Atlanta Injury Law Blog

The four people killed this week in a fiery crash on I-75 near Valdosta, Georgia, have been identified.  They were a family from central Kentucky -- Jerome Roberts, 40, Cheryl Collins, 41, MaRhonda Collins, 20, and August Roberts, 11, all of Midway, Kentucky.

The horror of death by fire is almost unspeakable.

Those of us who are pretty good lawyers, and who get clients mostly by word of mouth, referrals from other lawyers, and informed consumers researching qualifications, are operating at a disadvantage these days. 

Some lawyers who have barely any professional qualifications other than admission to the Bar now blanket Georgia with ads on TV, billboards, bus placards and the covers of phone books.  Some of them habitually go right to the edge of ethical prohibitions against false and misleading lawyer advertising.  They operate "personal injury mills" in which case preparation is minimal and hardly any cases are pushed to trial.  While most cases settle in any law office, and reported court decisions are the tip of the iceberg, the fact that none of their cases result in reported court decisions confirms that they do not really fight the good fight for their clients. Insurance companies are well aware of that, so their leverage for favorable settlement is minimal. 

I have taken over files for clients who fired some of those advertising firms. Almost without exception, I have found that the work was below minimal standards of competence. Recently I took over such a case and found that the "lawyer" assigned to the file had omitted from the demand package the last year of medical records and applied extreme pressure to get the clients to accept settlements of less than 10% of the probable value of their claims.

Recently I ran across a ebook which you can download --  The Smart Consumer's Guide to Hiring a Great Lawyer. The book exposes the barely legal tricks in lawyer advertising. It lists some excellent criteria for selecting a lawyer, which I have shamelessly annotated with references to yours truly.

• The number of years the attorney has been practicing law.  I have practiced law for 32 years, since 1977. That includes a hitch as an Assistant District Attorney prosecuting the full range of state criminal cases, three years in small town general practice, and a decade in an insurance defense firm defending personal injury, wrongful death and insurance coverage lawsuits for insurance companies, corporations and government agencies throughout Georgia.  Since 1991, I have had a plaintiffs' personal injury and wrongful death practice.
• The attorney specializes in the area of law that pertains to your case. For 18 years, my practice has been almost entirely representation of plaintiffs in personal injury and wrongful death cases.  About 75% of my practice now involves commercial truck and bus crashes.
• The lawyer has good trial experience -- actually takes cases to trial -- not just going to court for hearings.  I have tried about 125 cases to verdict before juries. I have had to document my trial experience for board certification with the National Board of Trial Advocacy in 1995, and for re-certification in 2000 and 2005.
  
• The attorney has a good track record and wins at trial. Recently, I have won jury verdicts for $2.3 million in a broken leg case in a conservative rural county in northwest Georgia, and $1.25 million for a cervical fusion despite strong evidence of assumption of the risk. Other cases during the same time period have settled favorably before or during trial because the other side knew we were prepared to take them to verdict.
• The lawyer has a good understanding of or experience with injury cases that are similar to yours. I have successfully handled cases involving wrongful death, spinal cord injury, brain injury, burns and back injuries, Competent handling of any of these cases requires a solid understanding of insurance law.
• The attorney has been recognized with awards and distinctions. Read my bio.  Among other things, I'm a Certified Civil Trial Advocate of the National Board of Trial Advocacy, rated as a "Super Lawyer" in Atlanta Magazine, listed among the "Legal Elite" in Georgia Trend Magazine, have an AV rating in Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, and am in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers.  Currently, I am the elected Treasurer of the 40,000 member State Bar of Georgia. ("He who tooteth not his own horn, getteth it not tooted.")
• Quality of the lawyer’s website content is high and is very informative. See atlantainjurylawyer.com, georgiatruckingaccidentattorney.com, georgiatruckaccidentattorneyblog.com and atlantainjurylawblog.com. I had the first law firm website in Georgia (1996) and the second lawyer blog in the state.
•  The attorney is the author of instructional books, articles, videos, etc.  In addition to the links above and numerous articles and seminar papers, I am nearing completion of a book, tentatively titled Georgia Personal Injury Practice, with publication by West anticipated in late 2009 or early 2010.
•  The lawyer is often called to speak to professional legal organizations and law schools.  In the past 16 years I have spoken at dozens of continuing legal education seminars. That has included chairing the Georgia Insurance Law Institute, Georgia Personal Injury Practice seminars for several years, and the Southeastern Motor Carrier Liability Institute. Currently, I am a trustee of the Institute for Continuing Legal Education in Georgia. Within the past three years I have spoken at seminars on trucking trial practice in Atlanta, Chicago, New Orleans, Nashville, St. Louis and Las Vegas. This month I am scheduled to speak on trucking litigation at seminars in San Francisco and at Amelia Island, Florida.
•  The law office offers real client case studies.   In the interest of client confidentiality, and to avoid giving opponents insights into litigation strategies,  we don't put much of that online. However, I can discuss relevant experience in past cases when we meet in person, though the identifies of client are always fully protected.  
• The firm or lawyer has excellent client references or testimonials.  A couple of years ago in the midst of a tough case, a client called me a "sheep dog."  (Read the explanation.) Also see references and testimonials at Kudzu.com and Avvo.com.
•  The attorney is knowledgeable and confident. See everything linked above.
•  The lawyer understands that your case is unique and listens to your needs.  Check.
• The law office staff (receptionist, legal assistants, and paralegals) is courteous and responsive. Check.

