Personal Injury Lawyer in Norcross, GA

Buford Highway and people on foot

Buford Highway runs through Norcross as a wide, fast commercial road lined with businesses, apartment complexes and bus stops. Long stretches have no marked crossing. People walk it every day: to work, to the bus, to shops across the road. Many of them have no safe place to cross, and pedestrians are struck far too often.

Pedestrian crashes raise specific questions. Georgia drivers must yield to pedestrians in crosswalks (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-91). Pedestrians crossing elsewhere must yield to traffic (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-92), and insurers use that to argue the person on foot was partly at fault. Lighting, the distance to the nearest crossing, the driver’s speed and whether the driver was distracted all matter. If you own a car, your own uninsured motorist coverage may cover you as a pedestrian. That matters, because these crashes are often hit-and-run. See pedestrian accidents.

Georgia’s Governor’s Office of Highway Safety publishes the full text of the pedestrian laws. That includes the rule that drivers must stop and stay stopped at crosswalks.

Jimmy Carter Boulevard and I-85

Jimmy Carter Boulevard is one of Gwinnett’s busiest roads, and its I-85 interchange is a constant source of crashes. Traffic merges, slows suddenly, and crosses several lanes to reach a turn. Peachtree Industrial Boulevard and Beaver Ruin Road add more fast, multi-lane traffic.

Industrial work and injuries

Norcross has one of the largest concentrations of industrial and warehouse jobs in the metro. They sit in the parks along Peachtree Industrial and the I-85 corridor. Warehousing, distribution, manufacturing and building services produce a steady stream of workers’ compensation claims — lifting injuries, forklift and equipment accidents, falls, and repetitive strain.

Many workers in these jobs are hired through staffing agencies. If that is you, report the injury in writing to both the agency and the site supervisor, within 30 days (O.C.G.A. § 34-9-80). When nobody is sure who to tell, sometimes nobody gets told — and claims are lost that way.

If you were hurt in a crash while working, there may be two claims. See work-related car accidents.

The rules

Georgia is an at-fault state. Your recovery is reduced by any share of fault assigned to you, and barred at 50% (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33). Most injury claims must be filed within two years (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33). Workers’ comp claims are generally filed within one year (O.C.G.A. § 34-9-82).

If a case goes to court

Norcross is in Gwinnett County, whose courts sit in Lawrenceville. Most claims settle; where one is filed, if it does not, depends on where the at-fault party lives.

What to do now

Get treated, and keep every appointment. Get the report number from the Norcross Police Department, Gwinnett County Police, or the Georgia State Patrol. Do not give a recorded statement to any insurer.

Consultations happen by phone or video, and you speak with Jeff Snell directly.

Norcross cases are handled by Jeff Snell at our Alpharetta injury law firm, by phone, video or in person.

More: Duluth · Lawrenceville · Atlanta

Common questions

I was hit while crossing Buford Highway. Do I have a claim?

You may, but expect a fight over fault. Drivers must yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, while pedestrians crossing elsewhere must yield to traffic (O.C.G.A. §§ 40-6-91, 40-6-92).

What if the driver who hit me drove off?

If you own a car, your own uninsured motorist coverage may cover you as a pedestrian. That matters, because these crashes are often hit-and-run.

I work in Norcross through a staffing agency. Who do I report an injury to?

Both the agency and the site supervisor, in writing, within 30 days (O.C.G.A. § 34-9-80).

Why is the Jimmy Carter Boulevard interchange so crash-prone?

Merging traffic, sudden slowdowns and drivers crossing several lanes to reach a turn.

Where would a Norcross case be heard?

Norcross is in Gwinnett County, whose courts sit in Lawrenceville. Most claims settle.