Georgia Injury Lawyer Blog

The saddest personal injury cases we see in our serious injury law practice often times involves those who have suffered traumatic brain injury resulting from an automobile, tractor-trailer collision or some other traumatic event, with these tragedies being seriously compounded by the unavailability of insurance. While there has been some media attention on the number of uninsured individuals in this country who have no available health insurance coverage, the impact of this problem is not really seen or appreciated until one is confronted with overwhelming medical needs and there is a complete lack of medical coverage available to meet those needs.

One case we are currently handling involves a Hispanic gentleman who suffered permanent and irreparable brain damage. He was taken by life flight to the hospital where he was stabilized. Once he was stabilized, however, the hospital that had been treating him free of charge (because he had no health insurance) discharged him. After discharge, he no longer has the ability to seek appropriate medical treatment because he has no health insurance coverage and being from another country does not qualify for Medicaid or Medicare. His medical needs are overwhelming and yet he has no access to medical care in the richest country in the world.

This individual’s problem is no different in many ways from American citizens who are the victims of traumatic brain injury and do not have health insurance coverage. Oftentimes, the individuals involved may or may not qualify for Medicaid or other assistance. It takes years to qualify for Social Security disability benefits. In the meantime, after the traumatic brain injury has incurred and the patient is stabilized, the necessary ancillary services to a recovery, such as rehabilitation services, vocational and physical therapy and others are typically completely unavailable to the uninsured because they are not affordable and there is no way to get such treatment.

In these very tragic and sad cases, many times the only possibility of recovery for the injured individual is litigation against the party responsible for the traumatic event. While such cases can result in a financial settlement several years after the event, due to the cost and delay of litigation, nonetheless, sometimes its too little and too late for those who are in need of immediate medical care to address their injuries and insure a recovery.

The American Medical Association needs to take a hard look at whether it is doing enough to make medical care available to those who cannot afford it. While there are many clinics and other local, state and federal government facilities, those who have been seriously injured many times do not have access to the type of care that he needs. We even see this with our returning veterans from Iraq, much less the uninsured. This problem is a national problem and needs to be addressed at the local, state and federal level.

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Posted In: Brain Injury

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Our Atlanta personal injury lawyers know that truck accidents on Georgia’s freeways continue to leave a legacy of death, paralysis, closed head brain damage and other personal injuries for numerous innocent victims.
I have read that almost 5,000 people are killed each year in truck-related crashes. Because of their size and often dangerous pay loads, automobile accidents involving commercial trucks are devastating to pedestrians and occupants of other vehicles. I was recently reading about the increase in Mexican truck traffic on U.S. highways since the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). By way of a little history, a 1982 U.S. ban kept Mexican trucks off most of the highways of our southern border states, leaving truck accidents to the domestic trucking industry. However, even after NAFTA took effect in 1994, the ban held until a 2004 U.S. Supreme Court ruling removed the ban and opened wide the gates to Mexican truck traffic. Despite efforts by consumer organizations concerned about truck accidents, car accidents, exhaust pollution and other public-safety issues, eventually Mexico-based trucks were allowed freely onto America’s roads. Given the likely substandard condition of these trucks, the likely lack of regulation of that industry in Mexico and the likely absence of driver training one has to wonder what the future holds. The reality is that we are all at greater risk of car accidents.

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Posted In: Automobile Accidents , Brain Injury , Truck and Tractor Trailer Accidents , Wrongful Death

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Truck wrecks occur more often than one would think in and near a busy city like Atlanta. When they do occur people often sustain very serious injuries and many such accidents result in the death of innocent people. The injury lawyers in our firm have “seen it all” when it comes to the causes of these tragedies. These causes run the gamut and include everything from simply not paying attention to driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol. We have even had a case where the driver switched seats with another driver while speeding down an interstate highway with a trailer loaded with steel.

When evaluating an injury or death case a lawyer must consider which theories of liability he will employ to hold the driver and the trucking company responsible. These may include: (1) negligent hiring, entrustment or retention of a driver, (2) negligent inspection, maintenance or repair of the truck and violations of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. Many times, insurance companies that insure trucking companies actually make hiring decisions of drivers. Depending on the facts of a case, there may even be a negligent entrustment claim that can be made against the insurance company for the motor carrier. A good lawyer will leave no stone unturned when handling a truck wreck case.

