Atlanta, Georgia Personal Injury Lawyer
A Georgia man owes his ex-fiancee $150,000 for breaking off their engagement, a Hall County jury decided Wednesday. The six-man, six-woman panel spent about three hours deliberating before ruling in favor of RoseMary Shell, who sued Wayne Gibbs for breach of contract after he called off their nuptials.
During the three-day trial, Shell testified that she quit a job paying $81,000 a year in Pensacola, Fla., to move back to Gainesville and be with Gibbs after he proposed in October 2006. In December he left a note in the couple’s bathroom expressing second thoughts about the marriage, and he broke off the engagement for good in March 2007. Shell, who now makes $31,000 a year working for North Georgia College & State University, sued the following June.
The defense lawyer stated that he could find only one prior instance of someone suing over a broken wedding engagement in a search of 25 years of Georgia case histories.
During the three-day trial, Shell testified that she quit a job paying $81,000 a year in Pensacola, Fla., to move back to Gainesville and be with Gibbs after he proposed in October 2006. In December he left a note in the couple’s bathroom expressing second thoughts about the marriage, and he broke off the engagement for good in March 2007. Shell, who now makes $31,000 a year working for North Georgia College & State University, sued the following June.
The defense lawyer stated that he could find only one prior instance of someone suing over a broken wedding engagement in a search of 25 years of Georgia case histories.
Labels: breach of contract, Georgia, jury verdict
According to an article by AP reporter Mark Williams, high gas prices are causing traffic deaths to drop. The National Safety Council reports a 9 percent drop in motor vehicle deaths overall through May compared with the first five months of 2007, including a drop of 18 percent in March and 14 percent in April.
Fatality rates have stable over the last 15 years - totaling 42,642 in 2006. Other factors that may contribute to the safer roads include police stepping up their pursuit of speeders and drunken drivers, better teen-licensing programs, safer vehicles and winter weather that kept many drivers at home. The Governors Highway Safety Association also says seat belt use is probably at record levels.
Some states have reported declines of 20 percent or more. Hopefully Georgia is among the states experiencing safer roadways.
Fatality rates have stable over the last 15 years - totaling 42,642 in 2006. Other factors that may contribute to the safer roads include police stepping up their pursuit of speeders and drunken drivers, better teen-licensing programs, safer vehicles and winter weather that kept many drivers at home. The Governors Highway Safety Association also says seat belt use is probably at record levels.
Some states have reported declines of 20 percent or more. Hopefully Georgia is among the states experiencing safer roadways.
Labels: auto accident, Georgia, traffic wreck
Being a litigator is a stressful job. Usually personal injury lawyers deal with the stress and keep their behavior in line. However, the Athens Banner-Herald reported
that a Clarke County Superior Court judge has rebuked a local attorney for ridiculing another attorney about his star-shaped lapel pin, a pin the U.S. Army gave in recognition of his son's service and death in Iraq.
Clarke County Superior Court Judge David Sweat held that Georgia lawyer Jim Smith tried to use personal tragedy to provoke fellow attorney Andrew Marshall, whose son Evan died in January when a roadside bomb exploded while the Army corporal was in Iraq.
Smith allegedly made a comment that Marshall thought his son's death gave him the right to intimidate Smith's client, who also is a veteran. Smith refused to discuss Sweat's criticisms on the record.
Judge Sweet awarded Marshall attorney's fees and called Smith's comments "totally uncalled for" and "so ignoble as to bring the legal profession in disrepute."
The Judge also reportedly sent copies to all Superior Court judges in the Western Circuit, as well as the State Bar of Georgia.
During a second deposition, Marshall asked a witness questions Smith thought were irrelevant, and after the witness refused to answer, Marshall announced he was ending the deposition and planned to ask the court to order the witness to pay attorney's fees. Smith told Marshall to "jump in a lake" and then asked, "Where's your pin today?" according to the transcript.
Marshall began to say, "I'll be serving you with...," but Smith interrupted and asked again, "Where's your pin today?" Marshall ordered Smith to leave his office, and accused Smith of dishonoring his late son.
This is a shame and is definitely in the very small minority of lawyers. It is acceptable to be aggressive and zealous in your representation of your client. It is not acceptable to attack your opposing counsel by mentioning the death of a child. Based on reading the above, I'm glad the Judge took the action that he did.
