Personal Injury -
What Are the Key Deadlines for Filing a Personal Injury Claim in Georgia?
If you need to bring a personal injury claim here in Georgia, you must meet the key deadlines set by the statute of limitations. A personal injury lawyer in Atlanta can help you learn more about how to bring your case and what it will take to get compensation for your damages and losses.
What Are the Key Deadlines for Filing a Personal Injury Claim in Georgia?
Every state has something called a “statute of limitations, the governs legal action. When it comes to criminal law, many crimes cannot be prosecuted after a certain time if the statute of limitations has expired. When it comes to a civil action such as a personal injury claim, the statute of limitations details the time limit within which you must initiate your claim.
It is VERY important that you understand that the statute of limitations only applies to bringing a legal claim if your claim with the insurance company is denied or devalued. If you have been injured, you must report the injury to the insurance company as soon as possible, because every insurer has a different time limit for initiating a claim. These time limits are detailed in the insurance policy, but if you’re making a claim against the policy of someone else, you may not know what that deadline is, so it’s always best to get started immediately. In some cases, an insurer will not honor a claim that is not reported to them within the time limit.
For legal action, however, you have two years in which to bring a personal injury lawsuit. This may seem like quite a long time, but it can pass very quickly, and it’s always best to get your lawyer started on your case as soon as possible. Evidence tends to degrade and witnesses tend to forget things that have happened in these cases, so you’ll have the best chance of making your case clearly if you get started immediately.
Other FAQ About Personal Injury Claims
Are There Exceptions to the Statute of Limitations?
Yes! There are several exceptions, but you’ll need to talk to a lawyer and should never assume that your case qualifies for an exception.
One exception is if you did not discover your injuries until after the event. This is most common in medical malpractice claims, where it may take some time before it becomes clear that you were misdiagnosed, but it can happen with other personal injury claims, too. Another exception exists for those who are under the age of 18 or mentally unable to bring a claim. People in these states are not eligible to bring legal action, so the two-year time limit does not start ticking until they reach a state where they are permitted to bring legal action. Someone who was injured before they turned 18 will therefore have until they turn 20 to bring a case. Someone who is mentally incapacitated, for example by a coma, would have two years from the time that they recovered to bring legal action.
If the defendant against whom you’re bringing an action leaves the state of Georgia, you may be able to pause the statute of limitations, if their absence makes it impossible for you to bring your claim. Finally, you can also get an extension if you did not immediately know who injured you or if the liable entity deliberately engaged in fraud to hide their culpability.
What Happens If I Miss the Deadline?
If you miss the deadline set by the statute of limitations, the insurance company can simply stop negotiating with you entirely and ignore your claim. If you try to go to the court, it is likely the court will dismiss it with prejudice, which means that you are never allowed to file it again. Likely, you’ll not only have to pay out-of-pocket for your own losses but also pay court fees, as well.
What Can I Claim for in a Personal Injury Claim?
There are two types of damages you can almost always claim in a personal injury lawsuit and one type that might be awarded to you under certain circumstances:
Economic Damages
Economic damages cover everything for which you would have some kind of financial record, such as a pay stub or a receipt. This would include your medical costs, any lost wages that you may have suffered, and any property damage from the accident. Your medical cost would include not only the immediate cost of the accident, but also the cost of all follow-up care, including medications and physical therapy. There also may be adjacent costs that you will want to claim, like the cost of transportation to and from medical appointments if your car was wrecked or the cost of childcare if you were unable to care for your children due to your injuries.
When considering your lost wages, your lawyer will help you to also think through whether there’s anything besides your basic salary to include here. For example, if you have lost benefits like insurance coverage or paid time off, you could claim for these. If your injury causes long-term or even permanent disability, your lawyer can help you to properly make a claim for damages that will include your future needs. This can include both future medical needs and also compensation for your reduced earning capacity. If you are bringing a wrongful death personal injury claim on behalf of a loved one, you can claim all funeral expenses.
Non-Economic Damages
The second category of damages which you can claim are your non-economic damages, which are commonly referred to as “pain and suffering” damages. This would include compensation not only for physical pain but also for mental anguish, loss of enjoyment in life, or even for loss of intimacy with a family member if the accident is the direct cause of a destroyed relationship. These damages can be somewhat difficult to calculate, which is another reason that you need to have a lawyer involved.
Punitive Damages
Finally, punitive damages are very rare, but they are awarded in certain situations where there has been “misconduct, malice, fraud, wantonness, oppression, or conscious indifference to the consequences” on the part of the responsible party. These damages are not designed to compensate you for anything but to punish the person or entity responsible for your injuries and deter others from behaving in a similar way. You should be aware that, unlike the other types of damages, punitive damages may have serious tax implications, so be sure to talk to your lawyer about whether these are something you should expect or request in your claim and how to prepare for the possibility of being awarded them. Georgia caps these punitive damages at $250,000, except for product liability cases or cases where someone injured you intentionally.
To learn more about the deadlines involved and other details of bringing a personal injury lawsuit in Atlanta, contact us now at T. Madden & Associates, P.C. in Atlanta, GA for a free evaluation of your case. We don’t take any fee unless we win for you. We also have offices in Jonesboro, Augusta, and Decatur and serve every major city and most counties in the state.
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