Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyers

Experienced Atlanta Personal Injury Attorneys for Atlanta, GA, and The ATL Metro

It’s no secret that Atlanta, Georgia is growing up. We’ve been a big city for a long time, but the expansion that we’ve experienced since the ’96 Olympics has been remarkable. With a population of nearly 6 million people, “The ATL” now ranks as the ninth biggest metro in the country (and we’re in the Top 50 worldwide).

There are a lot of people in this city, a lot of commerce and construction, and – as any Atlantans can tell you – a lot of traffic. Accidents happen with some regularity. They happen in the workplace, on the freeway, in shopping centers, in doctor’s offices, and in any place where people intersect.

If you’ve been injured by someone else’s negligence in the Atlanta, GA area, you aren’t alone. Thousands of people in our city are suffering from personal injuries right now, and the majority of them are entitled to financial compensation under the laws of this state. That’s why you’ll find so many personal injury law firms in the greater Atlanta area. That’s a good thing because it means that victims have ample access to justice. But it also means that you have a difficult choice ahead of you: Which legal actions to take when to take them, and which law firm to trust?

The Atlanta personal injury lawyers at T. Madden & Associates, P.C. offer decades of experience in handling accident claims. We investigate, negotiate, aggressively pursue, and frequently win a wide range of injury cases in Atlanta.

Here is a differences:

The Personal Injury Claim Process

Most personal injury claims are resolved using a fairly standardized general process, the steps of which are outlined below.

1. Hire a Lawyer
First, select a personal injury law firm to represent you. Select your law firm with care. The decision of which Atlanta personal injury attorney to retain can turn out to be the most important decision you make in your entire case.

Choose an attorney with a track record of winning at trial, even if you prefer a settlement. Retaining a law firm with a strong trial record is the best way of encouraging the other side to avoid a trial by settling.

2. Initial Consultation
Attend a consultation with the attorney you have selected. You might, of course, attend more than one consultation as part of the selection process itself. The firm you select should offer free consultations, and you should leave your consultation feeling comfortable about working with the firm. Make sure you are able to meet an actual Atlanta personal injury lawyer. At least make sure you will be able to reach your attorney by phone during the process. Make sure you feel great about how you are treated when you have your consultation.

3. Medical Treatment
During the medical treatment phase, you will be concentrating on getting better while your law firm should be setting your case up for success. Oftentimes, clients will call to see how the case is going. However, during this period, the law firm will be awaiting the completion of your treatment to order the full medical record and itemized bills relating to your treatment. Unless there is long-term care, this order happens after a client is done medically treating. Upon receipt of your medicals and bills, your law firm will prepare a settlement demand package.

4. Settlement Demand Package
Send a settlement demand package to the party responsible for paying the claim (typically an insurance company). The demand package will describe the accident, state why the defendant is liable, state the amount of damages including medical bills, provide the medical treatment documentation, break down the damages into components, demand a specific dollar amount and set a deadline for a response. The demand package must be drafted carefully.

5. Settlement Negotiations
Consider the response from the insurance company, if you receive one. In all likelihood, you will receive a reasonably prompt response that will either deny the claim or make a counteroffer for far less than your claim is worth by citing frivolous or unjustified objections to your claim.

Depending on the reasonableness of the insurance company’s settlement offer, you may continue negotiating for a short time and reach an agreement. If you can’t reach an agreement, then it’s time to pull out the big guns.

6. File a Lawsuit
File a formal complaint with the appropriate court, even if you still hope for a private settlement. Sometimes the best way to win a favorable settlement is to file a lawsuit first. The complaint must be drafted with great care because every sentence has consequences.

7. Discovery
Proceed with the discovery process. Discovery allows you to ask the other side questions under oath and to demand the production of evidence (medical records in the case of a medical malpractice lawsuit, for example). The other side can demand evidence from you as well, and both of you can motion the court to enforce your demands.

8. Continue Negotiations
Attempt to reach a private settlement. Most personal injury cases are resolved through settlement, not trial. Often; however, you need the aid of the evidence produced during the discovery process to reach a settlement.

