Featured Case: Against State of Georgia
On June 20, 2012, our client was riding his bicycle on Georgia Highway 77 in Oglethorpe County, Georgia when an employee of Advantage Behavioral Health Systems, a Community Service Board for the State of Georgia, lost control of her vehicle and struck our client from behind. Our client was propelled into the car windshield and down onto the asphalt.
Our client was in fantastic health before the crash. In fact, he had just won a triathlon. As a result of the crash, he suffered a closed head injury, significant scarring, an injury to his shoulder requiring surgery, as well as injuries to his neck and lower back. We were hired to pursue a claim against the at fault driver. Since the driver was a State employee, we had to place the State of Georgia on notice of our claim within one year of our client’s wreck. This notice is called an ante litem notice.
Georgia law sets out specific rules for when and how you must notify a county, city or state government if you intend to bring legal action. Separate Georgia statutes govern the service of ante litem notices on cities, counties and the State. Each has different time frames for the notice. Since our client’s claim was against a State employee, the ante litem notice had to be filed within twelve months of the crash. Please keep this in mind if you believe you, or a family member, may have a claim against a government entity.
The Attorney General’s Office for the State of Georgia defended our client’s claim aggressively. Fortunately, we were able to negotiate a substantial settlement for our client.
If you or someone you know has been involved in an accident, please contact our offices to see how we can help you.