Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

Because of a recent landmark case, Atlanta car accident lawyers can now seek injury and wrongful death damages against retailers who sell closed or packaged alcoholic beverages to drunk drivers who hurt or kill on Georgia roads. The Georgia Supreme Court held in Flores v. Exprezit! Stores 98 - Gerogia, L.L.C., No. S10G1652, that the Georgia Dram Shop Act allows those hurt or killed by drunk drivers to recover damages against convenience stores, grocery stores, mom and pop roadside stores, and other retailers who sell alcohol to those noticeably intoxicated who cause accidents.

Before the Supreme Court ruling, the Dram Shop Act, the law that allows claims against those who sell alcoholic beverages to drunk drivers, only applied to restaurants and bars, or others who actually poured alcohol to drunk drivers. Now Atlanta and Georgia car accident lawyers can pursue retailers, in addition to restaurants and bars, to recover damages for those seriously injured and the families of those killed by drunk drivers. This is extremely important because DUI drivers often have very little or no insurance to satisfy judgments in favor of the injured or killed.

Continue reading "Atlanta Car Accident Lawyers Can Now Pursue Retailers Who Sell Alcohol to Drunk Drivers Who Hurt or Killed on Georgia Roads" »

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)" »

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" »

As an Atlanta car accident lawyer, I try to read as much as I can about the types of accidents that occur in Atlanta and north Georgia. I read a very interesting article in the AJC online this week. According to the article, 5 people have died in wrong way crashes since November 2009, and the department of transportation says 22 have died on Atlanta roads since 2004. According to a study conducted by the DOT several years ago, most wrong way collisions are caused by drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs or failing to take prescription medication.

The consequences of wrong way collisions are almost always catastrophic. Life changing injuries and death are the expected outcomes. Accordingly, victims of collisions with wrong way drivers need experienced personal injury lawyers to handle both the complex legal and complex damages issues that arise in these types of cases. Legally, because most drivers are DUI, the lawyer needs to know the ins and outs of pursuing punitive damages as well as the general damages of medical expenses, lost wages, etc.

Because the damages are catastrophic, the lawyer needs to know the complex medicine involved with life changing injuries and Georgia wrongful death law. The lawyer must also know the how to assist the catastrophically injured client to recover damages to take care of the long term needs of the client, which can include future income, future medical care, and future in home care, as well as other such issues.

Because the cost of such long term needs can be astronomical, the lawyer must also be an expert in finding available insurance to fund these damages. This is often one of the most difficult parts of handling a catastrophic injury case. It is heart breaking when the health care plan for a catastrophically injured client is in the millions and there is little or no insurance available to fund the plan.

The lawyers in our office have the experience to handle these types of cases. If you would like to discuss your claims with us, please do not hesitate to contact our office. We would welcome the opportunity to assist you.

It seems new Atlanta clients are calling the Atlanta DUI accident lawyers weekly regarding claims for personal injuries caused in car accidents and trucking accidents where the drivers of the other vehicles were driving under the influence (DUI). There were 2 more this week. The first case involved a client who suffered internal injuries and two broken bones in her leg after the drunk driver ran a red light and t-boned my client's vehicle totaling both vehicles. The other driver had been drinking beer all day while watching college football and had a blood alcohol level that was beyond twice the legal limit.

The second case involved a client who also suffered serious injuries when the other driver slammed into the back of his vehicle while stopped at a red light. The other driver in this case had been taking prescription drugs and drinking beer. Although this driver's blood alcohol level was just beyond the legal limit, the police report narrative indicated that the driver could barely walk upright and had severely slurred speech.

In these types of cases, injured clients are entitled to claim the typical damages for medical bills, lost wages, and physical and emotional pain and suffering. But cases involving DUI drivers, whether involving alcohol or drugs, allow for additional punitive damages. Punitive damages are meant to punish and deter the behavior of the drunk driver. Because punitive damages can significantly increase the value of a claim, it is very important to hire an attorney who knows how to properly pursue these damages.

In addition to the facts of the accident at issue with the client, the drinking and driving history of the at-fault party is critical to the value of the case. If the drunk driver has prior or post DUI arrests and convictions, the case becomes much more valuable. Most juries understand the need to send a clear message to the habitual drunk driver that such behavior is not acceptable. Clearly criminal penalties are not causing a change of behavior. The jury can easily understand, therefore, that a significant financial penalty is needed to get the driver's attention that drinking and driving will not be tolerated.

The attorneys in our firm know how to obtain the complete drinking and driving histories of DUI drivers and to most effectively use this information. Please call to talk to one of our attorneys if you have been in an accident and you know or suspect the other driver was drinking or under the influence of drugs. We can help you.

As a personal injury trial lawyer who regularly travels the roads of Atlanta and north Georgia, I am shocked to see other motorists texting as they operate their cars and trucks. With one or both hands off the steering wheel and their eyes focused down on their cell phones, blackberries and I-phones, these reckless individuals seem to have no idea that their vehicles are more deadly and more likely to kill than a loaded gun.

