Personal Injury

Dog Attacks

It seems that almost every day there is a headline in the local paper or on the TV news concerning horrible injuries suffered by a person attacked by a dog. This firm has successfully handled a large number of liability cases in which our clients were viciously attacked and injured by dogs.
Georgia law provides two ways that an animal owner or handler may be found liable for injuries inflicted by the animal. The first requires that the victim prove: (1) that the animal is
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Uninsured Motorist Coverage: More Necessary Than Ever

One of the unfortunate occurrences we see in our practice all too often is the regrettable case where our clients believe they have more insurance coverage than they have in actuality and less than what they need. It is not unusual for us to see a client who has excellent liability coverage, for example, $300,000.00 – $500,000.00 in single limit coverage (or better). That same client, however, even though they have $300,000.00 – $500,000.00 in liability coverage protecting the third party in the event they are negligent will often times only carry $25,000.00 per person, $50,000.00 per accident in uninsured motorist coverage. In short, the clients have more coverage for the person that they might hurt than they have for themselves if they are hurt by a third party.

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A Welcome Erosion of Sovereign Immunity in Georgia

For many yearsin Georgia, unless a local government entity carried optional liability insurance coverage for automobiles under the control of city/county employees, it could not be sued no matter how much damage was inflicted by their actions. Of course, this resulted in tremendous injustices throughout our state. Finally, in 2004 because many, many innocent members of the motoring public were being injured by the acts of negligent government employees, the Georgia Legislature acted to waive sovereign immunity in such cases.

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High Speed Police Chase Cases: An American Tragedy

Some lessons are never learned. The law enforcement community has known for almost 20 years now that the dangers attendant to high speed police chases are tremendous. Indeed, the data of such dangers began accumulating in the 1980’s that the public price of these high speed police chases was simply too great to continue to allow unrestricted chases by the police. By 1990, the data was inescapable. Indeed, in 1990 alone, there were 314 deaths and over 20,000 injuries associated with high speed police chases. Many of the deaths involved the police themselves (not to mention the fleeing suspects) and thousands of innocent third parties who got caught up in the chase. This was known over 17 years ago. Unfortunately, the law enforcement community still continues to defend its actions when death to the innocent is caused by unwarranted and unnecessary high speed chases.

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An Abbreviated Checklist For The Federal Tort Claims Act

We have handled many federal tort claims on behalf of clients over the years but, nonetheless, it is always helpful to have an Abbreviated Federal Tort Claims Act Checklist to make sure that we are in compliance with the law. Those who have never handled a case against the United States government may find some of the procedural requirements burdensome and difficult to navigate. Nonetheless, once a checklist is developed, the procedure is actually fairly easy to follow but and this is an important but, it must be followed correctly. Here are some of the items on our list:

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Motorcycles and Drunk Drivers: A Deadly Combination

We read in the paper this week about a tragedy involving a motorcyclist who was struck and killed by a drunk driver. According to news accounts, the drunk driver was completely at fault in the incident and struck the innocent motorcycle rider from the rear. Regrettably, this case is indicative of the dangers to which all motorcycle riders are exposed. Such dangers are exponentially increased, obviously, when a drunk driver is involved.
We read in the paper this week about a tragedy involving a motorcyclist
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Dangerous Glass Products and Preventable Injuries

Approximately 2 years ago we published an article on the dangers of unsafe and dangeous glass products. We re-print this article because of the tragic death of a young woman who fell to her death this week after falling through a window at a hotel in downtown Atlanta. This accident was preventable but occurred because safety glass was apparently not properly used. In today’s modern age, with the known dangers involved, this is inexcusable. Our earlier blog entry is posted again in view of this
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Unit Measurement Approach When Discussing Wrongful Death Damages

If a 28 year old male is killed and hypothetically he should have a 48 year life expectancy, when killed at age 28, the decedent has lost 46 years of his life according to the Annuity Mortality Tables of most states. Forty-eight years translates into 46 years times 365 days a year times 16 hours a day of consciousness (46x365x16=268,640 hours). Because we sleep for 8 hours a day, if one argues before a jury that the decedent would have consciously enjoyed life for 46
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Measuring Damages In Wrongful Death Cases

As every individual is unique, so is the challenge faced by a trial attorney in trying to address a jury on the issue of the proper measurement of damages in the wrongful death case of any individual. All individuals are different. They come from different backgrounds and they are different ages, sexes, races, nationalities and religious beliefs. Whoever the unfortunate victim in a wrongful death case may be, the challenge is coming up with the best assessment of addressing damages when trying to obtain
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The Centers For Disease Control Releases Wrongful Death Statistics

According to a recently released report authored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, car accident cases and wrongful deaths cost the State of Georgia approximately $1.5 billion in the calendar year 2005. Regrettably, this is the most recent data which as been collated and studied. Nationwide, car accident related deaths cost approximately $41 billion. Georgia ranked number 4 among 10 other states with the highest medical and work lost costs associated with preventable deaths caused by motor vehicle collisions.
Obviously, much can
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New Georgia Law Designed To Prevent Injury To Children

Georgia Governor Nathan Deal has signed a new law requiring all children under the age of 7 to be placed in booster seats unless they are over 40 pounds in weight and/or stand more than 4 feet 9 inches tall. The new law will go into effect this coming January to give parents time to purchase booster seats if needed. The reason for the new law: Protection of our children. Authorities have tracked injuries to children over the last five years and have determined that
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Mammogram Recommendations Disputed By Scientific Studies

Women under 50 who follow the advice of a U.S. panel to forgo annual mammograms may be at risk for more severe forms of breast cancer
Three recent studies led by radiologists suggest that failing to get regular breast screenings left women more likely to discover cancer at an advanced stage. The delay resulted in larger tumors and a worse prognosis once the cancer was uncovered, the data found.
The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force said in 2009 that most women ages 40 to 49
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Nursing Home Infection Rates Increase

Infections are now the number one cause of deaths in nursing homes, causing nearly 400,000 deaths annually.
A study published in the May issue of The America Journal of Infection Control reports that 15% of American nursing homes each year receive deficiency citations for infection control.
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public Health, looked at deficiency data collected from about 16,000 nursing homes per year between 2000 to 2007 as part of Medicare/Medicaid certification.
The researchers reported
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Medical Errors Can Be Reduced

Preventable medical errors kill thousands of Americans every year.
A recent study found that nearly one out of three hospital patients is harmed by the care they receive. The Institute of Medicine, an independent nonprofit organization within the National Academy of Sciences which works to provide unbiased advice to decision makers within the medical community, estimates that as many as 100,000 Americans die each year from preventable medical errors in hospitals. This is approximately the same number of annual deaths caused by auto accidents, AIDS,
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Construction Accidents And Third Party Claims

When an employee is injured on a job site, particularly on a construction job site, unfortunately the injuries sustained can be serious. Heavy equipment is typically involved on large commercial construction projects and it is not unusual for construction workers on large construction projects to be exposed to a variety of different dangers during the work day. If an employee is injured on the job, under our Workers’ Compensation laws, the claim will primarily have to be brought against the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance
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