Personal Injury

New Tactic By Defense Attorneys To Prejudice Claimants

Our Atlanta personal injury attorneys are constantly monitoring emerging rends in the legal field. Recently, a controversial test that is supposed to detect “malingering” is gaining popularity among defense experts in personal injury, workers’ compensation and other cases.
The “Fake Bad Scale” is being offered by medical experts as evidence that plaintiffs are fabricating or exaggerating their pain or other medical symptoms.
A few courts have ruled on the admissibility of the test, including three Florida courts that excluded testimony about it last year. In
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Federal Agencies Join Forces Against Consumers

If you think the prescription drug you took for headaches caused your heart attack, the Food and Drug Administration says you can’t sue the maker for injury if it met agency standards. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) says you can’t sue a mattress maker if your mattress bursts into flame despite meeting CPSC standards. Companies making sport utility vehicles would get similar protection from suits brought by people injured or the families of those killed in rollovers under National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
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Home Defibrillator Study

A study released yesterday contained bad news for makers and buyers of portable defibrillators, devices that deliver electrical shocks meant to revive victims of sudden heart In the first major study of their use in household settings, researchers found no evidence that the devices produced significant life-saving benefits. The study, of more than 7,000 heart patients, concluded that patients in homes equipped with the gear died at the same rate as those without it.
Defibrillators were originally designed for ambulance crews. However, they have recently
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Police Use of Taser Kills Teenager

Many wrongful death lawsuits have been brought against the manufacturer of the popular police taser device but according to the manufacturer’s boasts which are in the public record, no such lawsuits have been successful. And yet, practically every week it seems, another person is killed by the use of this product.
Our wrongful death and injury lawyers read last week a news article about a teenager who was killed by the use of a taser after an altercation inside of a grocery store near Charlotte,
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Imperial Sugar Plant Case Becomes More Complicated

Thirteen (13) people have died (and many more injured) as a result of burns and other injuries sustained in the explosion at the Imperial Plant in Port Wentworth, Georgia. Investigators have expressed the opinion that sugar dust ignited and caused the explosion which resulted in these injuries and deaths. Because most of the people burned, injured or killed as a result of the explosion were employees of Imperial Sugar, unfortunately, they will be barred by law from suing their own employer. This is the state
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Surgical Error Causes Removal of Healthy Kidney

Our Atlanta medical malpractice attorneys on occasion review cases in which surgical procedures are performed on the wrong side of the body.
Last Tuesday there was a report of a wrong site surgery at a Minnesota hospital. Surgeons at the hospital mistakenly removed the wrong kidney from a patient. The surgery was performed last Tuesday at Methodist Hospital in Minneapolis, but it wasn’t until the next day that it was discovered that the wrong kidney had been removed. A pathology examination of the removed kidney
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Contaminated Chinese Heparin

At least19 people have died, and hundreds became ill after being given heparin, a blood-thinning drug sold by drug manufacturer Baxter International. Baxter obtained the drug’s active ingredient from a Chinese manufacturer.
A belated inspection of the Chinese plant found substandard conditions. Recent lab tests revealed an unknown contaminant in batches of the drug, but researchers have not identified what precisely caused the allergic reactions which caused the deaths.
The Food and Drug Administration is required to inspect plants such as the one in China
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Surgery Patients Awake During Procedures

Many surgery patients report that they awake during surgery. They say it feels like being trapped in a corpse, unable to move or scream. Some remember hearing their surgeons talk, and a few recall feeling intense pain.
Each year, as many as 40,000 of the 21 million patients undergoing surgery in the United States may experience inadequate anesthesia, leading to anxiety and even post-traumatic stress disorder if patients regain consciousness, according to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.
A widely used device that
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Another Police Chase: Another Tragedy

It seems that everyday our personal injury lawyers open the paper, we read about another wrongful death in the context of a high speed police chase. One such case occurred this past weekend in Augusta, Georgia when a Sheriff’s Deputy was chasing a 19-year old suspect. Initially the officer involved pulled the suspect over and was provided his ID and driver’s license. Thus, the officer knew who the suspect was and where he lived. While the officer went back to his car to
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Another Innocent Victim Killed in a Police Chase for a Stolen Car

In February of this year, an active member of the military at Fort Benning, Sgt. Joanna Joy Ringer, age 21, was reportedly killed as yet another innocent victim in a police chase case. This time, the, innocent victim, Ms. Ringer, was killed because the police were chasing a 17 year old teenager for joyriding in a stolen pickup truck. Ms. Ringer, like all such victims, was simply at the wrong place, at the wrong time when the fleeing suspect ran head on into her car.
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Malfunctioning Products And Wrongful Deaths

We have read in the Atlanta newspapers this week about the tragic death of three people who died in a house fire in Palmetto, Georgia, which according to news reports was started by “an oxygen generating device that malfunctioned.” Although the news articles do not provide sufficient information to determine how this was concluded, the spokesperson quoted was from the State Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner’s Office. It appears, therefore, that the tragic fire which resulted in the three wrongful deaths was caused by a malfunctioning product, which shorted out somehow and caused the blaze resulting in these three tragic deaths.

