In fact, the donations will go directly to the family after the funerary and other family utilities are caught up.

The firm will continue to support the Campos family in their quest to raise awareness of the danger that can be posed by elderly drivers and to push for legislation requiring more frequent driving tests for the elderly. The woman that ran Karla down was 82 years old and claimed she hit the wrong pedal before she traveled 80 feet, half on the curb, past 3 stopped cars, to run the child down in front of her mother. This tragedy could have been prevented if the state had testing legislation in place.

Typically OCGA 33-7-11 requires that before you get a chance to recover from your uninsured motorist coverage, you are able to take a judgment against the defendant. For example, if your lawyer does not file the lawsuit against the other driver within the Georgia statute of limitations, you cannot go after your uninsured motorist coverage. The law says that you must be in a position to take a judgment against the bad guy that you in order to get to your UM coverage. In the Tinsley decision, the Court said that sovereign immunity bars suits against government employees and that makes them uninsured for purposes of the statute. In other words, you can sue them and your own uninsured motorist coverage will protect you against the loss. It is a very well thought out decision that protects consumers in the State of Georgia who might otherwise have no recourse.

I want to thank Jim Neuberger for bringing this case to my attention.

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.

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).

"This is in accord with what is called one of the most important and best-proved laws in science, "The Second Law of Thermodynamics," or energy decay. The court can take judicial notice of anything in the scientific world scientifically provable. Rome R. &c. Co. v. Keel, 3 Ga. App. 769 (60 SE 468). This law tells us that all in the universe, trees, human beings, plants, animals, buildings and all else are headed downward from complexity to simplicity toward decay, deterioration, decadence, and death. See, "In the Game of Energy and Thermodynamics You Can't Even Break Even," by Isaac Asimov, Journal of the Smithsonian Institute (June, 1970), p. 6-8. This means while there is energy being converted, none is created or destroyed (Law of Thermodynamics Number One) nevertheless everything tends toward decay; for example, a tree decaying, which is an increase of entropy or uselessness. We are specifically limiting liability in this case to patent visible decay and not the normal usual latent micro-non-visible accumulative decay. In other words, there is no duty to consistently and constantly check all pine trees for non-visible rot as the manifestation of decay must be visible, apparent, and patent so that one could be aware that high winds might combine with visible rot and cause damage."

If there is no evidence in a case upon which a jury could side with the plaintiff and find that the tree was visibly detiorating, then the case gets thrown out of court on a Motion. See Wade v. Howard 232 Ga.App. 55 (1998). Even though most of my work comes as a Georgia car accident lawyer, we also deal with these unusual liability cases from time to time. The safest course is to act as soon as you have a doubt about the health of the tree.

If there is black ice on the roadway, that can mean as slow as 5 mph. In some of these situations, the black ice forms because a person or business allows water to flow out onto the street and it freezes overnight. In those situations, it is reasonable to present the repair bill to the business or person as it is foreseeable that the fluid will freeze. The final and most complex type of case involves suits against the Georgia Department of Transportation if they engineered the roadway with dips in it that allow water to collect and freeze. For an illustrative case involving a driver who crashed on ice and could not prove that a road contractor deviated from a well engineered road, see Adams v. Apac-Georgia, Inc., 236 Ga. App. 215, 511 S.E.2d 581 (1999)

Here is an appellate case involving ice at a stop sign. Gibson v. Carter 248 Ga. App. 280, (2001). If you maintained control and were struck by a driver who lost control, either submit the property damage claim to your own insurer and let them go after the other driver or take the other driver to magistrate court if their insurance refuses to pay.

Turning to the multi-vehicle collision cases, these are a nightmare in many senses. In the 27 car pile-up this week on the ramp at I-285 and I-85 in Fulton County, liability is going to be hard to determine. The insurance companies for the cars in the front of the crash will want to argue that the collision was unavoidable and is solely due to the black ice. Eventually though, they will tender their property damage limits due to the shear volume of claims they will be facing. Remember that most drivers in Georgia only have $25,000.00 in insurance for property damage so they will run out of coverage quickly.

