Yes. When you cause an accident, you are legally obligated under Georgia law to pay for the damages you caused. The statute of limitations in Georgia for property damage to a vehicle is four years, meaning the other party could wait until June 2026 before filing suit against you and yet still... Read more »

Since the work was done in Georgia but his business is located in South Carolina, you have the option to sue him in the Georgia county where the work was done or in South Carolina. Since you live in Georgia, I would file suit in Georgia as it is most convenient for you. In Georgia, magistrate... Read more »

The answer to your question is governed by the Georgia Nonresident Motorist Act statute (specifically, O.C.G.A. 40-12-3). Under that statute, suit against a nonresident may brought (1) in the county in which the accident or injury occurred or the cause of action originated or (2) in the county of... Read more »

A discovery dispute is a two step process: (1) The law first requires that you confer with the opposing party in an effort to work through the dispute. If your attempt(s) to resolve the dispute do not work, then you go to the next step (2) File a motion to compel with the Court against the... Read more »

It is very common for a personal injury attorney to negotiate a reduction and no formal document is executed. This situation is particularly true if the attorney and the medical care provider work together frequently. It is certainly best practices for the reduction to be confirmed in writing... Read more »

You may serve a nonresident using the Georgia Nonresident Motorist Act statute. In order to do so, you must serve a copy of the complaint/summons on the Secretary of State AND by giving notice of such service and a copy of the complaint/summons by registered or certified mail or statutory... Read more »

Once a case settles, both sides are contractually obligated to fulfill their respective ends of the deal. In most instances, that means the injured party will sign a release while the other party will pay a sum of money. In the event either party fails to uphold its end of the bargain, the... Read more »

It is always preferable to settle a case short of filing a lawsuit. Lawsuits are expensive, time consuming, and stressful. In dog bite cases, a good first step is to learn the identity of the homeowner's insurer. If the homeowner will provide that information, you can then file a claim with... Read more »

The Uniform Superior Court Rules, which apply in both Georgia state and superior courts, provides the answer. Specifically, Rule 5.1 provides that in order for a party to utilize the court's compulsory process to compel discovery, any desired discovery procedures, like interrogatories, must... Read more »

It sounds like your issue is more with your apartment complex's insurance company than the apartment complex itself. Here are your options:

1) You could file a law suit against the apartment complex and the employee who caused the damage. That would certainly move your claim along... Read more »

If you were injured while within the scope of your employment, you do not have the option of filing a lawsuit against your employer. Instead, you would need to pursue a workers' compensation claim.

The short answer is yes. It does not matter that the apartment complex is pet friendly or that it was the maintenance man's dog who bit you. What matters is that you are able to show the owner of the dog knew (or should have known) about the dog’s dangerous propensities. This is done... Read more »

Yes. It is typical for an at-fault insurance company to request a claimant's social security number. The reason being is the insurer has an obligation, under federal law, to determine whether the injured claimant was enrolled in Medicare. If so, and if Medicare paid any of the medical bills... Read more »

No. An action may be dismissed by the plaintiff, without order or permission of the court, by filing a written notice of dismissal at any time before the first witness is sworn in at a trial.

The short answer is maybe. If the car breaking down was sudden and unexpected to the extent it was impossible to avoid stopping and temporarily leaving your disabled vehicle in the roadway, then I do not see any charges being filed. However, if you had reason to know the car was not roadworthy... Read more »

Based on the fact pattern you presented, I believe O.C.G.A. 40-6-42 is applicable to your situation. I suggest you Google it and see if that does not help you in your fight with the insurance company.

Section (d) discussing the "unnamed party" pertains to the insurance company for the person who caused the damages to your property.

In other words, since the insurance company failed to make a good faith effort to settle with you, your next step is to file a law suit against... Read more »

When filing a complaint with multiple claims, it is best to set out each claim separately. In other words, it should look like "Count I - Negligence," "Count II - Extortion," "Count III - Conversion," and so on. Under each count heading, set forth the law for that... Read more »

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) that governs privacy when it comes to human medical care does not apply to veterinary patients. However, Georgia has a statute on point, O.C.G.A. 24-12-31(a) which provides [n]o veterinarian licensed under Chapter 50 of Title 43 shall... Read more »

I suggest pursuing a claim against the dogs' owner. Hopefully the dogs' owner owns his/her home. If so, that will mean the dogs' owner likely has a home owner's insurance policy which will be available to compensate your daughter for her injuries.