Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

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" »

Slip and fall rates are particularly high among those over 65 years of age. About one third of those injured in a slip and fall will have permanent limitations in their daily living activities.

So what exactly is a slip and fall injury and what damages arise out of the injury? Slip and fall injuries are a category of premises liability and arise out of legal duties of the property owner owed to the general public. For example, a customer in a store slips in a puddle of water created by a leak in the roof. As a result of the fall, he has several broken bones and permanent injuries to his hand. If he is successful at proving the negligence of the property owner in failing to maintain the premises, he can then proceed to request damages.

There are three basic categories of damages: 1) economic damages; 2) noneconomic damages; and 3) punitive damages. Because punitive damages include the extra burden of proving gross negligence, we will not discuss them here.

Economic damages are the money lost due to the injury. Medical expenses and lost wages are the two most common economic damages claimed. Economic damages can be easy to prove through pay stubs, tax returns or W-2 forms. Medical bills will show the exact monetary loss for healthcare related expenses due to your injuries. However, future medical expenses and lost income will often require expert testimony or at least a report from an economist who can estimate the cost of long term care and the loss of future earnings and then place a present value on that number.

Noneconomic damages are often referred to as pain and suffering. This type of damages has no set monetary value and in Georgia is determined by the conscience of an enlightened judge or jury. Pain and suffering includes, physical and emotional or psychological pain. Often, the injured party's own testimony or that of family and friends will be the evidence relied on to award damages for pain and suffering.

Continue reading "Slip and Fall Injuries in Georgia" »

The National Highway Safety Traffic Administration has compiled a statistical analysis of alcohol-related driving accidents between 1982-2005. Over the twenty year period, the number of alcohol-related car accidents has declined from 53% to 33% in car accidents involving at least one impaired driver. Holidays show the highest percentage of accidents due to drunk driving while weekdays have the lowest percentage of these types of accidents.

The report found that certain laws tended to deter alcohol-related driving. I am sure you know most of these. Georgia lowered its legal blood alcohol limit to .08 as did many other states. Laws were enacted to permit the suspension of driver's licenses for those who refuse a breath test. The minimum drinking age was raised in the 1980's by Ronald Reagan when he tied the law to federal funding of state highways. Additionally, it became illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to have a blood alcohol level of over .02. Alcohol education has worked as shown by the continued reduction in alcohol -related accidents.

After a week and a half of trial, a Clayton County jury returned a wrongful death verdict for $753,000 today in favor of our client. While at a local Atlanta restaurant last year, our client's husband died after being served the wrong meal. He had a severe shellfish allergy and, although he ordered a dish without shellfish, the meal that was served to him contained crab meat. Within, minutes of eating the meal he went into anaphylactic shock and died.

The restaurant claimed the husband ordered the meal that killed him. They relied on the order ticket filled out by the waitress. However, through the use of a forensic handwriting witness, we were able to show the waitress had created the order ticket after the fact. Additional medical expert testimony was used to educate the jury on food allergies and anaphylactic shock.

While the restaurant countered they had no responsiblity for whether our client received the proper order or not, we tried the case on general negligence grounds which allowed the jury to find that the restaurant owed a duty to our client and her husband to accurately take their order and deliver the meals as ordered.

Shellfish allergies are one of the most common allergies ranging from mild to severe. While anaphylaxis is rare, it interferes with breathing, causes a severe drop in blood pressure, a rapid pulse and loss of consciousness. In the most severe instances, it causes death.

A California jury yesterday awarded $16,577.118 in a wrongful death action to the family of a woman who died of acute water intoxication after participating in a radio station contest to see who could drink and hold the most water in 2007. Tragically, Jennifer Strange lost her life for the grand prize of a Nintendo Wii, while the radio DJs joked about the possibility of contestants dying from drinking too much water.

Her family sued the radio station for wrongful death alleging the station was negligent in running the contest. The defense argued that the death was unforeseeable and if the jury found liability they must also find contributory negligence on the part of Ms. Strange.

If you have ever scanned the radio stations available in the metro Atlanta area, you have come across channels where the DJ's seem to be allowed to say and do just about anything to create a reaction. In the California case, they went too far through reckless conduct and abandonment of common sense adding up to negligence and liability. And although there is usually an argument to be made for contributory negligence, the majority of the liability will almost always rest with the purveyor of the contest.

