In this video, personal injury attorney Ted Spaulding reviews the process for negotiating with an insurance company and how to put yourself in the best possible position for success. 

How do you negotiate with an insurance company?

Hi, I’m Ted Spaulding, an Atlanta personal injury trial lawyer, and the founder here at Spaulding Law Firm. Keep watching this video to find out some tricks of how to negotiate with an insurance company.

So, this is a difficult one for laypeople to figure out and for lawyers, like myself, to guide someone. It’s, quite frankly, why a lot of people need an injury lawyer to represent them, to negotiate for them.

But if it is a case that you’re wanting to negotiate yourself, or you talk with us or another lawyer, and we do recommend this from time to time that, “Hey, try to handle it on your own at first,” here’s a couple of things. The overarching way to negotiate is you’ve got to be negotiating from a standpoint of strength. And the only way to do that is to know what your claim components are that make up the value.

Insurance companies, when they’re dealing with an injured party instead of a lawyer, may try to trick that person. I’ve heard a lot of stories. For example, insurance adjuster saying, “Oh, well, we do not give you the full amount of your medical bills. We only give you what insurance paid.” That’s not true. Georgia law requires it to be the full amount of the medical bills. So, you’re not negotiating from a place of strength if you agree with them that, “Oh, it’s I’ll take just what my medical bills were paid by the insurance company, not the full amount of the bill.”

So, it’s that sort of stuff. You need to get all the treatment that you need first, to be able to negotiate from a position of strength. It would be best if you did it well before the statute of limitations. That’s another way to negotiate from strength. That way they know, “Oh, if I don’t settle with this person, they may be going to an attorney.” Maybe even reach out to an attorney first, so you can truthfully say, “I have an attorney waiting in the wings if we can’t get this resolved. Let’s try to work this out.”

Those are all ways to negotiate from strength. And if you can’t feel comfortable doing that, then that’s the answer, that you need an attorney. If you feel comfortable, go forth and conquer. Try to get this resolved without a lawyer. That’s always a great situation.

So anyway, this is a couple of tips on how to negotiate. If you have any questions or concerns, comment to this video below. Or if you have a case that you would like to discuss with me, to see if my firm can handle, be more than happy to talk to you. Go to my website, spauldinginjurylaw.com. You can call me. There’s two phone numbers: 770-744-0780 and 470-695-9950. Thank you for watching this video.

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In this video, Georgia personal injury trial attorney Theodore Spaulding reviews what factors are involved in proving death during civil litigation 

How do you prove death in a civil case? Keep watching this video to learn the answer to this question. Hi, I’m Ted Spaulding. I’m Atlanta personal injury trial lawyer and I’m the founder here at Spaulding Injury Law. So this question is really, how do you prove wrongful death in a wrongful death civil case? So what you have to prove is that the death was caused by the negligence of another party, either an individual, a corporation, or both, right? So wrongful death. So we’re back to that standard injury negligence standard. Was the defendant or defendants negligent in causing the death of the plaintiff? So some case, it’s very easy to do, right? So if you’ve got a car wreck case, tractor-trailer, motorcycle wreck case, all right, those are easier to prove because you’ve got a police report most of the time. Police officer is investigating and determining the other party is at fault for causing the wreck that caused the death. Harder in medical malpractice cases, for instance, that the procedure or the doctor did something to cause the death, right, caused injury that caused the death. What oftentimes comes up in this is you’ve got an incident that appears to have caused the death, but the defense will try to find other arguments for why the deceased passed away other than that incident, okay?

So, for example, I had a case where a lady fell 16 feet to her death. She happened to be drinking at the time and it was a low guard rail, okay? So the negligence was, you know, but for that guard rail being too low below code, it would have kept her within the stairs. She wouldn’t have fallen over 15 feet to her death, right? She would’ve just fallen right there on the stairs, maybe broken something, that’s all her fault. But instead, because of the negligence, she died. So there’s a good example. The defense tried to say, “Oh, she’s drunk. She died of alcohol. It wasn’t the low railing.” They even tried medical malpractice because she survived for two hours and died at the emergency room. So those are all sorts of things, right, which is, are they going to try to throw mud and say, “Look, we understand there was this incident, but it did not cause the death”? So that’s what we’re talking about in these cases. It can be really nasty. We were talking to family members that are pursuing a wrongful death claim that are trying to grieve for their family member that have to bring this at a certain period of time. And they’re being told, “Well, we think they died for another reason.” So not a lot of fun having to pursue these kinds of claims, right, because we’re talking about someone who died. But this is a big issue, is proving negligence caused the death of the plaintiff.

