Georgia Injury Lawyers Blog

Slip, trip and falls are the number one cause of accidental injuries in the United States. At our Atlanta injury law firm we have seen these cases cause clients terrible medical problems for 30 years. The Georgia Court of Appeals has just made an important ruling that will aid in making recoveries for victims of these accidents.

A person who falls due to a stable or "static" defect at a store or business must show that the owner had knowledge of the condition before the fall. Sometimes it can be difficult to show when a landowner knew of a crack or hole on the property.

In Landrum v. Enmark Stations Inc., decided June 20, 2011 the Court of Appeals held that a landowner with an inadequate inspection program can be found to have constructive knowledge of the condition even when there is no direct evidence that the condition was observed before the injury. The defense can not simply say "we never saw it".

There are many special rules in handling slip or trip and fall claims and knowing the rules can make the difference between success and failure. This is a positive development for victims of these common causes of serious injury claims in Georgia.

Our Atlanta law firm has handled many defective design personal injury and crashworthiness lawsuits against the major auto manufacturers. The danger of explosion and fire caused by defective vehicle design has a long history. It began with the Pinto in the 1970's where a bolt was aimed directly toward the gas tank and caused many deadly fires from even relatively minor rear end collisions. The passage of time apparently has not stopped this deadly design danger.

The New York Times reported on June 19, 2011 that crash tests on the Jeep Grand Cherokee have shown that fuel fed fires remain a danger. The Jeep fuel tank was positioned next to the bumper in models built from 1993 to 2004. In 2005 Chrysler moved the tank forward of the rear axle where most competitors placed the tank.

The Center for Auto Safety has called on NHTSA to initiate a recall of these vechiles which can constitute a catastrophe waiting to happen.

Our Georgia product liability injury law firm monitors vehicle defect announcements. These recalls are important to prove defects leading to injuries or death. The period between the announcement and consumers receiving a notice in the mail is also a dangerous time if you have one of these vehicles.

American Honda Motor Co., Inc. issued a press release this week adding over 800,000 additional cars to a recall list for airbag inflator defects. The defect could result in injury or fatality according to the Honda statement. 2001 and 2002 Accord and Civic, 2002 Odyssey; 2002 and 2003 CR-V, selected 2002 and 2003 Acura 3.2 TL and 2003 Acura 3.2 CL vehicles are included.

Honda knows of several serious incidents related to the recall. Notices will not be mailed until late May. If you own one of these vehicles take the car to a dealer immediately for an inspection.

Honda owners can also contact www.recalls.honda.com or call (800) 999-1009 and select option 4; Acura owners go to the web at www.recalls.acura.com or call (800) 382-2238 and select option 4. Do not delay. We would much rather have you healthy that as a client.

Nissan has recalled almost 200,000 Pathfinder and Infiniti vehicles that could experience a loss of control while being driven. The recall of these vehicles has been announced due to concerns that road salt and water may cause corrosion leading to loss of steering.

Model years 1996 through 2004 Pathfinders and 1997 to 2003 QX4s are subject to the recall. Customers will be notified in May and the vehicles will be inspected and repaired at dealerships at no cost to owners. At our Atlanta product liability law firm we have seen too many people injured by defective vehicles before warnings ever arrived in the mail. If you have one of these cars do not wait for the recall letter. Go to the dealer and insist that the vehicle be inspected immediately.

When a personal injury case is settled the insurance company requires the injured party to sign a release. Essentially, the release recites that in exchange for receipt of the settlement funds the injured party agrees that all claims which could have been asserted under Georgia law are extinguished.
However, there are times where there are other insurance companies against which a claim for damages can be asserted. These other insurance companies may cover other parties against whom fault is also asserted. In an automobile, truck or other vehicle collision a claim for additional damages sometimes can be made against the injured party's own auto insurance policy. This type of insurance is called Uninsured Motorsist Coverage.
If there is this potential additional insurance, a standard release - called a general release - should not be signed. A general release prevents making a claim against anyone.
Instead a "Limited Liability Release" is the mandatory settlement document to use. This special release settles only with the insurance company paying money and allows the injured party to preserve their right to go against any other party or insurance company.
In our Atlanta, Georgia Personal Injury law firm we are always careful to be certain that all insurance is located and that our clients' rights to recover from all sources are protected and asserted.

