If you are involved in a truck accident while traveling in Georgia, you may experience severe injuries and damage to your vehicle. Although you may be entitled to compensation for medical bills or other losses, it may be harder than you think to determine exactly how much you are owed. There are many reasons why truck accident cases can often be complicated and take a great deal of time to resolve.
You may receive compensation for future losses
It’s fairly easy to calculate actual damages because you have already incurred them. However, it can be harder to determine how much you should receive for future medical treatment or lost future earnings. Typically, lost future earnings are determined by a number of assumptions that you’ll stay in your current field or that you’ll eventually get promoted to a more lucrative position. Of course, lawyers for the defendants will argue that you can’t say for sure that either of those things will happen.
You may be partially responsible for the accident
Georgia uses a modified comparative negligence system when determining damages stemming from a motor vehicle accident. Therefore, if there is reason to believe that you are partially liable for causing the crash to occur, you may lose a portion of your final award. For instance, if you failed to adhere to a traffic control signal just before the collision, you may be found 10% liable for the crash. In such a scenario, you would receive 90% of any compensation package awarded to you by a jury.
Several parties might be responsible
There may be additional drama if more than one party is liable for your injuries or property damage. This is because those parties may not agree how to split liability between themselves.
In Georgia, you generally have two years from the date of an accident to file a lawsuit. During this period of time, however, you can always try to negotiate a favorable settlement with the at-fault party or parties.