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Posted In: Automobile Accidents , Brain Injury , Truck and Tractor Trailer Accidents , Wrongful Death

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Our wrongful death and serious injury lawyers work with our clients on a contingency fee basis. The contingent fee is perhaps the one device that gives seriously injured people, no matter what their financial means, an even break in the courtroom against giant corporations and insurance companies. Contingent fee practice has been an essential part of the United States justice system for more than a hundred years. It permits every American regardless of wealth or social standing the opportunity to pursue a valid claim against even the most powerful corporation or individual. In a large measure, it has made our judicial system the envy of the world. It is no surprise that it has been under almost constant attack for years by corporations and insurance companies.

Increasingly, there have been calls by organizations sponsored in secret by large corporations and insurance companies, to abolish the contingency fee. Big businesses and individuals who want to avoid accountability for their negligent and reckless acts are pushing for special protections in state legislatures and in the U.S. Congress. These wrongdoers have initiated a less obvious line of attack on the American consumer, an attack that directs itself not of the consumer, but an easier target, the lawyers that represent them. Many of these attacks are coordinated by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Without the contingency fee, many people would never be able to bring a claim to redress wrongs done by large corporations and powerful individuals. In essence, the contingency fee allows a lawyer to advance his services and time in return for a percentage of the recovery. In this day and age, due to increasing burdens placed by the legislatures on claimants, the cost of bringing a lawsuit are extremely high. In fact, almost none of our clients could afford to bring a lawsuit without the contingency fee.

The assault on the contingency fee is nothing more than an attempt by powerful interests to deny access to justice to tens of thousands of Americans who are injured each year due to another’s wrongful acts.

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Posted In: Automobile Accidents , Brain Injury , Medical Malpractice , Pharmaceutical Manufacturer Liability , Police Chases , Products Liability , Torts , Truck and Tractor Trailer Accidents , Wrongful Death

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In serious injury and death cases our attorneys consistently face challenges from the defense to the testimony of our highly qualified expert witnesses. These challenges are based upon the rule of evidence known as the Daubert standard.

The Daubert standard is a legal precedent set in 1993 by the United States Supreme Court regarding the admissibility of expert scientific testimony during legal proceedings. In Daubert, the Supreme Court ordered federal trial judges to become the “gatekeepers” of scientific evidence. Trial judges were instructed to evaluate expert witnesses to determine whether their testimony is both “relevant” and “reliable”.

A two-prong test of admissibility was established. The relevancy prong refers to whether or not the expert’s evidence fits the facts of the case. The relevancy requirement has always existed in the law.

The reliability prong was new. The Supreme Court explained that in order for expert testimony to be considered reliable, the expert must derive his or her conclusions from the scientific method. The court then offered general observations of whether proffered evidence was based on scientific method including such things as empirical testing, peer review, the potential error rate, and whether the theory or technique is generally accepted by a relevant scientific community.

In practice, this standard has been burdensome, and grossly unfair to claimants in courtrooms. Trial judges are simply in no better position than juries to serve as “gatekeepers” to scientific evidence. In fact, many of these judges bring their own biases to their determinations. One example given is that under this standard, if Christopher Columbus were required to appear in a courtroom during his lifetime using the Daubert standard, his opinion that the world is round would have been inadmissible.

As part of the so-called Governor’s tort reform of 2005, the Daubert standard was adopted by the state legislature for use in Georgia. However, bowing to pressure from the Prosecuting Attorney’s of the state, who realized how gross unfairness of the Daubert standard, the governor and legislature exempted criminal cases from the Daubert standard. However, catering to the demands of the insurance industry and large corporations, the legislature adopted the Daubert standard for civil cases.