All right. So, hopefully, this answered your question. If it did not, if you have other questions, if you have a claim or case you’d like to see if my firm can handle, please reach out to me, comment to this video below. Go to my website, spauldinginjurylaw.com, we’ve got a contact form on there, and we’ll reach back out to you. Give me a phone call, I’ll be happy to talk with you, 770-744-0890 or 470-695-9950. Thanks so much for watching this video.

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In this video, attorney Ted Spaulding reviews how much time you have to file a claim with an insurance company after an accident in Georgia. He also explains different potential scenarios and what can happen in the long term. 

How long do you have to file an insurance company claim after a car wreck? Hi, I’m Ted Spaulding, I’m an Atlanta personal injury trial lawyer and I am the founder here at Spaulding Injury Law: Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer. So, this is a tricky question because the nature of the question assumes we’re talking about a claim, not filing a lawsuit in court. So, you’ve just been in a wreck, how do you have to file a claim, set up a claim, if you will, with an insurance company? Well, remember, there’s two insurance companies at the very least. There’s the at-fault driver’s insurance company and then there’s yours. And there’s two different standards there. When it comes to the at-fault party, you technically don’t have a timeline within which you have to file a claim with the insurance company. Why? Because it’s not your policy. So, you could literally go to the statute of limitation, file a lawsuit, and never have notified the insurance company. There is no legal requirement. Of course, you’re gonna want to, there’s no reason not to. You’re gonna wanna do it quickly. Why? Because evidence can be lost, you want them to be reaching out to their driver to find out what he’s gotta say or she’s gotta say and hopefully, that’s admitting fault, just to work through the process. But otherwise, there’s no requirement other than you have to file a lawsuit within two years. That’s it when it comes to the at-fault insurance company.

Now it’s totally different when it’s yours. We’re talking a UM claim. I’ve got some articles and videos on UM. It’s a real tricky area, but this is your auto insurance that may supply additional monies to you for your damages in addition to the at-fault auto. So, you’re gonna wanna find out. Now, what is the requirement? Well, it’s all by case law because there is no statute. The policy that you have says you gotta do it timely. What does “timely” mean? It depends on what the courts have said “timely” means. And the standard here in Georgia, the smallest I’ve seen is 90 days where there has been an insured who did not reach out and tell their own insurance company that they had been hit by somebody for more than 90 days after the wreck. And the court kicked out their claim saying, “Yeah, your insurance will not cover you because you violated your policy. You did not give them timely notice of the wreck.” So I always tell people within days, you need to get to your insurance company and let them know that you were in this wreck, your car has been damaged and you have been injured. Yes, you may be dealing only with at-fault, long-term, but that way, you got them on notice, you’ve met that 90-day statute, and therefore, you’re not gonna lose your rights in the future should you need to use your insurance company. So, very, very important there.

Hope this helps. If you have any questions or concerns, please leave a comment to this video. If you’ve got a potential case that you would like to see if our firm can handle, you can go to our website, we have a contact form there, that’s spauldinginjurylaw.com, or give me a phone call. I got two phone numbers for you, 770-744-0780 and 470-695-9950. Thanks so much for watching this video.

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In this video, trial attorney Ted Spaulding reviews liability in personal injury cases during truck accidents in Georgia. 

