In The News

Published on: September 19, 2008

Insurance Giant AIG Now Owned by US Government

This week in a stunning shake up of the financial markets, AIG, the largest property and casualty insurer in the world, was saved from bankruptcy when the federal government stepped in at the last hour with an $85 million bridge loan of United States taxpayer money.

On Wednesday, the feds orchestrated the loan along with taking an 80 percent ownership interest in the company.That’s right, the United States government now owns the world’s largest property and casualty insurance business. While the federal government interceding to takeover and in effect nationalize an ailing private company is not unprecedented, it was a rare occurrence in the United States until this week.

AIG’s biggest block of business, general insurance, accounts for nearly half of the holding company’s $110 billion revenue.However, AIG’s financial unit was heavily involved in providing credit default insurance, which was linked to subprime mortgages.

Published on: September 12, 2008

Injuries Caused by Lightning at Outdoor Sporting Event

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Twelve people were injured this week in Houston County when lightning struck at an outdoor middle school football game.One adult is in critical condition.Lightning struck while crowds were evacuating the stands.

As school has resumed, outdoor athletic events are taking place during what has been an excessive storm season.When storms threaten, school officials and coaches must not let their desire to compete in the sport override crowd and player safety.

Each year many people are killed or injured due to misinformation and inappropriate conduct during thunderstorms.Lightning casualties have increased at sporting events and for children of school age.Most of this trend is related to outdoor sporting activities.Hence, schools and other sports organizations need to develop specific policies for lightning safety at sports events.

Published on: September 4, 2008

Allstate Rates as Worst Insurer

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The American Association of Justice, a trial lawyer’s advocacy group, ranked Allstate Insurance Company as the worst insurer for consumers.The group based its rankings on an evaluation of legal filings showing a pattern of greed, refusal to pay legitimate claims, and rewarding employees for claim denials.

The AAJ says its rankings are backed by thousands of court documents produced during litigation against the insurer and complaints filed with state insurance regulators, the SEC and the FBI.Apparently in the mid-1990s Allstate contracted the consulting giant, The McKinsey Group, to help change its claim policy to one of “lowball” offers and systematic denials.

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Published on: July 9, 2008

Bus Crash Caused by Faulty DOT Signage

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) met yesterday to review the March 2, 2007 bus crash at Northside Drive and I-75 that killed seven people and injured twenty-eight on-board passengers.The NTSB ruled the cause of the crash to be signage confusion and driver error.The NTSB also attributed the deaths to lack of passenger restraints in the bus.

The crash occurred when the bus driver, traveling southbound on I-75, mistook an HOV exit ramp at Northside Drive for the HOV through lane.The bus was carrying members of Ohio’s Bluffton University baseball team as well as the bus driver and his wife.The driver and his wife were killed in the accident as well as five other team members.All twenty-eight surviving passengers were injured when the bus went off the overhead concrete barrier at Northside Drive and crashed onto the interstate below.

The HOV lanes were added at the time of the summer Olympics in Atlanta in 1996.Ten years of traffic accidents at this site show a history of confusing signage for motorists.The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) maintains this roadway.

Published on: July 2, 2008

Six Flags Ride Kills Teen

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

On Saturday, June 28^th, seventeen year-old Asia LeeShawn Ferguson, was decapitated when he was struck by the Batman roller coaster at Six Flags over Georgia in Austell, Georgia.

Witnesses report that Ferguson, who was with his family and a church group from South Carolina, scaled two perimeter fences with another teenage friend and entered a danger zone inside the ride area.

Although some witnesses indicate Ferguson was trying to retrieve a lost hat or possibly touch the feet of riders on the ride, Cobb County police dismissed those rumors as unsubstantiated.Instead, Ferguson and his friend may simply have been trying to re-enter the park from the parking lot rather than using the main entrance as required.

Published on: May 29, 2008

Multi-Million Med Mal Verdict Awarded in Gwinnett County

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Monday a jury in Gwinnett County awarded a plaintiff a five million dollar verdict against the Gwinnett Hospital System for a nursing malpractice.

Plaintiff, Wendy Wyckstandt, 34, returned to the hospital four days after giving birth due to medical complications of postpartum high blood pressure.She collapsed while taking a shower in her hospital room.When her mother entered her room, she found her near lifeless body in the running water. She died a day later; her death caused by drowning.