Federal regulators have launched a new product safety website where consumers will be able search a database of products and file new reports about safety issues. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) officially launched the SaferProducts.gov website on March 11.

The database collects defect reports and product recall announcements onto one website.for public access. Consumer Reports that are deemed valid will be posted to the website and will be searchable by other consumers.

Easily accessible Information is a key part of successfully reducing the dangers of defective consumer products. Our product defect Atlanta law firm commends the agency on a simple and inexpensive solution to alert the public to dangerous products.

You've been seriously injured in a automobile or truck collision. You own a small business or are self-employed and work out of your home. Because of the injuries you are unable to work and your business has sufferred.
This unfortunate predicament creates an additional element of damages under Georgia law, over and above claims for pain and suffering and medical expenses.
The lost business earnings must be carefully proven, so that the defense attorney or insurance adjuster can not legitimately attack the numbers. This may require the assistance of a CPA or at least a bookkeeper who can analyze business records. It typically requires organizing and compairing the business profits, losses, expenses, taxes, etc. for several years. By comparing business earnings for several years, an average of earnings or profits can be established. This can be compared to the time frame when injuries have prevented you from working and thereby suffering a loss. This establishes a legal damage claim for lost earnings.
This element of damages is a frequent part of our Georgia law firm's representation in serious injury cases. A reminder: it is important to keep the business records, both before & after the accident so these damages can be proven.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that families cannot sue vaccine manufacturers over injuries caused by what they claim are defective and dangerous childhood vaccines. This ruling conflicts with a 2008 decision by the Georgia Supreme Court on this issue..
This decision is a setback to parents who have claimed that their children have suffered injuries such as autism due to these vaccines. The recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court relegates at least a design-defect type of claim to the federal vaccine court, a special compensation system set up by a 1986 federal statute that is supposed to be a no-fault system,but in reality caps recovery amounts. This in our view is extremely unfair to plaintiffs.
The federal vaccine statute provides that vaccine manufacturers cannot be liable for injury or death caused by vaccines in many types of civil lawsuits, "if the injury or death resulted from side effects that were unavoidable even though the vaccine was properly prepared and was accompanied by proper directions and warnings." In a ruling in a case in which Atlanta parents claimed their son suffered neurological injuries as a result of the preservative, thimerosal in his immunizations, our Georgia Supreme Court held that design-defect claims over vaccine injuries were not precluded by Federal law. . Now, however, this United States Supreme Court decision raises serious roadblocks for parents in Georgia & throughout the country.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that all routine vaccines that are recommended for children under the age of six, other than some flu vaccines, no longer contain any more than trace amounts of the preservative thimerosal. The CDC maintains that the evidence does not show a causal relationship between vaccines containing this preservative and autism.Other scientific studies do not agree with this conclusion.
Our lawfirm, pursuing defective product claims (also called product liability cases) is constantly monitoring developments in the law wherever it may effect Georgia citizens.

Ted Poe of Texas and Phil Gingrey of Georgia certainly aren't on the same page, The Hill reports.

Rep. Ted Poe of Texas blasted a malpractice proposal to set a $250,000 ceiling on non-economic medical malpractice damages. Our Atlanta Injury Firm applauds the position.

Poe, a member of the House Tea Party Caucus and a former judge, says the bill infringes on states' rights. He says he'll vote against the bill if it requires caps for states that don't want them. Poe says. "I think it's a violation of the Tenth Amendment." The New York Times reported that bill sponsor and obstetrician Phil Gingrey of Georgia paid $500,000 to settle a negligence claim and has three other claims on his record. Sounds like a case of personal payback.

Tea Party members are learning that states rights means the federal government should stay out of state injury law. How about a review of ERISA reimbursement claims and federal preemption next ?

