Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Ford will put a safety feature on many of their new cars called "MyKey". Since Attorney Richard Griffin has spent his entire professional legal career handling personal injury, wrongful death, worker’s compensation, and social security disability claims, he is always interested in any new safety features on automobiles. Since Attorney Richard Griffin is proud father of four daughters, he understands that there is nothing more important than protecting your loved ones from being injured or killed.

It is astonishing to think about how many car wrecks occur each year in Georgia and throughout the U.S. Some of the mind boggling statistics about car accidents are:

(1) In 2006 there were 500,000 DUI related car wrecks in the U.S.
(2) In 2006, 17,000 innocent drivers died in those 500,000 DUI related car wrecks.
(3) In 2006 there were 392 deaths caused by DUI related car wrecks in Georgia.
(4) In 2007 there were 2,575,000 car wrecks that occurred in the U.S.
(5) In 2007 42,000 people lost their lives in those 2,575,000 car wrecks.
(6) Over 55% of the fatalities involved drivers or passengers not wearing seat belts.
(7) Tragicly, DUI related accidents increased in 2007 to 17,600 throughout the U.S.

Clearing driving in Atlanta, Georgia or throughout Georgia, can be dangerous even for drivers who are alert and safety minded. However, when you think about inexperienced teenage drivers behind the wheel, the risk of car wrecks increases even more. This is why Attorney Richard Griffin is very excited about the new “MyKey” feature that Ford will feature on many of Ford's new cars being released. “MyKey” is a new technology designed to help parents control some of their teen drivers’ behaviors in an attempt to keep them safe.

Andrew Sarkisian, the safety manager at Ford, was recently quoted in a USA Today article as saying, “We wanted to find a way for parents to virtually be in the car with their teens, like they’re sitting in the passenger seat coaching them along.” Attorney Richard Griffin whole hearedly agrees that parents need more tools to help them make sure their teenage drivers are driving safely. Attorney Richard Griffin stated that “teenagers often do not fully appreciate the risk of dangerous behavior which can sometimes lead to tragedies when they are behind the wheel of an automobile. Teenagers often feel invinsible which can result in driving too fast or driving while distracted by cell phones, Ipods, GPS systems, or even just their radios.” The worst worst nightmare for parents would be being informed that their daughter or son involved in a serious car accident, motorcycle accident, or truck accident. Attorney Richard Griffin knows that no amount of money from a personal injury or wrongful death claims can replace the value of having your loved ones safe and healthy.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration did a recent study which concluded that
(1) 4,497 young drivers ages 16 to 20 died in car accidents” in 2008.
(2) The leading cause of death for drivers who are ages 16 to 20 is car wrecks.
(3) Teenagers make up 10% of the total drivers, but they account for 12% of car fatalities.

So what does MyKey do to help parents protect their teenage drivers?

(1) Parents can limit the maximum speed their teenage drivers can drive to 80 mph.
(2) Parents can set chimes to warn their teenagers when the speed increases to 45 mph, 55 mph and 65 mph.
(3) Parents can set a chime if their teenage driver has not buckled their seatbelt
(4) Parents can have the audio system disabled until the teenage driver buckles their seat belt.
(5) Parents can limit the maximum volume on the radio.
(6) Parents can keep track of their teen driver's mileage
(7) Parents can set the low fuel warnings to warn at an earlier fuel level.

The driving statistics clearly show that teenage drivers are at the greatest risk of having a car wreck the first year of they are driving. Since nothing is more important than keeping our children safe, Attorney Richard Griffin believes that many parents may choose Ford cars with MyKey over other cars just for this safety feature alone.

The Griffin Law Firm, P.C. (Attorney Richard Griffin's law firm) has handled thousands of personal injury and wrongful death claims with incredible results. To read more about how happy our personal injury, wrongful death, worker's compensation, and social security clients have been with our legal representation click on the following link: [Client Testimonials].

If someone else's negligent driving has caused you to be injured in a car wreck, truck accident, motorcycle accident, bicycle accident, or pedestrial accident, then call our experienced attorneys at The Griffin Law Firm, P.C. today for a free consultation.

Call our personal injury lawyers and wrongful death lawyers for for a free settlement evaluation at 866-847-6545.