The nursing staff claimed to have checked on her during the day, but video surveillance proved otherwise.The plaintiff’s attorneys claimed the hospital staff altered records and kept evidence from the plaintiff’s attorneys.Eight years of legal wrangling has finally resulted in a huge verdict award for the plaintiff.The hospital has indicated it will appeal the verdict.

Published on: May 21, 2008

Atlanta Ranks Worst for Automobile Driving

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Forbes Magazine this year ranked Atlanta as the worst city in the United States for daily commuting.Detroit and Miami trailed in second and third place positions, respectively. Of course, for those of who must regularly drive in the daily grind, this comes as no great surprise.An influx of population, a poor infrastructure and drivers who resist carpools and public transportation are a few of the reasons why Atlanta won the award.

Collecting data from the Texas Transportation Institute and the US Census Bureau, Forbes evaluated traffic delays, travel times, and commuters’ efficient use of existing infrastructure.In Atlanta, more commuters flood the roadways than the infrastructure can handle and this causes congestion in many areas.Commuters spend an average of sixty hours a year stuck in traffic.

Thanks to increasing urban and suburban sprawl, fewer than thirty percent of drivers get to work in less than twenty minutes.Nearly thirteen percent of drivers spend more than an hour traveling to and from work.In addition to sprawl, the train system in metro Atlanta does not service the entire city.Thus, many commuters have no choice but to drive on increasingly congested roads.While sprawl increases drive times, it does lower housing costs.In order to decrease drive times, commuters would have to move closer into the city where housing costs are more expensive and can be prohibitive.

Published on: May 19, 2008

Deadly Rollover Accidents Caused by 15 Passenger Vans

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

When it comes to rollover accidents, the 15-passenger van is the most dangerous vehicle on the road.New research by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that rollover accidents with 15-passenger vans occur thirty-one percent more frequently during the summer months of June through August.Eighty-one percent of fatalities occur in single vehicle rollover accidents.

The risks increase when the vans carry ten or more people.The passenger weight changes the vehicle’s center of gravity, causing it to be in the rear of the vehicle.As a result, the van handles differently than other passenger vehicles during an emergency and is more prone to rollover crashes.

The problem with the van is the weight.Most van manufacturers, such as Ford and Dodge, use a car wheelbase and extend the back end.Also, the vans are top heavy which causes a shift in its center of gravity.The vans usually have a back seat with four passengers behind the rear axle.With a heavy back end, in an accident the back end swings out.When the rear swings out and the tires remain their grip on the road, the weight pulls the vehicle over.

Published on: April 11, 2008

Product Liability Suit Fails Against Anti-Depressant Manufacturer

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Drug manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline won a significant ruling this week in the Third Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals in Colaccio vs. Apotex.SmithKline, the manufacturer of the anti-depressants Paxil and Zoloft, defended two separate state tort claims that the manufacturer failed to warn of the risk of suicide from taking the drug.Plaintiffs product liability suits failed.

In a split decision, the Third Circuit ruled that federal regulatory law pre-empted state tort law claims in cases against manufacturers of anti-depressants for failure to warn of the risk of suicide.

Anti-depressants are drugs known as selective serotonin re-upate inhibitors (SSRIs).The drugs block the re-absorption of serotonin into the brain.Serotonin is a natural body chemical that regulates mood, sleep and appetite.By blocking the re-absorption the brain cells get an extra dose of a feel-good chemical.Some experts believe that the increase in serotonin causes a drop in the natural chemical dopamine. Dopamine regulates cognition and behavior.

Published on: April 2, 2008

Hit and Run Driver Faces Felony Charges

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

On Monday night, a red Acura, allegedly driven by Cody Rhoden, attempted to pass an SUV limousine carrying five members of the Randle family and the limo driver, Mark Anthony Gay on I-85 near Indian Springs Road.

As the Acura approached the SUV, it entered the left-hand emergency lane.The SUV was traveling in the HOV lane.The Acura attempted to improperly pass on the left.The Acura clipped the SUV as the emergency lane narrowed with the concrete median wall.

As the Acura cut off the SUV when it entered the HOV lane, it then struck two cars in the lane ahead. Immediately after, the SUV slammed into the back of the struck vehicles, causing the SUV to flip.The SUV rolled over six times before coming to rest roof-side down.