More on the story:
Jury Awards $16.57 Million in Girl's Water Intoxication Death

Innocent bystanders, injured when police give chase, now have a better chance of getting their claims for personal injury and wrongful death to the courthouse. The Georgia Court of Appeals in Rahmann v. DeKalb County, Case No. A09A1533, ruled that a woman caught in the middle of a police chase in Atlanta's West End neighborhood can take her case to a jury. The Georgia Constitution provides for the legislature to waive sovereign immunity. Under the Tort Act of 2004, which became effective in 2005, the legislature provided for the waiver of immunity for injuries caused by covered governmental motor vehicles including police cars. However, at issue before the Georgia Court of Appeals was whether the officer was acting with "reckless abandonment" in his pursuit or following law enforcement procedure.

In this case, a woman was stopped at a red light when the police officer's car struck the fleeing suspect, causing the suspect's car to hit the woman's car. The Court determined that conflicting testimony between the woman and the police officer as to whether the police officer intentionally struck the suspect's vehicle to stop it or whether he was simply positioning his car to block the intersection is a jury question.

Under the Tort Act, for injuries occurring after January 1, 2008, the liability of the government for a covered motor vehicle accident is limited to $500,000 per bodily injury or death with a maximum cap of $700,000 for two or more persons' injuries or death. However, there are very specific timelines and filings that must be made to protect your rights against a government entity. If you are injured in a motor vehicle accident with a government entity, make sure you act quickly to protect your rights and discuss your case with an experienced trial attorney.

Yesterday, a commuter van carrying nine Southern Company employees was clipped by another car causing it to flip on its side, killing three of the passengers and seriously injuring the other six. On Stone Mountain Freeway during Atlanta rush hour, the car accident was caused by a driver in a hurry who was cutting in and out of traffic. He has been charged with three counts of misdemeanor vehicular homicide in the horrible car accident.

While the driver is facing charges, there are many other elements involved in this accident that must be addressed when determining liability. The commuter van was "sponsored" by Southern Company as a way for employees to carpool to work. The van was owned by a private company and was driven by a Southern Company employee. Additionally, the other driver presumably had auto insurance as required by Georgia law.

When a death occurs in a car wreck not only do the police complete an investigation, the companies involved will also often hire an investigator to insure that evidence is preserved. What can someone who is a victim of a car accident do to make sure that his rights are protected? The best choice is to talk with an experienced accident attorney who has the resources to thoroughly investigate the accident. Acting quickly gives you the best opportunity to discover the facts and protect the evidence.

This week, the State Supreme Court released an opinion having incredible impact on Georgia personal injury cases including car and truck accidents. Ruling that plaintiffs bringing personal injury lawsuits for car accidents and trucking accidents may have additional time to file their lawsuits based on whether the at-fault driver received a citation. The Court relied on the Official Code of Georgia § 9-3-99 which provides that in any tort action arising out of the commission of a crime the two year statute of limitation is tolled or "paused" from the date of the crime until the prosecution of the crime is final, so long as it does not exceed six years from the time of the injury. The Supreme Court found that traffic citations are crimes because they are misdemeanors.

How does this apply? In the case before the court, the plaintiff was a passenger in a car which was rear-ended in an accident near Fort Stewart on April 27, 2005. The at-fault driver was issued a citation for following too closely which was paid and disposed of about three weeks after the accident on May 19, 2005. Under the Court's new ruling, the time clock for the two year personal injury statute of limitations didn't begin to run until the ticket was taken care of either by payment of a fine or disposition in court meaning this plaintiff, had until May 19, 2007 to file her lawsuit.

This is not to say that it is wise to wait until the last minute to file a lawsuit - evidence is lost, memories grow weak, and you often lose the ability to thoroughly investigate your case because you are rushing to meet the statute of limitations. However, it is nice to know that for now, or at least until the Legislature changes the law to prevent tolling for traffic citations, people injured in accidents have a little more breathing room before filing their lawsuits.

Read more on this case Beneke v. Parker.

