Atlanta Injury Lawyers Blog

A jury has awarded the parents of a 16-year old girl killed in a one-car motor vehicle accident $6,000,000.00 for the loss of their child. The accident occurred in November 2003 when the driver of the vehicle, a 16-year-old boy, lost control of the car after reaching speeds approaching 100 miles per hour. After leaving the roadway, the vehicle crashed into a tree causing fatal injuries to the girl who was travelling as a front seat passenger. The Florida jury returned the wrongful death verdict following a one-day trial.

Our law firm has recovered millions of dollars for individuals who have been seriously injured, or families who have lost a loved one, in a motor vehicle accident such as this one. We represent Clients throughout the State of Georgia, and offer no charge on-site consultations and case evalautions anywhere in the state.

A helicopter rotor blade manufacturer has agreed to a $5.6 million settlement with the family of a flight nurse who was killed in a helicopter crash in August 2008 near Indianapolis. Sandra Pearson and two others were killed in the crash that was caused by a flawed main rotor blade had broken apart just after take-off, the lawsuit claimed. The settlement money will go into trust accounts for Pearson's young children until they turn 18. Indianapolis Star, 5/27/2010

Read Article: Indianapolis Star

An Atlanta area Plaintiff has been awarded $7.25 million for a personal injury sustained in a car accident several years ago. The motor vehicle accident occurred when the at fault Defendant left his lane and entered the path of the Plaintiff's vehicle causing a head on collision. The Plaintiff was left paralyzed from the waist down. A sobriety test performed by police at the scene of the accident revealed that the 23 year old at fault driver had a blood alcohol content of .303%.

In circumstances where an individual causes a car or truck accident while under the influence of alcohol, attorneys and lawyers in Georgia may seek an award of punitive damages. Punitive damages may be awarded where a jury finds that the conduct of the defendant was so egregious that it amounted to a reckless disregard for the safety of others. The concept behind an award of punitive damages in a motor vehicle collision is that the defendant should be punished as his or her conduct amounts to more than mere negligence. The conduct almost borders on an intentional act as the defendant entered his or her vehicle with knowledge that he or she would be unable to operate a motor vehicle in a safe manner.

In Georgia, a blood alcohol level of .08% or higher validates a criminal charge of driving while under the influence. Under Georgia law, however, there is also an inference of driving under the influence where a driver is measured with a blood alcohol content between .05 and .08. This inference creates a presumption that the driver may have been impaired by alcohol, and attorneys for the driver are forced to rebut this inference in order to prevent a conviction.

A pedestrian injured in a parking lot when he was struck by a drunk driver was awarded $650,000.00 by a Bibb County jury. The drunk driver had a blood alcohol level of .259, well above state limit, and the jury was informed by the Plaintiff's lawyers that the Defendant had previously been cited for driving while under the influence. This is a significant victory for injured victims in Georgia.

Our law firm represents Clients throughout the State of Georgia, and we have recovered millions upon millions of dollars for individuals who have suffered an injury as a consequence of the fault of another. Please contact us if we can be of assistance.

A Macon County jury has awarded the victim of a motorcycle accident $650,000.00 for injuries caused by an errant motor vehicle operator. This is yet another significant result for victims of motorcycle accidents in the State of Georgia.

The victim of an Atlanta car crash was recently awarded $2,000,000.00 for a spine injury sustained in a horrific motor vehicle accident involving two tractor trailer trucks. A DeKalb County jury issued the verdict after a lengthy trial in which the accident victim testified as to how a lumbar herniated disc injury suffered in the car accident has significantly impacted his life. The victim incurred medical expenses totaling $155,000.00, and the jury awarded an additional $1,845,000.00 for pain and suffering.

Many of our Clients ask about the differences between a car accident and a truck accident in Georgia. While there are distinct differences, the most important difference to an injured plaintiff is the insurance coverage available for injuries sustained in a trucking accident. While car accidents typically involve private individuals who may have insurance coverage as low as $25,000.00, truck accidents involve commercial vehicles that are insured by polices of insurance that are usually a minimum of $1,000,000.00. This means that a person injured in an accident caused by a negligent truck driver will usually have the potential for a greater financial recovery.

In addition to the higher level of insurance coverage available in tractor trailer accidents, there are also legal differences between motor vehicle accidents and truck accidents. Truck drivers may be held to higher standards of care depending on the load that is being hauled, and there are limitations on the time that a driver of a tractor trailer may operate the vehicle each day. There are also limitations as to the roadways that a truck may drive on.

Continue reading "Atlanta Car Accident Victim Awarded $2 Million for Spine Injury" »

Two women who were shot after they were followed to their car in the parking lot of a night club in Gwinnett County near Atlanta were recently awarded $1,101,589.00 each for their injuries. This premise liability shooting case demonstrates that the public has little tolerance for proprietors of malls, hotels, and apartment complexes who do little or nothing to protect the security of their patrons. As an Atlanta premise liability law firm, we continue to vigorously represent our Clients throughout Georgia against these negligent property owners.

