What happens to my case if I have been in a car wreck before?

If you have had a driver’s license for any significant amount of time, the chances are you have been in some sort of car accident or collision in the past.  It may have been something minor, or perhaps a more serious wreck where you were injured and recovery took more time and treatment than you anticipated.  I say this because, unfortunately, car wrecks, especially here in the metro Atlanta and DeKalb area, are extremely common.  Drivers are tired, impatient, distracted by cell phones and other things, and often inattentive when they disregard safety rules and traffic laws.  This means that, despite your best efforts to drive carefully and avoid collisions, you cannot control what the other drivers around you are doing.

When you are in a car accident, the law in Georgia is that the party responsible for the wreck is legally responsible for the damages that they cause to you.  So, if you were injured in a previous wreck, or if you have some other unrelated injury that is aggravated by the impact in a later accident, the other driver is liable for that aggravation.  Often, this comes down to a question of what proof can be demonstrated that the other driver is not being held accountable for an unrelated injury, but with thorough documentation, proper treatment, and diligent investigation and legal work, this is usually not a problem.

As an example, we represented Camilla M., who had undergone surgery for an unrelated medical condition just prior to a serious car wreck.  The wreck not only caused her significant injuries to her lower back, but required additional procedures to restore the original work done by the surgeon.  Significantly, as she was still recovering from surgery at the time of the accident, she was unable to engage in the typical treatment which occurs after an accident.  This meant that she experienced additional pain, discomfort, trouble and delay in recovery than a person in her situation might typically have had.  Because of this, her damages were more substantial.

Although we had to litigate the case, we were able to resolve it favorably before trial. It meant that we had to gather all the evidence to demonstrate what a jury was going to see in order to persuade the insurance adjuster that this was not just any other car accident case that they undervalue day in and day out.  This is not typical, but no two cases are ever identical, no matter how similar the injuries or the circumstances.

When you or someone you know is involved in an automobile collision due to the negligence of someone else, seek medical attention as soon as possible, follow the advice of your medical professionals, and call the experienced trial attorneys at the DeWoskin Law Firm at 404-987-0026.