Thank you to everyone that put in their edits and comments on the cover. The Georgia Guide to Buying Car Insurance and Handling Car Accident Claims has gone to press and will be up for sale on Amazon just after the New Year! I put a lot of work into this guide and I think it will really help out Georgia Consumers.
Continue reading " Georgia Car Insurance and Car Accident Book has Gone to Press " »
As an Atlanta car accident lawyer and a former tractor trailer insurance defense lawyer, I have worked around fatality car accidents for most of my professional life. I have arrived at crash scenes with bodies being removed in pieces and reviewed photos that no one should ever have to see. A Georgia wrongful death lawyer knows that working on these cases and getting to know the families profoundly affects them professionally, but these experiences can also affect the lawyer's driving. 
There was a great article in the December 2009 issue of Men's Health called Dead Man Driving regarding collisions and I thought I would discuss their points and add to it my own impressions.
I view safe driving as 40% your actual driving skill, 40% your decisions on what and when to drive and 20% blind luck. There is nothing we can do about blind luck so we will focus on the other two categories.
Continue reading " Twelve Ways to Avoid Car Accidents in Atlanta " »
As a Georgia wrongful death lawyer, I am preparing to file suit in a case involving a complex analysis of the proper parties to bring the case. Georgia has a complicated set of statutes that lay out the family's rights after a wrongful death. There are two claims under Georgia wrongful death law; the claims by the remaining family members for the value of the life lost and the claim by estate of the victim. These are two completely separate claims although the claim for the value of the life lost tends to be the one focused on the most by juries. 
Typically the right to file the suit for the wrongful death follows a strict statutory order:
1) If there is only a spouse, they hold the claim. see O.C.G.A. §51-4-2
2) If there is a spouse and children, then the spouse brings the claim but shares the proceeds equally with the children.
3) If there is no spouse, it is held equally by any children.
4) If none of the above, then the claim is held by the parents of the victim. O.C.G.A. §19-7-1
5) If there is none of the above, it gets complicated.
Continue reading " Georgia Wrongful Death Lawyer Outlines Proper Party to Bring Suit " »
We recently got a call from a client who had been hit from behind by a tractor trailer after midnight on the highway. His truck was knocked into a ditch and he sustained multiple fractures that required surgery. That would seem like an open and shut case right? Wrong, and that is where an experienced Georgia tractor trailer accident lawyer can make a world of difference.
The Georgia Insurance Commissioner's Office released a directive last December to all of the insurance companies reminding them that when evaluating Diminution in Value, they cannot simply cite the Mabry v. State Farm decision and declare that their formula is gospel. The directive can be found by clicking here.
As an Georgia injury lawyer, I frequently have clients ask me how to handle their diminished value claims and have even shot a video on how to handle diminution in value claims in Georgia. The most frequent response that consumers get from the insurers is "sorry but we use the State approved formula" and that is a corruption of the law. This directive makes it clear that each case is different and the Insurance Commissioner has not endorsed any particular diminution formula. If you are arguing with the insurance company and they cite the formula from the Mabry case, be sure to email them this directive.
Many of our client's receive notice of a Georgia Medical Lien soon after they are discharged from the emergency room and in previous articles, we have documented what your rights are. Some clients move or keep less than perfect paper records and as they near settlement of their claim through their Georgia injury lawyer, they worry that after settlement, they will be sued by a hospital or a doctor for an unpaid bill. Thankfully, there is a free public database to search for medical liens. You should know that experience has proven this database is not perfect and you should still physically go to the Superior Court Clerk's Office where you live to be 100% sure. Nonetheless, this resource is a great place to start. Here is the link to the free Georgia Medical Lien database.
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