Hi, Ted Spaulding here, founder, and lead trial attorney at Spaulding Law Firm. Thanks for watching this video. We’re gonna answer the question, who is liable in a truck accident in Georgia? So, the answer to this question is really important. It’s a great question to ask if you’re involved in a truck accident case here in Georgia. We’re talking tractor-trailer, semi, 18-wheeler, a commercial vehicle, all of those kind of fit in that same category. So, who’s liable? Well, in your standard tractor-trailer wreck case, there are multiple potential people entities that could be responsible for your wreck, and they all can be responsible in tandem, if you will. And that’s what makes truck accident cases so difficult to handle on your own. And why I always recommend if you’re in a serious truck accident, you need to speak with a lawyer and hire a lawyer. There are too many variables to do this on your own.

So who’s potentially liable? Who can you sue is the question. So, number one, the truck driver themselves, all right? They are one of the ultimate responsible parties, right? They’re the ones that were negligent, either violated a federal law, or a Georgia rules of the road law, right, in causing this wreck. Number two is their company, if they’re on the job at the time of the wreck. Ninety-nine percent of the time they are. So, the trucking company would be the next party to look at for potential liability. Beyond that, it starts to get tricky, and it depends on what the facts are. So, one, there could be a shipping company that performed negligently in the sense that they hired to have this truck loaded, and the trailer may be overloaded, and that’s part of why this occurred. They could be responsible for certain federal regulation violations, a multitude of things. Beyond the shipper could be an independent dispatch company that might be like a logistics company that might be involved in hooking up the trucking company with the shipper or with the product, buyer or the seller, you never know. So, they could be involved, the buyer or the seller could be involved. There’s so many different layers that could occur here. You got to know what you’re doing. And that’s why you got to hire an attorney that handles these types of cases. Not every personal injury lawyer really has a lot of experience with truck accident cases, they are more difficult. We’re typically talking much larger injuries, therefore more at risk, there’s more insurance coverage involved. All of these factors create an environment where the stakes are really high. The other side’s gonna hire lawyers very quickly, I’ve done a couple of other videos and articles on this subject matter. You’re already behind the eight ball, you have to get a lawyer involved starting to investigate for this exact topic who all is potentially at fault. You need to get in there and start that investigation immediately.

So, that hopefully answers the general question of who is potentially at fault in a truck accident case in Georgia. Please comment on this video below. Go to our website if you have any other questions related to tractor-trailer, semi, 18-wheeler, or commercial vehicle truck wreck cases. We have a ton of information on our website. Reach out to us, we’d be happy to answer any questions free of charge. We wanna make sure everyone understands their rights, understands what their case is all about. Thanks so much for watching this video.

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In this video, attorney Ted Spaulding explains what is needed to prove fault in a personal injury case. He reviews what elements will best help prove your story and get you favorable results. 

How to prove fault in a personal injury case. Keep watching this video to learn some of the techniques to prove fault.

Hi, I’m Ted Spaulding. I’m an Atlanta personal injury trial lawyer and the founder of Spaulding Injury Law.

So the answer to this question is every case is different depending on what type of case we’re talking about, whether it’s a car accident; it’s a premises liability, which is your slip and falls, trip and falls; if it’s a trucking case or a wrongful death case. Obviously, those components are a little bit different. But there’s some core ways that, throughout the different types of cases, that you can prove fault. And this is a good topic for lay people to listen to in case you are injured by the negligence of another so you know what to start to gather. You can help your lawyer get further down the road to proving fault by knowing what to look for.

So a couple of those general categories. Number 1, first and foremost, a police report or an incident report. So in a motor vehicle accident, we’re talking about the motor vehicle crash report from the police officer that comes out and investigates the accident, determines who’s at fault. Great evidence, obviously. Right? The more difficult ones are your premises liability cases or, let’s say, an assault case or something like that. You may have to have an incident report. So, you know, you trip and fall somewhere at a big retail box store, they’re going to have a report the manager fills out about what happened. That’s one way to prove fault.

Another way is witnesses. So no matter what type of case we’re talking about, if there are any witnesses to the incident who can say, “Hey, here’s how it happened. I saw the whole thing,” that’s some of the best evidence you could have. These people don’t have a dog in the fight. They’re not hired by you. They’re not hired by the defense. These people just saw what happened. Great evidence.