For the full article see http://onlineathens.com/stories/062508/news_20080625068.shtml
that a Clarke County Superior Court judge has rebuked a local attorney for ridiculing another attorney about his star-shaped lapel pin, a pin the U.S. Army gave in recognition of his son's service and death in Iraq.
Clarke County Superior Court Judge David Sweat held that Georgia lawyer Jim Smith tried to use personal tragedy to provoke fellow attorney Andrew Marshall, whose son Evan died in January when a roadside bomb exploded while the Army corporal was in Iraq.
Smith allegedly made a comment that Marshall thought his son's death gave him the right to intimidate Smith's client, who also is a veteran. Smith refused to discuss Sweat's criticisms on the record.
Judge Sweet awarded Marshall attorney's fees and called Smith's comments "totally uncalled for" and "so ignoble as to bring the legal profession in disrepute."
The Judge also reportedly sent copies to all Superior Court judges in the Western Circuit, as well as the State Bar of Georgia.
During a second deposition, Marshall asked a witness questions Smith thought were irrelevant, and after the witness refused to answer, Marshall announced he was ending the deposition and planned to ask the court to order the witness to pay attorney's fees. Smith told Marshall to "jump in a lake" and then asked, "Where's your pin today?" according to the transcript.
Marshall began to say, "I'll be serving you with...," but Smith interrupted and asked again, "Where's your pin today?" Marshall ordered Smith to leave his office, and accused Smith of dishonoring his late son.
This is a shame and is definitely in the very small minority of lawyers. It is acceptable to be aggressive and zealous in your representation of your client. It is not acceptable to attack your opposing counsel by mentioning the death of a child. Based on reading the above, I'm glad the Judge took the action that he did.
For the full article see http://onlineathens.com/stories/062508/news_20080625068.shtml
Labels: deposition, Georgia, Georgia personal injury lawyer
Megan Matteucci, Jose Pagliery, Andria Simmons, Yolanda Rodriguez of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that a truck carrying 43,000 pounds of beer blew a tire, overturned and caught fire shortly before noon Monday on eastbound I-20 in DeKalb County.
According to DeKalb County Fire Rescue spokesman Capt. Eric Jackson, dozens of full and unopened Dos Equis beer kegs inside the truck did not spill during the accident.
The wreck stopped traffic on I-20 but fortunately no one was hurt. No confirmation on whether the Sigma Nu fraternity voluntarily cleared the road of kegs.
According to DeKalb County Fire Rescue spokesman Capt. Eric Jackson, dozens of full and unopened Dos Equis beer kegs inside the truck did not spill during the accident.
The wreck stopped traffic on I-20 but fortunately no one was hurt. No confirmation on whether the Sigma Nu fraternity voluntarily cleared the road of kegs.
Labels: Dekalb County, Georgia, truck wreck
The following is a press release from Georgia Trial Lawyers Association - an organization which I am proud to be a Champion Member.
Georgia Trial Lawyers Association
Protecting the Constitution’s Promise
For Justice for All
Georgia’s strong business climate attracts industry and fosters ingenuity
So why would our Chamber of Commerce tell us differently?
The State of Georgia has reason to celebrate. Last week Georgia was ranked 8th in the nation by financial network CNBC in its “America’s Top States for Business” report, 1 and was named third best state in the nation for developing new biomass industry by Forbes Magazine. 2
Governor Sonny Perdue issued a press release last Friday stating Georgia has a “strong,” “streamlined,” and “pro-active” business environment and reminded citizens that Georgia is already at the forefront of the nation exploring new avenues for alternative renewable energies. 3 Such bioenergy-related business requires ingenuity, the backing of major Universities and other research based institutions and a business climate that fosters the development of new, groundbreaking products. Georgians should be proud of these nationally respected rankings. These accolades are important to remember as politically motivated groups attempt to tell the people of Georgia differently.
