If you are involved in a Georgia car accident claim, this article will help you understand what to expect. There are three phases to your claim, evidence gathering, negotiation, and a potential lawsuit. The process can take some time. Although everyone works efficiently to resolve your claim as soon as possible, it is necessary to be thorough at each phase of the process to ensure that your interests are fully protected, and your monetary compensation maximized. Georgia has seen a disturbing increase in car accident fatalities in recent years. The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) reports 1,588 fatal car crashes on Georgia roads in 2020. This represents the single deadliest year since 2007. There were 331,797 Georgia car accidents in total in 2020. This represents a decrease from the previous year. GDOT maintains that the best way to avoid accidents and catastrophic injuries is to follow three basic rules. First,…

Over the past decade, car manufacturers have added to their vehicles an increasing number of features designed to keep you safe. Backup cameras, emergency braking, and lane-keep assist are just some of the features commonly included these days to prevent collisions. Airbag systems and vehicle structure have also improved to provide greater protection in case of an accident. Despite all of these advances, car accident fatalities and severe injuries still happen more than you might think. Notably, Georgia’s roadways saw a surge in car accident fatalities in 2020 even though fewer vehicles were on the roads due to the pandemic. This suggests that there was a spike in dangerous driving behaviors. But other reasons such as driver negligence could have led to these incidents. For those who are injured from a car accident, there is a good chance that someone’s negligence is involved – and that matters for purposes of…

As Fox 5 Atlanta reports, street racing near Atlanta isn’t a revolutionary criminal activity, but police may have found a way to stop these dangerous stunts from happening altogether. The city’s interim chief of police has offered his support to place sand-filled barriers along intersections where street racing stunts are likely to occur. Identifying the areas in need of such barricades has yet to prove difficult. "There is no scientific method to what we are doing," Commissioner Josh Rowan says. "Where we see the black circles [burned rubber from stunt-inspired braking] we will put down barriers." What’s disturbing is how even though police are actively locking up dozens of street racing drivers and impounding their “muscle” cars, new drivers seem eager to step into their place regularly, despite almost certainly knowing the legal risk over and above the risk of a car accident. And the legal risks are undoubtedly real.…

On February 1, 2020, two people were killed in a multivehicle accident on an Atlanta-area interstate. The crash involved a tractor-trailer, and it sparked a large fire that produced flames rising 30 feet high. The fire spread across all lanes of traffic, leaving some drivers stuck at a standstill for more than two hours – and others to suffer in the fiery blaze. According to NBC News, “firefighters encountered an inferno as the first crews arrived on the scene [of the auto accident], and subsequent explosions were seen and heard as the fuel ignited.” The accident on I-85 involved multiple vehicles and left two individuals with fatal injuries. Several others were injured, and numerous others suffered property damage to their vehicles. Businesses along nearby Dawson Boulevard were evacuated as a precaution due to their vicinity to the incident, a major headache for Atlanta area commuters. Trucking Companies, Insurance Agencies, and Law…

A good Samaritan's attempt to render aid to the victims of a hit-and-run went awry, and at first glance, the story sounds like a tragic scene from a book or movie. An ongoing investigation into two Georgia car wrecks reveals the best and worst of human nature. After narrowly escaping death, a man was killed seconds later. According to witnesses and police, a 23-year-old man was driving a vehicle containing two passengers. They were struck by another vehicle, the driver of which fled the scene. A good Samaritan stopped to help and told the victim and his passengers to get out of their disabled vehicle, which was in the roadway, and to get into hers to safely wait for help. As the victim was making his way into the kind woman's vehicle, another car struck him and one of the vehicles stopped in the road. The 23-year-old man was killed as the…

There are numerous distractions for a driver while on the road. While the most obvious these days is cellphone usage, passengers, roadside commotion, or even the driver's own thoughts can take focus away from the road. That loss of concentration on driving can lead to a fatal car accident or one with varying degrees of injury. A 33-year-old man from Hall County was recently killed in a mid-morning fatal car accident. The man was headed west in his Ford Focus when a Dodge Ram pickup traveling east crossed over the center lane. The two vehicles collided head-on. When Georgia State Patrol troopers arrived on the scene, they found the driver of the Ford had died from blunt force trauma caused by the impact. The pickup truck had rolled over and landed upside down. The driver was injured and taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. The state's specialized reconstruction team…

In Union City, three people lost their lives and four more suffered injuries after a recent crash involving a van and a police car. Purportedly, the officer was in pursuit of a stolen car when the car accident occurred. The collision caused both vehicles to catch fire. The collision occurred on Jonesboro Road on the night of Sunday, Nov. 11. According to the Georgia State Police, the officer started chasing the suspected stolen car on Highway 138. Purportedly, a white work van carrying six occupants then attempted to enter the highway by making a left-hand turn. At this point, the police cruiser collided with the van, knocking it on its side, before both vehicles burst into flames. Although the accident is still under investigation, no details were given in the report as to whether the officer had his emergency lights or siren on as he was pursuing the stolen vehicle. The…

Vehicular accidents do not only happen within the confines of the vehicle. Pedestrians or bystanders on the side of the road are at risk when a driver's negligence causes a car accident. A former member of the police department of a Georgia town recently pleaded guilty after causing a car accident that injured an 18-year-old man and killed his 16-year-old cousin as they were occupying a part of a sidewalk. In his duty as a police officer, the man was responding to the call of an accident, driving at a speed close to 100 mph. He pulled over to the center lane in an effort to pass a car just ahead of him, but that car also pulled into the center lane in an effort to get out of the way of the police car. As the officer swerved to avoid crashing into the car, he lost control of his patrol…

With overly aggressive drivers, drivers who have been drinking, and drivers who are distracted -- whether by cell phones or other factors -- people are injured in wrecks every day. While the use of a seat belt is a legal requirement, it may not always be enough to escape severe injury in a car accident. After a recent car accident, a 5-year-old child has been admitted into a Georgia hospital, with his condition listed as critical. Police reports state a driver approached an intersection and hit a car that was stopped for a red light, causing that car to hit another vehicle. The driver kept going through the intersection, hitting yet another vehicle. The injured child was not responsive when found, and witnesses to the collisions were able to start CPR before an ambulance reached the scene. The driver responsible for the collisions left her vehicle and began running in…

Hundreds of news sources all over the country have daily reports of vehicular accidents. Sometimes an SUV, 18-wheeler, or car accident may just be a fender-bender with minor or no injuries. But another can be catastrophic, adversely impacting a number of people. A Georgia woman died in a recent car accident, and the person believed responsible has been arrested. The 41-year-old woman was just one of several passengers in a car as it was traveling on Interstate 85. A report stated the driver of the car lost control of the vehicle when she was changing lanes ahead of a semitrailer. The car came to a stop in a lane of traffic and was struck by the tractor-trailer. The truck driver tried to stop but was unable to avoid hitting the door on the rear passenger side. The impact of the collision killed the woman and injured three other passengers. All…