Another one, video. If there’s any video car wrecks, there’s video everywhere nowadays, so we’re always out there looking at security camera footage at different places, see if it captured the car wreck. Slip and fall, trip and fall cases, again, at big box retail stores and things like that, they’re going to have security footage that probably has you…shows you falling. That is great evidence of exactly what happened.

Photographs is another one. So after a wreck, if you take photographs of the damage to the vehicles, that could be used to help prove fault. If it’s a slip and fall or a trip and fall, if you take a picture of the hazard, that can help prove fault. So pictures are a big thing. One type of picture that a lot of people forget are the injury photographs, so less direct evidence of fault, but it goes to help prove what the injuries were and therefore, oh, they must have injured this person, which, again, is part of the fault, the negligence part of it. Okay? So photographs is a big one.

The other area would be any other type of documentation. What do we mean by that? Well, in your car wreck cases or your motorcycle wreck cases, probably not going to be a ton else that is going to show you who’s at fault, right, beyond what we’ve already talked about. But when you’re talking a premises liability case, a product liability case, a wrongful death, there may be documents from, let’s say, the corporate defendant that they had a board meeting where they talked about the incident and they determined, on their own, that their employee was at fault. Well, getting that in discovery can help prove fault in your case. So, kind of, your general category of all other documents that might be out there, that’d be another way to prove fault.

So these are just a couple of the areas of, in general, no matter what type of personal injury case you have, how to prove fault. If you’ve got any questions or concerns about your personal injury case or you have a case you would like for me to review, I’d be happy to answer any questions or review your claim or case and see if it’s something we might be able to handle. A couple of ways to get in contact with me, you can respond to this video with a comment, you can go to our website, spauldinginjurylaw.com, we have forms on there that you…

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In this video, attorney Ted Spaulding explains how damages work in a wrongful death case. He reviews how to differentiate a wrongful death claim and an estate claim, and how damages are actually defined. 

What damages are available in a wrongful death case in Georgia? Keep watching this video to find out.

Hi, I’m Theodore Spaulding. I’m an Atlanta personal injury trial lawyer and I’m the founder here at Spaulding Injury Law.

So we do a lot of wrongful death cases, unfortunately. They’re very sad cases to handle, but the question always becomes what damages are we pursuing? And this is a real nuance here. Why? Because I’ve got other articles and videos on this, there are two claims available. There’s a wrongful death claim and there’s potentially an estate claim. Two totally separate claims. So what we’re talking about here is the wrongful death claim, not the estate claim. The estate claim is for medical bills, funeral costs, lost earnings, those sorts of things, okay. The estate has those claims. The wrongful death claim, and therefore the damages that you’re pursuing in a wrongful death claim in Georgia, that is for the life of the deceased. So your family member, that is the item of damage that the jury is trying to come up with, not pain and suffering, that’s the estate claim. It is just what is the value of the life of the defendant? Okay. I mean, I’m sorry, of the plaintiff.

So you’re having to pitch to 12 jurors, this is the life that this person led, this is how much life they had left in front of them, things that they were doing or were going to do, children that they were going to raise, all these things to give the jury enough evidence to come up with a value of the life missed, basically, of this individual. So naturally, if you have a 20-year-old, who has a much longer lifespan, that’s probably gonna have more value than a 60-year-old, right? Because the jury is trying to determine, and it’s the value to that deceased person, by the way.

So this is where it gets even more complicated. It’s not the value to the family. “Oh, I miss my brother,” you know, “It’s really hard on me. I’m in therapy.” No, that’s not the damages. The damages are what is the loss of life to the deceased, and then the family is being compensated for that. So it’s a strange nuance. It’s what we have to do at a trial of a wrongful death case is to teach the jury this and make sure they understand that’s what they are determining under the law is the damages for that person’s loss of life and their future life. So hopefully that helps you out, answers your questions. If it does not, or if you have a claim or case you’d like to see if my firm can handle, please respond to this video below.

Go to my website, spauldinginjurylaw.com. We have a contact form on there and we’ll reach back out to you, or give me a phone call, 770-744-0890 or 470-695-9950. Thanks so much for watching this video.

