Personal Injury

Escalator Injuries Increase

Escalator injuries are increasing at an alarming rate. Our Georgia injury lawyers frequently review cases in which persons have been injured by malfunctioning or improperly designed escalators. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported Sunday concerning this increase in injuries, especially among children.
Among the mechanisms of injuries reported to the state were the following:
A 17-year-old boy’s right hand was bleeding after it got stuck in an escalator at MARTA’s Lenox station in February. He had reached down to pick up a fare card that fell
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Dangerous Toys Remain In Market

Dangerous toys containing harmful chemicals have long been a problem in the United States. The United States Congress recently passed a law banning the use of a plastic softening chemical known as phthalates in certain consumer products, including toys. The chemical is used to soften plastic – making it popular for rubber ducks, teething toys, and anything else that young children love to chew on. Exposure to phthalates has been shown to harm the development of reproductive organs and have been linked to cancer
The
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Fatal Motorcycle Wreck Involving Georgia State Trooper Under Investigation

Our attorneys sometimes represent people who have been injured by employees of the State of Georgia in automobile accidents or truck accidents. Cases against the State of Georgia or its employees are governed by the Georgia Tort Claims Act. For instance we recently learned that a state accident reconstruction unit is investigating a wreck, involving a Georgia State Patrol trooper, that killed a motorcyclist in Lumpkin County last month. According to the motor vehicle accident report the state trooper executed a U-turn in
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Patient Abuse in Healthcare Facilities

Abuse of patients in medical or mental facilities is a major problem in the United States. Our attorneys frequently handle cases in which patients have suffered physical or sexual abuse at the hands of facility staff or other patients. These cases are extremely disturbing as the victims are usually some of the most vulnerable and helpless members of society.
A recent article in the Los Angeles times focused upon this issue. According to the article, Psychiatric Solutions Inc. was on its way to becoming the
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Motorcycle Passenger Death Results In Operator Being Charged

Our Georgia attorneys often represent the drivers of motor vehicles who have been injured in collsions but sometimes the passengers are injured as a result of the negligence of the host driver. Just this week, we read that a Georgia man was arrested and charged in a September motorcycle crash that left a Panama City Beach woman dead. According to authorities, Storm P. Wood and a female passenger, Robin Arnett, were ejected from the motorcycle when Wood lost control of it. Arnett died
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Physician Payments From Drug Manufacturers

Another prominent psychiatrist has been exposed for taking payments from drug manufacturers. According to the New York Times, Dr. Frederick K. Goodwin who served as the host of public radio’s popular “The Infinite Mind” program earned at least $1.3 million between 2000 and 2007 giving marketing lectures for drug makers.
Dr. Goodwin is the latest in a series of doctors and researchers whose ties to drug makers have been exposed by Senator Charles Grassley a Republican from Iowa. Senator Grassley has been asking some of
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Police Officer Injured In Motorcycle Accident Awarded $750,000 in Damages

A Cobb County, Georgia policeman who was struck by another officer’s motorcycle has been awarded $750, 000 by a Fulton County Superior Court jury for head injuries that only emerged several months after the motorcycle accident. The winning patrolman was among several motorcycle officers from various agencies who were riding in “tight formation” in August 2005,when a MARTA officer hit him from behind. Apparently the plaintiff almost immediately returned to work following the accident; however, he began to have seizures approximately six months after
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Window Blinds Recalled

Window blinds sold under the IKEA and Green Mountain Vista labels were the subject of a recall announced today by The Consumer Product Safety Commission. About 677,300 window blinds and shades sold in the United States were subject to the recall.
The recall was prompted by the death of a 1-year old girl from Greenwich, Conn., who choked to death when in April when she got caught in the inner cord of a set of IKEA Roman blinds which had been placed over her playpen.
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Defective Products, Burn Injuries and Fire Cases: A Deadly Combination

Our firm has handled several tragic wrongful death cases involving children who have died in fires caused by defective products such as a space heater or air purifier. Each year, approximately 500 children under age 14 are killed in house fires. Such fires are estimated to have injured many thousands more. What we have seen here in our practice is mirrored by the national experience. Indeed, the most common causes of burn injuries among children emanate from hair curlers, space heaters, ovens, ranges, gasoline, fireworks
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Yamaha Rhino Utility Terrain Vehicle Rollovers – Unsafe at any Speed?