Last Wednesday, Sarah Halperin was jogging when she was struck by a car in a metro Atlanta pedestrian accident. She was taken to Atlanta Medical Center, unconscious and with no identification, just her iPod. A recent graduate of Emory University, Halperin had registered her iPod with Apple which turned out to be the only link the hospital had to her identity. Incredibly, the hospital staff was able to trace her iPod registration number to identifying information and then locate her mother.

Car and pedestrian accidents are unfortunately common in an urban area, particularly a community like Decatur where there is greater pedestrian activity. The early morning hours of darkness and light traffic cause many pedestrians, runners and drivers to relax and be a little less cautious than during the busy daylight hours. Pedestrian accidents often have serious injuries such as traumatic brain injury, broken bones and paralysis. Drivers need to keep an extra eye out for pedestrians and runners during the predawn hours and individuals who are on foot need to be aware that they are often not visible to drivers and take extra precaution.

The driver of the car in this accident did the right thing and stopped to help, but some drivers have said they weren't even aware they had hit a person. Here are some safety tips if you are a pedestrian or an active runner: 1) wear an identification bracelet or tag on your shoes, 2) wear reflective clothing, 3) run against traffic, 4) cross only in a crosswalk, and 4) be aware that if you are plugged in to an electronic device you cannot hear cars approaching behind you. We certainly hope for the best for Ms. Halperin and congratulate the nurse who followed up on the iPod registration and tracked down the family members.

Additional Resources:
Road Runners Club of America Safety Tips

Continue reading "IPod Used to Identify Victim of Decatur Pedestrian Accident" »

As Atlanta personal injury lawyers, one of the most frequent questions we get is "How long do I have to file a Georgia claim for a trucking accident injury, wrongful death, slip and fall, etc.?" Generally under Georgia law, you have two years from the date of the injury to make a claim. But don't wait until the last minute; once you are within six months of the statute running, your attorney will be pressed for time to investigate your claim, file the lawsuit and serve the proper parties before your claim is extinguished.

Additionally, if the claim is against a governmental agency you may need to serve notice of the claim within six months of the injury or lose the claim forever. Other nuances in the law also make a difference as to the actual date of the running of the statute. For example, claims of minors in certain cases will remain open for two years beyond their 18th birthday. An example of another twist is where your spouse is seriously injured in a car accident and has a claim for his injuries. Approximately six months later he dies, then you, as his spouse, have your own claim for wrongful death which runs two years from the date of the spouse's death.

There are other instances when the statute of limitations may be tolled which means it is paused. For example, if you are injured by a drunk driver in a motor vehicle accident and the driver is charged with a crime such as DUI, the statute is tolled during the prosecution of the crime but not for more than six years.

The law in this area can be quite complicated, so if you think you have a claim it is better to contact an attorney as soon as possible to discuss your injuries. Let the attorney guide you and protect your rights to a full recovery.

Last night, a father and his ten year old daughter were killed in a north Georgia trucking accident with an out of control Townsend Tree service truck on Georgia Highway 136. A third relative died later at the hospital. The three wrongful deaths occurred near the towns of Rome, Calhoun, Dalton, Jasper and Ellijay. Because this is a large truck accident, a specialized motor carrier unit is assisting with the investigation.

As discussed in an earlier post, trucking accidents are different from car accidents in several ways. Because trucking accidents tend to cause more fatalities, commercial trucks are more heavily regulated both by the state of Georgia and the Federal government. Improperly maintained trucks can contribute to accidents which is why the state requires annual inspections in addition to the safety checks at the Department of Public Safety Truck Weigh Stations you see along the interstate.

Recovering for the wrongful death of those killed in a collision with a semi truck requires specialized knowledge and an understanding of the complexities of the regulations affecting the trucking industry. If you have a question about a truck accident claim, take the time to find an experienced trial lawyer.

When sixteen year old Byron Trent Pyles died as a result of a Locust Grove, Georgia, police van veering into oncoming traffic, it set off a series of lawsuits over who had the right to sue for his wrongful death. The boy's parents filed a wrongful death action against the police officer and the Locust Grove Police. Under Georgia law, if there is no surviving spouse and no children, then the right to maintain the suit belongs to the parents. However, in this case, Pyles' daughter was born five months after his death and a wrongful death action was filed on behalf of the infant.

