Personal Injury

Georgia Should Ban Cell Phone Use While Driving

On July 1 of this year the state of California provided a great example for the state of Georgia in prohibiting by law drivers in California from holding a phone and talking while driving. Under the new law, a driver is prohibited from talking on a hand held cell phone while driving. Blue tooth handless cell use is permitted. There is also an exception for emergencies under this new law, however, obviously, the law is intended to promote safety awareness by drivers who are oftentimes
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Deaths Linked to Contaminated Heparin

According to an Article in The Chicago Tribune, the Food and Drug Administration conclusively has linked 3 patient deaths to a foreign substance found in specific lots of Heparin, a drug manufactured by Baxter International. According to the news report, the FDA completed its review of 93 reports of deaths related to Heparin that were received from January through the end of March, a period when there was a huge spike in the potentially deadly allergic reactions from patients who had been injected with this
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Allstate Bad Faith

Allstate Insurance Company is known by plaintiff’s attorneys for engaging in bad faith tactics. Last week, the Missouri Court of Appeals upheld a jury verdict that hit Allstate with more than $16 million in damages for bad faith tactics.
On March 24, 2000, Wayne Davis Jr., while drunk, drove his truck across the center line of a roadway and hit a compact car head-on. The force of the collision pushed the car back more than 100 feet. The driver and the passenger survived but suffered
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Dangerous Tires Threaten The Public

According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, last summer, more than 380,000 defective tires were recalled from the market. What is more troubling than this number is the fact that experts agree that less than 20% of the public was aware of the recalls involved. Accordingly, 80% of the defective tires are still being used and are probably on the roads today. In short, recall notices are rarely received and thus the entire public remains at risk as a result of the continued
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The Wreckage Of A Wrongful Death Case: More Than Meets The Eye

On April 30 of this year on a busy interstate here in Atlanta, a Ms. Katherine Armstrong was killed when involved in a collision with an armored truck on a busy interstate highway in Atlanta. The driver of the truck was later charged with vehicular homicide. Ms. Armstrong was cleared of any wrongdoing. Based on what we have learned about this tragic incident, however, the emotional, psychological, physical and monetary damage caused by this wrongful death incident does not stop with the death itself but
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Accident Data To Be Released To The Public

In a major victory for consumers, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled last week that information that automobile and tire manufacturers submit to the government about crashes resulting in death, injury and property damage is subject to release to the public under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
The case was brought by the public interest consumer group Public Citizen. In its ruling the Court rejected the argument of the Rubber Manufacturers Association that it is exempt from FOIA’s disclosure
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Trasylol Removed From The Market:Suspected in Hundreds of Deaths

On May 14, 2008, the manufacturer of Trasylol officially pulled all remaining supplies of the blood clotting drug from the market. This drug, manufactured by Bayer (AG) is typically used by surgeons to control bleeding during heart surgery. Unfortunately, in a major study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, it was reported that the use of this drug significantly raised the risk of death for patients who used this product as opposed to other similar products on the market. A study conducted by
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The Complications Of A Serious Personal Injury Claim

Every serious injury claim our firm handles has its own set of complications, but one of the most complicating facts we are often confronted with is the case where someone is seriously injured in an automobile or tractor-trailer collision and they have no health insurance. Indeed, regardless of the type of claim, whether it be a slip and fall, a products liability claim, medical malpractice or any other tort case, the lack of available health insurance oftentimes severely compromises our ability to obtain justice for our clients. This also severely compromises the ability of the injured individual to obtain the necessary care to improve their health. While we often read in the paper about the crisis of our healthcare delivery system when it comes to poor and the indigent, we see this crises every day in our practice when innocent victim/clients who are suffering are unable to afford needed healthcare.

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Georgia Bicycling Laws

In addition to the bicycle laws already covered in past blogs, there are a few others with which all bike riders should be familiar.
One makes it unlawful for any person to sell a new bicycle or pedal unless the pedals on the bike or the pedal is equipped with a reflector of a type approved by the Department of Public Safety. The reflector must be situated so as to be visible from the front and rear of the bike during darkness from a distance
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Beware Medical Credit Cards

Many doctors and dentists are marketing medical credit cards to their patients. Doctors like the cards because they get paid immediately from the credit card companies rather than spending time collecting medical bills. Doctors and other health care providers are pushing the cards even in cases where the patient needs emergency care and may not be in a position to refuse the card or to intelligently make a proper financial decision.
Consumer lawyers report they are seeing a growing number of cases where patients say
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Crib and Playpen Injuries Studied

