In one such case, it appears as though the plaintiff may have been represented, as there was very specific language regarding the nature of the limited liability waiver which she signed.

In the case, Watford v. Cowart, Dist. Court, MD Ga. (2013), the parties were involved in a car accident in Cook County, Georgia. Following the accident, the plaintiff filed suit, seeking damages for the injuries she alleges were caused as a result of the defendant negligently and recklessly operating her vehicle. Plaintiff’s initial complaint sought general damages, special damages, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees and costs pursuant to Georgia State Law.

In responding to the plaintiff’s suit, the defendant admitted liability, stating that she did negligently operate her vehicle, and essentially acquiesced to the plaintiff’s allegations. Defendant had an automobile liability insurance policy at the time of the accident, with a coverage limit of $300,000. The plaintiff was also insured under a separate policy, which provides uninsured motorist coverage.

Sometime later during the course of the suit, in exchange for a payment of the liability policy limit of $300,000, the plaintiff executed a limited liability release pursuant to relevant Georgia law, which stated in relevant part that she settled her claims against the insurer and granted a limited release for “ PERSONAL INJURY AND BODILY INJURY ONLY. NOTHING CONTAINED IN THIS RELEASE WILL BAR OR PREVENT THE UNDERSIGNED FROM PROSECUTING A CAUSE OF ACTION FOR PROPERTY DAMAGE AGAINST THE INSURER AND LIMITED RELEASEES.”

The main purpose of phrasing the limited release in that way was so that the plaintiff could proceed with a claim under her uninisured motorist policy. However, it also had the effect of precluding everything else she was seeking in the case.

The defendant filed a motion for summary judgment in regards to the plaintiff’s claims for punitive damages and attorney’s fees, and sought a setoff of $300,000, should a jury verdict grant plaintiff an award in excess of that amount. Defendant also sought to clarify that plaintiff could not reach her personal assets.

The court granted the defendant’s motion, finding that, because the release did not specifically retain the ability to pursue punitive damages or attorneys fees, but did retain the potential for property damage, the release acted to relieve any of the claims that were not specifically carved out.

Additionally, the court found that the language of the release relieved the defendant from any personal liability, and thus the plaintiff could not pursue the defendant’s personal assets in securing damages. Essentially, the court found, the only judgment that the plaintiff could enforce would be against her own uninsured motorist policy.

If you have been involved in a car accident in Atlanta that caused you personal injuries, and you believe that the other driver was responsible for driving negligently, contact the Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert. As one of the most sought-after personal injury attorneys in the state, Mr. Ozcomert combines over 20 years of litigation experience and caring dedication to provide you with the best possible legal representation. Do not rely on insurance adjusters to protect your best interests; their only goal is to settle as quickly and for as little as possible Contact us today by calling (404)-370-1000 in order to schedule your free initial consultation, or you can reach us through our website.

More Blog Posts:

Georgia Court of Appeals Case Demonstrates Importance of Acting Quickly Following Trucking Accident, Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer Blog, published December 11, 2013

Default Judgment in Georgia Car Accident Cases, Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer Blog, published December 4, 2013

We read about motorists being involved in an accident with a semi tractor trailer, or some other large commercial trucking unit, but rarely do we put that one incident into perspective. Across the nation, there are over 500,000 people that tangle with big rigs every year. The outcome is never good and those that survive typically have catastrophic injuries that affect the rest of their lives. It is rare that someone walks away from a big rig wreck unharmed.

What causes so many accidents with 18-wheelers? There are a number of common causes, and some of them may shock you. The number one reason that truckers get involved in an accident is drug use. Recent figures indicate that roughly 26 percent of truckers in an accident are taking prescription or street drugs. It goes without saying that if someone is driving under the influence of drugs, it can impair their thinking, judgment and reaction time.

Another 23 percent of 18-wheeler accidents are caused by speeding. Many drivers can attest to being on a highway and having a huge rig breeze by them, almost as if they were standing still. Increased speed means an increase in time needed to stop an 80,000 pound behemoth. The faster they are going, the longer it takes to stop. The mess and carnage they create if they run into a line of waiting cars at a construction zone is the stuff horror movies is made of.

Big rigs, like cars, have blind spots, and many drivers just don’t check them often enough, or check them at all, particularly when they are about to make a turn or back up. In some ways this is odd, as all truckers are taught in driving school that over 14 percent of truck accidents are because the drivers do not check blind spots properly.

Sleep deprivation is another cause for big rig accidents, which is not much of a surprise given the nature of what a long-haul trucker does —- drives for miles under orders from head office to get the load there on time. If “on time” means not sleeping now and then, that is how it gets done. This is an accident looking for a place to happen.

Modern technology does not help trucking accident statistics. In fact, it escalates them as truckers text while they drive, use cell phones while piloting their rig down the road, fiddle with GPS tools, watch a movie or surf on a laptop or iPhone. One second of distraction sets them up to lose control of their vehicle, and the consequences may be serious injuries or death for them and the person they hit. If it isn’t technological distractions, it’s road rage. The fact is, fully 7 percent of trucking accidents are the result of road rage.

Big rig wrecks leave people’s lives in shambles. If you have been in an accident with a heavy commercial vehicle, do not wait to call an experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyer. If you want justice and compensation to provide the necessities of medical care for you, an Atlanta personal injury lawyer is your voice in court.

Stephen M. Ozcomert is an experienced personal injury lawyer in Atlanta Georgia. To learn more, visit http://www.ozcomert.com/ or call (404)-370-1000.

We read about motorists being involved in an accident with a semi tractor trailer, or some other large commercial trucking unit, but rarely do we put that one incident into perspective. Across the nation, there are over 500,000 people that tangle with big rigs every year. The outcome is never good and those that survive typically have catastrophic injuries that affect the rest of their lives. It is rare that someone walks away from a big rig wreck unharmed.

What causes so many accidents with 18-wheelers? There are a number of common causes, and some of them may shock you. The number one reason that truckers get involved in an accident is drug use. Recent figures indicate that roughly 26 percent of truckers in an accident are taking prescription or street drugs. It goes without saying that if someone is driving under the influence of drugs, it can impair their thinking, judgment and reaction time.

Another 23 percent of 18-wheeler accidents are caused by speeding. Many drivers can attest to being on a highway and having a huge rig breeze by them, almost as if they were standing still. Increased speed means an increase in time needed to stop an 80,000 pound behemoth. The faster they are going, the longer it takes to stop. The mess and carnage they create if they run into a line of waiting cars at a construction zone is the stuff horror movies is made of.

Big rigs, like cars, have blind spots, and many drivers just don’t check them often enough, or check them at all, particularly when they are about to make a turn or back up. In some ways this is odd, as all truckers are taught in driving school that over 14 percent of truck accidents are because the drivers do not check blind spots properly.

Sleep deprivation is another cause for big rig accidents, which is not much of a surprise given the nature of what a long-haul trucker does —- drives for miles under orders from head office to get the load there on time. If “on time” means not sleeping now and then, that is how it gets done. This is an accident looking for a place to happen.

Modern technology does not help trucking accident statistics. In fact, it escalates them as truckers text while they drive, use cell phones while piloting their rig down the road, fiddle with GPS tools, watch a movie or surf on a laptop or iPhone. One second of distraction sets them up to lose control of their vehicle, and the consequences may be serious injuries or death for them and the person they hit. If it isn’t technological distractions, it’s road rage. The fact is, fully 7 percent of trucking accidents are the result of road rage.

Big rig wrecks leave people’s lives in shambles. If you have been in an accident with a heavy commercial vehicle, do not wait to call an experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyer. If you want justice and compensation to provide the necessities of medical care for you, an Atlanta personal injury lawyer is your voice in court.

Stephen M. Ozcomert is an experienced personal injury lawyer in Atlanta Georgia. To learn more, visit http://www.ozcomert.com/ or call (404)-370-1000.

We read about motorists being involved in an accident with a semi tractor trailer, or some other large commercial trucking unit, but rarely do we put that one incident into perspective. Across the nation, there are over 500,000 people that tangle with big rigs every year. The outcome is never good and those that survive typically have catastrophic injuries that affect the rest of their lives. It is rare that someone walks away from a big rig wreck unharmed.

What causes so many accidents with 18-wheelers? There are a number of common causes, and some of them may shock you. The number one reason that truckers get involved in an accident is drug use. Recent figures indicate that roughly 26 percent of truckers in an accident are taking prescription or street drugs. It goes without saying that if someone is driving under the influence of drugs, it can impair their thinking, judgment and reaction time.

Another 23 percent of 18-wheeler accidents are caused by speeding. Many drivers can attest to being on a highway and having a huge rig breeze by them, almost as if they were standing still. Increased speed means an increase in time needed to stop an 80,000 pound behemoth. The faster they are going, the longer it takes to stop. The mess and carnage they create if they run into a line of waiting cars at a construction zone is the stuff horror movies is made of.

Big rigs, like cars, have blind spots, and many drivers just don’t check them often enough, or check them at all, particularly when they are about to make a turn or back up. In some ways this is odd, as all truckers are taught in driving school that over 14 percent of truck accidents are because the drivers do not check blind spots properly.

Sleep deprivation is another cause for big rig accidents, which is not much of a surprise given the nature of what a long-haul trucker does —- drives for miles under orders from head office to get the load there on time. If “on time” means not sleeping now and then, that is how it gets done. This is an accident looking for a place to happen.

Modern technology does not help trucking accident statistics. In fact, it escalates them as truckers text while they drive, use cell phones while piloting their rig down the road, fiddle with GPS tools, watch a movie or surf on a laptop or iPhone. One second of distraction sets them up to lose control of their vehicle, and the consequences may be serious injuries or death for them and the person they hit. If it isn’t technological distractions, it’s road rage. The fact is, fully 7 percent of trucking accidents are the result of road rage.

Big rig wrecks leave people’s lives in shambles. If you have been in an accident with a heavy commercial vehicle, do not wait to call an experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyer. If you want justice and compensation to provide the necessities of medical care for you, an Atlanta personal injury lawyer is your voice in court.

Stephen M. Ozcomert is an experienced personal injury lawyer in Atlanta Georgia. To learn more, visit http://www.ozcomert.com/ or call (404)-370-1000.

In March of 2010, a 24-year-old father of three became involved in a high speed chase with police, and the pursuit took to a nearby highway. The man was being pursued in relation to a misdemeanor probation warrant, and the two troopers in pursuit called for backup, spikes and a road block along the route the man was fleeing.

While one trooper was chasing the man’s Pontiac Grand Am, the second trooper positioned himself on an overpass under which the fleeing man would pass. The trooper asked his commanding officer if he had permission to open fire on the car. According to the police records of this event, the commanding officer ordered the trooper on the overpass with a rifle to stand down. He felt there was no point in using a weapon to stop the man, as he was heading for spikes and a road block.

The trooper sighted his M-4.233 rifle, and fired at least six rounds into the man’s windshield. The man was hit in the left arm, shoulder, the neck and right shoulder, causing his death. Court documents indicate the trooper on the overpass stated that he did not hear the order to stand down; he has denied that he deliberately took aim at the driver. The police also stated the vehicle’s driver called their dispatcher twice and indicated he planned to shoot any officers following him or any that he spotted on the road.

When the man was shot, the car he was driving flipped numerous times. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Subsequent blood tests revealed he had cocaine and alcohol in his system.

The man’s mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging excessive police force and a violation of her son’s civil rights. Evidently, a patrol vehicle dash cam showed the officer who shot the fleeing suspect telling other officers that he thought he had been proactive. The upshot of the evidence was that a federal judge refused to dismiss the Department of Public Safety from the wrongful death lawsuit.

This will be a difficult case, with a number of areas where the courts will face a decision regarding who they believe is telling the truth. The family may not be bringing this lawsuit because they want to get even with the police. They may simply wish to ensure nothing like this happens to another family. Yes, they are asking the courts to award compensation, but not for the sake of obtaining money, but to help the man’s three young children.

If you have been in a situation such as this, reach out and contact a skilled Atlanta personal injury lawyer. Find out your rights. Discuss how to move forward and what may happen when a wrongful death lawsuit goes to court. You can only move on with your life if you understand the outcome of a wrongful death lawsuit. Your Atlanta personal injury lawyer can discuss all the details with you.

Stephen M. Ozcomert is an experienced wrongful death lawyer in Atlanta Georgia. To learn more, visit http://www.ozcomert.com/ or call (404)-370-1000.

In March of 2010, a 24-year-old father of three became involved in a high speed chase with police, and the pursuit took to a nearby highway. The man was being pursued in relation to a misdemeanor probation warrant, and the two troopers in pursuit called for backup, spikes and a road block along the route the man was fleeing.

While one trooper was chasing the man’s Pontiac Grand Am, the second trooper positioned himself on an overpass under which the fleeing man would pass. The trooper asked his commanding officer if he had permission to open fire on the car. According to the police records of this event, the commanding officer ordered the trooper on the overpass with a rifle to stand down. He felt there was no point in using a weapon to stop the man, as he was heading for spikes and a road block.

The trooper sighted his M-4.233 rifle, and fired at least six rounds into the man’s windshield. The man was hit in the left arm, shoulder, the neck and right shoulder, causing his death. Court documents indicate the trooper on the overpass stated that he did not hear the order to stand down; he has denied that he deliberately took aim at the driver. The police also stated the vehicle’s driver called their dispatcher twice and indicated he planned to shoot any officers following him or any that he spotted on the road.

When the man was shot, the car he was driving flipped numerous times. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Subsequent blood tests revealed he had cocaine and alcohol in his system.

The man’s mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging excessive police force and a violation of her son’s civil rights. Evidently, a patrol vehicle dash cam showed the officer who shot the fleeing suspect telling other officers that he thought he had been proactive. The upshot of the evidence was that a federal judge refused to dismiss the Department of Public Safety from the wrongful death lawsuit.

This will be a difficult case, with a number of areas where the courts will face a decision regarding who they believe is telling the truth. The family may not be bringing this lawsuit because they want to get even with the police. They may simply wish to ensure nothing like this happens to another family. Yes, they are asking the courts to award compensation, but not for the sake of obtaining money, but to help the man’s three young children.

If you have been in a situation such as this, reach out and contact a skilled Atlanta personal injury lawyer. Find out your rights. Discuss how to move forward and what may happen when a wrongful death lawsuit goes to court. You can only move on with your life if you understand the outcome of a wrongful death lawsuit. Your Atlanta personal injury lawyer can discuss all the details with you.

Stephen M. Ozcomert is an experienced wrongful death lawyer in Atlanta Georgia. To learn more, visit http://www.ozcomert.com/ or call (404)-370-1000.

In March of 2010, a 24-year-old father of three became involved in a high speed chase with police, and the pursuit took to a nearby highway. The man was being pursued in relation to a misdemeanor probation warrant, and the two troopers in pursuit called for backup, spikes and a road block along the route the man was fleeing.

While one trooper was chasing the man’s Pontiac Grand Am, the second trooper positioned himself on an overpass under which the fleeing man would pass. The trooper asked his commanding officer if he had permission to open fire on the car. According to the police records of this event, the commanding officer ordered the trooper on the overpass with a rifle to stand down. He felt there was no point in using a weapon to stop the man, as he was heading for spikes and a road block.

The trooper sighted his M-4.233 rifle, and fired at least six rounds into the man’s windshield. The man was hit in the left arm, shoulder, the neck and right shoulder, causing his death. Court documents indicate the trooper on the overpass stated that he did not hear the order to stand down; he has denied that he deliberately took aim at the driver. The police also stated the vehicle’s driver called their dispatcher twice and indicated he planned to shoot any officers following him or any that he spotted on the road.

When the man was shot, the car he was driving flipped numerous times. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Subsequent blood tests revealed he had cocaine and alcohol in his system.

The man’s mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging excessive police force and a violation of her son’s civil rights. Evidently, a patrol vehicle dash cam showed the officer who shot the fleeing suspect telling other officers that he thought he had been proactive. The upshot of the evidence was that a federal judge refused to dismiss the Department of Public Safety from the wrongful death lawsuit.

This will be a difficult case, with a number of areas where the courts will face a decision regarding who they believe is telling the truth. The family may not be bringing this lawsuit because they want to get even with the police. They may simply wish to ensure nothing like this happens to another family. Yes, they are asking the courts to award compensation, but not for the sake of obtaining money, but to help the man’s three young children.

If you have been in a situation such as this, reach out and contact a skilled Atlanta personal injury lawyer. Find out your rights. Discuss how to move forward and what may happen when a wrongful death lawsuit goes to court. You can only move on with your life if you understand the outcome of a wrongful death lawsuit. Your Atlanta personal injury lawyer can discuss all the details with you.

Stephen M. Ozcomert is an experienced wrongful death lawyer in Atlanta Georgia. To learn more, visit http://www.ozcomert.com/ or call (404)-370-1000.

It’s depressing to discover that there are roughly 4,800 bikers killed each year and approximately 88,000 injured while riding that live to tell about it. And yet, bikers still hit the road in the hopes that they will not become one of those numbers. They may not. However, the fact is that the number of bikers maimed and killed is completely skewed when considering other traffic accidents.

The fact is that motorcycle riders are five times more likely to end up dead in a bike wreck that those in a passenger vehicle, which makes sense, since the vehicle has more protection going for it. While wearing a helmet does help save lives, it is still not the be-all end-all, or magic bullet to avoid death or serious injury. Riding in certain locations is also something a biker needs to keep in mind. For instance you might want to take extra care or avoid riding your bike in West Palm Beach, Florida, Las Vegas, Nevada, New Orleans, Louisiana, Baltimore, Maryland, and Atlanta, Georgia.

West Palm Beach is rife with distracted driver’s ogling the scenery. In 2010, 350 bikers died in wrecks. Las Vegas lays claim to the most disoriented drivers, as a result of the stunningly bright lights and constant stream of traffic in most locations. That state clocks in with ten fatalities per 100,000 registered bikes, making it a risky place for bikers and their rides.

In New Orleans, mopeds and motorcycles vie for road space, along with passenger vehicles. The bikers usually lose out thanks to the extremely heavy traffic. Baltimore weighs in with at least 1,800 motorcycle accidents yearly, largely due to the heavy traffic and weird freeway designs. And Atlanta is distinguished by its not so stellar record of having double the national average of biker wrecks, thanks to extremely heavy traffic congestion.

If you are involved in a motorcycle accident in Atlanta, make a call right away to an experience Atlanta personal injury lawyer who knows the ropes. Do not deal with the insurance company, as their only goal is to try and reduce your claim or deny it. Leave the insurance company to the Atlanta personal injury lawyer. They deal with them every day and know how to make them back off your case and listen to reason.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

It’s depressing to discover that there are roughly 4,800 bikers killed each year and approximately 88,000 injured while riding that live to tell about it. And yet, bikers still hit the road in the hopes that they will not become one of those numbers. They may not. However, the fact is that the number of bikers maimed and killed is completely skewed when considering other traffic accidents.

The fact is that motorcycle riders are five times more likely to end up dead in a bike wreck that those in a passenger vehicle, which makes sense, since the vehicle has more protection going for it. While wearing a helmet does help save lives, it is still not the be-all end-all, or magic bullet to avoid death or serious injury. Riding in certain locations is also something a biker needs to keep in mind. For instance you might want to take extra care or avoid riding your bike in West Palm Beach, Florida, Las Vegas, Nevada, New Orleans, Louisiana, Baltimore, Maryland, and Atlanta, Georgia.

West Palm Beach is rife with distracted driver’s ogling the scenery. In 2010, 350 bikers died in wrecks. Las Vegas lays claim to the most disoriented drivers, as a result of the stunningly bright lights and constant stream of traffic in most locations. That state clocks in with ten fatalities per 100,000 registered bikes, making it a risky place for bikers and their rides.

In New Orleans, mopeds and motorcycles vie for road space, along with passenger vehicles. The bikers usually lose out thanks to the extremely heavy traffic. Baltimore weighs in with at least 1,800 motorcycle accidents yearly, largely due to the heavy traffic and weird freeway designs. And Atlanta is distinguished by its not so stellar record of having double the national average of biker wrecks, thanks to extremely heavy traffic congestion.

If you are involved in a motorcycle accident in Atlanta, make a call right away to an experience Atlanta personal injury lawyer who knows the ropes. Do not deal with the insurance company, as their only goal is to try and reduce your claim or deny it. Leave the insurance company to the Atlanta personal injury lawyer. They deal with them every day and know how to make them back off your case and listen to reason.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

The story began in July, when a man was reported standing beside a major roadway, swearing and yelling at passing cars. Someone called the police, and a deputy was sent to the scene. The man was not armed, and reports do not indicate whether or not he was under the influence of something at the time to make him act out.

What is clear is that a struggle ensued and the first responding deputy fired a fatal shot into the man’s abdomen. The female deputy stated she was afraid for her life, despite the fact that the man had apparently broken no laws, was not under arrest, was not armed and did not appear to be a threat to anyone, including himself. She called for backup, and that is when things went horribly wrong.

His family filed a wrongful death lawsuit to recover medical and funeral expenses, punitive and compensatory damages, accorded under the state’s wrongful death act and survival act. The statement of claim on filing alleged excessive force was used without any justification by the two deputies, who ultimately ended up killing the man.

Faced with two large police officers, the man reacted by pushing them off him. At this point, the female officer opened fire. The male officer used a Taser on the man at least eight times as he lay on the ground, face down, handcuffed and bleeding. No medical aid was rendered, and the man bled to death while the two officers stood by.

