Should I hire a lawyer for an accident claim?

What jurisdiction are you in?

I live in DeKalb county GA. City of Atlanta vehicle rear ended me.

Do you have the police report as evidence?

You may not want to deal with a lawyer but they will certainly have one of their own. They would have the upper hand and might exploit any loopholes and inconsistencies in the case.

Without a lawyer, you are going to have to deal with contract law, statutes of limitations, etc....

I'd suggest an attorney and have the legal fees paid as extra in the lawsuit by the defendant if you win the case.

How long ago has the accident been? I have the strange feeling that it seems like it happened a while ago. You will have to be able to collect all the physical evidence and documentation like your medical records and the car repair shop bills, etc....

The accident was three weeks ago. I do have a police report, and the city vehicle was cited as being at fault in the report. I did immediately obtain counsel, but am considering firing my attorney and handling things myself. Not sure if this is a good idea....

Well I'm reminded by the adage ... a lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client.

Thanks for responding Tsar Stepan, butI was hoping for a response with a wee bit more substance. Not to be rude, but why ask for details if the adage is your only opinion?

You are not going to find legal advice on a2k or any other responsible internet website.

You may get opinions, and Tsarstepan's question will be useful to others.

Actually, claimants pursuing their matters when liability is very clear is not unheard of. This does not appear to be a complicated matter of who said the light was red or anything of the sort, although sometimes there are complications when it's unclear who's driving or whether there is policy coverage or who owns the other vehicle. From the facts as presented, those do not appear to be the case but I caution CAUBABIES2001 that any of these things could be at stake and things may not be as cut and dried as they appear on the surface.

The real question is -- and you will need to do some research on this -- whether you have a case at all if Georgia is a no-fault jurisdiction (and I don't know, but you should be able to check). In no-fault jurisdictions there is generally a threshold that you must go above in order to be able to not just have your claim dismissed in court. Generally a broken bone is good enough to do that but it sounds like you do not have that so the matter is trickier.

Try Googling "Georgia no fault insurance" and, if Georgia is indeed a no-fault state, then Google "Georgia no fault threshold" and see what you come up with.

I cannot really tell you more as that would be representing you and offering a legal opinion, which is against our Terms of Service, but that is the direction where you should be going. I hope this is of help to you -- fortunately you have some time but you should also Google "Georgia auto accident Statue of Limitations" and see how much time you really do have to file a claim with the court, assuming that you can.

I hope this is of help to you.