Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

As an Atlanta DUI accident lawyer, I know first hand that Georgia law does not tolerate drunk (DUI) Drivers. My many years of experience representing clients in Georgia DUI accidents cases has taught me that unlike dog bite cases, there is no "first bite" rule when it comes to drunk driving and auto accidents. DUI drivers are subject to serious criminal penalties and punitive civil damages even for their first drug or alcohol induced accident. However, the number of prior drug or alcohol offenses can be a significant factor in determining both the value of the injured party's claim and the number of other potentially responsible defendants.

Obviously, a driver with multiple drunken driving offenses will be subject to a higher punitive damage award than a person with no such prior offenses. Circumstances are important as well. A very drunk driver who causes a collision while on the way from one bar to another will be a far more inviting punitive damage target than an older woman who had one too many cocktails at a Sunday school party. It is imperative to learn the story behind the drinking in order to determine its real value to the case.

If the impaired driver is acting within the course and scope of his/her employment at the time of the accident, the employer will be responsible for the injured party's actual damages to the same extent as its employee. However, any punitive damages awarded against the drunk driver will not be the responsibility of the driver's employer because punitive damages are awarded to deter or punish specific behavior. This distinction can be hugely significant because insurance coverage may not exist (or may be inadequate) for punitive damages awarded only against the drunk driver.

Continue reading "Georgia Law does not Tolerate Drunk (DUI) Drivers Causing Accidents (and Your Injury Case may Have Significantly more Value if the At-Fault Driver was DUI)" »

As an Atlanta personal injury attorney, and father of two wonderful children, I noted with interest an article in the AJC on line today about the recall of more than 2 million cribs from seven different companies. The cribs are suspected of potentially causing suffocation and other injuries. The companies involved are Evenflo, Delta Enterprises Corp., Child Craft, Jardine Enterprises, la Jobi, Million Dollar Baby and Simmons Juvenile Products, Inc. This brings the total of drop-side cribs recalled in the past five years to 9 million.

Most injuries to babies caused by cribs result from "drop-side" models that allow the side of the crib to be lowered for easier access to the baby. However, these drop-sides can sometimes malfunction and drop on their own, trapping babies and causing very serious injuries or even death. The problem is so serious that the sale and manufacture of these cribs may be permanently banned by the Consumer Product Safety Commission by the end of this year. Let us hope so.

Continue reading "Drop-Side Cribs in Georgia (and the rest of the country) Continue to Pose Serious Threats of Personal Injuries and Deaths" »

While all auto accident cases that cause serious personal injury or death are tragic, the most senseless and avoidable of these are those involving drunk drivers. As an Atlanta car accident lawyer, and more importantly as a long time Georgia resident with two school age children, I was saddened to read in the AJC on line about the untimely death of Jordan Griner who was apparently killed by a drunk driver with a blood alcohol level of .229 (nearly three times the legally allowed limit in Georgia). This death was tragic, senseless, and entirely avoidable.

From a legal perspective, claims involving drunk drivers are far more complex than they may seem. In addition to money damages for medical bills, pain and suffering and (as in this case) wrongful death, persons injured by drunk drivers are often entitled to an award of punitive damages. Punitive damages are awarded in addition to all other damages, and are designed to punish and deter these dangerous drivers so that they will not engage in such reckless behavior in the future.

Continue reading "Georgia Drunk Driving Accidents are Far Too Common, Serious, and Entirely Avoidable" »

It has been two weeks in a row now that I have read AJC on line articles about young children drowning or almost drowning in metro Atlanta. As an Atlanta personal injury lawyer who represents families of drowning victims, I always know that when summer arrives I am going to regularly read about young drowning victims in metro Atlanta and north Georgia.

The first article is about a nine year old boy who is in critical condition after almost drowning while attending a day camp at a Recreation Center in Jonesboro, Georgia. The second article is about a 4 year old girl who drowned in Gwinnett County. Apparently, the Clayton County boy could not swim and was drowning when he was pulled from the pool, given CPR and taken to Southern Regional Hospital and later airlifted to Egleston Hospital in Atlanta. The four year old girl was pulled from the water after she was notice lying still in the water at an apartment complex pool.

Continue reading "Nine Year Old Clayton County, Georgia, Boy Almost Drowns at Day Camp" »

As the heat of summer arrives in full force, more Georgians than ever will be heading to the many beautiful lakes in our area for weekends away, or simply for a day of fun with family. Pleasant as these short trips can be, they pose potential hazards that can lead to unexpected tragedy. I was sad to read in the AJC online today about a 15 year old girl who was seriously injured while being pulled behind a boat on an inner tube in Lake Lanier. She was apparently stuck by another boat as it passed close by. As a Georgia personal injury attorney, and as a boat owner on a local Georgia lake myself, this sad story serves as a reminder of the damage that can be caused by water craft, and of the way these cases must be handled when seeking money damages for injuries caused by boating accidents in Georgia.

