November 28, 2010 in Business, Criminal Defense, Legal News, Personal Injury by jferris

Webb Says Dog Bites a Common Problem

Canines bite a few million people every year in the United States.

It’s obvious what kind of physical repercussion an attack can have on a victim, but most people have no idea how dog bite laws can affect them, too, such as the “first bite” or “one bite” rules.

Most states follow the “one bite rule,” which says that owners are not liable for a dog’s first attack provided the owner was not negligent in some manner. The rule, however, does not apply if the owner had previous knowledge that the dog was aggressive or dangerous, or had a propensity to harm people.

In Georgia, it can be difficult for dog-bite victims to prove that an owner was negligent. To do so, the incident must pass a two-part test.

“First, it must be proven that the dog had a previous tendency to bite or attack people and, second, that the owner had knowledge of such behavior,” said Robert Webb of the Atlanta-based personal injury law firm Webb & D’Orazio.

The other way to prove liability against a dog owner under the state statute is to show that the owner violated a local or county leash law when the event occurred.

Statistics show that when dogs attack, the most common victim is a child. Dog attacks cannot only bring physical scars to youngsters, but emotional ones too that lead to a fear of animals for the rest of his or her life.

“In the wake of a dog attack, it is important to understand the particular procedure that may follow, in regard to filing a dog bite lawsuit and seeking financial compensation for your injuries,” Webb said. “If you would like to discuss whether you may have grounds for a civil lawsuit against the owner of the dog that was responsible for your injuries, you should seek the advice of an experienced Atlanta personal injury attorney.”

To learn more, visit http://www.webbdorazio.com.

November 25, 2010 in Business, Criminal Defense, Legal News, Personal Injury by jferris

Don’t Waste Time To File A Claim After Being Injured, Webb & D’Orazio Firm Says

If one has been unfortunate enough to have been involved in a personal injury accident, there is only so much time to file a claim. If the statute of limitations runs out, the injured person no longer has the ability to receive a settlement.

Each state in the United States sets its own statute of limitations, which can vary from one to six years. Here in the Peach State, the limit is two years from the date of injury. For a minor, however, the situation is different: The statute of limitations does not begin until the minor has reached 18 years of age. That means if a youngster is injured at age 14, he or she may file to recover damages up until the age of 20.

“Sometimes after an accident, it is immediately clear whether you are injured,” said Robert Webb, of the Atlanta-based personal injury law firm Webb & D’Orazio. “At other times, it is not. It is in your best interest to retain an attorney to help you settle your claim in a timely and efficient manner.”

Personal-injury accidents can be physically and emotionally damaging so it is important to find a lawyer who shows both zeal and compassion.

When considering filing a formal claim, there are several steps that one can take to help the claim process along. Many of these actions can be taken by the injured person’s attorney, too, of course. The steps include:

•Making notes of the incident. What happened? What are the injuries? What were the circumstances and conditions surrounding the incident? When did it occur?

•Keeping evidence of what caused the accident, if possible, and taking pictures to illustrate important details about the incident.

•Taking note of important witnesses who can verify what happened and help the injured person prove his or her case. Find out how an attorney can get in touch with them at a later date.

“If you or someone you know has experienced a personal injury, you should seek the advice of an experienced Atlanta personal injury attorney who can help you seek justice for your injuries,” Webb added.

To learn more, visit http://www.webbdorazio.com.

October 14, 2010 in Business, Criminal Defense, Legal News, Personal Injury by jferris

Investigators often make a criminal defense case fly

Those accused of a crime need competent criminal defense as soon as possible. Some attorneys use investigators to track down evidence.

Usually one of the first things that a criminal defense lawyer does when someone has been accused of committing a crime is to contact a private investigator. Ultimately, it is expected that this step will garner the accused the very best possible defense by finding additional facts and details pertaining to the case. But many defendants don’t know what the investigator does for them.

“More often than not, the private investigator digs deep to find hidden information about your case. They get a wide variety of facts from various sources, including using the computer to track files or a digital trail. These days, a necessary skill is the ability to tackle encrypted files, determine if passwords have been altered and/or if certain documents have been deleted. The 21st century has created an electronic milieu for everyone to conduct their activities. However, they leave traces of what they did and where they’ve been that may be tracked later,” said Robert Webb, of Webb & D’Orazio, personal injury lawyers practicing personal injury law, business law, and criminal defense in Atlanta Georgia.

A good detective looks at all the various angles of a case to see who else may be involved, who may be building a case against you, what they are looking for and any inconsistencies or holes the defense could utilize while in court. Public and private records are scoured from top to bottom in the search for evidence the defense may use. “And if we need a certain witness, the investigator will track that person down in order for us to build a solid criminal defense case,” Webb said.

