more information from you and will try to pin you down to a final statement. Their hope is that you’ll say or do something that will give them the chance to deny your claim. If insurance carriers paid every claim they came across their desk, they would go out of business in no time. While they’re trying to find a reason to now your claim, your Georgia injury attorney will be looking for reasons to convince them to pay it. Of course, both your attorney and the insurance adjuster are going to look for evidence that supports their argument. At the same time, your East Point personal injury lawyer will be gathering evidence to not only prove the defendant was at fault, but to also prove that you were seriously injured.
We understand that dealing with the aftermath of a car crash can be extremely frustrating. To make matters worse, if your injuries are serious, you’re probably not able to work while this is going on. With the lack of income and the pain that you’re experiencing, all you want is help. The good news is that our Georgia injury attorneys can provide that help and much more. Our associates have decades of combined experience handling car accident cases and will do their best to get you a fair settlement.
We do offer new clients a free, initial consultation. This gives you an opportunity to sit down with an East Point personal injury lawyer and ask any questions you may have. It also gives you a chance to find out what your case is worth. While our attorneys can never give you an exact amount of what your case is worth, they can give you a ballpark figure. This will not only help you decide whether you want to pursue the matter, but it also gives your lawyer a chance to see if they want to represent you period since the consultation is free, you have nothing to lose.
