Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer

Have you or someone you love been seriously injured by a careless or negligent third party?

Piasta Newbern Walker, LLC, is a dedicated protector of your rights, liberty, and happiness. With over $100 million recovered since 2021, our Atlanta personal injury attorneys get substantial recompense for the people we represent in personal injury cases, whether through out-of-court settlements or by taking a case to trial.

A free consultation is all it takes to get started. Request yours today and we’ll review your case with no obligation for you to work with us. We’re so committed to your success and well-being that we only want you to choose our firm if we’re a good fit.

Understanding The Goal of a Personal Injury Claim

Personal injury law, also known in the justice system as tort law, seeks to bring a civil case against the perpetrator of wrongdoing. Torts are actions or omissions taken by an individual, government, or organization that yield harm or injury to other people, yielding liability of wrongdoing to the accused.

The goal of a personal injury case is that the accuser will receive legal remedy for the losses incurred from the negligence of the accused. As defined by the American Bar Association, negligence is “when a person never set out to cause a result like an injury to another person” with “liability stemming from careless or thoughtless conduct or a failure to act.” Determining liability hinges upon ascertaining this failure to act.

Types of Personal Injury Cases

If you’re considering bringing a personal injury case against a negligent or wrongful third party, here are the types of accidents eligible to be tried under tort law:

• Car Accidents
• Truck Accidents
• Motorcycle Accidents
• Bicycle Accidents
• Medical Malpractice
• Slip-and-Fall Accidents
• Premises Liability Accidents
• Negligent Security
• Burn Injuries
• Nursing Home or Assisted Care Negligence and Abuse
• Construction Accidents
• Workplace Injuries
• Product Liability
• Wrongful Death

The above examples of personal injury are not a comprehensive list. If you have a circumstance that you believe may fall under personal injury, but you are unsure, speak with our personal injury lawyers in Atlanta today.

What Compensation Can I Receive in My Atlanta Personal Injury Case?

Our personal philosophy always has us seeking the maximum compensation for whatever situation that you are facing. We can make no guarantees about the size of your award after litigation is completed, but we can educate you on some factors that may affect the damages you are entitled to.

Damages are defined as the financial income allowable to be recovered as the outcome of a civil case.

There are three types of personal injury damages in Georgia:

• Economic: This type of damage occurs when the accused has to pay the victim’s verified monetary loss. Examples of these types of damages include:
  • Medical Expenses, Past or Present
  • Loss of Wages, Past or Present
  • Property Repair or Replacement Costs
  • Value of Assistive Services for the Victim
• Non-Economic: Non-economic damages, in contrast, are subjective losses that are near impossible to quantify. There is no way to justify these claims with a financial valuation objectively. Examples of these types of damages include:
  • Pain and Suffering
  • Emotional Distress
  • Loss of Consortium
  • Loss of Society and Companionship
• Punitive: As implied by the name of this damage type, this seeks to punish the accused via the financial payment requirement. They do not attempt to offset any economic or non-economic loss.

There have been no upper limits on the financial award an individual can receive from a civil case since the Georgia Supreme Court found damage caps imposed by the state legislature to be unconstitutional in 2010.

The only additional law that could affect your compensation is that of the Comparative Fault statute, also known as Comparative Negligence. This notably affects car accident litigation efforts. Essentially, this law attempts to make sure that only plaintiffs without a significant hand in their injuries receive compensation, meaning that a plaintiff will only get a payout if they are found to be less at fault than the defendant.

Potentially, this could mean that if a plaintiff was 20% at fault in a case seeking $100,000 in damages, that plaintiff would receive 20% less. While that plaintiff wouldn’t pay anything to the defendant, you could receive nothing if found equally at fault as the defendant (50% or more).

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Personal Injury Law in Atlanta, GA

When the time comes to choose a personal injury lawyer in Atlanta, you may be faced with specific questions and concerns. We’ll be addressing some of the most common issues below.

Do You Have to File a Personal Injury Suit Within a Specific Time Period in Georgia?

In most cases, the statute of limitations in personal injury law cases in Atlanta and across Georgia is two years, starting from the time of the incident, as detailed in 2020 Georgia Code Title 9. While this is a good rule of thumb, there are exceptions based on specific situations.

Who Can Bring a Wrongful Death Suit?

Wrongful Death in Georgia is defined as “all cases in which the death of a human being results from a crime, from criminal or other negligence, or from property which has been defectively manufactured, whether or not as the result of negligence” (GA Code § 51-4-1). These deaths are classified as “homicides” in the 2021 Georgia Code.

Under Georgia’s Wrongful Death Act, there is a limit on what individuals can bring a wrongful death claim to civil court. Those individuals are limited to the most immediate next of kin surviving the victim. If the individual was unmarried without children, parents are eligible to bring that claim, but if the individual was married, only the spouse or children of that relationship can bring a wrongful death suit.

Financial damages are also divided specifically according to this statute as well. Of course, if the deceased had a will, that takes precedence over the Georgia Wrongful Death Act. However, in the likelihood that that individual did not have a will, damages will be awarded as the statute dictates.

If the individual was married but had no surviving children, that spouse would receive the entire compensatory award after the suit. For individuals who are married with children, the spouse receives a third of the award, with all surviving children receiving two-thirds of the award. An unmarried individual with no children survived by their parents has a more granular fiscal payout designation that is best explained by a trusted legal team, such as the experienced Atlanta wrongful death attorneys at Piasta Newbern Walker, LLC.

Trust the Successful Track Record of Our Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyers

The team of Atlanta personal injury lawyers at Piasta Newbern Walker, LLC wants to provide maximum compensation for the economic and non-economic damages you may have experienced as a result of your personal injury. We know that nothing can fully restore the calamitous losses you may have faced in the injury’s wake, but our mission is to attempt to make it as right as possible.

$100 million in payouts since 2021 marks Piasta Newbern Walker, LLC as a trusted voice and defender of individuals suffering hardship after their personal injury. Unlike some other firms in Atlanta, we are not scared of taking your personal injury suit to trial to fight for you to receive the optimal and maximum payout for your or your loved one’s pain and suffering.

Our team of personal injury attorneys in Atlanta are standing by to give you a no-obligation case review for free. The Atlanta personal injury attorneys at our law office are ready to listen and provide guidance on what you’re facing as you’re considering choosing the path of civil litigation. Contact us today or call (404) 996-1296 to get started with your case.