Under Georgia law, boats are treated essentially as floating cars for purposes of determining fault when accidents occur. As with auto accidents, boaters are liable for damages caused by their negligence while boating on public lakes in our state. This includes failure to yield the right of way to other water traffic, failure to keep a safe lookout for other boaters or swimmers, and failure to obey the established rules for operating water craft safely in Georgia waters. Rules for operating boats, jet skis and other water craft in Georgia include age restrictions, speed limits, and registration and titling requirements.

Continue reading "Georgia Boating Accidents Are as Dangerous as Cars Accidents" »

Georgia medical malpractice lawsuits pursuing damages for injuries caused when foreign objects are left in a patient's body must be brought within one year from when the negligent or wrongful act or omission is discovered. I touched on this in an earlier blog. The general statute of limitations for medical malpractice cases in Georgia is two years. When a foreign object is left in a patient, the statute is one year from the discovery of the object, except when the one year period would be less than the general two year provision. In that case, the patient will not be cut off by the one year provision.

Georgia law does not include as foreign objects chemical compounds, fixation devices or prosthetic aids or devices. The Georgia statutes do not specifically define a foreign object, but examples of foreign objects found by Georgia courts are a surgical sponge, steel arterial clamp and a bulldog clamp.

A case against a doctor for leaving a foreign object in a patient does not rely on showing professional judgment or discretion. The doctor is liable because he either knew about the object or should have known since he or she put it there and failed to take it out. This does not mean these types of cases can be handled by any lawyer. Any case claiming medical malpractice should be handled by an experienced attorney who regularly handles medical malpractice cases. For instance, knowing when the one year statute of limitations begins to run in a foreign object case can be the difference between having a case and not having a case.

I read an AJC on line article today about a 7 year old boy who drowned at a pool at a Suwannee apartment complex. As a father of two children, I cannot imagine the pain the family must be feeling. As a personal injury lawyer representing clients in Atlanta and north Georgia, I am curious about how such a tragedy occurred. According to the article, the young boy was pulled out of the water when discovered floating face down. It is unclear how long the boy was underwater before he was pulled out. A later written AJC on line article indicated that the boy was at the pool with his mom and other members of their church.

Although there is nothing to bring this young boy back to life, the parents of the child may have a claim to recover wrongful death damages for his death. For this to happen, the circumstances surrounding the death need to show that someone other than a family member was negligent in allowing the boy to drown. For instance, if the apartment provided a life guard service, there may be a question as to whether the life guards on duty failed to provide adequate protection for the swimmers. Issues can also arise regarding the slope of the pool and whether a safety line is in place. The facts could also support that another swimmer was responsible. There are many possibilities.

Continue reading "Gwinnett County, Georgia, Seven Year Old Drowns At Apartment Complex Pool" »

Texting and driving is finally against the law in Georgia, and as an Atlanta automobile accident lawyer practicing all over north Georgia, I am hopeful that the new bills signed into law by our governor on June 4, 2008, will stop the epidemic of Georgia citizens (and visitors), operating their motor vehicles while they text and surf the web. The new laws ban texting and surfing the web by all drivers and ban the use of cell phones by drivers under the age of 18. Violating either law will cost you $150.00 and one point on your license.

The reason I say I am hopeful, is because today when I was driving on I-85 inside the perimeter, I looked over and a women traveling at least 70 miles per hour next to me was texting on her cell phone. Although the laws do not go into effect until July 1, 2010, you would think that with the amount of press that surrounded the governor signing the bills and the reason for the laws, people would immediately change their behavior. We can only hope that after July 1 and after folks start paying fines for violating the laws, drivers will finally stop this deadly behavior.

Unfortunately, the fact that texting and driving is now against the law and has catastrophic consequences will not completely stop drivers from breaking the law causing accidents and terrible injuries and deaths. Laws were passed many years ago outlawing drinking and driving, but that unfortunately did not stop everyone from drinking and driving. Innocent victims will continued to be badly injured and killed at the hands of drivers operating their vehicles while texting and surfing the web. The good news is that we can expect there will be many fewer injuries and deaths with the new laws finally enacted.

As an Atlanta medical malpractice lawyer practicing in North Georgia, I was amazed to read about another Georgia lawsuit claiming a doctor and hospital staff committed malpractice by leaving a towel in a patient during surgery. The towel was apparently left in the patient's abdomen during a partial colectomy on February 17, 2007.

According to the article in the DaltonNow.com, the patient continued to suffer abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and loss of appetite for a full two years. It wasn't until February 26, 2009, when the patient had exploratory surgery to try to figure out what was wrong that the towel was discovered.

Continue reading "Georgia Doctor and Hospital Sued for Medical Malpractice for Leaving Towel in Patient" »