A grand jury indicated the use of lethal force was within legal boundaries and therefore no criminal wrongdoing had taken place, and they further noted the officers had not used the proper handcuffing technique. The family attorney argued that such excessive violence and force was not reasonable and violated the man’s constitutional rights.

Not all wrongful death lawsuits end like this one did. The reasoning behind the grand jury’s decision remains questionable, as it relates to lethal force being within legal boundaries in the case of an unarmed man. There may be other factors at play in this case that were not articulated in the jury’s decision as well. Nonetheless, in most wrongful death cases, if negligence is proven, then the defendant is held responsible for their behavior.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

We’re so used to seeing road work being done all over America, we tend to just shrug our shoulders and grumble about yet another delay in getting from point A to point B. Construction is considered to be royal nuisance, best avoided wherever possible. Very few people think of construction zones as being dangerous, after all, drivers are to slow down when passing workers.

Many drivers do not slow down. Many more ignore the lower speed limits for a construction zone and push on through to get to the other side as fast as they can. Everything is at the side of the road, and the workers are in ditches, and the equipment is on the shoulder – no worries. Think again. Construction zones are a threat to workers on site and truckers.

Taking a look at statistics produced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration tell a revealing story. Construction zones are hot spots for a high number of fatal and catastrophic injury accidents. Every year people are seriously maimed or killed in road construction areas. Just because the traffic may be slower in the work zone, does not reduce the severity of an accident between a big rig and a passenger vehicle.

Consider the case that involved a line of cars, all stopped at the lip of a work zone, waiting for the flagger to wave them through when a tractor had cleared the road. Suddenly, a big rig trucker, who had not been paying attention to the warning signs, slammed into the last car in the line of seven, shoving it forward, like an accordion. Only one person survived that wreck.

Or the case where a fully loaded gravel hauler was leaving a roadside work site, to dump his load in the nearby gravel pit. He thought the road was clear and did not stop to look before entering the highway. He broadsided a small vehicle, sending it into oncoming traffic, where it collided head-on with another car. No one survived that accident, but the trucker. He had not paid attention to the safety rules in place for those working the construction site – stop, look, listen – and but for his negligence, three people would still be alive today.

If you have been involved in an accident with a large truck, do not wait to call an experienced Atlanta injury lawyer. Their job is to pursue reimbursement for you for future and current medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages, and so forth. If the accident resulted in a death, a wrongful death suit may be filed to recover compensation.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

The day started out in a normal way for the couple in this story: They ate breakfast, talked about their plans for the day, and the man then went outside to spend some time in his front yard. He enjoyed puttering about. His wife later found her 71-year-old husband dead on the front lawn, perhaps not an unusual discovery, given the gentleman’s age. However, it was clear that he had been run over by a vehicle of some sort.

When the shock of the discovery wore off, the wife contacted an injury lawyer about filing a wrongful death lawsuit. As it turned out, the suit was filed against a city worker who had been driving a sewer truck at the time the elderly man was killed. The 46-year-old driver was charged with felony hit-and-run, resulting in death, and misdemeanor death-by-a-vehicle once the police department had completed an accident scene reconstruction.

The evidence in the police report indicated the truck driver had hit the elderly gentleman with the right front portion of the sewer truck, and although the initial charges were significant, the man had the charges reduced subsequent to a plea bargain. Ultimately he was charged with unsafe movement and failure to yield to a pedestrian – a fact that did not go over too well with the dead man’s wife, as the man only had to pay a $50 fine and less than $200 in court costs.

This was a difficult situation for the plaintiff, as the trucker did not even stop at the scene of the accident. He kept driving, while the man lay on the lawn, dying. The wrongful death lawsuit stated that the sewer truck driver knew, or should have known the accident had happened, as he failed to pay attention to what he was doing while driving. Since the driver was a city employee, the city was also named as a defendant in the case.

Was the driver negligent? Was the city negligent in entrusting the driver with their vehicle? These are all questions that the court will entertain when the case moves forward. The plaintiff is asking the court for expenses for her husband’s funeral and for punitive damages from the driver and the city. The main question will be whether or not the city was negligent in hiring the trucker and whether the trucker was incompetent or inexperienced to safely operate the sewer truck. The court will also need to determine if the truck driver’s actions were so egregious as to merit punitive damages.

Cases like this are complex and best handled by an experienced Atlanta injury lawyer. Typically, in situations such as this, there is more than one party named to the suit, depending on the circumstances of the case, and what insurance companies may be involved. Of concern will also be the details surrounding how the man was hit while on his front lawn. It raises a number of questions the court will want answers to before reaching a decision.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

Why sports bikes? It has to do with their size and construction, meaning they are typically lighter and smaller than the traditional “ride,” thus making them an easier target. In terms of handling, sports bikes are also considered to be more skittish, making them harder to handle in a dangerous situation.

There are a large number of cons to riding a motorcycle of any kind, not the least being death, but this does not seem to stop bikers from taking to the roads. Many have a sense that nothing could happen to them, that they are good bikers, safe drivers and know the ropes. They may well be all those things, but that does not mean the other guy on the road is safe. These days, with more and more people texting while driving, and even surfing the web while behind the wheel, safety is an issue for everyone on the road.

Consider the case of a university student on his way home from a football practice, doing the posted speed limit and just about to turn left into his driveway. From behind him, an impatient, speeding drunken driver pulled out to pass the young man, T-boning him. The force of the impact ejected the biker head-on into a light pole. He died instantly. The drunk was not just driving while under the influence, either. He was surfing the ‘net with his mobile device, looking for a late night spot for pizza.

The NHTSA has found that just about 55 percent of all fatal motorcycle accidents did involve several other vehicles, including the bike. Of the 55 percent, close to 90 percent were collisions between a vehicle and a biker, with over 85 percent being bikers being hit by a passenger vehicle. Those are startling numbers, and bring home the reality of the risks of biking.

More often than not, any biker involved in an accident, if they survive, has significant, if not catastrophic injuries that change their life forever. Injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident tend to be ones that take a long time to recover from, if ever. For instance, ruptured lungs, severed spinal cords, traumatic brain injury, road rash to the bare bone, crushed pelvis, amputation of various limbs and crushed bones. Many bikers never fully recover physically. Many more have cognitive difficulties for the rest of their lives.

For these reasons, and others, such as the ability to pay their medical bills, anyone involved in a motorcycle accident that was the fault of the other person, needs to speak to a qualified and competent Atlanta injury lawyer. Negligence in causing an accident by, for example, texting while driving, is often cause for a settlement to assist the plaintiff with the medical expenses.

These cases are rarely open and shut, and need the experience of an injury lawyer to deal with the insurance companies, who swarm the plaintiff, trying to get them to settle quickly, and for less than they may be entitled to should they go to court. It’s your life and your future. Do not hand it over to an insurance company trying to push you into a settlement too soon.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

The day started out just like any other day, but with a hint of excitement in the air, because it was game day. The Cleveland Indians were ready to play ball, and the crowd was loving every moment in anticipation of a great game. And then, the unthinkable happened.  A man was hit by a Kids Fun Day inflatable slide, just outside the ballpark. He was taken to hospital with three broken bones in his back, and expected to recover. Nine days later, he was the victim of a deadly pulmonary embolism as a result of the fractures.

The man’s wife chose to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the Cleveland Indians, the ballpark and the company that erected the slide, citing negligence in setting up the slide. National Pastime Sports representatives did not make an appearance in court, which resulted in a default judgment against them for $3.5 million. The Cleveland Indians denied they were liable for the accident that subsequently killed the sports fan outside their park, indicating the slide was the sole responsibility of National Pastime Sports. Ultimately, they did offer to settle with the widow, as it was the right thing to do, and saved the expense of a two week trial.

Evidently, National Pastime Sports did not set the slide up properly, and did not secure it in the proper manner, which caused it to collapse due to the weight of nine kids in a corner of the apparatus. The government department that inspected the slide after the accident also ended up citing the company for operation of the slide in a negligent and unsafe manner.

Would this case have been successful in court? Most definitely. The evidence is persuasive, despite the finger-pointing by those named in the suit as defendants. The bottom line is a man who just wanted to watch the ball game ended up being seriously injured and dying; a major shock to his family. If the slide had been setup correctly and with safety in mind, a family would not be missing its main breadwinner.

Personal injury wrongful death lawsuits can be complex and take a fair length of time to get to court. There are many instances where defendants will settle, rather than go to court and risk a higher jury award. While this is good for the plaintiff, it is not something they can do with the aid of a skilled Atlanta personal injury lawyer. Insurance companies want to reduce their liability, not offer a plaintiff more money. An Atlanta injury lawyer knows how to deal with situations like that on behalf of a client.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

No one knew for sure what happened just prior to this accident. The facts are spare: The driver of a large flatbed rig lost control of his vehicle and was ejected from the cab. He died at the scene. What happened after his ejection was horrific.

The driverless truck continued to barrel down the highway before engulfing a white Acura. The smaller car did not stand a chance, as the behemoth truck ended up on top of the car, completely crushing it. The Acura’s driver was dead at the scene; his female passenger made it alive to a local hospital, with undetermined, but serious injuries.

On the face of things, this accident could have happened while the trucker was texting while driving, reaching down to pickup something or was distracted by a laptop or other mobile device. Whether this is the case or not will ultimately be decided as a result of the police investigation into the wreck.

If the accident was not caused by something the trucker was doing, such as texting while driving, but instead was the result of a blown tire, shifted load or mechanical problems, this may mean there was a different kind of negligence present. For instance, if the tire was defective, and its maker knew it had flaws, there may be a defective product or wrongful death lawsuit filed.

If there was a mechanical issue or the load shifted, this may be related to how closely the load was inspected before hitting the road. Improper maintenance would be negligence on the part of the individual doing the inspection, or on the part of the trucker who did not check thoroughly. It may also involve the trucker’s employer for allowing him to haul without the proper safety checks.

Two people died in this bizarre crash. Was it an accident that should not have happened? Most accidents should never happen, but for the negligence, inattention, distraction or inexperience of the drivers involved. It is rare that an accident just happens without an underlying cause.

Should the female passenger in the white Acura survive her injuries, she would have cause to file a personal injury lawsuit against the trucker and his employer. Her suit would be asking the court for compensation to pay for her lost wages, medical expenses, and perhaps money for 24/7 care, if her physical condition after the wreck left her with little expectation of ever having a normal life again.

If you have been in an accident with a big rig, do not try to deal with insurance companies on your own. Make a call to an experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyer. Get the facts straight. Know your rights. Your future depends on it.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

A 20-year-old man was recently charged by police with homicide by vehicle (his motorcycle) by driving while inebriated, and operating a vehicle without the consent of the owner. These are, respectively, a Class B felony and an aggravated misdemeanor in the state of Iowa. Other states would lay their own applicable charges.

According to the police report, biker number one was heading southbound about 10:00 p.m. He came up behind another biker, a 19-year-old young man, and slammed into him. The force of the impact ejected both from their rides. The 19-year-old was killed. The 20-year-old survived, was taken to hospital for treatment and released.

The 20-year-old waived a preliminary hearing and will wait until another court appearance is booked for him. In the meantime, police are attempting to determine if the man was also under the influence of drugs, in addition to alcohol. They also want to determine, through an accident reconstruction, if the man was speeding at the time he rammed into the first biker.

The family of the 19-year-old biker will likely seek the legal counsel of an experienced personal injury lawyer with a demonstrated track record in handling wrongful death lawsuits. There is clear negligence here in that the second biker was allegedly driving while drunk. Additionally, the man was driving the motorcycle without the owner’s permission. There aren’t a whole lot of excuses that would cut it in a case like this one, either with the police or the courts.

Have you been in a motorcycle wreck and have been injured? If you want fair and equitable compensation, and justice to be done, make contact with an Atlanta personal injury attorney. Find one that specializes in motorcycle accidents.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

In this tense story of love possibly gone wrong, the police and other family members are suggesting that the woman at the center of their investigation shoved her husband out of a window, where he fell 25 stories to his death. While theories still swirl, the woman has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the apartment complex where they were living at the time of the alleged crime.

The woman was seven months pregnant at the time of the incident, and insists her husband tripped over something, stumbled wildly and unable to recover from his forward momentum, fell through the living room window. Facts filed in the wrongful death lawsuit point to a window that consisted of single pane glass, which is a flagrant violation of building codes and existing safety standards. Because it was only a single pane, it could be shattered with a minimum of pressure. If someone fell into it head first, with even a modicum of force, it would easily crack and give way.

The plaintiff’s attorney suggests that the thin-paned, unsafe glass had no business being in the frame of a 25^th floor living room. If the proper glass had been installed, the woman would not have witnessed her husband fall to his death, and become a widow at such an early age.

In this wrongful death lawsuit, there are several defendants named, including the company that owns and operates the building where the death happened, the owner’s limited partnership company and the real estate company that managed the building. It is alleged that they should have known the window was not safe and that they should have had the proper safety glass installed.

Does the lady stand a chance of winning her lawsuit? It is possible that she could, provided there is sufficient evidence that clearly indicates her husband tripped and was not bodily pushed out the window. There were only two people present at the time he went through the window, and one of them cannot speak for himself, leaving only what other evidence may help make a case for a wrongful death.

Most cases that go to trial face a jury, and it will be the jury’s job to determine fact from fiction. If the plaintiff is able to prove, or create the impression that the husband may have tripped, they may find in her favor. Cases with twists and turns like this one are hard to call.

If you have lost someone as the result of a wrongful death situation, do not hesitate to contact an Atlanta personal injury lawyer for assistance. You need to know your rights and what to expect should you go to court. Your Atlanta personal injury lawyer will explain the process, allowing you to make an informed decision to move forward.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

It’s hard to imagine that someone could be just two blocks from home, and die in a hit-and-run accident. A 26-year-old man, whose day had started out like any other, was on his way home, and had only had two blocks to go, when he was hit in a crosswalk, clipped by a large, white box truck. He saw it, but is appears questionable if the trucker saw him.

The young man was left bleeding in the street while neighbors called 911 for help. EMS crews arrived quickly, and were able to transport him to hospital, where he died as a result of his injuries. Friends and those who saw the accident reported that they could not understand how the trucker could just hit the young man and leave the scene, when it was clear the victim was seriously injured. Many were heard to say that they thought the trucker belonged in jail for his actions.

Unfortunately, no one was able to get the truck license plate number: the accident happened so quickly, and no one was close enough to see it. The kid that grew up in the neighborhood was suddenly gone, and no one could help with information to track down the truck driver who hit him. The police spent hours trying to find the truck and the driver.

Wrongful death lawsuit? Yes, highly likely. It is incumbent on drivers to pay attention to what is going on around them, and that includes watching for people in a crosswalk. Was the driver texting? Was he on his cell phone? Was he under the influence? Until he is found, that is all speculation, but it is assumed that he was not paying attention on the night when he clipped the young man crossing the road. He was likely negligent by not paying attention to what he was doing. His actions ultimately killed someone who was in the right place, at the wrong time.

If you think you may have a wrongful death lawsuit, contact a skilled Atlanta personal injury lawyer. You need to know your rights, what to expect if you file a lawsuit and what types of damages may be sought through the courts.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

Not all wrongful death cases are the result of negligence on the part of the named defendant. This case may well be one of those. Evidently, the man who died was out night-clubbing with his friends at a well-known downtown entertainment venue. It was popular with folks, as it was on a boat; a yacht, in fact. The club was named after the owner in an artful play on words involving his last name, which was Knight.

Apparently, the man had been at the club for some time, socializing with friends, when he decided it was time to leave. As he was attempting to disembark to the dock, he plunged into the water instead. Despite that fact that his friends jumped in after him, and pulled him out, he was unconscious, and subsequently died.

The police files showed that the man had a blood alcohol content of .239 and he had cocaine on board in his system as well. Both substances would have acted to impair his ability to judge distances. The man’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the club’s owner, stating that the connecting gangplank from the boat to the dock was intrinsically dangerous, because it did not have railings on both sides.

Cases like this one pose a problem for a jury, in that the man was impaired by drugs and alcohol, and misjudged his footing while attempting to leave the club. While it may be arguable that the gangplank should have had railing on both sides of the gang plank, it is difficult to completely fault the night club owner because the plaintiff was also negligent in drinking too much and being additionally altered on other substances. There may well be an argument made to apportion liability for this death.

If you or a loved one has been in a similar situation, reach out to seek experienced legal counsel from an Atlanta personal injury lawyer.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

It was a normal day of getting up and going to work for the oil company, and a 21-year-old worker was looking forward to day’s end when he could pursue what he loved best, working with horses. However, something went wrong that day, and he did not make it home. His mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit on his behalf.

Apparently a co-worker found the man on a catwalk on an oil storage tank, unresponsive. The tank cover was open. Certain wells in the oil field where the man worked were known for producing high levels of hydrogen sulfide and other noxious, toxic gases. The wrongful death lawsuit alleges that the company the man worked for was negligent about its inspections and maintenance of their oil wells, equipment and the tank where the young man was found dead.

The company indicated their analysis of the location did not suggest any equipment malfunctions or pinpoint any other abnormalities that may have resulted in the man’s death. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspector also found no violations of federal safety standards. This is not to say that the company may not have been negligent in properly outfitting their personnel with the right kind of safety equipment for working around toxic and deadly gases and/or that safety equipment malfunctioned, causing the man’s unexpected and sudden death.

The state medical examiner determined that the man died as a result of hydrocarbon poisoning, which affects the heart. If worker’s compensation is involved in a death, each state has different rules and regulations. If you do not know what happens in the state where you live, find out by asking an Atlanta personal injury lawyer.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

It’s a fact of life that people get into car, truck and motorcycle accidents all over the state of Georgia. The lucky victims are close to a Level 1 Trauma Center, and if they make it there in enough time, one of those centers will save their life. Georgia is fortunate enough to boast five of these centers, put to good use by accident victims with severe trauma injuries.

Level 1 trauma care handles all kinds of severe injury accident trauma, whether it is the result of an accident or another mishap such as head trauma from a fall, electrocution and so forth. Hospitals covet this title, as it is the highest trauma center rating they may attain. Basically, the facility needs to prove it staffs the ER and trauma operating room 24/7/365 with a full team of medical personnel who have a wide variety of specialties.

Additionally, they must have only the best in equipment and resources to take care of catastrophic injuries and must make caring for those victims their number one priority throughout the year. Those badly injured in a car wreck stand an even higher chance of survival by making it to a Level 1 Trauma Center, a 25 percent greater chance of living.

While many people may complain about the way their tax dollars are spent, if they ever need the care offered by these specialized facilities, they will see where their money is going. Their lives may depend on the people and resources they have helped to fund. There are two Level 1 Trauma Centers in Atlanta, one in Macon, one in Augusta and one in Savannah.

If you have been badly injured in an accident and land in one of these trauma centers, your life is in good hands. Your journey back to wellness does not stop there. Make a phone call to an experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyer and discuss your case. You need to know what rights you have, how to pursue them and what to expect if your case should go to settlement or court. Most accidents involve negligence, and if you are injured because of someone else’s negligence, you are often entitled to damages.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

This accident just about takes the cake in terms of the biker’s irresponsibility. A biker, whipping about town on his ride, a blue Suzuki, was doing so while carrying a suspended license and a 13-year-old passenger. He lost control and ran into a fence and a bunch of garbage cans, just a short distance from the young boy’s house. Rather than go for medical help or call police, the biker told the boy to walk home.

After sending the boy on his way, when he was obviously injured and in pain, the man then attempted to remove the bike from the scene of the accident by towing it away with an ATV and hiding it in his garage. His attempts to hide the bike didn’t matter, as someone called the police. The police located the boy and found out he had suffered a lacerated spleen. The biker was a habitual offender known for driving under the influence and was on parole. The 13-year-old ended up in a trauma center, admitted for observation and possible surgery.

The biker was taken to police headquarters and read his rights, and then slapped with at least 13 criminal charges that ranged from endangering the welfare of a child to driving with a suspended license. He ended up in jail. Will the mother of the teen file a personal injury lawsuit? She may well do that, given the nature of what happened and the negligent behavior the man demonstrated after the accident. Her son could have died had he not been taken to the hospital to attend to his injuries.

Motorcycle accidents happen in many ways, and their outcome is just as different as the cause. Where there is negligence involved, and it clearly was in this case, the person who caused the accident and thus directed harm to the victim is held responsible for the victim’s injuries, medical expenses and so on. If you have been in a similar situation and don’t know what to do, call a knowledgeable Atlanta personal injury lawyer.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

Despite the fact that the trucking industry is striving to make the roads a safer place for other motorists, Georgia has always managed to maintain the dubious distinction of ranking among the top five states across the U.S. for trucking fatalities. The unfortunate part is that, even though there are rules and regulations, they do not seem to be enough. The rules and regulations must be followed. Often they are honored more in the breach than in the execution, and the ones who pay for that are the innocent victims who end up severely injured or dead.

Rather than decreasing in Georgia, fatalities have consistently increased every year since 2002, according to the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). With this disturbing trend of fatal big rig accidents on the rise, it is no surprise that they affect a large number of lives, and not just in Georgia but in every state.

If you have been involved in this kind of accident, don’t wait too long before you contact a competent Atlanta personal injury lawyer. If you want justice and funds to pay your medical bills, this is the only way you will accomplish that, because the insurance company will not go out of its way to help you. The trucking company has no vested interest in owning up to liability. The trucking firm’s insurance company has no vested interest in paying out a high claim amount either. Therefore, they work hard to diminish or deny claims.

