Millions of Americans across the country rely on their car to get where they are going and do various things they need to do throughout the day. With so many people on the road at any given time, the unfortunate reality is that car accidents will happen sooner or later. Victims of car accidents can suffer very serious injuries, and the cost of recovering from those injuries can easily add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Many victims of car accidents may not know where to start in the process of getting justice and financial compensation for their injuries.
Luckily, our attorneys can help you out. We have lots of experience representing victims of car accidents, and we can lend that experience to helping you with your case. We provide competent, professional legal representation, and we will make sure you sue the right people for the right reasons and fight hard for you through every step of the legal process.
For a free, totally obligation-free case review, call our Augusta, GA car accident attorneys from Howe Law at the number (844) 876-4357.
Causes of Car Accidents in Evans, GA
Car accidents can happen for a lot of different reasons. Drivers make mistakes, road conditions can be perilous, cars can break down, and countless other problems can arise on roads and highways. While a lot of the same injuries can happen from car accidents caused by different things, determining the cause of your particular car accident is very important to the success of your car accident lawsuit. This is because you can only recover damages from parties that actually injured you. Finding out the cause of your car accident can help you make sure that you sue the right parties and do not waste time going after entities that had nothing to do with your injuries.
Negligent Drivers
Perhaps the most frequent cause of car accidents is the driver of another car messing up. In legal terminology, “messing up” is called “negligence.” Negligence is when someone is careless and that carelessness results in someone else getting injured.
Drivers can be negligent in a lot of different ways. First, ignoring the rules of the road and/or traffic laws is a form of negligence. This includes speeding, ignoring stop signs, going through red lights, and driving too closely to other drivers. Second, drivers can be negligent by driving in ways that are not necessarily against the law but are still dangerous. This would include aggressive driving or switching lanes frequently. Finally, criminal activity, like driving under the influence, is negligent driving.
The driver of the vehicle that hit you is not the only driver who may be responsible for your injuries. Other drivers who do not directly strike you or your vehicle can have an impact on the accident and also be negligent. For example, if one driver is driving in a very dangerous way, and a second driver takes evasive action and hits you as a result, both drivers may be considered negligent and liable for your injuries.
Inexperienced Drivers
Another reason drivers can cause car accidents is through inexperience. Simply put, drivers with less time behind the wheel are more likely to cause an accident. A newly licensed teenage driver is not going to have as much time behind the wheel as someone ten years older. Less experience leads to a greater chance of doing something negligent behind the wheel, like speeding to impress their friends or misjudging a traffic situation, and causing an accident.
Vehicle Defects
Car accidents can also be caused by factors outside of the driver’s control. Sometimes, it is a problem with the car that causes an accident. Legally speaking, a problem with a car is known as a “defect,” and vehicles/other products with defects are called “defective.” Defective cars can cause accidents even if a driver does everything they are supposed to.
There are two main categories for defects under the law: design defects and manufacturing defects. Design defects are problems that are baked into the design of the vehicle. That is to say, even if the instructions and manufacturing process are followed to the letter, the vehicle will still cause an injury when used in the way it is intended to be used. For example, a car with a suspension system that “locks up” in cold weather can be said to have a design defect.
Manufacturing defects, on the other hand, are not baked into the development and design of the vehicle. Instead, these defects come from mistakes made in the construction or repair of the car. These are deviations from the intended design instead of problems with the design itself. An example of a manufacturing defect in a car would be incorrectly installed airbags that do not deploy upon impact or deploy too forcefully.
Poor Road Conditions
Problems with road conditions can also lead to car accidents. Potholes, debris, and defective guardrails can all result in cars getting into accidents that would not have happened had Georgia’s roads been kept in good working order. Problems with roads can cause accidents even if drivers see them coming – they may not be able to avoid the obstacle.
Usually, government entities are responsible for road upkeep. There are some special rules that need to be followed for suing government entities, so if you believe this applies to your case, you should talk about it with our car accident attorneys.
Injuries in Evans, GA Car Accidents
Lots of different injuries can happen in car accidents. The cost of treatment for car accident injuries can very quickly become incredibly expensive, easily reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills. Even with good insurance, this can be a lot to handle financially. Moreover, your insurance company may want to file a lawsuit to recover what they had to pay out, and you may be involved in that. Below, is a list of some of the car accident injuries that our lawyers can fight to get you financial compensation for in court.
