Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

At a glance, four trucks and one car make for a great damages case - but liability (or negligence) is the first issue to address. As is common in the metro Atlanta area, rain was a factor in this semi-truck accident. A jury recently returned a verdict for the four trucks involved in a multi-vehicle accident on I-20 in Augusta, Georgia. The reason? A flustered plaintiff on the witness stand.

What appeared to be a sure win for the plaintiff took a turn for the worse when he became flustered on the stand and began to agree with the defense attorneys regarding the location of his car, the speed he was traveling, and the location of the trucks involved. Witness preparation is an important aspect of case preparation in any trial attorney's arsenal. Generally it includes role-playing where the witness is cross-examined by one of his attorneys and asked tough questions in order to give him an idea of what may come while he is on the witness stand. More complex issues or witnesses who lack confidence may benefit from a session or two with a psychologist.

Further, truck accidents require special knowledge of the many federal regulations the truck drivers and their trucks operate under. For example, every year trucking companies must make sure their drivers are still qualified to drive a commercial vehicle.

Continue reading "One Car, Four Trucks - August, Georgia Accident" »

Today the Georgia Supreme Court held in Atlanta Oculoplastic Surgery v. Nestlehutt that the limits on pain and suffering in medical malpractice cases violates the constitutional right to trial by jury. In a unanimous opinion, the Court found that the noneconomic damages caps in O.C.G.A. 51-13-1 of the 2005 Tort Reform bill, violate the right of a jury to determine the amount of damages to be awarded a plaintiff.

Although, recognizing that the caps were enacted by the Georgia Legislature to address "what the General Assembly determined to be a 'crisis affecting the provision and quality of health care services in this state,'" the Court specifically concluded, "The very existence of the caps, in any amount, is violative of the right to trial by jury."

What does this mean to plaintiffs involved in pending medical malpractice cases? Because a law that is unconstitutional was unconstitutional from its start, the caps limitation will be rolled back retroactively. Any lawsuits still before the courts, even if filed prior to the Nestlehutt opinion and after the 2005 Tort Reform Bill, will not be subject to the caps limitations of $350,000 for any verdict against one or more physicians and $350,000 for each verdict against a hospital or healthcare facility up to $750,000 and a maximum total against all physicians, hospitals and health care facilities of $1,050,000.

With the passage of the Healthcare Reform bill yesterday and the striking down of the caps on medical malpractice cases in Georgia today, this is will be an interesting week full of commentary and opinion regarding the state of healthcare in Georgia.

In Georgia, the law states that an injured party has two years from the date of injury to file a lawsuit for damages from the injury. If you have been seriously injured, or worse, lost a loved one to the negligence of another, you should take the time to talk with an attorney to protect your rights. Explain your situation completely and bring any papers or documents that relate to the situation to the initial visit.

How do you find the right personal injury attorney? Ask the attorney specific questions related to their personal injury practice and experience. Attorneys who are experienced in this area will have handles jury trials, mediations and arbitrations of cases. Determine whether the attorney you talk with will be the one who will handle your case or will it be passed off to another associate. You should expect the attorney to keep you updated and informed on the progress of your case.

The Georgia Bar publishes a brochure on how to choose an attorney. For example, it is important to discuss the fees and expenses. A personal injury attorney often takes cases on a contingency fee agreement basis. This means that you will be responsible for the costs of the lawsuit, but any attorney fees will be paid out of the recovery. If there is no recovery, you owe no attorney fees.

Continue reading "How To Choose A Personal Injury Lawyer" »

If you are in a car accident or a truck accident while travelling through East Point, Georgia, just southwest of Atlanta near College Park and the Atlanta International Airport, you may be assessed motor vehicle accident response fees for city emergency services such as police, fire and rescue. East Point City Council passed an ordinance charging fees from $100 to $300 per emergency vehicle for certain motor vehicle accidents within the city limits.

Even though the State of Georgia has banned the practice of imposing car accident fees on insurance companies for emergency response services to car or trucking accidents, third party collection companies and municipalities have found a gold mine in a loophole which allows the assessment of car crash fees against citizens. In East Point, they are assessing nonresidents who are at fault in accidents within the city limits. The third party collection agency bills the insurance company for the fees assessed against the insured. The fees are paid by the insurance company and can eventually result in higher insurance rates for the consumer.

