As a trucking safety attorney in Atlanta, Georgia, I have found it is extremely important to network with other attorneys doing the same kind of work throughout the United States.

At the American Association for Justice convention in San Francisco last Saturday, I spoke at the Interstate Trucking Litigation Group seminar on Saturday and had dinner with the other members of seminar faculty that evening.

My bride and I had to leave for the airport before the time scheduled for the ITLG business meeting on Tuesday. But when we landed in Atlanta, I had a text message informing me that I had been elected to the national board of directors of the Interstate Trucking Litigation Group. This will involve being on the faculty of the four-day "Trucking Litigation College," writing a substantive article for the ITLG newsletter, and a lot more networking with other people around the country who are very good at what I do.

That sort of thing is good for my clients because it exposes me to the latest ideas on how to effectively handle these cases.

Today I’m heading home from the American Association for Justice annual meeting in San Francisco. On Saturday, I was one of the speakers at the Interstate Trucking Litigation Group seminar.  I had a fairly dry topic, though one necessary in these difficult economic times, "Hard Times in Trucking Litigation: What to Do When the Trucking Defendant or Insurer Goes Under."

Some of the other topics covered in the interstate trucking seminar included:

  • Overlooked Issues in Maximizing Damages in a Trucking Case
  • Unique Discovery Issues in Trucking Cases
  • When Low Speeds Can Cause Big Injuries: Understanding What Happens When a Big Truck Hits a Small Car
  • Overdriving Headlights and Other Night Driving Issues in Interstate Trucking Cases
  • Truck vs. Motorcycle
  • Ethical Considerations in Interstate Trucking Cases
  • The Small Commercial Vehicle Case
  • Finding Insurance in Truck Crash Cases
  • Brain Injuries in Trucking Cases

Though I have to leave for the airport before the business meeting, I will go on the board of the Interstate Trucking Litigation Group, and will be on the faculty of the "trucking litigation college" program this fall.

Both citizen safety advocates, led by Stephen Owings, an Atlanta financial planner, and the American Trucking Association have joined in seeking rules requiring speed limiting devices on interstate commercial trucks. They say the devices will save both lives and money.

Owings founded Road Safe America after his son, Cullum, was killed on a Virginia interstate in 2002, returning with his brother from Atlanta to the Washington & Lee University. Stuck in traffic, there were hit from behind by a big rig traveling on cruise control set at 7 mph over the speed limit.   When I chaired the Southeastern Motor Carrier Liability Institute in 2005, Steve Owings was one of our speakers.

Opposing them is the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association.  It says mandatory speed governors are likely to lead to more collisions (when a driver needs extra horsepower for an emergency maneuver) and increase traffic congestion (when a speed-limited truck attempts to pass another.

Stay tuned to see how this plays out in the FMCSA rule-making process.

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:

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.

Compression garments must be worn for many months to minimize scarring. Some patients 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 knows from experience what it is like — 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.