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How To Calculate a Personal Injury Settlement

Have you recently been hurt in an accident in or around Savannah, Georgia? You are probably devastated and worried about how to put your life back together. One way to get started rebuilding your life is to file a personal injury claim for an accident. If you didn’t cause the accident you were hurt in, you could bring your claim against the person who harmed you.

When someone is negligent or engaging in wrongful behavior, they could be held legally responsible for their actions if they hurt someone. Even if the person didn’t intend to cause you harm, they can still be held to account. The way to do this is through the civil claim process. Filing a claim is your right, but it’s not easy.

Figuring Out Your Claim’s Worth

You know you are owed money for your accident, but you have no idea how much you’re owed. You have probably missed out on income due to your injuries. You have probably accrued medical expenses due to treatment of your injuries. These losses are compensable, but so are many others.

You could be compensated for the cost of physical therapy expenses, transportation expenses, and property damage.

Did you know you could also be compensated for non-financial losses? Pain and suffering, mental distress, scarring, disfigurement, loss of mobility, permanent injury, and lost life enjoyment can be compensated through an injury claim.

So how do you calculate all of these losses to come up with a settlement amount? Your personal injury lawyer will help you, but the basic process is this:

  • Add up all your financial losses, including future financial losses.
  • Assign a value to non-financial losses. Here you are trying to calculate what amount of money would make you feel whole again. This isn’t easy to do. 
  • Put your financial and non-financial losses together to come up with a total amount. That is the amount of money you would demand the at-fault party’s insurer pay you.

Other Considerations

You must have proof of your losses if you hope to receive a fair settlement. Keep in mind that different people place different values on similar experiences. For instance, a broken arm for one person could be a different experience than it is for someone else. Each case is handled on an individual basis.

Your lawyer’s job is to help you obtain fair compensation for what you went through. You don’t have to calculate a claim on your own.

Talk to a Personal Injury Lawyer in Savannah

You didn’t cause the accident that hurt you. You shouldn’t have to suffer more than you already have. A personal injury claim could result in a settlement for you. You could use the money from a settlement to repair your life and move on from this accident.

If you feel overwhelmed after your accident, understand that you don’t have to do this alone. A Savannah personal injury lawyer at The Nye Law Group is ready to help you get through this experience. Call 912-200-5230 or use the form below for a free case review.

How Long After a Demand Letter Does a Settlement Take?

Have you been injured in Georgia because of another person’s thoughtless or wrongful actions? You could be working on a personal injury claim to get compensated for your accident and the losses that resulted from it. You might have a lot of questions about the process of filing a claim and winning a settlement.

One of the questions you probably have is related to how long your claim will take to reach completion. The timeline will vary from case to case, but we will discuss the general timeline below for informational purposes.

Personal Injury Claim Timeline

There are several steps to the personal injury claim process, and each step takes time. For instance, it could take you a few days to several months on average to investigate your accident and gather evidence. For extremely complex cases, you could be collecting evidence for a year or longer.

After you have enough evidence to prove your case in Georgia, you need to calculate your claim’s total value. This means adding up all of your losses, including future losses. This step could take a few weeks to several months. If you’re waiting on information from your doctor, you may have to wait until you get that information before you can submit your claim with an insurer.

After putting your claim together, the next step is insurance negotiations. This step can take days to weeks. The good news here is that insurers are not allowed to make you wait an unreasonable amount of time to receive a settlement. 

After you send an insurance settlement demand letter, you should hear back within a few weeks. If you aren’t happy with an insurer’s offer, several rounds of negotiating could take place. This step shouldn’t take longer than a few months, assuming your claim is approved.

If your claim is denied, you may have to take your case to court, which will lengthen the injury claim process considerably. If your case goes to court, it could take a year or longer for your case to reach a resolution. Courts also aren’t allowed to delay justice unreasonably, though.

Altogether, your claim could take anywhere from a few months to a year or longer to reach resolution. Your case could resolve faster, though, if you have a lawyer on your team.

