Atlanta Personal Injury Blog

A recent decision by the Georgia Supreme Court has restored an important constitutional right for Georgia citizens, but efforts by special interest groups already are underway to try to strip us of those rights once again.

The decision resulted from a case involving Marietta real estate agent Betty Nestlehutt and Dr. Harvey “Chip” Cole III of Oculus Facial Plastic Surgeons in Atlanta. Mrs. Nestlehutt went to Dr. Cole requesting a simple procedure, but was talked into a multi-procedure surgery by the doctor.

During the 2006 operation, the doctor severely damaged the blood supply to Mrs. Nestlehutt’s face, leaving her with painful, gaping wounds and permanent, disfiguring scars. For months following the surgery, Mr. Nestlehutt helped his injured wife dress and undress her wounds twice a day. The sessions were long and horribly painful, and left the couple emotionally and physically drained.

Eventually, with her wounds still not healing, Mrs. Nestlehutt consulted with Dr. Seth Yellen, chief of facial, plastic and reconstructive surgery at Emory. Though he was not able to undo the damage caused by Dr. Cole’s negligence, Dr. Yellen was so upset by what had been done to Mrs. Nestlehutt that he broke Emory’s unwritten rule discouraging its doctors from testifying against colleagues in court.

With a mountain of evidence on their side, the Nestlehutts sued Dr. Cole for medical malpractice and won. The jury awarded them $1,265,000, which included $900,000 for pain and suffering.

Although Dr. Cole had $3 million in insurance – more than enough to cover the award in the case – it didn’t end there. Special interest groups representing insurance companies, big business and for-profit healthcare had pushed a Tort Reform cap through the Georgia legislature in 2005 stating that the most a plaintiff could be awarded for pain and suffering in a medical malpractice case was $350,000.

Although a jury of her peers had found Mrs. Nestlehutt deserving of much more, this legislation basically said that the jury’s verdict didn’t matter. The judge in the case, however, ruled that the 2005 Tort Reform cap was unconstitutional.

Dr. Cole’s attorneys immediately filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of Georgia. Recently, when the case came before them, Georgia’s Supreme Court judges unanimously agreed that any cap on damages awarded by a jury is unconstitutional.

While we can feel some relief that we live in a state where our constitutional rights to a trial by jury are protected by our Supreme Court, we must not get complacent. Tort reformers in the Legislature are working to resurrect the caps, and we need to make sure that it does not happen.
Though special interest groups argue that caps keep doctors’ insurance premiums down and eliminate frivolous lawsuits, this just is not true. Under the 2005 Tort Reform caps, insurance premiums continued to rise, and those suffering only minor injuries still were able to collect up to $350,000. For those suffering life-altering injuries, however, $350,000 is a disgrace.

The 2005 cap put on pain and suffering compensation in medical malpractice cases was especially damaging to children, retirees and stay-at-home parents. Those with no earning power cannot claim economic damage when medical malpractice leaves them injured, so with the Tort Reform caps, $350,000 was the absolute most they could be awarded, period.

We must ensure that caps remain out of Georgia legislature so that all of our citizens – including children and seniors – remain protected under an intact and upheld Constitution. Write or call your elected officials to express your support in Georgia’s recent Supreme Court ruling. Let them know that you fully understand your right to have your disputes decided by a jury of your peers, and that the Georgia Legislature’s attempts to put caps on awards for pain and suffering in medical malpractice cases was, is and always will be unconstitutional.

To watch an excellent video explaining the 2005 Tort Reform caps and the Nestlehutt case, click here.

The recent economic woes have been tough on everyone’s budget, and this includes state and municipal governments around the country. The public well being depends on the consistent delivery of essential governmental functions, and when the money simply isn’t there to allow for business as usual, an enormous strain is placed on the system.

Fulton County has proposed its budget for 2010, and under the tentative plan the judicial budget will be slashed by some $53 million. This represents about 25% of the present budget, and leaders say that a cut of this magnitude will have far reaching impact.