In sharp contrast to CNBC’s and Forbes’ independent reports, on April 22 of this year, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) released its 2008 report, in which it ranked Georgia’s legal system as 28th in the nation. 4 This report was given to every legislator in Georgia and received national attention. However, the following facts were not given to the Georgia legislature:
• The ILR is a 30-person board composed of heads of drug, chemical, and insurance corporations with a combined 2007 revenue of $1.4 trillion dollars. 5
• Only corporate defense lawyers from companies earning at least $100 million or more were surveyed. No local attorneys, judges or media were surveyed. 5
• The US Chamber’s own pollster stated that there is no way to measure the fairness of a state’s legal system. 6
• The same pollster confessed to the Charleston Gazette in West Virginia that only a fraction of the corporate lawyers surveyed knew anything about the state’s courts. Yet West Virginia was ranked 49th out of 50 states. 7
“It’s ludicrous. How could Forbes Magazine rank Georgia as 3rd in the nation for groundbreaking industry if what the Chamber says is true?” asked Fred Orr, President of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association. “The ILR’s Report, and the other reports that are just like it, are nothing more than concocted statistics and imagined stories intended to scare the citizens and the legislatures in great states like Georgia.”
Several weeks prior to the Chamber’s report, the Pacific Research Institute (PRI) ranked Georgia 27th against the other 49 states using their Tort Liability Index. 8 This index supposedly judges a state’s Civil Justice System and business climate. The lower a state’s ranking, the lower the status of its business community as shown in “higher prices, lower wages, decreased returns on investments in capital and land, restricted access to health care, and less innovation.”
Since then, the PRI has come under fire for conducting unethical and largely false research. An analysis by three leading academics, Tom Baker of University of Pennsylvania Law School, Herbert Kritzer of William Mitchell College of Law, and Neil Vidmar of Duke Law School, found that PRI’s claims are “without scientific merit and present a very misleading picture of the American tort system and its costs.” The professors took PRI to task on multiple accounts, calling their work “advocacy disguised as science,” “pure fiction,” “lack[ing] scientific merit,” and containing “highly dubious extrapolations.” 9
Yet organizations like the Chamber of Commerce and others are still using this information in attempts to forward their extreme corporate agendas. In the June/July 2008 issue of Directorship Magazine, the American Justice Partnership (AJP) ranked Georgia 28th in the nation based on the two reports mentioned above “combined with the experience of the AJP.” 10 In the report, Georgia has a big red circle next to its name which, according to AJP, indicates “the liability climate discourages growth and job creation.” The AJP study calls the Georgia Supreme Court on of the nation’s most ‘activist.’
“What we have here is a business front group putting forth two major lies. First, they say that business growth is limited in Georgia at the same time independent national research clearly shows the exact opposite,” said Andy Childers, an attorney in Atlanta. “Second, they say that our Supreme Court is an activist court and suggest that our Justices should be challenged in an election. Yet just this spring, an independent, non-lobbying, academic study was released ranking the Georgia Supreme Court as one of the five best courts in the nation.”
The University of Chicago Law School released a report in May of 2008 entitled, “Which States Have the Best (and Worst) High Courts?” 11 The study was done in comparison to the Chamber’s Harris Survey.
The University study differs from the Chamber’s in methodology. While the Chamber surveyed only defense attorneys in $100 million firms, the University uses three measures rather than just one and does not survey lawyers.
“The differences between our approach and the earlier studies are driven partly by a different focus—the quality of the courts rather than (only) their influence—and partly by our different judgments about how to measure influence,” the report states. The University study indicates that not only their research, but that of other leading national and academic institutions, finds the Chamber’s research unreliable and inaccurate. “Our hope is that our study will shift the burden to the Chamber of Commerce to explain and justify their rankings more fully,” the study concludes.
“Basically the Chamber just keeps pouring money into in-house studies that are cooked so as to propel their own misguided legislative agendas forward—at the expense of small business owners and the citizens of Georgia.” said Childers. “As a small business owner I’m completely aware of Georgia’s business climate. It is good—just like the Governor said. With the real energy and economic problems we are facing you would think the Chamber would start focusing its attention on creating new industry, like developing alternative energy sources, rather than wasting its members’ time and money continuing to spew made-up propaganda.”
