Atlanta Injury Lawyers Blog

Preventing a dog bite in Atlanta could be simply a matter of socializing your dog. That doesn't mean that a well-socialized dog will never be involved in attacks. Any Atlanta dog bite lawyer will tell you that there are no ways to accurately predict animal behavior because it isn't an exact science. There’s much about animals, including pet dogs that we don't know, and it's impossible to completely predict exactly what will tick them off, and make them bite.

I came across a report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution this week, about dog socialization. Socialization of dogs may be one of the many things that a dog owner can do to prevent the risks of a bite. Most emphasis on responsible dog ownership centers on feeding, training and exercising these animals. While all of these are important, it’s also essential that you expose your dog to a variety of people from an early age.

Continue reading " Get Your Dog Socialized to Prevent Bites, Attacks " »

It’s one of the most unpleasant experiences for any Atlantan, but a visit to the dentist can actually seriously impact your life in ways you may not have anticipated. Lingual nerve injury and alveolar nerve injury can leave a person with permanent numbness, loss of sensation, or even pain. There’s very little known about these injuries, and it's only patients who suffer a severed lingual nerve or a alveolar nerve injury who understand the impact of these injuries.

These nerve injuries can result from a number of factors. Severance can occur in either the lingual nerve or the alveolar nerve.

Continue reading " Lingual Nerve Injury and Alveolar Nerve Injury " »

One of the many bases for awarding punitive damages in Georgia is a conscience indifference to the welfare of others. I am hard-pressed to think of a more apt example than a hit-and-run driver leaving the scene of a serious accident. Yet, many Georgia lawyers mistakenly believe that hit-and-run conduct does not warrant the imposition of punitive damages.

A number of well-settled Georgia cases prove that leaving the scene of an accident is conduct that allows the judge or jury to award punitive damages in the right case. Battle v. Kilcrease, 54 Ga.App. 808, 189 S.E. 573 (1936), is a case decided over 70 years ago by the Georgia Court of Appeals. The Battle case essentially stands for the proposition that:

The conduct of a hit and run driver in failing to stop and
give his name and render assistance to the person injured, when taken
in connection with all the circumstances, may authorize a finding that the driver in causing the injury exhibited an entire want of care and conscious indifference to consequences, and therefore, such "aggravating circumstances in the act" as would authorize a recovery of punitive damages.

More recently in Langlois v. Woldford, 246 Ga. App. 209 (2000), the Georgia Court of Appeals has ruled that: where a person driving along a public highway and overtaking and passing another automobile, attempts to turn in front of the latter automobile and hits the front portion of the latter automobile and turns it over causing a wreck and does not stop to render assistance, the jury may consider the conduct as such aggravating circumstances as would authorize the award of punitive damages to the person injured.

Leaving the scene of an accident was criminalized in Georgia because "the public policy of this state mandates that a party to an accident must stop and render aid to those involved in the collision, no matter who caused the collision, and not leave them in a possibly disabled state without aid."

Continue reading " Georgia Law is Clear: Hit and Run Warrants Punitive Damages " »

Home Depot has settled a class action lawsuit which alleged that HD violated California's strict labor laws by not providing its workers with a 30-minute paid meal period after working 5 hours. HD had apparently tried to comply with national labor laws which are chiefly governed by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The settlement shows that many state laws, including many Georgia laws which protect Georgia workers, can form the legal basis for employees to recover for unfair pay practices. While Georgia laws are not as protective of workers as those in California, there are many laws in Georgia which do protect workers and allow for the recovery of back pay, interest, exemplary damages and attorneys' fees.

Continue reading " Unpaid Breaks Cost Home Depot $25.5 Million " »

There’s no doubt that motorcyclists face a myriad of challenges as they ride on Atlanta's congested streets. Just last week, yet another motorcyclist was killed in a hit-and-run accident in Atlanta.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the motorcyclist had run out of gas, and had stopped his motorcycle in the merge area between the westbound lanes of I-20 and I-285 on-ramp. He was struck by a motorist, who then drove off from the scene of the accident. Unfortunately for the motorist, an off-duty trooper was just behind the motorcycle, and gave chase. The driver has been arrested. Unfortunately, the motorcyclist did not make it.

Continue reading " One Person Killed in Motorcycle Accident in Atlanta " »

When Atlanta animal control officers respond to the scene of a dog bite, whether it is a dog biting another dog, or a dog biting a human being, they do not have the powers to impound the animal. All they can do is cite the owner of the dog. Obviously, it's not uncommon to find victims of such dog bites become utterly frustrated at what they see as lack of punishment for the dog owner.

Last week, two pit bulls that were running loose at a home in Kennesaw in Cobb County managed to escape the yard, and get into the next home. There, they attacked the family pet, a hapless poodle, that had little chance against the pit bulls. The poodle’s owner and animal control officers who arrived at the scene, tried to pry the jaws of the dogs off the poodle, but were not successful. The poodle was seriously injured, and died.

Continue reading " Pit Bulls Blamed for Dog Attack in Cobb County " »

The Supreme Court of Georgia recently clarified and re-affirmed a surviving spouse's legal right to obtain copies of the deceased spouse's medical records. Alvista Healthcare Center v. Miller, 2009 Ga. LEXIS 679 (2009).

The Court made it clear that when one's spouse dies, a copy of the deceased's medical records may be legally obtained by the estate executor or administrator (if the estate is represented) or by the surviving spouse.

Continue reading " Surviving Spouse Entitled to Deceased Medical Records in Georgia " »

Atlanta dog bite lawyers have found Georgia’s dog bite laws leave a lot to be desired. First, there is a lack of complete protection for victims of dog bites. Several states have strict liability statutes, which means that the dog owner can be held liable in a bite, even if it was the very first attack by the dog. In Georgia however, there is a “one bite free” policy. For the owner to be held liable, it falls on the victim to prove that the dog was vicious, and that the owner had knowledge of the dog’s aggressiveness. Fortunately, there are other ways to prove liability under the law.

Continue reading " Cobb County Dog Remains in Neighborhood Even After 4 Bites " »