Georgia Personal Injury Attorney

Your Story Matters

936425-JOYNT-VERDICT-1Our firm of believes that everyone deserves justice and the finest legal representation at a fair price and to be treated with respect and personal attention and to personally know their lawyer.  A lawyer must fight, but also must have compassion. We live in a world where injury claims are treated like “fast food,” lawyers spend millions advertising to collect as many cases as they can. You are not just a “case.” You are a person. With a problem. And need help.

Our mission is to help people one-by-one and we often develop friendships with our clients along the way. Personal attention is still available in the practice of law.  If you hire a lawyer and don’t meet with a lawyer from day one, you’ve hired the wrong lawyer.

Experience Matters

Our office has the legal experience and resources to properly use the justice system to help clients. Whether handling the ordinary (or the extraordinary) automobile wreck, fall or shooting case, to jury trials covered by Good Morning America, from appealing our client’s fight to the highest courts in the land, to sitting beside a client as she testifies before the U.S. Senate, our firm has the resources and experience to get the job done- however small, however big.

BRJS Conf Room IntersectionWe take pride in our state-of-the-art courtroom technology, which was featured in Void Magazine. Each attorney in the firm is adept at using focus groups and mock juries and innovative, demonstrative evidence. The firm is equipped with a state-of-the-art computer system, video production, and John has more anatomic and biological models than many physicians in town. It’s a science and we work hard to know the science very well and convey it to adjusters, jurors, judges, and you simply and passionately.

Our firm has many million dollar verdicts and settlements to our credit in cases ranging from soft tissue injuries to brain damage cases, as well as many favorable criminal defense verdicts, dismissals and plea bargains. In four of the past five years, John’s clients have received many verdicts and settlements of over $1 million dollars on multiple occasions- we also want to make our client’s bad days better.

What is personal injury law?

Personal injury is a legal term for an injury to the person- your body, mind or emotions, as opposed to an injury to property. The term is most commonly used to refer to a type of civil lawsuit alleging that the plaintiff’s injury has been caused by the negligence of another.

Sustaining a personal injury can be a devastating experience. Personal injuries may arise after vehicle crashes, on-the-job accidents, or in any number of other ways.

You can be injured in many ways:

If one of these types of accidents was caused by another person’s negligent or reckless behavior, he or she can be held legally liable for any damages. To collect compensation, an injured party will need to establish the following elements:

  • The defendant owed a duty to behave reasonably towards the plaintiff;
  • The defendant breached that duty;
  • The breach caused the plaintiff’s injury; and
  • The plaintiff suffered monetary losses as a result of the injury.

The duty of care owed to others depends on the particular circumstances of each case. For example, drivers owe a duty to their passengers and to other drivers to operate their cars carefully. Doctors, on the other hand, owe a higher duty of care to their patients as a result of their specialized training. Basically, a duty of care refers to the responsibility one person has to avoid causing harm to others. When a person’s actions do not meet the required level of care owed to the plaintiff, he or she has breached that duty. For instance, a driver who causes an accident because he or she was texting while driving has violated the duty to act reasonably towards other drivers. A plaintiff is then required to establish that his or her injuries were caused by the defendant’s negligent actions. To prove this, the plaintiff must demonstrate that but for the defendant’s negligence, the injuries would not have occurred. Finally, plaintiffs must demonstrate that they suffered damages as a result of the injury.

In Georgia, even if you are partly at fault in causing an accident, you may still be able to recover some of your damages under the legal theory of comparative fault. Instead of losing out on the chance to collect any compensation, an injured party’s damages are just decreased by his or her percentage of fault in causing the accident.

We Will Help You Recover Compensation for Damages

If you have sustained an injury, you may be facing significant medical bills, as well as lost wages, both now and in the future. Collecting these damages can be instrumental in helping an injured party begin the process of recovery and get out of debt. Depending on the severity of the injury, many victims are required to pay for thousands of dollars worth of medical treatment. Some of the most common injuries our clients face include:

  • Broken bones;
  • Burns;
  • Organ damage or internal bleeding;
  • Nerve damage;
  • Spinal cord injuries;
  • Lacerations; and
  • Head trauma.

These types of health problems can range in severity from causing minor discomfort to being life-threatening. However, they are all expensive to treat. For example, many car crash victims must pay for multiple surgeries, years of therapy, and repeat doctor’s visits as well as some the following:

  • Emergency transportation and treatment;
  • Prescription medications;
  • Appointments with specialists;
  • Assisted living care; and
  • Transportation to and from appointments.

These costs can quickly add up to overwhelm a family’s finances, especially if the injured party is required to take months off from work as a result of his or her injury. Depending on the severity of the injury, a person may be required to take multiple weeks or even months off in order to fully heal. In some cases, injured parties are permanently disabled and are unable to return to their former line of work. The spouses, partners, or relatives of an injured victim may also be required to limit their working hours to help care for their loved ones by driving them to doctor’s appointments and helping with administering medication and physical therapy.

While a person may have sustained serious physical damage in an accident, he or she may also suffer from psychological injuries. For example, some car accident victims suffer severe emotional distress or post traumatic stress disorder and are unable to drive a car for months or even years after a crash. They may also suffer from some or all of the following symptoms:

  • Headaches;
  • Anxiety;
  • Trouble concentrating;
  • Fatigue and difficulty sleeping;
  • Depression;
  • Lack of appetite; and
  • Loss of interest in work and hobbies.

Many victims who suffer from emotional distress sustained life-threatening injuries or lost a loved one in the accident. This type of trauma can take years to address and may require therapy and even prescription medications, all of which can quickly add to an injured party’s financial stresses.

Injured parties may also need to pay for damage to personal property, such as a vehicle. Repairs can take weeks to complete and cost thousands of dollars. In some cases, a car may be so damaged that it needs to be completely replaced. While waiting for repairs or looking for a new car, injured parties will need to pay for a rental car to help them travel to and from work and doctor’s appointments, and to complete daily tasks. Even families with insurance may find themselves in financial straits as a result of mounting medical bills combined with a lack of income, so it is especially important for parties who were injured as a result of someone else’s negligence to collect the compensation that will help make them whole.

Time Limits

In Georgia, to collect damages from an at-fault party, a plaintiff must file a claim within two years of the date of the injury-causing incident. A failure to bring a claim within this time frame will result in a court refusing to hear the case. However, if injured parties only sustain damage to their personal property, they have four years to file a claim. In cases where the negligent party was a government employee or entity, an injured party will also be required to follow specific procedural rules in filing a claim. This includes filing a notice of the claim within six months of the date of the incident.

Contact Us Today for Help

If you live in Chatham or Glynn Counties and were recently injured in an accident that you have reason to believe was caused by another person’s negligence, please contact the Law Offices of John M. Phillips by completing one of our online contact forms and a member of our dedicated legal team will help you schedule a free consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer who can evaluate your case.