Oral arguments were held in the Appeal filed by the City of Milton and ultimately the Court of Appeals ruled in our favor on the wrongful death of Josh Chang that came about as the result of the City turning a blind eye for 40 years to a 3 foot high stone obstacle in the right of way. Ultimately the Court of Appeals ruled in the Chang Family’s favor and the City has now appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court. Meanwhile, interest on the $32 million dollar judgment accrues at over $10,000 a day.
The summer has technically come to an end for all intents and purposes, but this is Georgia and that means it will be hot for at least another two months; still, plenty of time to get out on the water and play. It is well known that Lake Lanier is a hot spot for fun and activity as soon as the weather gets warm enough to warrant a bathing suit. Georgians flock to the lake like bream to a cricket as soon as the temperatures get over 85 degrees.
With the availability of boat rental op
tions, fun places to eat and drink, and the ease of access to the lake itself, Lake Lanier is a convenient and fun place for Georgians to spend time when the weather gets right. Unfortunately, the influx of people brings with it an increase in traffic on the lake and an increased risk for injury and death. The purpose of this article is to provide you with some brief information and safety tips to help you navigate the risk involved in going to the lake to ensure your time there is as fun as it can be.
Lake Lanier opened for business in 1956. Since that time, over 700 people have died in Lake Lanier. It is currently owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and is fed by the Chestatee and Chattahoochee rivers on the north end of the lake and the Chattahoochee River runs out of the south end of the lake. Since there is a consistent influx and the often outflow of water, there is at times in the lake a current that can cause the water to actually move and is something any swimmer should be aware of.
Over the years a number of injured people have called in after tripping over chairs in restaurants. From a common sense perspective, these can be tough cases. One of the primary defenses is that the chair is obvious to anyone walking around and the restaurant can rightfully argue, they have to be there and you should know to walk around them. But….and the only thing that matters is what comes after the but. If the chair is of a design where it sticks out past the normal footprint of a chair, then it becomes a tripping hazard and there is a viable claim.
In the recent appellate case of Connell v. Golden Corral Corp., the Eleventh Circuit Court addressed significant legal principles surrounding summary judgment and premises liability. This decision is pivotal for both plaintiffs and defendants engaged in personal injury litigation where the client tripped on a chair.
Overview of Law in the Area
We just sent out a demand on a case involving a North Georgia winery where the risers, the up part of a stair, were all of varying heights and when our client walked down them for the first time, she lost her footing and fell, hitting her head on a table nearby.
The adjuster for the insurance company at first did not follow the legal argument, so I asked them to measure the risers and, sure enough, they were all in violation of Georgia Building Code. Stairs are supposed to all be of very close measurements so that the pedestrian can climb or descend in a rhythm.
The diagram below illustrates the requirements for stairs that establish the standard of care for static defect fall cases.
In that case the parents were lucky that the video tape held the staff accountable, but in many cases we are not so lucky and have to find other ways to prove that the employees may be lying about how the child was injured. Consider the appellate case below.
Amusement parks are a place where families and thrill-seekers alike can enjoy a day of fun and excitement. However, along with the thrills of amusement park rides comes the potential for accidents and injuries. In the unfortunate event that you or a loved one is injured on an amusement park ride, it is important to understand the legal liability that may come into play.
When it comes to amusement park ride legal liability, there are several key factors to consider. The first step in determining liability is to establish who is responsible for the accident. This can vary depending on the circumstances of the incident. For example, if the ride operator failed to properly secure a safety harness or if the ride was not properly maintained, the amusement park or ride operator may be held liable for any resulting injuries. Georgia has an entire code section governing the safety procedures that ride operators must stick to and they are the Rules and Regulations 120-3-27.
For example they contain requirements like:
In an August 2023 decision, the Georgia Supreme Court issued an important ruling clarifying when and how investigating police officers must meet certain evidentiary standards for expert testimony in civil cases arising from vehicle accidents. Under the old case law, Judges sort of gave police officers a hall pass and assumed they automatically qualified as experts in certain matters.
In Miller v. Golden Peanut Company, the relatives of a woman killed in a tractor-trailer collision sued the driver and the tractor trailer company. At trial, the judge allowed the investigating officer to provide expert opinions on the cause of the accident without analyzing whether his conclusions met the Daubert standard for reliability. The Court granted the motion for summary judgment, partially based on the officer’s opinions, and threw the case out of court. The plaintiff’s appealed the ruling and the Court of Appeals upheld the trial court, so it was on to the Supreme Court for justice.
On appeal, the central question was whether police officers are automatically considered experts based on their crash investigation training, or if the Federal standard for whether an expert is qualied as an expert, known as Daubert standards, still apply. After examining differences between lay and expert testimony, the Court concluded the officer was providing expert conclusions based on specialized knowledge and therefore should be subject to the same scrutiny as any other expert witness.
It’s common sense that a vehicle stopped in a road, whether it be an interstate or surface street can present a major hazard and result in death and injury. In 2014 in GRANGER et al. v. MST TRANSPORTATION, LLC et al 329 Ga. App. 268 (Ga. Ct. App. 2014), the Georgia Court of Appeals tackled this issue where a tractor trailer ran out of gas in the rightmost of three lanes and allegedly put out their safety triangles while they went for gas.
The Plaintiff came along in the next lane over and was struck from behind by a third vehicle and knocked into the lane with the tractor only 40 feet away. They were unable to avoid slamming into the back of the stalled out trailer. They filed suit against the trucking company (likely after settling out with the insurance for the car to the rear.)
The defense team for the trucking company filed a motion for summary judgment with the trial court, arguing that it was all the fault of the driver who hit her from behind and that their being stopped in the road did not make them responsible when it all started with someone else’s negligence. The trial court agreed and threw the case out, but the Court of Appeals wisely stepped in and said “no, its always going to be foreseeable that when you stop your vehicle in the lane of travel, people may run into it whether through their own negligence or that of others.” The sent the case back down to be tried on all issues including what percent fault the truck had versus the fault of the car that knocked the plaintiff into the truck.
Some really interesting cases the last few weeks, so here is a summary.
Representative Ginny Ehrhart and Public Service Commissioner Echols both got sued when they deleted comments and blocked negative posters who commented on political content on the private Facebook pages of those public officials. Due to a lack of knowledge these officials did not realize that you can transition your private Facebook page to something public when you get political and hold office. The First Amendment protects our right to free speech and comments about politics are clearly protected. My only problem with these decisions by the Federal Court are the exorbitant attorneys fees awards. $80,000 for attorneys fees? I just hope it was worth it to not offer to unblock the senders.
Atlanta Injury Attorney Blog