While most serious injury lawyers are aware of the ante litem provisions that exist under Georgia law, most lay persons are not. Thus, injured persons with valid claims against either city or county governments can through inaction sabotage such claims unwittingly just because of their ignorance of the arcane provisions found in the ante litem statutes of Georgia law. An ante litem notice simply means notice before litigation is commenced. With respect to cities, O.C.G.A. § 36-33-5 requires written notice to a Georgia municipality within six months of the event giving rise to the claim. This code section reads as follows:

In a case decided April 30, 2007, entitled Scott v. Harris, the United States Supreme Court held that a suspect fleeing from the police during a high speed police chase case has no Fourth Amendment right to be protected from the use of excessive force by the police against them. As we interpret this case, essentially, what this means is that a suspect assumes the risk of injury by the police during a police chase case.

In the Harris case, a 19 year old was fleeing from the police and the police employed a “pit maneuver” in order to knock the suspect’s car off the road. The pit maneuver is one in which the police hit the corner of the fleeing car with their car in order to force it off the road. In this case, when the suspect’s car left the road, it crashed rendering him a quadriplegic.

Asbestos products, which have been used primarily for insulation purposes, have long been known to be dangerous. Nonetheless, exposure to asbestos still presents a danger to anyone performing maintenance, repair or demolition work in any structure containing asbestos. Unfortunately, it has been well documented that the Asbestos industry was well aware of the fact that exposure to asbestos could cause cancer. Mesothelioma is a form of cancer specifically caused by exposure to asbestos. It is difficult to diagnose and hard to treat. It occurs typically
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Senate Bill 276, a very important bill for all Georgia citizens who may become involved in serious injury motor vehicle accidents, is awaiting action by the House Rules Committee at the State Capital. This bill would drastically improve uninsured motorist coverage in Georgia. Under current law, a consumer who is has uninsured motorist (UM) coverage can only access part of their total limit if they are hit by a driver with a small amount of liability insurance coverage. SB 276 would allow consumers to “stack”
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After years of litigation, the City of Hampton paid $1 million to the family of Grashaunda Banks to settle a wrongful death claim brought as a result of a high speed police chase that resulted in a deadly collision. The crash occurred on Hwy. 19/41 near midnight on July 23, 2000, near the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Negligent filing of prescriptions has been on the rise. In fact, because of a shortage of pharmacists and the steady increase in the use of prescription medications, the rate of death and injury from botched prescriptions is skyrocketing, officials say.
There are as many as 7,000 deaths annually in the United States from incorrect prescriptions, according to Carmen Catizone of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. He told The Washington Post that as many as 5 percent of the 3 billion prescriptions filled each
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If you are physically or sexually assaulted by another person, you can bring a personal injury claim (civil action) against them to recover payment for your medical bills, lost wages, pain, suffering, and any other financial loss that you sustained as a result of the assault. A personal injury claim is separate from any criminal proceedings that may also be underway. The criminal court can find the other person guilty or not guilty and sentence them to prison; however, in the civil action, the judge
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Unfortunately, as people age, they become more vulnerable to abuse, neglect, and exploitation. This is especially true for people living in long-term care facilities and nursing homes. Abuse and neglect results in persons suffering a variety of physical and psychological injuries, which result in pain, suffering, and loss of quality of life. An injured person is entitled to compensation for these losses, when they are caused by intentional or negligent actions of the nursing home or its employees. The injured person can make a personal
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Traffic deaths in the United States have reached their highest levels since 1990, according to government statistics cited by the Insurance Journal. This increase was attributed in part to increased deaths from motorcycle and pedestrian accidents. There are a number of reasons for the increase. One possible explanation is the rise in our urban/suburban populations. As these numbers increase, our roads and highways become more crowded. Another possible explanation for the increase in pedestrian injuries and deaths may be related to the dramatic increase in
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The Georgia Supreme Court issued a sharply divided ruling on Monday which is a great decision for employees who travel. The 4-3 decision turned on an interpretation of the “continuous employment” doctrine. The High Court upheld an award of workers’ compensation benefits to the 11 year old son of a man killed as a result of an automobile accident in Georgia. The employer had put the Florida resident up in an apartment in Fayetteville, Georgia while he was working as a construction superintendent here. The
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