Personal Injury

Georgia SUV & Pickup Truck Rollovers -The Importance of Electronic Stability Control

Severe personal injuries – often including spinal paralysis, closed head injury brain damage, and even death – frequently result from vehicle damage that is sustained in rollover car accidents in Georgia and other states. According to April 19, 2007 Status Report published by the Insurance Institute For Highway Safety, nine vehicles, all SUV’s and pickups, have more than 75 deaths per million vehicles in single vehicle rollover crashes, compared with an average of 24 in all 2001-04 vehicles during 2002-05. This higher rate is largely
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Sovereign Immunity: An Antiquated Doctrine With Harsh Results

When I speak to potential clients about claims against government employees and entities, they are often startled to learn about the antiquated but harsh doctrine of sovereign immunity. Many states have made changes to their laws to minimize the impact of this legal doctrine upon the innocent. However, in many circumstances, states like Georgia still employ the doctrine to defeat the claims of those injured by government actors. While some improvements in the law have been made, regrettably, they have not been sufficient to address
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Van Accidents

Large vans are frequently used to transport college and other school sports teams, commuters, students, day care children, the elderly, and church groups. The accident rates for these vans are alarming.
According to the National Safety Transportation Board, between 1994 and 2004, there were 1,512 fatal crashes involving 15-passenger vans. In 2004 alone, 120 occupants of 15-passenger vans died in crashes involving these vehicles A total of 642 of these were single-vehicle crashes and 515 of the vehicles rolled over. More than half of the
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Soccer Goal Recall

About 190,000 MacGregor and Mitre folding soccer goals were recalled Tuesday, after the death of a young child. The recalled goals were manufactured in China. Anyone having one of these goals should remove it immediately.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission said a 20-month-old boy from Texas was strangled when his head and arm became entangled in the net of one of the recalled goals.
The gaps in the recalled nets are about 20 square inches, which is a dangerous size according to the CPSC. The
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Spanair JK5022 (Update): Abogados especializados en casos de Litigacion Internacional de choques aereosdente aereo

Spanair JK5022: Creo que le interesaría ver este video animado, el cual fue preparado por la firma Kreindler:
http://www.kreindler.com/kreindler_news/news_current/Spanair5022-Full-animation-video.html
Para una consulta gratis, favor de enviar su correo electronico precionando aqui (haga clic aqui).
__________________

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Legal Remedies for Victims of Sexual Assault

In our serious injury practice, regrettably, we have seen more and more cases involving sexual assault. These cases arise in of a variety of contexts. We have seen assaults on minor children committed by third parties (such as school or church officials), we have seen sexual assaults on wards of mental institutions committed by employees entrusted with their care and we have seen sexual assault cases involving rape where there has been negligent or gross security by apartment complexes where, for example, the tenant is
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Zyprexa Documents Unsealed

Highly respected Judge Jack B. Weinstein of the United States Federal District Court in Brooklyn decided on Friday to unseal confidential materials about Eli Lillys top-selling antipsychotic drug Zyprexa.
Judge Weinstein’s ruling was part of an order that gave class-action status to a case brought by insurance companies, pension funds and unions that allege Lilly owes them billions of dollars they spent on the drug. They allege that Lilly hid the side effects of the drug and marketed it for unapproved uses.
The Judge ordered
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New Product Safety Law

Last month, consumer, public interest and scientific groups applauded President Bush for signing product safety reform legislation into law that will overhaul the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, was passed overwhelmingly by Congress. The new law will make consumer products safer by requiring that toys and infant products be tested before they are sold, and by banning lead and other harmful chemicals in toys, by creating a comprehensive publicly accessible consumer complaint database, give the CPSC the
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FDA Discloses Drugs Under Investigation

Yesterday, the Food and Drug Administration began posting a list of prescription drugs under investigation for potential safety problems.The first list is a bare-bones compilation naming 20 medications and the potential issue for each. It provides no indication of how widespread or serious the problems might be, leading some consumer advocates to question its usefulness, and prompting industry worries that skittish patients might stop taking a useful medication if they see it listed.
Food and Drug Administration officials said they are trying to walk a
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Georgia Hospitals Perform Poorly

A new website, The Hospital Compare Web, run by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, shows 80 U.S. hospitals listed as top performers in the mortality rates for patients admitted with heart attack, heart failure or pneumonia. No Georgia hospitals were among the best performers. Nine Georgia hospitals rated worse than national norms on death rates for pneumonia or heart failure. The number of poorly performing hospitals in Georgia was higher than any state other than California.
Mortality rates for hospitals across the
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Sex Abuse in Child Care and Day Care Centers: Obtaining Justice for Victims of Sexual Molestation

Two years ago at our law firm, I received a phone call I could not believe–another episode of sexual abuse of a a young child, entrusted to the care of a prominent day care center.