Get in Touch with a Georgia Personal Injury Attorney

If you’re looking at filing a personal injury claim, you might be hoping to get the process over sooner rather than later. A lawyer might be able to speed up the process for you. They know all the steps to the process, which means they won’t have any delays trying to figure out how to win your claim. 

Insurance companies are also less likely to delay a claim when you have a lawyer. The insurer doesn’t want to deal with any legal trouble. To discuss your claim with a Georgia injury lawyer in a free case review, call 912-200-5230 to reach The Nye Law Group.

When To Get An Attorney for a Car Accident

One of the most common types of accidents in Savannah is the car accident. It can happen to anyone, and it will likely happen to you at least once in your lifetime. 

If you have been in an accident recently, you might not know how to handle what comes after. You might be unsure of whether you should file a claim with your own car insurance company or if you should file a claim against someone else. You might not know if this is something you can handle on your own or if you should hire a lawyer.

These questions need answers. Not every car accident demands assistance from a car accident lawyer. Let’s discuss when it’s appropriate to partner with an attorney.

Car Accident? Here’s When to Get a Lawyer

If you were sitting at a traffic light when a car came up and tapped your bumper because the driver misjudged the distance, you might not need to get a lawyer. You can file a claim against that person’s insurance company because they damaged your bumper. You weren’t hurt, and your vehicle wasn’t greatly damaged.

Accidents known as fender benders don’t usually require the help of an attorney for claim resolution. 

If you were seriously injured and your property was significantly damaged, though, you will likely want a lawyer’s help with filing a claim. It’s important you get your claim right because you will probably need money from a settlement to get your life back on track. You need to get the most out of your claim because that money could be important to your life happiness.

If you are unable to work because of your injuries, that money might even act as income for a time. Your settlement should cover property damage, all of your medical bills, and pain and suffering, among other losses.

A lawyer can help you get the settlement you need.

How a Lawyer Can Help You with a Car Accident Claim

Before you decide whether to get an attorney, you need to know what they do. 

  • First, a lawyer can give you legal advice right away. This can improve your car accident case, as you’ll be less likely to make mistakes that can hurt or weaken your case.
  • Second, your lawyer can help you collect evidence needed to prove your case.
  • Third, calculating a claim’s value is a challenging step in the process, and your lawyer can take care of this step for you.
  • Fourth, they can deal with the insurance company on your behalf. Insurers can be tough to negotiate with, so having a lawyer can be a real asset here.
  • Fifth, although court is rare, your lawyer could litigate your case for you.

Speak to a Car Accident Lawyer in Savannah

Connect with a Savannah car accident lawyer when you need help with your car accident claim. Find one at The Nye Law Group by completing the internet form below or calling 912-200-5230. You can get a free case analysis just for contacting our firm.

Will I Have To Pay Taxes On My Personal Injury Settlement?

You’ve been injured in an accident in Savannah, Georgia, and that experience was one of the worst of your life. Now you’re fighting for compensation for the accident and losses you suffered. But what if the IRS takes a big chunk of the money you need to survive after your accident?

You want to get the most money you can from a personal injury settlement because you have suffered in many ways. You might not be able to work right now due to your injuries, which means you have no income coming in. You need every penny from your settlement to provide for your future.

Perhaps you have a permanent disability caused by your accident. What if your settlement is intended to provide you with financial support for many years or for the rest of your life? If the IRS comes in and takes a portion of it, that action could greatly reduce the money you hoped to live on.

Is a Personal Injury Settlement Taxable in Georgia?

Thankfully, most personal injury settlements are not taxable. For example, if you receive a settlement for injuries, mental trauma, pain and suffering, medical bills, and lost life enjoyment, you can keep all of that money in most cases. However, there are always exceptions.

For example, if you paid medical expenses after your accident and those payments were deducted from your taxes that year, you will have to pay taxes on your settlement money for medical expenses. This would include only the medical expenses portion of your settlement, not the entire settlement amount.

Another exception would be receiving a settlement for loss in value of property. If your settlement amount provides you with money over the adjusted basis in the property, the excess settlement money is considered taxable income.

