Resource Guides · Where to Start
Where to Start: Georgia Injury and Business Legal Guides
Two short reading paths, one for people who were hurt and one for business owners. Each goes in the order you'll actually decide things: learn the basics, compare your options, then decide what to do.
Pick the path that fits you. If you were hurt, start with the deadlines and the fault rule, because they decide whether you have a claim at all; then compare your options with the insurers; then decide whether you need a lawyer. If you run a business, start with the Georgia rule behind your question, compare handling it yourself with getting help, and only then look at what a lawyer would cost. Every page ends with a link to the next step, and some of them will tell you that you don't need us.
Personal injury
I was hurt
For people injured in a crash, fall, dog bite or other accident in Georgia, and for families after a death.
- 1
Learn
Understand the deadlines, the fault rule and the first conversations with insurers.
Steps to take right after a car accident
What to do at the scene and in the first days: care, reports, photos and witnesses.
How long you have to file
Georgia's two-year rule, and the much shorter notice deadlines for government claims.
If you were partly at fault
Georgia's 50% rule and how your share of fault reduces what you can recover.
The insurer wants a statement
What to say, and not say, when the other driver's adjuster calls.
- 2
Compare
Weigh your options: which insurance pays, whether to take an offer, and how different claims work.
Which insurance pays after a crash?
The other driver's liability, your UM, MedPay and health insurance, side by side.
The insurer made an offer
Accept, negotiate or file suit: what a release ends, liens to clear first, and the deadline.
How settlements are worked out
What goes into a Georgia car accident settlement, and why there's no formula.
Hurt at work: comp or a third-party claim?
Who you can sue besides your employer after a jobsite injury, and how the two claims interact.
Hurt by a city, county or state vehicle or road
The 6-month and 12-month notice rules, what each notice must say, and where it goes.
Wrongful death vs. survival action
Two different claims after a death: who brings each one and what each recovers.
Car vs. truck accident claims
Why a crash with a commercial truck is handled differently from a car crash.
- 3
Decide
Decide whether you need a lawyer, how the fee works, and what to ask before you hire one.
Do you need a lawyer?
When an injury lawyer helps, and when you can likely handle the claim yourself.
10 questions to ask before hiring
Who handles your file, how costs work, and how often you'll hear from the lawyer.
How contingency fees work
What a Georgia fee agreement must say, and the questions to ask before you sign.
What happens at a free case review
What you'll be asked, what to bring, and what you should leave knowing.
Choosing a car accident lawyer near Jefferson
What to check before you hire a lawyer for a Northeast Georgia crash.
Switching injury lawyers
Your right to change lawyers mid-case, and how the fee is usually handled.
Business law
I run a business
For Georgia small business and trade owners with a company, contract, payment or employee question.
- 1
Learn
Understand the Georgia rule that applies to your company, your crew or your contract.
- 2
Compare
Compare your options: doing it yourself or hiring help, and the choices owners weigh most often.
Online LLC service or a lawyer?
What the state filing asks for, what a filing service does, and when a lawyer adds value.
Template or lawyer-drafted contract?
When a template is fine, the Georgia terms templates often miss, and a middle option.
LLC, sole proprietor or S corp?
How the common business structures compare for a Georgia contractor.
1099 vs. W-2 workers
How to tell a contractor from an employee, and what misclassification costs.
Pay-if-paid vs. pay-when-paid
Two payment clauses that look alike and shift risk very differently.
Mediation, arbitration or court
How the three routes compare for a Georgia construction dispute.
Collecting from a customer who won't pay
Demand letter, lien, magistrate court or a lawsuit: which fits your balance.
- 3
Decide
Decide what kind of legal help fits, what it costs, and what to ask before you hire.
Questions to ask before hiring a business lawyer
Conflicts, who does the work, billing, response time, and what's outside the scope.
What a business lawyer costs
Hourly, flat fee or a monthly plan, what drives the bill, and the rates we publish.
Your first business law consultation
What to bring for each kind of problem, and what you should leave knowing.
Do you need a lawyer on retainer?
Outside general counsel compared with hourly help and an in-house hire.
Outside General Counsel Program
Three published monthly plans with included attorney hours.
Contract drafting and review
Help with customer, vendor and subcontract agreements before you sign.
Rather talk it through?
Parisi Law Firm works from 218 Athens Street in Jefferson, Georgia, with clients across Northeast Georgia and metro Atlanta. Call and tell us whether it's an injury or a business matter.
(404) 594-5130These guides are general information about Georgia law, not legal advice, and reading them does not create an attorney-client relationship.