Not all accidents involving an 18-wheeler end in a fatality. In fact, there are approximately another 5,200 accidents every year that are non-fatal but instead result in serious life-altering injuries. These devastating accidents are, by and large, preventable, which makes them seem even more senseless. Driver error, improperly maintained vehicles, reckless driving, texting while driving, using an e-device while driving, falling asleep at the wheel… these are all causes of preventable accidents.

Interestingly enough, most of the big rig accidents happen in rural parts of the state, as opposed to urban areas. However, no matter where the behemoths go, accidents do follow. The only real protection is to be alert at all times and drive defensively. It doesn’t hurt to give those big trucks a wide berth on the highway. It could mean the difference between life and death.

If you have been involved in an 18-wheeler accident, do not wait until you are approached by the trucking firm’s insurance company and/or lawyers. Call an experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyer as soon as you can, or have a family member do it for you. You can’t afford to delay in getting legal representation, not if you want justice and the ability to claim compensation for your injuries.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

Wrongful death cases are about loss, grief, fear and anxiety for the future, but they are also about social justice. In many cases, the family of the deceased is hoping to change something for the better of others. They do not want what happened to their loved one, to happen to anyone else. It is a strong motivation for change when someone who caused the death of another is sued for their negligence.

In this case, a 32-year-old man was killed when a 17-year-old drunk driver slammed into his car in the middle of an intersection. It turned out the 17-year-old had obtained his liquor from a local food mart. The teen’s blood alcohol content was in the stratosphere, at .136. The man’s family sued for wrongful death, a suit that was dealt with after the driver had served his five year prison sentence for pleading guilty to negligent homicide.

In the civil wrongful death lawsuit, the family was awarded $716 million. While it was a victory of sorts for the family, they were only interested in stopping local food marts from selling alcohol to children. The family wanted the suit to send the message that parents were not going to put up with that kind of irresponsible conduct from any store selling booze. The very thought that storeowners were selling alcohol to underage teens, struck a cold note of fear in parents in the area.

At trial, the store denied selling alcohol, but the plaintiff’s attorney was able to prove otherwise. It turned out the store owner had a sneaky underground system for selling liquor to minors. He would tell them they had to pay more, in cash and once they produced the money, he would take them into the back of the store, hand them the booze and a plain bag or box and let them out the back door. The victory is bittersweet for the family, knowing their son, if he were still alive today, would be playing hockey and other sports.

Wrongful death lawsuits are often a way to find closure for a grieving family, but they are not something that can be undertaken alone. You would need the assistance of a qualified Atlanta personal injury lawyer to get you through the mazes of the court system, and obtain a just and equitable settlement or verdict. Call an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with any questions you may have about your case. It’s his job to help you assess the situation and let know you what your options are to move forward.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

New sleep apnea regulations are slated to be put in place, sometime this year, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Sleep apnea causes truckers to have accidents, and the long and short of it is this condition may be deadly, as the outcome of a truck hitting a smaller vehicle is a foregone, horrific conclusion.

Sleep apnea, also referred to as obstructive sleep apnea happens when a person’s breathing temporarily stops. This affects the exchange of oxygen in the lungs, due to the fact that throat muscles have relaxed so much, they block your airway while sleeping. The logical conclusion of a night of sleeping, starting awake, sleeping and starting awake is that the next morning the individual is extremely tired. For truckers suffering from sleep apnea, the extreme fatigue heightens their risk of falling asleep at the wheel, losing control of their rig and getting involved in an accident.

According to statistics released by the FMCSA, there is an average of approximately 750 deaths every year, and close to 20,000 injuries sustained in wrecks caused by a trucker drifting off behind the wheel. In order to reduce the number of preventable collisions, the FMCSA is working to understand how sleep apnea works, and what factors contribute to it.

For instance, studies to date have indicated that truckers with small airways, a body mass index of 35 or higher, a recessed or smaller jaw, with necks more than 17 inches for men and 15.5 inches for women, treated or untreated hypertension and Type 2 diabetes and untreated hypothyroidism may be at risk for sleep apnea.

Once the federal government understands more about this issue, their plan is to write rules relating to truckers and how they are expected to treat it. The most common treatment for this condition is using a Constant Positive Airway Pressure that directs an uninterrupted flow of oxygen to the lungs while the person is sleeping.

The interesting thing about this move towards understanding and dealing with sleep apnea in truckers is the industry’s disenchantment with the proposed rules and regulations. One would think they would welcome a way to reduce the number of accidents, injuries and deaths.

Instead, they consider them to be too expensive and don’t see how they would cut down the number of accidents. If they think medications, or other methods of dealing with sleep apnea, are ‘more’ expensive than a wrongful death lawsuit or a personal injury lawsuit with catastrophic, life-altering injuries, they are on the wrong planet.

Getting into an accident with a big rig is deadly – period. If this has happened to you, do not wait to talk to an experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyer. Time is of the essence in accidents of this nature, and you want to make sure the scene is preserved and documented properly, before evidence may mysteriously vanish.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

This wasn’t just any old car accident. This was a six vehicle collection of twisted metal and parts, strewn around the intersection where the accident took place. It was ten to eleven in the morning, and it had started out as pretty much a regular day for those involved in this accident, even the trucker who caused the mess.

Evidently, according to eyewitnesses and the initial police report, the trucker passed out behind the wheel of his vehicle while stopped at the intersection. This caused his foot to tamp down on the accelerator, driving into the intersection and hitting five cars, toppling over a tree and shoving a car up against a building. Even though the accident happened at a fairly low rate of speed, there were still injuries requiring trips to the local hospital for treatment.

One can only shudder to think what would have happened had the trucker been speeding, and passed out while entering the busy intersection. The carnage would have been even worse, which leads us to mention that the trucker’s employer is liable for the accident, as well as the trucker. The employer had to have known about the driver’s medical condition, and should have made a decision to not allow him to drive. Since the trucker was driving, and likely with the knowledge of his boss, he too must take responsibility for his negligence in driving with a dangerous medical condition.

It is not enough to figure that nothing would happen because the trucker may have been on medications, or was just recently diagnosed with his condition or thought that he would be okay. It is not enough for the employer to go on the word of a driver with a medical condition that causes him to pass out, that he is fine to drive. It is the responsibility of the trucker, and the employer to be safe, drive safe, and not put a ticking time bomb on the road.

The consequences of this accident could have been much worse, which is cold consolation, given the fact that six vehicles were damaged and several people sustained injuries. Victims involved in accidents like this need to reach out to an Atlanta personal injury lawyer and find out what their rights are, what they need to do about the insurance company hounding them, how to file a lawsuit and what they may expect if they go to settlement or court.

Accidents are not something the average citizen should try handling on their own. There are too many things that may be overlooked in the rush to get compensation. For true justice, done right, stick with an experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyer.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

It was early in the morning, a perfect night to take the bike out and go for a spin. The 44-year-old man and his 45-year-old girlfriend thought it would be fun to take a late night ride. The motorcycle was thrumming along without a hitch, heading east on an avenue. Just to the biker’s right, a PT Cruiser was coming out of the parking lot of a local bank.

The impact was bone crushing, as the biker and his passenger slammed into the side of the car. Both were thrown from the motorcycle and died at the scene. Even though they were wearing helmets, the way they impacted and were tossed into the air and landed, meant instantaneous death. The car’s driver, in shock, was not hurt, but was examined at the scene and released.

According to the initial reports, the police do not suspect drugs or alcohol played a factor in this wreck. They are also ruling out speed. Nonetheless, both victims will be autopsied and toxicology reports conducted on both. Sadly, accidents like this one are all too common, particularly with the advent of better weather. The police in this one area alone had attended over six bike wrecks since the beginning of April.

The unfortunate thing about motorcycles is that other drivers on the road tend not to see them. This raises the stakes for an accident sky high. Often drivers will turn right in front of a biker, pull out in front of them or cut them off, somehow not seeing them, and their motorcycle, until it is too late for the biker to either survive a crash, or become a statistic.

Why do motorcyclist enthusiasts keep riding, even knowing the dangers that lurk out there on the road? It is because they love being out on the road, enjoying the scenery up close and personal. They also tend to think that they are vigilant and careful drivers. Many bikers are extremely careful riders. The problem isn’t the biker. It is the car driver who does not pay attention to the road space around them. More often than not, the cause of a motorcycle and vehicle wreck is the driver’s fault, and the first thing the drivers say is, “I didn’t see the bike.”

While that may be hard to believe, it is the underlying factor in a great many bike crashes. If you have been in a wreck with your bike, do not wait to talk to an experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyer, and above all else, do not sign any documentation or papers an insurance company tries to get you to sign. Call your Atlanta personal injury lawyer first – period.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

This case was shocking, as it was pivotal to pending regulations to change the hours of service a trucker may put in on the road. A woman who was driving home from a family reunion was killed instantly when she and her son were hit by a triple-trailer truck. The driver drifted off to sleep behind the wheel. The consequences? The needless death of the woman and her 12-year-old son was left permanently disabled.

The trucker was sentenced to five years in prison, a fact that brings no joy to those who were left behind after her sudden, untimely death. He pled guilty to two counts of aggravated vehicle assault and one count of aggravated vehicular homicide. The story spread around the country, acting as a wakeup call for those campaigning to lower service hours on the road in the trucking industry. The group wanted 10 hours. The hours remained the same, set at 11, but they did not go up as most trucking outfits would have preferred.

Trucking for 11 hours a day is causing horrific accidents in every state, and yet, the driving force behind the industry is not to make the truckers or those on the roads with them safer, but to make more money by campaigning for even more hours. Along with going to sleep at the wheel, texting, using a cell phone or other mobile device while driving, watching a laptop movie or picking up something from the floor of the cab, all these reasons and more, are the cause of 18-wheeler accidents that maim and kill.

Big rig accidents are highly complex due to the nature of the industry and who is insured. The industry will fight tooth and nail to keep any settlements low, as that is what is best for the bottom line. Do not let an insurance company guide you in making any decisions if you have been seriously hurt in an accident. Consult with an Atlanta personal injury lawyer and get the real facts about what happens in a case like this. You will come to understand that part of the case strategy is focusing on the number of hours a trucker is behind the wheel.

It is not unheard of for truckers and their companies to falsify their service records. They do that by keeping two sets of books. More time on the road is what drives the trucking companies, as the loads are money when they are delivered on time and in good shape. If that means driving more hours in a day, then the almighty dollar dictates a trucker to keep on trucking.

This is negligence. It’s just that simple, and this is a discussion you will have with your Atlanta personal injury lawyer about what way the case will roll, why, and what arguments will be used to make a point for more compensation for injuries. While lawyers cannot restore your complete health, they can make sure you have sufficient compensation to care for yourself for the rest of your life.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

This reported case did go to settlement largely because if it had gone to court, the family of the deceased would likely have been awarded more. As it was, the city approved a half million dollar settlement for the family of the dead teens and an unborn baby.

Although the city did step up and make a settlement offer, they also added that just because they were considering a settlement did not mean they were admitting guilt on their part or on the part of the officer involved. It’s hard to assume that if they are willing to pay out a settlement that they do not assume some degree of guilt.

Most cases where settlements are offered are resolved because one party knows the other one has enough to mount a substantial case against them. Rather than face a possibly significant jury verdict, offering a settlement gives the defendant some control over their financial liability. In some instances, and this may happen in states with damage caps, a family may sue for a maximum of $250,000 per person.

In this case where the accident killed two teens and an unborn child (considered in that jurisdiction to be a person), the jury total could be $750,000. However, it is capped at $500,000 for one incident. In other words, where this accident happened, whether the case did make it to court or not, the half million dollars would be the ceiling for wrongful death damages. This is why it is so important to consult with an experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyer to find out what you need to do to file a wrongful death lawsuit in Georgia. Every state has different rules when it comes to wrongful death claims.

Was this accident caused by the police officer’s negligence? On the face of the evidence, the answer is yes. Accident reconstruction technicians proved that he was travelling 80 mph in a 45 mph zone, and he was not responding to a call. He was suspended without pay indefinitely, just shortly after the police department learned he had not told his supervisor he was on medication that could impair his ability to work.

The rest of the facts of the case will not see the light of day, thanks to the settlement. However, it is worth considering those details when it comes right down to the wire. There was obviously negligence here based on the speed the officer was doing when he hit the teen’s car. Factor in the medical issue, and you have an accident looking for a place to happen. It did happen and three people died. It could be said the settlement is not enough, considering the circumstances.

These factors and many others play an integral part in any wrongful death case handled by an Atlanta personal injury lawyer. If you have been in a similar situation, or are dealing with a wrongful death claim, find out what your rights are, when to file, whether or not there are damage caps in your state and what to expect when the case is resolved.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

Often in cases like this one, there are two elements you need to keep in mind: the criminal side and the civil side. In this reported case, there was the criminal element of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter, driving without a license and felony hit-and-run causing a death.

The 22-year-old man, driving through a crosswalk, hit and killed a four-year-old pedestrian. Rather than stopping and remaining at the scene of the accident for the police to arrive, the driver left the area. The man probably knew he was going to be in deep trouble, compounded by the fact he was driving without a license and left the scene of the accident.

While the criminal side of this case will come first, the family can most definitely file a wrongful death lawsuit. Was there negligence involved? Yes. Here is a man driving without a license that gets involved in a hit-and-run accident, kills a small child and flees the scene. Whether or not the individual was also under the influence, distracted, speeding or whatever other reason he may have offered for why he hit the child is not relevant. The facts speak for themselves, or in the words of the law, “Res ipsa loquitur.”

While criminal accountability is vitally important, the other element, the civil wrongful death lawsuit, is equally as important. It is a way for the family to seek some form of compensation for that gut-wrenching loss of a family member; a toddler who had his whole life before him, but for the negligence of the 22-year-old driver who hit and killed him. Criminal courts decide if a person intentionally committed a crime. Civil courts figure out if wrongful conduct should be accountable, financially speaking.

The fact is that in civil wrongful death cases, the whole focus of the case is obtaining compensation for those wrongfully harmed. If you have been in a similar situation, seek expert legal counsel to handle your case. Only an experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyer has the requisite skill to ensure you get the compensation you deserve to move on with your life. While cases like this are never easy, a seasoned Atlanta personal injury lawyer has the strength and compassion to help you make it through your ordeal.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

No one wants to hear that there are more accidents every year on the highways involving semis. Unfortunately, though, it is a hard, cold fact. In 2010 alone, close to 500,000 commercial trucks were in wrecks in the U.S. That overall figure includes at least 100,000 injuries and more than 5,000 deaths. In 2009, there were only 3,200 fatalities, says the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

If these figures were not dismal enough on their own, the Institute predicts an increase in commercial trucks on the roadways by 20 percent by 2012. You do not have to think too hard about what that means in terms of accident statistics. What causes trucking accidents?

This is a question that many people ask when they see this kind of a wreck; the same question hundreds of police officers, lawyers and victims ask in the ugly aftermath of this kind of accident. Interestingly, and not an astounding surprise, the biggest issue in big rig accidents can be traced directly to the behavior of the trucker. If you are interested in finding out more information on this issue, do an online search for the results of the Large Truck Causation Crash Study.

This particular study closely examined 120,000 18-wheeler accidents between 2001 and 2003, ultimately selecting 963 that involved a large truck and one passenger vehicle. The 963 crashes included 243 deaths and 1,654 injuries. As a part of this study, the timing and what was happening at the moment the inevitable crash took place was put under a microscope. The conclusion? That there were at least three catalysts for the wrecks:
– The big rig drifted out of the travel lane and either went into another lane, or off the road entirely
– The trucker lost control of the rig
– The truck rear-ended another vehicle in the truck’s path

The study went several steps beyond these initial classifications and identified the critical event, or cause, of an accident: the trucker, the vehicle and the environment. One could likely surmise that an accident could also be caused by all three of the critical events at the same time.

What do all these events have in common? The driver. Thus the study broke out the driver category into other classifications that included:
– The driver was impaired in some way, physically or mentally, i.e. alcohol or sleep deprivation
– The driver was inattentive or distracted
– The driver made a poor decision
– The driver did something like overcompensating after a turn

The statistics are very clear, and the researchers concluded that truckers were at fault at least 55 percent of the time, which is a frightening conclusion. That means your life is in the hands of the person behind the wheel of an 80,000 pound behemoth, and you had better hope they make the right decisions to keep that rig on the road.

18-wheeler wrecks can be catastrophic. There is no other word to describe them. Their impact on people’s lives is never-ending, often fatal, and if a victim survives, their life is often altered in unimaginable and devastating ways. This is the main reason you need qualified legal counsel to handle your personal injury case. Without the assistance of a skilled Atlanta personal injury lawyer, you may not get the compensation you need to live out the rest of your life.

Do you want to take the chance of trying to deal with an insurance company on your own when an Atlanta personal injury lawyer knows how to handle them and get you the compensation you need to live? If you have been in a big-rig truck accident, do not second guess your future. Call an Atlanta personal injury lawyer right away.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

This reported case may sound like just another drunk driving conviction, but this one has a twist to it. This story started when a young 24-year-old man doing duty as a designated driver was taking his friends home from an evening out on the town drinking. After dropping the last one off, he headed home, but never made it.

In the middle of an intersection, another car driven by a 26-year-old woman ran a red light and slammed into the side of the man’s car. His family was in deep shock when they heard the news. That shock also turned to anger when they found out that her blood alcohol level was 0.229, and the legal limit was 0.08. The family sought legal counsel and filed a wrongful death lawsuit.

Before the civil action was launched in court, the woman was criminally charged and convicted o driving under the influence, first-degree vehicular homicide and reckless driving. The court ordered her to begin serving a five-year prison term, with another five-year term spent on probation. The unusual twist to this case is that the mother of the deceased requested the court to order the woman to always carry a picture of her dead son with her during her sentence, and the court acquiesced to the request in the hopes it would drive home a point – that her negligence killed someone.

It never ceases to be a source of disappointment that people still drink and drive. It has been proven over and over again that driving while drunk kills. Sadly, those who drink and drive, and think that they will get home alive are being thoughtless, and may also wind up as dead as the innocent victim they run over because they wanted to get drunk.

Have you been in a wreck with a drunk driver? If you have, contact an experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyer and start asking questions about how you can recover compensation for your injuries. You will need to know your legal rights and how a case may proceed should you file a lawsuit with the assistance of an Atlanta personal injury lawyer. Do not wait to make that call. Your recovery may depend on it.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

The devastated family elected to file a wrongful death lawsuit, which was settled out of court by the dentist’s insurance company and negotiated by the state’s Dental Board. The most interesting aspect of this case were the remarks made by the Dental Board once the settlement had been negotiated, commenting, among other things, that it was the task of the Board to ensure unsafe dentists, or those that were likely a threat, either took further training to remediate deficient areas in their practice or, in the alternative, stop practicing.

The upside of this case was, in addition to the negotiated settlement, that the doctor agreed to retire. On the surface, this may have been a stunningly good idea, given the man’s age. Digging deeper revealed that it was not the first time that the doctor had been sued for wrongful death. In 1997, a 57-year-old woman died from similar complications with anesthetic. At that time, the dentist would have been 67-years-old. That case was also settled out of court.

The state Dental Board was also heard to say that this case was a prime example of how hard it was to regulate dentistry, an admission that makes one cringe when thinking about their next dental procedure. For the most part, dentists are careful, skilled and caring, and provide their patients with excellent care. And then, there is always the odd bad dentist. This of course raises some very serious questions about the liability of the Board and the dentists they license, as they do not appear to regulate all that closely or well.

Did the family of the 13-year-old girl have a good case? Yes, and the sad fact is that her death may not have happened had the state Dental Board taken action about the dentist’s license in 1997, and made sure he was safe to be licensed and still practice. Certainly “what if’s” will not bring the girl back, but they may raise this issue to a level where someone does something about it, so that questionable dentists do not keep practicing.

It is quite likely that this was one of the reasons this case settled out of court as well.

If you feel you have been the victim of dental malpractice, seek legal counsel from an experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyer. If you want justice and compensation for injuries you may have suffered, the only way to get your case settled or into court is with the assistance of a knowledgeable Atlanta personal injury lawyer.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

Just because the second group of riders was younger and not as experienced does not necessarily mean they lacked good judgment. Unfortunately, however, one rider did not follow the rules of the road and was speeding while heading south on the highway. He lost control of his bike, crossed the median into opposing traffic and hit the lead biker from the church group. Both riders died an unnecessary death, because of the negligence of the biker who was speeding.

Certainly the 19-year-old rider likely thought he could do anything and be just fine, no matter what. Chances are he had never seen a bike accident and had no concept of death. However, he miscalculated on this ride and lost his life because of it. The tragedy is a double one because two lives were lost due to speeding when the young man did not having the skills to handle a bike at such high speeds.

It is highly likely that the man’s wife, who was badly injured but survived the wreck, will want to consult with a personal injury lawyer to find out what her rights are in this situation. If she were to talk to an Atlanta personal injury attorney, she would find out that she likely had a case and could sue the 19-year-old’s estate for compensation for the death of her husband.

She should be able to recover, among other things, compensation for pain and suffering, lost wages, loss of companionship, loss of benefits, loss of inheritance, funeral burial expenses and (in some instances) punitive damages. An Atlanta personal injury lawyer will also explain the differences in jurisdictions and awards to the family, as wrongful death laws vary greatly from state to state.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

This reported case is another example of a death that should have never happened. The admissions staff at Western Carolina University did not take the time to properly read each student’s admission form. Because they did not read the forms closely enough, a young football athlete died.

The wrongful death lawsuit filed by the young man’s family pointed a finger at the university and the coaching staff, stating that they were negligent in regards to the death of their son.

