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As the investigation is being conducted, our office will
prepare a letter to each of your physicians and request medical
records. We may also wish to contact the physician to personally
interview him before requesting a written report.
Your insurance company or, if you do not have any insurance
or the defendant's insurance company, will wish to have a
list of out-of-pocket expenses from you with copies of supporting
documentation. These are called special damages, which include
doctor bills, hospital bills, medical bills, any loss of earnings
or income which occurred as a result of the motorcycle accident,
and any property damage. For items of property damage, if
you have repair estimates and photographs of your motorcycle,
please provide those to us as well.
Any inquiries from the person responsible for your injuries
or their representatives, including their insurance company,
should be referred to our office. You should not discuss the
details of your motorcycle accident or your injuries with
people who are not entitled to that information. If an insurance
company representative contacts you, inform them that you
are represented by our law firm and refer them to us for any
information they seek. DO NOT MAKE STATEMENTS TO THEM. If
you have already made statements to any insurance company
representative or anyone else, notify us immediately of these
statements and we shall obtain a copy of them.
INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR MEDICAL TREATMENT
You are entitled to the best medical care available to cure
or to minimize the effects of your motorcycle injury. It is
essential that you obtain copies of bills and receipts for
all medical expenditures you have made. Your financial loss
is sometimes less important then the effects of the injury.
We need your assistance to keep us informed of the effects
of the motorcycle accident on your life and in furnishing
information as to where we can get credible and admissible
testimony to prove the effects of your motor cycle injuries
on your life. One of the jobs of the legal assistant handling
your case is to accumulate all of these medical records and
expenses. It is essential that you communicate with them during
the course of your medical treatment and with any questions
you may have regarding your treatment.
You should continue to go to a doctor as long as your injuries
continue to bother you. Cooperate with your doctor in every
way, and relate to him truthfully and fully all symptoms that
you have that were a result of this accident. Answer completely
all questions that he asks you. Medical treatment often takes
time to produce results. You cannot expect a doctor to give
effective testimony about your conditions at time of trial
if several months have elapsed since he last examined you.
Also, insurance companies will often treat this failure to
obtain medical treatment as evidence that there was no injury
or that you are exaggerating. Naturally, we do not want you
to fake or exaggerate anything, but as long as there is something
legitimately wrong with you, in order to help the doctors
make their diagnosis and avoid a distortion of your medical
picture by the insurance company, you should continue to obtain
the medical care you need.
If you have had prior injuries, particularly to the same
area of the body, you must let us know. This information often
appears in medical records, and it is not in your best interest
to attempt to hide that fact. As long as we are made aware
of any prior or subsequent injuries, we can deal with them.
One of the most significant factors affecting the value of
your lawsuit is whether or not we can establish by doctor
testimony that you have suffered a permanent injury because
of the motorcycle accident. Doctors know from experience that
the full extent of a person's injuries is usually not known
until several months after the accident. It is important for
you to advise us of your medical progress, including when
your doctor refers you for physical therapy or to another
doctor. We will then be able to get complete copies of all
your records, which is of utmost importance in documenting
your case.
Do not talk about your case or your lawyers when you see
your doctor. You do not want to give the impression that you
care more about collecting money than you do about getting
well.
THE VALUE OF YOUR CASE
Some insurance companies in cases where the liability or
fault is clear relate the value of the case to the special
damages. This is often unrealistic because the major factors,
including the physical pain and suffering and the loss of
your capacity to lead a normal life, may have a greater impact
on the value of your case than do the special damages.
After we have assembled all the information, we will make
the best estimate of the smallest Georgia jury verdict we
could obtain, the largest Georgia verdict we could obtain,
and the probable verdict. This figure is based on our experience
and research regarding jury verdicts for similar cases in
our area.
MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT CASES
There are special factors that influence the value of your
case. These factors also affect whether or not we will be
able to file a lawsuit on your behalf.
There are situations where the driver of the other vehicle
had no automobile/motorcycle insurance or had automobile/motorcycle
insurance in the least amount that can be carried by law.
It is therefore necessary for us to know whether you have
a policy of vehicle liability insurance and whether you have
purchased uninsured motorist coverage on that policy. In most
states an injured person is permitted to make a claim for
his pain and suffering under his own insurance policy if he
has uninsured motorist coverage. Sometimes this coverage may
be the only source of recovery for yourself or your family
for the negligence of another driver. It is also important
to report the motorcycle accident to all insurance polices
of motor vehicles in your household as soon as possible (this
includes automobile polices and policies of household relatives).