The people in the middle of the crash that rear-ended stopped or wrecked vehicles are going to have a tough uphill climb to convince the other driver's insurance company that they were not driving too fast for conditions themselves.

The folks to the rear may be in the best position depending on the way they were impacted.

Typically we see the insurance companies for the front-most vehicles surrendering their property damage policy limits and once those are exhausted, it is up to each person's own collision coverage to pick up the repair bill. These crashes are a mess in every sense of the word. A skilled Atlanta car accident lawyer can pick their way through the police report as some individuals may have a claim to get their property damage repaired by another insurer, but it will be tough going.

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.

The damage to the front left of the passenger car was not consistent with a side impact and when the impact velocity was finally known, the math was fed into a computer and this simulation was created to show the jury exactly how the car ended up the way it did.

So how do you protect yourself? You buy gap insurance. You can get it through the financing bank or a dealership. It will step in and pay for the gap between the two. Gap coverage applies regardless of whether you caused the crash and your car insurance is paying to total it or if another driver totaled the car.

If you have further questions, call a Georgia insurance lawyer or buy my Georgia Car Accident Book.

Table of Contents

Why I Wrote this Book. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Professional Background. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Disclaimer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix

Part 1: Buying Georgia Automobile Insurance
Chapter 1 | Understand the Types of
Insurance Available on an Auto Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Chapter 2 | Determine What Coverage You Have. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Chapter 3 | Get a Quote on Increasing Your
Insurance Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Chapter 4 | Compare Your Insurance
Company’s Rates and Service. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Part 2: Dealing with a Car Accident in Georgia
Chapter 5 | Quick Do’s and Don’ts after a
Georgia Car Accident. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Chapter 6 | Action Items after a Car Accident. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Chapter 7 | How to Read a Georgia Accident
Report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Chapter 8 | Assess Insurance Coverage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Chapter 9 | Property Damage Issues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Chapter 10 | Understanding Injury Cases. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Chapter 11 | “What is my Auto Collision
Case Worth?”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
vi
Chapter 12 | “Do I Need a Lawyer to Handle
My Case?” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Chapter 13 | Putting Together a Demand
Package. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Chapter 14 | Negotiating Your Claim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Part 3: Hiring a Lawyer
Chapter 15 | “How Do I Choose a Good Lawyer?”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Chapter 16 | “How Long Will It Take a
Lawyer to Resolve My Car Accident Case?”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Chapter 17 | The Deadline—the Statute of
Limitations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Chapter 18 | “Should I Just Pay the Traffic Ticket?” . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Chapter 19 | Who Pays for the Medical Bills
after the Crash?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Chapter 20 | “Why is the Hospital Trying to
Send the Bill to the Other Car
Insurance Company instead of to
My Health Insurance?” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Chapter 21 | Understanding Georgia Medical
Liens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Chapter 22 | Entities that Will Try to Take
Away Parts of Your Settlement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Chapter 23 | What to Do If You Caused the Crash. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

About the Author. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Exhibit A | Wage and Salary Verification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Exhibit B | Sample Insurance Settlement Demand Letter. . . . . . . . . 98
Exhibit C | Settlement Demand Worksheet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Exhibit D | Medical Records Request Sample Letter. . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Exhibit E | Hospital Insurance Payment Sample Letter . . . . . . . . . 104

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.

1) Following distance. Start counting out the 7 to 8 seconds on the interstate. Being able to stop or change lanes when traffic comes to a sudden stop is huge. Look around you on the highway; very few people bother to follow this rule.

2) Animals in the road: Hit them. Seriously, swerving kills more people and pedestrians that you would believe.

3) DO NOT DRIVE FROM MIDNIGHT TO 5AM, especially on weekends. 80% of all fatal trucking and auto crashes that I have worked occurred during these hours. 90% of them are after dark. It's a simple fact, daytime and dry weather driving is safer. The drunks, the truckers and the sleepy are out at night and you are drastically increasing your odds of a bad crash. The overnight drive to see the in-laws in Indiana for Thanksgiving? Pay the money to fly. It's worth it.