While not all law firms use private investigators, they definitely have their use when it comes to helping a criminal defense lawyer build a good case for a person accused of a crime. Investigators work with witnesses, various types of surveillance equipment and work legally and ethically – or they could not present the evidence in court.

“If you need a tenacious criminal defense lawyer, give us a call. We’ve got your back and have ‘been there and done that’, so we know the system. Let’s talk about your case,” Webb said.

To learn more, visit http://www.webbdorazio.com.

October 14, 2010 in Business, Criminal Defense, Legal News, Personal Injury by jferris

Botched medical treatments may result in serious injury or death

Medicine isn’t the easiest career. Mistakes can and do happen.

Anyone who has ever been through some kind of medical treatment is likely aware that just one slip up, one small mistake, one misunderstanding can result in medical malpractice. Unfortunately, even though the medical profession does a fine job under difficult circumstances, bad things do happen and patients get improper treatment or the wrong treatment altogether.

The wrong treatment puts a patient’s health and welfare on the thin edge of the razor; a fine line to walk when dealing with another person’s life. The wrong treatment means the real cause of the illness is undetermined and untreated, which means the patient will get worse. The long-term consequences of this medical missed diagnosis may result in serious harm or death.

“Typically, improper treatment may happen in a variety of ways,” said Robert Webb, an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio in Georgia. “For example, the patient gets either not enough medication or too much or the individual is treated for the wrong illness/disease, because they were misdiagnosed.”

While there are other things that may happen to an unsuspecting patient, the other most common error is when a health services worker (doctor, nurse, charge nurse, etc.) makes a clerical error and a patient gets the wrong medication. “Of course, any of these scenarios may cause irreversible harm to someone or kill them and if you have been in a situation like this and lived to tell the tale, you will want to discuss your case with an Atlanta personal injury lawyer,” Webb said.

The major difficulty with not treating a disease is that it continues on its course unabated and may, over time, become untreatable. Those who have been victims of improper treatment may very well be entitled to financial compensation for their medical malpractice injuries. “If you have any questions about a situation you have been in, give me a call. I would be happy to discuss your case with you,” Webb said.

To learn more, visit http://www.webbdorazio.com.

April 28, 2009 in Criminal Defense, Legal News by admin

The Scope of Personal Injury

Not everyone realizes just what the scope of a personal injury may be, although often they do understand that the injury is usually the fault of someone else’s negligence.

People have a passing idea of what a personal injury is – something that hurts or harms them personally. They also mostly understand that they may be able to be compensated for personal injuries if their case may be proven in a court of law. Despite the basics that people “get,” there is another fact that isn’t discussed too often. That fact is that there are, generally speaking, two classes of personal injury litigation.

The two classes of personal injury litigation are cases of negligence and cases of intent. In some instances lawyers will divide these cases into specialties. Generally speaking, cases of negligence mean that harm or injury has been done to a person because of the negligence/carelessness of someone else. In these cases, the victim has to prove the defendant had a duty of care to exercise reasonable caution, and didn’t – resulting in harm. To put this another way, the defendant breached a duty of care.

In instances of intentional torts, there is a very clear “intention” behind someone’s wrongful actions. This is an interesting area of the law, as it doesn’t matter if the injury was more excessive than intended. The facts are that there was “intent” and that kicks the case into the intentional tort arena. Compensation in these cases is hard to obtain, as insurance companies don’t provide coverage for things like this. The victim may still pursue the case to make sure the defendant is punished for his or her wrongful intent.

Since these types of cases are so diversified and each one has its own set of circumstances, it’s wise to consult with a personal injury attorney who is able to assess the merits of the case. The attorney will be able to advise if there is the possibility of compensation or not. Don’t refrain from contacting a highly skilled personal injury attorney because the case may not be clear-cut, as every case has its merits. The attorney will advise on the best route to justice.

To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Atlanta personal injury, Atlanta business law, Atlanta criminal defense visit, Webbdorazio.com.

April 28, 2009 in Criminal Defense, Legal News by admin

The Business Is Business Law

It never fails that at some point in time a company in business will be sued. It just seems to be the general law of averages.

There are a number of things that someone could be sued for, and we’re going to discuss a few or the more common ones to be on the lookout for, such as a criminal investigation. One would hope that the business would never have to face something of this nature, however, depending on which industry the business is operating in, there could be as many as ten or more regulating agencies. Imagine how many things could inadvertently go wrong with that kind of government regulation.

The disturbing thing is that there appears to be a trend to target business owners, executives and the businesses themselves for investigation and prosecution of whatever rules and regulations they may have breached. It’s almost a daily news item to read about yet another company up for scrutiny for some kind of white-collar crime.

In order to ensure mostly smooth sailing, a business is best advised to offer to cooperate with all government inquiries, so long as they make sure they have an experienced attorney to field any questions that arise. This is a matter of making sure everyone knows what their constitutional rights are and what procedures are acceptable to follow during a criminal investigation.