Currently pending before the Georgia Supreme Court is a case in which the Daubert standard is being challenged on constitutional grounds. An argument is being made that it denies equal protection to adopt the standard in civil cases and not in criminal cases. It will be very interesting to see how the Georgia Supreme Court handles this challenge, especially in light of the fact that in recent years, large insurance companies and corporations have thrown millions of dollars into the judicial races in attempts to elect candidates who will follow their agenda.

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Posted In: Automobile Accidents , Brain Injury , Civil Procedure , Dangerous Drugs , Medical Malpractice , Pharmaceutical Manufacturer Liability , Police Chases , Products Liability , Torts , Truck and Tractor Trailer Accidents , Wrongful Death

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When a client is so seriously injured that they may not be able to work again at the same job and will likely incur future medical costs, it may be prudent for the client to consider a structured settlement as opposed to a lump sum cash settlement if one is offered. Our attorneys have handled many serious injury cases where a structured settlement has truly been in the best interests of our client. This is particularly so in the context of cases where the client lacks financial sophistication and may need future medical assistance and may incur future lost wages.

Of course, the main hallmark of a structured settlement is a long term annuity which provides cash payment benefits usually over time, sometimes over the life of the client. Structured settlements can be set up in a variety of ways to provide for the client’s future financial needs. These annuity/structured payments can be paid monthly, annually, semi-annually and basically on any time schedule desired. The focus, of course, is to provide long term financial assistance for the client who may need it. If the client does not need long term financial assistance, then a structured settlement may not ever come into play. However, for those who are seriously injured, it is likely that they will need long term financial assistance. Because of the tax benefits of a structured settlement (the interest on the amount of the annuity purchased is not taxable to the client over the course of the annuity payments) in many cases it is advisable for the client to consider a structured settlement.

There are a lot of advertisements on television these days about how clients who have received structured settlements can “cash in” and receive their monies now. Obviously, these companies that offer to buy structured settlements do so at a steep discount thus essentially taking much of the client’s needed money away from them. Because some clients are poor money managers they often times they resort to these companies in order “to cash in” on their structured settlements and get a quick term cash infusion. This results in a huge loss to the client.

For our clients, we very carefully go over with them the pros and cons of structured settlements. They are not for everyone. However, in cases where the client will likely have problems in the job market and will likely incur future medical expenses, our experience has been particularly for those who are not financially sophisticated and/or capable of managing their own investments without assistance that theirs may be a case appropriate for this type of settlement. As long as the tax advantages of these structured settlements remain in place and as long as clients are informed about their options, we have found that many clients benefit from these types of settlements. While there will always be a cash portion of any such settlement, the structured portion can provide a much needed safety net for the seriously injured client well into the future.

Clients who have been seriously injured should always consul with experienced counsel about structured settlement annuities. They may be the very best option in the right case. Our experience has been that they can be extremely helpful for our clients, thus, our practice is to always discuss them with clients involved in serious injury cases.

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Posted In: Automobile Accidents , Brain Injury , Torts

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One of the many difficulties faced by attorneys who work on serious injury cases arises in the context of a catastrophic injury case involving a child. Many times, due to limitations on the extent of their medical knowledge, the doctors treating the child cannot always give an accurate prognosis for the child. Thus, it can be difficult when a child has been seriously injured to accurately predict how the injuries will manifest themselves as the child grows older. In some very sad cases, of course, one of the issues is whether the child will even reach maturity given the severity of the injuries. In other cases, however, where the child is expected to live a normal life span it is vital that a Life Care planner become involved to assist counsel in determining what the costs of the child’s future medical needs will be.">catastrophic injury case involving a child. Many times, due to limitations on the extent of their medical knowledge, the doctors treating the child cannot always give an accurate prognosis for the child. Thus, it can be difficult when a child has been seriously injured to accurately predict how the injuries will manifest themselves as the child grows older. In some very sad cases, of course, one of the issues is whether the child will even reach maturity given the severity of the injuries. In other cases, however, where the child is expected to live a normal life span it is vital that a Life Care planner become involved to assist counsel in determining what the costs of the child’s future medical needs will be.