The child’s mother said her lawyer did not know what to do to help her. She was told to call our law firm because we had successfully helped other families whose children had been molested in child care or after school programs.

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Closing Arguments: Be An Ambassador

As we all know, trial lawyers are under assault by the business community. We are accused of being sleazy, money hungry ambulance chasers. I need not further discuss this nationwide propaganda campaign, but suffice it to say, our public image has been and continues to be at risk. Accordingly, it is imperative that as trial attorneys we conduct ourselves as ambassadors for justice when we appear in a courtroom.
The best way to get a favorable result in any case is to exude confidence and
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“Jackpot Justice”

It is amazing to watch television commercials advertising lawyer services for personal injury cases. One often sees a client holding a fist full of cash praising their lawyer for securing a large cash settlement. The client is typically shown smiling and happily talking about how much money they received from their personal injury claim. These ads have often surprised me because it is typically only in the very serious case that clients receive large settlement amounts and in those cases, they usually deserve the
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Asserting Claims Against the Government

Any lawyer who has a client with a claim against any branch of government knows full well that there needs to be investigation of that claim in order to be successful in prosecuting it. One of the first steps in the process is to serve a timely ante-litem notice claim within six months of the claims against a municipality or within twelve months if it involves a claim against the State or a county government agency. We have previously blogged about these requirements in
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Closing Arguments: When Appropriate,Remind Jurors Of Their Oaths

In the typical negligence case, it is not necessary that a jury be reminded that they have taken an oath to set aside any prejudice or biases they have and to render a verdict solely on the evidence and the law presented to them. However, there are cases of a more controversial nature where it might be necessary for counsel to consider reminding the jury of its oath. Examples would include medical malpractice cases and other controversial cases such as high speed police pursuits.
We
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Closing Arguments: Follow the Fundamental Rules

As discussed above, counsel should utilize the structure in delivering his/her summation. If counsel is disorganized in his approach, the jurors will not follow the arguments made and subliminally will believe that counsel is not entitled to a verdict. Again this is a fundamental rule of a winning summation.
Although the fundamental dos are sometimes easy to recognize, there are some fundamental don’ts as well. For example, do not select an issue that an intelligent juror will recognize as being disingenuous or phoney. Never misstate
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Closing Arguments: Remember Why You Are There

In a hotly contested liability case, it is often easy for counsel to forget that the reason they are there is to achieve a favorable monetary verdict for their client. It is tempting sometimes to spend far too much time discussing liability thereby leaving counsel with little or no time to discuss damages. The reason we are in Court is to try to get a verdict to compensate our client for the damages they have sustained. Obviously, we have to discuss liability. However, we should
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Closing Arguments: Speak From The Heart

As stated above, it is most important that counsel appear to be completely sincere in everything he says and does. The best way to do this is to speak from the heart and tell the jury exactly what you think. If the jury senses that counsel is speaking candidly in a forthright manner about the issues in the case, the jury is more likely to have confidence in what is being said.
If you speak from the heart, by definition, you are being yourself. If
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Closing Arguments: Use Demonstrative and Trial Exhibits

Every good trial lawyer knows that a jury remembers best that which they both hear and see. Accordingly, demonstrative exhibits should always be used during closing argument. Sometimes demonstrative exhibits are necessary in order to emphasize a point about liability. Sometimes they are used to emphasize principles of law.
Effective demonstratives can also be used to discuss damages. A good closing argument might use demonstratives in all of these areas. In short, a well prepared demonstrative exhibit will assist counsel in making his point while
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Closing Arguments: Use the Rules Governing The Case

In giving a closing argument, it is essential that counsel use the legal language of the case. The court will be instructing the jury on various principles of law that could be absolutely crucial in the jury’s determination of the facts. Thus, when discussing a case with the jury, counsel should use the language of the case. Counsel should use and explain terms such as “preponderance of the evidence,” “proximate cause,” “breach of duty,” “failure to exercise ordinary care,” “negligence,” and “damages.” If, for example,
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