Georgia Injury Lawyers Blog

The brain is a vital part of the body. It allows us to makes decisions, to think, and shapes our personality. An injury to this area is not something that should be taken lightly. Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) can not only cause life-long afflictions that come with rehabilitation and care from specialty facilities, like CareMeridian, but can potentially be deadly.

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month, and it's important to understand what TBI is and the profound effects it has on victims and their families. TBI is split into two categories: mild and severe. In a mild case consciousness is lost for 30 min or less. Unfortunately these cases are usually overlooked, but can often times result in mood swings, headaches, and difficulty in thinking. Severe TBI involves a loss of consciousness for over 30 minutes and can have life long effects on the victim's motor skills and psyche. Cases of TBI may seem like a rarity, but every 16 seconds a TBI occurs in this country. It is essential that people are aware of TBI so it can be prevented.

Guest Blog from:
Chelsea Travers
CareMeridian
ctravers@caremeridian.com

The widow of a man staying at a Jesup,Georgia motel has had her wrongful death lawsuit against the motel dismissed in a decision by The Georgia Court Of Appeals.In the lawsuit the wife claimed that she had called the motel out of concern for her husband's health & asked them to look in on him. The motel employees did not do so and he was later found dead.This ruling points out that there are certain duties & obligations of landowners & proprietors to people who come into their business but the legal duties do not require them to be caretakers. The basic rule requires the business to keep the premises safe and not to create a hazard which cannot be discovered by the customer. While this duty in Georgia is important for customers' protection from injury, the law in Georgia does not make the business operator an insurer for every possible situation. Our personal injury lawfirm here in Georgia has handled all types of injury cases against landowners & businesses where injuries or death occur. The law in this area is called PREMISES LIABILITY LAW.It is , to be blunt, tricky. Handling these cases requires an intimate knowledge of this area of law & substantial experience in these type of cases.
Fulton County Daily Report - February 15, 2010 "Panel: Motels don't have to check on guests"

In 2005 the Georgia legislature passed "Tort Reform" in medical malpractice cases. This law is grossly unfair to patients in Georgia who suffer serious injuries due to the malpractice of hospitals, doctors and other medical practitioners- even nursing homes.This law placed limits on the amount that can be recovered("caps") , no matter how horrible the injuries and no matter how incompetent the misconduct. Most cases limit noneconomic damages, which includes all forms of pain & suffering , to $350,000. Our serious injury & wrongful death Atlanta lawfirm has contended from the time this law was passed that it was unconstitutional and deprives victims of due process, a jury trial & their right to lawful compensation. As of the time this is written the Georgia Supreme Court has this exteremly important issue under review. We are hopeful that the jurists here will do as has now been done in the State of Illinois.Their Supreme Court has declared such laws unconstitutional. We are anxious to hear from our highest court and will report their decision as soon as it is made.

Chicago Tribune, "Illinois Supreme Court strikes down medical malpractice law"
February 4, 2010

Our Atlanta personal injury firm sees the horror of truck and bus accidents on our highways all the time. It is hard to imagine that commercial drivers need to be told not to text while driving.

The U.S. Transportation Department has banned texting by drivers of interstate buses and trucks over 10,000 pounds effective immediately.

The fine is only $2750 dollars and it will be difficult to enforce unless the damage has already been done. Still, for any commercial drivers who thought they were free to choose to text and drive the law now says STOP TEXTING NOW.