The young man was only 20 years old when he arrived at the university and played as a defensive back. He was told by the university doctor that it was ok to take part in weightlifting and conditioning drills without any limitations. One day later, the young man died during practice. Autopsy results showed he died due to acute lethal cardiac dysrhythmia with other contributing factors such as sickle cell trait and overexertion.

The lawsuit stated that his admission questionnaire relating to athletics indicated he had sickle cell trait. The student signed that form as did his mother. Thus, the university doctor and coaches knew or should have known he had sickle cell trait. Oddly, the university denied the allegations in one breath, and then in another, said the student had completed a form that listed sickle cell trait, which raises the question why they did not make themselves aware of what the disease meant to their athlete.

In this case, the student’s workout was weight lifting, 160 yards of striding two 60-yard sprints, two 70-yard sprints, two 80-yard sprints and two 90-yard sprints. He got into trouble on the last of his 90-yard sprints and subsequently collapsed and died.

When an athlete with sickle cell trait trains intensely, the red blood cells form into a shape like a sickle, which blocks the flow of blood to the muscles, causing lactic acidosis and ischemic rhabdomyolysis with hyperkalemia. The acidosis directly affects the heart by causing ventricular fibrillation, causing a heart attack. While athletes with this condition may play sports, there need to be the right kind of accommodations in place for them to deal it such as longer recovery times between repetitions, a gradually increasing drill time and oxygen on hand.

Will this family succeed in their wrongful death lawsuit? There is a good chance that they will, as the evidence shows the university: failed to make sure coaching and medical staff knew about and understood what exertional sickling was and how to work with it; failed to tell the student how to train safely; and failed to put safety measures in place, among other things.

Families that lose a family member like this should seek legal counsel in the form of an experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyer. Wrongful death lawsuits are civil cases and subject to a statute of limitations. Calling an Atlanta personal injury attorney as soon as possible will mean justice may be served promptly.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.

Dermatology is not an area of medicine where there are a lot of medical malpractice lawsuits, but they do happen, and when they do, the jury awards in cases like this can be quite high. For medical professionals, including those who practice dermatology, it is vital to clearly communicate with a patient about any treatments or procedures to be undertaken to avoid a lawsuit. If a mistake is made, you need to own up to it and make it right.

While that may not stop a lawsuit being filed, it may mitigate the outcome if the plaintiff has received an apology and the doctor has attempted to make amends. In many instances, all a patient that has been harmed wants is an acknowledgment from the practitioner that they messed up. Saying they are sorry, explaining what went wrong, and attempting to clearly inform a patient goes a long way toward preventing a problem from careening out of control and landing in court with hard feelings on both sides of the courtroom.

Certainly the question of whether or not harm to a patient was caused by medical negligence is an issue and for that reason, should you feel you have a case, speak to a skilled Atlanta personal injury lawyer. Medical negligence or malpractice happens when a doctor (or other medical professional) commits an act of negligence that breaches his or her duty to a patient. Additionally, there must be a direct causal link between the mistake/breach and the harm caused and it must also cause financial harm to the victim.

While many doctors are outstanding physicians with a good track record, there are those that also have a questionable track record putting their patients at risk, injuring them or killing them as a result of a medical error. Dermatologists rarely get slapped with medical malpractice lawsuits, but that still does not lessen the standard of care.

In fact, recent statistics released by the Physician Insurers Association of America show that the practice of dermatology only had a 1 percent rating for closed malpractice claims and a 1 percent indemnity for all medical specialties in 2010. That being said, even though the lawsuit rate is lower, the settlement rate and jury awards tend to be higher. Jury awards for medical negligence in melanoma cases where dermatologists misdiagnosed or mistreated are often higher because they are more serious than other procedures they perform.

Typically, other procedures they carry out on patients are largely aesthetic, and as such, have little value in terms of malpractice claims. This is because when assessing a malpractice claim, the seriousness of the mistake is taken into account in combination with how the error affects a patient’s ability to work. If a procedure is largely cosmetic and went awry, awarding damages for lost work is sometimes difficult. This is not to say that it cannot be done, but juries do tend to view cases like this in a different light.

For those who have had a bad experience with a dermatologist, make a call to an Atlanta personal injury lawyer for advice to get various options on how to proceed if your case is solid.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.

This reported case is very odd for a number of reasons. The main reason for this is that the victim was lying in the middle of the road; drunk but alive until the defendant ran over him and killed him. The defendant is a former state trooper, who, one would think, would have a higher degree of awareness about driving safely and would not leave the scene of the accident.

The trooper was off duty at the time of the accident, was in the car with his girlfriend, and heading home from a party when he struck and killed John Doe. For reasons only known to him, he chose to leave the scene and continue on his way home. His girlfriend did however speak to the police after the man was hit. Investigators on scene were able to determine the dead man had been alive prior to being hit and had a blood alcohol content of 0.20.

As it turned out, John Doe had a substantial record for alcohol offenses, including a two-year prison sentence for DWI, his third in four years. He had hit a 14-year-old girl on her bike in 2000 and an 11-year-old child in 2004. He stopped driving when he was let out of prison in 2006, likely figuring it was safer to walk home drunk to his wife and two small kids. It was a decision that cost him his life.

Other sheriffs that went to the trooper’s home to conduct interviews noted that the sheriff agreed to take an alcohol prescreening. It was determined he had not been drinking. Ultimately, after the investigation was complete, there were no criminal charges and the felony charge for leaving the scene of an accident was dismissed by a grand jury.

The reason the criminal charges were dismissed is that the district attorney indicated the purpose of the law is to ensure drivers who get into personal injury accidents call the police and admit their guilty by giving their name and contact information. The off duty trooper’s girlfriend did call them from the road and both met law enforcement at the trooper’s home later on.

Evidently, the interpretation of the statute does not outline, specifically, the amount of time a driver has to report the crash if there is no one at the scene to report to, and the law does not mandate a driver to remain at the scene if there is no one present to get into details about how a report should be made. While this may deal with the criminal charges, this does not mean the family of the dead man might not wish to file a wrongful death lawsuit.

Would they be successful in filing a wrongful death lawsuit? It is likely that they would, given that it is hard to miss a body lying in the road when you are driving, given that the man was a trooper and subject to a higher standard of conduct and care and should not have fled the scene.

If you ever find yourself in a situation like this, do not wait to call an experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyer. Time is of the essence in cases like this, and in order to ensure all the relevant evidence is collected and understood in its proper context, your Atlanta personal injury lawyer needs to act fast.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

This case really points out the denigration of plaintiffs claims with the application of medical malpractice caps. What happened in this instance is that the mother of Mr. Doe filed a lawsuit stating that the nursing home where she was staying killed her by not giving her enough food and water for a period of three weeks. How horrendous is that?

In addition to this fact, the mother also suffered from dementia. Mr. Doe’s mom was 87 years old and met her death because the aides did not keep her properly hydrated. You do not need a medical license to provide a person with basic needs such as water.

When this case got to trial, the jury was rightfully horrified and handed down a $91.5 million award, which the nursing home is planning to appeal on the grounds that the amount may be subject to the state medical malpractice cap of $500,000. In other words, the jury award of $91.5 million for an egregious case of negligence, may be reduced to $500,000 in non-economic damages. Does this seem fair, given the facts of the case? Many would say no quite emphatically. It is obvious the jury thought it did not take an advanced degree to make sure someone got enough water on a daily basis either.

The man’s lawyers are aiming to keep the jury award as is by pointing out that the nurses aides at the nursing home are not considered to be health care providers as defined in the medical malpractice cap definition. Certainly this is an issue for the court to decide on, and if successful, this may open another avenue for medical malpractice cases to be treated with the respect and financial compensation that they deserve.

Medical malpractice cases are often very involved and complex, and certainly need the qualified assistance of an Atlanta personal injury lawyer. If you think you are the victim of medical malpractice, or your senior relative is a victim, get in touch with an experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyer and find out what you can do.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.

You would think that someone who was drunk and could not walk straight, let alone see properly, would not go ahead and hop on his motorcycle, invite a passenger to travel with him and then take off figuring nothing could possibly happen to him. Yet this biker did just that and caused his passenger severe, life-altering injuries, including brain shearing, a dislocated shoulder and a broken femur.

As it turned out, the biker in this reported case, had a lengthy rap sheet when it came to having his name on the police blotter. At 32 years old, the man had already been charged by police, just a month prior to this wreck, with three counts of DUI involving crashes that resulted in the death or injury of another and aggravated assault with a vehicle.

Apparently, the man was heading east on the interstate at about 10 p.m. when his bike hit a pile of debris that he had not seen. He lost control of the motorcycle and as it started to slide sideways toward the ditch and flip, the passenger, a 26-year-old woman, was thrown off the bike. EMS crews got her to the nearest hospital for treatment, where doctors said she was lucky she had been wearing a helmet, or the brain injury she sustained could have been worse.

Evidently the man’s charges for this accident will also involve driving without proper vehicle registration, driving without insurance and driving with an expired license. One of the questions involved here is whether or not the woman was aware the biker did not have insurance or an expired license and still chose to ride with him. She certainly chose to ride with him drunk.

Many juries are less than enthusiastic about plaintiffs filing lawsuits against drunk drivers if they voluntarily rode with them, despite being aware they were inebriated. In this instance though, there are more than enough other charges and evidence to prove the biker was reckless with his behavior, and that it is likely the woman would not have a clue about his license issues.

If you have ever been in an accident like this one and want to know what your rights are, call an experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyer. You need to know where you stand, how you may recover compensation for your injuries and what to expect should you proceed to settlement or the courts.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

It may sound incredibly simple to just state that medical malpractice lawsuits can be frivolous. This however, comes from a point of view of someone who has no idea what it involves to take a medical malpractice case to court. The enormous amount of time needed to vet a medical malpractice case, study the patient records, line up expert witnesses, and more instantly signifies that a case is not frivolous.

Medical malpractice lawyers do not waste their time on cases that are merely bad outcomes with a doctor. They do however, take cases that involve medical negligence that harmed someone permanently, and they take a case because they know it has merit, and the court needs to hear it. Lawyers are also seeking justice for the patient who ended up with a life they no longer recognize as a result of medical malpractice.

If you do not believe either side of the hot debate over tort reform, take some time to track down and read the study published by the New England Journal of Medicine a few short years ago. It has information in it that will pique your interest. In particular, it answers the question regarding how many patients bring a medical malpractice lawsuit.

The basis of the study involves five malpractice insurance companies across the U.S. and examines 1,452 different claims. The claims include medication errors, surgical errors, obstetrical mistakes and other issues such as delayed or missed diagnosis. Those are the main areas that comprise roughly 80 percent of all of the medical malpractice claims in the U.S. today.

Perhaps the most interesting fact gleaned from the statistics is that filing a claim and the subsequent litigation tends to show whether an error really did occur. In other words, it is not so much that lawyers take shaky cases to court, but that it is becoming increasingly difficult for plaintiffs and attorneys to figure out what really happened to the patient before a claim is filed. This has a down side as you can imagine, in that medicine is becoming more and more complex, thus increasing the number of chances for something to go wrong. The question then becomes how it went wrong and who caused the error.

Overall, the researchers in this study concluded that the oft-used political cry of frivolous lawsuits is exaggerated. What seems to be the real issue is that when a case did land in court and the dust settled, there was no medical error. That means the attorney took the case in good faith and was certain there was an issue to be settled. Only later when all the documentation was on the table for examination did it turn out there was no medical error, but instead a bad outcome without doctor negligence. The statistics are very clear though that the major portion of malpractice costs were spent litigating and paying for errors that did happen.

The other interesting find is that the justice system does a good job of booting out medical malpractice cases that have no merit. In other words, if the system really has a glitch in it, then the glitch is in favor of the plaintiff (arguably a good thing).

There is no question that litigating medical malpractice is expensive, but one way or the other, they bring justice where it needs to be served.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.

Many people love riding a motorcycle because they are less expensive to operate than a car, and you feel the freedom of the road even more. But in this instance, a motorcyclist was out for a ride, and saw a speeding Volkswagen that lost control and hit a power pole.

If that is not bad enough, when the car hit the pole it snapped in two and the power lines landed in the street – but not before they slapped the biker across the neck and chest, causing him to lose control of his motorcycle.

Interestingly enough, the police on the scene of this reported accident decided to treat each accident as being separate. The biker might just want to pursue a case with a personal injury lawyer.

If the car was not speeding, then the accident would likely not have happened, unless the driver was texting, talking on his cell phone or fiddling with something on his dashboard. Given those various scenarios, it is entirely possible that the car driver was distracted while driving and the biker’s severe injuries would have been prevented.

The police report would give an Atlanta personal injury lawyer details on what was found at the scene of the accident. This could be a live cell phone with an open connection to someone or a partially completed text message. And, if booze was involved, this would be a whole other issue. Nonetheless, the plaintiff motorcyclist has the right to file a personal injury lawsuit to recover costs for his medical and other expenses as a result of the accident.

Have you been in a similar accident and do not know what to do? Call an experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyer who knows what it is like to recover from an accident and what injuries may affect you in the long-term.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

This great helmet debate has been around just about as long as motorbikes have been, although some states do not have helmet laws or age based helmet laws. Michigan, for example, just passed a law that would make it illegal for bikers under the age of 21 to ride without a helmet. The ramifications of that will certainly make an impact in ERs across the state.

What is at the root of this debate? On one side are the bikers who see being forced to wear a helmet as a personal affront, treating it as their right to strike a blow against insurance companies and medical groups who both insist that repealing the helmet law would result in more fatalities. In actual fact, the number of accidents may remain the same, but the outcome of those accidents may vary according to the safety orientation of the biker.

Closer to the truth is a nugget of biker wisdom that says helmets or not, bikers are still dying and getting hurt and the only way to really not meet the Grim Reaper is to not get into an accident. That is a bit of a “duh” statement, as it is a well-known fact that if a motorcycle gets into a crash with another vehicle, the biker is not going to fare well in the outcome, helmet or not.

This is not to say that helmets do not reduce the severity of brain trauma, because they do. It just means, accidents will still happen, helmets or not. People will still die, helmets or not. However, the severity of the head injuries may be reduced, thus offering a biker a second chance. Often that is worth gold to the surviving biker.

Nationally there were more than 2,000 bikers still alive at the end of the year thanks to a helmet. On the other hand, in states where the motorcycle helmet law was repealed entirely (Texas, Arizona, Florida, Kentucky and Louisiana,), bikers deaths rose.

Will medical costs rise as a result of a repealed helmet law? Will insurance companies pay out more money as a result of more crashes involving bikers without helmets? These are interesting questions to take into consideration. Perhaps the true key to this conundrum is slowing down, taking care to avoid accidents and be alert at all times. Unfortunately, not everyone drives safely.

Have you been in a motorcycle accident and do not know what your rights are? Do not wait to find out. Get on the phone and contact a skilled Atlanta personal injury lawyer. You can ask as many questions as you like in the first consultation. It is the best thing you could possibly do for your peace of mind.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

There are normally two outcomes after a motorcycle accident – death or life-altering, catastrophic injuries. For the fortunate few who walk away from a bike crash, they are very lucky. Certainly, there is the odd case where the biker sustains injuries they can and do recover from, but they are never quite the same again. It is hard to imagine any other kind of result when something as unprotected as a motorcycle ends up tangling with another vehicle. For instance, take the case of Johnee B (names have been changed to protect the victims).

Johnee B was cruising on a Friday night when the unthinkable did happen. He slammed into the side of a car in the middle of an intersection. He made it to the hospital alive, but did not leave their care. He died the next day. The two people in the car were rushed to hospital with injuries. It is hard to imagine a biker hitting a car so hard that it injured those inside, but it shows the seriousness of these collisions.

Police at the scene of the accident were able to interview eyewitnesses to the crash who indicated the biker was speeding and had zipped through two stop signs without looking or even slowing down. Was this the deliberate choice of the biker or was the throttle stuck open? The answer to this question is important, not only for the dead biker’s family but for the two occupants in the car he hit. It highlights the question of negligence (of the biker) for the injuries of the two in the car or the negligence of the manufacturer in the case of a stuck throttle (wrongful death filed by the family).

Or, consider the case of Clifton A (name has been changed to protect the victim) who was heading into the city to visit his girlfriend. He was going at highway speed when an elderly man turned right in front of him from a side road. He had no place else to go but right into the side post of the car on the passenger’s side. He hit so hard, he sustained severe traumatic brain injury, lost a part of his face, suffered a ruptured spleen, and damage to his liver and kidney, not to mention collapsed lungs, broken ribs and a crushed pelvis. His parents made it to the hospital in time to say goodbye. Was there negligence here? Yes, definitely when the man turned in front of oncoming traffic.

Would the biker’s family have grounds to file a wrongful death lawsuit? Yes. Even though the man may not have seen the biker, there was a duty incumbent on him to drive with the safety of all others in mind. That did not happen and the biker died.

Have you been in a similar situation to either of these cases? Do not waste time trying to figure out if you have a case or whether or not you are entitled to compensation for injuries – call an experienced Atlanta personal injury attorney. Find out what your rights are, find out if you do have a case and find out if you would be entitled to recover compensation. It is a phone call that is well worth making.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

This reported case involved the wrongful death of a man by a defective car jack. To be more precise, a scissors car jack that was woefully inadequate in holding up the weight of the car the man was working on. The jack gave way and the vehicle landed on the man’s head, crushing it instantly.

The family chose to file a wrongful death lawsuit against Ford Motor Company for making a defective jack that could not bear the weight of the vehicle. The case told a heartbreaking story of their husband and father, attempting to make repairs to the family Ford Windstar minivan. He used the scissors jack, an original piece of equipment that was made to go with the van. He was working on the right side of the van to remove the right front tire.

He was a careful guy and took the time to put chocks behind each tire, made sure the van was on a flat surface and put the jack in precisely the location indicated in the vehicle manual. The jack failed, dropping the van on his head. The lawsuit stated that Ford, the defendant, was negligent, had sold a defective product, and was accused of a manufacturing defect, design defect, marketing defect, misrepresentation and breach of implied warranty of merchantability.

The suit also contended the scissors jacks that came with the vehicles were badly constructed, far too short and were not capable of lifting the weight of the van. The lawsuit asks for damages for the deceased’s physical impairment as a result of the van dropping on his head, for the sheer agony he endured, the mental anguish he felt, the medical bills, the death expenses and funeral costs. As a family they are seeking damages for pain and suffering, loss of income, loss of consortium, mental anguish and court costs plus interest.

Will the family win this case? There is a good chance they will, given the nature of the evidence. If there is further proof that the jack sold with the van was defective, the jury will likely award the family a decent settlement. This wrongful death lawsuit will not be easy for the family, who saw what happened the day of the accident. They fought back the horror of the injuries to help their husband and dad, realizing that he was in serious trouble. Despite their hopes, he did not survive this horrific trauma. His family now needs financial compensation to be able to move forward with their lives.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.

Unfortunately, there is a prevailing myth that lawyers are ambulance chasers and take frivolous cases to court to get paid big bucks. There are a number of things wrong with that thought. First, most lawyers do not chase ambulance for business. Most of them have more than they can handle at any given time. Secondly, while there may be some cases that seem questionable on first blush in terms of being successful in court, typically, a lawyer takes a case because there appears to be merit in it and/or a point of law.

As for making big bucks, that is not the case. Many lawyers get a portion of a settlement on winning for a client; a portion that goes right back into the firm to help it represent other clients who need them. Granted big cases sometimes have big wins, but it should be remembered that a big firm with a big case and a big track record for winning, will also have big office overhead.

But back to the concept that lawyers need to change how they are perceived. There may well be some truth in that observation. The law professor went on to point out that not much time is spent preventing problems in the justice system, because everyone is too busy protecting their behinds. How does that impact on lawyers? If you want the justice system to work in any given state, the money to do that has to come from the legislature. If the legislature perceives lawyers as money-grubbing talking heads out just for fame and fortune, state courts will continue to face underfunding and staggering case loads.

Justice is needed at all levels of the legal system, but as it exists right now, the middle class are slammed between a rock and a hard place when it comes to medical malpractice lawsuits. In many states, there has been med mal caps implemented that are designed to cap damages for victims of medical negligence. For those plaintiffs who are so severely injured that they need care for the rest of their lives, capping medical malpractice damages is an outrageous travesty of justice.

What is even more frightening is that there are also some states that are currently contemplating bringing in a loser pays law. Think about that for a minute. The seriously injured victim goes to court with a medical malpractice case and for some reason, the case is lost. The loser pays approach would mean the victim would pay the price, twice. Once as a victim of medical negligence and for the second time as a severely injured victim who lost a court case. And the victim gets huge sums of money from where?

What is happening here is that these kinds of restrictive laws are trying to scare victims away; victims that don’t have the ability to access money to pursue a valid claim in court. What does that say about the justice system?

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.

Bikers face the very real consideration that every time they go out for a ride, they may never come home. There are too many things that can happen out on the road; things that may be fatal. That’s what happened in this case.

The police report indicated that a black Nissan Versa 4-door sedan was heading south on the highway in the second lane from the left in an area where there were four southbound lanes. In the next lane, which would be lane number three, there was a Kawasaki motorcycle. This means that the biker was in the lane to the right of the Nissan and therefore just about parallel to the car’s passenger door.

Suddenly, the Nissan went to change lanes and hit the biker on the left side. The impact sent the bike, and the 48-year-old rider, straight into an exit ramp area, where the bike slammed into an interchange exit sign. There were motorcycle parts and debris all over the road when the first responders arrived. While the biker was alive at the time, he died later in hospital; a victim of his injuries.