The first to get paid from these fees is the third party collection company which takes the first cut; the balance goes to the city. Of course, if you don't have insurance, the third party administrator has no one to bill and it is doubtful they will try to collect from you. But if you are a law abiding citizen who has auto insurance and you are a nonresident who is at fault in an accident in the city limits of East Point, your insurance company will be getting the bill.

East Point is not the first to consider these fees as many other municipalities throughout the United States have been approached by the third party collection companies offering a quick way to increase income. Many have declined to impose the controversial accident fees after public discussion. This backdoor tax is a way for struggling municipalities to fund their services. Whether it is fair or not it creates a tremendous amount of ill-will between residents and nonresidents. What will be the effect on the businesses within these cities? Will nonresidents go elsewhere to do business rather than East Point? What a shame since East Point has some wonderful restaurants and parks including Connally Nature Park home to the largest White Oak tree in Georgia.

Read more:

Official Code of Georgia. See 33-8-8.2(e) for law on accident response fees.

Georgia Insurance Commissioner for consumer information on auto insurance.

As we travel from Clayton County in the south to Fulton County in the north, we know our chances of being involved in a car accident in the metro Atlanta area is high. Between irate or distracted drivers and heavy traffic, we all feel the stress of driving in the Atlanta area. If only Georgia drivers were as friendly and hospitable behind the wheel of a car as they are in person. In 2006, the last date for which data is available, 133,399 people were injured in car accidents in Georgia. Of those injured in accidents, over 6000 were seriously injured.

But what do you do when you are involved in a car accident, especially one with injuries? Often, your first reaction is confusion and fear. I have put together some general guidelines that I hope will help if you are ever in the unfortunate position of being involved in a car accident, especially with injuries.

1. First, take care of the injuries. Make sure you and others are okay and get to a safe place, off the road and away from the cars, then call 911. Don't stay in a vehicle that is in the middle of a roadway. If it is possible to safely move the vehicles out of traffic then do so.

2. If everyone is okay, then exchange information with the other driver, but don't discuss the accident. When talking to the police or highway patrol about the accident, be truthful, but don't guess. Avoid apologizing, making statements like "I didn't see you," or anything that later on, once the investigation has been completed, could be taken as an admission of fault.

3. Notify your insurance company. Before you have an accident, it is important to review your policy to find out how much and what kind of coverage you have.

4. If you are injured, seek medical assistance. Sometimes you are in shock and may not even realize you are injured. It never hurts to visit the hospital and be checked out.

5. Request a copy of the car accident report for your records.

Continue reading "I've been Injured In An Atlanta Car Accident: What do I do next?" »

At the conclusion of Stage 16 today, following a rest day, Contador and Armstrong were numbers 10 and 12 respectively in the finish while Mikel Astarloza for Team Euskaltel-Euskadi took first. However, Alberto Contador remained in first overall with Lance Armstrong a close second. They have kept their team, Astana, on top and tomorrow will face the toughest day of this year's race riding through five passes in the Alps in France.

More:
Stage 17 Preview

Atlanta Bicycling and the Tour de France

Who doesn't remember getting their first PEZ®? There are collectors of PEZ® and PEZ® Clubs. People trade PEZ® on ebay. And now PEZ® is suing a small California museum, the Burlingame Museum of PEZ Memorabilia, for trademark infringement. The museum was founded by devoted PEZ® fans who went to the trouble to have the largest working PEZ® dispenser in the world created for their museum. In fact, the 7'10" snowman dispenser made it into the Guinness Book of World Records.

Yes, PEZ® certainly has a right to protect their trademark dispenser and, in fact, must proactively work to retain that trademark protection, but somehow their suit seems a little skewed. Isn't this a great marketing opportunity? Seems to me that the parties need to sit down at the table with their favorite PEZ® character and work toward an agreeable outcome. Maybe PEZ® could become a sponsor of the museum which already markets and encourages love and affection for the candy dispenser. What could be better than an afternoon at a free PEZ® museum with the opportunity to buy more PEZ® memorabilia?

Read more:

PEZ Not so Sweet on Local Museum

PEZ Sour on Owners of World's Largest Dispenser

PEZ Sues Museum Over Giant Dispenser

Photo courtesy of Christopher at Flckr