Personal Injury

Family Purpose Liability: Alive and Well in Georgia

In our serious injury practice we are often times confronted with cases involving the Family Purpose Doctrine. It is not unusual for one of our clients to be injured by the acts of a teenage driver. More often than not, the teenage driver is operating the automobile with the express permission of the owner of the car which are usually the parents. Under Georgia law, when a family purpose car that is furnished by the owner to a member of the family for their convenience
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Insurance Coverage for Intentional Torts

Our lawyers are often times confronted with cases where the clients complain of intentional torts committed against them. For example, we have had clients that have come in swearing that the driver that hit them did so on purpose because of some longstanding feud or vendetta. Unfortunately, if someone acts intentionally to cause harm, their insurance policy will typically provide no coverage for them. Insurance coverage is purchased to protect against negligent acts and omissions which give rise to liability to third parties. If someone
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Suing Uncle Sam Under the Federal Tort Claims Act

The Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) waives sovereign immunity only for the acts or omissions of an “employee of the government while acting within the scope of his office or employment. . .” 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b). Because it is a limited waiver of sovereign immunity, the provisions of the Federal Tort Claims Act are strictly construed and must be followed if a valid claim against the government is to be asserted under its provisions.

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LAKE ACCIDENTS IN GEORGIA

On May 12, 2007, we wrote here about an increase in boating accidents in Georgia. We handled several such cases in 2006 and based on our experience were very aware of the peculiar dangers affiliated with recreational boating activity. Unfortunately, in yesterday’s paper, we read about 4 separate deaths which occurred in Georgia lakes over the Memorial Day weekend. Thus, even before the summer has officially begun, we have already seen tragic evidence of the dangers associated with boating.
We cannot tell from the news
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ALL TERRAIN VEHICLE (ATV) ACCIDENTS OFTEN RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH

We recently filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the owners of an ATV who failed to supervise the use of their ATV. The owner’s minor daughter and our client, a seventeen year old girl, were riding the ATV at night. Our client, the passenger, was thrown from the ATV which resulted in her sustaining internal injuries which lead to her death.
With the growing popularity of ATV’s serious injury and death cases are on the increase, especially among children. Believe it or not, the ONLY
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Wrongful Death of a Child: Apportionment of Proceeds Between Divorced Parents

Anyone who has practiced law for any period of time in the area of Serious Injury Litigation unfortunately comes across cases where a child has been killed as a result of the negligent act of a third party and the cause of action resides in divorced or separated parents. These cases not only are tragic, they can be very sad and/or messy.
The law has long been in Georgia that where parents are divorced and their unmarried child dies as a result of a negligent
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More Traps for the Unwary: Problems Under the Federal Tort Claims Act

We have previously written about procedural problems that clients may face when dealing with claims against governmental entities. Specifically, if an individual has a claim against a city or county government, there are certain pre-suit, ante litem requirements that must be observed before suit can be filed. We have written about this in earlier articles and would refer the reader to the same. We have also written these procedural problems under Georgia’s State Tort Claims Act. Here, we write briefly to discuss some unique issues
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BOATING ACCIDENTS ON THE RISE

Just this past year, our firm handled several boating accident cases which illustrate the dangerous nature of this recreational activity. In one case, a female skier was pulled into a small cove by the operator of the ski boat with such speed and force that she was pulled onto the shore and thrown into some trees with resulting and very serious personal injuries. In another case, a child being pulled on a tube was pulled in front of another boat and the child was killed.
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MUNICIPAL TORT LIABILITY IN GEORGIA

For years, cities enjoyed sovereign immunity under the law and could not be sued if negligent. This has been relaxed under recent statutory provisions with respect to city motor vehicles. For most motor vehicles operated by and on behalf of city employees, municipalities are now required to carry liability insurance in the amount of $250,000 because of bodily injury or death to any one person and $450,000 for any one occurrence. While this amount is woefully inadequate for true serious injury cases or cases involving
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ANTE LITEM REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE STATE TORT CLAIMS ACT

The State Tort Claims Act waives the state of Georgia’s immunity from suit in the courts of this state. See O.C.G.A. § 50-21-23. This is a limited waiver of sovereign immunity and the most that any single claimant can recover against the State is $1 million. See O.C.G.A. § 50-21-29. By the terms of the State Tort Claims Act, the limited waiver of immunity only applies to the State and its agencies and departments. O.C.G.A. § 50-21-22(5). The State Tort Claims Act expressly includes claims
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Defective Fans Subject of Fine By USCPSC

Portable fans have been overheating and causing fires. Now, a company which manufactures these dangerous products will pay a $500,000 fine for not quickly reporting these problems.
Lasko Products received 42 related complaints involving nine injuries and property damage from 2002 through 2005 as a result of malfunctions in portable fans it manufactures.
Federal law requires that companies such as Lasko report potential hazards to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission within 24 hours. The company did not fully report the problems until September of
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Georgia and National Car Wreck Fatalities Involving Alcohol Impaired Young Drivers

It seems that almost everyday there is a news story in the Atlanta and Georgia media involving the tragic death of a young person in a traffic accident. Many times alcohol is involved.