In the Nissan driver’s favor, he stayed at the scene of the accident and the police feel there were no drugs or alcohol involved. This is not to say that there may not have been something else that caused the 61-year-old driver to veer into the biker; for instance, driving while distracted or a mechanical failure involving the steering wheel or tires.

What caused the accident will certainly be under investigation, until the police get a good sense of what happened that deadly day. In the meantime, the biker’s family will likely want to talk to a personal injury lawyer about filing a wrongful death lawsuit.

If this accident had happened in Georgia, the family would most likely speak to a seasoned Atlanta personal injury lawyer; someone with significant experience dealing with motorcycle accidents. They know all about drivers who claim they did not see the victim. An Atlanta personal injury lawyer also has the skills and knowledge to garner the required evidence and deal with the insurance companies.

When it comes to wrongful death actions, the lawyer will guide the family through the process with sensitivity and explain to them what they can expect when their case does go to court. These lawsuits are never easy, but if the family has any hope of moving forward, they may need financial compensation to do so.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

The family in this case chose to file a wrongful death lawsuit to set the record straight and to try and improve things for others at the nursing home where their relative died. Shockingly, the nursing home in question had an established track record of being on a federal watch list as a special focus facility. This was not for good reasons. It was because it had an awful record and needed to be watched carefully. Unfortunately, that did not help the victim in this story.

The elderly gentleman in this nursing home developed bedsores and a variety of other skin conditions that led to necrotic tissue, breathing difficulties, osteomyelitis and ulcers. Any one of these medical conditions on their own would have been bad enough, but cumulatively, they caused the man’s death. This should not have happened, as these conditions are highly preventable with proper care. Rather than getting that care, the man got substandard and lackluster nursing from staff that led to his demise.

The man’s wife filed a wrongful death lawsuit and ultimately named not just the nursing home staff and management, but the owners of the facility, who turned a blind eye to what was happening there and did nothing to stop the rampant abuse. The really sad part about this story is that there are more nursing homes just like this one across the country. One may even be just down the road from where you live. One of them may even be where your loved one is currently living.

Do you know what is going on in the nursing home where your family member is living? If you do not know, it is time you made it your business to find out what is going on there, before it may be too late and you are dealing with the death of your relative. There is no way that our seniors should be allowed to live in conditions like that because those tasked with their care fail to keep them safe.

If you have suspicions about what is going on in a local nursing home, or you have lost a loved family member due to neglect and abuse, speak to a compassionate and skilled Atlanta injury lawyer. If you want justice for the suffering of your loved one, an Atlanta injury lawyer will guide you through the process of filing a wrongful death lawsuit.

While many lawsuits such as this tend to take time to make their way through the courts, if the suit acts as a comeuppance to the owners and staff at the nursing home and helps others still residing there, you have accomplished something to be proud of in memory of your lost family member.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

In this case, a medical doctor was sued for wrongful death and malpractice in the death of a well-known professional golfer. The father of the deceased, on behalf of her estate, filed the complaint. After a year-long investigation into the suicide of the young woman golfer, the father indicated in his lawsuit that he felt the doctor was directly responsible for his daughter’s death because of what he did and did not do; meaning he did things he should not have done and did not do things he should have done.

Evidently, although the woman also played golf with the doctor named as defendant in the lawsuit, she was also a patient of his. He was the last person to see the woman alive, and even though he called 911, he removed all drugs from her premises and also took her suicide note. The woman had been on multiple prescription drugs, including anti-anxiety meds, pain meds, and cough and headache medications. The coroner ruled her death a suicide due to asphyxia and the overload of drugs she had in her system at the time of her death.

The doctor pled guilty to obstruction of justice for taking evidence from the scene and was sentenced to a year’s probation and 40 hours of community service. None of this would bring the young woman back, and the family, hoping that this would never happen to anyone else, chose to file a wrongful death lawsuit on the heels of the man’s criminal conviction.

Wrongful death is not usually about getting even with the person or persons involved in the death. It is usually about the family not wanting anyone else to experience what happened to their loved one. It is about closure and moving forward in the memory of the deceased. It is also about insurance money that will help the family cope financially and be able to get on with their lives. They have sustained a significant loss emotionally and psychologically with the death of their daughter. They need not also suffer a financial loss to compound their devastation.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.

If you stop to think about it, one of the main things that keeps society functioning and on track is business law, especially business transactions, contracts, agreements, the building of new companies, corporations, etc. Governing all this commerce is business law; call it overseeing the world of business if you will.

Without business law in place, the world would be a much tougher place to regulate and run because there would be no contracts and no one to uphold contracts and hold people to their word. It would mean business would run without any repercussions or consequences for those who did not live up to their promises. Unfortunately, even though a lot of people would follow through on their promises, they are just as many more who would rip the system and others off. This is why you need business law.

You may know business law as commercial law. Its usual definition is that it governs business and commercial transaction and is a branch of civil law, handling issues in the public and private sectors. Under this umbrella you will find an enormous range of legal issues and lawyers that deal with things like white-collar crimes (a criminal issue, not civil) and insider trading.

On the other side of the business/commercial law fence you would have corporate contracts, hiring practices and the manufacture/sales of consumer goods, etc.  When dealing with contract law, unarguably the largest arena in business law, you would typically be writing contracts, supervising their signing, ensuring they are worded correctly and filing a lawsuit if there is a breach of the contract. Just about everything we do today involves a contract of some sort, whether it’s buying a house to renting a carpet cleaner.

When it comes to hiring, this is one of the trickier areas of law, particularly if a business has to let an employee go. In situations like this, if you do not have a carefully worded hiring/firing policy, you could be open to a lawsuit for wrongful dismissal. Even with a handbook in place, you may still have legal issues. This is why you need the advice and counsel of a skilled Atlanta business lawyer.

Then, consider the world of manufacturing. It is not just the company that makes the product that has a part in the chain of commerce; there is also the designer, the shipper and the seller. Each link in the chain has contracts with the other links in the chain, and so it goes. Although they are largely invisible, those contracts are what glues everything together; keeping industry and commerce running smoothly and accountably.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.

Medical malpractice is a highly controversial subject in America. On one side of the fence there are those who feel the damages awarded in a med mal case should be capped at a certain figure. On the other side of that same fence are the proponents in justice for the victim of medical malpractice. This particular case is one of those kinds of cases where justice for the victim should be paramount, but given med mal damage award capping, the innocent child victim may not have what she needs to move forward with her life.

This case made headlines across the nation for its inconclusive financial outcome for the victim. Ultimately, the jury in the case awarded the family $19.2 million to care for their blind daughter with cerebral palsy. The now three and a half year old was born prematurely in 2007, and for some reason the hospital gave her a dose of nutrients that was 100 times what the amount should have been.

That mistake sent the baby into cardiac arrest and caused other serious side effects, including cerebral palsy and blindness. The devastated family chose to file a medical malpractice lawsuit against the hospital. Their daughter would never be the same again and will remain in a wheelchair and need diapers for the rest of her life. She will never be able to feed herself.

The hospital argued in court that the reason the baby went into convulsions was due to her being premature. The jury did not agree and awarded the family $19.2 million. However, since the family lives in a state where there are liability caps, the award may be limited to $200,000. It is a struggle to think that would be fair compensation in a case like this.

Not all states have med map caps so before you choose to file a medical malpractice lawsuit, it is a wise investment of time to consult with a skilled Atlanta personal injury lawyer. You will need to know your rights, whether or not there is a med mal cap in your state, what documents you will need to move forward and what damages you may or may not expect. Do not wait too long, as there is a statute of limitations on medical malpractice cases; another thing you need to discuss with your Atlanta personal injury lawyer.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.

While you would like to believe that everyone out on the road is careful, cautious, alert and paying attention to what they are doing while driving a large and potentially deadly vehicle, that is not always the case. Consider the circumstances involved in one really bizarre case where a woman relied on her global positioning system for instructions instead of paying attention to where she was. The result was an accident that could have been avoided.

Sure, GPS systems have their place in driving, but what if the GPS system, as may be the case here, is not accurate? If you are not watching where you are going and what you are doing, you too could have an accident, and not necessarily a minor one.

You may recall the story of a woman who was walking while distracted and followed the instructions of a GPS to take a route right down the middle of a freeway to get to her destination. She was hit by a car. Walking while distracted and driving while distracted have the same potential to be deadly, the same potential to result in personal injury accidents and the same level of personal distraction that has a serious impact on others.

In the case of the driver relying on a GPS system that provided erroneous directions, the woman was on her way to her daily workout and made a left turn when she was told to by her GPS. What happened was, instead of ending up in the parking lot of the gym, she turned left into the path of another car.

The accident was bad enough that both drivers needed to be treated for injuries. She was two-tenths of a mile from where she should have been and incurred physical injuries to her body and complete embarrassment over how those injuries were inflicted.

Luckily, the GPS driver in this story was not seriously hurt, but then again, the jury may still be out on that issue, as seemingly insignificant injuries often turn out to be worse than they look. As for the whole story itself, either you believe the GPS did the deed of providing lousy instructions that caused an accident or you believe that the woman just was not paying attention and caused the accident without the help of the GPS. Should this case go to trial, the outcome may be interesting.

For accident victims who have been in a crash and sustained personal injuries as the result of someone else’s negligence, make it a point to discuss your case with an Atlanta personal injury lawyer.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.

Call this a “hot button issue.” At what age should teens be allowed to drive? There are so many answers out there, it would be hard to discuss them all and cover the reasons why some feel teens need more experience before getting a license to drive a potentially lethal weapon. This case is no exception to that rule and points out that when teens, hormones and inexperience behind the wheel are involved, the results may leave people dead. Those harmed or killed will need the services of a competent Atlanta personal injury lawyer.

Our office read about this case, a horrific wreck between a school bus and a pickup truck that snuffed out two promising young lives. The pickup truck driver was 18 years old. His passenger and girlfriend was only 17. Despite both the driver and front passenger being belted in, their multiple injuries spelled death. The other two passengers in the truck were listed in critical condition when they were taken to hospital by EMS crews.

What happened to cause this wreck? The police report was not completely clear on the cause and they plan to investigate further to find out what made the driver lose control, crossing the median and slamming into a school bus after sheering too close to the rear end of an 18-wheeler. While there is certainly speculation as to why he lost control, a definitive answer was not readily available aside from the fact that the roads were slippery that day.

The prevailing theories mostly involve the use of a cell phone and texting while driving, along with the driver wanting to show off by speeding and driving carelessly in spite of poor road conditions. It is not too much of a stretch of the imagination to think that this type of accident could happen to anyone, but more so to younger individuals lacking experience in handling a vehicle safely.

If you have been in a similar situation, contact an experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyer for advice on what to do to claim compensation for personal injuries or wrongful death.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

Wrongful death lawsuits are not always filed against another person. They may be filed against a city, town or municipality or company. The best example of that is the fiasco that was the New York blizzard in December 2010. The city did not know what hit it and citizens in distress found out about that the hard way.

Unfortunately, there were at least two wrongful deaths as a result of that major storm. The second lawsuit was just brought recently by a family in Brooklyn who waited an hour and a half for an ambulance crew to come and help their mother. The woman had chest pains and before the EMS crews could get to her, she died.

She was only 63 years old at the time of her death and the family cannot understand why emergency medical help took 90 minutes to arrive. But for the slow response time, the woman may well have survived her heart attack. The ambulance could not get through the snow-packed streets any quicker. Or could they? This was the question the family took to their personal injury lawyer to discuss a wrongful death lawsuit.

Once the attorney knew the full scope of the case, his response to the family left them no doubt that they would file a wrongful death lawsuit stating that fire, police, transportation and the sanitation departments were at fault for the deadly delay that cost a woman her life. The lawsuit is seeking $20 million in damages. In part, the papers filed with the wrongful death lawsuit state that there is no excuse for a 90-minute delay when it comes to emergency response personnel.

The second wrongful death lawsuit was on the behalf of a 75-year-old woman who waited for three hours for an ambulance. She did not make it, either. The finger of blame was then squarely pointed at the city and its lack of organized response to the unholy dump of snow that turned New York into a living nightmare.

Things could have been worse, but in retrospect, no one would have wanted that to happen. It was a series of horrific events that cost two women their lives, when EMS crews could not reach them in time. And of all things to cause a delay, it was a severe snowstorm that the city did not know how to handle and could not seem to get on top of. What was the department responsible for snow removal thinking?

Ultimately, the person in charge of handling the snow removal was demoted. Sadly, that will not bring either of the dead women back, but the courts may well find negligence and award compensation for each family’s devastating loss.

This kind of thing could happen in another state, city, town, municipality or county, and that is why, if you have been in a situation similar to this and someone you loved died as a result, you should take the time to contact an Atlanta personal injury lawyer and discover what your legal rights are in that situation.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

To get a better idea of what the term personal injury accident means, think car wreck. It is the best example of the personal injuries you may sustain after being hit by a negligent driver. Personal injuries may cover a multitude of things, such as whiplash, air bag injuries, broken bones, crush injuries and amputations.

Consider the case of the man who lost his leg after being hit by a passing car. The victim was pushing his SUV off to the side of the road because he ran out of gas. As he was pushing it, a 25-year old woman driving a Nissan Ultima hit him. As a result of the collision, one of the man’s legs was severed.

Thankfully, another motorist put a tourniquet on the man to stop the bleeding until EMS crews arrived. He was taken to the nearest hospital for medical assistance, as was the driver of the car that hit him. The police report did not indicate any charges had been laid, but they were calling for further investigation into the matter. There are many unanswered questions in this scenario, not the least of which is what was the female driver doing at the time of impact?

Was she paying attention to her driving? Was she speeding? Was she texting or under the influence of something? All these things need to be figured out in order for the case to move forward and for the man to be able to sue the female driver for compensation for his medical bills and his catastrophic, life-altering leg amputation.

If you have been in a similar situation and do not know who to talk to about compensation for your personal injuries, make it a point to connect with a seasoned Atlanta personal injury lawyer. These types of situations are not cases where the plaintiff can act pro se (on their own), or they run the very real risk of missing out on money they are legally entitled to as a result of their injuries. For catastrophic injuries like amputation, the awards tend to be higher.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.

Not too many people have had the distinction of falling down a manhole, but is has happened and the consequences can be quite disastrous. Most manholes are covered, but in this particular case that we read about, the manhole was not covered and an 11-year-old girl fell just about 15 feet. She was trapped for 30 minutes before fire crews were able to get her out.

Once lifted to the surface, she was airlifted to a children’s hospital to check her over. She apparently did not receive any life threatening injuries and was released to recover at home. Nobody seems to know why the manhole cover was out of place, though there is speculation that a snowplow blade was the culprit. The city and the police are investigating the situation further.

While this case may sound like a fall where the young girl did not hurt herself, you have to consider that she fell 15 feet and landed on pipes and concrete. Injuries that may not be visible are a high risk in cases like this. For instance, she may have sustained spinal cord injuries that may not manifest themselves until later or she may also have cracked ribs or other bones – a fact that could go unnoticed at a hospital intently looking for more serious injuries and missing the not-so-obvious ones.

In any slip, trip and fall case, it is a good idea to discuss the case with a qualified Atlanta personal injury lawyer and find out what your rights are, what you do if the child’s injuries are worse than first thought, how to file a personal injury lawsuit and what to expect should your case go to court.

Injuries as the result of negligence (the missing manhole cover) may mean the city is liable/responsible for the child’s medical bills and other expenses relating to the accident. The first consultation with a an Atlanta personal injury lawyer is free and the advice if often priceless, when it provides you with the peace of mind that if your child’s injuries are more serious than first thought, you know what to do.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.

While numerous states have mandatory helmet laws and some do not, the whole argument about wearing or not wearing a noggin protector mostly boils down to whether they prevent death. The interesting answer is not likely. The helmets protect the skull from serious injury, but often the cause of death in a motorcycle versus car accident is due to other reasons. In fact, existing federal data shows that most bikers who die would have been killed even if they had been wearing helmets.

On the other side of the coin, if a biker lives to tell his Atlanta personal injury lawyer about the crash, you can assume they have sustained some fairly serious injuries that would lay them up long-term or permanently. This brings us back to the argument about wearing helmets to prevent death. In reality, the risk a rider takes, whether they wear a helmet or not, is crashing. If you get into a head-on collision while doing 80 mph, your head is not the only part of your body that will take a beating.

This is not to say that wearing helmets will not help you, because they will. But remember, helmets are not magic medallions that can save you from catastrophic injury or death. Unfortunately, those in power, including insurance companies, seem to lump all the evils of the world on the biker, pointing to motorcycle accidents as the reason for higher health care costs because the injuries are, in a sense, self-inflicted by taking the risk to ride. Don’t look now, but smoking causes self-inflicted cancers, drinking causes self-inflicted liver failure and unprotected intercourse causes STDs and/or AIDS.  All of those behaviors/actions result in costs to the health care system. Why focus on motorcycle riders and accidents?

If people have the self-determination to smoke, drink or have unprotected sex, then surely the biker has the choice to ride or not. Freedom is what America is all about. It is our choice to do what we do, our choice to live with the consequences, our choice to live or die.

Should you live after a wreck, hiring an Atlanta personal injury lawyer is the only way you will secure enough compensation to pay for your medical bills, pain and suffering, property damage and a host of other wreck related expenses. Do not assume you can settle with the insurance company on your own. Their only goal is to settle fast and low. If you take a lesser amount of money than you may actually be entitled to, you may not be able to pay your bills or live a relatively normal life.

You have the choice to obtain the settlement you deserve, just as you have the choice to try and deal with the insurance company. An experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyer can lay out the advantages and disadvantages for you when you make your first appointment for a free consultation.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

When people get up in the morning and head off to work, they expect they will be home for supper later. In this case, the man who went to work at a sand plant construction site would never come home again. He was killed in a workplace accident.

The man was standing on a cement wall when it suddenly gave way and trapped him underneath it. He died due to compression injuries to his head and chest. Three other workers were also hurt in this accident.

Sudden deaths like this leave the family affected in deep shock and grief. They have to somehow come to grips with not only the loss of their family member, but also the loss of the income that person contributed to the home. Without that funding, the family would be financially strapped and likely unable to pay their bills.

One way of recovering compensation for a wrongful death is to file a wrongful death lawsuit with the assistance of an Atlanta personal injury lawyer. Since wrongful death lawsuits are civil suits, they are tried in a different court than criminal cases. In this case, the investigation will need to determine why the cement wall collapsed. Was it defective? Made with poor materials? Did the people who erected the wall know the cement was flawed in some way and would not hold up later? Was it mixed improperly and missing critical ingredients?

In terms of investigations, it would take some time for all the facts to be gathered and assessed. This is one of the jobs that an Atlanta personal injury lawyer does; sifts through the details of the accident to determine what happened. If there is negligence involved, this will form the foundation of a wrongful death lawsuit to recover compensation for the family.

There are a number of things involved in a settlement or award for a wrongful death: The way the deceased handled their finances while living, their income had they lived, medical and funeral expenses, pain and suffering prior to death and the pain and suffering of the family.

There are other factors involved, but they tend to vary from state to state. If you have a wrongful death case, it is best to discuss the details with an experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyer and find out what rules are applicable in Georgia wrongful death cases and what other factors may be considered in that state.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.

This case was as troubling as it was upsetting for the mother and the rest of the family. The mother was at an Army hospital and in labor. The doctor delayed performing a C-section and, as the result of oxygen loss to the baby’s brain at birth, her daughter was born with cerebral palsy.

There was a midwife present at the birth who urged for a C-section, but the doctor kept insisting that the mother keep pushing. The baby started to display breathing problems shortly after birth and spent more than a month in an incubator. The mother opted to file a personal injury lawsuit but the hospital and the doctor denied they had done anything wrong when the case got to trial. The jury did not agree with the defense’s arguments and subsequently awarded the plaintiff a $6 million settlement.

Birth injuries are traumatic for the baby and the family, as they are often considered life-altering or catastrophic injuries; injuries that will forever change a person’s life. When a child is born with cerebral palsy, they will always need some kind of care for the remainder of their lives. Hence the larger damage awards handed down in case like that.

In order to file a medical malpractice lawsuit, there needs to be negligence present; the kind of negligence that another expert doctor would testify to in court as being below the standards of what other doctors would do. Not performing a C-section in a timely manner and thus putting the baby at risk for birth injuries would classify as medical negligence.

Based on medical negligence being proven, the nature and duration of the injuries tend to dictate the amount of compensation awarded by a jury. In this case, the child would need care for as long as she lived and the award reflected that reality.

If you have been in a situation like this, you need to speak to a highly trained Atlanta personal injury lawyer about your rights, what to expect at trial and what to expect in terms of compensation. These cases are not easy and take time to settle in an equitable and fair manner.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.

You know what it is like driving a smaller vehicle near an 18-wheeler. It makes a lot of people pretty squeamish, and with good reason. Even if you haven’t been in an accident with one of these gigantic death traps, you may have seen one or read about one.

It would be hard not to hear about a fatal big rig accident, since just about one in every eight traffic deaths involves a collision with a tractor-trailer. The causes? Typically, they range from trucker negligence to mechanical flaws and from driver distraction to manufacturing defects.

You have to hope in your heart of hearts that the rig you’re driving beside is in tip top operational shape and that the driver is alert, safety conscious and courteous about his half of the road, as opposed to wanting to share yours. You’d like to know if the steering, tires and brakes all check out.

If they don’t, you can count on the trucker losing control of a vehicle in a tense situation. If those tires are mushy, expect a blow out and possible roll over or jackknife, and if that happens, steering control is shot. If the brakes are questionable, there’s little chance they will stop the behemoth.

