Georgia Auto Accident Checklist - How To Prove a Georgia Car Wreck Case

When you have been injured in a car accident through the negligence of another, you must prove certain elements in order to secure a recovery. It is not enough to simply show that you are hurt (although this is one component). You must also "establish liability."

To establish liability in an auto accident case is to prove someone was negligent in causing the accident. There are three things an injured victim must prove to recover for injuries sustained in an accident. The first thing you must prove is negligence.

As a Georgia accident lawyer, we say that someone is negligent when they fail to act as a reasonably prudent person would under like circumstances. Believe it or not, Georgia law actually spells out how a reasonably prudent driver should operate their vehicle in the Official Code of Georgia. These rules are more commonly referred to as the "Rules of the Road."

What exactly these Rules of the Road are is pretty much common sense. You have to watch where you are going, don't follow too closely, don't speed, don't drink and drive, yield to on-coming traffic, etc. If another driver fails to operate their car according to one of these rules and causes an accident, they have been negligent. But the analysis doesn't stop there. Negligence by itself does not create a personal injury case. There must also be proximate cause and damages.

Proximate cause simply means that a person's negligence must have been the cause of an injury. In an auto accident case you would have to prove the at-fault driver was negligent AND that that negligence caused your injury. This principle is best illustrated by an example.

Let's say you were in a car wreck on Tuesday. On Wednesday you fell down your stairs. On Thursday you went to the doctor complaining of back pain. In this instance you would have a hard time proving that the car accident was the proximate cause of your injury. Why? Because there was another intervening cause (the fall down the stairs) that also could have caused your injury.

The final thing you must prove to recover for an auto accident case in Georgia is damages. Generally this means there must be some kind of injury. You can be in the most horrific accident imaginable, but if you walk away unscathed you don't have a case. Damages include things like medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

To conclude - in order to recover in Georgia for injuries sustained in a car, automobile, truck or motorcycle accident you must prove three things: 1.) Negligence; 2.) Proximate Cause; and 3.) Damages.


Terrell Law Firm has offices in Marietta and Athens, and serves clients throughout the state of Georgia. 

Cities: Atlanta, Marietta, Athens, Hiram, Douglasville, Acworth, Kennesaw, Canton, Austell, Mableton, Alpharetta, Roswell, Duluth, Decatur, Athens, Lagrange, Newnan, McDonough, Peachtree City, Lawrenceville, Covington, Conyers, Dalton, Cartersville, Rome, and Washington.

Counties: Cobb County, Fulton County, Paulding County, Douglas County, Dekalb County, Cherokee County, Gwinnett County, Clayton County, Clarke County, Troupe County, Henry County, and Bartow County.