Our Atlanta Georgia law firm has long argued that insurance costs depend more on insurance company premium investment returns rather than claims by injured people. Now there is more information that lawsuit inflation is a myth.
Insurance Information Institute

Tort inflation is a constant threat to the health of the insurance industry and the U.S. economy. Large increases in tort costs lead to higher insurance costs and can harm businesses trying to grow. In this report, the Insurance Information Institute examines the state of tort inflation in the United States. As with last year's report, the current environment in some ways seems calm: the average jury award has peaked at just over $1 million; tort costs rose modestly to $838 per person in 2008, though costs are projected to increase in subsequent years; and settlements in securities class actions rose to $3.8 billion in 2009 but remain far below the peak years of 2005-2006. However, there are signs that tort inflation may be returning: businesses in the U.S. and U.K. anticipate more legal disputes--40 percent of companies anticipate facing more legal disputes in the coming year; the largest jury verdicts are getting bigger.

The 10 largest jury verdicts in 2009 totaled $1.5 billion, an increase of 12 percent from 2008; trends in presidential appointments and policy directives could give the appearance of a shift away from principles that rein in tort inflation the overall number of actions filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission dipped slightly in 2009, but remains substantially above the levels of 2007 and prior; terrorism remains a liability threat and current proposals could weaken the ability of insurers to offer coverage; and tort costs associated with medical malpractice have fallen four years in a row, an apparent example of the effectiveness of malpractice caps. However, court decisions

In these difficult economic times, many people are struggling to make ends meat. Jobs have been lost, benefits cut, houses have gone into foreclosure or sold in a "short sale".
But what about my legal rights if I have been hurt in a automobile or truck collision, or suffered due to medical malpractice, been injured in a slip and fall or because a defective product malfunctioned? What if an insurance company has wronfully denied me compensation or coverage which I am entitled to receive?
The answer is that your legal rights in these circumstances are not effected by a bad economy. Where a legitimate personal injury or wrongful death claim exists under Georgia law, our Atlanta, Georgia personal injury law firm can pursue your case successfully. A poor economy will not hurt your case whatsoever.

Our Georgia medical malpractice law firm has long argued that lawyers do not cause rising health insurance premiums. Citing the Congressional Budget Office the Los AngelesTimes (11/14, Hiltzik) notes that lawsuits and defensive medicine contributed "zero percent ... to the rising cost of health care." The truth is that lawyers weed out frivilous lawsuits by rejecting greater than 90% of client inquiries.

The Times adds that proposals to cut lawyer fees and reduce lawsuits would "close the courthouse door to individuals or families seeking appropriate redress for medically induced injuries or deaths" and "cut revenue for trial lawyers, who Republicans think are all Democrats."

Our Atlanta, Georgia malpractice personal injury law firm has seen doctors protecting other doctors for years. Now there is a new study conducted by the American Medical Association that shows the size of the problem.

Published online Tuesday in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" the survey shows that while 17% of doctors knew of colleagues mistakes or incompetence; 36% do not report the dangerous doctor: Your doctor could be drunk, addicted to drugs or outright incompetent, but other doctors may not blow the whistle. The moral of this story is to make certain that the doctor you choose deserves your respect and confidence before they treat you as a patient.

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

According to the Newnan Georgia Times-Herald tort reform laws have now been passed in 46 States. For over 15 years Georgia has required an affidavit of merit before a lawsuit could be filed against a doctor or other professional. Still everyone knows that medical costs just keep going up.

Doctors, hospitals and Republicans still love to talk about tort reform. Why? It gets their political base who believe the justice system is "jackpot justice" to send money and votes. But if 46 States already have medical tort reform including caps on damages, affidavits of merit and even immunity for anything but gross negligence, then how can there be a problem.

The Congressional Budget Office found that medical malpractice costs are as little as 2 percent of the country's overall health care cost. The entire tort reform debate was adopted and incited by Karl Rove to get George Bush elected governor of Texas. It worked so well they used it to move to Washington. With Karl if it works politically then facts are irrelevant.

Our Atlanta law firm has seen it over and over. People hurt by medical negligence who can not believe that the law favors the medical establishment - and that includes doctors and their families hurt through negligent medical care.