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Wrongful Death Of A Child Where The Parents Are Divorced Or Separated

Georgia has an “equitable apportionment” statute which essentially states that either parent of a deceased child, when divorced, separated or living apart, may file a lawsuit for the wrongful death of their child, notwithstanding the divorce or separation. In such a case, the parent that brings the wrongful death case does so in a fiduciary capacity proceeding not only on their on behalf but also on behalf of the divorced/separated spouse who obviously also has a legal interest in the death of their child.

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Punitive Damages In Georgia Wrongful Death Actions

In Georgia, as a general rule, punitive damages are not allowed in a wrongful death action. Commentary in various legal decisions have indicated that because damages in a wrongful death are somewhat punitive by nature that an award of additional punitive damages would be inappropriate. While punitive damages may not be collected in a wrongful death action per se, nonetheless, because of the unique provisions of Georgia law which confer upon the personal representative the right to bring a claim for property damage and/or
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How Does A Jury Calculate The Full Value Of The Life Of The Decedent?

In a wrongful death action, as indicated in other entries, juries in Georgia are permitted to award both economic and non-economic damages for the “full value of the life of the decedent.” We have written before about the intangible elements of the non-economic damages and the calculations that one would argue to a jury that would be appropriate in establishing lost wages over the earning lifetime of the decedent.
In calculating damages for the full value of the life of the decedent, obviously, every
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Road Debris On Georgia Highways Can Kill

Georgia injury lawyers have seen many serious automobile accidents, tractor-trailer accidents and motorcycle accidents caused by foreign objects and road debris on Georgia highways. Not a week goes by that we do not see a significant amount of road debris laying in the middle of Atlanta highways. Just last week a 19 year old girl was killed in Tifton, Georgia when she collided with a tractor-trailer. Both vehicles were heading south on Interstate 75 when the girl swerved to avoid a piece of rubber in the roadway. After running off the roadway, she apparently over-corrected, came back onto the roadway and struck the tractor-trailer rig.

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Using Annuity Mortality Tables In Wrongful Death Actions

Under Georgia law, there is a statutory Annuity Mortality Table which was passed into law in 1949. This table is commonly referred to by Georgia lawyers as “The Annuity Mortality Table 1949 Ultimate.” The figures in this table have been used for years in wrongful death actions and are still relied upon by juries today in assessing damages. Essentially, the Mortality Table shows that if a person has lived to a certain age that it is likely they will live a certain additional number
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Proving Damages For The Wrongful Death Of A Child

Obviously, the heartache, trauma and tragedy of losing a child is unspeakable. And yet, as set forth in prior entries, the measure of damages under Georgia law is not from the standpoint of the parents who sustained the loss of a child but rather from the standpoint of the child who lost their life. This can be difficult for any lawyer to prove because a child does not have proven earning’s records nor is the child’s future easily predicted. Typically, because parents who lose children
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Recreational Boating Accidents In Georgia

Whether on a pontoon boat, bass boat, ski boat or jet ski, recreational boating is a popular activity enjoyed by millions of Georgians. However, according to the United States Coast Guard, boat accidents and boating related injuries are on the rise in lakes, rivers, and coastal waterways with over 5,000 accidents occurring each year, nationwide. The U. S. Coast Guard keeps and publishes statistics on the various causes of boating accidents. Tracking data from 2006 – 2007, the Coast Guard reported in the 2007 Recreational
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Wrongful Death Actions: Claims For Funeral, Medical And Other Expenses

One would think that under Georgia law, the same person or persons who has the right to bring a wrongful death case would also have a right to seek compensation for funeral, medical and other expenses pertaining to the wrongful death. And yet, under the unique provisions of Georgia law, this is not the case. Under O.C.G.A. § 51-4-5, it is the personal representative of the decedent who has the right to recover medical and funeral expenses. Typically, therefore, it is necessary to have
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Golf Cart Accidents Can Be Caused By Failure To Maintain Brake Systems

Brake system care of golf carts is very important. Golf carts can be just as lethal as automobiles if not operated and maintained properly. When used carelessly, a golf cart can kill or severely injure the driver and passengers, innocent bystanders, or it can cause significant property damage. There are a number of things that can be wrong with golf cart brakes to create these types of situations.

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