Legislation

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COVID-19 has thrust us into a global crisis unprecedented in the century since the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918-19. It is not merely disruptive in our daily routines. It involves life, death and enormous hardship in massive scale, probably for a prolonged time.  In this new reality, some of the routines dealing with individual injury cases may be eclipsed by a near term future we did not anticipate just a few weeks ago.

The “new normal” after the end of this pandemic is impossible to discern. Some pundits have emphasized hope that after the entire population passes this crucible of…

emergency roomThis morning on her way to work, a paralegal in our office was injured when someone rear-ended her car on the way to work. When she was waiting for a CT scan in the hospital emergency department, she sent us a text reporting that she had already been called on her cell phone by two “runners” to solicit her for unidentified lawyers. Apparently someone in the police department, ambulance service or hospital had corruptly sold her personal information to someone who was willing to commit a crime and a disbarment offense to solicit her for a case. I asked if…

Proposed new Georgia Judicial Building, future home of Supreme Court and Court of Appeals
Proposed new Georgia Judicial Building, future home of Supreme Court and Court of Appeals

It appears that by time he leaves office at the beginning of 2019, Governor Nathan Deal will have:

  • Vastly reformed our criminal justice system;
  • Expanded the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals;
  • Appointed a majority of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals;
  • Appointed a substantial portion of the state’s Superior Court and State Court trial judges;
  • Launched construction of a new landmark Judicial Building near the Capitol building; and
  • Facilitated creation of a statewide electronic court filing system.

Fortunately, he will…

route-guidance-system-navigation-satnav-gpsGPS technology is one of the great conveniences of life in the 21st century. When it works right it enables us to find our way through unfamiliar areas with ease.

Other times it can lead us terribly astray.

But at all times we should follow the device directions by entering destination information while safely parked and use the “human override” of common sense is following the driving directions.

Today in Atlanta, we have a tragic example of the importance of keeping those principles in mind.

Police report that King Fareed from North Carolina was focused on his phone’s GPS…

home-invasion-480x320Atlantans were shocked a couple of weeks ago by the story of a home invasion robbery attempt in which teenage males approached a young father on his front porch, forced their way into the house and shot the father twice. His wife fled out the back door with their six-month-old infant while the invaders fired shots at her, and called 911 while hiding from them.

The alleged shooter, 18-year-old Brandon Jerome Smith, was arrested several days ago. Now three younger teenagers — 15-year-old Trequan Sutton, 15-year-old Quindarius Slade, and 14-year-old Veshawn Smith — have turned themselves in. They are…

Ken Shigley of Atlanta, who was president of the State Bar of Georgia in 2011-12, is now chair of the largest practice area section in the American Association for Justice (AAJ), the national organization of plaintiffs’ trial attorneys. Shigley took the helm of the Motor Vehicle Collision, Highway & Premises Liability Section of AAJ and the organization’s annual convention in Montreal on July 14, 2015.

ken_shigley_coverWith over 2,500 members nationwide, the section includes specialized litigation practice groups on Trucking Litigation, Bus Litigation, Traumatic Brain Injury, Spinal Cord Injury, Motorcycle Litigation, Bicycle Litigation, Resort Torts Litigation and…

If you are the parent of a teenage driver, the idea of your “invulnerable” teen texting while driving may be among your greatest fears. Now “there’s an app for that.”

Although texting and driving is not illegal in all states yet, it certainly is a dangerous activity anywhere you go especially on touchscreen phones that require more attention to hit the correct key. There are currently 43 states that ban text messaging for all drivers. Of the 7 states without an all driver texting ban, 4 prohibit text messaging by novice drivers. While some drivers can resist the urge…

We have all seen drivers distracted by their electronic devices behind the wheel. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations now forbid interstate truck drivers from texting or talking on a hand held cell phone while driving. But recently we were hired in a multiple fatality crash on a Georgia interstate highway in which the truck driver admitted to police that he did not see the vehicles he hit because he was distracted by talking on his cell phone.

In January 2014, the National Transportation Safety Board released its 2014 Most Wanted List, the top 10 advocacy and awareness…

Injuries to children are going to happen.  In fact, according to the CDC, injury treatment is the leading cause of medical spending for children equaling about $11.5 billion in the United States.  A serious injury to a minor child touches the heart more than a comparable injury to an adult.  Because young children lack the maturity and judgment to make adult decisions about their own juvenile injury claims, their parents and guardians must act for them. Attorneys handling personal injury cases for minors must take care to protect the infant’s interests.

On July 1, 2013, the Georgia Court of…

A few days ago, I wrote about a Georgia Supreme Court decision that left a lot of uncertainty about which legal malpractice claims could be assigned to people or companies other than clients.

Most states do not allow assignment of legal malpractice claims to others for substantial public policy reasons related to protection of the attorney-client relationship.

That may be the shortest-lived Supreme Court decision in Georgia history. This week the legislature passed HB 359 on unclaimed property, into which a succinct amendment had been inserted, to bar assignment of legal malpractice claims. It awaits signature by the Governor.

It…