You need to remember at all times that handling a big rig is not like driving a car or other smaller vehicle. There are huge blind spots for these rigs, an incredibly wide turning radius, load on considerations and stopping factors to take into consideration. For instance, 18-wheelers can’t stop on a dime. Be smart when you’re in their presence, as it never pays to pick a grudge with something that big.

Never assume that the trucker is good to go and has had all his mandated breaks. Unfortunately, many truckers don’t honor their down time requirements and drive until they are exhausted. A dead tired trucker is almost worse than a drunk driver. Stay away from the rigs, give them road space and above all else, stay out of the “no zone” blind spots right in front of them, to the rear and on either side of the truck.

The bottom line is if they can’t see you, you stand the chance of being obliterated, crushed, run off the road or worse. Travel in the presence of big rigs with due care and attention.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

Anyone who has ever been in a motorcycle accident and who has not hired a skilled Atlanta personal injury lawyer to assist them with their claim will likely have stories about how long it took for the insurance company to settle. There is a reason for that and chances are you will not like what you hear. However, it is the truth and you will understand why it’s a strategic and smart move to get legal counsel.

It’s a no brainer that motorcycle accidents are just about the worst kind of wrecks on the road today, largely because the biker has very little in the way of protection. That usually means some significant injuries. If the claim for those injuries were to be settled the right way, as in the insurance company paying out what the injuries are really worth, this would cost the insurance company a chunk of change.

If the insurance company kept paying out large amounts of money to reflect the true value of many accident claims, including car wrecks, they would either go out of business or raise the premiums so much that nobody could afford them. Since it is a given that insurance companies really like their money, as it lets them stay in business and make a profit, they have to cut corners somewhere.

They cut corners when they can get away with it by trying to get motorcycle accident claims and others reduced or denied, or at the very least try and pay out a minimal sum that won’t cover much. The less they pay out, the more their profits and the higher their bonuses. You’d be right if you said profit comes before people when you’re dealing with an insurance company.

If you do not have a lawyer by your side while you are filing for compensation for a motorcycle accident, watch your back. Without a capable and knowledgeable Atlanta personal injury lawyer, there is no reason for the insurance company to pay you quickly. With an attorney, they often settle much faster, for far more than you would get trying to handle things alone. In addition, the presence of a lawyer may mean them having to go to court. This is not a good thing in their eyes, as that may cost them even more.

Here’s the underbelly of another insurance stalling tactic: The more they delay, the more desperate the claimant becomes. In many instances, a desperate claimant will settle for less money. The second rather infamous tactic is to put words in your mouth about things you said or alluded to in conversations with you on the phone.

Do not think for one minute that they aren’t taking notes. They will use what you say against you when the occasion arises. If they have to deal with an Atlanta personal injury lawyer, you don’t get this doublespeak and actually stand a chance of getting a fair deal and better compensation.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

These days, not everyone wants to get into potentially expensive litigation to settle a business disagreement. Many companies and organizations would prefer to do some thinking outside the box and try to get to the bottom of the disagreement, finding a way to deal with it first before hitting a courtroom. Alternative dispute resolution is becoming a very popular solution in today’s economy.

Depending on the environment and the people involved in the dispute in the first place, an arbitrator or mediator may do the trick. Mediators are neutral third parties whose aim is to reconcile the differences between two parties before they head to arbitration or litigation. On the other hand, arbitrators actually hear evidence and then decide the case. Their decision may be non-binding or binding, depending on what the parties to the dispute want to accomplish.

Either route taken does stand the chance, if not successful, of winding up in court. To this end, some parties like to hire a facilitator before starting anything. The reason for this is that the facilitator’s skills lie in making communications between the two groups better. Often, if the dispute is the result of a misunderstanding or miscommunication, the facilitator can get the train back on the tracks and re-establish respectful mutual communication.

For any of these processes, you will want someone who is objective and unbiased, without a hidden agenda and one that does not come to the table with statements already prepared. That’s never a good sign. The person chosen to hopefully settle the dispute also needs to have an abundance of tact, the ability to listen in neutral mode and be sensitive to the nuances of the group they are assisting. If that person also happens to be a lawyer, so much the better. Many business lawyers these days have this kind of training in addition to being a seasoned Atlanta business lawyer.

Most noncriminal disputes have a good chance at being resolved in mediation, more so if they involve leases, small business ownership issues, employment and contracts. Harassment claims are generally successfully resolved in this kind of venue as well.

Arbitration usually involves the arbitrator being judge and jury rolled into one, with the end result that they render a decision when the process is concluded. In other words, arbitration is much like going to court. Many arbitrators are lawyers, have legal experience or a legal education.

All in all, there are many alternative processes that may be used today to settle business disputes. When in doubt, speak to an Atlanta business lawyer.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.

It’s pretty much a no-brainer that people should not be driving a lethal weapon while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Nevertheless, they do it anyhow. In most states, and certainly in Georgia, it is a punishable offense, with the punishment hinging on the severity of the offense and the driver’s condition when charged.

If arrested for DUI in Georgia, you will face a court hearing and depending on the nature of any injuries or damages involved, you may face a fine, a jail term or both. Your driver’s license may also be suspended and you may be ordered to attend court-appointed counseling.

While there are cases where there is no harm done to another, you might not think it is any big deal, especially if everyone is OK. Don’t even think for one minute that it is OK, because even if no one is hurt, you may still be punished based on your blood alcohol content, your condition and your behavior when arrested. For this reason, do not – and this bears repeating, do not – talk to the police when you are arrested, or even before you are arrested.

Do not get into why you were out drinking and driving, what speed you were or were not doing, how you feel or anything else. Be quiet and call an Atlanta criminal defense lawyer as soon as you can. Anything you have to say can be said to the lawyer. Anything you say that isn’t said to your lawyer has a mean way of coming back to bite you later. Remain silent until you get counsel, otherwise you could mess up your case.

Georgia has an involved process for DUI charges that mean a hearing session, appearing before a judge, a preliminary hearing, a pre-trial conference and criminal proceedings. Those criminal proceedings may mean charges of DUI felony. There is no way you can choose to represent yourself through this legal maze, which is why you will need a skilled Atlanta criminal defense lawyer.

Do not opt out of hiring legal counsel because you want to save money, because by the time you are done in the court process, without counsel, you will be paying out a large sum of money. Better you have the DUI criminal defense lawyer in your corner, who may be able to reduce charges or mitigate the whole case and get it tossed out. An experienced DUI lawyer is worth his weight in gold.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.

Driving while under the influence is, unfortunately, more common that we would like it to be. For some reason, people who drink and drive think they are immortal. They also think nothing will happen to them and that it is safe to drive. It is not safe to drive and the statistics show a high number of deaths related to those who drink and drive – killing themselves and killing others.

DUI in Georgia is no picnic. Usually, the repercussions are losing your drivers certificate and driving privileges. Yes, you can certainly ask for a new one, but you will need a good DUI Atlanta criminal defense lawyer to get this done. He or she will be able to help you through the administrative driver’s license postponement process. Unfortunately, that also means you will be cited in one of two ways: with a per se violation or a less safe driver violation.

For the less safe driver violation, you are dealing with the police officer’s judgment at the time of your apprehension. In other words, there isn’t any scientific verification of the officer’s assessment that you were DUI. Their notes may show your speech was slurred, you reeked of booze, couldn’t walk a straight line, etc.

On the other hand, the per se violation is a proven fact; the fact that your blood alcohol content was over the official limit. What is the permissible limit in Georgia? In drivers over the age of 21, it’s .08 percent. Those over that limit face a variety of penalties such as 24 hours to 12 months in jail for a first offense. There may also be fines involved ranging from $600 to $1,000 and you may find yourself serving, at the very least, 40 hours of public service. There are a variety of other penalties, all of which need to be discussed with your Atlanta criminal defense lawyer in order to get the best possible outcome for your case.

Most criminal defense lawyers will tell you right upfront not to talk to the police and to say nothing until you make contact with a lawyer. The only person who needs to hear the whole story about what you were doing drinking and driving is the lawyer.

The main reason for this is that if you voluntarily start talking about why you were out drinking and what you were doing, this information will wind up in court later. If you do say things you were better off not saying, you significantly hamper your lawyer’s ability to help you mitigate the charges or get them thrown out. Also, it is best to remember that if you choose to continue to drink and drive and rack up charge after charge, the penalties get increasingly stiffer. Ultimately, you could have an ignition interlock device on every vehicle you own.

Think twice about drinking and driving in Georgia for two reasons; if you’re caught, your record will dog you for years to come and drinking and driving kills. Do you really want to become another DUI statistic?

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.

Did you know that there are not that many suspected med mal cases that actually make it to court? This is largely due to the fact that many patients don’t really know exactly what goes into making a med mal case versus what general complications of a medical procedure happen to be. In other words, they don’t know what really constitutes medical malpractice and what constitutes a general and likely expected complication of a certain treatment, procedure or surgery.

Knowing what the basics of a med mal claim are before you try to file one is a good idea, largely so you don’t waste time pursuing a case that isn’t a case. The first thing you need to know is that when it comes to figuring out if there is medical malpractice afoot is whether negligence was involved in your injury. You need to be able to show that the doctors or other medical professionals in charge of your care were negligent in their duties to you and because they were, they caused you harm.

The negligence we’re talking about here may come in many forms. The most glaringly evident one would be if a surgeon left a sponge inside your body after an operation. A far more subtle one would deal with misdiagnosis of cancer. In the case of a doctor leaving something in your body, you have a fairly solid case to work with, because there is plenty of evidence that shows the instrument or object inside your body. It is evidence like this that an Atlanta personal injury lawyer would use in court while representing a medical malpractice plaintiff.

On the other hand, misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose is a different can of worms. These are difficult cases to prov because the field of medicine is fraught with all kinds of what ifs, alternatives, diseases that mimic something else and human error. For a misdiagnosis, you need precise and very clear evidence that the medical professional didn’t recognize the signs of your condition and also failed to do something about it or failed to implement the proper or right treatment/medication(s) to deal with the issue. In cases like that, you will need an expert medical witness who combs through your medical history in depth and who will testify for you in court.

One thing you need to remember is that if the jury finds that a doctor did everything they possibly could to provide the absolute best outcome for your treatment or procedure, they will often find for the defense, even if your condition is not fixed. This is why you really need to speak to a skilled and competent Atlanta personal injury lawyer about your case. If however, there is obviously gross negligence in the handling of your case, this is another story altogether.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.

It is hard to be invisible on the road when you are in a car, but being invisible on the road when you are on a motorcycle is all too common. The most often repeated phrase when the police arrive at a bike wreck is the driver of the car repeating over and over: “I just didn’t see him.”

Kind of makes you want to think twice about being a biker, doesn’t it? Along with the risks of being creamed by another vehicle, there is virtually zero rider protection. The physical injuries sustained in motorcycle crashes are legion, usually ugly and often life-altering or terminal. Many Atlanta personal injury lawyers see some horrific crashes in their practices. A motorcycle versus car wreck and happen any time, any place and the results aren’t going to be good.

Take the cases of two Florida residents who were involved in motorcycle crashes three hours apart; one 58-year-old rider died and the other 47-year-old female biker sustained serious injuries. The man died after he was hit by a Nissan, driven by a senior. The driver didn’t see him and turned right in front of him. Since he had nowhere else to go, he slammed into driver’s door. He died at the hospital.

In the second case, the female biker collided with a Toyota. The setting sun blinded the car driver, and she said she didn’t see the biker. The biker was transported to a local hospital with serious injuries. In both cases, the police will be charging both drivers with violation of right-of-way.

As you can see, there were different outcomes in each case, but the common factor was that neither driver saw or heard the motorcycle. If you or someone you know has been in a serious motorcycle accident like the two mentioned above, you will want to discuss your case with a skilled Atlanta personal injury lawyer. If you want compensation for your injuries or compensation for a wrongful death, the best route is to hire legal help; help that will win you fair and equitable compensation.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

No matter what way you look at it, if you are injured in a car wreck, and the injuries are severe, this is not good. One thing to remember though is that medically and legally speaking, there are various degrees of suffering. While it may sound cold to base compensation of the severity of the injury, it’s about the only way that makes sense when money is handed out to the victim.

In other words, in accident cases, if the injuries are severe, the amount of money a plaintiff may receive is higher to cover that severity. This is sometimes a difficult concept to grasp. If you are dealing with a severe injury case, have your Atlanta personal injury lawyer explain how damage awards are calculated.

You have to remember that it’s not just that the injuries are bad, but that the recovery process for those injuries is exceedingly long, painful, debilitating, depressing, daunting and may also be permanent; a definite monkey wrench in the fabric of what used to be a normal life. The important thing to note here is that how long the injury lasts is also a factor taken into consideration when accident compensation is calculated.

For example, if a victim is confined to a bed for months on end and can’t work, those lost wages play a part in the final award calculations. Or if someone’s injuries are so severe they will never work again or have a normal life, this too is factored into the final award. When bad things happen to good people as the result of the negligence of someone else, this is an injustice that needs to be dealt with, and it’s dealt with by fair and equitable compensation. It’s dealt with by hiring an Atlanta personal injury lawyer to represent you in court.

For those accident victims that will spend the rest of their lives being cared for by someone else, their needs right now must be met, but their needs for future also need to be met. As you can imagine, those with around the clock care will have higher damage awards in order to allow them to pay for the care they need. These are some of the reasons you will see very high awards – usually in the millions – in the papers or hear about them on the radio or TV.

Claimants usually receive their compensation in one of two ways: a lump sum payment placed in trust, or enforced yearly payments made by the liable party. Generally speaking, the yearly payment route is taken if there is the possibility of unanticipated costs or if it’s just about impossible to settle on a figure that will care for the person for the rest of their life. All these details are things that need to be discussed with an Atlanta personal injury lawyer if you find yourself in a situation like this.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com

“This case that we read about recently involved a young girl who suffered severe birth injuries – brain injuries. It was interesting in that it proves that these kinds of cases are always radically different, just sometimes similar, and that to get justice, a plaintiff needs the assistance of a seasoned personal injury lawyer,” said Stephen M. Ozcomert, who handles personal injury cases, accidents, and malpractice law in Atlanta, Georgia.

The first jury that heard the initial case in 2008 handed down a “shockingly low” award, particularly given the extreme severity of the girl’s injuries, Ozcomert said. The first medical malpractice lawsuit was filed against the hospital in 2002. It took six years for a verdict.

The parents of the young girl stated that their obstetrician, an anesthesiologist and a nurse were negligent for not properly monitoring and managing the mother’s labor. This ultimately resulted in a delayed C-section, which in turn caused severe and permanent neurological injuries to the baby because she was deprived of oxygen.

The baby was 6 years old when the case went to court and the mother provided testimony that the child could not crawl (only wiggle and kick her feet), feed herself (she is intubated to be fed), speak or walk and that she would be in diapers her whole life. The child’s assessed cognitive age was set at between two and three months. The girl was diagnosed with permanent brain damage, cerebral palsy, spastic quadriplegia and developmental retardation. She couldn’t hear very well and had regular seizures. The pediatric expert witness at trial said no improvement is expected and that she may live until the age of 28 years old.

“The defense in this case tried in another state insisted the condition happened due to a prior in utero event that was so severe that earlier delivery wouldn’t have made any difference. While that may be hard to believe that something so drastic would have happened without the mother knowing, it was what the defense argued. In the final analysis, the jury found the doctor negligent and that her negligence was a significant factor that caused the baby’s injuries,” Ozcomert said.

“Here’s where things got a bit hazy as to reasoning for the award. The child was awarded $3,807,832 for future life care expenses, zero for the loss of future earning capacity and $150,000 for her pain and suffering and disability. The parents were awarded $527,284 for past expenses and $150,000 for past and future loss of their child’s companionship and society. These are very low awards, and both sides appealed,” Ozcomert said.

On appeal, the court agreed with the parents that the damage award was unreasonably low and shocking and a new trial was ordered. The child in this case is effectively frozen in time and unable to move forward and will never be more than an infant. The $150,000 award(s) were painfully low and abhorrent, as was the jury decision to not award money for lost earnings, according to Ozcomert. The new trial is yet to be scheduled.

“This type of case happens more often than you might think and in situations like this, it’s vital to have a skilled Atlanta personal injury lawyer handle your case. The family will need maximum compensation to care for their child. It’s just that simple and obvious. If you are in a situation like this and your child has been injured due to medical malpractice, you will have questions about your case. If you choose to call my office, I would be happy to explain the law to you and what your rights are,” Ozcomert said.

To learn more visit http://www.ozcomert.com.

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.

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.

Just when you think you may have heard everything, you hear about a fairly graphic term that happens in certain accident cases called underriding. Underriding refers to a wreck where a vehicle or a motorcycle drives under the trailer of a big rig. These accidents are not pretty, are mostly fatal and if they aren’t, the survivors sustain catastrophic injuries such as brain injury, spinal cord injury, shattered bones and severe crush injuries.

In underriding cases, there is no question you will need a highly experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyer to help you get the proper compensation to care for you for the rest of your life. If you do not survive your injuries, then that same lawyer may help the family file a wrongful death lawsuit.

What causes underriding? There are a number of reasons for underriding accidents. They usually have to do with a truck driving without lights or the lights are so dirty they can’t be seen. There have also been cases where the reflective tape and the lights have been damaged and not replaced.

Another reason for a fatality of this nature is if the truck is moving much slower than the posted speed limit, or it has been left too close to the road and does not have warning cones. As you may imagine, if it is dark outside and the truck can’t be seen that well, it’s hard to judge distance or even be able to see the rig.

There have also been instances when a truck has jackknifed across a fairly narrow road and they have no warning lights or cones out or the truck is missing the usual rear guard that is specifically designed to stop underride wrecks. An underride accident may also happen if the guards on the rear of the truck are defective or not properly attached. There have even been situations where a big rig backs into a smaller vehicle, causing an underride accident.

What this all boils down to is that there are any number of ways to fall victim to an underride accident. Survivors are usually in desperate need for compensation to pay for their medical expenses for the rest of their lives. Most survivors will not be able to work, may not be able to walk, speak or even communicate that well. They may have been horribly burned as their vehicle burst into flames.

The point is that those with debilitating injuries like burns, spinal cord injury or brain damage will need long-term care, and that is expensive. Only a skilled Atlanta personal injury lawyer will be able to get you the kind of compensation you need for the care you require.

If you’re not sure if you have a case, don’t hesitate to contact an Atlanta personal injury lawyer and start asking questions. Your life and your care may depend on it.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

“No one expects they’re going to go to the store and come home with a defective product, especially one that will harm you. You go to buy something that you trust will do the job. Say, for instance, a chainsaw. You want to take down some trees in your yard. You didn’t expect that the hand guard on the chain saw was so poorly attached that it could come off by accidentally banging it. That product ‘flaw’ just about cost you your hand,” said Stephen M. Ozcomert, who handles personal injury cases, accidents, and malpractice law in Atlanta, Georgia.

Unfortunately, defective products seem to take the lead in the marketplace. Goods made to last a lifetime were replaced by goods made to last for the shortest period of time possible. Thanks to inferior components, cutting corners, altering trustworthy designs and products made with cheap materials, the number of defective product cases in the U.S. is on the rise.

Granted, getting home and finding out a certain product doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do isn’t a big deal; after all, one can go get a refund. But what if the product is something used to seal caulking in the bathroom and the instructions on the spray can don’t mention it should not be used in a closed room?

“You use the product and wind up in ER with severe lung damage, having just squeaked by being dead instead. That product was not properly labeled and you have a right to sue the company for compensation for your injuries,” Ozcomert said.

“Would you want to talk to a lawyer about your accident and who would pay for your hospital bills? No doubt you would and while we’re at it, we would cover what your legal rights are with regard to compensation and what you may expect from manufacturers and defective products,” he said.

The bottom line in most, if not all, product liability cases is that if a manufacturer is providing a service or product to the marketplace and millions of consumers, they must stick to very strict guidelines for safety when making, labeling, selling and distributing their goods/services. If they fail in this task, they might well expect to be sued for compensation for medical bills, etc.

“More often than not, defective products tend to fall in to several categories. Consumers need to be alert and aware when it comes to product hazards and product recalls. Perhaps reading a product recall list is about as exciting as watching paint peel, but it may save a life – yours or someone in your family. Be on the lookout for defective products in the categories of surgical supplies, food contamination, medical equipment, cars, toys and cosmetic enhancements. An alert consumer is a safe one,” Ozcomert said.

To learn more visit http://www.ozcomert.com.

In the Atlanta area, there are many professionals available to you, to be sure. But it is important that you choose an attorney who specializes in personal injury cases and who has the compassion, zeal and experience for the job. Personal injury accidents can be emotionally and physically demanding and the last thing you need to worry about is whether your lawyer will be working hard enough to secure the damages that you are seeking.

It is necessary that you act quickly and wisely in selecting someone to represent you to help you receive compensation for your injuries, lost wages, medical expenses, property damage and pain and suffering.

There are a seemingly endless number of lawyers who can represent someone and fight in court for their rights, but as a victim you need someone who takes your case as seriously as you do.

It may also be possible to secure punitive damages. Punitive damages, also known as exemplary damages, are awarded in cases where the defendant is deemed to have acted especially egregious or has a track record of taking the types of actions that have led to your personal injury. They are typically awarded by judges and juries.

With important compensation at stake, it is necessary that you secure the right attorney. Here are some tips for finding a good personal injury attorney:

-Ask for a referral from another lawyer you trust, from a friend or from a membership organization or state bar association.