The proposed budgetary reduction could force the closure of the courthouse and place enormous stress on the Fulton County jail and the sheriff’s office. Of course legal professionals like judges, prosecutors, and public defenders would be in the crosshairs of these cuts as well. It is estimated that this radically reduced judiciary budget could result in the loss of as many as 1,000 jobs.

Doris Downs is the Chief Superior Court Judge for Fulton County. She and other officials have declared the Fulton County judicial system as being in an “economic state of emergency.”

“This is not something you can adjust to… this is going to dismantle the justice system. These are cuts…that we cannot withstand,” said Downs.

A logical extrapolation to be drawn from this situation is that a county that can’t afford to try and detain law breakers is going to have no choice but to put them back on the street. This is not a very appealing remedy for many Fulton County residents. John Eaves, the Fulton County Commission Chairperson, says that the plan to slash the budget is just that, a proposed plan that is under review, and not a finalized decision.

Source: “Atlanta judicial leaders declare court ‘emergency’“  Associated Press

If you have been injured in an accident in the the greater Atlanta metropolitan area, contact The People’s Lawyer, Bruce Hagen, at (404) 522-7553.

Cell phones have brought with them a whole new wave of dangers on the roadways as people devote their attention to their conversations rather than their driving. Five states (California, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Washington) have laws in place that prohibit all drivers from using hand-held cell phones while they are operating a motor vehicle, and these laws save lives. A Harvard University study indicates that cell phone use while driving causes up to 330,000 injury accidents and 2,600 fatalities per year.

Harvard researcher Joshua Cohen told CBS News that in addition to the above statistics, about 1 in 20 automobile accidents involve a driver who is talking on a cell phone. Clearly, when you are talking on a hand-held cell phone, you are not paying total attention to the road, and you are only using one hand to drive. But how about text messaging? That usually takes two hands, doesn’t it?

Texting while driving is even more dangerous than talking on a cell phone. Statistics show that 25 percent of drivers admit to sending or receiving text messages while driving, and between drivers who are 18-24, that number skyrockets to 66%. Driving while distracted in some manner or other causes almost 80% of wrecks, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Ed Smith of the Delray Beach Police Department in Delray Beach, Florida, was quoted thusly in an interview on the subject: “Texting while driving is a serious public health issue. Law enforcement is concerned about how to enforce bans on text-messaging in the car.”

Many states have responded to this concern. No less than 14 states and the District of Columbia have laws in place that make texting while driving illegal. That refers to driving an automotive vehicle, by the way. But it appears as though people who operate high speed trains also have a penchant for this dangerous behavior.

WSBTV.com reports that a MARTA train engineer was recently suspended for three days, without pay, for allegedly texting while he was operating a train. This is serious business, because over the last year or so there have been at least two major train wrecks in the United States that have been attributed to cell phone texting. One head-on crash in California killed 25 people and injured 135, and a Boston area rear-end collision injured 50 individuals.

Driving can seem like a routine exercise that requires very little attention, but in fact, even a temporary loss of focus can cause an accident that can cost someone their life. If you have been involved in a wreck that was caused by a driver (or a train conductor!) who was talking on a cell phone or texting, call The Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer, Bruce Hagen, at (404) 522-7553, or simply get in touch through the website.

Riding a motorcycle is a lot of fun for many people, and for others, it is more than mere fun; it is a way of life. There are a number of advantages to motorcycles as a means of transportation, like fuel economy, and cost , but there are a great number of risks that go along with it as well. There is virtually no margin of error for motorcyclists because the only thing between them and the pavement is their helmet and their clothing, so they need to ride defensively and carefully. However, even the most diligent biker has no control over the people he or she is sharing the road with, and that is where much of the danger lies.

