Atlanta Injury Lawyers Blog

Published on: October 2, 2019

Car Accident in Georgia and Failing to Beep or Alert with Horn

The Georgia Rule of the Road Statutes provides:

40-8-70. Horns and warning devices

(a) Every motor vehicle when operated upon a highway shall be equipped with a horn in good working order and capable of emitting sound audible under normal conditions from a distance of not less than 200 feet, but no horn or other warning device shall emit an unreasonably loud or harsh sound or a whistle. The driver of a motor vehicle shall, when it is reasonably necessary to ensure safe operation, give audible warning with his or her horn but shall not otherwise use such horn when upon a highway.

Published on: September 24, 2019

Georgia Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse Highligted in Expose

by Robert J. Fleming

The AJC has recently run a series of articles which explores just how bad the nursing home industry is in Georgia. While this is something that we have known about for many years (it does not seem to be getting any better), it is good that the public is seeing in print what we have been seeing in lawsuits for decades. Among the (not so surprising) findings which simply underscore the general picture that Georgia fails to adequately protect seniors in assisted living communities and large personal care homes:

■ Nursing care homes in Georgia largely rely on low-wage workers who may not be properly vetted or trained and who may be given unreasonable workloads. Two out of every five homes were cited for training violations.

■ A fourth of all Georgia nursing homes have been cited for failing to complete criminal background checks of workers. Eleven of these facilities were cited for employing someone whose criminal record should have barred them from working in senior care facilities. In other words, the nursing homes are hiring criminals to take care of their patrons.

Published on: September 18, 2019

Dental Anesthesia Complications Can Be Fatal in Georgia

by Robert J. Fleming

As a lawyer in Atlanta who specializes in dental malpractice and dental nerve injuries, the following struck me as curious: A 72-year-old man could not figure out what was wrong with his throat. Following a minor operation on his abdomen, he had been in pain, coughing up blood and unable to swallow solid food for almost a week.

But when emergency room doctors examined the back of the man’s throat, they found nothing unusual. After ordering a chest X-ray and blood tests, they told the man he had a lower respiratory tract infection, and he was sent home with medication. The pain, doctors said, was likely a lingering side effect from having a tube inserted in his throat during the surgery.

It wasn’t until the man’s condition worsened, prompting a second trip to the emergency room, that doctors finally discovered the real source of his symptoms: His dentures, which he thought were lost during an operation eight days earlier, had actually been lodged in his throat the entire time, according to an article published Monday in the peer-reviewed journal BMJ Case Reports.

Published on: September 16, 2019

When to Hire an Employment Lawyer

by Robert J. Fleming

Hiring an Employment Law Lawyer

Except the life-long self employed (or unemployed, but that is a different matter entirely), we all make a living by working for an employer. Like people, employers come in all different shapes and sizes. Some are wonderful to work for and treat their employees like gold, other, well not so much. When you are not being treated like gold, but rather re being treated like dirt, it may be time to hire an employment lawyer. But, you must first ask: Why and when-—if ever—should I hire an employment lawyer?

The answer to this questions may surprise you: hire an employment lawyer if you think that your legal rights are being violated and you know that you have proof, in writing, of the violations. Why? Because an employment lawyer advise you as to what your legal rights are and what you should do, regardless of what phase of the employment process you are in, to protect your rights. If you contact an employment lawyer early in the process, they can help you navigate a very sticky situation.

Published on: September 10, 2019

Atlanta Boating Accidents Lead to Death

by Robert J. Fleming

An Atlanta, Georgia area woman died recently after suffering fatal injuries following an accident on Lake Allatoona. The woman was a passenger on a water ski when the collision happened just north of Little River Marina reported the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. After the incident, she was taken to Northside Hospital, where she died. A man, who was driving the personal watercraft, was also taken to the hospital with serious injuries, but his condition was not provided.

While this incident is under investigation and no fault has been assigned, it is important to note that boats on the waterways of Georgia (such as Lake Lanier, Lake Allatoona, Sinclair Lake and many other man-made and natural waterways in Georgia) are subject to laws that are quite similar to the Rules of the Road that govern drivers on Georgia’s roads. In other words, when operating a watercraft, one must do so in a manner that complies with the laws of Georgia and in a generally safe manner.

My firm has litigated a number of serious boating accidents and many of the outcomes are not quite as clear cut as they may, at first blush, seem. The Department of Natural Resources is charged with enforcing the Georgia boating laws, and a lot of the basic laws (such as who has the right of way in certain situations and who must maintain a look out) are not the same as the Georgia Rules of the Road. This can lead to drastically different outcomes when litigating these cases vis-a-vis a normal car wreck case.

Published on: August 11, 2019

Georgia Pedestrians Needlessly Put At Risk By Distracted Drivers

by Robert J. Fleming

The numbers don’t lie. Almost ten people a day are killed in car accidents caused by distracted drivers. In 2017 alone, the yearly total was 3,166 deaths, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Let’s break down the numbers to see just how much of a concern this should be for the pedestrians of Atlanta.

10%

The percentage of fatal crashes that involved a distracted driver who was focused on something other than driving — most often talking or texting on a cellphone (accounting for 15 percent of all distracted-driver fatalities), but sometimes eating, talking to passengers, fiddling with the radio, putting on makeup, drinking, watching videos or playing video games or adjusting controls on the car.

