Key Takeaways
- Under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33, a personal-injury claim from a Georgia car accident must be filed within two years of the crash — missing this deadline almost always extinguishes the claim entirely.
- Georgia's modified comparative negligence rule (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33) reduces your recovery by your share of fault and bars it completely at 50%.
- Georgia Department of Transportation crash data consistently shows urban arterial roads, intersections, and entrance ramps as the leading crash locations across the state.
- Hit-and-run drivers violate O.C.G.A. § 40-6-270, but criminal prosecution does not pay medical bills — recovery comes through your own UM coverage under O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11.
Do you find yourself in need of a reliable personal injury attorney but you’re unsure of how to go about finding the right one to handle your case? There are some traits you should look for in an attorney before deciding on one to hire.
What makes a good lawyer anyway? Read the following 7 traits to look for to help you narrow down your search and find the right attorney in no time:
What makes a good lawyer?
1. Someone who communicates clearly.
Wondering what makes a good lawyer? Well one of the top traits to seek in an attorney to handle your auto accident case is someone who communicates clearly. They should make it easy for you to understand how they will help you with your case and what’s required of you. They should provide clear information about all their fees and their process upfront.
If you have any questions along the way, their answers should be direct and to the point and not leave you walking away with more questions than you have answers.
If an attorney is unable to give you clear insight into their practice and process in the initial consultation, chances are you’ll have communication issues all along the way if you hire them.
2. They’re engaging
A good lawyer takes an interest in your case rather than processing it. A firm that never asks you much about what happened is unlikely to find the details that decide it — the witness nobody followed up with, the treatment gap that needs explaining, the second insurance policy nobody looked for.
But how can you tell if your lawyer is engaging? If they ask you lots of detailed questions about your case and your legal goals, there’s a good chance they’ll be engaging throughout.
3. A verifiable track record
You will read advice telling you to ask a lawyer for a list of former clients to call. Be aware that a lawyer generally cannot hand those out: what a client told their attorney, and often the fact of the representation itself, is confidential, and a firm that produces a list of names on request may be telling you something unwelcome about how it treats confidences. What you can check is public. Read the reviews, and read enough of them to see a pattern rather than a mood — recurring complaints about unreturned calls or about a case being handed to someone the client never met are worth more than any single review, good or bad. Look at whether the firm publishes actual case results, and whether those results resemble your situation. Confirm the lawyer’s standing with the State Bar of Georgia, which also publishes any public discipline. And ask in the consultation how many cases like yours the firm has handled and how they were resolved — a firm that has done the work can answer that without naming anyone.
4. One who is organized
Personal injury cases are lost on deadlines and paperwork far more often than on argument. Georgia gives you two years to file, evidence held by other parties is often destroyed on a much shorter schedule, and a claim against a city or county can require notice within six months. Ask concrete process questions rather than judging the décor: who will be your point of contact, how quickly do they return calls, how will you be kept updated, and what happens in the first two weeks. A firm that has a clear answer to each has a system; one that does not, does not.
5. Reliability
When you trust your car accident case to an attorney, you are trusting them to handle it with care. The way they handle your case can either make or break the settlement agreement that you receive. This is why it’s so important that you find an attorney that is trustworthy and reliable.
What makes a good lawyer? A good personal injury attorney should be able to handle all your evidence properly and be trusted to return your calls within a reasonable time frame. You can expect a good attorney to file all necessary court documents and paperwork ahead of pressing deadlines and answer your questions along the way.
6. Personality
An often over-looked trait that plays a big part in your overall experience is your attorney’s personality and if it’s a good fit for your own. Though you don’t need to be best friends, it’s important that you’re able to feel comfortable with your attorney and share all the important details surrounding your accident.
You want to feel like your attorney treats you as a person and not just a job. Some attorneys are aggressive and serious and others have a warm, open personality. You might appreciate one over the other.
7. Someone well experienced
Everyone starts somewhere, but as you go about choosing the best car accident attorney to handle your case, it never hurts to seek out someone with years of experience under their belt.
If an attorney has been working on similar cases for many years, they’ve gained a lot of useful knowledge surrounding personal injury law. Their experience also means they’ve likely handled plenty of cases that are similar to your own which can give you an edge in seeking a settlement you’re happy with.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions about an attorney’s experience before you hire them on to take your case.
Look no further
Now that you know what to look for, we invite you to learn more about our team and book a free consultation. Find out how much a car accident lawyer costs before you come in — there is no fee unless we recover for you. Call (404) 662-4949 or reach us through our contact page; we look forward to hearing from you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer?
No. The adjuster’s job is to minimize the payout, and recorded statements are mined later for any admission of fault, exaggeration, or inconsistency. You can decline politely and refer them to your attorney or your own insurer.
How is fault determined in a Georgia car accident?
Fault is determined through the police report, scene photos, witness statements, traffic-camera footage where available, vehicle damage patterns, and (for serious crashes) accident-reconstruction analysis. Insurance adjusters apply Georgia’s comparative-negligence rule under O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33 when allocating fault percentages.
How long do I have to file a car-accident claim in Georgia?
Two years from the date of the crash under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33 for personal injury and wrongful death. Property-damage-only claims have four years under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-32. Missing the deadline almost always bars the claim entirely, even if the at-fault driver clearly caused the crash.
What is modified comparative negligence in Georgia?
Under O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33, a Georgia plaintiff who is less than 50% at fault can still recover, but their damages are reduced by their percentage of fault. At 50% or more, recovery is barred entirely. This is why insurance adjusters work hard to assign you any percentage of fault they can.