This Tuesday, I had a mostly pleasant interview with the Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission. Friends had submitted my name for a vacancy on the Supreme Court of Georgia, and duly flattered I went through the process.

However, I went into it expecting nothing, and was not disappointed when that's exactly what I got.

I now extend my heartfelt congratulations to the nine judges and lawyers who did make the short list, from which Governor Perdue will select one new member of the Supreme Court. I wish them all well. They are, in no particular order:

- David E. Nahmias – U.S. Attorney; Northern District of Georgia, who was on Harvard Law Review, clerked for Justice Scalia, practiced at Hogan & Hartson in Washington, and was US Deputy Attorney General responsible for counterterrorism and fraud prosecutions.

- Samuel D. Ozburn –Superior Court Judge; Alcovy Judicial Circuit

- William M. Ray II – Superior Court Judge; Gwinnett County

- Craig L. Schwall Sr. – Superior Court Judge; Fulton County

- Mary E. Staley – Superior Court Judge; Cobb County

- Benjamin W. Studdard III – State Court Chief Judge; Henry County

- Rocco E. Testani – Partner, Sutherland Asbill & Brennan; Atlanta, who has recently worked on litigation in which the Governor has been involved.

- Stephen Louis A. Dillard – Of Counsel, James, Bates, Pope & Spivey; Macon, and founder of the Macon chapter of the Federalist Society.

- James P. Kelly III – Managing partner of Kelly Law Firm; Atlanta, and  Director of International Affairs for the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies based in Washington, D.C.

After the brief distraction of a purely quixotic fantasy of joining the Supreme Court, I immediately returned to vigorously representing clients -- Wednesday in a mediation and later trial preparation, and Thursday poring through a roomful of DOT highway design and construction documents.

No one who has not experienced a severe burn can begin to fathom the severity of the pain involved. If kidney stones and childbirth rank a 10 on the 10 point pain scale, hydrotherapy and debridement after massive second degree burns rank in the hundreds or thousands on the same scale.

There are no words to describe that pain. Only screams from the depth of the soul can express it.

In the Atlanta region, the Grady Burn Center is the place to go for expert treatment of burns.

For burn victims and their families, the road to recovery is likely to be both long and difficult.  Here are a few online resources that may be of use:

• Burn Resource Center
• Johns Hopkins Burn Center - good patient info. 
• Practical Guidelines for nutritional management of burn injury & recovery
• Burn Rehabilitation article

A high protein diet is essential in recovering from a burn injury.  An easy way to boost protein intake is to supplement meals with high protein meal bars and whey protein powder mixed into smoothies or other food can help.

Regarding compression garments, note that patients sometimes come up with more comfortable options in summer that the hot, scratchy custom made compression garments. For example, biker shorts, Coolmax running tights and Under Armour Heat compression shirts may may provide the compression needed for burns on arms, legs and torso, in a manner that is more bearable in hot weather.

For some people, it is also psychologically more positive to use protein supplements and compression garments that are designed and marketed for athletic rather than medical purposes.

Many burn survivors have very significant changes in body image and self concept, leading to understandable depression.  Burn centers have burn survivor support groups that can be invaluable to the recovery process.

Of course, I am not a doctor -- just another guy who has been there -- and cannot give medical advice. All burn victims should seek medical advice and guidance from the physicians at the burn clinic where they are treated.

Four people were killed in a fiery crash at 2:30 this moming on I-75 near Valdosta, when a car and a Penske rental truck collided. The rental truck collided with one vehicle, then came to rest on top of a third vehicle, according to Mike Morris in the AJC.

The fire was so intense that law enforcement officers were initially unable to even identify the make and model of the car under the truck.

When that vehicle burst into flames moments after impact, the occupants were burned beyond recognition. Four bodies were transported to the State Crime Lab in Atlanta for autopsy and identification.

