Personal Injury

Atlanta Man Electrocuted: Serious Injury and Wrongful Death

We read in the newspaper this week about the death of a maintenance man at a local school system when he was electrocuted while trying to change a fixture at the elementary school. While the newspaper article did not provide many details, it was curious to us that a maintenance man would be killed while simply trying to change out a light fixture. This raises the obvious issue of whether there is third party negligence because the electrical system obviously had some problems within it,
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Georgia Serious Injury Cases: Frequently Asked Question Number 3

This blog will continue in our series of providing our readers with answers to frequently asked questions in the context of a serious injury case. This blog will address FAQ number 3:
3. If a client settles his or her personal injury claim against an at fault defendant, will they have to repay their own insurance carrier under current subrogation provisions of the law?
Answer: This question often comes up in the context of serious injury cases where the injured individual has incurred substantial medical
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Ortho Evra Contraceptive Patch is Dangerous to Use

The Ortho Evra contraceptive patch has been used by many young women who unfortunately have developed clot related injuries. Some users have had strokes, heart attacks, pulmonary embolisms or deep vein thrombosis as a result of using this product. This past week, the Food and Drug Administration announced a significant update to the manufacturer’s warning on the contraceptive patch. The label now warns users of the patch that they are at a significantly higher risk of developing clot related injuries than other women who use
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Georgia Serious Injury Cases: Frequently Asked Question Number 2

This continues in our series of providing our readers with answers to frequently asked questions in the context of a serious injury case. This blog will address FAQ number 2:
2. Who will bear responsibility for my future medical expenses if I settle my serious injury case today?
Answer: Anytime a serious injury case is settled, there has to be an evaluation of future medical expenses. Has the injured individual recovered completely from their injuries? Are future medical expenses likely? If future medical expenses are
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Medication Errors In Atlanta Hospitals

We have previously written about the dangers of medication errors in hospitals. Recently another incident made the news because a celebrity was involved. Actor Dennis Quaid’s newborn twins and another child were put in serious danger when they were administered overdoses of a blood thinner. The California Department of Public Health said the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center gave the newborns 1,000 times the intended dosage of heparin. Fortunately, all three children recovered, but two needed a drug that reverses the effects of heparin.
The authorities said
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Emergency Care Lacking in Hospitals

Our attorneys are increasingly reviewing cases where major surgical procedures are being performed at small physician-owned hospitals and surgical centers.
On January 10, 2008, the Washington Post revealed that the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, had issued a report concerning physician-owned specialty hospitals. The report concluded that most physician-owned speciality hospitals are poorly equipped to handle medical emergencies.
The report revealed that only 55% of the 109 physician-owned hospitals studied had emergency departments, and of those, the majority had only
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Atlanta/Georgia Medical Malpractice Limits on Recoveries

Our medical malpractice attorneys are frequently forced to decline cases which have merit from a liability standpoint, but due to caps on the amount of recovery cannot be justified in economic terms.
Last week, the Los Angeles Times ran a story concerning a 72 year old woman who entered Stanford University Medical Center for double knee replacement surgery in April. Four days later, she was dead. Her son, an anesthesiologist, felt that the case was a classic case of medical malpractice. After the operation, his
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Having Full Insurance Coverage Does Not Mean You Have Good Coverage

Serious injury lawyers like ourselves often hear clients involved in serious accidents tell us that they had “full coverage” at the time of the accident and that they therefore have “excellent” insurance protection. The vast majority of the time, this is not the case at all. This is because the term “full coverage” means that one has the coverage one is minimally required by law to possess. Full coverage does not mean adequate coverage nor does it mean excellent coverage. It means minimally required coverage
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Medical Malpractice Bill Seeks To Correct Injustice

Our medical malpractice attorneys are many times forced to turn away cases against emergency rooms where the patient is injured by clear negligence. This is caused by the gross negligence standard for emergency departments adopted by the Legislature in 2005.
With the Georgia Legislature meeting this week, Senators from both sides of the aisle, Democrats and Republicans, have joined to co-sponsor Senate Bill No. 286. This bill is designed to amend the provision of the so-called Tort Reform Bill initially passed in 2005, which essentially
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Police Chase Cases Do Not Always Protect the Public

Our firm is working on a police chase metro Atlanta case involving an officer who has been in two separate high speed pursuit cases resulting in two deaths. We have learned in this case that another officer in the same department has also been involved in two other accidents that have resulted in four deaths. Thus, between these two officers within the same police department there have been 4 high speed pursuit cases we know of involving six deaths. Is the public being protected when
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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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