Word is that the new City of Dunwoody Georgia will house police, a forensic department (think CSI), and a magistrates court handling traffic, auto accident and misdemeanor cases in office space leased at Perimeter Center East. The space is being built out now and should be ready in a matter of weeks.

Our Atlanta traffic and auto collision law firm has been located for 20 years in Building 47 directly across from the new Dunwoody City offices which will open in Building 41. We have been representing Dunwoody, Perimeter, Roswell, Sandy Springs and the surrounding areas residents in traffic and auto collision matters for years. We welcome all City employees, police and City visitors to come by and say hello anytime. Congratulations to Georgia's newest City and police department.

As the population grows older here in Georgia, the number of people who develop Alzheimer's and dementia will continue to rise.  More of these elderly folks will require full time care in nursing homes and assisted living facilities because the burden of caring for them by family members can become impossible.

The nursing home resident with Alzheimer's or dementia requires special care to protect them from serious injury or death. These residents are not responsible for themselves & often wander if not watched over.The facility and staff must protect them or they can face serious injury or death.  The nursing home must utilize special monitoring devices, locked and secured surroundings, and other electronic equipment for tracking their whereabouts.Most importantly, there must be a staff with proper training and dedication to their duties and responsibilities.

A recent  incident reported in the Chicago Tribune points out one of the many ways a wandering Alzheimer's resident can face tragedy if the staff does not do their job.

Our Atlanta, Georgia nursing home abuse law firm has represented victims and their families in many wandering cases.  One law suit our lawfirm filed  resulted from the death of a kind hearted gentleman with Alzheimer's who was allowed to wander on a daily basis from a Macon, Georgia nursing home.  His life ended when he wandered onto Georgia Interstate I-75 near Warner Robins where he was struck by a tractor trailer.

Whenever a decision is made to admit a loved one to a nursing home or assisted living facility, take care to ask questions about how they deal with the special needs of patients with Alzheimer's and dementia.  Wandering can begin at anytime and once it does will likely continue.  

In Georgia there are many options for health care particularly in major metropolitan areas like Atlanta, Savannah, Macon, Columbus or Augusta. The internet gives health care consumers the choice of investigating the past performance of hospitals. This is particularly true when you are in no rush to be admitted for non-emergency treatment.

Avoiding medical malpractice is the best way to protect you and your family from medical catastrophes. The next time a hospitalization is necessary in your family you can easily get safety information online. Safe hospitals can have death rates 30% below the average and serious complications almost 10% lower. A little research could be the difference between life or death.

Next time a member of your family needs a hospital take the time to look before you leap. Our Atlanta Georgia medical malpractice law firm would rather have you as a blog reader than a malpractice client.

As reported in the Georgia newspaper Miller County Liberal, a collision with injuries occurred when a 1988 Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck pulled out from a private drive and attempted to turn left.The pickup collided with another vehicle.The accident occurred on U.S. Highway 27 South in Colquitt, Georgia.

Traffic accidents often occur when a driver attempts to pull out from a parking lot, private driveway or some other location off road onto a main highway or street.  Typically these drivers fail to yield the right of way because they are in a hurry or simply fail to keep a lookout for oncoming vehicles.These at fault drivers often will try to blame the accident on the driver which actually had the right of way by wrongfully claiming the other driver was driving too fast.When the guilty driver tries to avoid accepting responcibilty,it becomes very important for our law firm to nail down the evidence.

Hill and Bleiberg has represented many injured drivers and passengers who had the right of way on the main highway or street. In these types of collisions, it can be very important to our successful handling of the case that we be contacted as soon as possible.  This enables our law firm to locate witnesses, visit the accident scene where photographs are taken and to examine and take photographs of each vehicle before they are repaired or sold for salvage.  This early investigation can make an important difference in the successful outcome of the case.

 

In case Georgia hospitals were not enough of a danger to surgical patients from infections, surgical errors and negligent hospital care there is a new and growing problem. Sudden fires
caused by high tech equipment in the oxygen rich operating rooms are causing an increase in surgical catastrophes.

Medical negligence claims for burn injuries from these deadly and preventable errors are rising in Georgia and across the nation. More technology in the OR means more fire burn injuries where there are high oxygen concentrations such as during general anesthesia. Surgical lasers have ignited oxygen tubing, and MRI machines have burned patients wearing smoking patches.

