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The conventional wisdom is that if you don't hit your head on anything in the car, that you can't have a concussion. And that's simply not true. You can sustain a concussion from any rapid deceleration of the head. This is exactly what can happen to a person's head when they're involved in a car accident. Conventional wisdom also says that if you have a "clean" CT scan that you, also, can't have a concussion. Again, this is simply untrue. The CT scan is merely to check for fractures and bleeding. If you don't have a fracture or internal bleeding, that's a good thing. But that does not mean you don't have a concussion. A concussion is, what's called, a "clinical diagnosis" and only skilled physicians can make such a diagnosis. Very often, ER physicians don't even bother trying. Their job is to ensure you're stable and discharge you. So, if you've been in a car accident and you're experiencing headaches, strange dreams, sleeplessness, a lack of mental focus or acuity, vision problems or memory problems, you may have a concussion and you should seek the help of a specialist. If you have questions about this, you can call my office at 770-322-4990.

A lot of good honest people, who have been injured in a car accident, try to negotiate with the other person's car insurance company themselves. They sign a full release authorizing the adjuster to obtain their medical records. They often go out and retrieve all those records and bills, for the adjuster, themselves. The adjuster insists that they complete treatment before the insurance company can settle the case. Once that time comes, the adjuster uses the fact that health insurance was used to pay the bills, to try and low-ball the injured person. They point to the fact that the out-of-pocket expenses are quite low even though the overall medical bills a very high. Not knowing the law, a lot of good honest people fall for this line of argument and accept far less than their case is actually worth. The truth is, in a jury trial, the jury will never know that you used health insurance to pay your medical bills. They'll never know what the adjusted bill was either. All they'll ever see is the full billed amount, which is the fair market value of your damages. If you have any questions about this, you can call me at 770-322-4990.

You should report every accident you're involved in. The driver of the other vehicle may be uninsured. If he/she is, and you don't report it, you may be precluded from utilizing your uninsured motorist coverage.

Under Georgia law, you can set the other person's insurance company up to have to pay Bad Faith damages and attorney's fees if you send them a demand pursuant to O.C.G.A. 33-4-7. You should take extra care to prove the value of your vehicle or the cost of the damages by getting as many estimates or comparables as possible. Or, you can hire an expert witness to do a pre-damage appraisal. The insurance company has 60 days to pay the demand. If they don't pay, you must sue the person who hit you but serve the insurance company as if they were a defendant in the case. You must go to trial and win. That means get as much (or more) than what you demanded from the insurance company. Then, and only then, can you reveal to the fact-finder (usually the jury) that you sent a demand pursuant to O.C.G.A. 33-4-7. The fact-finder then gets to decide if failing to pay your demand was in bad faith. If they do, you will be awarded $5,000 or 50% of the verdict...whichever is higher. Then, you can put on evidence of attorney's fees and be awarded those as well.