If the driver of a motor vehicle is texting while traveling on a roadway, the likelihood of a very serious accident resulting in catastrophic injuries and death becomes a real possibility. Causing a deadly head-on collision, traveling into an intersection on a red light or through a stop sign, or striking the rear of a vehicle stopped in traffic at a high rate of speed are the likely consequences of a texting driver. Injuries from these types of accidents are often very serious, including, but not limited to, severely broken bones, serious internal injuries, brain damage, disfigurement, paralysis, and death.

Oftentimes it is an innocent victim of the texting driver that is severely injured or killed. It is surprising to me that the Georgia General Assembly has not made it a criminal offense to text while operating any type of motor vehicle on the roads of Georgia. I expect that such legislation will be passed in the future. Indeed, other states already have passed such legislation and the fines and penalties are stiff.

In civil suits arising out of injuries suffered by innocent victims of a texting driver, strong arguments can be made by competent personal injury attorneys that not only compensatory damages should be awarded by the jury (for example, medical bills, lost wages, physical and mental pain and suffering, etc.), but punitive damages are also warranted because of the texting driver's reckless indifference to the consequences. It is my opinion that driving while texting is as reckless as driving while intoxicated or while under the influence of alcohol or drugs (DUI). Juries and our society should have zero tolerance for such behavior.

If you have been injured or a loved on has been killed by a driver texting while operating a motor vehicle, please do not hesitate to call me or my partner to discuss your situation.

As an Atlanta car accident lawyer who practices all over north Georgia, I was saddened to see another family injured by a drunk driver. According to the online publication of the Athens-Banner Herald, a 25 year old woman ran a red light while driving drunk causing a serious accident and injuries on May 11, 2009, in Athens, Georgia. The innocent victims of the drunken woman's actions were a married couple and their 6 year old daughter, who were all life-flighted to Atlanta for treatment for their very serious injuries. The drunken driver and her 20 year old passenger were treated and released from Athens Regional Hospital. As a Georgia DUI injury lawyer who regularly represents victims of these types of accidents caused by DUI drivers, I was interested in the article itself, but what really interested me were the comments made by readers to the article.

Before I discuss the comments, I ask that you click on the link above and go to the article to see the photograph of the Nissan Sentra occupied by the innocent family and how it was destroyed by the SUV being driven by the drunken woman. It is an absolute miracle that no one was killed in the collision. This could have easily resulted in loss of life, as accidents like these often do.

Several comments to the article focused on whether the DUI driver would be adequately punished, and whether adequate insurance would be available to compensate the innocent family for their medical bills and other damages. Some of the comments evidenced skepticism about whether the criminal justice system would sufficiently punish the drunken driver for her actions. I can only hope that the individual who caused this accident, and ones similar to it where innocent family members are maimed or killed, would be severely punished by the Athens-Clark county courts, as well as courts of any Georgia county.

The civil justice system can also punish drunken drivers, and in DUI cases, the law allows juries to award punitive damages to punish drunken drivers for their past behavior, and to deter drivers from behaving the same way in the future. The amount of a punitive damage award can be affected by many variables, including:

1. The amount of alcohol consumed by the driver;
2. The behavior of the driver in causing the collision;
3. The behavior of the driver at the scene of the accident:
4. Whether the driver flees the accident scene;
5. The relative wealth of the driver; and
6. Whether the driver has had more than one DUI.

The accident injury attorneys of our firm specialize in maximizing punitive damage awards, and take very seriously our opportunity to protect the public from drunken drivers.

Finally, I want to discuss the issue of insurance. One comment to the article stated: "And you just know [the drunk driver] has plenty of insurance to pay for everyone's medical bills." Another comment read: "If our law makers don't do something about the minimum amount of insurance that keeps someone legal to drive, after an auto accident, you are screwed!!!A trip to the E.R. and it's all used up (Insurance)." Despite the first writer's sarcasm, both are addressing the same issue. It is extremely unlikely that the DUI driver will have enough insurance to cover even the medical bills incurred by the innocent victims of her reprehensible behavior. Not only in DUI cases, but in many automobile accident cases, the at-fault party has insufficient insurance to cover even the out of pocket damages caused by the accident, such as medical bills and lost income. When a wrongful death occurs, the lost income for the life of the deceased can be substantial. Worse, a catastrophic injury can cause an innocent victim to be unable to work for the remainder of their lives, and also require 24 hour professional care. The costs of this type of loss can be staggering.

I also agree with the portion of the second comment about increasing the minimum liability insurance required to operate a motor vehicle on the Georgia roads. Unfortunately, even raising the minimum will not adequately compensate the public from for the carnage caused in many DUI wrecks. The injury lawyers in our office know how to find and best utilize all the available insurance in any injury claim. Please feel free to contact us if you would like to discuss your situation.