In terms of a jury presentation, attorneys often disagree about the best approach to demonstrate the economic losses caused by a wrongful death. If the decedent was a substantial wage earner who lost, not only substantial earnings, but also valuable fringe benefits such as 401(k), profit sharing and other similar…
Georgia’s law on the wrongful death of an individual has several unique provisions. If a deceased is survived by a spouse or if there is no surviving spouse, a child or children, either may recover the full value of the life of the decedent as shown by the evidence. A…
Until a few years ago, a plaintiff in a personal injury or serious injury lawsuit had to take the deposition testimony of all treating physicians in order to be able to introduce the deposition for a jury’s consideration. This is because testimony by a doctor without being subject to cross-examination…
In a Wrongful Death case, Georgia law allows recovery for “the full value of the life of the deceased with deduction for ordinary and necessary expenses had he/she lived.” See O.C.G.A. § 51-4-1 et. seq. The term “full value of life” is somewhat elusive on its face but nonetheless, Georgia…
Lately there has been a lot of publicity about the death of a 17-year old track star due to her use of the common muscle relaxant sports cream Bengay. As I was reading these articles, it reminded me of case I handled several years ago involving a similar product called…
Lawyers in Georgia who handle serious injury and wrongful death cases are often confronted with situations where their clients are hospitalized and later acquire a Staph infection which greatly complicates their recovery. We also see cases where clients call complaining about the development of an infection while hospitalized for one…
In the summer of 2006 MSNBC.com reported that each year as many as 1.5 million Americans suffer a serious injury or death because of errors made in the dispensing, prescribing or taking of prescription drugs. In an earlier report published by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, it…
Just this past week, clients retained our firm’s services with respect to a serious motorcycle injury. As is often the case, because motorcycle riders are unprotected except for the helmet they wear, whenever an accident occurs involving a motorcycle, typically, serious injuries are involved. The worst case we handled was…
A few days ago, we wrote an article about the importance of uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage in those situations where the at fault party has minimum limits of liability insurance coverage. Today we write about another reason why all Georgia motorists should consider carrying uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage in amounts at least…
Mesothelioma results from inhalation and exposure to asbestos. Mesothelioma is a specific form of lung cancer affecting the thin membrane linings of the abdomen and internal organs (cancer of the mesothelium). Because of exposure to asbestos, the cells of the mesothelium become abnormal and cancerous. In Georgia and elsewhere, asbestos…