Another area that is seemingly inevitable, is the suit filed by an employee. There are so many different types of lawsuits that may be filed; it almost boggles the imagination – from age discrimination to wrongful termination, or from pregnancy discrimination to racial discrimination.

One of the best ways to avoid this type of a lawsuit is to ensure the business has exceedingly clear rules and policies drafted by a knowledgeable attorney. Stick to the rules, treat the employees with the utmost respect, and make sure your rules and policies are continuously updated.

Interestingly enough, the other area that tends to crop up fairly frequently in business lawsuits is divorce and marital problems. Most people don’t give this a lot of thought, but any contracts that deal with the business should specifically discuss this eventuality (divorce), as it may affect how business is conducted.

To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Atlanta personal injury, Atlanta business law, Atlanta criminal defense visit, Webbdorazio.com.

April 28, 2009 in Criminal Defense, Legal News by admin

While You’re Under for Surgery

While you don’t hear about this particular type of medical malpractice that often, it does happen, and at your most vulnerable moment prior to and during surgery.

The administration of anesthesia is a delicate art, and those trained in the field are highly skilled in using and monitoring the effects of anesthesia. This isn’t to say there aren’t instances where this goes awry. The recent spate of anesthesia malpractice lawsuits is a good indication that this area of medicine is just as susceptible to lawsuits as other more traditional areas of medical malpractice, e.g. misdiagnosis, severe reactions to drugs, etc.

Knowing the patient prior to putting them under for surgery is the responsibility of the anesthesiologist and requires that they not only evaluate the patient, but also confirm pre-op data and keep a meticulous record of the goals of the operation. These records must contain all pertinent information about every member of the surgical team and must also include the fact that the patient was assessed for tolerance to certain anesthesia.

While the patient is under, the anesthesiologist is responsible for the correct placement of IV lines, keeping track of the ECG, oxygen levels, and the automatic blood pressure cuff. In addition, they also take the lead role for intubating patient airways and the handling and administration of the anesthesia, medicines and oxygen, etc. Every task the anesthesiologist performs becomes a part of his or her records. These records may be examined as part of a trial.

When you stop to take a look at the role the anesthesiologist has in operations, it’s not too difficult to imagine something going wrong before, during or after the surgery. Things can and do happen. Every time an anesthesiologist performs their crucial part of an operation, their intentions are to do the best job they know how to do. Rarely are their intentions to botch things up. However, if an error in judgment is made, or something else goes wrong, the patient is the one who suffers the consequences of negligence.

If you feel that you have been a victim of something that went wrong while you were unconscious and being operated on, contact a skilled medical malpractice attorney. S/he will evaluate your case and advise you on how to proceed to justice.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Atlanta personal injury, Atlanta business law, Atlanta criminal defense visit, Webbdorazio.com.

April 28, 2009 in Criminal Defense, Legal News by admin

What Med Mal May Encompass

It isn’t always clear what medical malpractice (med mal) is, since it seems there are new developments in medical technology daily that raise the bar for the acceptable standard of care, creating opportunities for medical malpractice.

Generally speaking, the term medical malpractice means negligence caused by health care professionals leading to injuries or the death of a patient. Medical malpractice has no particular method or place in which it strikes. It just happens to anyone, anytime, when they least expect it.

At one time medical malpractice wasn’t as prevalent, or more likely, was not recognized for what it was; thus, it went unreported. It is a situation still present today, as many people don’t realize they have been or are a victim of med mal. It is far too ingrained in society not to question the wisdom of doctors when, in fact, we should always ask questions as well as be our own medical advocates.

This is something not many people know: at the time of the first visit to a physician, the health of the patient is NOT the responsibility of that doctor; however, it becomes the responsibility of the doctor once treatment has commenced. A smart patient needs to keep track of doctor’s appointments, diagnosis, prescriptions and treatments.

So, what types of medical malpractice are there – the most common ones? Malpractice may happen at any time thanks to a delay in treatment, the result of medications prescribed, or even as the result of improper monitoring and/or administration of anesthesia.

In general, the most common forms of medical malpractice are birth injuries and defects, wrongful death, surgical errors, cosmetic surgery errors, breast implant malpractice, dental errors, psychiatric malpractice, and unnecessary surgery. No matter what the malpractice may be, be it a breast cancer misdiagnosis to mismanagement of a heart attack, the patient has the right to file a medical malpractice lawsuit and seek compensation for damages.

A word or two of advice about filing a medical malpractice lawsuit: do not wait or you will miss the statute of limitations. Most states have a two-year limitation, but don’t assume that is the case. Speak to a highly qualified attorney and find out what the statute of limitations says in your state.