You can also click the following link to submit your personal injury, wrongful death, worker’s compensation, or social security disability questions to our experienced personal injury and wrongful death attorney’s at the following link: FREE SETTLEMENT EVALUATION.

Our firm's mission statement is "To protect the rights of injured victims and to maximize the personal injury, wrongful death, worker’s compensation, and social security disability recoveries for all of our clients."

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Car Wreck Claims , Personal Injury Claims , Truck Accident Claims , Wrongful Death Claims

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When you are looking for a lawyer for your personal injury, worker's compensation, wrongful death, or social security disability claim you need someone you can trust. You need a law firm that will work hard for you, that will keep you informed, that are honest, and that will get you great results. You need a law firm that will treat you like family while fighting to make sure you recover all that you deserve.

I have good news for you! The Griffin Law Firm, P.C. is the law firm that you are looking for and need. Our firm can get the full settlement that you are entitled to while providing the customer service deserve. We can prove that our client's love our representation by the client testimonials that they provide. I have listed some of our client's testimonials below:

(1) "The Griffin Law Firm was honest, hard working, and treated me like a trusted friend. We had our day in court and justice was done. I was very pleased with the outcome."
-Leon King, former client 08/21/08

(5) The way they handled every detail in the case and never once did I have to do any foot work myself. All details were taken care of by the Firm."
* Would you recommend The Griffin Law Firm to a friend who needed an attorney?
"Yes". C. Dunlap, 08/31/07

The Griffin Law Firm, P.C. has Atlanta personal injury lawyers, Atlanta worker's compensation lawyers, Atlanta social security disability lawyers, and Atlanta wrongful death lawyers.

For even more Client Testimonials visit our website at www.griffinlawfirmpc.com.

We also encourage you to utilize our legal videos that can be found at our Media Center on our website.

Call us today at 866-847-6545 or visit our website at www.injuryatlanta.com to have your legal questions answered and to have a free settlement evaluation. We are honest, reliable, hard working, and the law firm that will treat you like you are family.

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Car Wreck Claims , Personal Injury Claims , Social Security Disability Claims , Truck Accident Claims , Worker's Compensation Claims , Wrongful Death Claims

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What do you do it you are in a car wreck in Atlanta or anywhere in Georgia? As an Atlanta personal injury attorney for The Griffin Law Firm, P.C., Richard Griffin is asked this question almost every daily. How you conduct yourself at the accident scene can play a vital role in the outcome of your case.

First Step - Get Contact Information From All Witnesses: Immediately get all of the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of any witnesses at the car accident scene. Since witnesses are often busy or in a hurry, they often do not want to wait for the police to come. Therefore, your only opportunity to get the witness information is immediately after the car wreck. If you do not have a witness than many accidents become a swearing contest where each driver claims the other driver was at fault. This is especially true for lane changing cases or for car wrecks at intersections. Witnesses for these type of cases can mean the difference between all of your property damage and personal injury damages being paid by the negligent driver's car insurance, or you being stuck without an insurance company paying for your damages. Without a witness the insurance companies that represent the negligent driver will often take there insured’s word for it and deny the claim. The burden of proof is on the injured party so getting the witness contact information may make all of the difference.

Second Step - Write Down the Tag Number Of The Negligent Driver: If you are involved in a car wreck that was caused by another driver's negligence, you should immediately write down the tag number for the negligent driver, a description of the negligent driver's car, and a description of the negligent driver. This information could be very important in allowing the police to locate the owner of the negligent driver in their investigation of the accident if the negligent driver leaves the scene of the accident. Unfortunately hit and run car accidents occur quite often in Atlanta and throughout Georgia, so having this information is critical. Our personal injury attorneys at The Griffin Law Firm, P.C. are even able to use the tag information to find out which insurance company insures the vehicle that caused the accident.

Third Step - Call The Police: No matter how trust worthy or apologetic the negligent driver is always call the police. The police report will document the accident occurred and will have the officer’s opinion of who was at fault. Without it you are very vulnerable. A dishonest negligent driver could deny the collision even occurred or deny that he or she was at fault in the accident unless there is a police report. If the negligent driver denies the car wreck occurred or states he or she was not to blame for the accident, then insurance adjusters will often deny liability. Without a police report or witnesses it may be difficult to prove that you are entitled to recover for your personal injury medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and property damage.

