Why Those Identified as At-Fault in Atlanta Auto Accident Reports Need a Second Opinion
The impact of a serious motor vehicle collision on a crash victim and his or her family can be devastating both in terms of the immediate consequences, such a pain and suffering, medical costs and vehicle repair expenses, and also the long-term impact which includes potential diminished enjoyment of life, earning capacity and ability to participate fully in family activities. While a personal injury claim based on the negligence of a driver who is intoxicated or texting on a cell phone may provide financial compensation to the injury victim, many car crash injury victims never pursue a claim because they rely on a police officer's evaluation that they caused the accident as reflected in Atlanta Auto Accident Reports.
Although seasoned law enforcement officers examine many accident scenes, officers are human so they do make errors. And they rarely have a chance to personally osbserve the accident occuring, so they must try to quickly piece it together from evidence at hand. The insurance company for a driver determined to be at-fault often does not simply accept the officer's conclusion. There are many car accident lawsuits vigorously defended by insurance carriers even though the accident report indicates that the insurance carrier's policyholder engaged in an unsafe driving practice or failed to comply with some provision of the Georgia rules of the road. If insurance companies are not deterred by the conclusions of Atlanta Auto Accident Reports, injured drivers need to be equally vigilant about pursuing their legal rights and remedies.
When our Atlanta auto collision attorneys at Montlick and Associates evaluate an injury victim's claim, we may explore inconsistencies, missing information or questionable witness accounts to determine if there is a factual basis for the injury victim to seek compensation. We may even work with crash reconstructionist or experts regarding mechanical issues or safe roadway design and maintenance to look at evidence like skid marks, witness accounts, vehicle damage and more with "fresh eyes." While police officers that conduct investigations of car crashes write many Atlanta Auto Accident Reports, they are not infallible when interpreting evidence, and they may not even had had access to information that would radically impact the officer's conclusion about fault.
Even if the officer is correct in his assessment that an injured driver violated a traffic safety law or drove in a negligent manner, this does not mean that the traffic violation or other unsafe driving practice actually caused the motor vehicle collision. If the evidence supports a conclusion that the accident was caused by the traffic violation or unsafe driving practice, this does not mean that this infraction or unsafe driving practice was the sole cause of the accident. Other parties also may have engaged in negligent behavior that was a factor in causing the crash. In this situation, a personal injury victim may be able to pursue a claim for compensation if the injury victim's degree of fault was less than fifty percent.
The bottom line is that if you are injured in an auto collision, the suggestion or conclusion of the officer that you are responsible for the crash should not dissuade you from seeking the advice of an experienced car accident lawyer. If you have questions about Atlanta Auto Accident Reports, our Georgia auto accident attorneys have been representing injury victims for over thirty years throughout all of Georgia and the Southeast, including but not limited to Albany, Athens, Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Gainesville, Macon, Marietta, Rome, Roswell, Savannah, Smyrna, Valdosta, Warner Robins and all smaller cities and rural areas in the state. No matter where you are located our attorneys are just a phone call away, and we will even come to you.
Call us 24 hours a day/7 days a week for your Free Consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333). You can also visit us online at www.montlick.com and use our Free Case Evaluation Form or 24-hour Live Online Chat.