If you choose to wait longer than two years, your chances of getting compensation drastically drops, statistically speaking, which isn’t to say you may not get compensation, but the chances of doing so are low. If you think you are a victim of medical malpractice, seek competent legal counsel to obtain justice.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Atlanta personal injury, Atlanta business law, Atlanta criminal defense visit, Webbdorazio.com.

April 16, 2009 in Criminal Defense, Legal News by admin

Active Warrants Search

“In an interesting twist to the police being one step ahead of offenders with outstanding arrest warrants, people are now able to search online for their own active arrest warrants,” indicated Daniel H. Wannamaker of Wannamaker and Associates, of Austin, Texas, with offices in Dallas and Houston.

Being able to search online for an active arrest warrant certainly gives new meaning to the term “too much information.” Imagine finding out that the traffic ticket which was never paid way back when, went to a bench warrant. Now this could be a blessing or a curse, depending on your point of view, as the police have the same information.

This means that if a person thinks they have an outstanding ticket and wants to deal with it and get it off his or her driving record, they need to know the status of the ticket. “Finding this out online will avoid the inevitable arrest if courthouse records are searched instead,” said Wannamaker.

There doesn’t have to be a lot of money spent to find out if there are outstanding tickets either. Many of the online search sites happen to be free, so don’t be attracted to the expensive sites that charge for searching a police site; when for zero investment, another site will provide the same information.

Taking this kind of search one step further, it is not too difficult to imagine that in the future the general public will be able to search for even more information than just online warrants. In fact, even today there are some sites that will allow people to search for arrests and convictions.

“This kind of information floating around on the Internet is a major concern to attorneys who realize this is a direct violation of a person’s right to privacy,” indicated Wannamaker. The biggest concern is that the records may not be up-to-date, and there is no guarantee of accuracy either. “It doesn’t take too much of an imagination to see what might happen if an online site has an outstanding warrant for a particular offense (say for instance, unpaid traffic tickets) but not the updated fact that the offender paid the fine two weeks ago,” explained Wannamaker.

This whole area of criminal information, charges, dispositions, etc. on the Internet is highly controversial and many attorneys would rather this kind of information be kept away from the general public who has no experience in correctly interpreting the charges or the disposition of them.

“As with anything dealing with the legal system, everything is relative to the circumstances of the case and any criminal defense attorney with extensive experience in this area will tell you a case may change on the drop of a dime,” added Wannamaker.

Daniel Wannamaker is a board certified criminal law specialist and has 24 years of criminal trial experience with proven results as a Dallas criminal defense lawyer practicing in Austin criminal defense and Houston Texas. To learn more about Dallas criminal defense lawyer, Houston criminal defense lawyer, Austin criminal defense lawyer, visit Wannamakerlaw.com.

April 16, 2009 in Criminal Defense, Legal News by admin

An Aggravating Crime

There is a “regular crime” then there is an “aggravated crime,” but what does this mean in the scheme of the American justice system?

It’s a slightly simplified explanation of the differences in how a crime is charged to say there is a crime, and then an aggravated version of the same crime. This term is bandied quite often on TV when the cops and attorneys get their heads together to figure out what to charge the perpetrator with and how “aggravating” the crime was in totality.

Aggravating is living with your ex spouse, but aggravating in reference to a crime is something different. There needs to be certain factors present in order to charge a crime as an aggravated one; say aggravated assault, for instance.

“The factors that need to be present may include whether or not there was a dangerous weapon involved, if there was a threat to use a dangerous weapon, and if bodily harm was caused as a result of the crime in question, etc,” explained Daniel H. Wannamaker, board certified criminal defense attorney of Wannamaker and Associates, an Austin law firm with offices in Dallas and Houston.

“The factors are what “converts” a regular crime to an aggravated crime, and while that may sound simple enough on the surface, it rarely is,” said Wannamaker, who would definitely know what he is talking about, since he deals with many cases such as this on a regular basis. There may be the crimes of aggravated assault, aggravated battery and even aggravated murder. “Although having said that, what makes a murder an aggravated one is slightly different,” added Wannamaker.

In cases of aggravated murder, not only do the factors mentioned earlier apply, but also the key to the charge being changed from murder to aggravated murder has to do mainly with the location and situation of the murder. “The best example I can think of in this instance is the murder of an inmate by another prison inmate, while in prison. The location makes the charge aggravated murder,” explained Wannamaker.

Generally speaking most aggravated crimes tend to have higher penalties attached to them; however, each case is different and involves different factors. “If you’re in a situation where you have been charged with an aggravated crime, call me, we need to talk about your options,” said Wannamaker.

Daniel Wannamaker is a board certified criminal law specialist and has 24 years of criminal trial experience with proven results as a Dallas criminal defense lawyer practicing in Austin criminal defense and Houston Texas. To learn more about Dallas criminal defense lawyer, Houston criminal defense lawyer, Austin criminal defense lawyer, visit Wannamakerlaw.com.