A wrongful death occurs when a person is killed by the negligence or reckless conduct of another and Georgia law permits certain parties to sue for the wrongful death. Specifically, the spouse has the first right to sue, if there is no spouse, the children of the deceased have the right to maintain the suit and if no children, then the parents of the deceased may sue. This week the Georgia Court of Appeals found in favor of the child permitting her suit to go forward and disallowing the boy's parents any right to recovery under the wrongful death statute.

While Pyles' parents desire to recover for the death of their son is understandable, there is no wiggle room in the statute. The Georgia Appellate Court held that the wrongful death statute would be interpreted under the usual rules of inheritance where a child born within 10 months of a decedent's death has the same rights of inheritance as a child who was alive at the time of decedent's death.

While I was glad to see the Georgia Department of Public Safety's estimate of 18 fatalities over the Labor Day holiday was high, nine people lost their lives in Georgia accidents over the weekend. The fatalities occurred in Jasper, Gainesville, Marietta, Milledgeville, Thomson, Conyers and Waycross. The majority of these fatal accidents were predictably concentrated in the extended metro Atlanta interstate corridors.

The number of car and truck crashes exceeded the estimate of 1,725 and climbed to 2,231 accidents over the three day weekend. The actual number of injuries was lower than expected with 614 individuals needing medical treatment after a traffic accident.

The excessive increase in accidents this past Labor Day causes one to wonder if the impact of cell phones and PDAs on driver distraction had anything to do with these traffic accidents. You might want to test your own driver distraction on the previous post Cell Phones and Car Accidents: Gauge Your Own Distraction. Whether it is a holiday weekend or not, there is no substitute for driving defensively, buckling up, and putting your cell phone out of reach while you are on the road.

The Georgia Department of Public Safety released estimates for Georgia car accidents during the coming Labor Day weekend. With heavy traffic expected in the metro Atlanta area, the statistics are sobering. Last year, during the three day holiday weekend there were 1,660 car or truck crashes and this year the number is expected to increase to 1,725. Nineteen people died and 798 were injured last year in the Labor Day weekend motor vehicle accidents. For 2009, the Georgia Highway Patrol is predicting that 18 people will die in accidents this holidy weekend and 975 will be injured.

Colonel Hitchens of the Georgia Department of Public Safety stated, "Plan your holiday festivities carefully and be sure to include a designated driver if alcohol consumption will be in your plans." He also reminded travelers in the Atlanta area that not only will traffic be heavy due to the holiday, but also football games and the NASCAR races at the Atlanta Motor Speedway will contribute to delays and congestion.

Labor Day weekend will also conclude the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's "Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest." campaign which was implemented across the United States as law enforcement sought to concentrate on drunk driving as a way to decrease the number of alcohol-related accidents this summer.

So this weekend, be patient with the other drivers on the road, drive safely and enjoy your holiday weekend.

Resources:
Georgia Department of Public Safety

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

If you have ever been on I-285 in Cobb County, you have probably noticed the long line of trucks attempting to merge onto I-20 near Atlanta. Maybe you have worried about passing these trucks safely and avoiding a collision. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration compiled a "Report to Congress on Large Truck Crash Causation Study." The study examined 967 trucking accidents and found that poor driving decisions accounted for 87% of the reasons for the truck crash. The most common causes for the accidents were legal drug use, speeding, unfamiliar roadways, careless observation of the surrounding traffic and roadways, and fatigue. Defective brakes were the most common mechanical problem associated with the semi truck accidents.

The findings were similar in accidents involving a truck and a car. Interestingly, driver fatigue was cited as a reason for an automobile driver's accident twice as often as for a commercial truck driver. As you know, truck drivers must keep driving logs and abide by strict rules regulating the number of hours they may be on the highway.

In Georgia, as in other states, semi truck drivers must have a commercial drivers license which requires knowledge in the areas of transporting cargo or hazardous materials and learning to safely drive and control an 18 wheeler. The commercial driver licensing standards reduce the risk of Georgia trucking accidents. No matter what type of vehicle you are driving, safe highway driving requires focus and an alert driver - something we all know and sometimes ignore. The next time you hit the road put down the cell phone, buckle up and keep both hands on the wheel for a safer driving experience.