Articles Tagged with Personal Injury

Nokia Corp. warned Tuesday that up to 46 million batteries used in some of its cell phones could pose a serious risk of overheating. The batteries subject to the warning were manufactured by Matsushita from December 2005 to November 2006. Matsushita Battery Industrial Co. Ltd. of Japan is one of several suppliers that have together made some 300 million BL-5C batteries.

Nokia is the world’s largest mobile phone maker. The lithium-ion battery is one of 14 different types of battery used in Nokia phones.

Nokia reported 100 incidents of overheating of the Matsushita-made BL-5C batteries. “Consumers with a BL-5C battery subject to this advisory should note that all of the approximately 100 incidents have occurred while charging the battery,” the Finnish company said. “According to Nokia’s knowledge this issue does not affect any other use of the mobile device.”

Legislation is being considered in both houses of Congress to fund pilot projects in 10 states that would create administrative panels known as “health courts.” This legislation is being strongly supported the medical and insurance lobby. The legislation is based on systems in Scandinavia and New Zealand. The state of Florida also has an existing administrative procedure for dealing with birth-related neurological injuries.

The legislation, if passed in its current form, would eliminate jury trials in medical negligence cases. The standard by which the actions of health care providers is judged would not be the traditional negligence standard, but one of avoidability. All decisions would be made by health court judges who could rely on experts serving on specialized panels. Damages would be limited to a range of predetermined amounts which are assigned to specific injuries.

Similar bills were introduced last year, but were modified and reintroduced this year following intense scrutiny during Congressional hearings. The requirements were modified to allow patients to voluntarily withdraw from participating in the health court proceeding due to serious concerns about the constitutionality of denying access to juries.

Powers Fasteners Inc., the company that provided the epoxy adhesive blamed in the fatal Boston Big Dig tunnel collapse was indicted this week in the death of a woman killed on July 10, 2006, when tons of falling concrete crushed her automobile. Milena Del Valle, 39, was killed when as she and her husband drove through the Big Dig tunnel. Her husband escaped with only minor injuries.

An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board concluded the collapse could have been avoided if designers and construction crews had considered that the epoxy holding support anchors for the panels could slowly pull away over time. The report of the investigation spread blame for the collapse among the many corporations, consultants and engineers involved in the Big Dig project, the most expensive highway project in U.S. history. The agency also faulted the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority for failing to conduct a timely tunnel inspection program.

The indictment alleges that Powers Fasteners knew the type of epoxy it marketed and sold for the nearly $15 billion project was unsuitable for the weight it would have to hold, but never told project managers.

Our lawyers have successfully represented many clients at mediations, covering a wide range of actions such as truck accidents, medical malpractice, auto collisions, and premises liability. Our experiences have led us to conclude that, under the right circumstances, mediation can be of great benefit to plaintiffs. It generally allows the matter to be concluded long before a trial can be scheduled, removes the risks associated with the trial of some cases, and allows the client to control the result, as opposed to a jury, judge, or arbitrator.
Mediation, is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), which aims to assist two (or more) disputants in reaching an agreement. The key component of mediation is that whether an agreement is reached, and the nature of that agreement, if any, is determined by the parties themselves rather than being imposed by a third party. Mediators use appropriate techniques and/or skills to open and improve dialogue between the parties, aiming to help the parties reach an agreement on the disputed matter. In order for mediation to be successful, all parties must view the mediator as impartial.
Arbitration is a procedure for the resolution of disputes outside the courts, wherein the parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons (the “arbitrators” or “arbitral tribunal”), by whose decision (the “award”) they agree to be bound. Arbitration is today most commonly used for the resolution of commercial disputes, such as between businesses. In many cases contracts between the parties require mandatory arbitration. This is almost universal in investor/broker contracts. It is also used to resolve other types of disputes, such as labor disputes, consumer disputes or family disputes, and for the resolution of certain disputes between states.

Many state, county, and local governments are protected from lawsuits even though their employees may have been extremely negligent in causing severe injuries to innocent citizens. In most instances, the doctrine of sovereign immunity precludes a lawsuit against these entities, unless the governing body, such as the legislature, has waived the protection of sovereign immunity. Even when there has been a waiver, it is generally restricted to a maximun amount of recovery.

For example, in a ruling involving last summers deadly Comair plane crash at Lexington Kentucky, a judge ruled Thursday that the Kentucky airport cannot be sued because it is protected by sovereign immunity as part of the merged Lexington-Fayette County government. This is a severe blow to the airline’s efforts to divide blame and apportion potentially millions of dollars in damages.

Comair had countersued the airport, arguing that it is partially to blame for the crash because of poor runway signs and markings that might have contributed to the pilots trying to depart from a runway that was too short.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled Aug. 2, 2007, in In re Katrina Canal Breaches Litigation, No. 07-30119, that property owners in New Orleans whose buildings were flooded as a result of levee breaches in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina cannot recover losses from their insurance companies because of the flood exclusions in their insurance policies. Thousands of policyholders of various insurance companies will be affected by the ruling and it is estimated that the policyholders may have to absorb losses in the range of 1 billion dollars.

The policyholders had argued that because their properties were flooded as a result of the levee breaches, a “man-made act,” the flood exclusions in the policies were void. They argued that the flooding in the city was the result of the negligent design, construction, and maintenance of the levees.

In the Fifth Circuit opinion, which the insurance industry is applauding, the court held “that even if the plaintiffs can prove that the levees were negligently designed, constructed, or maintained and that the breaches were due to this negligence, the flood exclusions in the plaintiffs’ policies unambiguously preclude their recovery. Regardless of what caused the failure of the flood-control structures that were put in place to prevent such a catastrophe, their failure resulted in a widespread flood that damaged the plaintiffs’ property. This event was excluded from coverage under the plaintiffs’ insurance policies, and under Louisiana law, we are bound to enforce the unambiguous terms of their insurance contracts as written.”

The lack of visibility of large trucks on the road after dark is a major factor in many accidents which our lawyers have investigated. The scientific term used to describe this area of study is “conspicuity.” Conspicuity refers to the factors of (1) perceiving that something is on the dark road ahead, (2) identifying the object as a large truck, (3) appreciating the truck’s position and slower speed as a danger, and (4) stimulating you to take evasive maneuvers to avoid the imminent collision.

Many car-into-truck accidents occur in the dark of night, when a large truck or tractor-trailer rig is pulling onto a road or backing into a driveway. Often, the tractor’s headlights are aimed toward the oncoming driver and they create a “wall of glare” that conceals the fact that the trailer behind it is stretched dangerously across the dark road ahead.

Since the 1960’s, the trucking industry had known about the safety benefits of reflective tape, but generally ignored the conspicuity issue. Studies in the 1970’s showed that truck underride crashes at night were often “surprise” events to the oncoming driver, who didn’t perceive the truck until it was too late to avoid the crash, and they noted that reflective tape could help solve this problem.

Atlanta has previously been identified as one of the most dangerous large metropolitan area in the country for pedestrians. Although statistics are not always accessible, in the calendar year 2001, for example, 64 pedestrians were reported killed in Atlanta. Throughout the State of Georgia, more than two-thirds (2/3) of pedestrian fatalities occurred on neighborhood streets, which helps explain why pedestrian injury is the second leading cause of death for children age 5 to 9. Another problem, particularly prevalent in Atlanta, are unsafe sidewalks. While the City does not maintain statistics on the number of people who are injured while using city sidewalks, anyone who lives in the Atlanta area knows that city sidewalks are often in a state of disrepair and are dangerous to pedestrians who might wish to use them. Sidewalks in metropolitan Atlanta also rarely meet the needs of people with disabilities who make up a significant portion of the population. Despite federal requirements and long past deadlines, the City of Atlanta has been slow to take action to mitigate barriers that prevent people with disabilities from safely using the City’s sidewalks.

At a City Counsel work session in February of this year, Public Work Commissioner David Scott estimated that one-fourth (1/4) of Atlanta’s sidewalks were in need of repair. Mr. Scott also conceded that the problem with sidewalk maintenance in Atlanta could not be resolved with the resources at hand. Indeed, less than $125,000.00 is available in the City’s budget for maintenance issues, thus allowing for limited emergency maintenance only. With 25% of City’s sidewalks in need of repair, Commissioner Scott estimated that it would cost approximately $80 million for the City to make all the necessary repairs. What this means, of course, is that twenty-five percent (25%) of all city sidewalks, being in need of repairs, are unsafe.

With one-fourth (1/4) of the City’s sidewalks in need of repair, it is not surprising that there have been significant injuries reported. In one case, a bicyclist was killed while riding his bike near Peachtree Street and Peachtree Battle Avenue within the City limits. A utility wire had been draped across the sidewalk (allegedly for over a month) and the bicyclist came into contact with it such that he was thrown from his bike, landed on his head and was killed. In another tragic occurrence, a small child lost his leg when a loose utility wire which also partially obstructed a city sidewalk got caught up by a passing motorist’s vehicle and severed the boy’s leg as he was standing next to a utility pole, again on a city sidewalk. While these occurrences are tragic, it is clear that there are many more unreported injuries being sustained by pedestrians using Atlanta’s sidewalks. The question is, what can be done about this problem?

Get a credit card, buy a car, or sign up for a cellphone plan, and chances are, if you’re unhappy with your transaction, you won’t be telling your story to a judge. Many consumer contracts include unfair mandatory arbitration clauses that force individuals to go through arbitration, instead of civil court, if a dispute arises. Mandatory arbitration clauses tend to give companies, not the public, protection because the arbitration process can be costly and the time to make a case is limited.
Consumer lawyers contend that private arbitration companies are pressured to rule in favor of corporations, which often are repeat arbitration customers. If arbitrators rule against companies too often, they get blackballed.
Now Congress is considering a blanket negation of predispute mandatory arbitration agreements. The Arbitration Fairness Act of 2007, recently introduced in the Senate and House of Representatives, proposes making the clauses unenforceable. Our lawyers are urging our clients to contact their Representatives and Senators in Congress to voice support of this bill.

In 2005, the Georgia General Assembly enacted the so-called “Tort Reform” Act which greatly affected medical negligence claims in the State of Georgia. The stated intent was to lower insurance rates for physicians and healthcare providers. However, while severely restricting the rights of individual citizens to seek redress in the Courts, and increasing the burdens on plaintiff’s lawyers, the insurance rates of healthcare providers have not decreased.
While the requirements of bringing a medical malpractice case and the standards for obtaining experts have been greatly increased, it should be noted that a meritorious case can still be successfully prosecuted. Unfortunately, the General Assembly enacted a cap of $350,000.00 for non-economic damages which will greatly affect the recovery in many cases. Essentially, what this means is that unless you are a very large wage earner, the damages that you receive are, in most cases, limited to $350,000.00 maximum.
There have been several successful challenges in the Courts to many of the outrageous restrictions enacted in the so-called “Tort Reform” Act. Other challenges are currently pending and working their way through the lower Courts into the Appellate Court system. One of these involves the changing of the standard of care for actions against emergency room personnel from ordinary negligence to gross negligence, which in effect immunizes care rendered in emergency rooms. While the Georgia General Assembly promised to revisit this restriction when the legislation was passed, it has refused to do so.