4) Slow down and hug the right on curves. Most drivers drift over the center line on curves.

5) Coming over a hill, especially on rural roads, slow way down. You never know what is over the hump and I have worked tons of these collisions.

6) In sudden braking be sure to check your rear view mirror. If there is a tractor trailer behind you and you are at highway speeds, change lanes. It is far better to have an impact with another passenger car than to be rear ended by an 80,0000 lb tractor trailer in Georgia.

7) Buy a large sedan or agile SUV (read low center of gravity). Physics is your friend when it comes to crashes. Smaller cars simply cannot cope with high speed or high mass impacts the way that a heavy vehicle can. Be careful though with full size SUVs as they take longer to stop, cannot handle turns at high speed and with their high center of gravity, they roll over more easily than passenger cars.

8) Understand that driving your 10 year old car to be thrifty would make Ben Franklin proud, but safety technology is worth spending money on. Electronic skid control alone saves thousands of lives a year as do side impact and head impact airbags. Do not skimp on safety features.

Men's Health Advice from the Article Worth Repeating

1) If you veer off the road, don't swerve back on as you may over correct and hit oncoming traffic. Instead, take your foot off the gas and gradually come back on as the path ahead dictates.

2) Blown Tire: Do not slam on your brakes. Hit your flashers and let your car slow on its own and when you feel in control, pull off the road. I lost a wheel (as a result of lug nuts loosened by a botched theft attempt in NYC) at 60mph on I-95 and can tell you this works.

3) Set your cabin temperature lower by 15 degrees if you feel drowsy. Swedish studies show that increases alertness.

4) Daytime running Lights: Studies show they reduce head on collisions by 5%

Gripping Statistics from the Men's Health Article

40% of collisions occur at intersections.

22% of fatal collisions occur at intersections.

Most fatal collisions occur from 12:00 A.M. to 3 A.M. on Sunday morning.

78% of collisions caused by driver distractions.

32% of all fatal collisions involve alcohol.

Above all take your time. In my practice as an Georgia car accident lawyer, I meet hundreds of families whose lives have been tragically altered and in most instances, following these rules would have reduced or eliminated the crashes

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.

In the case of an out of state victim, you would need to hire a probate lawyer in that person's home County to get an administrator for the Estate appointed to bring the claim. Any proceeds from the claim would go to the next of kin rather than into the Estate of the victim.

Here is where is gets more complicated. If the victim is survived only by siblings and one of the siblings is dead at the time the case needs to be brought, then under Georgia wrongful death law, the children of the deceased sibling are entitled to their deceased parent's share of the wrongful death claim for the deceased parent's deceased sibling. see Stewart v. Bourn Et Al., 250 Ga. App. 755, 552 S.E.2d 450 (2001) In other words, if Steve Smith is killed by a drunk driver and left no spouse, children or parents, then the Georgia wrongful death claim is held by his three sibling Bob, Jim and Mike. Where Mike has already died, Mike's share of the claim goes to his two kids, Betty and Sarah. Got it?

This example will serve to illustrate why the handling of a Georgia wrongful death claim is so complex. It requires an experienced Georgia wrongful death lawyer to explore the issues and to make sure the statutes are complied with.

This is a classic case of the police officer making a snap decision based on a language barrier. Had I been the driver in front, it is clear that the trucking company's insurance carrier would have accepted responsibility. A good Georgia injury lawyer knows to send an Open Records Request to secure the 911 audio tape of the tractor trailer driver's call to the police. The audio tape records the trucker calling in and admitting 1) that he saw our client 2) that he decided to try to change lanes to go around our client but did not make it. This directly contradicts what he told the police officer. We will ultimately get him fair compensation for his truck and the surgeries he underwent, but this is a classic example of how language barriers and bias can affect the state trooper's view of the collision.