###
1. “America’s Top State’s for Business,” http://www.cnbc.com/id/25447603
2. “America’s Best Places for Alternative Energy,” Forbes Magazine, William Pentlend. 7/9/08
3. “Forbes ranks Georgia as third best state for alternative energy from biomass,” Press Release, Office of Governor Sonny Purdue, 7/11/08
4. “2008 US Chamber of Commerce State Liability Systems Ranking Study,” http://www.instituteforlegalreform.com/media/pdf/Harris_Ranking_08.pdf
5. “2006 U.S. Chamber of Commerce State Liability Systems Ranking Study,” U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 3/28/06, http://www.instituteforlegalreform.com/harris/pdf/2006_FULL_Report_FINAL.pdf
6. “Survey says frivolous lawsuits hurt state's reputation,” Copley News Service, 3/8/04
7. “Corporate lawyers rank state's legal climate poor,” The Charleston Gazette, 3/9/05
8. “US Tort Liability Index 2008 Report” http://liberty.pacificresearch.org/docLib/20080222_2008_US_Tort_Liability_Index.pdf
9. “Jackpot Justice and the American Tort System; Thinking Beyond Junk Science,” http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1152306
10. “Dire States,” June/July 2008 Issue, http://www.directorship.com/stuff/contentmgr/files/1/587093ea32eba152454933b12422f4ba/misc/litigation08.pdf
11. “Which states have the best (and worst) high courts?” The Law School of the University of Chicago, May 2008, https://www.law.uchicago.edu/files/405.pdf
For More Information Please Call:
GTLA Communications Director
Rebecca DeHart (404) 376-3495
rdehart@gtla.org
The Georgia Trial Lawyers Association
Protecting the Constitutional Promise of Justice for all by
Guaranteeing the Right to Trial by Jury,
Preserving and Independent Judiciary, and
Providing Access to the Courts for all Georgians
www.gtla.org
Georgia Trial Lawyers Association
Protecting the Constitution’s Promise
For Justice for All
Georgia’s strong business climate attracts industry and fosters ingenuity
So why would our Chamber of Commerce tell us differently?
The State of Georgia has reason to celebrate. Last week Georgia was ranked 8th in the nation by financial network CNBC in its “America’s Top States for Business” report, 1 and was named third best state in the nation for developing new biomass industry by Forbes Magazine. 2
Governor Sonny Perdue issued a press release last Friday stating Georgia has a “strong,” “streamlined,” and “pro-active” business environment and reminded citizens that Georgia is already at the forefront of the nation exploring new avenues for alternative renewable energies. 3 Such bioenergy-related business requires ingenuity, the backing of major Universities and other research based institutions and a business climate that fosters the development of new, groundbreaking products. Georgians should be proud of these nationally respected rankings. These accolades are important to remember as politically motivated groups attempt to tell the people of Georgia differently.
In sharp contrast to CNBC’s and Forbes’ independent reports, on April 22 of this year, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) released its 2008 report, in which it ranked Georgia’s legal system as 28th in the nation. 4 This report was given to every legislator in Georgia and received national attention. However, the following facts were not given to the Georgia legislature:
• The ILR is a 30-person board composed of heads of drug, chemical, and insurance corporations with a combined 2007 revenue of $1.4 trillion dollars. 5
• Only corporate defense lawyers from companies earning at least $100 million or more were surveyed. No local attorneys, judges or media were surveyed. 5
• The US Chamber’s own pollster stated that there is no way to measure the fairness of a state’s legal system. 6
• The same pollster confessed to the Charleston Gazette in West Virginia that only a fraction of the corporate lawyers surveyed knew anything about the state’s courts. Yet West Virginia was ranked 49th out of 50 states. 7
“It’s ludicrous. How could Forbes Magazine rank Georgia as 3rd in the nation for groundbreaking industry if what the Chamber says is true?” asked Fred Orr, President of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association. “The ILR’s Report, and the other reports that are just like it, are nothing more than concocted statistics and imagined stories intended to scare the citizens and the legislatures in great states like Georgia.”
Several weeks prior to the Chamber’s report, the Pacific Research Institute (PRI) ranked Georgia 27th against the other 49 states using their Tort Liability Index. 8 This index supposedly judges a state’s Civil Justice System and business climate. The lower a state’s ranking, the lower the status of its business community as shown in “higher prices, lower wages, decreased returns on investments in capital and land, restricted access to health care, and less innovation.”
