Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

As an Atlanta automobile accident lawyer I have had numerous clients injured in wrecks resulting from road rage. The latest involved in an accident on an Atlanta highway caused when an irate driver quickly changed lanes into the lane of travel of my client and slammed on his brakes. Trying to avoid running into the rear of the other vehicle, my client lost control of his SUV and careened into the median wall and the SUV flipped on its side.

The interesting thing about this incident was that my client was not in any way involved in the road rage behavior between the two other drivers. He was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time and was the innocent victim of intentional bad behavior. He was injured, but fortunately he has completely recovered. He is very fortunate that his injuries were not more serious. We have represented others injured in accidents that are the results of road rage who have been seriously injured and the family of one person killed.

Like all Georgia automobile accident cases, those injured and the families of those killed in an accident resulting from road rage may seek monetary damages for the negligent and intentional acts of those responsible for causing the accidents. The damages include compensation for medical bills, lost wages, the diminished capacity to earn, and emotional and physical pain and suffering. If someone is killed, the survivors of the deceased can also recover wrongful death damages for the full value of the life of the deceased.

What is different in cases involving road rage is that in addition to the damages available talked about above, punitive damages are also often recoverable. Punitive damages are awarded in Georgia not to compensate the injured, but solely to punish, penalize and deter the wrongdoer. They are only available in cases where the wrongdoer's actions show a willful misconduct or a conscious indifference to the consequences. In Georgia, typical road rage behavior rises to this level, and a jury may award punitive damages at the trial of the case. This is important, because punitive damages can be considerable, increasing the value of the case significantly.

If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in an automobile or trucking accident resulting from road rage, please feel free to call me to discuss you situation. If you don't call me, please speak to another competent lawyer who knows how to pursue these cases. Having the right lawyer in these types of cases can have a dramatic impact on the value of your claims.

As a medical malpractice lawyer practicing in Atlanta and north Georgia, I am regularly asked by potential clients to review the facts surrounding possible medical malpractice claims to determine whether successful claims and lawsuits can be made against medical providers. The decision to pursue a medical malpractice claim is complicated. The costs involved regularly exceed tens of thousands of dollars and the chance of success is often slim. One of the first items I look at when reviewing a possible claim is whether the claim/lawsuit can me timely made. If it can't, there is no reason to look any further as to whether a claim can be made.

The time to bring a medical malpractice claim/lawsuit is called the statute of limitations. The statute of limitations for most medical malpractice cases is two years. Specifically, the O.C.G.A. § 9-3-71(a) provides in part: "an action for medical malpractice shall be brought within two years after the date on which an injury or death arising from a negligent or wrongful act or omission occurred." This requires the injured person or the representative of someone killed to bring the claim within two years from the date the injury occurred, not two years from the date the malpractice occurred. It is important to remember and understand that the date of malpractice may be different than the date of injury.

This distinction most often becomes an issue in cases involving a misdiagnosis. Typically, the date of the injury is considered to be the date of a misdiagnosis. But in many cases the injuries sued for begin after the misdiagnosis. To allow the statute of limitations to begin before the patient could possibly be aware of the misdiagnosis would be unfair. In this situation, the statute begins to run from the date the symptoms manifest to the patient. In other words, when the injury occurs after the date of the negligent medical treatment, the statute of limitations runs from the date the injury is discovered.

There are exceptions to the general rule that medical malpractice lawsuits must be brought within the two year statute of limitations. The most notable are cases involving foreign objects and children. I will probably discuss these in a future blog. What is import to know is that medical malpractice lawsuits are the most complicated personal injury and wrongful death claims that are made in Georgia. You need to be sure to retain a lawyer that is experienced handling these types of cases. We are. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like to discuss whether you might have a valid claim for medical malpractice or to simply to discuss your situation. It would be my pleasure to speak with you.

As an Atlanta personal injury and wrongful death attorney practicing in north Georgia, I was saddened to read an online article by a local Albany news station about 2 children run down by an elderly driver while awaiting a school bus. Not only was I saddened, I was also amazed because the tragedy is almost identical to a situation handled by our firm about two months ago. In the earlier case, a young Hispanic girl was tragically killed in Cobb county when an elderly woman ran her over while she waited to board her bus to go to school. Although neither child died in the Tift county incident, a young boy is still in intensive care because on his injuries.

In the Tift county incident, a 92 year old driver somehow failed to realize the school bus was stopped and ran over the children while they crossed the road to board the bus. It is likely the bus had its stop sign out and its red lights flashing. The impact was so hard that the little boy was knocked out of his shoes and flew some distance before landing on the road unconscious. Although no charges had been filed when I wrote this blog, it is my guess that the investigation will reveal that the children did nothing to contribute to the incident, and that the blame will be on the elderly driver for failing to observe the stopped school bus with its flashing lights.

It is difficult for me to understand all the heartache that comes from this type of incident. First, my heart goes out to the 92 year old gentleman and his family. As we all get older, we know the day will come when we will be unable to continue to do the things we once could, including drive safely. I don't know if this is the case for the driver in this incident, but I bet it might be. To discover this and to cause harm to children at the same time - I can't imagine how that would make you feel.