The driver of the Penske truck was not seriously injured.

There are no words to describe the pain of massive burns. Only screams from the depths of the soul can begin to express that pain. On a pain scale from 0 to 10, it rates about 10,000.

All my life, I have traveled back and forth across Taylor's Ridge near Summerville in Chattooga County.  Just last weekend, I drove my dad over that route to attend a reunion at Menlo, where he was principal of the school back when Menlo had a high school and a red light. Driving down the side of Taylor's Ridge, we talked about the perennial problem in designing and building a roadway adequate to handle water from a spring in the side of the ridge. Dad's memory goes back further, so he was telling me about some couple from Mentone running off the road there in the 1930s.

Each Tuesday morning, on Highway 27 on the southbound side of Taylor's Ridge, two vehicle collided. According to Chattooga County Sheriff John Everett:

•  Larry Barnett, 55, from Marietta, Georgia, was ejected from his vehicle and killed.
• Bonnie Montgomery, 75, of Chattooga County, was flown by LifeForce helicopter to Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga.

The cause of the crash was not reported.

On Friday, 6/26/09, on I-44 near Miami, Oklahoma, a tractor trailer slammed into a line of stopped traffic, killing nine people.

The tractor trailer driver apparently made no attempt to slow or stop. Whether the driver was fatigued or distracted was not immediately reported.

Witnesses described the pileup in 100 degree heat as looking like a war zone, filled with twisted metal and dead bodies.

Witnesses described the pileup in 100 degree heat as looking like a war zone, filled with twisted metal and dead bodies.

Investigation and discovery in such an incident should include careful examination of the driver's logs, trip receipts, bills of lading, Prepass records, driver qualifications, and a long list of other operational records, as well as the driver qualifications, vehicle maintenance, etc.

Reportedly the tractor trailer  was 76 years old. We have handled several cases in which elderly truck drivers made tragic errors related to their medical conditions, including COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder) or obstructive sleep apnea.   While there is no hard age limit on truck drivers, the potential relation between age and physical condition is well known.  One must question whether there were any violations of Driver Physical Qualification rules uner  49 CFR Part 391.41.

Compounding the tragedy is the fact that the amount of liability insurance required of interstate motor carriers has not been adjusted for inflation in decades. The minimum requirement of $750,000 -- or the more common $1 million policy -- is grossly inadequate for a tragedy of this magnitude.  Attorneys working on such a case must explore all other potential sources of liability coverage, including a separate MCS-90 endorsement on the trailer, and potential exposure of shippers, brokers, etc., though those are tough theories of liability.
 

Every few months for several years, I have received emails about the "Stella Awards." This purports to be a summary of the most frivolous and absurd lawsuits.

The problem is that the stories it tells are false.  It appears to be a collection of the most absurd fictional lawsuit stories that someone could make up for propaganda purposes, with no connection to reality.  However, while the "Stella Awards" list is demonstrably false, it keeps rearing its ugly head.

See the "Stella Awards" and their debunking at snopes.com.

That's not to say there aren't some absurd, frivolous lawsuits.  While I generally represent plaintiffs in this decade, I screen out a lot of cases that would be frivolous.

Occasionally represent defendants to knock out of the system lawsuits that are frivolous.  Just recently I represented a defendant in getting a frivolous lawsuit dismissed under threat of sanctions.

To control truck driver fatigue, for many years federal regulations have required interstate truck drivers to log their driving, on duty and off duty time. But from the beginning, falsification of logs has been common. Many have regarded driver logs as "comic books." In our cases, we have unraveled webs of deception to show that driver logs were complete falsifications.

Legislation has been introduced in Congress that would require foolproof Electronic On-Board Recorders (EOBRs) in lieu of paper logs. The new highway reauthorization bill mandates EOBRs to track Hours of Service compliance for all commercial motor vehicles within four years of enactment.

The proposed legislation is substantially stronger than a proposed regulatory rule that would require only motor carriers with a demonstrated a history of serious noncompliance with the Hours of Service rules to install EOBRs.

The insurance industry always winds up blaming injury victims and their lawyers for premium increases that result from investment losses and hurricanes.  However, there is a revealing article this week in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Increases of car and insurance rates of 5% to 11% in Georgia this year are -- accordnig to insurance industry sources and experts -- attributable to:

• the recession
• investment losses by insurance companies
• hurricanes
• rising cost of auto repairs

There is no mention of liability claims losses as a factor in rising premiums.

But I bet by the time of the next legislative session the insurance industry lobbyists will invent a way to blame all premium increases on injury victims, lawyers and juries.