Our firm is located in Peachtree City, just south of Atlanta, Georgia. We focus on helping injured people throughout Georgia. We only take personal injury cases. This allows us to fully understand Georgia Personal Injury Law, since we do not have to practice other areas. Our firm is focused on several things: getting our clients the medical care they need (whether this is a chiropractor, physical therapist, medical doctor, orthopedist or any other specialist), finding all of the available insurance coverage, and fighting to make sure our clients receive fair compensation for their injuries. This includes compensation for medical bills, medical treatment, lost wages, pain, suffering, and disruption of life, and sometimes punitive damages.
While we attempt to settle our clients' cases without filing a lawsuit or going to court, this is sometimes impossible. If the insurance company will not make a fair offer, we will file suit against the insurance company and go to court.
Within the Personal Injury area of law we spend a large amount of our practice in several areas: car accidents, victims of drunk drivers, pedestrian/ crosswalk accidents, wrongful death cases, and brain injured clients.
I have been practicing personal injury law in Atlanta for many years. After working at one of the biggest Personal Injury Firms. I left to start my own firm. After establishing the firm, I focused on personal injury cases. My offices have grown tremendously over the past several years, and as a result I have been able to hire several attorneys with over 35 years combined experience and we have established a reputation as a personal injury law firm that is not afraid to file suit, whether the case is large or small I am constantly working in the best interests of my clients.
Example cases
A recent case that my firm settled was a drunk driving accident. The drunk driver struck the vehicle our clients were riding in. One of our clients suffered a broken arm and required surgery. The second suffered from "soft tissue" injuries, but required epidural steroids shots for continuing pain after chiropractic treatment. Initially the insurance company claimed that their driver had a concussion and was not drunk at the scene. They made offers ignoring the punitive damages portion of the case. We rejected their settlement offer, followed the criminal trial, forwarded all the medical information to the Coweta County Solicitor, talked to their office and made sure that the drunk driving charge was not dropped. We also investigated the history of the drunk driver and found that after our accident, she had received a second drunk driving charge. After finding this information, and after the criminal case, we contacted the insurance company and shortly afterward, the cases settled. One client received the insurance policy limits, and the other case settled for very close to the insurance policy limits. Our clients were very happy that we fully investigated the case since for one, the settlement was over 3 times what was offered in the beginning.
Law Offices of Shane Smith
263 Highway 74 N
Peachtree City
GA
30269
We offer a free initial consultation either in person or over the phone. We do not normally set a specific limit of time for the consultation. I want everyone to have a clear picture and understanding of the case and the services my firm would provide on the case at the end of the consultation. Most consultations last between 15 minutes to an hour depending on the complexity of the case.
All of our cases are on a contingency fee basis. Our normal fee is 1/3 of the settlement if a lawsuit does not have to be filed.
Our firm does not normally do hourly work as we limit our practice to personal injury cases, and I feel that if a personal injury lawyer does not feel confident enough in the case to take it on a contingency fee basis, then he or she does not need to take the case.
Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
After-hours case consultations are also available Monday thru Friday.
Andrew Waits
Yes
English
Spanish.
While initially in the Army I practiced criminal law. After representing personal injury clients for several years, I decided it was where my passion lies. I represent people who have not done anything wrong. My clients were hurt by someone else's negligence and carelessness. Fighting to make sure that my clients can get the medical care they need, and that they are not stuck owing medical bill because the insurance company wants to argue it isn't related or they should not have seen this doctor, is what I want to do, every day.
I think that any client should educate themselves about their personal injury case. That is why on our website we answer so many questions and have so many different articles. Most people only have one or two personal injury cases their entire life. Deciding which lawyer to hire to help them or how to handle the case on their own is a very important decision. I feels so strongly about client education that I wrote two books to educate clients and give them away at no cost on our firm website. I feel that an educated client can make better decisions about a case and is also less likely to make a mistake that could cost them thousands of dollars.
We always try to have our clients involved in their case. It is, after all, their case. We don't encourage our client's to have direct communication with the insurance companies about a personal injury case though. We feel that our clients have hired our firm to reduce the stress of this event, and as part of that, they shouldn't worry about dealing with the insurance company. In cases that we cannot take, we will review someone's documents in an attempt to help. I also frequently advise people about what type of insurance coverage they have purchased and what they should consider buying to protect themselves in case of a car accident.
I frequently talk to people who may not need a lawyer in their personal injury case. I offer my book — The Georgia Guide to Personal Injury to people and direct them to the questions on my website. For a simple case with no significant continuing treatment , for example, an Emergency Room visit only, I talk to people about how to determine whether the offer is fair or not.
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