The problem is even worse due to the number of operations being conducted in centers outside of hospitals and in doctors offices. In these locations even the rules that govern hospitals (Joint Accreditation Commission on Hospital Accreditation) are often ignored.

Our Atlanta malpractice law firm would rather you be an informed patient than an injured client.

In Just a Flash, Surgery Can Turn Deadly Wall Street Journal, Feb. 18, 2009

CNN and the Atlanta Journal confirm in the results of an 18 month investigation what we have seen in our law practice for years:  Where a driver has been injured through the fault of another driver but the amount of property damage to their car is minor, insurance companies are routinely fighting legitimate claims for fair and adequate compensation.

In what on first look might appear to have been a "minor" accident, the truth can be quite different.  Many times serious injuries can result from an auto accident where the damage to the vehicle appears to be minor. 

The way in which the vehicles collide, the relative sizes of the vehicles, their ages, materials they are made of, speed, angle, seat belt use and type and the health and age of the victim are just a few of the many factors that can explain why someone can be hurt badly in what looks like a "minor crash."

But the real facts and explanation often don't matter to the insurance company for the guilty driver.  From the largest insurers State Farm, Allstate and Progressive to the smaller companies, the strategies are the same.  The insurers in Georgia and around the country have established programs for resisting  legitimate claims that include delay, avoidance, misstatements and the hiring of engineers, medical personnel, auto mechanics and other so-called experts who will "explain" how injuries could never happen from such a minor impact.

Our Atlanta Georgia accident law firm has dealt with these bogus strategies many times and have successfully represented drivers and passengers throughout Atlanta and the rest of Georgia to prove the merits of their case and their right to recover.   

A Georgia State Patrol spokesman reported the truck driver was heading eastbound and drifted off the road, hit a guardrail at Georgia highway 338 and went down an embankment.

This tragedy points up one of the most common causes of severe injury or death which resulted from negligent or reckless driving of 18 wheelers and other large trucks. 

Too often the truck driver is over fatigued or simply fails to concentrate and stay in his lane of traffic.The slightest movement into a car in an adjacent lane by these dangerous rigs can lead to horrifying results.  These "drifting" trucks causing mayhem, injury and death have been the cause of many cases our Atlanta, Georgia truck accident law firm has handled for victims.

The sad truth is many truckers are unqualified, over tired and not properly trained by trucking companies.

Tractor trailer driver killed in I-16 accident Macon Telegraph Feb. 16, 2009

The Georgia law limiting jury awards in medical malpractice cases has been held unconstitutional. Fulton County Judge Diane Besson in Atlanta held that the law was unfair to Georgia citizens.

This is the second Fulton County trial judge to strike down the $350,000.00 Georgia malpractice damage limits. An earlier case before Judge Marvin Arrington was settled while on appeal. That left the question of the law undecided for existing and future cases.

The case before Judge Besson would be a strong case on appeal and her excellent and well reasoned opinion may be the case that ends this discrimination against medical malpractice victims. Our Atlanta Georgia malpractice law firm will be monitoring and reporting on the progress of this vital issue for Georgia victims of medical negligence.

Life and death from a traffic collision in Georgia can be a matter of where you live. Trauma care at an accident site depends on if you are in a rural area or near a city like Atlanta, Augusta or
Macon. Funding for trauma care has been reduced sharply in recent years.

That means fewer trauma centers and a longer trip from the auto accident scene to available life saving medical care. Combine that with slower response time in rural areas and residents living in the country are at risk.

In Georgia there is a law that prevents an insurance company from arguing that failure to wear a seat belt should reduce the value of your personal injury claim. That may be about to change.

The Georgia House of Representatives has passed a bill sponsored by the insurance lobby that would allow evidence of seat belt use in Georgia. While that may seem fair it is a classic case of blaming the victim to increase profits. It is also another example of government claiming that they know best.

While seat belts can be life savers some people also make the rational decision that being belted can mean being trapped in a vehicle during a fire or in water. They prefer to rely on air bags and defensive driving. In any case they did not cause the collision and should not bear the blame for the damages caused by dangerous drivers. This only works to benefit the responsible  insurance company.

This bill has not become law yet but if it should then Georgia citizens will learn about the loss of protection only after a member of their family has been hurt or killed by a negligent driver. Our Atlanta Georgia auto accident law firm will keep an eye on this bill as it is pushed by the insurance lobby.