Fatal car wrecks involving alcohol impaired young drivers are a major concern, especially around the Christmas and New Years holidays. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), recently released a study involving alcohol related deaths from crashes involving 21-24 year old drivers. The findings are disturbing.

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Credit Card Rules Protect Consumers

Consumers have received long overdue protections from abusive practices by credit card issuers . In enacting the most sweeping changes to credit cards in decades, federal regulators on Thursday approved new rules to crack down on unfair and deceptive practices by card issuers.
The rules were issued by the Office of Thrift Supervision and approved later Thursday by the Federal Reserve and the National Credit Union Administration.
The rules, which take effect in July 2010, will let credit card companies raise interest rates only on
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Construction Accident Lawyer’s Approach to Atlanta Botanical Garden’s Bridge Collapse

The tragedy of preventable construction accidents was repeated last week at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, a beautiful area near my home enjoyed by young and old alike. News reports have described the horror of one dead, and eighteen injured, many of them critically.
In our experience from having handled contruction accidents–including a much larger structure’s construction collapse during the building of Philips Arena that killed ironworkers erecting a section of precast concrete–the injured workers and their families are in a state of shock and confusion.
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Nursing Home Quality Ratings

Abuse of elderly and disabled persons is one of the most disturbing matters our Atlanta based attorneys see. A report issued last Thursday by the Centers for Medicare and Services has revealed that almost 22 percent of the nation’s nearly 16,000 nursing homes received the federal government’s lowest rating in a new five-star system, while 12 percent received the highest ranking possible.
The new star ranking system has not been well received by the nursing home industry. It has been criticized for being too simplistic
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Desplome del Puente en los Jardines Botánicos de Atlanta (Botanical Garden Bridge)

Un desplome de construcción que implica un puente fue informado esta mañana en los Jardines Botánicos de Atlanta. Desafortunadamente, parece que había una muerte y muchas heridas graves. Nuestros abogados han investigado y han archivado pleitos en numerosos casos de desplome de construcción. El más notable fue el desplome durante la construcción de la Arena de Phillips (Phillips Arena) en Atlanta.
Mientras los informes no indican la causa del desplome, habrá indudablemente una investigación por “OSHA” (the Occupational and Safety Health Administration) la Administración Profesional
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Botanical Garden Bridge Collapse–Another Dangerous Contruction Accident

A construction collapse involving a bridge was reported this morning at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. Unfortunately, there appears to be one death and many serious injuries. Our lawyers have investigated and filed lawsuits in numerous construction collapse cases. The most notable was the collapse during the building of Phillips Arena in Atlanta.
While the reports do not indicate the cause of the collapse, there will undoubtedly be an investigation by OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Many times attorneys mistakingly believe that any recovery
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Consumer Interests Boosted By Decision

Consumer protection got an unexpected boost this week when the United States Supreme announced its decision in Altria Group v. Good. In a surprising decision that could have wide-ranging impact, the Supreme Court held that federal law neither expressly or impliedly preempts a lawsuit filed under the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act by Maine smokers. The underlying lawsuit claims that smokers of Marlboro Lights and Cambridge Lights cigarettes were misled by deceptive labels touting the cigarettes as “light” and “low tar” when the manufacturer knew
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Dangerous Drug Warning

Dangerous drugs have been placed into the stream of commerce by manufacturers for years without warnings. Recently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ordered the manufacturer of two drugs commonly used before colonoscopies to add warnings to the products. These are commonly referred to as “black box” warnings.
Visicol and OsmoPrep are oral sodium phosphate medicines used for bowel cleansing before colonoscopies. There have been reports of serious kidney injuries linked to their use. The FDA has received reports of 20 cases of kidney injury
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Accutane Drug Trial Results in A Thirteen Million Dollar Verdict

A New Jersey jury recently awarded nearly $13 million to three acne drug users who developed severe inflammatory bowel disease after taking the medication. The drug, Accutane, is manufactured by Hoffman-La Roche.
The three plaintiffs are Florida residents who used the drug to treat adolescent acne. All three developed bowel disorders including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s Disease. The jury found that the drug manufacturer should have issued better warnings that the drug could cause bowel problems and that their failure to do so resulted in

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