Since then, the PRI has come under fire for conducting unethical and largely false research. An analysis by three leading academics, Tom Baker of University of Pennsylvania Law School, Herbert Kritzer of William Mitchell College of Law, and Neil Vidmar of Duke Law School, found that PRI’s claims are “without scientific merit and present a very misleading picture of the American tort system and its costs.” The professors took PRI to task on multiple accounts, calling their work “advocacy disguised as science,” “pure fiction,” “lack[ing] scientific merit,” and containing “highly dubious extrapolations.” 9
Yet organizations like the Chamber of Commerce and others are still using this information in attempts to forward their extreme corporate agendas. In the June/July 2008 issue of Directorship Magazine, the American Justice Partnership (AJP) ranked Georgia 28th in the nation based on the two reports mentioned above “combined with the experience of the AJP.” 10 In the report, Georgia has a big red circle next to its name which, according to AJP, indicates “the liability climate discourages growth and job creation.” The AJP study calls the Georgia Supreme Court on of the nation’s most ‘activist.’
“What we have here is a business front group putting forth two major lies. First, they say that business growth is limited in Georgia at the same time independent national research clearly shows the exact opposite,” said Andy Childers, an attorney in Atlanta. “Second, they say that our Supreme Court is an activist court and suggest that our Justices should be challenged in an election. Yet just this spring, an independent, non-lobbying, academic study was released ranking the Georgia Supreme Court as one of the five best courts in the nation.”
The University of Chicago Law School released a report in May of 2008 entitled, “Which States Have the Best (and Worst) High Courts?” 11 The study was done in comparison to the Chamber’s Harris Survey.
The University study differs from the Chamber’s in methodology. While the Chamber surveyed only defense attorneys in $100 million firms, the University uses three measures rather than just one and does not survey lawyers.
“The differences between our approach and the earlier studies are driven partly by a different focus—the quality of the courts rather than (only) their influence—and partly by our different judgments about how to measure influence,” the report states. The University study indicates that not only their research, but that of other leading national and academic institutions, finds the Chamber’s research unreliable and inaccurate. “Our hope is that our study will shift the burden to the Chamber of Commerce to explain and justify their rankings more fully,” the study concludes.
“Basically the Chamber just keeps pouring money into in-house studies that are cooked so as to propel their own misguided legislative agendas forward—at the expense of small business owners and the citizens of Georgia.” said Childers. “As a small business owner I’m completely aware of Georgia’s business climate. It is good—just like the Governor said. With the real energy and economic problems we are facing you would think the Chamber would start focusing its attention on creating new industry, like developing alternative energy sources, rather than wasting its members’ time and money continuing to spew made-up propaganda.”
###
1. “America’s Top State’s for Business,” http://www.cnbc.com/id/25447603
2. “America’s Best Places for Alternative Energy,” Forbes Magazine, William Pentlend. 7/9/08
3. “Forbes ranks Georgia as third best state for alternative energy from biomass,” Press Release, Office of Governor Sonny Purdue, 7/11/08
4. “2008 US Chamber of Commerce State Liability Systems Ranking Study,” http://www.instituteforlegalreform.com/media/pdf/Harris_Ranking_08.pdf
5. “2006 U.S. Chamber of Commerce State Liability Systems Ranking Study,” U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 3/28/06, http://www.instituteforlegalreform.com/harris/pdf/2006_FULL_Report_FINAL.pdf
6. “Survey says frivolous lawsuits hurt state's reputation,” Copley News Service, 3/8/04
7. “Corporate lawyers rank state's legal climate poor,” The Charleston Gazette, 3/9/05
8. “US Tort Liability Index 2008 Report” http://liberty.pacificresearch.org/docLib/20080222_2008_US_Tort_Liability_Index.pdf
9. “Jackpot Justice and the American Tort System; Thinking Beyond Junk Science,” http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1152306
10. “Dire States,” June/July 2008 Issue, http://www.directorship.com/stuff/contentmgr/files/1/587093ea32eba152454933b12422f4ba/misc/litigation08.pdf
11. “Which states have the best (and worst) high courts?” The Law School of the University of Chicago, May 2008, https://www.law.uchicago.edu/files/405.pdf
For More Information Please Call:
GTLA Communications Director
Rebecca DeHart (404) 376-3495
rdehart@gtla.org
The Georgia Trial Lawyers Association
Protecting the Constitutional Promise of Justice for all by
Guaranteeing the Right to Trial by Jury,
Preserving and Independent Judiciary, and
Providing Access to the Courts for all Georgians
www.gtla.org
Labels: Allstate insurance, Georgia, insurance, justice system, lowball settlement, tort reform
The first thing to do if you trip (or slip) and fall on someone else’s property, and it is not your fault, is to note the condition of the property. Memories can become foggy with time. So take pictures, write notes, and ask others whether anyone else has had similar accidents. If you are able, try to get the names and phone numbers of witnesses. If the property owner or manager is available, let them know about the fall if possible. Look to see whether the property owner took precautions to prevent the accident, such as a warning sign.
