Trial Attorney Blog

Many doctors and dentists are marketing medical credit cards to their patients. Doctors like the cards because they get paid immediately from the credit card companies rather than spending time collecting medical bills. Doctors and other health care providers are pushing the cards even in cases where the patient needs emergency care and may not be in a position to refuse the card or to intelligently make a proper financial decision.

Consumer lawyers report they are seeing a growing number of cases where patients say they did not realize they had signed up for a credit card, nor did they understand its terms and conditions. Some of these cards carry interest rates of up to 27 percent. Like other credit cards, medical credit cards often have low or zero interest for an introductory period.

In most cases, consumer protection laws like the Truth in Lending Act would only apply to the credit card companies. However, these cards could lead to claims against the doctors under some state laws.

In May of 2007, Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. recalled one of its contact lens cleaning solutions, known as AMO Complete Moisture Plus. Our firm is currently representing 2 individuals injured by this product. According to the Centers for Disease Control, contact lens wearers were seventeen (17) times more likely to contract a serious eye infection known as acanthamoeba keratitis if they used this product as opposed to other Multi Purpose Cleansing solutions. Even though the product was recalled from the market in May of 2007, cases continue to come in involving this product. One of the reasons for this is because the company that recalled the product did a very poor job in doing so.

Even though the product was initially recalled in May of 2007, by August of 2007, the CDC noticed that cases were continuing to come in to them through eye centers throughout the Country. This, of course, indicated that the recall was being haphazardly handled by the Company. Indeed, the CDC conducted a survey which indicated that many members of the public did not know that the solution had been recalled nor did many members of the medical and ophthalmology community in general. Thus, the CDC mandated stricter compliance with recall regulations by Advanced Medical Optics, Inc.

Acanthamoeba keratitis is a very serious eye infection. It is believed that the acanthamoeba attached to contact lens and penetrated into the epithelium of the cornea because of the ingredient formulas distinct for this particular eye cleansing solution. Regrettably, the manufacturer did not advise the public at the time this product was marketed that the Multi Purpose Solution was ineffective at killing acanthamoeba, a known risk for contact lens wearers. The product was marketed on the basis of eye comfort verses efficacy. Regrettably, even though hydrogen peroxide cleaning solutions are much more effective at killing acanthamoeba than are Multi Purpose Solutions, the lay public does not appreciate this distinction and therefore has been using disinfecting solutions like AMO Complete Moisture Plus without a full appreciation of the danger in doing so.

Our Atlanta bicycle accident attorneys review many bike injury cases in which it is alleged by the at fault motorist that the bike rider was riding in an unlawful manner. Continuing with our explanation of Georgia bicycle laws, Section 40-6-294 of the Official Code of Georgia controls the use of roadways and bike paths by bicyclists. It provides that every person operating a bike shall ride as close to right side road as practicable with the following exceptions:

1. except turning left or avoiding hazards to safe cycling;

2. When traveling the same speed as motor vehicles;

In our wrongful death practice, obviously, our attorneys have seen many tragedies, sometimes with devastating consequences for our clients and their families. This past week was no different as we were retained to represent the family of a young man who died while attempting to save the life of another. This young man gave his life and service to another, one of the highest and noblest acts of self-sacrifice possible. And yet, the matter has gone largely unnoticed by the metropolitan Atlanta community simply because of the tremendous amount of information with which we are all bombarded every single day living in such a large metropolitan area.

On July 6, 2008, Derwin Wayne Roy, Jr. came upon an accident on Interstate Highway I-75 South at 3:40 a.m. Two cars had been involved in a serious collision and the occupants of same were in need of assistance. Mr. Roy pulled his truck over to the side of the road, exited his vehicle and tried to help extricate one of the seriously injured individuals involved in the accident that he just happened upon. As he was escorting one of the injured occupants towards the shoulder of the road, unfortunately for Mr. Roy and this occupant, another vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed ran over both pedestrians on the highway killing them both.

After this tragic accident, the police found the cell phone of Mr. Roy. The last telephone call he made was to 911. He had called in the accident to the police and while awaiting for their arrival was attempting to render aid to those who had been injured. He lost his life while trying to get one of the vehicle’s occupants to safety off of the shoulder of the road. This truly was a hero’s death and should be recognized by our community as such.

At a recent Senate hearing , several lawmakers blasted the U.S. Supreme Court over a series of opinions they say protect businesses at the expense of ordinary Americans. Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, said the Court’s recent opinions on employment discrimination, federal preemption and mandatory arbitration have empowered and protected corporations while making it harder for workers and consumers to get redress.

Leahy pointed to Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 127 S.Ct. 2162, handed down just over a year ago. In that case, the Court ruled against a disparate pay plaintiff who said she was unaware of her employer’s discriminatory practices and contended the statute of limitations should be restarted with the issuance of each unequal paycheck.

