How Do I Know If I Have a Valid Personal Injury Case in GA?

Being in an accident does not automatically mean that you can file a personal injury claim. For those unfamiliar with the law, it can be confusing to know if you have a valid claim. Even if you do suffer harm, certain factors must be present for you to take legal action.

In this blog, our Georgia personal injury attorneys discuss the elements needed to file a personal injury claim, as well as the types of damages that may be available to you.

Proving Negligence

Most personal injuries are caused by another party’s negligence. Negligence is commonly defined as a person’s failure to use reasonable care in a given situation.

For a successful claim, the victim (plaintiff) must prove the following:

Duty of Care

The at-fault person or entity (defendant) had a duty to act responsibly. Under Georgia law, property owners must take reasonable measures to ensure that a property is safe for visitors.

Causation

To establish causation, there must be a direct link between the defendant’s actions and the plaintiff’s injuries. Causation involves both factual (actual) and proximate (legal) causes.

A defendant’s conduct is the factual cause of the plaintiff’s injuries if the act or omission set into motion the events that caused the personal injury. Conversely, a defendant’s conduct is the proximate cause if the “injury would have occurred notwithstanding the acts of negligence.”

Generally, both forms of causation must be present for a valid claim. As the Court of Appeals of Georgia decided in Hollingsworth v. Harris, proximate cause must be present to find the defendant liable. 

Damages

As a result of the defendant’s conduct, the plaintiff has suffered lost income, medical expenses, and other measurable losses.

Compensatory Damages

Victims of a personal injury file a lawsuit to recoup some of the expenses resulting from their accident. The victim may seek economic and non-economic damages to be reimbursed for actual losses sustained.

Economic Damages

Economic damages are any losses that take money directly out of a person’s pocket. They are easily calculable, including any of the following:

  • Lost income
  • Diminished earning capacity
  • Ambulatory services
  • Treatments and procedures
  • Home modifications
  • Rehabilitative therapies

Non-Economic Damages

In contrast, non-economic damages are those losses that affect the plaintiff emotionally, mentally, and physically but do not result in financial expenses. Since there is no “price tag” attached, non-economic damages are more difficult to quantify.

Non-economic damages may encompass any of the following:

  • Pain and suffering
  • Mental anguish
  • Loss of society and companionship
  • Loss of consortium
  • Disfigurement and/or scarring
  • Loss of reputation

There is no cap on either economic or noneconomic damages in Georgia, unless you file a suit against the government or a government employee. Under sovereign immunity, damages are limited to $1 million per occurrence, $3 million total.

Georgia Personal Injury Attorneys Offering Aggressive Counsel

Nobody should be subjected to exorbitant medical bills, lost income, and a damaged reputation due to another person’s failure to use caution. If you have been the victim of a personal injury, our GA personal injury attorneys are ready to help. To find out what our firm can do for you, contact us by phone at 866-399-5015 or by completing our online contact form.