January 2010 :: Atlanta Injury Attorney Blog

« December 2009 | | February 2010 »

Posted On: January 26, 2010

Get Your Accident Report Online after a Georgia Crash

Many of my clients ask me "how do I get my police report?" after a crash in Georgia and usually the process involves sending money orders or showing up in person. That has all changed now that the State of Georgia is getting more progressive. The Department of Transportation has partnered with a tech company to open www.BuyCrash.com that allows citizens to pull their own police reports right off the internet for only $10.00. Given how annoying the process can be, especially for out of State drivers, this website is a blessing. Even better is the fact that I tested the interface and it looks like runners will not be able to raid the system to illegally solicit business.

Posted by Christopher Simon | Permalink | Email This Post | Comments (1)

Posted In: Georgia Car Accident

Posted On: January 23, 2010

Georgia Uninsured Motorist Insurance will Protect the Consumer When the Defendant has Official Immunity

We are handling a case for a very nice lady who was badly hurt when she was hit by a 20 something in Savannah. The police report merely indicated that the defendant driver was driving her dad's Mercury. We sent a demand letter to her insurance carrier and we got an unexpected letter back indicating that the Defendant was an employee of the Georgia State Department of Agriculture and was on the job (in lawyerspeak she was in the course and scope of employment) at the time. This can be a huge problem because Georgia law generally provides that State employees are immune from being personally sued when they screw up discretionary acts. Georgia Uninsured Motorist Insurance.jpg

Continue reading " Georgia Uninsured Motorist Insurance will Protect the Consumer When the Defendant has Official Immunity " »

Posted by Christopher Simon | Permalink | Email This Post | Comments (0)

Posted In: Georgia Uninsured Motorist Law

Posted On: January 21, 2010

Free Legal Research Database Launched By Google

Google hit another milestone two months ago when they put their legal research database online. They have complete databases for every State and Federal Decision. Now prisoners can search online to their heart's content as they work on their habeus corpus appeal. As a lawyer getting cleaned out by westlaw every month, I am anticipating going pure google when my contract is up! Check it out for yourself! Google Scholar advanced search.

Posted by Christopher Simon | Permalink | Email This Post | Comments (0)

Posted In:

Posted On: January 18, 2010

If My Tree Falls and Hits My Neighbor's House, am I Legally Responsible?

If my tree falls and hits my neighbor's house, am I responsible in Georgia? Let's assume you have been eyeballing that tree in your front yard for a month now and you are beginning to suspect that it is rotting. Have you stayed up at night worrying about it hurting someone or something and wondering what your legal responsibilities are?

In Georgia, the owner of a tree is liable for injuries from a falling tree only if he knew or reasonably should have known the tree was diseased, decayed or otherwise constituted a dangerous condition. In other words, if you did not have a reason to know it was diseased (full leaves, looks fine) then it is not your fault if something happens. If you should have known, you had better have good homeowner's insurance coverage. Georgia lawsuit tree liability.JPG

One Court put it this way: "A landowner who knows that a tree on his property is decayed and may fall and damage the property of an adjoining landowner is under a duty to eliminate the danger.” But a landowner does not have a duty to consistently and constantly check all trees on his property for nonvisible rot; 'the manifestation of decay must be visible, apparent, and patent.'” Cornett v. Agee, 143 Ga.App. 55, 57 (1977).

Continue reading " If My Tree Falls and Hits My Neighbor's House, am I Legally Responsible? " »

Posted by Christopher Simon | Permalink | Email This Post | Comments (0)

Posted In: Georgia Lawsuits , Georgia tree law

Posted On: January 9, 2010

In a Georgia Car Accident on Icy Roads, Who is Responsible?

With the recent snow and ice on the roads in Georgia, there have been numerous multi-vehicle crashes including one involving 27 cars. The question arises; who is going to pay for all the property damage and injury claims? As a Georgia car accident lawyer, I have already been asked this questions several times so we will review the issue today. We will break the topic into two parts; first addressing normal crashes involving ice and black ice in Georgia and second, addressing multi-vehicle collisions, like the one pictured by CBSAtlanta.com here. Georgia crash on ice.JPG
If you are involved in a car accident in Georgia and ice played a role, just accept the fact that it will be an ugly process. A typical scenario with the recent snow in Atlanta involves one car hitting a patch of black ice and going into a spin or suddenly coming out of their lane and causing a crash. In many of the these situations, the drivers insurance company may refuse to pay for your property damage, claiming that the ice was an "act of God" for which their insured cannot be blamed. To this I say "B.S." You have to live in a cave not to know that its snowing and sub zero out and that ice is on the roadways. When that happens you have to drive with exceptional care. The Georgia law on driving with ice on the road is OCGA § 40-6-180 which says in part that you have to drive at a speed that is safe for conditions.

Continue reading " In a Georgia Car Accident on Icy Roads, Who is Responsible? " »

Posted by Christopher Simon | Permalink | Email This Post | Comments (1)

Posted In: Georgia Car Accident

Posted On: January 3, 2010

Atlanta Injury Attorney Explains Georgia Super Speeder Law

As an Atlanta injury attorney, I frequently am the go to resource for friends wondering about certain aspects of the law, including the new Georgia Super Speeder law. What does it really mean? What do you need to know? Georgia super speeder law.JPG

1. Purdue pushed the law to raise money; over $20 million by most estimates.
2. Studies show that speeding is not the cause in most accidents, it is crappy driving.
3. The Georgia Super Speeder fine is an additional $200.00 fine on top of the local ticket.
4. If you go over 75mph on a two lane country road, you will pay it.
5. If you go 85mph or over on an expressway, you will pay it.

Continue reading " Atlanta Injury Attorney Explains Georgia Super Speeder Law " »

Posted by Christopher Simon | Permalink | Email This Post | Comments (0)

Posted In: Georgia Law

« December 2009 | | February 2010 »