Rapes, sexual assaults, and violent attacks regularly occur in shopping malls, hotels, apartments, and parking lots in Atlanta and other major cities in Georgia. In Georgia, a property owner may be responsible for protecting those legally on his or her property from such criminal acts under certain circumstances. For example, if the owner of a mall, hotel, apartment, or parking lot has reason to anticipate a criminal act based upon the occurrence of prior similar acts, there is then a duty to exercise ordinary care to guard against any further criminal acts. If the owner fails in this duty by failing to control access to his or her premise, by failing to have adequate security, or by failing to have proper lighting on the property, the property owner is liable to anyone suffers injuries as a consequence.

Premise liability cases are difficult and expensive to litigate. Individuals who have been the victim of a rape, shooting, or attack while at a hotel, shopping mall, or apartment complex should be certain that the attorney whom the elect to represent them is qualified and capable of doing so.

The family of a man killed while riding a scooter has settled their claim against the at fault party with the assistance of their Atlanta motorcycle accident lawyers. As a personal injury law firm handling wrongful deaths, brain and spinal cord injuries, and other injuries occurring as a consequence of motorcycle accidents, we believe that this was a good result for the family.

The wrongful death decedent was killed whole operating his motor scooter on a Georgia Highway in July of 2007. An individual in an automobile cut the decedent off causing a head on collision. The decedent died at the scene as a consequence of massive head trauma. The at fault party tested positive for cocaine shortly after the collision, as well as THC.

In addition to the personal liability of the at fault party, lawyers for the decedent argued that his employer was also liable under the doctrine of respondeat superior. Under this theory of the law, an individual's employer can be liable for the negligent acts of the employee if the negligent acts occur while the employee is acting in furtherance of the employers business at the time of the negligent act.

Atlanta auto accident attorneys obtained a $20 million dollar verdict for the estate of a 62-year-old man who died when his automobile was hit by a tractor-trailer truck. The verdict was obtained in Clayton County, Georgia, and jurors delivered the verdict after only 3.5 hours of deliberation. This is another big jury award for personal injury lawyers, and the verdict shows that Georgia juries are willing to properly compensate plaintiffs and punish defendants when the circumstances are appropriate.

In the negligence case, the estate's auto accident attorneys informed the jury that the decedent had been stopped at a red light when his vehicle was crushed by a truck driven by the Defendant. The lawyers argued that the Defendant was negligent in not keeping a proper lookout, in neglecting to keep his vehicle under control, and in travelling too fast for roadway conditions. The jury accepted these arguments and found that the Defendant acted reckless and with a complete disregard for the safety of others on the roadway.

Prior to presenting the case to the jury, the Defendant's insurance company was only willing to offer $1.5 million dollars to settle the case. The estate's lawyers rejected this offer, and instead trusted that the jury would dleiver a verdict that was just and fair.

Atlanta personal injury attorneys obtained a $5.47 million dollar verdict in a wrongful death case last week in DeKalb County, Georgia. The case involved a man who was killed while working at Atlanta-Hartsfield airport in June of 2007. The decedent was working on an expansion project at the airport, and his job was to direct dump trucks entering the work site. The man was killed when a dump truck driver ingnored stop signals and ran over him.

A wrongful death and pain and suffering claim was filed by Atlanta lawyers retained by the family of the decedent. The case was presented to a jury last week and, after only three days, the verdict was returned. Because the decedent was killed while at work, the family of the decedent is also entitled to a recovery under Georgia workers compensation laws.

As an Atlanta personal injury attorney and workers compensation lawyer, I am grateful that our Georgia juries are willing to issue large awards to the victims of tragic incidents such as this one. We have recovered millions of dollars for our injured Clients, and we continue to be inspired when verdicts like this are issued. Many of Georgia's best lawyers are in located in Atlanta, and it these types of vedicts are a testament to this.

Rapes, shootings, and violent crimes are a common occurence in hotels, shopping malls, parking lots, and apartment complexes throughout Atlanta and the state of Georgia. As an Atlanta law firm that represents Clients in these premise liability cases, we are intimately aware of the dangers that patrons face while staying or shopping in these venues. The verdicts awarded by juries throughout Georgia for such incidents can be significant, as is evidenced by a recent $550,000.00 verdict obtained in Cobb County, Georgia.

A Cobb County jury recently awared $550,000.00 to a Plaintiff who was sexually assaulted while staying at a Super 8 Motel. A hotel employee entered her room with a master key and began to touch and lick her while she was asleep. The hotel was sued for failure to conduct a criminal background check on the employee and for entrusting the employee with a master key. The jury heard evidence that, if a criminal background check had been performed, the hotel would have learned that the employee was arrested on multiple occasions prior to and during his employment. The jury was convinced, and held Super 8 liable.