9. Trial
Go to trial if the other side refuses to settle. To put things into perspective, only about 5% of all claims reach the trial stage. Once a final decision is reached and the deadline for an appeal expires, the case is over.

Damages in a Personal Injury Case

Winning a personal injury case is meaningless if you are not awarded damages (monetary compensation).  You will need to claim all your damages (past, present and future) and prove every penny of them.  Georgia personal injury law recognizes the following types of personal injury damages:

• Reasonable and necessary medical expenses
• Lost wages and benefits, including lost future earning capacity.  This can add up to a lot if the victim is young and cannot return to work.
• Property damage.  You might claim damages for a totaled car, for example.
• Non-economic damages (pain and suffering, emotional distress, etc.).  These damages commonly add up to several times the amount awarded for medical expenses.
• Loss of consortium: The spouse of an injured party can file a claim for “loss of consortium,” which refers to loss of companionship, affection, and other marital benefits due to the injured spouse’s physical or psychological condition.

Other types of damages may be available as well.  Ultimately, you are entitled to compensation for all of your losses, whether tangible or intangible.

Trusted Atlanta Personal Injury Attorneys Investigate Your Claim

Too often, law firms run full steam ahead with only a loose understanding of their clients’ facts. That puts them in a weak position for negotiating a settlement or filing a complaint in court.

Our Atlanta personal injury lawyer takes a different approach. We thoroughly investigate each claim, working with outside experts as necessary to get a full understanding of every potentially relevant fact.

In law, a single fact can change everything. Often, our clients are surprised to learn that what seemed inconsequential turned out to be determinative.

Part of our job as injury lawyers is to find all of the facts that help your case and frame them in a way that helps the court to understand your experience and your struggle – and to understand why the law, as applied to the facts, entitles you to money.

We Care About Every Penny in Your Personal Injury Claim

Another common complaint about big-city law firms is that too many of them rush their cases to quick settlements.

Make no mistake: Settlements can be a big advantage for you and your family. In the right circumstances, a settlement can save you a lot of time and money, while still producing an extremely beneficial financial outcome.

But the settlements need to be fair. If a settlement shortchanges you, it’s not a good deal. At T. Madden & Associates, P.C., we fight for the best possible outcome for our clients.

In most cases, we are able to reach that outcome through the negotiation and settlement process, meaning that you never have to step foot in court. But if going to trial is what it takes to get you the money that you deserve, we’re ready to do that.

We know that money matters in lawsuits. Your money matters to you, so it matters to us, too.

No Personal Injury Case Is Too Big or Too Small

We sometimes hear from people who assumed their lawsuit wasn’t worth anyone’s time – or that the facts were just too complicated to make sense of.

Don’t make those assumptions without talking to us first! We’ll give you honest feedback when you contact us, and the answer might surprise you.

In fact, we’ve taken many cases that other law firms turned down – and we’ve managed to achieve great successes in many of those cases. We’re willing to really listen to you, look for alternative paths to compensation, and think outside the box whenever necessary.

Hiring Our Atlanta Personal Injury Attorneys Doesn’t Cost Anything Up Front

Not sure if you have a claim? Undecided on whether your injury is worth filing a lawsuit over? Leaning toward legal action but unclear about how much the lawsuit might be worth? Confused about your legal rights? Give us a call!

The trusted injury lawyers at T. Madden & Associates, P.C. practice all forms of personal injury law, including:

• Motor Vehicle Accidents
• Auto Vehicle Accidents
• Semi-Truck Accidents
• Nursing Home Negligence and Abuse
• Wrongful Death

We offer completely free consultations. It’s your chance to get answers and understand your options. There are no obligations whatsoever. You don’t have to hire us in the end. There’s nothing to lose, so let’s talk it through. Set up an appointment in our office or simply give us a call.

And here’s the best part – if we do accept your case, you won’t have to pay us one penny unless we’re successful with your claim. That’s how much we believe in what we do.

Call our Atlanta personal injury legal team or contact us online today.