Brookhaven Car Accident and Injury Lawyers

AFTER THE ACCIDENT

Hurt on Peachtree Road, Buford Highway or near the Fulton line?

Brookhaven is a new city on old ground. Voters approved it on July 31, 2012, and it became a city on December 17, 2012, the newest in DeKalb County at the time. Today it covers about 11.7 square miles and about 55,000 people, all of it inside DeKalb. For a century the streets around Oglethorpe University, Ashford Dunwoody Road and the Brookhaven MARTA station were county ground, patrolled by DeKalb County Police and run under county rules. Now they belong to a city with its own police department and its own six-month notice clock, and plenty of people who live here still think of the county as the government in charge.

There is a second line that matters just as much. Brookhaven’s west edge is the Fulton County line. Cross Peachtree Road toward Lenox Square and you are in Buckhead, inside the City of Atlanta, where Atlanta Police write the reports and the Fulton County courts hear the cases. Maybe someone rear-ended you on Peachtree Road near Dresden Drive. Maybe a driver cut across you on Ashford Dunwoody Road heading for I-285, or ran the light where North Druid Hills Road meets Buford Highway. Now you’re sore, your car is in a tow yard and an adjuster wants a recorded statement. Not sure which side of the line you were on? Our Atlanta office handles Brookhaven cases and can work it out from a street name or a landmark.

Don’t sign anything an insurance company sends you, whether it’s a statement, a medical release or a check, before you’ve talked with an attorney.

Where it happened	Whose ground it is	What that can mean for you
Peachtree Road from the Fulton line past Oglethorpe University, Dresden Drive, Ashford Dunwoody Road inside the Perimeter, and the Buford Highway stretch between I-85 and Chamblee	The City of Brookhaven, in DeKalb County	Brookhaven Police usually write the report. A claim against the city runs on a six-month notice clock.
West of the Fulton line: Lenox Square, Phipps Plaza and the Buckhead side of Peachtree Road	The City of Atlanta, in Fulton County	Atlanta Police respond, the Fulton County courts hear the case, and the City of Atlanta is the government to notify, on six months
South of I-85 toward North Druid Hills and Briarcliff Road, or any address with a Brookhaven ZIP that sits outside the limits	Unincorporated DeKalb County	DeKalb County Police respond, and a claim against the county runs on a twelve-month clock
Across Chamblee Dunwoody Road, or north of I-285	Chamblee or Dunwoody, each its own city	That city’s police write the report, and that city is the government to notify
A lawsuit over any of these	Usually tied to who you sue and where they are based	Often the State Court of DeKalb County, in the courthouse at 556 North McDonough Street in Decatur, unless the crash was on the Fulton side

So “my case is in Brookhaven” needs one more question: which Brookhaven? Inside the limits, Brookhaven Police and the City of Brookhaven are involved. A block west, it is Atlanta and Fulton. A block south of I-85, it can be the county. The city is young enough that some maps, some insurance adjusters and some long-time residents still have it wrong. The city’s own court, Brookhaven Municipal Court, handles traffic tickets written by Brookhaven officers. It does not decide your injury claim, though a ticket the other driver got can still help show who caused the crash. For how the county side works, read about DeKalb County rules for Brookhaven crashes.

Car and truck accidents in Brookhaven

Most Brookhaven crashes happen on Peachtree Road, Buford Highway, Ashford Dunwoody Road, North Druid Hills Road, Dresden Drive, I-85 and I-285. Peachtree Road and Buford Highway are both state routes that carry commuters, delivery vans and freight trucks all day, and that mix of drivers can change who may be responsible for your injuries.

A wreck with a delivery van, a box truck or a rideshare driver can bring a commercial policy and an employer into the claim. We start by finding every policy behind car wreck claims in Brookhaven. If a tractor-trailer hit you on I-85 or Buford Highway, read how we handle Brookhaven truck crashes. If it happened on the Perimeter between Ashford Dunwoody Road and Chamblee, our page on I-285 crashes on the Brookhaven side explains who works those wrecks. Were you on a motorcycle? Our page for riders hurt in Brookhaven explains what changes when you were on two wheels.

Buford Highway is the hard one. Through Brookhaven it is seven lanes wide with long gaps between crossings, and people walk to the bus, the grocery store and work along it every day. The rate of people killed crossing it has run several times higher than on any other road in Georgia. If a car hit you or someone you love on foot, read about walking across Buford Highway in Brookhaven and about pedestrians hit in Brookhaven. The other side is quick to blame the person on foot. We are not.

Falls, dog bites and workplace injuries in Brookhaven

Falls in stores and parking lots, dog bites and injuries at work happen across Brookhaven, from the shops along Dresden Drive to the apartment complexes off Buford Highway and the offices near Ashford Dunwoody Road. Who owned or controlled the spot where you were hurt decides how the claim works, and if a government owned it, the rules get stricter.