It was learned last week that Federal safety officials are investigating the Yamaha Rhino, which has been linked to 30 deaths. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) decision to investigate the Yamaha Rhino was based on accident and death reports involving the vehicle as well as the high number of product liability suits that have been filed by people who claim they were injured using this product. Unlike another class of off-roaders all terrain vehicles (ATV’s), are subject to safety standards. Unfortunately the
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Innocent Pedestrian Killed During High Speed Police Pursuit

On February 5, 2012, a thirty-one year old woman was killed in a residential neighborhood as police officers were pursuing shoplifting suspects. The news accounts do not provide a great deal of information about what the suspects allegedly stole but tragically, again, the question arises in the context of these dangerous pursuits, is it worth risking a human life to apprehend a fleeing shoplifter? Could not other law enforcement techniques have been utilized to apprehend the suspects later, under much safer circumstances? Here, rather
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Motorcycle Accidents And The Need For Uninsured Motorist Coverage

In those situations where motorcyclists are involved in automobile collisions, as might be imagined, the injuries sustained can be rather serious. There is no protection other than the helmet for the motorcycle rider. If a motorist fails to yield right-of-way to an oncoming motorcyclist and fails to yield, the results tragically can be either death or very serious injury. What compounds the tragedy is the case where the at fault motorist has either minimum limits of insurance or no insurance at all. In such
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The Aftermath Of Tort Reform: Dealing With The Apportionment Statute

In 2005, the Georgia Legislature passed what is known as the Tort Reform Act of 2005. One of the statutes enacted is O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33(c). This provision of the law states that in assessing percentages of fault in any tort action, the trier of fact shall consider the fault of all persons or entities who contributed to the alleged injury or damages, regardless of whether the person or entity was or could have been named as a party to the suit. Thus, in any tort
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Tort Claims Against State County And Municipal Governments

Any one who is injured by the acts or omissions of a government agency or employee should understand that there are some hidden traps that could defeat their claims if the law is not followed, in some cases, scrupulously followed. Here we refer to the ante-litem notice provisions required under Georgia law in order to perfect a claim against a government officer or entity. In certain circumstances, if a timely ante-litem notice is not filed, either with a city, county or state government, the
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The Impact Of Divorce On Wrongful Death Actions

A divorce is traumatic in and of itself but becomes particularly tragic when either during the divorce or after its conclusion the wrongful death of a child occurs. In such circumstances, the wrongful death claim belongs to the parents jointly. Either one, therefore, has the right to bring the wrongful death claim but if one proceeds unilaterally in doing so, they do so in a fiduciary capacity, meaning that if they ever recover anything, they must hold the monies in trust until such time
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The Impact of Pre-Existing Injuries On Personal Injury Case Evaluation

It is not uncommon in our practice to be asked to represent clients in automobile cases who have pre-existing conditions. The closer in time to an accident the pre-existing condition is, the more difficult it is to separate the proverbial “wheat from the chaff” and to prove that the client’s problems arising out of the current accident were either caused by that accident and/or were aggravated by it. While it is not necessary, as a matter of law, to prove that the new injury
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The Impact Of Contributory Negligence On A Personal Injury Claim

As lawyers we are often consulted by prospective clients inquiring about whether they “have a case.” Sometimes they do and sometimes they do not. Oftentimes those who do not have cases are themselves guilty of contributory negligence. In Georgia, this is a very difficult problem to overcome because typically juries are not as likely to award damages to someone who substantially contributed to their own injuries due to their own negligence.
A classic case of contributory negligence is where a motorist is approaching an intersection
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Assessing Damages In Serious Burn Injury Cases

Unfortunately, in the normal course of our law practice, we have encountered clients who have sustained serious burn injuries. These cases are always extremely painful for clients and oftentimes results in permanent disfigurement. Indeed, a burn injury is one of the most painful injuries anyone can sustain and unfortunately we have seen them arise in a variety of contexts, whether it be gasoline fires after automobile accidents, accidents within the home due to defective products and/or chemical burns sustained on the job.
One of
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Fatal Police Chase Results In Dismissal Of State Trooper

We read in this weekend’s news accounts that a Georgia State Patrol Trooper had been fired for failing to exercise “due regard” for the safety of the public while he was allegedly responding and on his way to aid another trooper involved in a high speed police chase on Interstate I-20. On New Years Eve, an innocent motorist was killed when this Georgia State Patrol Officer allegedly ran a red light and struck the vehicle occupied by the decedent.

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Another Police Chase Kills Another Innocent Person–the Wife of Atlanta Braves Trainer Jeff Porter

Too familiar is this week’s tragic story of how a police cruiser struck an innocent motorist and caused the death of Kathy Porter, wife of Atlanta Braves Head Athletic Trainer Jeff Porter.
Late Saturday afternoon, the Porters were among many fans driving to the Chick-fil-A bowl in downtown Atlanta–a short distance from the Braves’ home at Turner Field. A Georgia State Patrol cruiser–reportedly speeding on city streets to join a chase of a motorcyclist on I-20– crashed into the Porters’ Ford Expedition on the passenger
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