How to be fairly paid for a spinal cord injury in Georgia.

In our law practice over several decades , we have represented numerous SCI survivors. Most had benefited from rehabilitation services at Shepherd Center or Emory Rehabilitation Hospital, both of which are near us in Atlanta. All of these clients were injured in motor vehicle crashes or falls. One client who had been a high-powered government executive before an accident made him  quadriplegic initially  wanted to just turn his face to the wall and die, but after rehab he used funds from his settlement to equip himself to write

If you have a non-catastrophic injury in a car or truck accident, or if you are helping someone who has a more serious injury, here are ten things to do after the crash.

  1. Call 911. Even if the other driver begs you not to call the police and offers immediate cash payment, call the police. Do not let the other driver talk you out of it. Give the officer accurate and detailed information about what happened They will create an accident report, which can be valuable for insurance claims and legal purposes.
    Obtain a copy of the police report

A car crash can be one of the most traumatic events most people are likely to experience. It is an unexpected event that can be instantly life-changing for you and your family. There are 10 very important things that you need to do after a wreck in order to protect you, your family, and the compensation relief that you deserve.

1)                     Stay at the scene – The shock and trauma of being in an accident can cause you to not think clearly. However, it is very important that you stay at the scene of the accident and that you

When a family member is killed or seriously injured in a crash with a tractor trailer, a normal human instinct is to wait a decent interval before consulting an attorney. Then one may be inclined to take one’s time talking with a hometown lawyer who handles an occasional car wreck case along with divorces, criminal cases and real estate closings.  Meanwhile, trucking companies and their insurance companies are busy burying incriminating evidence.

A recent case in our office illustrates the importance of striking hard and fast to preserve evidence. While a truck crash victim was in ICU at the

No words can ever be adequate when a young child is killed. For the child’s parents, grandparents and other family members, it is like having a hole punched in the heart. That wound never really heals. For parents, in the words of Willie Nelson, it’s something you don’t get over but you get through.  The tasks of mourning after death of a family member are all too familiar.

This week in Paulding County, GA, there was a car crash in which a 20-year-old driver was distracted by dropping his cell phone and water bottle. Leaning over to retrieve

An approaching driver’s view of a tractor trailer pulling from breakdown lane into traffic in the dark

A tractor-trailer pulled from the highway shoulder in front of an approaching SUV on I-95 in Jasper County, SC, just north of Savannah, about 9:30 PM Wednesday night, August 8, 2018. The impact killed Raymond Jackson, Jr., driver of the approaching vehicle, a 1999 Ford Expedition. This happened about 3 miles north of the Georgia-South Carolina line, between the Savannah River and Hardeeville.

Initial news reports  of this crash involving vehicles emerging from Georgia do not identify

A chain reaction crash involving four big rig tractor trailers on I-285 near Camp Creek Parkway in south Fulton County, GA, killed a woman in a passenger car on June 19, 2018.

According to the Georgia State Patrol, A tractor-trailer was traveling northbound when it struck three other big rigs and the rear of a car, pushing the car underneath another tractor-trailer.

News photos showed that at least one truck’s cab was badly crushed and the roof of the passenger car was caved in.

In addition to the one fatality, five others were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital. It

As a Georgia trial attorney handling trucking accident cases, I see too many instances of truck driver fatigue and drug usage leading to tragedy.  The pattern is exemplified in a Missouri case.  It has resulted in an $18 million settlement for the deaths of four family members (ages 55, 57, 81 and 94) on the way to a 50th wedding anniversary celebration. 

The truck driver had less than the required amount of rest the night before, according to subpoenaed cell phone records, and  was on eight prescribed medications that warned of possible drowsiness.   Witnesses said he was falling asleep at the wheel before he sped past warning signs and a flagman, slammed into a long line of cars, crossed the median and jackknifed on the opposite side of the highway.

According to a report by Joe Meyer of the Columbia Tribune, a family member said, "The money wasn’t something that we were after.  It was just a way to give a message in this part of town that the truckers should not be out there like that."

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Standards in the U.S. do not require buses to have either seat belts (except for the driver) or laminated glass in side windows that would prevent passenger ejection. If the manufacturers spent as much on safety as they do on lobbyists, a lot of lives could be saved. Almost anywhere else in the world, the same buses would have seat belts for all passengers.