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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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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