What to do in the first 48 hours after a crash in Georgia
- 1
Get medical care, even if you feel okay. Adrenaline hides injuries. Neck, back and head symptoms often appear a day or two later, and a gap in treatment is the first thing an adjuster will point to.
- 2
Make sure there is a police report. In Georgia, a crash involving injury must be reported. Ask the officer for the report number and the agency so we can pull it.
- 3
Photograph everything. Both vehicles, the whole scene, skid marks, traffic signals, your visible injuries. Note nearby businesses that might have cameras.
- 4
Do not give a recorded statement to the other insurer. You are not required to. Be polite, take their name, and tell them your attorney will be in touch.
- 5
Stay off social media about the crash. A single photo of you at a cookout can be twisted into “not really hurt.”
- 6
Call us before you sign anything. Early settlement offers are built on the hope that you don’t yet know what your injuries will cost.
What your claim can include
An insurer will happily pay your emergency room bill and call it a day. A full claim in Georgia looks at the whole picture:
Past bills and the cost of care you will need in the future, including therapy, surgery and medication.
Wages missed while you recovered, and reduced earning capacity if you cannot return to the same work.
Physical pain, emotional distress and the loss of things you used to enjoy. Georgia leaves this to the enlightened conscience of the jury.
Repair or replacement of your vehicle, diminished value after repair, and a rental while you wait.
Your car is a claim too, and we handle it
Most injury firms leave the vehicle to you and the adjuster. We don’t. Our in-house vehicle damage specialist, an engineer with more than a decade in automotive and aerospace work, handles the car side of the case alongside the injury claim.
The insurer’s software value is a starting point, not the answer. We run an independent valuation with your car’s real options, mileage and condition, and challenge a lowball offer with it.
A repaired car with an accident on its history sells for less. Georgia lets you recover that lost value from the at-fault driver’s insurer. We calculate it and pursue it.
We review the estimate and connect you with trusted local repair shops, so the work is done right and you aren’t steered to the insurer’s cheapest option.
You are entitled to a rental while your car is repaired or replaced. We make sure those days are counted and paid.
Vehicle valuation and repair guidance is provided by the firm’s vehicle damage specialist, who is not an attorney. Negotiation with insurers is handled by the firm’s attorney.
How fault works in Georgia
Georgia is an at-fault state with a modified comparative negligence rule. You can recover from the other driver as long as you were less than 50% responsible, and your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault. That is why the other side’s adjuster will push hard, and early, to assign some fault to you. We counter with the police report, physical evidence, camera footage, vehicle data and witness accounts, not the adjuster’s version of events.
If the driver who hit you had no insurance or not enough, your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage may step in. Many people do not realize they have it. We review every policy that could apply, including yours.
Crashes we handle
- Rear-end collisions
- Intersection and left-turn crashes
- Highway crashes on I-285, I-75, I-85 and GA-400
- Distracted and drunk driving
- Hit-and-run and uninsured drivers
- Multi-vehicle pileups
- Passengers injured in someone else’s car
- Crashes involving children