FILING THE LAWSUIT
We will exhaust all resources to settle your Georgia motorcycle
case with the insurance companies. If a fair offer is not
tendered, then we will file a lawsuit against the negligent
parties.
In some jurisdictions you are permitted to file a lawsuit
only if you have met the threshold requirements, and in Georgia
within two years from the date of the accident. This time
period is provided for by law and once that time period has
elapsed, you are forever barred from pursuing your claim.
We usually will not initiate a lawsuit until the permanency
of your injuries becomes known or until this time period is
about to elapse, whichever comes first. If we file a lawsuit,
you are the plaintiff. A complaint is filed on your behalf
which states the reasons why we believe you have a cause of
action against the defendant, and it sets forth the claims
we are making.
The Georgia defendant has twenty/thirty days after he has
been served with the papers of the lawsuit to respond or answer
that claim. Often the defendant will claim that you contributed
to your own injuries.
Many clients want to know how much we are going to sue for.
In order to recover the maximum amount possible, we wait to
see the full extent and permanence of your injuries before
we decide on a specific amount. This way, we are able to recover
an amount proportionate to the nature and extent of your motorcycle
injuries.
During the course of the lawsuit we will take testimony from
all witnesses and doctors who may be involved in the case.
The attorney for the defendant will send written questions
known as interrogatories, which must be answered under oath
in writing. The attorney for the defendant will also take
your deposition. A deposition is oral questions given to you
under oath in an informal setting. Your attorney will be present
with you during this time and will adequately prepare you
before your deposition.
This phase of the lawsuit is called discovery, and its purpose
is to attempt to narrow the issues for trial. There are certain
items of damages that you are entitled to recover in most
lawsuits. These include:
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Charles W. Watwood, Jr. & Associates
Providing lawyer and attorney services in Atlanta, GA and
the following Georgia Counties:
Appling County, Atkinson County, Bacon
County, Baker County, Baldwin County, Banks County, Barrow
County, Bartow County, Ben Hill County, Berrien County, Bibb
County, Bleckley County, Brantley County, Brooks County, Bryan
County, Bulloch County, Burke County, Butts County, Calhoun
County, Camden County, Candler County, Carroll County, Catoosa
County, Charlton County, Chatham County, Chattahoochee County,
Chattooga County, Cherokee County, Clarke County, Coweta County,
Crawford County, Crisp County, Dade County, Dawson County,
Decatur County, DeKalb County, Dodge County, Dooly County,
Dougherty County, Douglas County, Early County, Echols County,
Effingham County, Elbert County, Emanual County, Evans County,
Fannin County, Fayette County, Floyd County, Forsyth County,
Franklin County, Fulton County, Gilmer County, Glascock County,
Glynn County, Gordon County, Grady County, Greene County,
Gwinnett County, Habersham County, Hall County, Hancock County,
Haralson County, Harris County, Hart County, Heard County,
Henry County, Houston County, Irwin County, Jackson County,
Jasper County, Jeff Davis County, Jefferson County, Jenkins
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County, Laurens County, Lee County, Liberty County, Lincoln
County, Long County, Loundes County, Lumpkin County, Macon
County, Madison County, Marion County, McDuffie County, McIntosh
County, Meriwether County, Miller County, Mitchell County,
Monroe County, Montgomery County, Morgan County, Murray County,
Muscogee County, Newton County, Oconee County, Oglethorpe
County, Paulding County, Peach County, Pickens County, Pierce
County, Pike County, Polk County, Pulaski County, Putnam County,
Seminole County, Spalding County, Stephens County, Stewart
County, Sumter County, Talbot County, Taliaferro County, Tattnall
County, Taylor County, Telfair County, Terrell County, Thomas
County, Tift County, Toombs County, Towns County, Treutlen
County, Troup County, Turner County, Twiggs County, Union
County, Upson County, Walker County, Walton County, Ware County,
Warren County, Washington County, Wayne County, Webster County,
Wheeler County, White County, Whitfield County, Wilcox County,
Wilkes County, Wilkinson County, and Worth County
Charles W. Watwood, Jr. & Associates
Providing lawyer and attorney services in Atlanta, GA and
the following Georgia Cities:
Adairsville, Adel, Albany, Alma, Alpharetta, Americus, Ashburn,
Athens, Augusta, Austell, Bainbridge, Barnesville, Baxley,
Blackshear, Blairsville, Blakely, Blue Ridge, Bogart, Bremen,
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Hill, Rincon, Ringgold, Riverdale, Rockmart, Rome, Rossville,
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