Fourth Step - Take Photographs At the Scene: I strongly recommend that you take photographs of all cars involved immediately after the collision. This can be done by using your cell phone's camera or by carrying a camera in your car at all times. These photographs preserve the evidence that could be needed to prove you were not at fault. Many times the vehicles are moved to clear the roadway so these photographs could help with officer know what happened and our firm help prove your case. These photographs also are very valuable in showing the position of the vehicles when the wreck occurred, documenting the property damage to all vehicles involved, and can be a way to capture a picture of the negligent driver and tag number. Photographs which show substantial property damage can greatly increase the value of your claim. Jurors are very motivated when they see wrecked cars which show a lot of damage. Their nature thought when they see a demolished car is “how could anyone have survived that!” This is a great weapon for our firm to use in settlement negotiations and / or if the case is tried.

Fifth Step - Calmly Tell The Policy What Happened: Make sure you keep your cool when speaking to the police officer. If you are injured, then let the police officer know it. He will typically note if you were injured in the police report. If ask for an ambulance, then the police will usually note that your were injured. If you do not want an ambulance, then unless you make it clear to the police that you were injured, but would drive yourself to the doctor, the police will usually note "no injuries" on the police report. Adjusters will often use "no injury" notes from the police report against you by arguing you must not have been injured in the car wreck since you did not tell the police officer you were injured at the scene.

If you had to move your car, then show the police officer your photographs so he can see where the cars were. If you have witness information of witnesses that did not stay, give it to the police officer.

Seveth Step - Get Medical Treatment you Need: If you are injured, then you should get medical treatment as soon as possible. Delays in seeking medical treatment are often used by adjusters to argue you were not really hurt do to a gap in treatment. The longer the gap in treatment the stronger the adjuster will argue this. If you have serious injures, then you should seek treatment at the emergency room. If you do not wish to go to the emergency room, then seek treatment from your family doctor or a medical doctor or chiropractor. If our clients need help finding a doctor, then our firm can help you find a good doctor in your area. If you have health insurance or med pay coverage, then use it. This usually means that you will net more money in your settlement. If our clients need a doctor to treat you on a lien (no payment needed until the case settles), then our firm can help arrange this as well.

SEVENTH STEP - CALL THE GRIFFIN LAW FIRM ASAP SO WE CAN ADVISE YOU AND PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS IMMEDIATELY: The most important step is to call our firm [866-847-6545 or http://www.griffinlawfirmpc.com/] as soon as possible. We can make sure your property damage issues are resolved. We can help you get the treatment you need. We can do everything possible to maximize your recovery to make sure you are fairly compensated for your past and future medical expenses, past and future lost wages, and past and future pain and suffering.

Written by Richard S. Griffin, Attorney at Law. http://www.griffinlawfirmpc.com/ or call us at 866-847-6545.

Posted by Richard S. Griffin | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Auto Accidents , Car Wreck Claims , Personal Injury Claims , Truck Accident Claims , Wrongful Death Claims

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I recently read a study from the Insurance Research Counsel 2004 which found that settlements for injured victims who are represented by personal injury attorneys are three and a half times higher than those who represent themselves. This does not surprise me and confirms what I have found in my own personal injury practice. It seems that every week a potential new client will call my office frustrated and upset that the insurance adjuster is offering them such a small offer for their personal injury claim. Many times I accept these cases and have been able to increase the client's settlement considerably. I truly enjoy my job which allows me to help people recover what they deserve for their personal injury claims. These personal injury settlements must consider the cost of the medical treatment, the amount of lost wages, the type of injury, whether there is any punitive damage exposure, and pain and suffering. People who do not have an attorney often are at the mercy of insurance adjusters who give them take it or leave it low ball offers. Luckily you have a choice to even the playing field to make sure justice is done in your case. If you would like a free consultation, then call The Griffin Law Firm at 404-303-8400 or toll fee at 877-303-8440. You can also visit our website at www.griffinlawfirmpc.com for a free settlement evaluation.

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Car Wreck Claims , Personal Injury Claims , Truck Accident Claims

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People often struggle to make ends meet in Atlanta and throughout Georgia. For this reason, many people look for ways to save money everywhere they can. This is understandable. However, many people do not understand what the risk is to cutting corners on your Georgia car insurance should you have the misfortune of being seriously injured in a car wreck.

