Injury Law
Category RSS FeedWhat is the time limit to make a claim for injury or death against a city government in Georgia?
“You snooze, you lose.” The time limit to file a lawsuit in court for personal injury or wrongful death in Georgia is two years. But the time to present a notice of claim to a city government when one is hurt or killed by a municipal government’s negligence or public nuisance — whether due to … Continue Reading
GA Court of Appeals cracks open door to evidence of amount of settlements for prior accidents
Georgia law on the trial of personal injury cases has for most of my career provided for exclusion of evidence of settlements of claims arising from prior injuries. Now the Court of Appeals has cracked open the door to evidence that in the past has been excluded.
In the case of Goforth v. Wigley, 178 Ga. … Continue Reading
Does Georgia really need more than five “loser pays” rules?
Do advocates of more “loser pays” rules offer a solution in search of a problem?
Are people unaware of the “loser pays” sanctions that are already part of Georgia law?
As discussed in previous posts, Georgia already has five statutory “loser pays” rules, four of which passed in tort reform legislation during the time I have been … Continue Reading
Georgia “loser pays” rule # 5 – bad faith, stubborn litigiousness, undue trouble and expense
Brig. Gen. Thomas R. R. Cobb, father of Georgia’s first “loser pays” statute”
The oldest of the five “loser pays” rules in existing Georgia law has been in effect for nearly 150 years, having first appeared in the Code of 1863.
That Code was largely the work product of Thomas R. R. Cobb, son-in-law of Chief Justice … Continue Reading
Traumatic brain injury prevalent among prisoners
In the past week I’ve run across an unexpected convergence between my roles as a trial lawyer handling brain injury cases and as president-elect of the State Bar of Georgia.
Last Friday, I attended a program on criminal justice reform at the American Bar Association office in Washington, along with state government representatives. Among the dizzying … Continue Reading
Credible accident reconstruction testimony is often important
Automobile collision personal injury cases often require the assistance of an accident reconstructionist who is trained to analyze the physics of the wreck scene and determine the movements and speeds of vehicle and communicate those findings appropriately to jurors. The more complicated and controversial the crash, the more important the accident reconstruction expert testimony.
Over … Continue Reading
True Constitutional conservatives hold 7th Amendment right to jury trial sacred
I applaud the decision of the Republicans newly in control of the United States House of Representatives to read the entire United States Constitution on the first day of the new Congress. Everyone in government should keep the Constitution firmly in mind.
The commitment of constitutional conservatives’ to our country’s founding principles is widely known. That … Continue Reading
Atlanta taxi death case underscores scandal of our taxi fleet
Today the Georgia DOT settled for $600,000 a hotly contested wrongful death case that included claims of negligent right of way maintenance by the City of Hapeville, negligent highway design by GDOT, negligent taxi inspection by the City of Atlanta, and a taxi operating with bald tires on a rain slick roadway.
The more significant fact … Continue Reading
Georgians injured in Michigan may have second chance to recover damages
My good friend Steve Gursten in Michigan just called to my attention a Michigan Supreme Court decision that s overturned the nation’s harshest auto accident threshold law.
Under former Michigan case law, attorneys had told many people they had "no case" because Michigan law required that a bodily function be completely altered. Thus, people … Continue Reading
Apportionment of damages statute misconstrued to detriment of injured Georgians
Georgia Court of Appeals holds that apportionment of damages among all at fault is mandatory, even if when victim is blameless and even when recovery from some at fault is impossible.
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