Broken Bones
Broken bones are a frequent injury in Georgia car accidents. The high-speed impact forces involved in a car accident can easily snap even the strongest bones in the body, including the pelvis, ribs, and femur. For pedestrians struck by cars, the risk of a broken bone is much greater because they do not have access to the safety features afforded to drivers of motor vehicles.
Virtually all fractured bones will casting or a sling to heal fully. More complex breaks, like compound fractures, will often require surgery on top of that. Additionally, you may need to get your strength back in a broken limb through a training regimen or diet due to lack of use during recovery.
Traumatic Brain Injuries
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are caused by hard hits to the head that cause damage to the brain or puncture the skull. TBIs are more common than you think in car accidents. A “mild TBI,” more commonly known as a concussion, is commonplace in victims of car accidents, even when they are following all common safety guidelines like sitting properly in the vehicle and wearing seat belts. Concussion symptoms are well-known, and none of them are pleasant. Becoming concussed after a car accident can result in headaches, mood swings, difficulty remembering things, and sensitivity to light and sound. Moreover, if you have had a concussion in the past, subsequent concussions become exponentially worse.
More serious traumatic brain injuries have more dire consequences. You could lose the ability to talk, walk, speak, or perform other basic tasks. The most serious TBIs can lead to an untimely death.
Cuts, Punctures, and Other Wounds
When two cars or other vehicles impact each other, metal bends, warps, and can go flying in different directions. Additionally, glass and even hard plastic and polymer components can be just as dangerous when moving at high speed. Accordingly, there is a higher chance than you might think for cuts and puncture wounds in car accidents.
Cuts from sharp bits coming off of a car can be very nasty. Deep cuts will require stitching or sutures to heal, and permanent scarring may result. Moreover, a “cut” to a smaller appendage like a finger or toe could remove it entirely.
Puncture wounds can be more difficult to mend than cuts and are much more deadly. This happens because it is more difficult to stop a “stab” from bleeding than a cut. Additionally, a puncture wound that goes even a couple of inches deep can hit a vital organ and put someone in critical condition.
Burns
Victims of car accidents can get burnt in a couple of ways. First, and probably most obviously, the gasoline and oil can ignite and burn those inside the vehicles involved. Second, if any of the vehicles involved in the accident were carrying something volatile, those contents could ignite and cause chemical burns.
Finally, burns can happen without any fire or chemical reactions. For example, if a victim’s seat belt rubs against their neck, they can suffer surprisingly serious friction burns. Other rubbing – such as against the road surface – often creates more serious abrasions, though friction burns are also possible.
Amputation
It may sound macabre, but injuries from car accidents can result in the amputation of a limb. If an arm or leg is too crushed or otherwise mangled in an accident, medical professionals may not be able to save the limb. Additionally, if a body part becomes infected after a car accident, doctors may have no choice but the amputate.
The other way that amputation can happen in a car accident is via a traumatic amputation. This is when the accident itself causes the removal of a limb. It is not done in a medical setting. Traumatic amputation can result in fatal amounts of blood loss and needs immediate emergency medical care.
Who Should You Sue in an Evans, GA Car Accident Lawsuit?
As previously mentioned, you can only recover damages from defendants that actually caused your injuries. Therefore, it is important to make sure that you sue the right parties when filing a car accident lawsuit if you want to be successful in court.
Drivers
The most obvious target for a car accident lawsuit is the driver of the vehicle. After all, they were the person in control of the car when it hit you. In addition to suing the driver who hit you, it may be a good idea to sue other drivers who were driving erratically on the road if the facts of your case make doing so a good idea.
The Driver’s Employer
If the driver who hit you was working when the accident happened, you may be able to sue their employer. Through a legal principle called “respondeat superior,” or “let the master answer,” plaintiffs are able to sue the employers of people who wronged them under certain circumstances. The trick is that the employee needs to be doing something related to work in order for the liability to stick to the employer. For example, if a pizza delivery driver hits you on the way to their destination to drop off an order, their employer will likely be liable for your injuries. However, if the pizza delivery driver is clocking out and driving back home, their employer will likely not be liable for your injuries because driving back home is not sufficiently related to work.
Car Companies and Mechanics
If a defect in your vehicle caused an accident, you may be able to bring the company that made the car into the lawsuit. Depending on the kind of defect, however, the company may not be the best target. For example, if the defect had to do with the installation of new equipment, it may be better to file against the mechanic shop that worked on the vehicle instead of the company that designed the car.
Talk to Our Evans, GA Car Accident Lawyers Now
To get a free analysis of your case, contact our car accident attorneys with Howe Law at (844) 876-4357.