Georgia laws require that anyone who owns a car that is being driven on Georgia roads to have car insurance. Georgia law only requires liability coverage of $25,000/$50,000/$25000. This would be minimum coverage and would mean that the car insurance would only cover liability claims up to a maximum of $25000 per injured person and would only cover up to $50,000 per accident for Georgia personal injury claims. Since medical bills are higher than ever, if you are at fault for an accident and seriously injury another driver or pedestrian, then you could be on the hook for any excess jury verdict for the Georgia personal injury claim. This means that your personal assets (bank accounts, cars, houses, boats, etc.) could be lost if there was a jury verdict against you of more than your liability policy limits.

Another type of coverage available to you in your Georgia car insurance is uninsured motorist coverage and medical pay (med pay) coverage. These coverages are not required by Georgia law, but do offer you significant protection should you be seriously injured in a car wreck in Atlanta or throughout Georgia. Uninsured Motorist Coverage in Georgia is insurance coverage for any car wreck personal injury claims when the negligent driver who hurts you does not have auto insurance. This coverage can really be a life saver because if you do not have uninsured motorist coverage and you are injured by an uninsured driver, then you would not have any insurance coverage for your claim. Your only remedy would be to sue the individual and try to collect from their personal assets. The problem with this is that most people who are driving without car insurance do not have a lot of assets to recover against.

Uninsured motorist coverage also serves as under-insured motorist coverage when your claim is worth more than the negligent driver's liability policy limits. Recent changes in Georgia law for uninsured motorist coverage will give you the option to elect add on uninsured motorist coverage which would allow you to stack your uninsured motorist coverage on top of the liability policy. Traditional uninsured motorist coverage, now called "reduction" or "limits to limits" coverage [see O.C.G.A. Section 33-7-11(b)(1)(D)(ii)]. Under traditional uninsured motorist (which all uninsured motorist policy in Georgia if issued prior to 01/01/09), there is only under-insured motorist coverage when your uninsured motorist coverage exceeds the amount of liability policy limits. For example, under traditional uninsured motorist coverage ("reduction" or limits to limits") if you had $25,000 in uninsured motorist coverage and the liability policy was also $25,000, then you would have no under-insured motorist coverage. If you had $50,000 in uninsured motorist coverage on a "reduction" or "limits to limits" car insurance policy, then you would have $25,000 of uninsured motorist coverage. To have an under-insured motorist claim you must always obtain a policy limits offer from the liability carrier or you cannot pursue an under-insured motorist claim at all.

Georgia Medical Payment Coverage or "Med Pay" is medical coverage for you and anyone in your car who is injured in a car wreck. Since there are car wrecks in Atlanta and across Georgia every day, this coverage can be incredibly helpful. This coverage is a elected add on to your Georgia car insurance policy so you do not have to have it. You purchase a specific amount ($1000, $5000, $10,000, etc.) and each injured party in your car can get the medical treatment they need from a doctor of their choice up to that purchased amount. This Med Pay coverage can be especially important to people who do not have health insurance and need to have expensive tests, surgeries, pain management, etc. Without Med Pay or health insurance many specialists such as orthopaedic surgeons, neurologists, pain management doctors, etc. will not agree to treat injured people.

The cost of adding uninsured motorist coverage and med pay coverage is lower than you might expect. I strongly recommend you have these valuable coverages if you can afford it to protect yourself and your passengers should a tragic car wreck, truck wreck, motorcycle wreck, pedestrian accident occur to you or the ones you love.

As you can see there are many complex legal issues surrounding how to stack multiple car insurance claims. For this reason, it is very important to contact experience Georgia personal injury attorneys to represent you on these claims. The second reason why you need to hire a experience Georgia personal injury claim is because usually great settlements are the result of outstanding negotiation and litigation skills. Adjuster usually will offer far less to injured parties who are not representing because they know you do not know the true value of the case and do not have the ability to litigate the case if the adjuster's offers are unreasonable.

For a free case evaluation or legal consultation please do not hesitate to call me at 866-847-6535 or visit our website at http://www.griffinlawfirmpc.com/index.html.
Richard Griffin
Attorney At Law.

Posted by Richard S. Griffin | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Auto Accidents , Car Wreck Claims , Personal Injury Claims , Truck Accident Claims

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