Our firm has worked with several very reputable and qualified Life Care planners with considerable expertise in this area. The Life Care planner is truly an expert consultant when it comes to providing financial estimates of the long-term medical costs involved in treating seriously injured children. If a child has been severely burned or paralyzed, if a child has lost one or more limbs or is blinded, if the child has suffered brain injury, whatever the case may be, obviously, counsel for the child and their parents must take into consideration future medical costs and needs when evaluating what amount of money should be sought from the party who caused such damages through their negligence. A Life Care planner with sufficient expertise to extrapolate into the future such medical costs (when assisted as well by a competent economist) can provide valuable information to the attorney in determining what amount of money will be needed to protect the child’s future and thus can help formulate a settlement demand in a serious injury case.

In any case involving a catastrophically injured child, not only do we work with an economist and Life Care planner, we try to make sure in consultation with the doctors involved that we have a very good understanding of their belief about the child’s prognosis. Once we know what the prognosis is believed to be and we consult with the doctor by and through a qualified Life Care planner who consults with them, we then can ask an economist to project over time what amount of monies will be needed in the future to protect the child’s interests. Once we know the amount of money needed to pay for future medical needs we can factor that amount into an overall settlement demand for our client. If we cannot get that amount in settlement, then, of course, we are also in the position to produce the same evidence to a jury for its consideration in resolving the case if need be.

Any case involving a seriously injured child is always a sad one. Our attorneys have seen many times just how stressful and painful these cases can be for the families of such children. Of course, the tragedy inflicted on the child would be compounded if future medical needs could not be provided. While some cases are even more tragic because of the lack of available insurance proceeds to protect the child’s future, in those cases where there is sufficient liability insurance coverage available to protect the child’s future needs, a qualified Life Care planner can be, quite literally, a life saver in the future.

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Posted In: Brain Injury , Civil Procedure , Torts , Trial Techniques

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As a Georgia personal injury lawyer, it never ceases to amaze me how the trucking industry lobbies to limit the rights of victims who either suffer wrongful death or serious injuries in truck accidents caused by negligent, careless, or drunk drivers.

In researching an issue last week, I ran across a website of the American Trucking Association who proudly listed, on a state-by-state basis, some of their legislative efforts to deny accident victims fair compensation. They published their "Tort Reform Scorecard 2006". Rather than concentrating their efforts on driver safety and other ways of preventing human tragedy caused by the negligent, if not criminal, operation of their trucks, they invest in trying to change the laws to limit what they have to pay to fairly compensate people with serious injuries. They seek to eliminate joint and several liability, limit or eliminate punitive damages and attorney fee awards. In some states, like Georgia and Alabama they have backed legislation limiting damages for non-economic damages.

Our firm recently settled a wrongful death case involving a truck driver using drugs who was found to have been hiding vials of urine under his belt in case he got caught and was subjected to drug testing!

In another recent case involving serious spinal injuries to our client, the truck driver switched driving positions with his friend who happened to be riding along for company. This friend who had no commercial drivers license had recently been scheduled for back surgery because he had a spinal cord injury as a result of being struck by lightening. The friend was taking prescription narcotic pain medication to ease his back pain and he had numbness in one of his legs. To top it all off they switched seats going south on I-75 at 70+ mph with a load of steel on the trailer!!

It is maddening to hear the trucking industry and other groups tout their alleged accomplishments which they refer to as tort reform. Trucking companies as well as all other businesses should be able to be held accountable for the actions of their employees who injure or kill innocent people and they should be required to make such victims completely whole for all of the damages those victims or their families sustain. "Reform" which limits an innocent victim's rights in favor of a corporations bottom line is wrong.

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Posted In: Automobile Accidents , Brain Injury , Torts , Truck and Tractor Trailer Accidents , Wrongful Death

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Any trial lawyer who has ever handled a closed head injury case knows that brain damage can occur even if there is no direct blow to the head. Quite literally, the brain is like a bowl of Jell-O. If the head is shaken, the brain moves within the skull and due to acceleration and rotational forces, not necessarily direct blows, the brain can be damaged. Nor does an injury have to be severe to cause lasting brain injury. In short, a closed head injury without any skull fracture can result in more serious injuries than can an injury where a skull fracture has occurred.