If you slipped on a wet floor or tripped on a broken curb in a parking lot, our page on Brookhaven slip and fall claims explains what an owner had to know. Hurt on the job? Workers’ comp has its own forms and deadlines, and our workers’ comp help for Brookhaven workers walks through them. If you fell on a city sidewalk or in a park the city runs, call us early. Brookhaven is a city now, with a city’s short notice rule, and some claims against governments are limited by law.

Serious injuries and wrongful death

A serious wreck on I-85, I-285 or Buford Highway can change a Brookhaven family’s life in one afternoon. When a crash causes a brain injury, a spinal injury or a death, the claim has to cover years of care and lost income. Early offers arrive before anyone knows those costs, so these cases need careful work from day one.

If your family lost someone, read about wrongful death claims after a Brookhaven crash. If the harm happened during treatment afterward, our page on when hospital care after a Brookhaven wreck makes things worse explains the extra steps Georgia requires. Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C. has helped injured Georgians since 1980. You pay nothing up front, and there’s zero fee unless we win.

How long do you have to file a claim in Brookhaven?

A claim against a driver or a business in Georgia generally has a two-year deadline to file suit. If a government played a part, written notice can be due much sooner. For the City of Brookhaven, that’s generally six months. For DeKalb County or the state, it’s generally twelve months. Which one applies depends on exactly where you were.

Who you’re claiming against	What usually comes first	How long, generally
The driver, or the company the driver worked for	A claim with their insurer, then a lawsuit if needed	Two years to file suit, under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33
The City of Brookhaven	A written ante litem notice to the city	Six months, under O.C.G.A. § 36-33-5
The City of Atlanta, on the Buckhead and Lenox side of the Fulton line	A written ante litem notice to that city	Six months, under O.C.G.A. § 36-33-5
DeKalb County, for an unincorporated area with a Brookhaven address	A written notice to the county	Twelve months, under O.C.G.A. § 36-11-1
The State of Georgia, for a defect on a state route such as Peachtree Road, Buford Highway, I-85 or I-285	A written ante litem notice to the state	Twelve months, under O.C.G.A. § 50-21-26

Ante litem is Latin for “before the lawsuit.” It’s a letter a government must get before it can be sued. Here is why Brookhaven’s age matters. Before December 2012, a pothole on Dresden Drive or a broken signal on Ashford Dunwoody Road was the county’s to answer for, on a twelve-month clock. Today the same pothole belongs to the City of Brookhaven, on six. Nothing about the street changed. The government responsible for it did, and the clock went with it. Across the Fulton line in Buckhead, the City of Atlanta runs on six months too, but the courts and the police are Fulton’s. The clock follows where you were hurt and who was responsible for that spot, not the name on your mail.

Hurt in Brookhaven in the last few weeks? Call us today at 404-609-1075. We’ll work out whether you were inside the city, on the Fulton side or in the county, and which clock applies to you.

Who has your crash report in Brookhaven?

Inside the city limits, Brookhaven Police work the crash and keep the report at the public safety building on Briarwood Road. In unincorporated pockets with a Brookhaven address, DeKalb County Police respond. West of the Fulton line, it’s Atlanta Police. State troopers work many crashes on I-85, I-285 and Buford Highway. The officer’s card tells you which agency it was.

Where it happened	Who usually responds	Who to ask for the report
Peachtree Road, Dresden Drive, Ashford Dunwoody Road and the rest of the city	Brookhaven Police	Brookhaven Police, 1793 Briarwood Road
A Brookhaven address outside the city limits, such as south of I-85	DeKalb County Police	DeKalb County Police
Lenox Square, Phipps Plaza and the Buckhead side of Peachtree Road	Atlanta Police	Atlanta Police
I-85, I-285 or Buford Highway	A local officer or a Georgia State Patrol trooper	The agency named on the officer’s card
A MARTA bus or train, including the Brookhaven station	MARTA Police	MARTA Police

Brookhaven Police sell accident reports for $5 at 1793 Briarwood Road, Monday to Friday, 8 am to 4:30 pm, and the department also offers them online through BuyCrash. Reports are usually ready three to five business days after the crash. If the officer was from DeKalb County or Atlanta, the city will not have it. Lost the card, or left in an ambulance before anyone handed you one? Our crash report help for Brookhaven drivers walks through each agency and what to bring.

Getting to the Atlanta office from Brookhaven

Our office is at 1355 Peachtree Street NE in Midtown, straight down Peachtree from Brookhaven. By car, follow Peachtree Road south through Buckhead and it becomes Peachtree Street. By train, the Brookhaven/Oglethorpe station on the Gold Line sits at 4047 Peachtree Road, about a mile south of the university. Ride south through Lenox and Lindbergh Center and get off at Arts Center Station, three stops later, with no transfer. The office is a short walk from there. Can’t make the trip right now? Call the Midtown office that serves Brookhaven and much of the early work can happen by phone.