Macon Personal Injury Lawyer

Hidden Injury Complications That Don’t Appear Until Weeks Later

When accidents happen, the initial hours and days that follow can feel like a blur of hospitals, doctors, insurance calls and even police interviews. Piecing together what happened and what comes next can be overwhelming, but you do not need to do it alone. Call Merritt & Merritt Law Firm at 478-845-6464 to speak with a Macon personal injury lawyer about your rights and options, or contact us online.

Our Macon personal injury lawyers help people ensure that their rights are protected in the aftermath of accidents. We are experienced attorneys who have dedicated our careers to getting people injured in accidents the full compensation available under the law.

At Merritt & Merritt Law Firm, we understand the pain, stress and confusion that often comes with accidents. Our lawyers also know that often the full extent of injuries is not clear until weeks after they are sustained. That is all the more reason to seek the advice of a seasoned personal injury lawyer as soon as possible.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, our Macon personal injury lawyers are just a phone call away. Call us today at 478-845-6464 to speak with an attorney about your rights and options.

Common Personal Injury Cases

Accidents can and do happen. Our attorneys represent people and families in Macon and across the state in a wide range of cases.

Here are some of the most common cases that we see:

Car Accidents

The risk of crashes is part of life on the road, whether a driver or passenger in a motor vehicle or a pedestrian or bicycle rider mixing with traffic.

When car accidents happen, they can cause a variety of injuries that range from the relatively minor to catastrophic or fatal. That is true even for seemingly insignificant fender benders at low speeds.

Car accidents are often caused by drivers who make mistakes behind the wheel. Speeding, drinking and driving and distracted driving are some of the most common factors in crashes. Drivers who fail to operate their vehicles in a reasonably safe manner are typically liable for any crashes that happen as a result. So are their insurers, although these companies tend to fight tooth and nail to reduce claims or avoid paying them out altogether.

Our Macon personal injury lawyers have significant experience representing people and families who have been injured in collisions. We have a track record of maximizing the compensation for our clients through negotiated settlements and lawsuits that go all the way to trial.

Truck Accidents

Crashes involving trucks can be especially severe because of the size of the big rigs and the speed at which they regularly travel. That is not to mention that truck drivers often are pushed to stay on the road for long stretches of time, leading to fatigue that can prove deadly.

Shoddy vehicle maintenance and repair also is a common factor in truck accidents. Trucks spend a significant amount of time on the road hauling heavy loads. They require regular maintenance and inspections to limit unexpected breakdowns and ensure they are in good working order.

Jackknife and rollover accidents are typically among the most severe. Trucks tend to careen into multiple lanes of traffic in these crashes, suddenly creating a new obstacle. These accidents are routinely caused by driver error, such as speeding, improper braking or sudden swerving. They can also happen when truck loads are not properly secured.

Defective Products

Some of the most common and frequently used products are also some of the most dangerous. Whether it is an ordinary kitchen appliance or heavy machinery, malfunctioning products threaten to wreak havoc.

The law requires that all products are reasonably safe when used as intended. Manufacturers are typically liable when products do not live up to this standard, although others may also be to blame in certain situations.

Work Injuries

Employees who are injured on the job in Georgia have the right to workers’ compensation benefits. This is a form of insurance: companies and other employers across the state are required to pay in so that benefits are available when needed.

In Georgia, workers’ compensation benefits include coverage for medical care and payments for missed wages while the injured person is not able to work. These benefits are also available for people who develop job-related illnesses.

Medical Malpractice

The unfortunate truth is that doctors and other medical care providers make mistakes that can have tragic, life-changing consequences. Whether it is misdiagnosing an illness, prescribing the wrong medication or making an error in the operating room, missteps can prolong ailments, make them worse or cause new problems.

Georgia law holds health care professionals responsible when they cause people harm, whether it is by simple mistake, reckless negligence or willful action. Our Macon personal injury lawyers help people take action.

Nursing Home Abuse

Nursing home neglect and abuse is a real threat to seniors and their families across Georgia.

The people who reside in nursing homes are often some of the most vulnerable members of a community. Still, the home operators and staff entrusted with helping keep seniors safe are often found to be cutting corners or failing their jobs. Homes are too often understaffed, run by people who are not properly trained or simply prioritize profits over the people they are supposed to serve.

Types of Injury Complications That Don’t Appear Until Later

The full extent of a person’s injuries are not often immediately clear, whether it is after a fender bender or following a medical treatment mistake.

Injuries may at first seem minor in the aftermath of a car accident. For example, you might feel sore, shaken up or even a bit embarrassed. Otherwise, you feel “fine,” So you try to get some rest, take over-the-counter pain relievers and assume you will recover quickly. It’s not until days later – or weeks, sometimes – that you notice something changes. Maybe you suddenly develop headaches that were not there before, begin to notice numbness in a certain part of your body or find new difficulty focusing.

In other words, what initially seemed like a minor accident now feels more serious. It turns out that this scenario is quite common. Many legitimate injuries do not appear right away. They may instead evolve over time as inflammation sets in or as the body reacts to trauma. While the experience can be confusing, frustrating and even scary, it is well established among doctors and lawyers that delayed symptoms do indeed happen.

Our Macon personal injury lawyers commonly see cases in which symptoms develop over time. That includes these kinds of injuries:

• Whiplash and neck injuries
• Concussions and traumatic brain injuries
• Herniated discs
• Soft tissue damage, like sprains and tears
• Internal injuries
• Psychological trauma

The problem is these and other injuries tend to get worse the longer they go untreated. It is crucial to seek prompt medical treatment after an accident, even if you are not feeling any symptoms or believe them to be minor.

It is also important to be prepared for insurers to take a skeptical eye toward late-developing symptoms, despite the fact that they are widely recognized as common. The sad truth is that many insurers look for any way to avoid paying claims. They often push back against “late” claims, arguing that the injuries were caused later and were not related to the accident.

That is where we come in. Our attorneys know how insurers approach these situations and understand the tactics they use to try to limit their responsibilities. We fight aggressively to get clients the full compensation available.

Compensation for Your Injuries

Anyone who is injured in an accident in Georgia has the right to seek compensation from those responsible, whether it is a negligent truck driver, a defective product manufacturer or a doctor who makes a mistake in treating an illness.

The money damages commonly awarded in personal injury cases generally are meant to put an injured person back in the financial position that he or she was in at the time of the accident. They cover costs that you have already incurred, as well as those that you can be reasonably expected to incur in the future.

That includes compensation for:

• Hospital and medical expenses
• Lost wages
• Impact on day-to-day life activities
• Pain and suffering
• Rehabilitation costs
• Scarring and disfigurement
• Disability
• Emotional distress and trauma

Additional punitive damages, which are designed to punish a person or entity, may be awarded in cases involving especially reckless or egregious conduct that causes injuries.

In the tragic case that a person is killed in an accident in Georgia, certain family members have the right to seek similar compensation for wrongful death.

No amount of money will allow you to rewind the clock and stop an injury from ever happening or bring back a loved one who has been killed. Still, compensation can help injured people get back on their feet and resolve some of the financial strain that often comes with accidents.

Merritt & Merritt Law Firm Helps People Get Back on Their Feet

At Merritt & Merritt Law Firm, our Macon personal injury lawyers are dedicated to helping people and families who have been injured through no fault of their own. We fight diligently to protect and defend our clients’ rights, from the first consultation through final resolution.

Our goal is to help you move on with your life after an accident by getting the full compensation available under the law. Call our team at 478-845-6464 for a free, no-risk consultation. You can also contact Merritt & Merritt Law Firm online or learn more about our attorneys.