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The speed limit in Georgia is 70 miles per hour on the rural interstates, 55 miles per hour on the urban interstates and 65 miles per hour on other limited access roads. However, that doesn’t stop people from breaking the speed limit all the time.
Speeding is a huge issue not just in Georgia, but throughout the United States. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2018, speeding led to the deaths of 9,378 people. It was a factor in 26% of all traffic fatalities, too. The latest data from 2017 showed that there were 1,468 traffic fatalities in Georgia that year.
When drivers speed, they are more likely to get into car accidents because they lose control of their vehicles and they don’t have enough time to brake in case they have to. Even though drivers know speeding can cause great harm to other people, other vehicles as well as their own vehicles, they still speed when they are running late, there are breaks in heavy traffic or they’re simply zoning out and not paying attention to their ever-increasing speedometer.
What Happens in a Speeding Accident
If a driver is speeding, they can cause irrevocable harm to you and your car. Some injuries that you may experience as a result of a speeding accident include:
- Whiplash
- Back and neck pain
- Fractures
- Head injury
- Traumatic brain injury
- Spinal cord injury
- Paralysis
- Broken bones
- Death
Some of these injuries are minor. For example, whiplash and back and neck pain can be treated with chiropractor care, deep-tissue massage, acupuncture, heating pads and over the counter medicine. However, breaking a bone or experiencing a fracture could put you out of commission for weeks or months, while a traumatic brain injury, head injury or paralysis can impact you for the rest of your life.
As a result of your injuries, you may have to take time off from work to recover in the hospital, be away from your family, get physical therapy, undergo surgery, take medications and buy medical equipment. You could suffer from temporary or lifelong pain.
It all depends on the severity of your injury. If the other driver was speeding way above the limit, crashed into the side where you were sitting and/or was driving a vehicle larger than yours, your injury could be greater. Additionally, if you were a pedestrian or riding a bicycle, you are likely to suffer from more injuries than if you were driving in a car.
Pursuing Your Speeding Accident Claim
If you have been in a speeding accident, then you are entitled to compensation for the trauma, pain and injury you’ve experienced. To ensure that a speeding accident claim will go through, you should collect the following:
- Police records of the accident, if you called the police.
- Witness statements and contact information, if there were any witnesses around.
- Photos and other evidence of the accident.
- The other driver’s information, including contact and insurance details.
- Your own insurance details.
- Your medical records after you visited the hospital following the accident.
- Information that details any other doctors’ visits, time you took off work or other effects this accident had on you.
If you need help getting everything together and filing your claim, you can hire a personal injury lawyer. They can locate the police records, call the hospital and your doctor for you to retrieve medical records, deal with the insurance companies and put all your evidence together.
Your personal injury lawyer will not charge you for these services; in fact, they’ll cover your treatment and legal fees until you’re compensated. Then, they will take money out of the settlement to pay themselves and your doctors. If a personal injury lawyer is willing to take you on, it’s because they know you have a solid case. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be putting themselves on the line for nothing.
With the right lawyer, you’ll have peace of mind and know that you will get the money you need to pay for your recovery, as well as cover any expenses like missing wages and the money you spent on gas going back and forth to doctors’ appointments, for example.
What to Look for in a Personal Injury Lawyer
You want to hire a personal injury lawyer who is experienced, transparent, communicative and makes you feel like your case is in good hands. Look for one who has other satisfied clients as well as positive testimonials and reviews.
Since you’re recovering, you can’t also worry about what your lawyer is or isn’t doing. You just want to have that initial consultation, hand over all the relevant information and then be updated on your case when necessary. And then, when they’ve worked hard for you, you can collect your compensation and get back on your feet as soon as possible.
With the right personal injury lawyer in Georgia, you can do just that. Don’t hesitate; the longer you wait after your speeding accident to file a claim, the weaker of a case you’ll have. Georgia has a two year statute of limitations on personal injury cases, so get in touch with a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible to get the ball rolling.
If you’ve gotten into a speeding accident in Georgia, you may be entitled to compensation. To find out what a personal injury lawyer can do for you, contact the Atlanta personal injury lawyer Winston Briggs today.