If you are injured in a fall in Georgia, you should consult with a lawyer who is experienced in handling those types of cases. They are very different than handling a car accident. Frequently, an expert in property management is necessary to note building or maintenance violations. Contact the attorneys at The Law Offices of Michael L. Neff for a free consultation on all serious injuries.
If you are injured in a fall in Georgia, you should consult with a lawyer who is experienced in handling those types of cases. They are very different than handling a car accident. Frequently, an expert in property management is necessary to note building or maintenance violations. Contact the attorneys at The Law Offices of Michael L. Neff for a free consultation on all serious injuries.
Labels: avoiding personal injury, fall, Georgia, personal injury lawyer, slip and fall, trip and fall
A California jury awarded Teresa Gonzalez, 21 years old, $5.64 million for a personal injury lawsuit that stemmed from an truck wreck that occurred in 2002. The accident involved a commercial truck from Dresick Farms that ran a stop sign into her family van, striking her in the face. Since the accident, she has received 21 operations on her face.
Although the company fought liability for six years, Dresick Farms finally acknowledged liability just before the trial was about to start, and so the trial was to determine the amount to be awarded. Unfortunately, this is not unusual for a trucking company or an insurance company to fight responsibility for years and then admit it right before trial. As a result, people involved in truck accidents need a lawyer that will aggressively fight for the evidence needed to prove their case.
If you know anyone in Georgia involved in a truck wreck, please call or email our injury attorneys.
Although the company fought liability for six years, Dresick Farms finally acknowledged liability just before the trial was about to start, and so the trial was to determine the amount to be awarded. Unfortunately, this is not unusual for a trucking company or an insurance company to fight responsibility for years and then admit it right before trial. As a result, people involved in truck accidents need a lawyer that will aggressively fight for the evidence needed to prove their case.
If you know anyone in Georgia involved in a truck wreck, please call or email our injury attorneys.
Labels: Georgia, injury attorney, jury, negligence, truck accident, truck wreck, verdict
How do you know if you have a injury case under Georgia law? What are the circumstances that determine a good case? In a tort lawsuit, there must be four elements present. They are:
1. The existence of a legal duty owed by a person to others
2. The breach of the duty by one person
3. The breach of the duty being the “proximate cause” of damages suffered by a person
4. Damages incurred by a person.
In Georgia, a successful tort lawsuit will contain all of these elements. Auto accidents, medical malpractice claims, slip and fall claims, and asbestos exposure are all types of torts. By Georgia law, people injured by a tort are eligible to recover for loss of earnings, pain and suffering, medical expenses, and - in some cases - punitive damages.
For more information to see if you have an injury claim, call or email us.
1. The existence of a legal duty owed by a person to others
2. The breach of the duty by one person
3. The breach of the duty being the “proximate cause” of damages suffered by a person
4. Damages incurred by a person.
In Georgia, a successful tort lawsuit will contain all of these elements. Auto accidents, medical malpractice claims, slip and fall claims, and asbestos exposure are all types of torts. By Georgia law, people injured by a tort are eligible to recover for loss of earnings, pain and suffering, medical expenses, and - in some cases - punitive damages.
For more information to see if you have an injury claim, call or email us.
Labels: atlanta, Georgia, Georgia personal injury law, injury attorney
The term “personal injury” is used to define the occurrence of some form of injury, either physical or psychological, as the result of an accident. In legal terms, most personal injuries fall under the category of a “tort.” A tort is a civil wrongdoing, which can lead to a cause of action—i.e., a lawsuit. A tort occurs when someone deliberately or through carelessness causes harm or loss to another person or his or her property. At the Law Offices of Michael L. Neff, we handle tort claims in Atlanta and all over Georgia.
Labels: atlanta, Georgia, negligence
If your car’s ever been hit by another whose driver didn’t have adequate insurance to cover your expenses, you had two options: make up the loss from your own savings or go to court by suing your own insurance carrier for any coverage you had for uninsured or underinsured motorists (UM).
However, you may be in for a surprise. Under Georgia law, a person’s insurance company was allowed a credit for any money received from the negligent driver’s insurance company.