Why You Might Need a Lawyer

Taxes and personal injury claims are complex. You don’t want to get anything wrong, miss out on settlement money you might be entitled to, or fail to pay taxes you owe. One good way to ensure your personal injury claim goes smoothly is to partner with a personal injury lawyer at our firm.

Your lawyer can give you legal advice from the start and can guide you through the entire claim process. Help from a lawyer reduces your chances of making mistakes and ending up with more headaches down the road. 

Plus, having a lawyer do a lot of the work for you will give you peace of mind. You will know your claim is in the hands of a legal professional. This also frees you up to focus on your life and health after an accident.

Talk to a Savannah Personal Injury Lawyer

If you need help with your personal injury claim, don’t hesitate to talk with a Savannah personal injury attorney at our firm. Your attorney can discuss your case and goals during a free case assessment.

Ask us your questions and set your mind at ease. Reach out to The Nye Law Group by calling 912-417-5637 or fill out the contact form below.

How To Sue for Medical Mistakes in Georgia

When you go to a doctor in Savannah, you hope that they are going to do everything they can to help you with whatever ails you. You hope that they aren’t going to hurt you. Medical mistakes can happen, though, because doctors aren’t perfect. Not every mistake a doctor makes will allow you to sue for medical malpractice.

So, how do you know when you can sue for medical malpractice in Georgia? There are a few ways to know. One, you can easily ask a Savannah medical malpractice lawyer who will tell you whether you have a case. The other way to know is to examine your case to see if it has all of the elements of medical negligence.

Elements of Medical Negligence

There are several elements that must be present for most medical malpractice cases in Georgia to move forward. Here are the main elements.

You Were Being Treated by a Medical Practitioner

The first and most obvious element that must be present in a medical malpractice case is whether a particular doctor was treating you. You simply need to have evidence that the doctor or medical provider in question treated you. This is to prevent random people from suing doctors who never treated them in the first place.

Were You Injured?

The second element that must be proved in a medical malpractice case is that the actions of a doctor or medical provider caused you harm. If you weren’t harmed, you have no reason to file a claim. This is important because a lot of people want to sue because they were almost harmed. 

When you were almost harmed because of a medical error, this event is frightening. You may want to sue simply for the emotional suffering you went through because of the scary situation you were in. However, almost harmed is not harmed, and you can’t sue for that.

Were the Doctor’s Actions Negligent?

Another element of a medical malpractice case is that the doctor’s actions, which resulted in you being harmed, were negligent. As mentioned earlier, doctors make mistakes. They could accidentally harm a patient even though they made every effort not to. If you can’t prove negligence, you may not have a malpractice case. Talk to a lawyer to be sure. 

Proving negligence is the most difficult aspect of a medical malpractice case. It often requires the testimony of another medical professional who can speak to whether the actions of the doctor in question were out of the ordinary.

Did You Suffer Damages?

The final element that must be proved in a medical malpractice case is whether you suffered damages. If a doctor made a mistake during surgery, but that mistake didn’t cause you any lasting harm or damages, you may not have a case. 

For example, suppose a doctor does injure you during hand surgery by cutting your pinkie finger. If the doctor quickly stitched up the cut and no lasting harm was done, you might not be able to sue the doctor.

Contact a Medical Malpractice Attorney in Georgia

If you have further questions about whether you have a medical malpractice case in Savannah, Georgia, just call a lawyer at our firm. The call is free. The Nye Law Group can be reached through the online form below or call 912-200-5230.

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Or Call 912-200-5230

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704-285-6319 get directions

119 Southern Boulevard, Savannah, GA 31405

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402 West Trade Street,
Suite 112
Charlotte, NC

704-285-6319 get directions

119 Southern Boulevard, Savannah, GA 31405

912-200-5230 get directions
View all locations
CONTACT US

NO PRESSURE. SPEAK TO AN ATTORNEY. NO HIDDEN FEES.

* All Fields Required

Or Call 912-200-5230