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At the Atlanta office of Spaulding Injury Law, our truck accident attorneys work to hold negligent truck drivers and companies liable for any accidents and injuries they cause. If you have suffered injury in a truck accident, please contact our office for assistance today by calling (770) 744-0890 to schedule a free consultation with our truck accident attorneys.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA [1]) enacts and enforces numerous regulations that commercial truck drivers and companies must follow. These regulations are meant to keep other motorists safe and cover matters from rest and sleep break to random drug testing to truck inspections. One important FMCSA regulation requires truck drivers to pass a medical examination before they can receive or renew a commercial driver’s license. This requirement is intended to make sure that all drivers are physically capable of controlling a truck and to prevent adverse health events such as heart attacks or seizures from occurring on the road.

If you have been injured by a negligent truck driver, speak to a truck accident attorney at once.

New FMCSA Health Exemptions

In recent years, disability advocates have stood up to the FMCSA on behalf of individuals who have been disqualified from commercial driving due to certain medical conditions. Advocacy groups have stated that individuals with certain conditions have the ability to adapt their driving skills in order to safely operate motor vehicles as evidenced by their clean driving records. The claim was that prohibiting capable drivers due to a disability is unnecessary discrimination.

As a result, the FMCSA recently announced [2] certain health exemptions for test subjects, including the following:

• 17 drivers who are partially or totally hearing impaired
• 6 drivers who have had past seizures, are taking anti-seizure medication, but have not suffered a seizure episode in over five years
• 35 drivers who have visual impairments, including complete blindness in one eye, cataracts, corneal or retinal scarring, retinal detachment, macular degeneration, or one prosthetic eye

Though the FMCSA asserts these particular individuals will be able to safely operate large commercial trucks, several trucking safety groups and truck accident attorneys have voiced concerns that allowing them to drive commercially puts other motorists at an additional and unnecessary risk. Whether these drivers will cause accidents is yet to be seen and any injured motorists should contact a truck accident attorney for help as soon as possible.

[1] https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/

[2] https://thehill.com/regulation/221778-feds-green-light-more-partially-blind-deaf-seizure-prone-truck-drivers

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In this video, attorney Ted Spaulding explains how statutes of limitation work when dealing with a car accident claim in Georgia. He explains two different examples of how this could play out.

What Is The Statute Of Limitation On A Car Accident Claim? Keep watching this video to find out. Hi. I’m Ted Spaulding. I’m an Atlanta personal injury trial lawyer and I’m the founder here at Spaulding Injury Law.

So the answer to this question is well you may have two different statutes of limitations. So let’s talk about the first one, which is your personal injury claim. So that is your claim against the at-fault driver for injuring you, your medical bills lost wages pain and suffering, and any other incidentals relating to the injury that you suffered. That is a 2-year statute of limitation 9 times out of 10 here in Georgia. The only exceptions are things like if you are a minor that statute is still 2 years but it doesn’t start to run until after you reach the age of majority which is 18. Otherwise, for most of us, it’s gonna be a two-year statute of limitation from the date of the wreck.

The other claim that you may have if it’s your vehicle that was damaged is a property damage claim, now that is a four-year statute of limitation from the date of the wreck. So those are your two different statute limitations, be mindful of them. You want to try to resolve your claims well before those statutes are about to run, and what does it mean? The statute means you have to have filed a lawsuit by that anniversary date, so either two years or four years depending on what claim you need to file.

So I hope this answers your question. If you have any additional questions or if you have a claim you would like to see if our firm can handle, feel free to comment below. Go to my website spauldinginjurylaw.com, we have a contact form on there, or give me a phone call, two phone numbers for you are 770-744-0780 or 470-695-9950. Thanks so much.

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In this video, attorney Ted Spaulding reviews the process of handling a property damage claim with a lawyer. He explains different examples of property damage claims and how Georgia law impacts these cases. 