Almost 20 years ago at the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville, a study of 424 people who had been hospitalized for 2 days or less revealed that after discharge, 79% complained of headaches, 59% of memory problems and 34% had not yet returned to their jobs 3 months later. Seventy-seven head injury patients who had been hospitalized for less than 24 hours and discharged with “normal” findings showed that a third later had difficulties with memory, attention span and concentration. In short, the data has been publicly available for years demonstrating that a closed head injury can cause serious long term complications for those unfortunate enough to have such an injury. Indeed, recovery from a brain injury, however minor it may seem, can last for years earmarked by periodic improvements over time.

In our practice, we have seen numerous symptoms of subtle brain damage. These often include a person who loses interest in their family or hobbies, people that have short attention spans or are unable to do their job, difficulty with relationships, trouble learning new things, sexual problems, etc. Many times, there is a lack of self-confidence and a lack of drive. In short, the brain is a very complicated organ, of course, and while the medical profession is still dealing with its attempts to understand closed head injuries, the fact remains that people who experience head injuries often times are not properly diagnosed initially and many times suffer from the side effects of such injuries for years.

Closed head injuries have been described in the past as a “silent epidemic.” As one expert has previously stated: “Someone in an accident is not necessarily fine just because they didn’t hit the windshield with their head.” Like any other medical problem, once a closed head injury is diagnosed, its causes and consequences can be better understood. And of course, a problem must be identified before rehabilitation techniques can be applied that may ease or correct the difficulty. While head injuries can oftentimes be fatal causing approximately 100,000 deaths a year in this country, about 7 times that number of individuals suffer non-fatal head injuries severe enough to require hospitalization. Some languish in comas, as has received much attention in recent years, but most suffer silently from the long term consequences of having their brain injured by trauma, sometimes only minor trauma.

While our lawyers know that these are tough cases, nonetheless, individuals who have sustained such serious injuries deserve not only good medical care but good legal representation.

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Posted In: Brain Injury

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Atlanta has previously been identified as one of the most dangerous large metropolitan area in the country for pedestrians. Although statistics are not always accessible, in the calendar year 2001, for example, 64 pedestrians were reported killed in Atlanta. Throughout the State of Georgia, more than two-thirds (2/3) of pedestrian fatalities occurred on neighborhood streets, which helps explain why pedestrian injury is the second leading cause of death for children age 5 to 9. Another problem, particularly prevalent in Atlanta, are unsafe sidewalks. While the City does not maintain statistics on the number of people who are injured while using city sidewalks, anyone who lives in the Atlanta area knows that city sidewalks are often in a state of disrepair and are dangerous to pedestrians who might wish to use them. Sidewalks in metropolitan Atlanta also rarely meet the needs of people with disabilities who make up a significant portion of the population. Despite federal requirements and long past deadlines, the City of Atlanta has been slow to take action to mitigate barriers that prevent people with disabilities from safely using the City’s sidewalks.

At a City Counsel work session in February of this year, Public Work Commissioner David Scott estimated that one-fourth (1/4) of Atlanta’s sidewalks were in need of repair. Mr. Scott also conceded that the problem with sidewalk maintenance in Atlanta could not be resolved with the resources at hand. Indeed, less than $125,000.00 is available in the City’s budget for maintenance issues, thus allowing for limited emergency maintenance only. With 25% of City’s sidewalks in need of repair, Commissioner Scott estimated that it would cost approximately $80 million for the City to make all the necessary repairs. What this means, of course, is that twenty-five percent (25%) of all city sidewalks, being in need of repairs, are unsafe.

With one-fourth (1/4) of the City’s sidewalks in need of repair, it is not surprising that there have been significant injuries reported. In one case, a bicyclist was killed while riding his bike near Peachtree Street and Peachtree Battle Avenue within the City limits. A utility wire had been draped across the sidewalk (allegedly for over a month) and the bicyclist came into contact with it such that he was thrown from his bike, landed on his head and was killed. In another tragic occurrence, a small child lost his leg when a loose utility wire which also partially obstructed a city sidewalk got caught up by a passing motorist’s vehicle and severed the boy’s leg as he was standing next to a utility pole, again on a city sidewalk. While these occurrences are tragic, it is clear that there are many more unreported injuries being sustained by pedestrians using Atlanta’s sidewalks. The question is, what can be done about this problem?

