How Will COVID-19 Impact Personal Injury Claims in Georgia?

The coronavirus pandemic is the worst public health emergency most Americans have ever experienced. Thus far, hundreds of thousands have tested positive for COVID-19, and tens of thousands have died from it. In response to the outbreak, Georgia and most other states have issued ?stay-at-home? orders to help slow the spread of the virus and prevent hospitals from getting overwhelmed. So how does COVID-19 impact personal injury law?

The impact of COVID-19 has been felt in every area of our society, and it will continue to reverberate long after this pandemic subsides. Although not everyone will contract the virus, no one is immune from the effects of it – including the legal system.

At the moment, there is limited access to the Georgia courts, and if hearings are held, they are usually done via teleconference or videoconference. At Ross Moore Law, we want you to know that, in spite of the challenges presented by the coronavirus outbreak, we are still open and ready to serve you. The health and well-being of our clients remains our number one priority, and as such, we are taking all the precautions and following all the social distancing guidelines.

From the beginning, our firm was built with a mind toward providing strong personalized representation while leveraging the most up-to-date technologies to ensure smooth and efficient operations and an outstanding client experience. This has paid strong dividends as we have been able to rapidly transition into a fully operational virtual office during this unprecedented time for our state and country.

How the Coronavirus might Affect your Personal Injury Case

Access to Medical Care

When someone gets injured as a result of another party?s negligence, it is very important for them to get prompt medical treatment. This is not only true from the standpoint of your physical (and oftentimes emotional) recovery, but also for your legal claim. An injured party has a legal duty to mitigate their losses by receiving the care they need to recover or reach maximum medical improvement.

COVID-19 impact on personal injury claims is visible when it comes to difficulties patients who are being treated for a personal injury. Some have had their appointments canceled or rescheduled, and many elective procedures have been put on hold in order to preserve capacity for expected COVID-19 patients. There is very little that can be done about a mandatory delay for certain types of medical care, but patients still need to be diligent, keep their appointments, and do what they can to follow all of their doctor?s recommendations.

This brings up another issue that many personal injury victims are experiencing. With the understandable concern about running into COVID-19 positive patients at the hospital or clinic, some victims are apprehensive about going in to see the doctor. It is important to understand, however, that these facilities are going to great lengths to keep everyone healthy, including putting on masks, keeping patients distanced from each other, and sanitizing surfaces. Although you can never completely eliminate the risk of contracting the coronavirus, the risk is minimal, and it would be far worse to miss out on the treatment you need to get recovered from your injury.

Court Access

As mentioned earlier, Georgia courts are limited to emergency proceedings for the time being. This means that personal injury trials that were scheduled for the Spring have been postponed. But although the wheels of justice are turning more slowly these days, much of the work that goes into a personal injury case continues unabated. For example, we are still able to review police reports and gather other critical facts and pieces of evidence for a claim, and many depositions are still being held through videoconferencing as long as the opposing counsel is cooperative. When everything reopens, there is likely to be a backlog of cases for a while, but we are confident that things will return to normal before too long.

Increased Pressure to Settle your Claim

With the delays in the court schedule and tighter finances for many households where a breadwinner may have lost their job because of COVID-19, many personal injury victims are feeling increased pressure to settle their claims. COVID-19 impacts personal injury cases when addressing insurance agencies too. Insurance companies are also aware of this situation, and many of them are trying to drag things out so claimants are more motivated to settle for a very low amount.

Unfortunately, the offers claimants are likely to receive right now will probably only represent a fraction of what they are entitled to. This is why it is more important than ever to have strong legal counsel by your side fighting hard to recover the full and fair compensation you need and deserve. COVID-19 impact on personal injury law is undeniable however it offers even more reason to have a skilled personal injury attorney to successfully manage through each hurdle and get you justice.

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If you or a loved one suffered an accident injury because of the negligent or reckless actions of another party, do not put off obtaining legal help because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Attorney Ross Moore is here for you and we are ready to go to work immediately on your accident claim.

Our Atlanta personal injury law firm offers a track record of successfully managing car accident, truck accident, boating accident, motorcycle accident, wrongful death, catastrophic injury and other personal injury claims throughout Fulton County & the greater state of Georgia.

With experienced legal advice and legal representation, Ross Moore Law is ready to manage your accident claim so get your initial free consultation today!

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