Georgia drivers are no different from consumers hurting across the nation. Not only are they not buying autos but now more are not insuring them.

The Insurance Research Council reports that more than 15% of car owners nationally will be driving without liability insurance as the economy deepens. Under increasing financial pressure the auto insurance often goes before the gas, electric, health insurance, or mortgage or rent.

If one out of every 5 to 7 cars on the road have no insurance what can that mean to you? A major problem in the event of an auto accident. No recovery for injuries and no recovery to repair or replace your damaged vehicle. Unless! You were aware of the importance of something called Uninsured Motorist (UM) insurance coverage.

For a small additional premium you are entitled by law in Georgia to obtain this coverage to protect against being hit by a driver at fault who has little or no insurance. When you buy insurance ask: Do I have uninsured motorist coverage? If you are not satisfied contact our Atlanta Georgia auto accident law firm and we will be happy to discuss your choices at no cost.

Associated Press, Feb. 16, 2009

What does the insurance company owe you for collision damage under Georgia law? Most people are uncertain and that puts them at a disadvantage negotiating with an insurance adjuster.

In a Georgia auto accident you are entitled to repair up to the fair market value or replacement of your car and contents, loss of use or rental costs, decreased value if repaired, and in a DUI or extreme negligence case punitive damages. The insurance company will not volunteer the information that you may have a right to all of these damages.

Traffic and vehicle deaths fell sharply in Georgia and across the country in 2008.  NHTSA and the Governors Highway Safety Association studies found that more than 10,000 lives may have been saved. The reasons are not clear but the Wall Street Journal suggests that improved car safety, government design requirements, safer highway design and gas prices may all play a part.                     

What about all the families and personal injury lawyers who forced safer cars and roads through lawsuits? Their crash worthiness and secondary impact cases have been uncovering defects and forcing car manufacturers to build safer cars for decades making changes well beyond minimal regulatory requirements. Private personal injury lawsuits are one of the most effective safety protections and taxpayers do not bear the direct costs of these cases.     

Manufacturers and the government both had to be dragged to the courthouse by grieving families before seat belts, airbags, and head restraints became standard safety features. Defective door latch, seat back failures, rollover claims, and tire defects were all found by lawyers and their families before any government agency.Our Atlanta Georgia product defect law firm  have represented three families with children under 12 who were paralyzed from injuries in cars with only lap belts in the rear seat when everyone else in the car walked away with minor injuries.
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As our world becomes more complex in consumer, industrial and even financial products the right to a jury trial becomes ever more important to a safer world and civil justice.

Auto Fatalities Decline Wall Street Journal Feb. 9, 2009

Police in Georgia may give you a summons to traffic court even if the auto accident was caused by another driver. Should you go to traffic court if the other party is at fault and charged by the police? Many people choose not to attend because of the inconvenience and their responsibilities to their families or job. That can be a mistake.

Just because the police charge the other driver doesn't mean that the insurance company will pay your claim. The police charge isn't even admissible in evidence unless the other driver pleads guilty in traffic court. Insurance companies are in the business of denying claims and will always take an opportunity to avoid paying a fair settlement.

Our Atlanta Georgia accident law firm can help you decide if the traffic court hearing is important to your claim against the insurance company of the driver who was at fault. Traffic court may be the only opportunity to question the other driver under oath before the insurance company provides them with a lawyer and they decide on a story. By that time they will often have developed a reason why the collision was not their fault after all.     

In Georgia full coverage can mean that the only auto insurance coverage you have is what the law requires.Buyer Beware! When your insurance agent says you are buying "full coverage" you may feel safe. Problem? That can leave you shocked by what you have to pay after a collision.
            
If you buy minimum coverage in Georgia you will only have $25,000.00 of protection if you are at fault and injure another person. If you hurt more than one person there will be $50,000.00 of protection for all of the injuries. Property damage to other cars will be limited to $25,000.00 and that is less than the cost of a lot of cars on the road today. And if you cause a multiple car collision? You may be responsible for all the costs and that could lead to financial ruin.

What happens if the driver that hits you is at fault and has too little insurance or none at all (10 to 15% of vehicles on Georgia highways are not insured). You would receive nothing for your medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering. You have a right to buy Uninsured Motorist (UM) Coverage on your policy for a small premium. Without this optional coverage you will get nothing for injuries from an uninsured driver even if you were told you had "full coverage".