Personal Injury

Contact Lens Solution Lawsuits Continue

In May of 2007, Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. recalled one of its contact lens cleaning solutions, known as AMO Complete Moisture Plus. Our firm is currently representing 2 individuals injured by this product. According to the Centers for Disease Control, contact lens wearers were seventeen (17) times more likely to contract a serious eye infection known as acanthamoeba keratitis if they used this product as opposed to other Multi Purpose Cleansing solutions. Even though the product was recalled from the market in May of 2007,
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Georgia Bicycle Laws – Use Of The Roadway

Our Atlanta bicycle accident attorneys review many bike injury cases in which it is alleged by the at fault motorist that the bike rider was riding in an unlawful manner. Continuing with our explanation of Georgia bicycle laws, Section 40-6-294 of the Official Code of Georgia controls the use of roadways and bike paths by bicyclists. It provides that every person operating a bike shall ride as close to right side road as practicable with the following exceptions:
1. except turning left or avoiding hazards
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A Wrongful Death Case:Client’s Son Dies Hero’s Death

In our wrongful death practice, obviously, our attorneys have seen many tragedies, sometimes with devastating consequences for our clients and their families. This past week was no different as we were retained to represent the family of a young man who died while attempting to save the life of another. This young man gave his life and service to another, one of the highest and noblest acts of self-sacrifice possible. And yet, the matter has gone largely unnoticed by the metropolitan Atlanta community simply because
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Anti-Consumer Decisions From Supreme Court Get Congressional Scrutiny

At a recent Senate hearing , several lawmakers blasted the U.S. Supreme Court over a series of opinions they say protect businesses at the expense of ordinary Americans. Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, said the Court’s recent opinions on employment discrimination, federal preemption and mandatory arbitration have empowered and protected corporations while making it harder for workers and consumers to get redress.
Leahy pointed to Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 127 S.Ct. 2162, handed down just over a year ago. In that case,
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Bicycle Laws – Equipment

As we previously wrote, there are specific laws regulating bicycles in the state of Georgia. Many of these requirement are unknown to bike riders, and in many instances are used by defendants to attempt to avoid liability for injuring bike riders. Our attorneys have seen one section in particular used many times by defense attorneys in an effort to try to shift blame from an at fault motorist onto the biker. That law, Section 40-6 -294 of the Official Code of Georgia, establishes requirements for
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Defective Tire Stem Dangers

Defective automobile tire valves manufactured in China are the subject of a recall. Some 6 million tire valve stems manufactured by Shanghai Baolong Automotive Corp. of China between July 2006 and November 2006 have been recalled. It is estimated that 36 million of these tire stems were manufactured.
The U.S. distributor of the tire valves, Dill Air Control Products, of Oxford, N.C., notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of potential problems with the tire valve stems after it was named in a lawsuit filed
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Atlanta Bike Laws

Atlanta bicycle accidents and injuries are increasing at an alarming rate, as we have previously written. Yesterday, the Atlanta Journal Constitution published a story which echoed our information and addressed the growing conflict between bikers and automobile drivers.
Many bike riders, and most motorists, do not realize that under Georgia law and in most other states, a bike is considered a vehicle; and, with some exceptions, is subject to the same laws and rules as a motor vehicle. There are specific laws which relate only
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Bike Injury Patterns

Bicycle injuries and fatalities are an increasing problem. The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center is a program of The University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center in cooperation with the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals. It is funded by the U.S. Dept. of Transportation.
Statistics published by the Center reveal patterns of biking fatalities and injuries. Using 1999 data, there were 750 bicycling fatalities and 51,000 bicycling injuries resulting from traffic crashes in the United States. Bicyclist fatalities accounted for 2 percent of
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Motorcycle Crashes: 85,000 More Troubling Statistics

In 2006, approximately 5,000 people lost their lives and 80,000 were injured in motorcycle crashes. We have blogged before about the staggering number of statistics when it comes to those killed or injured while riding motorcycles. Obviously, riders must wear protective gear to protect themselves with defensive driving since they have little other protection in the event of a crash. What the statistics show, however, is that motorcycle injuries and fatalities are on the rise. In 1996, 2,161 people were killed in motorcycle crashes. In
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Bicycle Accidents Increasing

Bicycle accidents are increasing at an alarming rate as the popularity of road biking has increased over the last few years, and, as more people are turning to bikes as a means of transportation to save fuel. With the increase of bike riders it is only natural to assume that injuries would increase as well.
Our attorneys and staff are reviewing many of these matters. We are seeing the expected increase of injuries from the failure to wear a helmet and from improper positioning of
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Closing Arguments: Give Your Remarks A Structure

As discussed above, one should not rely upon the inspiration of the moment to deliver a closing argument. A winning summation is usually the result of meticulous, painstaking preparation done well in advance of the actual delivery of the remarks. In order to insure that such preparation is not wasted, obviously, it is necessary that counsel utilize a structure in preparing his/her outline of the legal and factual issues counsel wishes to discuss with the jury.