For example, assume that a person was hit by someone with only $25,000 in coverage. Let’s assume that the total worth of lost wages, medical bills, and pain and suffering damages are worth $60,000.00 and $25,000 has been paid by the first insurance company. So there are $35,000 worth of damages left. A person with $50,000 in UM coverage might think they are fine. However, because Georgia law has allowed insurance companies a credit, the UM carrier only has to pay $25,000 to put the total compensation to the injured person at $50,000.
This surprised a lot of people who thought they were paying for $50,000 of coverage from their insurance companies and then could only get $25,000. However, a new law signed by Governor Perdue has made it possible to avoid the above situation. Effective January 1st, 2009, the new law in Georgia (called the “stacking provision”) will allow allows drivers to piggyback (or “stack”) their uninsured/underinsured motorist’s protection on top of another driver’s policy. So in the above situation, the person would receive all the money to which they are entitled.
With the new law, if another driver who has no insurance or not enough to cover your damages and expenses hits you, you get full access to the total insurance policy limits you have paid for. Come January 1st, you'll have three options when you renew your auto insurance: buy the new stacked coverage; leave coverage to the limits of the at-fault motorist's policy; or, decline having uninsured/underinsured motorists coverage at all.
At the Law Offices of Michael L. Neff, we strongly encourage people to accept the stacking coverage. If you already have uninsured/underinsured coverage, you'll automatically be signed up for the stacked option unless you opt out of it when your policy comes up for renewal. Look carefully at your renewal forms. And remember that you should be insuring yourself for protection of all your assets - including your health and your ability to earn money. If you have any questions about the above, call your insurance agent or email us.
However, you may be in for a surprise. Under Georgia law, a person’s insurance company was allowed a credit for any money received from the negligent driver’s insurance company.
For example, assume that a person was hit by someone with only $25,000 in coverage. Let’s assume that the total worth of lost wages, medical bills, and pain and suffering damages are worth $60,000.00 and $25,000 has been paid by the first insurance company. So there are $35,000 worth of damages left. A person with $50,000 in UM coverage might think they are fine. However, because Georgia law has allowed insurance companies a credit, the UM carrier only has to pay $25,000 to put the total compensation to the injured person at $50,000.
This surprised a lot of people who thought they were paying for $50,000 of coverage from their insurance companies and then could only get $25,000. However, a new law signed by Governor Perdue has made it possible to avoid the above situation. Effective January 1st, 2009, the new law in Georgia (called the “stacking provision”) will allow allows drivers to piggyback (or “stack”) their uninsured/underinsured motorist’s protection on top of another driver’s policy. So in the above situation, the person would receive all the money to which they are entitled.
With the new law, if another driver who has no insurance or not enough to cover your damages and expenses hits you, you get full access to the total insurance policy limits you have paid for. Come January 1st, you'll have three options when you renew your auto insurance: buy the new stacked coverage; leave coverage to the limits of the at-fault motorist's policy; or, decline having uninsured/underinsured motorists coverage at all.
At the Law Offices of Michael L. Neff, we strongly encourage people to accept the stacking coverage. If you already have uninsured/underinsured coverage, you'll automatically be signed up for the stacked option unless you opt out of it when your policy comes up for renewal. Look carefully at your renewal forms. And remember that you should be insuring yourself for protection of all your assets - including your health and your ability to earn money. If you have any questions about the above, call your insurance agent or email us.
Labels: damages, Georgia, insurance, insurance law, law, pain and suffering, UM uninsured underinsured coverage
In an article published this month on LawyersUSAonline.com, author Dick Dahl reported on a case where cables snapped at the Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville on the afternoon of June 21, 2007.
As a result, the severed cable cut off both of the feet of a 13 year old girl.
The next month, her family filed a negligence suit in Jefferson County Circuit Court against the amusement park. The case is currently in discovery and a trial date has not been set.
Mr. Dahl pointed out that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates that some 6,000 to 7,000 people can expect to be treated in emergency rooms for amusement ride injuries by the end of the year.
The amusement-park industry steadfastly rejects these figures and claims that the injury rate is less than half of CPSC estimates. Still that would be over 3,000 people injured to the extent they need emergency medical treatment.
