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Durham Personal Injury Lawyers Will Help You Get The Compensation You Deserve.

A severe injury could send you to the doctor’s office or even the hospital, often requiring weeks or months of follow-up visits and care. You shouldn’t have to pay for medical bills, prescriptions, or physical therapy that were brought on by another’s negligence. If you had to miss work after the accident to go to the doctor or recover from your injuries, that lost income can be a devastating blow to your household.

The other party’s misconduct has also caused you harm in countless other ways, such as physical pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment in life, and loss of consortium. You deserve compensation for all of these damages to make up for the harm as much as possible.

Getting paid for the full value of your claim can be an uphill battle. Georgia law puts the burden on the injured victim to prove that another party’s negligence caused the injury. The negligent party’s insurance company, meanwhile, will use its whole bag of tricks to avoid paying your claim or pay as little as it can. Here are some common insurance company tactics and the ways our Atlanta personal injury attorneys can help.

Disputing your injury

The insurance company will say that you aren’t really seriously hurt, requiring you to document your injury with truckloads of medical evidence. They’ll say that your injury is from some other accident or a pre-existing condition, or that the accident could not have produced the type of injuries you have. You need an Atlanta personal injury lawyer who knows how to build a case that thoroughly documents the injuries you suffered and the likely need for ongoing medical care in the future. We’ll show how the injury is a result of the other party’s negligence.

Disputing fault

Another common trick of the insurance companies is to shift the blame for the accident or injury onto the injured victim. If the other driver was speeding, they will say you were looking at your phone, or vice versa. If you slipped and fell because the property owner failed to clean up a spill, they will say you weren’t watching where you were going. Any percentage of blame that gets assigned to you reduces the compensation you can receive, and if you are considered 50% or more at fault, then you can’t recover from the other party at all. Our experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyers conduct a complete investigation and gather all the facts, hiring engineers and accident reconstruction experts if necessary, to show how the accident happened and who was truly to blame. The insurance company doesn’t have the last word on who is at fault. We’ll take your case to a jury trial if necessary to prove the other party’s fault and keep you from being saddled with any blame that doesn’t belong to you.

Asking for statements

From the first time you call the insurance company to report the accident and every time you talk to them, they will ask you for a recorded statement, saying it will speed up the process to get you paid. What they are really trying to do is get you to make some inconsistent statements they can use to avoid liability. When you hire the Atlanta personal injury attorneys at Durham Law Group, P.C., we’ll handle all communications with the insurance company on your behalf. You won’t have the stress of dealing with insurance adjusters, and you won’t have to worry about saying the wrong thing that could jeopardize your case. We take on this burden for you and handle it professionally based on years of experience dealing with liability insurance companies in Atlanta.

Sending you money

You might think it’s a good thing to get a check from the insurance company, but that isn’t always the case. Sometimes they offer a lowball amount to get you to settle the case, and when you find out they vastly underpaid you, it’s too late to do anything about it. Another trick is to periodically send you small checks for this and that aspect of your case, leading you to think you’ll eventually get paid in full. What they are doing is drawing out the case past the two-year statute of limitations to file a lawsuit. Once that period has passed, the checks dry up and you are left underpaid and unable to sue. Other stalling tactics include repeated requests for medical records and documentation, accompanied by calls to check in or give you status updates, making you think they are actively working on settling your case for the full amount they owe.

It’s a well-known fact that settlement offers to people without an attorney are far less than what the claim is actually worth. With Durham Law Group on your side, the insurance companies won’t bother to play these games. We know what your claim is worth and don’t fall for tricks or settle for less than you deserve. If you’ve been injured, contact an Atlanta personal injury lawyer today!

Our Process

Each case is different and has a unique process, but with patience and a good attorney, you can rest assured that Durham Law Group, P.C. is fighting for you, and that you will get the results that you deserve.

1. Submit Your Case

After submitting your case to Durham Law Group P.C., you will speak with friendly and professional staff that will take your call and transfer you to an attorney who gathers all preliminary information to provide you with the correct next steps.

Once our office evaluates your case, you will then meet face-to-face with your attorney.

2. Meet with Your Attorney

You will come into the office, if able, to meet with your attorney. In the event that your personal injury prevents you from coming to the office, we will come to your location.

During this meeting you will sign all necessary paperwork to establish the attorney-client relationship.

3. Communicate with Your Insurance

Once you become a client, you are assigned a case manager who will gather all necessary documents to successfully pursue your claim. This may include, police reports, witness statements, and surveillance videos.

Durham Law Group, P.C. is diligent in regularly updating you to make sure you are always aware of the progress of your case, and to make sure you are always protected from the insurance company.

4. Medical Attention

When you connect with your doctor according to the symptoms of your injury, your doctor will give you a physical evaluation and create a treatment plan for you. Your doctor will also discuss payment options available to you. Most doctors in good faith will extend their services to you under “Attorney Lien”, thus allowing you to obtain the necessary treatment for you to recover without any upfront costs.

During your treatment, your doctor will relay your medical information to your attorney as we build your case. Once you have completed your medical treatment, Durham Law Group, P.C. will request all medical records, bills, and reports to determine the extent of damages.

5. Settlement or Trial

Durham Law Group, P.C. will develop and submit a “Demand Package” to the insurance company. Under Georgia law, the insurance company will be allowed 30 days to review our demand package and submit an offer.

If the offer from the insurance company remains inadequate Durham Law Group, P.C. will file a lawsuit. Your case will then move on to the court process. You receive periodical updates from your attorney to ensure there is always an open line of communication.