The following elements should be present in your remarks: 1) an interesting introduction to the summation; 2) a discussion of what happened; 3) a discussion of the law and the burden of proof and why; 4) a discussion of damages; and 5) an appropriate peroration or conclusion.

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Closing Arguments:Discuss the Case, Do not Give a Speech

In order to communicate with sincerity, there must be a body language and eye contact that flows naturally when discussing a case with the jury. The word discussion is important because one should never read to a jury or give them a speech. It is difficult to develop a personal rapport with the jury if one is speaking at someone as opposed to talking with them. While there should be an element of formality to the summation consistent with the seriousness of the cause of
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Closing Arguments: Be Yourself

Another fundamental of a sound closing argument is being as natural as you can be. You should never try to imitate someone else’s style or manner. You can only be yourself. The jury is always watching you very closely. Are you sincere? Are you believable? Are you trustworthy? Everything you do must communicate to the jury that you believe to the core of your being in the justness of your client’s cause. If you subliminally communicate such a belief in everything that you do in
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Closing Arguments : STAY ON MESSAGE

It is a very effective form of communication to stay on message and repeat consistently a unified theme. In the opening statement, a theme of the case or theory of the case should have been developed.
The trial lawyer should harken back to his opening statement during summation and use some of the same language in discussing the issues. This so-called “echo effect” is very important in driving home a point. The Republicans are masters at staying on message and repeating their message constantly and
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CLOSING ARGUMENT: Practical Pointers For A Successful Result

What follows are excerpts from an article one of our lawyers wrote about Closing Arguments. We have previously posted Trial Techniques articles about effective cross-examination. As this article is broken ito separate parts, we will post the various subsections and suggestions in separate posts over the next several weeks. We hope this will be helpful to you if you are a practicing atorney and ,if a potential client, will give you insight into what a Trial lawyer should do to effectively represent your interests:
The
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Demonstrating The Intangible Value Of Life

In a wrongful death case, a jury will be instructed that they should return a verdict for the “full value of the life of the decedent.” This means not only any economic damages caused by a premature and wrongful death, but also “non-economic damages.” How is this calculated and how should jury be instructed to reach such an award? Interestingly enough, the jury will be instructed that they should rely upon their “enlightened conscious” in making such determinations.
If a 28-year old is killed
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Economic Damages In A Wrongful Death Case

As stated in earlier blogs, in Georgia, the measure of damages for a wrongful death is “the full value of the life of the decedent.” One component of the full value of the life of the decedent is the loss of earnings and loss of income. If a 28-year old dies while earning $40,000.00 per year and he/she will work until age 70 (which is another 42 years) one simple way to calculate the loss of wages would be 42 years times $40,000.00 per
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Wrongful Death Damages

When someone is killed due to the negligence of a third party, a wrongful death action can be filed in order to recover the “full value of the life of the decedent” as determined by the “enlightened conscience” of fair and impartial jurors. The measure of damages is defined exactly this way under Georgia law. That being, what amount of compensation would provide adequate reimbursement for “the full value” of the life of the decedent. This seems almost impossible to calculate because one can
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Negligent Security Cases: Responsibility For Criminal Acts

Negligent security cases typically arise in the context of a victim of a criminal assault either at an apartment complex or motel. If the apartment complex provides security but negligently does so, and a tenant is attacked at a time an attack is foreseeable, an apartment complex can be held liable even if the damages were perpetrated by a criminal third party. Similarly, in a motel setting, if the motel is aware that their tenants are at heightened risk of attacks from criminals and fail
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Ford Recalls F-150 Pickups Over Airbag Problems

It was announced today that Ford Motor Company has recalled 2005 and 2006 year model F-150 pickup trucks because of problems with unexpected and unintended airbag deployments. According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, the recall involves approximately 150,000 F-150 pickup trucks. It appears that front airbags have been deploying unannounced. Obviously, this could lead to an accident if the airbag deploys while the vehicle is being driven or otherwise causes a distraction that might cause a driver to lose control. Ford officials
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