Continue reading "Two Children run Down by Elderly Driver While Crossing the Street to Board a School Bus in Tift County Eerily Similar to Recent Cobb County Child Pedestrian Death" »

As a Trucking lawyer representing injured clients in Atlanta and central and north Georgia, I was sadden to read in an article in the Savannah Morning News on line about a truck driver who was killed when his tractor trailer left the road and collided into trees in Wentworth, Georgia. The article indicated that authorities do not know why the vehicle left the roadway. It was a straight road and the weather was good. There were no skid marks or any other indications that the driver took any evasive action to avoid the crash.

My thoughts are that the driver either fell asleep or had an emergency medical condition like a heart attack that led to the collision and death. Many tractor trailer accidents are caused by driver fatigue leading to drivers falling asleep. These accidents often lead to catastrophic injuries and death. Accordingly, Federal regulations prohibit trucking companies/drivers to operate commercial vehicles when the driver is impaired by fatigue, illness, or any other cause which makes it unsafe for the driver to operate his or her vehicle.

These regulations also set a maximum number of hours a driver can drive per day and week. The purpose of the regulations is, of course, to prevent accidents and injuries and deaths caused by driver fatigue. Violations for these regulations can lead to sanctions against the driver and the company, and evidence of the violations can be used to prove negligence in civil suit arising from the accidents.

Considering the number of trucks on America's highways, it is not surprising that there are also a number of accidents that are caused by driver health issues. Federal regulations prohibit drivers from operating tractor trailers for many health reasons, including, but not limited to, if they have diabetes requiring insulin to control, a serious heart condition, a history of respiratory problems, high blood pressure or joint or muscular problems that affect the driver's ability to drive, have epilepsy or any other condition that can cause a loss of consciousness, or have bad eyesight or hearing.
Drivers are required to have physical exams every 2 years or earlier if a physical or mental injury or disease impairs the driver's ability to drive a truck.

Lawsuits against trucking companies can be difficult and complex. The use of experts is often needed to prove your case. For example, when issues involving driver fatigue appear to be a play, hiring a qualified expert to examine the trucking company's system of monitoring its drivers' hours of service may be necessary to prove or bolster liability against the trucking company. Likewise, medical experts may be needed to determine if a driver and the company are violating the federal regulations regarding the driver's health.

It is very important if you hire an attorney to handle your claims against a trucking company, that your attorney has the experience and knowledge to understand all the complex issues arising in trucking claims. This includes knowing when and how to retain expert testimony from a properly qualified expert. The attorneys in our office have this experience and knowledge. Please contact our firm to discuss your possible case with one of our attorneys. There is no obligation, and we welcome the opportunity to discuss your case with you.

As a Atlanta automobile accident lawyer who practices throughout central and north Georgia, I have handled many personal injury lawsuits where the at fault party to a automobile accident is a minor or a college student driving a vehicle provided to them by one or both of their parents. The question that often arises in these cases is whether the parents of the young drivers are also liable for the damages caused in the accident.

In Georgia, a parent or parents are liable for the injuries and damages caused in an automobile accident by their children if the vehicle being driven can be classified as a "family purpose vehicle." The family purpose doctrine generally provides that when an automobile is maintained by the owner for the use and convenience of his family, the owner is liable for the negligence of a family member having authority to drive the car while it is being used for a family purpose. The courts look to four criteria to determine whether the family purpose doctrine applies:

1. The parent must own or have an interest in or control over the automobile;
2. The vehicle owner must have made the automobile available for family use;
3. The driver must be a member of the owner's immediate household; and
4. The vehicle must be driven with the permission or acquiescence of the owner.

Generally, if the child lives with his or her parents, the parents provide a vehicle for the child for his or her use, the parents retains control over the vehicle, and the child lives in the parents' immediate household, then the parents will likely be responsible for any accident the child has and responsible for any injuries and damages caused in the accident. If any of the criteria are not met, then there is no parent liability.

For example, in the last case I was involved in where the family purpose doctrine looked like it might apply, the driver of the vehicle was a college student at the University of Georgia living in Athens where the accident occurred. In that situation, even though the driver was at the time of the collision living away from home at college, the family purpose rule did apply because the student still had a room at home, received mail there and returned to the residence each holiday and intended to return after he graduated. In that situation, the student had two households, the one at college and the one with his parents.

It is important that if you are in an accident and you hire an attorney to represent you to recover damages for injuries you suffered in the accident, you hire experienced attorneys that know Georgia law and how to properly and successfully pursue a claim under the family purpose doctrine. Sometimes the only way to recover damages is if the parents are proper parties to the claim or lawsuit.

The attorneys in our office have the experience and know how to successfully pursue these claims. We have handled hundreds of claims involving the family purpose doctrine. If you would like to discuss your situation with me directly, please contact me and I would welcome the opportunity to speak with you about these issues and any other that you would like to discuss.