In future blogs, we will address ongoing efforts to deal with these chronic problems. What is clear, however, is that sidewalk maintenance in Atlanta is a significant problem which needs to be addressed by the City, sooner rather than later.

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Posted In: Brain Injury , Premises Liability , Wrongful Death

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Today we had the father of a young man in his early twenties come in to the office. His son was involved in an automobile accident and sustained serious injuries to his spine. It appears that he will be paralyzed for life from the waist down. The young man’s medical bills far exceed the liability insurance coverage, the hospital has filed a lien which will consume all of the available liability coverage and, to make matters worse, the young man has no health insurance.

Last month we got a call from a young man, an employee of a tree surgeon company, who fell from a tree. He was also sustained a serious spinal cord injury and was rendered a paraplegic. His employer had no workers’ compensation insurance and he had no health insurance.

Last year a young women who had been an employee of our firm 10 years ago, was involved in an automobile accident and sustained a permanent brain injury from which she will never recover. She had limited medical insurance to take care of her initial medical needs but nothing to take care of her long-term care. She is now being cared for, at home, by her husband and family.

Last week my firm received a letter from our group health insurer, advising us that our health insurance premium will be going up 49% for the coming policy year! No one has even had a significant claim of any type. This rate increase news comes at a time when health insurers are reporting record profits. How long can this go on? More and more businesses will be unable to provide health insurance to its employees.

It is my opinion that the medical/health insurance crisis faced by millions of Americans, in this country, is a disgrace. We are a phenomenally wealthy country and no American should ever be in a position of having no health insurance and no family should be put in a position such as those in the above referenced cases of having no safety net. In a country that can spend over a trillion dollars to wage a war in the middle east and rebuild economies of other countries, why can’t we provide basic healthcare to all Americans and catastrophic assistance to families whose lives have been devastated by catastrophic injuries? For those corporate types who feel secure in the knowledge that they have health insurance and disability coverage, watch out! Unless you are very wealthy, even you would be hard pressed to finance the care needed by a loved one who has sustained catastrophic injuries and will need life long 24/7 care.

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Posted In: Automobile Accidents , Brain Injury

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In our practice we frequently handle cases involving traumatic brain injuries. Traumatic brain injury can occur in a variety of ways. It can occur when there is a rapid acceleration and/or deceleration of the brain such as in an automobile collision whiplash scenario. Traumatic brain injury can also result when the head comes into contact with another object such as in a motorcycle accident, automobile accident, or a blow to the head. This type of injury is sometimes referred to as a “closed head injury.”

Injuries that result from traumatic brain injury can be long-lasting and sometimes difficult to prove, especially when there are no outward physical manifestations of the injury. In fact, a traumatic brain injury can be sustained, with life altering results, yet routine neurological examinations, MRI’s and CT’s will be normal.

We have seen that persons who suffer a traumatic brain injury of any type may experience physical, cognitive, and behavioral problems. Physical symptoms that result from traumatic brain injury include lethergy, fatigue, headache, vision problems, and sleep disturbances. Cognitive problems include the inability to concentrate or pay attention, difficulty with memory, difficulty with planning, and trouble either understanding or producing speech. Behavioral problems resulting from traumatic brain injury include mood swings, irritability, and lack of inhibition. Many of these problems may be mistakenly attributed to depression or other disease processes, when they are, in fact, a result of some sort of traumatic brain injury. This is especially true in cases of mild traumatic brain injury since there may be little evidence of physical injury.

It can be very difficult for a person who has suffered a traumatic brain injury to recover adequate damages for their injury. It is difficult to prove the lasting physical effects of any type of traumatic brain injury to the satisfaction of a judge or jury when there are no apparent physical injuries and when neurological exams return normal results. Because of this, it is a good idea to consult with a personal injury attorney who has experience in traumatic brain injury or brain damage cases.

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Posted In: Brain Injury

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