Hephzibah car accident and injury lawyers.

AFTER A HEPHZIBAH CRASH

The city that stayed out

When Augusta and Richmond County merged into one government in 1996, the people of Hephzibah voted to keep their own city. That choice still matters today. Hephzibah has its own government and its own police department, even though it sits inside Richmond County and uses the same county courts as Augusta. After a crash, that can change who you deal with and how long you have.

Hephzibah is a small city spread over a lot of ground, a little under 20 square miles with about 3,800 people. Much of it is quiet two-lane road, and some of it is busy highway. If you were hurt on one of them, you’re probably dealing with pain, missed work and a phone that keeps ringing. You don’t have to sort it out alone.

Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C. handles Hephzibah injury cases from our downtown Augusta location. Across Georgia we’ve recovered more than $5 billion for over 300,000 clients in 45 years, from 9 offices. There’s nothing to pay up front, and zero fee unless we win.

Don’t sign anything an insurance company sends you before you’ve talked to a lawyer, no matter how friendly the adjuster sounds. Early paperwork can close doors you’ll want open later.

Who has your crash report in Hephzibah?

Inside Hephzibah city limits, the Hephzibah Police Department usually writes the crash report. Outside the city, in the rest of Richmond County, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office usually does, because Augusta has had no city police since 1996. The Georgia State Patrol works some crashes on state highways, including SR 88 and US 25.

Where the crash happened	Who usually has your report
Inside Hephzibah city limits	Hephzibah Police Department
Anywhere else in Augusta-Richmond County	Richmond County Sheriff’s Office. See the Richmond County report guide
SR 88, US 25 or US 1 where a trooper worked the scene	Georgia State Patrol
Inside Blythe city limits	Contact the City of Blythe first

The city line is easy to cross without noticing. State Route 88 runs through Hephzibah and ends at Peach Orchard Road right on the Hephzibah and Augusta line, so a crash at one end of an intersection can be a city case and the other end a sheriff’s case. The agency that came to the scene is usually your best clue.

The Hephzibah Police Department is on Highway 88. You can ask for your report there, or tell us the road and the date and we’ll get it for you. The officer’s diagram and any citations often shape what an insurance company thinks your claim is worth.

Not sure who worked your crash? Call 706-806-9889. Tell us where it happened and we’ll figure out which agency has the report.

Car and truck crashes in Hephzibah

Most serious crashes around Hephzibah happen on the main routes in and out of town: State Route 88, Peach Orchard Road (US 25), Windsor Spring Road and the roads that feed into south Augusta. Our car accident lawyers near Hephzibah handle the report, the medical bills and the insurance company from the first call, with zero fee unless we win.

Some of the worst intersections in the area sit just north of town. A WRDW review of 2014 to 2017 crash data counted 165 crashes at Tobacco Road and Windsor Spring Road and 163 at Peach Orchard Road and the Bobby Jones Expressway. Those numbers are several years old, but anyone who drives them knows the traffic hasn’t gotten lighter.

Rural two-lane roads bring their own risks: speeding, drifting across the center line and heavy trucks on narrow shoulders. If a truck hit you, our big rig crash lawyers work quickly to save the driver’s logs and the truck’s data. If you were riding a motorcycle, our attorneys for injured riders know how often drivers say they never saw the rider.

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

Most Georgia injury claims must be filed within two years. If a government was involved, written notice usually comes first. Hephzibah is its own city, so a claim against it is generally due within six months. Augusta’s consolidated government is safest treated as six months too. The state generally allows twelve.

Who caused the harm	Deadline to send notice	Georgia law
The City of Hephzibah (a city vehicle, employee or city street)	Generally 6 months	O.C.G.A. § 36-33-5
Augusta-Richmond County (a sheriff’s car, county truck or county road)	Plan on 6 months	O.C.G.A. § 36-33-5 / § 36-11-1
The State of Georgia or GDOT (SR 88, US 25, US 1)	Generally 12 months	O.C.G.A. § 50-21-26
A private driver, trucking company or business	Generally 2 years to file suit	O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33

That written notice is called an ante litem notice, Latin for “before the suit.” For a claim against a city, it generally has to name a specific dollar amount. Our guide to Augusta-Richmond County deadlines walks through why Augusta is so tricky, and why we plan on the shorter clock every time.

Was a city or county vehicle involved? Call 706-806-9889. Six months goes by fast. It’s worth a call this week.

Falls, dog bites and workplace injuries in Hephzibah

Not every injury happens on the road. A fall in a store, a church parking lot or a rental home can be the property owner’s responsibility if they knew about a danger and did nothing. Our premises liability lawyers will tell you honestly whether you have a claim, and there’s nothing to pay up front.

Loose dogs are a real problem on rural roads and in neighborhoods alike. If a dog bit you or your child, our dog attack lawyers can explain what Georgia law expects from the owner. If you were hurt on the job, our on-the-job injury attorneys can explain workers’ comp and any claim against someone else.

Serious injuries and wrongful death

A crash on a rural highway can be devastating. When there’s a brain injury, a spinal cord injury or a death, the claim has to cover years of care and lost income, not only the first hospital bill. We bring in treating doctors and life care planners early, so the claim reflects what your family will actually face.

Our brain injury attorneys know that symptoms of a head injury can show up days later. If you lost someone, our wrongful death team will explain who can bring the claim and what it covers, at a pace your family can handle.

Where a Hephzibah case is heard, and finding us

Hephzibah is inside Richmond County, so an injury case from a Hephzibah crash is often filed in the State Court or Superior Court of Richmond County, at the Judicial Center on James Brown Boulevard in downtown Augusta. If the at-fault driver lives somewhere else, the case may be filed in that county instead.

The office on 10th Street is a few blocks from that courthouse, at One 10th Street, Suite 550. From Hephzibah, many people take Peach Orchard Road or Windsor Spring Road north toward downtown. Hurt too badly to drive? Tell us, and we’ll come to you.