Cribs, playpens, and bassinets continue to injure and kill infants with alarming frequency.
A study published this week in the journal Pediatrics reveals the alarming frequency of injuries to babies who have been placed in cribs, playpens or bassinets.
A review of emergency-room treatments for more than 181,000 babies age 2 and under from 1990 to 2008 showed an average of 113 deaths per year from accidents associated with those three pieces of nursery equipment.
The number which is considered low because such deaths are
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The Importance Of Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage

We have previously written about the importance of uninsured motorist coverage, particularly in today’s economic times. In this article we wish to reemphasize how important it is that Georgia residents protect themselves with uninsured motorist coverage if at all possible within their family budget. The reason for this is because more and more motorists are driving with the minimum limits required by law, which is only $25,000.00 per person and many are driving with no insurance whatsoever, taking their chances with the law. The economy,
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Deaths Reported From Infant Child Monitors — Recall Issued

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled nearly 2 million baby monitors due to the risk of infant strangulation by the monitors’ electrical cords. The CPCS initiated the recall due to seven cases of infant strangulation in recent months.
The reported injuries and deaths include:
A 10 month-old Washington, D.C. infant died in March when she became tangled in the camera cord of a Summer infant monitor. The monitor camera had been attached to the top rail of her crib;
In November of last year,
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Victims Of Crime And Personal Injury Claims

Our firm is often contacted by those who have been victimized by a criminal act seeking advice as to whether they have a claim against the perpetrator of the crime. These cases come to us in a variety of different contexts. Sometimes a rape victim is interested in determining whether they have a claim against a hotel that negligently allowed the attack by a former employee or failed to provide adequate security with respect to the security of their room. We have had similar calls
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Car Accident Cases: How Does One Determine Settlement Value?

If someone breaks a leg in a car accident and incurs $20,000.00 in medical bills and is out of work for three or four months due to doctors’ appointments, surgery, etc., how does one determine the value of such a claim? Indeed, how does anyone determine the value of any personal injury claim? The answer is by looking at available jury research service data to determine what juries typically award for the value of certain types of injuries. If someone breaks a leg in
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Car Accident Cases And Quick Cash Settlements: A Bad Idea

As we have blogged about previously, unless a car accident victim suffers minor injuries, it is typically not in their interests to try to get a quick cash settlement. Yes, these can be some temporary financial hardships caused by the delay in securing a settlement, however, patience is the watch word in many of these cases unless the client is in such desperate need for money that they have no choice but to significantly discount the value of their claim in order to get a quick cash settlement. Before this course of action is decided upon, however, clients need to be educated by their attorneys as to the costs involved in trying to get a quick cash settlement.

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Car Accidents And Quick Cash Settlements

Here in Atlanta we have had an extended break from work due to icy road conditions. Most of our lawyers have not been able to get into work so we have been watching some television during the day. What is fascinating is the number of lawyer ads on television particularly pitching for personal injury cases. What is troubling, however, is the pitch that many of the law firms promised to get “quick cash settlements” for car accident victims.

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In An Accident While Traveling Out Of Town: What Law Controls?

We are often called by clients who have traveled through the Atlanta area only to be the unfortunate victim of a third party’s negligence. Calls usually come from those in car accidents or tractor-trailer collisions. Sometimes a slip and fall is involved or a defective product. These innocent persons sometimes are hospitalized following the incident in Georgia and then sent back to their home states for follow up treatment. When they reach out to an attorney the usually are being overwhelmed with medical
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Wrongful Death Cases: Who Has The Claim?

It is not unusual for our firm to be contacted by family members who are bereaved over the death of a close family relative. Oftentimes the individual is killed through the negligence of a third party and the family member simply wants to understand the law that pertains to the claim. Sometimes, however, family members can get in an argument among themselves as to who has the right to pursue the claim for the wrongful death. While Georgia, like many states, has a statutory scheme
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Structured Settlements In Serious Injury Cases

In any serious injury case involving permanent or lifetime injuries, careful consideration should be given to whether a structured settlement should be part of any settlement of such a case. A structured settlement agreement is a device whereby if the overall lump sum amount can be agreed upon, a certain percentage of it can be set aside and invested in an annuity that will pay benefits over the victim’s lifetime, usually on a monthly basis. Such benefits are extremely important for people who are disabled because it provides them a safety net and allows them to pay rent and other necessary living expenses as they grow older. Particularly in those cases where a victim is incapacitated and unable to work, a structured settlement agreement can provide a lifetime of revenue for necessary living expenses.

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