How To Handle A Property Damage Claim. Hi. I’m Ted Spaulding. I’m an Atlanta personal injury trial lawyer and the founder here at Spaulding Injury Law. So property damage claims, when we take on a new case, we typically have our clients handle the property damage themselves as long as they feel comfortable. We don’t charge a fee for handling it. Oftentimes we become the middle man and it’s much quicker if the client can handle it. And the reason we feel comfortable giving that advice is because property damage claims are so empirical, different from the personal injury claim, that oftentimes you don’t need a lawyer involved. You can come to an agreement with the insurance company because those numbers are so easily discoverable by all sides, and insurance companies don’t mess around on those values too much. So oftentimes you can handle it on your own, that’s the first thing.

The second is to remember that in Georgia you have the potential for at least two property damage claims and this comes up when your vehicle is repairable. So you’ve got the cost to repair it and then you would have a second claim for diminished value. It’s gonna have a Carfax report. It’s gonna garner less money down the road when you go to sell it because of the wreck and the repairs that were done, so two totally separate claims there. You may have a loss of use claim as well which is the time that…basically rental value, the time that you didn’t have that vehicle and didn’t have other transportation, that’s if they can’t get you into a rental vehicle. So you’ve got to know your claims first.

Number two, let’s say you’ve got…it’s a total loss. That’s really where you need the help, right? When it’s repaired, the repair people will work with the insurance company, they’ll get paid, it all gets done but when it’s a total loss that’s where it’s a little more difficult. What I tell folks is to go out and get three estimates. Get more if you can. Now we can do it all on the internet, Kelley Blue Book, edmunds.com, TrueCar, all these kinds of places, run with your stats, what your vehicle would be worth if you sold it to your neighbor, okay? So not the trade-in value but the fair market value. And take those numbers, average them out, that’s what you’re shooting for in negotiating your total loss.

Worst of worst case scenarios, you may have to hire an expert to actually give you that number and give you a full-blown report. That typically costs upwards of $500 to get an independent adjuster to do that for you. Hopefully you can avoid that though with all this information that’s out there now a day. So that’s how you properly handle a property damage claim here in Georgia. I hope this helps.

If you have any questions or concerns or if you have a potential case that you would like to see if my firm can handle, please respond to this video or go to my website, spauldinginjurylaw.com. We have a contact form on there, fill it out and we’ll reach out to you, or give me a call directly. Two phone numbers for you, 770-744-0890 and 470-695-9950. Thank you so much for watching this video.

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In this video, attorney Theodore Spaulding explains the steps needed to obtain the police report after a motor vehicle accident in Georgia. 

How to obtain a police report after a car accident? Hi, I’m Ted Spaulding. I’m an Atlanta personal injury trial lawyer, I’m the founder here at Spaulding Injury Law: Atlanta Personal Injury & Car Accident Lawyer. So, this is always the first step for us. When we take on a new case, we need to see the police report. So, we ask our clients, do you already have the police report? Often, they do. If they don’t, how do you get it? There are several ways to get it, but there are certainly easier ways to do it than others. If it’s a local police department or sheriff’s office very close to you, you can go down there and pick it up. Nowadays, it’s taking a good four to seven days for these to be ready. So, you would want to call beforehand, ensure it’s prepared, and then go down there to pick it up. Often, when you do it that way, it’s free. In many jurisdictions, you call their department, and they’ll email it to you. It’s free if you do it that way as well.

The most simplistic way, but it will cost you $11 is to go to buycrashreport.com. That is an internet system, you can type in Georgia and type in all of the information they need; they need a police report number; you should have gotten that from the investigating officer on his or her card, the date of the wreck, and your name. And it will pop up when it’s ready. If it doesn’t pop up, it means it’s not ready yet. Now, here’s the problem, that is even further delayed. So, when it’s ready at the police department or sheriff’s office, it may not go online for another three days. So, if you’re desperate and you need this very, very quickly it’s always better to call the department and see if they can email it to you, fax it to you, or do you need to come by and pick it up. Otherwise, use BuyCrash Report and you can pick it up for an $11 fee.

I hope this helps you get your police report. If have you any questions about this topic, shoot me an email, comment to this video. If you have a potential case that you would like to talk to me about, go to my website, spauldinginjurylaw.com. There’s contact form on there. Or give me a phone call, two phone numbers, 770-744-0890 or 470-695-9950. Thanks so much for watching this video.

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