Personal Injury Attorney Frequently Asked Questions

If you were involved in any type of accident that resulted in a physical injury to yourself, AND your injury was the result of someone's negligence, the law allows recovery in the form of monetary compensation.

Absolutely. If the driver of the vehicle you were riding in (including golf carts, boats, etc.) was at fault, the law allows you to be compensated.

Accident victims are entitled to recovery in the following areas:

1. Past and future medical expenses
2. Pain and suffering
3. Lost wages
4. Loss of earning capacity

Pain and suffering is compensation allowed by law to accident victims. Pain can be on-going, and can cause considerable loss of enjoyment of life. Shoulder, back, leg and neck injuries are just a few of the types of injuries that can be chronic and cause you to lose your usual mobility for life. Picking up your kids, golfing, gardening, carrying a laundry basket, swimming, even sleeping, are all things we take for granted in our daily lives. Once we are injured, we realize how those things were all necessary and enjoyable activities that we can no longer partake of without pain. Some times the inability to do those every day activities causes depression. Often, victims will be required to hire someone else to perform the activities for them. Washing the car, mowing the lawn, cleaning your home, or moving your own furniture around, are all examples of that.

Because this category of compensation is considered to be "intangible", the payouts for it can be subjective. It is your attorney's job to look at the nature of your injuries and present how the past, current and future pain and loss of enjoyment of life will affect you and your family. A summation of these life-altering affects will be presented to the at-fault party's insurance company defense attorneys or, in the case of a trial, to opposing counsel, mediators and juries, resulting in the best possible compensation for you.

Experienced injury attorneys are able to evaluate your case to let you know whether or not you need to hire one to represent you. In most cases, if your claim resulted in property damage, and little or no injuries, you should be able to successfully negotiate a settlement on your own. Before you sign off on a settlement, you may want to contact an attorney to look it over. The injury attorneys at Casey W. Stevens will never take on a case they feel a client may successfully resolve on their own. However, in cases involving moderate or major injuries or death, it is nearly always a good idea to hire professional representation. It is very difficult for individuals to negotiate their own settlements when subjective issues such as pain and suffering, loss of future earning capacity, and expected future medical expenses are involved.

In the state of Georgia, you have two years from the date of your injury to file.

In legal situations such as divorce or criminal cases, attorneys are typically paid an hourly fee. If you are injured, the attorneys at Casey W. Stevens do not charge an hourly fee. This is good news for you, because we are working for you, because we are working for you for several months with no compensation. We don't get paid until case is resolved AND you receive payment.