The Court disagreed, ruling in favor of the employer. This prompted a bid by Congress to overturn the decision with legislation. The bill died earlier this term.

As we previously wrote, there are specific laws regulating bicycles in the state of Georgia. Many of these requirement are unknown to bike riders, and in many instances are used by defendants to attempt to avoid liability for injuring bike riders. Our attorneys have seen one section in particular used many times by defense attorneys in an effort to try to shift blame from an at fault motorist onto the biker. That law, Section 40-6 -294 of the Official Code of Georgia, establishes requirements for lights, equipment and helmets.

It provides that every bicycle when in use at nighttime shall be equipped with a front light which shall emit a white light visible from 300 feet from the front; and, a red rear reflector of a type approved by the Department of Public Safety, visible for 300 feet to the rear when directly in front of a lawful upper beam of headlights on a motor vehicle. A light emitting red light visible from a distance of 300 feet from the rear may be used in addition to the reflector.

The law also requires that every bicycle sold or operated in the state shall have a brake which will enable the operator to make the braked wheel skid on dry level pavement. No bike can have handlebars which require the operator to raise his or her hands above shoulder level in order to grasp the normal steering grip.

Defective automobile tire valves manufactured in China are the subject of a recall. Some 6 million tire valve stems manufactured by Shanghai Baolong Automotive Corp. of China between July 2006 and November 2006 have been recalled. It is estimated that 36 million of these tire stems were manufactured.

The U.S. distributor of the tire valves, Dill Air Control Products, of Oxford, N.C., notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of potential problems with the tire valve stems after it was named in a lawsuit filed in Florida. The lawsuit contends that a defective tire stem caused a rollover crash.

The Florida suit alleges that the tire valve stem on the rear tire of a 1998 Ford Explorer cracked causing the tire to fail and leading to a rollover. The driver was killed.

Atlanta bicycle accidents and injuries are increasing at an alarming rate, as we have previously written. Yesterday, the Atlanta Journal Constitution published a story which echoed our information and addressed the growing conflict between bikers and automobile drivers.

Many bike riders, and most motorists, do not realize that under Georgia law and in most other states, a bike is considered a vehicle; and, with some exceptions, is subject to the same laws and rules as a motor vehicle. There are specific laws which relate only to bicycles and we will address some of them here. At a later time we will discuss some of the most pertinent general vehicle laws as they apply to bicycles.

The laws specific to bicycles are found in the Georgia Official Code beginning at section 40-6-290. That section provides that the laws which follow apply to bicycles while on the roadways and on any path set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles. The next section, 40 – 6- 291 makes bicycles subject to the laws applying to other vehicles on the roadways.

Bicycle injuries and fatalities are an increasing problem. The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center is a program of The University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center in cooperation with the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals. It is funded by the U.S. Dept. of Transportation.

Statistics published by the Center reveal patterns of biking fatalities and injuries. Using 1999 data, there were 750 bicycling fatalities and 51,000 bicycling injuries resulting from traffic crashes in the United States. Bicyclist fatalities accounted for 2 percent of all traffic fatalities as well as 2 percent of all traffic injuries. The patterns were as follows:

Motorist turning or merging into the path of a bicyclist (12.1 percent of all crashes). Almost half (48.8 percent) of these crashes involved a motorist making a left turn in front of a bicyclist approaching from the opposite direction.

In 2006, approximately 5,000 people lost their lives and 80,000 were injured in motorcycle crashes. We have blogged before about the staggering number of statistics when it comes to those killed or injured while riding motorcycles. Obviously, riders must wear protective gear to protect themselves with defensive driving since they have little other protection in the event of a crash. What the statistics show, however, is that motorcycle injuries and fatalities are on the rise. In 1996, 2,161 people were killed in motorcycle crashes. In ten years time this number had more than doubled to 4,810. In 1996, 55,000 people were injured in motorcycle crashes and collisions whereas this number approximated 80,000 in the calendar year 2006.
Statistics are one thing but to suffer a serious injury or death for an individual is quite another. Each individual affected by a serious injury has experienced, by definition, a life altering event. Those who are lucky enough to survive must deal with the medical and vocational issues that follow, whereas their family members must deal with the loss of income and the possible destruction of the family bond caused by stress, economic hardship and medical issues.
Motorcycles are less expensive than automobiles, are more economical to operate and can be a great deal of fun but the statistics reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the Department of Transportation clearly indicate that motorcycle usage can be deadly. We have seen many wrongful death cases and serious injury cases arising out of motorcycle crashes. We continue to hope that all of our clients who ride motorcycles will wear their helmets and will drive defensively at all times, particularly in metropolitan areas where traffic is so congested and conditions so dangerous for motorcycle riders.