Albany, GA Car Accident Lawyer

Car accidents happen every day across the country. These accidents can run the gamut from minor fender-benders to serious, multi-car collisions where many people are very seriously injured. Regardless of the type of car accident, car crash victims often face hefty medical bills, difficult recovery from injuries, unexpected vehicle repair expenses, and countless other hardships, all because someone else did not do everything they were supposed to.

Fortunately, we can help. Our lawyers know these cases inside and out, so rest assured that you will be in good hands when you go to court. We can prepare your claim, gather evidence, talk to witnesses, and handle all the legal work so that you can focus on returning to some sense of normalcy after your car crash.

Call Rice, Murtha & Psoras by dialing (470) 287-3070 to get a free review of your case from our car accident lawyers.

Types of Car Crashes in Albany, GA

There are a lot of ways that a car accident can happen. Determining the type of accident in your case can help our car accident lawyers figure out what caused your crash, which in turn informs who you take to the court in your lawsuit.

Head-On Collisions

Head-on collisions happen when two vehicles traveling towards each other get in a crash. These accidents often happen because one party was not paying attention due to fatigue, intoxication, or some other reason.

T-Bone Accidents

T-bone accidents refer to crashes where one car strikes another perpendicularly to form a “T” shape on impact. T-bone accidents can occur because a driver is not paying attention, but they also can happen if a motorist is speeding and does not have enough time to slow their vehicle down and avoid a crash.

Rear-End Collisions

A rear-end collision may initially seem like the rearmost driver’s fault, but that is often not the case. For example, if the frontmost driver is constantly stopping and starting or suddenly hits the brakes, the following driver may not have enough time to take action and could get hurt in an accident.

Damages in Albany, GA Car Accident Lawsuits

If you are successful in court, the jury will award you damages based on your situation and injuries. In civil lawsuits, damages are the court’s way of trying to get things back to how they were for the plaintiff before the accident took place. Naturally, literally rewinding things for the plaintiff is impossible since they have likely taken time to recover from injuries, and that recovery may never be truly complete. Thus, financial compensation is used as a proxy.

Economic Damages

Economic damages are things that can have their value readily displayed. Included in this category are things like medical bills, property damage, and lost wages, which could mean missed income, a difference in pay, or your predicted future income if your injuries are such that you cannot work anymore.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages are different from economic damage in that there is not going to be a bill or invoice denoting their value. This category covers things like physical pain, mental anguish, and emotional distress. You are not going to get an invoice every time you experience anxiety brought on by injuries you got in a car crash, so you will need to convey the worth of these things to the judge and jury when arguing your claim in court.

Punitive Damages

Punitive damages are different from economic and non-economic damages in that they’re not meant to “make you whole again.” Instead, they are meant to punish the defendant. If you are seeking punitive damages, you will have to prove more than mere negligence on the defendant’s part. Because there is a higher bar to clear, you should talk with our lawyers and see whether going after punitive damages is the right move in your case.

Calculating Damages in Car Accident Lawsuits in Albany, GA

In addition to specifying what you are seeking damages for, you also have to specify the amount you are seeking in damages. To do this, you sit down with our lawyers, go over your case, and figure out how much financial compensation you need and are entitled to. There is no method for this that is set in stone, but there are several commonly used methods for calculating damages.

Multiplier Method

The multiplier method simply takes your economic damages and multiples them by a given number in order to determine your non-economic damages. For example, suppose you have $200,000 in economic damages, and our lawyers come to the conclusion that multiplying by 3 makes sense for your claim. In that case, you would seek $600,000 in non-economic damages for a total of $800,000 in compensatory damages.

The multiple method is frequently used when plaintiffs are expected to deal with their injuries in some form for the rest of their lives, so the multiple that you and our lawyers land on for your claim may be higher than you initially expected.

Per Diem Method

The second method is called the “per diem” or “daily” method. This method comes up with a “daily pain amount” that represents the hardships you experience dealing with your injuries for as long as you are going to deal with them. You then add up that amount for each day you are expected to deal with your injuries. In contrast to the multiplier method, the per diem method is mostly used when plaintiffs are expected to be rid of the effects of their injuries at some point in the future.

Go Over Your Case with Our Car Accident Attorneys in Albany, GA Today

Talk to our car accident attorneys about your claim by calling Rice, Murtha & Psoras at the number (470) 287-3070.