-Make sure you interview your attorney during the initial consultation. Ask about his or her experience, whether or not the case will be taken on a contingent fee basis, whether he or she will be personally working on the case, how often you will receive progress updates on your case and anything else you need to know that will make you feel more comfortable with him or her.

-Select an attorney who specializes in your type of personal injury case. The more specific experience, the better.

-Ask for a written retainer agreement.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.

However, the flipside to the story is that some patients have dealt with lasting injuries brought on by negligence and malpractice from surgeons.

What is LASIK?

LASIK, which stands for Laser-Assisted in Situ Keratomileusis, is a procedure that was developed about 20 years ago to combat astigmatism, myopia and other common vision issues. The surgical procedure is relatively simple and is undertaken by cutting a flap in the corneal tissue of the eye before a laser is used to correct the visual condition.

Typically, any complications disappear within a couple of weeks of surgery. Unfortunately, this is not the case for some patients. These patients have to deal with long-term complications ranging from pain to dry eye to light sensitivity to, in some cases, blindness.

How do you know if you have legitimate malpractice suit? Many of the complications have arisen not because of a botched surgery, such as an errant cutting of the flap in the corneal tissue, but because of poor pre-surgical screening. Some patients simply should not have been allowed to receive the procedure.

For example, people with thin or cone-shaped corneas are not good candidates for LASIK surgery, yet some patients were still OK’d for LASIK.

Complications from LASIK surgery can lead to a lifetime of problems and “visual exhaustion.” Sometimes victims can have difficulty driving or working as a result. Sometimes it affects their personal and social lives, too.

If you or someone you know has experienced a serious LASIK surgery complication, you should seek the advice of an experienced Atlanta personal injury attorney who can help you seek justice for your injuries.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.

While some people may think that filing a wrongful death lawsuit is all about getting even with the person or company who killed your loved one, it isn’t. Primarily, it is about getting financial compensation for the family for their future. When a loved one suddenly dies, the economic and emotional shock is truly devastating.

If you lost a loved one whose income supported the family, would you wonder where the next dollar to pay the bills would come from? You sure would. It’s for this reason that those left behind seek legal counsel and want to find out what their rights are by asking a lawyer what will happen next and what can the family do to obtain compensation.

Unfortunately, wrongful death cases happen far too often in the U.S. Everyone is in such a hurry to get places, put out defective products or cut corners (usually to make money at the expense of others) that life is just not the way it used to be. The thing with most wrongful death cases is that they never should have happened in the first place.

They are considered wrongful because, in most instances, the fatality could have been prevented but for the negligence or recklessness of another. This isn’t to say there isn’t bad luck, bad chance or fate, as that does indeed happen at times. However, the vast majority of wrongful death cases had no reason to happen if it hadn’t been for someone being reckless. It isn’t just the victim that has been harmed, so has their family.

Revenge isn’t the usual motivating factor for wrongful death lawsuits. In fact, many families are highly reluctant to bring suit because they don’t want any more trouble or hassles. However, they do want someone to be held accountable for their actions. That only makes sense, given the death of their family member. After all, the legal system is founded on holding others responsible for their personal actions.

Families seeking legal redress and financial compensation do not get rich from their wrongful death lawsuits. They get just about enough to replace the income they’ve lost with the death of their loved one. If the person who died was the sole breadwinner, the family needs to be able to keep a roof over their heads and eat. This is one of the reasons those needing money to continue to live should speak to an Atlanta personal injury lawyer. Personal injury lawyers deal with wrongful death cases.

If you have lost a family member due to the negligence of another and are not sure what to do or how to claim financial compensation, contact a lawyer with experience in this area. Your family needs justice, but they also need financial compensation to replace what they lost, as life is for the living.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

If the world were as simple as it once was, things might be straightforward and easy when it comes to lawsuits. However, in this complex day and age with multiple property owners, international property owners, lessees, holding companies and other entities who own land, who to sue in a premises liability case is not always clear. It isn’t always the person who caused an accident due to negligence that is directly responsible for a victim’s injuries in a premises liability/slip and fall case.

Some lawsuits in this area may directly involve the person who caused the accident or anyone who refused to render aid, or the property owner and not the manager. The ownership of the land where the accident took place is another issue that comes with its own set of liabilities. Ultimately, that means if a landowner wasn’t around when the accident happened, it doesn’t matter. The person still owns the property and has certain standards he or she needs to adhere to that keep it safe for those who use/visit the location.

What do clients need to prove in a premises liability case? First and foremost, it is necessary prove that the owner or occupier of the property had a superior knowledge of a hazardous condition and also that the plaintiff was exercising ordinary care for his or her own safety. There are other issues as well that determine the duties of the owner/occupier of the property, depending upon whether the plaintiff is considered an “invitee” or a “licensee”. This can be a confusing distinction, as many people consider premises liability law to be hazy. This is one of the major reasons people injured in premises liability cases should take their cases to a skilled Atlanta personal injury lawyer.

Premises liability isn’t really that difficult to understand in and of itself, as it simply means, with all the legal jargon stripped away, that a person needs to keep his or her property safe so others don’t get injured. That’s pretty straightforward. Where the rubber meets the road at times is in figuring out who actually owns a piece of property in order to name them as a defendant.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

In a criminal case, the person charged goes to a criminal court and is dealt with accordingly. They may be found guilty or not guilty. Either way, once that process is concluded, the person can also be sued again, but civilly. For the best example of a situation like that, think the O. J. Simpson case.

“Let’s say we’re dealing with the wrongful death of a loved one as a result of vehicular homicide. The criminal case has been dealt with, but the family wishes to recover compensation for the loss of their loved one. A wrongful death lawsuit is filed under a wrongful death statute and is the civil recourse for families whose loved one was killed because of the negligence/intentional acts of another. It is their route to justice outside of the criminal courts,” said Stephen M. Ozcomert, who handles personal injury cases, accidents, and malpractice law in Atlanta, Georgia.

While filing a wrongful death lawsuit will not bring the deceased back, it is a step in the grieving process that may help the family deal with their loss. By changing their focus to economic recovery, they may be able to handle the loss in a different light. Wrongful death suits also try to quantify the value of the deceased’s life by examining things like loss of inheritance, loss of earnings and potential earnings and medical and/or funeral costs.

“At best, the process to calculate the worth of a life is difficult, as there are things that defy being pegged successfully, such as the value of loss of comfort and companionship, emotional support and guidance. Thus, typically speaking, the compensation you would get from a wrongful death action may not be as complete as one would like, but it comes close in most cases,” Ozcomert said.

Most, if not all, wrongful death lawsuits need the assistance of qualified counsel. The process is complex and the lawyer knows how to proceed to get a family the most compensation possible given the circumstances of the case.

“Don’t wait too long to call a lawyer and ask about your case, as you may miss the deadline for the Statute of Limitations. If that happens, you lose your right to sue,” Ozcomert said.

To learn more visit http://www.ozcomert.com.

“Most people, when they hear the words ‘professional malpractice,’ think it refers to lawyers or doctors. While it may well refer to them, it is also a term used when talking about accounting malpractice. Simply put, accounting malpractice happens if any accounting professional is negligent in the performance of their duties,” said Stephen M. Ozcomert, who handles personal injury cases, accidents, and malpractice law in Atlanta, Georgia.

To further explain professional standards for various individuals who are certified to practice, it’s vital to know that the institutes that certify these professionals have a list that outlines what the standard of care is for their members to provide to their customers. The list says what standards of care need to be met to protect the public from harm, deceit, malfeasance, etc.

This isn’t to say that all accountants, lawyers or doctors will abuse their positions, because most professionals are trustworthy and reliable. If the standard of care is not met in a profession, this may be considered negligence.

“In a case involving accounting malpractice, the plaintiff has to show the defendant was negligent and didn’t meet the level of care expected – the common or customary care – in the accounting profession. An example of that would be the accountant not filing a client’s tax return on time or not properly filling out the return and it results in a financial penalty to the client,” Ozcomert said.

Generally speaking, there are four elements a plaintiff needs to meet to be successful in an accounting malpractice lawsuit. It must be shown that the accountant had a clear responsibility to the client; that the accountant didn’t act responsibly; that the client was injured and that the accountant’s actions were the proximate cause of the injury.

Not all cases are clear cut and straightforward and for this reason, if someone feels they have been financially harmed by the misdeeds of an accountant, talk to an Atlanta malpractice lawyer.

“You need to know your rights, what options you have and whether or not your potential case is actually malpractice or not, as some cases may not be malpractice. If you have questions about what you feel is a malpractice case, call me and we can discuss the details,” Ozcomert said.

To learn more visit http://www.ozcomert.com.

There is no question that riding a motorcycle is one of the greatest thrills on planet Earth. It is a super-charged rush to get on the open road and boot it. While you might be a very safe rider, it’s the people in other vehicles that you have to watch out for, because they often just don’t see you, no matter how big your bike happens to be.

In fact, not seeing you is the most commonly cited cause of motorcycle accidents. Unfortunately, it also means that bikers get hit more often than other vehicles and sustain severe injuries and may ultimately lose their lives. Education is a good start to reduce the number of motorcycle crashes on the road. Improving others’ driving skills and alertness would help. The problem is, some drivers just don’t seem to understand that bikers are smaller vehicles of which they need to be aware. Sadly, just about 70 percent of the wrecks involving bikers are due to the negligence of a motorist.

Driving down a country road can also be a high-risk activity for motorcyclists. Country roads are infamous for being poorly maintained. They’re often full of potholes, uneven gravel ridges, debris and other surprises dropped on the road by farm trucks. In an effort to get out of the way of a hazard or swerve around something, a biker sometimes finds himself wiping out. This often results in lower body injuries that may include spinal cord injuries. Traumatic brain injury is another possibility.

Speed is also a factor in crashes – either too fast or too slow – meaning the speed of nearby cars relative to a motorcycle. For instance, a car in front of a biker suddenly stops and because of its speed, the biker can’t stop and rear-ends the car. Or, the biker may be stopped and the car rear-ends the biker. Bikes stop faster than cars and most drivers don’t realize that. Consequently, the faster the speeds of the vehicles involved in a crash, the worst the resulting injuries.

There are numerous other factors that can cause a wreck that are related to the motorcycle itself. Improper maintenance, the use of after-market parts (some of which are taken from bike crashes and recycled), wrong tires on the front or back – the list goes on. The bottom line tends to be that motorcyclists need to be aware of the risks, handle their vehicles to the best of their abilities and keep a sharp eye out for potentially dangerous situations.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

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.

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.

Wrongful death is a bit of an unusual term, because there is no such thing as a death that is right. As awkward as it may seem, to understand what wrongful death is, you have to look at the bigger picture. When someone dies as the result of the negligence or inaction of another person or an entity, this is called wrongful death. It may sound simple on the surface, but it rarely is, as any Atlanta personal injury lawyer will tell you.

For those who have died at the hands of another, there may be fairly large damage awards for the deceased’s loved ones. Wrongful death has no particular niche. It strikes at anytime, anywhere and may be the result of a car accident, medical malpractice or even not maintaining property to ensure it is safe for others to visit. Another form of wrongful death may happen when a 911 call for help is not handled properly or promptly.

An improperly handled 911 call would involve the dispatcher handling the call in a negligent manner or being careless about the information he or she gathered and sent out. If someone dies as a result of those errors, the operator may be held liable for the wrongful death. One enormous oversight made by 911 dispatchers is not getting enough information from the caller.

For example, not getting the right address or all the details of the emergency situation may result in emergency responders going to the wrong location or not sending the right kind of emergency personnel to the scene. Not having a complete understanding of the severity of a situation a caller is describing may also result in an untimely and unnecessary death.

Take the case of the baby who had stopped breathing in a small town. The family called the dispatch center six times over a 15-minute period but the calls went unanswered. For some reason they were not going through to the dispatch center, either due to operator error or a technical glitch. Finally, the last call for help was answered by an operator in the next county. Unfortunately, the baby died while help was on the way. While there are several facets of this case to be delved into, the result was a wrongful death.

If you have any questions about how a wrongful death lawsuit is handled in your state, make sure you call and ask a skilled personal injury lawyer. While every state has a wrongful death statute, each state also has slightly different rules and regulations. If you live in Georgia, make that call to an Atlanta personal injury lawyer.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.

Usually when the economy takes a turn for the worse, many businesses are forced to slash prices and push advertisements and flyers that say all stock is on sale and they’re closing out. What if a business could be restructured in such a way that tough economic times don’t bother them as much, and they may even able to ride out a recession?

This doesn’t necessarily mean restructuring legally, but instead, restructuring by being innovative and going with the flow. Instead of giving in to a recession, fight back by polling employees for their ideas to keep the doors open. Being innovative means using all avenues open to you, and that includes technology, employees and finding others with lots of experience with riding out rough spots to share their hard fought wisdom with you. It may also ultimately mean restructuring the company with the help of an Atlanta business law firm, but that is a detail you can attend to later.

What kinds of ideas would you need? Ideally, you want the drive and the will to make it through the rocky spots, and that means employees with ideas and innovations that are simpler, faster, shorter and more cost effective than what you presently have. Just because a business does things one way “because they always have done it that way,” doesn’t mean that way can’t be changed and stripped down to work better.

Certainly, it’s not just ideas that will allow a business to survive a recession, it’s also expansion. While that may seem surprising and counterintuitive, think about it for a minute. Take advantage of what is currently selling and improve upon it and expand it.

For instance: let’s say you have a dog training business that does basic obedience work. It’s popular, but you need a boost. You expand your services to include grooming, homemade dog biscuits, nail clipping, ear cleaning and pet sitting. You get the idea. Add services to what people already buy – a spinoff effect, if you will – and watch the revenue come in.

Above all else, be flexible with what you offer in terms of services and products. Partner with other businesses to offer customers an even greater level of service and spread the coin around. If you structure your business so that all your eggs are not in one basket, but each portion of your overall business can stand alone on its own, you have the recipe for success during a recession. It’s certainly worth trying.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.

“While this may seem to be a no-brainer, there are a large number of people who, when faced with a police presence, panic and run. Don’t do this. It’s one of the worst things you could do and it doesn’t do you any good in court later, either,” said Robert Webb, of Webb & D’Orazio in Atlanta, Georgia. The firm practices personal injury law, business law, and criminal defense.

Many people, when they have been arrested or are about to be arrested, talk and sputter with abandon. Do not offer any explanations for anything to anyone. “Just provide your name and keep the details of whatever it is the police want to talk to you about to yourself, and only speak to me. Why? Because although you may be innocent and just nervous, every single word you say is taken down for use against you later. The reality is that the police are looking for probable cause to arrest you. If the police ask to question you informally, refuse. By asking, they’re telling you you’re a suspect. Call me and I’ll take it from there,” Webb said.

That last thing anyone under arrest needs to do is dig themselves a hole they can’t get out of, even if they were just trying to explain themselves. “Stay quiet, be polite, refuse to be questioned and don’t let the police make a case against you,” Webb said.

“If your car has been halted at a traffic stop and you’re asked if the police can informally search your vehicle. The answer needs to be ‘no.’ This is because arrest charges could come about as a result of that search. The long and short of this is, don’t give permission for them to search you, your possessions or you car,” he said.

“Even though being arrested is a traumatic experience, remember your rights,” Webb said. The police are required to give a Miranda warning about remaining silent. Take that advice to heart and do not say anything and get a criminal defense lawyer immediately.

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

Most survival actions are launched in partnership with a wrongful death lawsuit. This is when someone dies suddenly due to the negligence of another. It may be due to a work accident, a dangerous/defective product, medical malpractice, car crash, an animal attack or medication errors. “As a net result of this unexpected death, those left behind face huge medical bills, burial costs, mental anguish and an overwhelming sense of loss; this in addition to trying to cope with their everyday lives. A wrongful death action lets the family get compensation for their loss,” said Robert Webb, an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio in Georgia.

A wrongful death claim may only be brought by the deceased’s immediate family. That would mean siblings, children, parents or spouse. In most instances, it is the spouse or a personal representative of the estate who launches the lawsuit. If the only surviving family member is a minor, the courts appoint a Guardian ad Litem to protect his or her interests.

“If a family member has been killed due someone else’s negligence, don’t wait to file a lawsuit. Time is critical in cases like this. Each state tends to have a different timeline for actions like this For instance, South Carolina’s timeline is three years. In Georgia, the statute of limitations for a wrongful death lawsuit is two years, so don’t wait,” Webb said. If the statute of limitations runs out, the plaintiff can’t pursue their claim.

Damages in cases like this generally fall into two rather wide categories, non-economic loss and economic loss. “In the non-economic loss category, you’d find things like loss of consortium, mental anguish and loss of companionship and society. In the economic loss category are things such as funeral and burial expenses, loss of support, loss of inheritance and loss of services provided to the home and family,” Webb said.

As for survival actions, this deals with damages suffered by the deceased prior to death. The survival action and wrongful death actions are usually filed together. These damages may include pre-death pain and suffering, pre-death mental anguish, loss of enjoyment prior to death and pre-death economic loss. Pre-death economic loss usually refers to items such as medical bills and lost wages. “These actions may also include a request for punitive damages against the person who caused the accident. If the act the negligent person committed was so egregious as to be reprehensible, the court may award punitive damages to punish the defendant,” Webb said.

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

George and Joseph American were debating the merits of the health care system over their morning cup of coffee and bemoaning the number of medical malpractice suits they saw in the news. George opined that doctors are afraid to treat patients because they might get sued. While that may be true of some physicians, the vast majority stay in medicine because, first and foremost, they want to help people. Very few leave the profession because of high insurance, low reimbursements from insurance companies or medical malpractice lawsuits.

Joseph added that he was positive that doctors must just hate attorneys. It’s kind of hard to argue with that statement, as it may have a kernel of truth to it. However, a large number of doctors respect and rely on fine attorneys who are good at what they, do and that includes helping a doctor set up their business, handling their affairs with regard to real estate transactions, advising them about contracts and how to protect their assets and even draft up estate plans. Not every lawyer on planet Earth is out to sue a doctor for medical malpractice; some even defend med mal lawsuits.

The conversation eventually swung around to med mal insurance companies and how doctors must just totally have a hate on for them too. While some doctors may cringe when insurance renewal time comes up, they have no choice in whether or not they carry liability insurance. They have to have it in case an injured patient opts to sue them.

Liability insurance offers the doctor protection from lawsuits by offering the physician a seasoned defense attorney. In reality, paying those premiums every year means they get legal assistance without paying out of pocket. Furthermore, should a court find for the plaintiff, the settlement is taken from the doctor’s insurance proceeds and he or she, generally speaking, don’t pay directly out of pocket. In the rare case where injuries exceed insurance coverage, there may be a case made to recover compensation from the doctor directly.

The George and Joseph conversation finished off with a lively debate over doctors practicing defensive medicine so they don’t get sued. This is an interesting area, as some doctors do precisely that, run test after test to find out what is wrong. The more tests, the better, so a patient can’t say the doctor didn’t do all of the necessary checks. While the patient might like that, some say all the tests are not necessary and end up increasing the price of health care.

It’s time to see the other side of this problem, which is that insurance companies, not doctors, are determining what tests should be run and what tests can’t be done. The physician may run some of the standard tests but not see anything. They need more focused tests to diagnose the patient. Critics say the high-end tests are great, but the insurance company should not pay for them. Thus, the insurance company now becomes a doctor; a company that knows only how to keep expenses low to make a profit. The same company that will tell the doctor they don’t think your X-ray or MRI is “medically necessary.”

The next time you have a conversation or debate about doctors and medical malpractice, it might be nice to mention some of the things you read about here.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.

A personal injury lawsuit is far more encompassing than many people realize. While it is primarily about your injuries, it also focuses on the negligence involved in the accident that harmed you, your pain and suffering, lost wages, loss of future wages, medical bills, medication and a host of other things, including inconvenience, anxiety and property damage. Calculating losses sustained in a personal injury case is more than just a little complicated. Your Atlanta personal injury lawyer will outline this to you when discussing your case.

To begin with, the type of injury you sustain will greatly affect how damages are figured. Generally speaking, there is a rule of thumb in the legal system that says the greater the injury, the more compensation is generally allocated to your settlement or verdict. Keep in mind, insurance companies do their own thing and will do their best to minimize your injuries and reduce or try to deny your claim. While you may be in hospital with a halo and facing months of surgery and therapy to be able to walk, the insurance company will try to find a way to make your pain and suffering sound minimal, like imply your injuries are pre-existing.

When filing a report for your insurance company and for your Atlanta personal injury lawyer, tell the complete truth as you know it. Don’t embellish it, minimize it or downplay anything. Tell it like it is and spell out all your injuries in a matter-of-fact manner. Stick to the facts, and the insurance company won’t find any loopholes to pick at later.

Damages in total may be factored down further into medical special damages/expenses, non-medical special damages/expenses and property damage/expenses. In most cases, your medical expenses are fairly easy to figure out since you have receipts for those. The kinds of things you’d need would be proof of money out of pocket for an ambulance, doctor’s fees, the ER, operation fees, medical exams, medical equipment, physical therapy and medications. This is fairly straightforward.

The category of non-medical special damages is far more complex and deals with all that you could have earned if the accident had not happened, and all the bills you acquired because of your accident. This area also includes future lost wages, vacation leave, sick leave that has not been taken, travel costs to the doctor and physical therapist, child care expenses and housekeeping services if you can’t handle housework any longer. Lost commissions and overtime pay may also be considered in this category, depending on the nature of your job. The best thing to do is to keep precise records.