In 1981, lobbyists for fixed-site theme parks like Six Flags were able to get a law passed that exempted theme parkes from CPSC regulation. Thus, only the traveling fairs are regulated by the CPSC.
According to the article, there is no federal agency that requires reporting of amusement ride injuries. Also state requirements vary widely. It is suggested that the true injury toll is underreported.
The CPSC used to compile estimates on amusement ride injuries, utilizing data gathered from emergency rooms around the country. Over an eight-year period – 1997 to 2004 – the Commission estimated that 60,000 emergency-room injuries were related to amusement rides.
Then, in 2005, the CPSC stopped compiling estimates. It is argued that pressure was put on the CPSC to stop reporting negative news about a big money making business.
Currently, the only national data on amusement ride injuries is gathered and reported by the industry itself via a voluntary system. An industry group, the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, asks its members to submit anonymous reports of injuries requiring medical attention without identifying the patron, the ride, the nature of the injury or what caused it.
In the past, the California Supreme Court concluded that amusement rides were "common carriers," a legal category that includes trains, elevators and ski lifts. (Gomez v. Superior Court, 113 P.3d 41 (Cal.).) This ruling was important for potential plaintiffs because it placed a higher duty on amusement park operators. In Georgia, a common carrier is held to the duty of extraordinary care.
The case involved a a woman who died two months after she allegedly sustained a brain injury on the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland. After the California Supreme Court's ruling, the case settled.
Some people argue that there are people who are predisposed to suffer brain injury from amusement rides yet that operators fail to provide adequate warning of that risk.
U.S. Congressman Ed Markey has introduced a bill that would repeal the exemption for fixed sites and enable the CPSC to collect injury data. It is questionable whether this bill will ever pass. It is sure to face heavy opposition from the parks and their lobbyists.
Questions or comments can be directed to the writer at: dick.dahl@lawyersusaonline.com
As a result, the severed cable cut off both of the feet of a 13 year old girl.
The next month, her family filed a negligence suit in Jefferson County Circuit Court against the amusement park. The case is currently in discovery and a trial date has not been set.
Mr. Dahl pointed out that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates that some 6,000 to 7,000 people can expect to be treated in emergency rooms for amusement ride injuries by the end of the year.
The amusement-park industry steadfastly rejects these figures and claims that the injury rate is less than half of CPSC estimates. Still that would be over 3,000 people injured to the extent they need emergency medical treatment.
In 1981, lobbyists for fixed-site theme parks like Six Flags were able to get a law passed that exempted theme parkes from CPSC regulation. Thus, only the traveling fairs are regulated by the CPSC.
According to the article, there is no federal agency that requires reporting of amusement ride injuries. Also state requirements vary widely. It is suggested that the true injury toll is underreported.
The CPSC used to compile estimates on amusement ride injuries, utilizing data gathered from emergency rooms around the country. Over an eight-year period – 1997 to 2004 – the Commission estimated that 60,000 emergency-room injuries were related to amusement rides.
Then, in 2005, the CPSC stopped compiling estimates. It is argued that pressure was put on the CPSC to stop reporting negative news about a big money making business.
Currently, the only national data on amusement ride injuries is gathered and reported by the industry itself via a voluntary system. An industry group, the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, asks its members to submit anonymous reports of injuries requiring medical attention without identifying the patron, the ride, the nature of the injury or what caused it.
In the past, the California Supreme Court concluded that amusement rides were "common carriers," a legal category that includes trains, elevators and ski lifts. (Gomez v. Superior Court, 113 P.3d 41 (Cal.).) This ruling was important for potential plaintiffs because it placed a higher duty on amusement park operators. In Georgia, a common carrier is held to the duty of extraordinary care.
The case involved a a woman who died two months after she allegedly sustained a brain injury on the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland. After the California Supreme Court's ruling, the case settled.
Some people argue that there are people who are predisposed to suffer brain injury from amusement rides yet that operators fail to provide adequate warning of that risk.
U.S. Congressman Ed Markey has introduced a bill that would repeal the exemption for fixed sites and enable the CPSC to collect injury data. It is questionable whether this bill will ever pass. It is sure to face heavy opposition from the parks and their lobbyists.
Questions or comments can be directed to the writer at: dick.dahl@lawyersusaonline.com
Labels: common carrier, Georgia, injuries, lawsuit, Six Flags, traumatic brain injury
Archives
February 2007 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
