Restoring Your Life After a Car Accident

In general, auto accidents are more likely to occur when there is more traffic. This means that some areas of Atlanta are more likely to have auto accidents. This includes Peachtree Street, which has long been Atlanta’s most famous roadway. Midtown Mile is a new stretch of road that began in 1997 and is one of the major thoroughfares of central Atlanta in terms of retail and rapid residential development.

Bars, restaurants, and shopping areas also attract more traffic, so use caution in these areas, as well. Finally, beware in surrounding towns as well. Marietta and Gwinnett is a popular area with shopping, dining, historical monuments, and many other attractions. This results in heavy traffic and confusing patterns of pedestrian walkways. Use caution in heavily trafficked areas such as this.

Your first priority after an accident should always be your immediate health and safety. This means that you want to get medical attention if you suffer injuries. Even if you are not sure if you need an ambulance, it is still important to let emergency medical technicians come to the scene and evaluate your injuries.

It is not possible to know all of your injuries right after an accident without medical equipment. You might also need transportation with backboards, headblocks, and other equipment that emergency medical workers know how to use properly to avoid making car accident injuries any worse. Even if you do not end up needing to go to the emergency room in an ambulance, it is still important to let trained medical workers evaluate your injuries on the scene.

Your medical needs are the priority at any accident scene. But there are also important things you need to do to address your legal needs. You should not discuss the accident with other drivers or passengers involved. You can ask about injuries and whether anyone called 911, but do not talk about what happened or how the accident occurred. If it is safe to do so, you might also try to take photos and videos at the accident scene as possible evidence in a future claim.

Auto insurance may not be the only source of compensation that is available to you. If you were working at the time of the accident, you may be eligible to receive workers’ compensation benefits. For example, this applies if you were a delivery driver or otherwise driving as part of your work duties. It can even apply if you are running a work errand in your personal vehicle. Workers’ compensation depends on the facts of your particular case, so be sure to consult with your Atlanta car accident lawyer about the possibility of this coverage.

Of course, drivers and passengers are not the only road users who can suffer injuries in an auto accident. You can sustain serious injuries on the road while riding a bicycle or electric scooter or simply walking in a designated crosswalk.

The fact is that bicyclists and pedestrians are often injured more seriously than vehicle occupants. This is because they do not have the benefit of the many safety features that undergo safety testing before being sold in consumer vehicles. Airbags, seatbelts, and even the metal frame of the vehicle itself all work together to greatly reduce the risk and severity of auto accident injuries to vehicle occupants.

Bicycle riders and pedestrians have no such protection. Often, a bicyclist only has protection from a helmet. Pedestrians do not even have this protection. They are vulnerable to the full brute force of a collision with a heavy vehicle. This is why pedestrian accidents are often fatal.

So, what can injured bicyclists and pedestrians do to protect their legal rights? Like vehicle occupants, you must start by getting medical attention as soon as possible. Even if you choose not to leave the scene of the accident in an ambulance, you should still undergo an examination at an emergency department or urgent care facility as soon as possible. Remember, you are more likely to suffer injuries in an accident, so it is important to get medical care as soon as possible.

Get legal advice as soon as possible. The experienced Atlanta accident lawyers at Huggins Accident Injury Lawyer know how to handle the specific issues that arise from injuries to bicycle riders or pedestrians hit by cars. Be sure to consult with our lawyers about your legal right to compensation. Remember, the other driver’s insurance company is not on your side, and your own insurer might try to deny you compensation. You should never take legal advice from a company that is actively working to reduce the amount of your compensation.

Rideshare companies (such as Uber and Lyft) have become wildly popular throughout the country. But as always, more traffic leads to more accidents, so the number of accidents will inevitably increase as rideshare use continues to increase.

Uber and Lyft both require their drivers to carry their own personal insurance policies. However, these large companies also supplement their drivers’ personal insurance policies with large corporate policies. Victims who suffer injuries due to an on-duty driver can seek compensation through the driver’s personal insurance policy. If this coverage is not sufficient to pay the full value of their injuries and losses, the victim can then file a claim with the large corporate insurance policy. These policies have high limits, and victims can access up to a million dollars of supplemental insurance coverage to pay for their injuries and losses.

Because Uber and Lyft are newer industries, there are still many unresolved legal questions about accidents involving their drivers. It is important to work with an auto accident lawyer who understands these issues. Your injury attorney must also coordinate injury claims with the driver’s personal coverage, the company’s supplemental coverage, and any other insurance policies that apply (such as a workers’ compensation policy).

No matter what the circumstances of your car accident are, Huggins Accident Injury Lawyer can assess your rights and determine what the best course of action is for your case. Our experienced legal team helps people who have suffered injuries in a wide range of crashes, and we can help you. Call us now for your free consultation.