A leading industry in Northwest Georgia is the manufacture of tufted carpet. A vital element of the local economy of Dalton, Calhoun and surrounding communities, the carpet industry provides a good living for a substantial portion of the local population as well as thousands of hard-working immigrants. Unfortunately, however, we have seen that the companies that design and manufacture the equipment used in carpet production sometimes cut corners regarding worker safety. In one case against a major manufacturer of carpet equipment we found that a direct applicator was designed to be accessed on two sides but the emergency stop cord was installed only on the safer of the two sides, and even then was installed backwards so that it did not work. The worker whose arm was pulled between rollers was lucky to avoid worse injury or even death. We continue to hear of incidents in which even experienced carpet mill workers are mained or killed by defectively designed or manufactured carpet production equipment.

The Shigley Law Firm represents plaintiffs in wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases statewide in Georgia, and in other states subject to the multijurisdictional practice and pro hac vice rules in each state. Ken Shigley was designated as a “SuperLawyer” in Atlanta Magazine and one of the “Legal Elite” in Georgia Trend Magazine. He is a Certified Civil Trial Advocate of the National Board of Trial Advocacy, Chair of the Southeastern Motor Carrier Liability Institute and former chair of the Georgia Insurance Law Institute. He particularly focuses on cases arising from truck wrecks and accidents (tractor trailers truck wrecks, semi truck wrecks,18 wheeler truck wrecks, big rig truck wrecks, log truck wrecks, dump truck wrecks).