As a premise liability law firm, it is important that we become involved in a hotel/apartment/shopping mall rape, shooting, or attack as soon after the incident as possible. This is critical as premise owners tend to destroy evidence such as video tapes which would evidence liability.

An Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia jury awarded $54 million for the wrongful death of a 50 year old woman killed when she was rear ended at full speed by a commercial truck. The woman was stopped in traffic on a highway due to an unrelated car accident. The truck driver failed to recognize that traffic had come to a stop, and collided into and came to a rest on top of the victim's vehicle. It was later revealed that the truck driver who caused the motor vehicle accident had been previously issued numerous traffic citations and had been in violation of drive time regulations.

After hearing testimony as to the truck driver's poor driving record, the Atlanta jury decided that $44 million of the verdict would be assigned as punitive damages to punish the truck driver for his conduct in causing the accident. Unfortunately, however, Georgia law caps the assessment of punitive damages at $250,000.00 in most circumstances. As a consequence, the jury award for the wrongful death of the Atlanta car accident victim was automatically reduced to a little over $10 million.

While punitive damages are primarily recognized as a form of punishment for the at fault party's egregious conduct, punitive damages serve another, and perhaps more important, purpose. Specifically, much as the death penalty is designed to deter the most offensive of criminal acts, punitive damages are designed to deter the most egregious of civil acts. For example, punitive damages serve to better ensure that physicians do not recklessly deter from medical standards of practice. Without the fear of an assessment of punitive damages for medical malpractice in Georgia, it is arguable that some physicians may be more inclined to walk the line between proper and improper conduct.

Continue reading "Atlanta Wrongful Death Truck Accident Case Nets $54 Million Jury Verdict" »

Injuries and wrongful deaths occur from time to time at amusement parks such as Six Flags Over Georgia and Six Flags Whitewater. Atlanta premise liability lawyers and attorneys are the most capable of handling such cases, and it is best that these lawyers get involved as quickly as possible to prevent the destruction of any evidence. Surveillance tapes may be destroyed after 30 days, for example, and these tapes could prove to be the most valuable evidence in pursuing a case against the amusement park.

In a recent case, a teenager was seriously injured when she was chased by costumed characters at Six Flags Over Georgia. While trying to escape the chase of the character, the teenager ran into a railing and fractured her hip. Extensive surgery was required to repair the injury, and the teenage will have permanent scarring and discomfort as a result.

While Six Flags denied liability for the teenager's injuries, the case eventually settled for $125,000.00. As a premise liability law firm, we understand that sometime's it is better to settle a case that to take it to trial. In this circumstance, the Plaintiff was willing to accept the offer of settlement made by the amusement park.

A woman who was raped at an Atlanta-area apartment complex was awarded over $8 million dollars by a DeKalb County jury. From an Atlanta premises liability attorney's perspective, this was an excellent verdict for the victim. Hotel and apartment rapes and shootings continue to occur at too regular a frequency in Atlanta and surrounding counties such as DeKalb, Fulton, and Cobb, and the victims of these crimes deserve to be rewarded for the failure of the premises owner to secure his or her property.

The victim in this case was raped when her assailant entered through a window in the apartment. Lawyers for the apartment complex argued that the victim had created the circumstances that allowed her to be raped by giving extra apartment keys to friends and family. The victim's lawyers defeated these defenses, asserting that the lack of security in the apartment complex is what ultimately precipitated the rape. We are proud of our colleagues for obtaining justice for the victim, and we continue efforts at our firm to achieve justice for victims of similar crimes.

Under Georgia law, an apartment owner has a duty to keep the apartment complex safe. Where an apartment owner has reason to anticipate criminal activity on its property through prior crime at the apartment or in the surrounding area, the apartment owner must take reasonable steps to provide adequate security. If the apartment owner fails to undertake these steps, he or she is liable for any injuries that occur to its invitees as a consequence.

A Marietta man injured when a pallet of plywood fell on him while shopping at Home Depot was recently awarded $1.5 million dollars by a Georgia jury. As an Atlanta personal injury attorney representing victims in premises liability claims, this was an excellent result for the Plaintiff. Do-it-yourself warehouses such as Lowes and Home Depot are extremely dangerous venues, and personal injury claims are common.

Premise liability lawyers in Atlanta and throughout Georgia are able to request that a jury award their Clients compensation for the financial damages (medical bills, lost wages, etc.) that they have incurred via a personal injury, as well as for the pain and suffering that they have incurred incidental to their injuries. In the Atlanta Home Depot personal injury premise liability case, the jury awarded the Plaintiff medical expenses in the amount of $120,000.00.

In addition to compensation for his pain and suffering and for his medical expenses, the Plaintiff was also awarded a sum for past and future lost wages. His wife was also awarded $30,000.00 for her loss of consortium.