There were over 5,000 motorcycle accident fatalities in 2007 and some 103,000 injuries. Clearly, riding a motorcycle is a risky way to get around, and this statistic is especially telling: about 40% of the wrecks between motorcycles and other vehicles take place when the vehicle is making a left hand turn while the motorcycle is going straight. In these instances the driver of the other vehicle never knew that there was a bike behind them. Clearly, there are cases when the driver is not paying enough attention and has absolutely zero excuse. But due to the small width of a bike, there is also a “blind spot” to the left of the driver, who may not see a motorcycle when it is in this spot.

There was a fatal accident in Dade County, Georgia recently that underscored the danger of this phenomena. A motorcyclist, Michael Wayne Mooneyhan, found himself behind a slow moving vehicle, and he decided to pass. The driver of the vehicle made an unexpected left hand turn onto a side road as Mooneyhan was passing. His front bumper hit the bike, and Mooneyhan was thrown from his motorcycle as it went down an embankment and hit a tree. He was transported by helicopter to a trauma center in Chattanooga where he eventually died due to the injuries that he suffered in the crash.

Even though there is such a thing as a “blind spot,” drivers need to account for it by being totally aware of their surroundings before the biker enters that spot. Most of us have had the experience of suddenly realizing that there was in fact a motorcycle to their left that they didn’t see at first. This teaches you something and makes you a more defensive and aware driver when you consider what might have happened. Unfortunately, many drivers never learn that lesson, and others learn it at the expense of another.

If you have been the victim of a motorcycle accident due to the negligence of the other driver, contact the Atlanta personal injury attorney,  Bruce Hagen, at (404) 522-7553, or drop us a message through the website to schedule a consultation. There is no excuse for “not seeing” another motorist, and we will see to it that your legal interests are well represented so that you can devote your energy to getting well and putting the experience behind you.

For the most part, when monies are due you, the onus is on you to collect them. People don’t usually seek you out so that they can give you money, but Cobb County Superior Court is a notable exception. Over 4,000 crime victims who were owed restitution funds have been contacted by the court over the past year and informed of the fact they had some money waiting for them.

The individual who has been charged with the pleasant task of notifying these folks and letting them know that funds were waiting for them is Cobb County Superior Court chief deputy clerk Elva Dombusch. Some of the restitution funds stem from crimes going all the way back the 1980s, and it was no small task to do the research necessary to find so many of these victims. So far, Dombusch has been able to contact about 80% of the individuals and businesses that are entitled to restitution; some 800 or so have yet to be found. So if you were the victim of a crime that was disposed of by the Cobb County Superior Court, you may want to contact them, or have a legal professional do so in your behalf.

Elva Dombush and the Cobb County Superior Court have gone the extra mile to do all that is within their power to help these victims and deliver their due to them, and this commendable effort has not gone without its rewards. Dombusch told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about a couple of the people that she spoke with that stood out in her mind.

There was a trucker who had been the victim of a burglary some years ago. The economy was impacting him heavily, and Dombush says that he wept when he heard the news that he had $3,200 coming to him as restitution. He had been unable to take his young daughter to Disney World during her summer vacation, and the unexpected windfall would be making that dream a reality. Dombusch says that the man’s emotional reaction drove her to tears as well.

Another case involved a pastor whose van needed $700 in repairs. He did what pastors do: he prayed. Dombusch called. He had restitution money coming. How much? You guessed it, $700.

Says Dombusch: “I felt like Santa Claus. I felt like this is what I’m here for. They were victims the first time. I don’t want them to be victims again because we couldn’t find them.”

This is an uplifting story about people helping people, and it is a reminder to all of us that the system is there to protect us and look after our interests when we are the victims.

If you think that you may have some unclaimed money in Georgia, or if you have been victimized by an act of negligence, contact the People’s Lawyer, Bruce Hagen, at (404) 522-7553, or contact him through his Atlanta Personal Injury website, to discuss the matter and decide how to proceed. Nobody wants to be a victim, but if monies are due you, the People’s Lawyer will work hard to make sure that the system works for you.

Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution