Every serious injury claim our firm handles has its own set of complications, but one of the most complicating facts we are often confronted with is the case where someone is seriously injured in an automobile or tractor-trailer collision and they have no health insurance. Indeed, regardless of the type of claim, whether it be a slip and fall, a products liability claim, medical malpractice or any other tort case, the lack of available health insurance oftentimes severely compromises our ability to obtain justice for our clients. This also severely compromises the ability of the injured individual to obtain the necessary care to improve their health. While we often read in the paper about the crisis of our healthcare delivery system when it comes to poor and the indigent, we see this crises every day in our practice when innocent victim/clients who are suffering are unable to afford needed healthcare.
In a typical case where someone is injured by the negligent acts of a third party, even if the third party has very good insurance coverage, we do not have a “pay as you go” rule which entitles the injured individual to have their bills paid as they are incurred. Instead, we have a system whereby once the claim is fully matured and all of the bills and expenses are known, the injured individual is entitled to reimbursement for such expenses assuming liability for the damages is established. In Georgia as in most jurisdictions, if someone is injured through the negligent acts of a third party, they are entirely on their own when it comes to medical treatment following the injury. In the hypothetical case where a tractor-trailer truck rearends an innocent motorist and severely injuries the occupants of the car, there is no duty of tractor-trailer company or its insurance company to provide the resources necessary for medical treatment needed on an ongoing basis. Instead, the injured individual is literally left to their own resources in terms of getting the treatment necessary to treat their injuries. If there is no available health insurance coverage, this makes it exceedingly difficult for the injured individual to get the treatment necessary to improve their health much less establish the legitimacy and the extent of their personal injury claim.
Injured individuals who have no health insurance have an extremely difficult time obtaining medical care. While emergency rooms cannot turn away an injured individual in an true emergency context, once the person is stabilized, the hospital has no duty to provide ongoing care to them. Thus, the injured individual who is in need of medical care, particularly diagnostic tests such as MRIs, CT Scans and the like have an almost impossible time securing such tests and obtaining the treatment necessary in follow up. Instead, they are left to their own devices in finding healthcare clinics, community health centers and/or doctors who will agree to treat them free of charge. If the injured individual is not qualified for Medicaid, Medicare or any other government sponsored program and has no private health insurance, what they will find is that most doctors do not want to treat them. Doctors do not work for free. They have overhead obligations obviously and therefore work for a profit. If they treat too many patients with no charge, they will go out of business. The same is true of any kind of service company, including lawyers. Thus, the injured individual is in a “Catch 22.” They have been injured through no fault of their own and they need medical care. They have no Medicare, Medicaid or health insurance and even though they need treatment, they can’t find it. Thus, they suffer needlessly and when it comes time to try to help them resolve their legal claims arising out of the accident, which was no fault of their own, there is little or no evidence to support the extent of the injuries because there is a complete absence of MRIs, CT Scans and other diagnostic tests available to confirm the nature and extent of the injuries.
This vicious cycle is often encountered in cases we handle for the poor and indigent. The victimization continues because the injured individual who has done absolutely nothing wrong is without the resources to obtain necessary medical care. Thus, it becomes imperative that the individual find a compassionate doctor or healthcare provider who will treat them on an ongoing basis subject to a lien for their services in the event there is a settlement or recovery in their personal injury claim. This complicates the case because the treatment is oftentimes not as good as it would be if there was full available health insurance coverage.

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In addition to the bicycle laws already covered in past blogs, there are a few others with which all bike riders should be familiar.
One makes it unlawful for any person to sell a new bicycle or pedal unless the pedals on the bike or the pedal is equipped with a reflector of a type approved by the Department of Public Safety. The reflector must be situated so as to be visible from the front and rear of the bike during darkness from a distance
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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
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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,
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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
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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
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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,
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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
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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
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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
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