Property damages are included in filing for compensation in a personal injury lawsuit, as well. This would include the cost to fix your vehicle, storage fees, towing, broken glasses and destroyed clothing. Again, keep all your receipts and give them to your Atlanta personal injury lawyer. It never hurts to be very detail oriented when it comes to documenting expenses for an accident claim.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.

For many people with serious spinal cord injuries that result in paraplegia or quadriplegia, the future care expenses are likely to be so high that there is no alternative but to seek compensation for them. The high future expenses, significant potential future wage loss, and pain and suffering often lead to very large claims for individuals who have sustained spinal cord injuries. As such, these cases require skilled representation by a personal injury attorney who has experience settling or trying spinal cord injury cases.

When victims are looking for a lawyer to handle their serious spinal cord injury case, they will make a better decision if they are aware of the types of claims a lawyer should be making on their behalf. The following factors should be considered in spinal injury cases:

• Loss of Earning Capacity – Loss of earning capacity is one of the major factors taken into consideration in a spinal cord injury claim. In order to determine earning capacity, a vocational expert will testify about how much of the victim’s expected lifetime earnings will be lost due to injury. Many SCI survivors cannot ever return to work; others do eventually, but they may have to take a lower paying position and their recovery may take a period of years. The vocational expert will show the jury what the victim would have expected to have earned over his or her lifetime had injury not occurred.

• Future Care Costs – Most people who suffer spinal cord injuries need various degrees of care throughout their lives. This care may range from a part-time housekeeper to a full-time attendant, as well as various medical services. A life care planner will assess the victim’s possible future needs and testify about them to a jury.

• Pain and Suffering – Pain and suffering is by far the most difficult element to assess in a spinal cord injury case, as it is less easy to pin down than lost wages or medical expenses. Being compensated for pain and suffering is an attempt to compensate a victim for the time that he or she is in pain after an accident. It deals with how one’s life was affected by the accident and one’s ability to carry out the activities of daily living.

Although these are not exhaustive categories, these are the major items that a spinal cord injury victim should discuss with a personal injury lawyer when advancing a claim or deciding whether or not to accept a settlement.

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

Over the past several years, motorcycles have become more and more popular. Not only are they gas efficient, they’re also a fun way to travel. Unfortunately, as the number of motorcycles has increased, so has the number of accidents. Although the number of motorcycle accidents that occur throughout the United States is relatively high and continues to grow each year, the reasons for these large numbers are often misunderstood. While there are a number of different causes for motorcycle accidents, many people seek to blame the cyclist for choosing a vehicle that lacks many of the safety features found in cars and trucks. Motorcycle accidents, though, cannot simply be blamed on an individual’s choice of transportation. A large number of motorcycle accidents actually take place, not due to the driver, but because of the negligence of other automobile drivers, debris on the road or unsafe road conditions.

Even though there are a number of other factors that can result in a motorcycle accident, the stigma associated with motorcycle riders is so prevalent that some insurance companies, juries, and even judges are often biased against a cyclist. This bias can sometimes result in ignoring the person or persons who actually caused the motorcycle accident to happen in the first place, and this can mean that the injured cyclist is denied the compensation owed to him under the law. Astoundingly, a cyclist’s own insurance company may refuse to pay some or all of their legally owed insurance costs.

To fight this bias, the most important step a victim or family member of a victim can make is to locate a good personal injury attorney who has experience in motorcycle accident cases and will help them seek damages to pay for medical bills, motorcycle replacement or repair, pain and suffering, loss of work, and any other motorcycle accident related expenses.

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

When drunk driving cases are brought to a criminal court, the court will take several factors into account before sentencing the driver, such as the driver’s prior clean record as well as his or her character. These considerations may actually result in lenient charges and sentences which are nothing in comparison to the destruction caused by the drunk driver. As a result, families who have lost loved ones or persons who were injured in a drunk driving accident may feel that they did not receive the justice they deserve from the criminal system.

Civil liability in such cases can give a family or the injured individual the opportunity to pursue justice by holding a person financially accountable for his or her negligence. Even if the evidence of intoxication is not sufficient to carry the criminal burden of proof, it may still be enough to carry the civil burden of proof.

An injured person has the right to claim compensation from a negligent motorist in a civil suit for a variety of damages:
Medical expenses already incurred

• • Future medical expenses
• • Physical pain
• Mental suffering
• • Loss/Destruction of property
• • Loss of enjoyment of life
• • Permanent physical disability
• • Lost wages

Drunk driving accidents cost our society greatly, from the injuries or deaths of loved ones to the costs of paying for the accidents. Persons who engage in drunk driving should be held legally responsible for their actions. Filing a civil suit against a drunk driver can make them pay for their poor choices and help keep them off the road.

If you or someone you love has been injured in an accident, you should seek the advice of an experienced Atlanta personal injury attorney who can help you seek justice for your injuries.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.

Sustaining an injury is difficult enough on its own, and having to bring a lawsuit to obtain proper compensation and payments for your injuries only makes it more complicated and stressful. It would almost be unbearable if a victim had to pay taxes on the compensation he or she receives for injuries. Fortunately, the government has recognized that injury settlements do not qualify as earned income. Rather, these settlements are intended to compensate the injured victim for the pain, suffering, and disabilities he or she has suffered at the hands of another’s carelessness or negligence. As such, injury recoveries are not taxable.

Section 104(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code excludes from a person’s gross income any amounts received from personal injury awards. It provides that gross income does not include any damages received, whether by suit or agreement and whether these are received as lump sums or as periodic payments, on account of personal injury or sickness.

While the IRS code protects the monetary awards of most personal injury victims, there are some clear exceptions to this provision. For example, any money awarded as punitive damages is taxable. This is because punitive damages are primarily intended to punish and discourage the behavior exhibited by the defendant; they are not intended to compensate the plaintiff. Lost earnings are also taxable if a portion of the settlement is specifically designated as compensation for lost income. Further, any money paid for psychological injuries may also be taxed.

It is important for victims to understand that once settlement proceeds have been received, the taxability of that money is just like any other money they would invest or put in a savings account. When you invest your monetary award into taxable investments, any profit or gain you achieve is subject to taxes.

If you have been injured in an accident due to someone else’s negligence, you should contact an experienced Atlanta personal injury attorney who can help you seek compensation for your injuries.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.

All too often during the summer months, children become the victims of drowning. Parents of a child who has drowned may have a claim to recover wrongful death damages for the child’s death. In order for this to be feasible, the circumstances surrounding the death need to clearly show that someone other than a family member was negligent in allowing the child to drown. For example, if the child drowns in a pool that provides a lifeguard service, there may be a question as to whether the lifeguards on duty were providing adequate protection for the swimmers. There may also be issues regarding the slope of the pool and whether a safety line is in place. In addition, another swimmer could be held responsible for the accident.

A wrongful death claim that involves a drowning can be difficult to pursue successfully. The circumstances surrounding a drowning are essential to proving liability, so involving a lawyer in the matter immediately will allow for proper investigation of the facts surrounding the incident. Preserving evidence, such as witness statements, is important to do immediately, as memories fade rapidly and can be influenced by outside factors. Also, physical evidence tends to be lost and destroyed quickly, so hesitating to hire an attorney may actually prevent the claimants from discovering who is at fault for causing the drowning. Hiring an attorney right away ensures a proper investigation that includes conducting witness interviews and searching for physical evidence.

Pursuing a drowning case will require an experienced wrongful death attorney because expert testimony is often required to properly prove both liability and damages issues, and an experienced wrongful death attorney will have extensive knowledge of gathering and presenting expert testimony. For example, expert testimony is usually required to determine whether or not the slope of a pool is appropriate. In addition, wrongful death damages can be difficult to calculate as they are measured by the full value of the life of the deceased individual. Determining this value often involves complicated expert testimony about what a person might earn during a normal life.

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

In Georgia, individuals who are injured because of a fall may be entitled to compensation for injuries sustained in the fall if they were caused by the negligence of the owner or occupier of the property involved. Victims are often negligently injured in a fall due to slippery floors or other surfaces caused by water, food, grease, and a host of other foreign substances. In addition, poorly designed, manufactured or maintained curbs, walkways and steps may also be the cause of falls that injure victims.

Falls can result in very serious, even fatal, injuries. Injured persons can suffer from complex fractures and other serious injuries to ankles, wrists, arms, hips, elbows and shoulders, and these injuries can require extensive surgeries, cause serious medical complications and can even result in death. Older individuals are especially susceptible to falls and can be badly injured in such a fall caused by the negligent acts of others.

Under Georgia law, land owners are required to exercise care for the safety of others. When the owner or occupier of land allows others, by invitation or implication, to make use of his or her premises for lawful purposes, he or she can be held liable for injuries sustained by individuals that are caused by a failure to exercise care in keeping the premises safe. Land owners can breach their duty of care in the following ways:

By failing to use ordinary care to keep the premises safe;

By failing to properly inspect and maintain the premises;

By knowingly allowing invited guests to make use of an unsafe area of the premises;

By failing to post warning signs or warning markings in unsafe areas;

By failing to properly train and supervise employees in regard to the care of the premises; and

By failing to retain, entrust, hire, train and supervise employees.

Those who have suffered injuries on a property due to the negligence of another may be able to file a lawsuit to recover money for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, or other accident related expenses.

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

In the event that the deceased child does not leave behind a surviving spouse or child, then the child’s parents have the right of recovery. The parents will share this right jointly if they are still a married couple and are living together. If, however, either parent is deceased, then the surviving parent will have the sole right of recovery. If both the parents are living, but are divorced, separated, or do not live together, both parents will have the right of recovery, but that right will depend on the following:

If one of the deceased child’s parents refuses to proceed with the claim or cannot be located to proceed to recover damages for the wrongful death of a child, then the other parent has the right to hire a lawyer to represent both parents and the results of the lawsuit will be binding on both parents. When this situation occurs, the ultimate recovery should be shared equally by both parents. However, there are some exceptions to this. When the absent parent cannot be located, their share of the proceeds will be held for two years. After two years, the parent who initiated the recovery has the option to petition the court to receive the absent parent’s funds.

There are other options open to divorced parents when it comes to the right of recovery in a wrongful death suit. Either parent has the right to file a motion before trial requesting that the judge apportion any judgment awarded in the case. Doing so will require a hearing in which each parent will have the opportunity to show evidence of their relationship with the deceased child. The judge will use this hearing to determine the percentage of the judgment to be awarded to each parent based on the parent’s relationship with the child, considering such issues as permanent custody and support, as well as any other factors he or she finds significant.

If you have experienced the loss of a child due to another’s negligence and are considering filing a wrongful death lawsuit, you should consult an experienced wrongful death attorney who can advise you about how these laws apply to your case.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.

When a workplace injury occurs, the injured person will often file a workers’ compensation claim for medical and lost wage benefits. A workers’ compensation claim, however, does not include compensation for non-economic damages such as physical and emotional pain and suffering.

Non-economic damages include all past and future pain the victim or his or her family will be forced to endure as a result of the victim’s injuries or death. In order to receive compensation for physical and emotional pain and suffering, a claim must be successfully made against a third party, someone who is not an employer or a fellow employee of the injured individual.

A good example of this is when the driver of a vehicle, due to negligence, crashes his or her vehicle into the vehicle of the employee while the employee is on the clock. In a situation such as this, the injured employee is eligible to make a workers’ compensation claim, but he or she can also bring a personal injury claim against the non-employer or employee driver of the at-fault vehicle.

Another way non-economic damages can be recovered is when an employee is injured by malfunctioning equipment that he or she uses while at work. This type of accident would also allow the injured party to make a claim for workers’ compensation. In addition, he or she may be able to make a claim against the equipment manufacturer, distributer, wholesaler and/or retailer. This type of claim would be considered a products liability claim and may be difficult to prove, but the option remains open to the injured employee or his or her family. If a products liability claim is successfully prosecuted the claimant will recover non-economic damages for any physical and emotional pain and suffering.

Work injury accidents can be emotionally and financially devastating for the victim and his or her family members. If you or someone you love has been injured or killed in a workplace injury, it is important that you speak to experienced personal injury lawyer.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.

“It’s one thing to be in an accident but quite another when you then have to argue with someone else over ‘who’ was at fault in the first place. I see this a great deal in auto accidents and motorcycle collisions,” said Stephen M. Ozcomert who handles personal injury cases, accidents, and malpractice law in Atlanta, Georgia.

In some cases, it will be painfully evident who caused the accident; in others, it may take a long time before the facts come to light to apportion blame. And yes, there are certainly some cases where both parties are to blame. No two accidents are ever alike, despite the fact they may look alike on the surface. “There’s something that a lot of people don’t realize about accidents. It’s not the police who determine who is at fault; it’s the insurance company after you file a claim. They use police information to decide who is at fault,” explained Ozcomert.

Many accidents involve just two vehicles; others are multi-vehicle chain collisions and every party involved in that would need to file their own separate claims. Once the claims hit the insurance company, it’s time to figure out fault and start assessing the damages. In most instances, fault is calculated by percentages and the negligence of the driver(s).

“There are four things used to figure out negligence: driver’s duties, the cause of the accident, breaches in the driver’s duties and the negligence of the driver(s). Sounds rather complicated, doesn’t it? Interestingly enough, every insurance company has their own way of arriving at a final fault percentage to assign to drivers,” Ozcomert remarked.

One really clear sign that someone was at fault is if one driver, or both of them, were breaking the rules while driving. Despite that method of determining fault, just because one driver was clearly in the wrong doesn’t mean the other driver was paying attention and if they had been driving defensively, could have avoided the accident or mitigated damages. Needless to say cases like that, where two drivers are ostensibly at fault, are nightmares for opposing insurance companies to sort out.
“If you throw DUI into this mix, that’s a problem as well. Witness statements may not be of much use, which leaves the insurance company relying on the police report – if one is filed. Don’t expect action on your claim to happen overnight, as it usually takes weeks or months. If you haven’t spoken to an experienced attorney about your accident, you might want to think about doing that quickly. Having a lawyer on your side usually speeds things up,” added Ozcomert. It’s always a smart move to find out what your rights are when it comes to auto accidents.

To learn more visit http://www.ozcomert.com.

“While it’s true that most products are safety tested before they are put on the market, there are cases where something goes wrong – either intentionally or unintentionally. When that happens, consumers may be at risk for serious injuries or death. Nowhere is this more critical than when it comes to products for babies and children,” remarked Stephen M. Ozcomert who handles personal injury cases, accidents, and malpractice law in Atlanta, Georgia.

“In many cases of product recalls, you might see the news release saying that there have been no reported injuries at the time of the recall and that the company was voluntarily recalling the product. That ‘may’ happen in rare cases, but frankly, most product recalls are product recalls because someone was hurt, and in reality, a product has to hurt someone before the maker recalls it,” observed Ozcomert.

Lately, there have been a whole lot of products made for children that have been recalled ranging from Hannah Montana toxic cadmium jewelry to wicker trunks with hinges that fall suddenly and strangle children. The world’s a very unsafe place to live and it’s become common place for parents to have to “vet” their children’s toys for safety.

Some things you might want to consider when buying toys for your kids are watching for what it is made with/of such as cadmium, lead paint or bisphenol A. Does it have small moving parts or parts that can break into small enough pieces to become a choking hazard? “Are there a lot of products from the same country that seem to be the focus of recalls? If so, you may want to avoid buying products manufactured in that particular country,” suggested Ozcomert.

Recalls become recalls for a wide variety of reasons and they may include chemical burn risk, a fall hazard, strangulation risk, laceration potential, burn hazards and choking potential, etc. Frankly, these days it just seems like they don’t make toys the way they used to when we were growing up. They seem to be aiming for mass production of a cheap toy that doesn’t last long and is made in a questionable manner. “Gone are the days when your children had a toy for years because it was well made and safe to play with, without it coming apart,” added Ozcomert.

“Has your child been injured by a defective product? Give me a call and I will take a look at your case and explain the issues involved in product liability law,” Ozcomert offered. “You may well be eligible for compensation for doctor’s bills, pain and suffering, lost wages, and if your case is more serious and involves the death of your child, compensation for that wrongful death,” he explained.

To learn more visit http://www.ozcomert.com.

We’ve likely all done this: slipped on something and taken what we laughingly refer to as a “prat fall.” We may have gotten up off the floor and been just fine, aside from bruised ego and some cuts and scrapes. Not everyone is that lucky though. Some slip and fall accidents end up with serious consequences, such as traumatic brain injury.

Consider the case of the woman shopping at her local grocery store where they had a garden section just outside the main doors. She wanted some flowers for her garden and as she was walking along one of the outside aisles, covered with linoleum, she slipped in an unseen puddle, fell and struck her head on the floor. The floor under the linoleum is concrete. She was knocked unconscious and by the time she came to in the hospital, she was told she had a serious concussion.

Where do things go from here? Generally speaking, she may be able to battle her way through her injury and come out the other side still mostly functioning well enough to live her life. On the other end of the spectrum, she may not be able to live the life she had prior to her fall because her brain doesn’t function like it used to anymore. Does she get damages from the store for leaving the water on a linoleum floor and not cleaning it up? Chances are she does, and they may be substantial, depending on the extent of her injuries.

It’s not “just” that the store left the puddle in the middle of the floor and it caused an accident that is at issue here. The main point is that the store, being a property owner, is responsible for keeping their premises safe for those who do business there. In other words they are responsible for making sure people “do not” fall and injure themselves.

The thing to remember when it comes to slip and falls is that embarrassment isn’t the only injury that may hurt. There may be bumps, bruises, concussion, coma, broken bones, ripped muscles, sprained joints, internal injuries and in some cases, death. Any one of these injuries can take a long time to recover from and cost thousands in medical expenses; expenses which may include not just the doctor’s bills and medications, but ongoing therapy, tests, surgery and rehabilitation. Sadly, some of the injuries, while treatable to a certain extent, may not be curable, meaning the person is facing a long-term disability for life.

If you’ve slipped and fallen in a public place and are struggling with injuries, speak to a personal injury lawyer about what your options are in recovering compensation for your medical costs and pain and suffering.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

In a nutshell, any professional with greater learning who makes a mistake and doesn’t treat you according to their level of higher learning, may be guilty of malpractice. Put another way, a malpractice case may involve those who have been specially educated or certified in some manner “not” doing their job up to the expected level.

Does this usually involve a fair degree of “interpretation?” Fair question and a valid one and yes, your definition of someone not living up to their expected level of expertise may not be what others think that same level happens to be. There is a “usual” accepted standard of performance for various professionals used as a rule of thumb when it comes to assessing any deviation from that standard.

Some examples may be architects, accountants and dentists who know more than the man on the street corner about doing certain things. If you hire someone “professional,” you expect they’ll do the job right, based on their education and the amount of experience they have in their field. In other words, you trust they will do right by you. Malpractice may also be applicable in the case of lawyers.
For a multitude of reasons, you want the advice your lawyer gives you to be right on the money. If it isn’t, you may be in some really sticky situations with no way out. On the extreme end of legal representation, you would consider a murder charge to be critical and hire someone that knows how to defend you within an inch of your life – and in some cases (capital ones) that may be just what happens. In others, to a lesser degree, you want legal advice to be accurate; e.g., you want your assets divided a certain way and not have the family fighting over them – you need a solid will.

Accountants must follow really strict standards. After all, they’re working with someone else’s money. If they mess up and you are audited and found in non-compliance, you can lose money, face damages or face legal problems. When it comes to other professions, like engineers and architects, they too need to know what they’re doing and make sure it works, as the buildings they design and build have to stay erect and not collapse.

Professionals go to school for training that teaches them how to build buildings, balance money, be good doctors and build cases against defendants in court. If they act negligently and don’t do what they’re supposed to do, it’s the client that suffers. If you’ve been in a situation like this or are in one now, speak to a lawyer that has worked in the area of dealing with malpractice cases of all kinds.

Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.

When it comes to head injuries, children present a special concern, because they are more prone to falling due to a lack of developed motor skills, are unaware of many of the everyday dangers around them and are dependent on others to care for them responsibly.

Because children are more fragile than adults, a head injury can actually take longer to recover from and can cause more devastating long-term side effects. Perhaps the greatest risk of a child head injury stems from auto accidents; however, there are many other ways that children can sustain head injuries that may lead to traumatic brain injuries. A child might sustain a head injury in: a child pedestrian accident, a bicycle accident, a slip and fall, a swimming pool or diving board accident, and as a result of sports or other related activities.

The effects of a child head injury can be mild to severe, depending on the level of trauma involved in the accident. After a head injury, children can suffer memory loss, speech impairments, learning disabilities, headaches, and even depression. A head injury can even impair a child’s natural development, which may affect his or her ability to live independently as an adult. The medical costs associated with such an injury can be overwhelming.

If a child’s head injury is sustained due to the negligence of another, be it an individual, manufacturer or organization, then it is possible to make a claim for personal injury. A head injury in children can be the fault of a school, the improper supervision of a child care facility, or even a hazard that was not properly taken care of from a property owner.

Head injuries can have serious consequences for children. It’s important for parents to be aware of the long-term costs associated with their child’s brain injury and have knowledge of what legal recourse is available in order to secure the funds necessary to give their child the type and level of medical care they need.

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

The post Webb & D’Orazio Emphasize the Dangers of Head Injuries to Children first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]> http://www.seonewswire.net/2010/06/prescription-errors-and-pharmacy-malpractice/ Mon, 14 Jun 2010 14:08:23 +0000 http://www.seonewswire.net/?p=3843 An error in a patient’s prescription medication could have catastrophic health effects, and patients should be aware of their rights. Pharmacists have a duty to provide patients with the proper medication and dosage. The Georgia Board of Pharmacy regulates the…