Published on: August 6, 2019

Doctors Held Liable for Sexual Abuse Under the Law But Georgia Medical Board Fights Prosecution and Accountability

by Robert J. Fleming

SEXUAL ABUSE BY GEORGIA DOCTORS IS BEING REPORTED MORE THAN IT USED TO BE

In my opinion, I don’t think there is more sexual abuse of patients by doctors. It is just simply being reported more than it was in the past. News reports during the past year have highlighted only a small portion of the latest cases of sexual abuse by doctors. Among them, Indiana’s medical board suspended a doctor’s license over allegations of repeatedly touching and propositioning female patients. After one woman came forward with an accusation, more cases were uncovered, according to the state’s Attorney General’s Office. This is a common situation, in that, once one victim comes forward, many more victims come forward to expose the predator. In this case, the sexual predator is a doctor. In Minnesota, a 71-year-old doctor was arrested on two criminal sexual conduct charges after a female patient complained to police about inappropriate sexual touching and kissing during medical treatments. She reportedly took video of one incident. A Kansas psychiatrist agreed to an indefinite license suspension after being accused of having sex with three patients, including one who overdosed on opioid painkillers he prescribed. Unbelievably, this predator masquerading as a doctor remains licensed to practice medicine in the state of Missouri. In New Mexico, a psychiatrist was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting six female patients. Among the allegations were that he fondled patients in the guise of exams, and that he told patients he would provide painkillers in exchange for sex. Once again, to be sure, these are just a few examples that have been publicized, while

Now, allegations of sexual about a North Georgia doctor and his female patients have surfaced in based on sealed court records that were once unsealed. The document reportedly described how Georgia’s medical board investigated the doctor’s alleged involvement with a married, addicted patient. The doctor claimed the woman was no longer a patient when their sexual relationship started, and he denies having relationships with three other women, the document notes. Obviously, we don’t know the answers to these factual questions and the investigation would turn on them.

Published on: July 29, 2019

Personal Injury Law Firm Slogans or Mantras?

by Robert J. Fleming

Many people do a quick internet search for “the best lawyer in Atlanta” or “Best Atlanta Lawyer” or “the best personal injury lawyer in Atlanta” or something to that effect. What usually pops up is an ad from a large advertiser, not necessarily the best lawyer but maybe the best marketing law firm (quite the difference to say the least). As an Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer who has been practicing law for over 25 years, I have seen the transition from word-of-mouth referrals to internet searches as the main source of lawyer referrals during this time. In other words, when I first started focusing my law practice on plaintiff personal injury work, I received ALL of my referrals from other lawyers. Yes, ALL. Now, to be sure, that was a long time ago. I have to say, that was probably a better method of selecting a lawyer for some, while worse for others. If you were a professional and had a lot of friends who personally knew lawyers, you could probably do well by talking to your friends, co-workers or trusted professionals that performed services for you and find a good lawyer to represent you. But what about those who did not have access to such a network? The internet, in some respects, was probably the “equalizer” for them. But as we have seen above, the may not wind up with the best lawyer in Atlanta, but rather may be bombarded with some of the slogans and tag lines from some of the more popular law firm advertisers such as the following:

Accident happen. We can help

Because you need someone in your corner who cares

Published on: July 24, 2019

Electric Scooter Atlanta Accidents Continue to Escalate as Injuries are More Severe

by Robert J. Fleming

Local authorities in Atlanta are still trying to determine what happened. Surveillance footage from the MARTA station showed the victim on a scooter before the crash, but it did not capture the moment of impact, according to Atlanta police. As a result, investigators cannot technically say whether the man was riding the scooter when he was hit, but common sense needs to dictate here as a scooter was found in the street on the bus’ passenger side, and the scooter rider has died from injuries sustained in the MARTA crash.

Cobb County contracts with First Transit for the CobbLinc service, and county spokesman Ross Cavitt said officials are waiting on details from the contractor. The police are waiting for production of the video as arrangements are still being made to turn over video from the bus to Atlanta police. The bus driver has not been identified. The crash is believed to be the second deadly accident involving electric scooters in the city of Atlanta, with both of the fatalities involving MARTA. Just last month, a man on a Lime scooter was hit and killed while leaving the parking lot of the West Lake MARTA station in west Atlanta. The driver of a Cadillac SUV is facing charges in that crash, which resulted in the first electric scooter-related death. All of this comes as Atlanta police have ended a grace period for riders and started enforcing city code, which mandates that scooters be ridden in the street with other traffic, not on sidewalks.

The latest fatality was characterized as a “call to action,” by Atlanta City Council member Amir Farokhi who stated, “we need to invest more in complete streets — streets that accommodate cyclists, scooters, and pedestrians as much as they do cars. When someone dies on our roads, it, in part, represents a failure of design. It does not matter whether you are walking to lunch, biking to see a friend, scooting home, or driving to the grocery store, you should be safe as you move around the city. We can and must do better.”

Published on: July 4, 2019

Atlanta Suffers First e-scooter Death

by Robert J. Fleming

A man on a Lime electric scooter was hit and killed by an SUV while he was leaving an Atlanta MARTA station just after midnight.

It appears to be the first fatal accident involving a “dockless electric scooter” investigated by the Atlanta police (“APD”).

While this may have been the first APD fatality, we have seen a quick rise in the number of injuries sustained by riders of the e-scooters from companies such as Bird and Lime due to the negligence of others and, in some instances, from the negligence of the e-scooter company itself.