Personal Injury

Published on: March 18, 2009

New Bill to Use “Super Speeder” Fines to Fund Georgia’s Trauma Care Expansion

More numbers of trauma care hospitals in Georgia could mean up to 700 lives saved every year in automobile accidents. However, the state has a severe shortage of trauma centers – just 15 centers in all, many of which are located in urban centers.Now, a new bill that would levy an additional $200 fine on speeding drivers on Georgia’s highways is being introduced as a means of funding expansion of the state’s trauma care system.

As Georgia personal injury attorneys, we regularly see the impact of delayed emergency trauma care on the injured. Motorists in rural areas of Georgia, where over a million people are more than 75 miles from the nearest trauma care center, have a higher rate of succumbing to serious injuries sustained in a car crash, a bullet injury or a serious fall, because of their lack of access to trauma care. The discrepancy in urban-rural "golden hour" care access – the life saving care that can save a person’s life, if received within the first hour of being injured – is clear to see in the numbers.Motorists involved in an accident in urban cities like Atlanta, have a death rate that’s one in every 339 accidents.In rural centers, the fatality rate is a whopping one in every 74 accidents.In most of these cases, lives can be saved if the patient has timely access to emergency trauma care, but precious time is lost transporting injured victims to the nearest trauma center.

The state’s chronically under-equipped trauma care system has been a source of concern for a while now, and the legislature has made attempts to correct the situation.These have been inadequate, however. Funding has been the primary source of concern and with no end in sight to Georgia’s fiscal crisis, generating funds for trauma care center expansion has become a problem.

Published on: March 17, 2009

Judges Uphold Right to Sue Drug Makers in Wyeth vs. Levine

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Earlier this month, justices of the Supreme Court ruled that patients injured through use of a drug can sue the drug maker even when the drug has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. It’s a landmark judgment, and it promises to offer patients who suffer when a pharmaceutical company is negligent, the right to seek civil justice. .

The ruling upheld the $7 million awarded to musician Diane Levine who lost her arm to gangrene after being injected with Wyeth’s Phenargan medicine.Levine had been prescribed the drug for nausea, and was administered the drug through a method called "IV push."Phenargan is not meant to be administered though this method. Levine filed a product liability lawsuit alleging that the warnings against the IV push method specified on the box, weren’t strong enough. At the time, the drug’s warning label did not include specific warnings against using the IV push method. Levine was awarded damages of $6.7 million, but Wyeth argued that FDA approval should give the company immunity against product liability lawsuits.The SC decision had been eagerly waited by Georgia product liability attorneys and patients who have filed or are in the process of filing personal injury lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies for injuries caused by their drugs. The court in a 6-3 ruling has now ruled in favor of Levine, and the larger patient community.

The decision is one product liability lawyers had hoped for.In the past, the SC has shown a slant towards big business interests, and recent attempts in Georgia to grant immunity to pharmaceutical companies in case of injuries caused by drugs approved by the FDA, had many of us very worried. As expected, pharmaceutical companies aren’t too pleased with the Supreme Court decision, and we don’t blame them.After all, this means that these companies will not be able to use FDA approval for their drugs as a screen to shield them form lawsuits. For thousands of patients around the country who have been waiting for the Wyeth vs. Levine decision to proceed with their lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies, much uncertainty has been lifted with the Supreme Court ruling.

Published on: March 3, 2009

Accident, Injury Prevention Features still not Standard on all Passenger Vehicles

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Electronic stability control, side impact airbags, neck restraint systems – these are just some of the high tech, innovative, auto safety features that manufacturers have developed and improvised to near perfection in recent years, in an effort to reduce the number of car accidents and injuries caused by vehicle collisions. Although these are becoming popular with car buyers, they are far from standard on all passenger cars, which means that motorists who wish to have these features in their vehicles should be prepared to shell out extra dollars for them.

The New York Times has this story on how some of the most ballyhooed car safety features continued to be optional on several car models. Electronic stability control (ESC) systems are one of the most impressive new auto safety technologies to make it out of R&D facilities in recent years. The system makes use of computerized sensors that can tell when a car is in danger of losing grip of the road. When a potential loss of traction is detected, the system automatically applies the brakes so there is no loss of control. Cars may be especially prone to skidding or loss of control when they turn at high speeds, or accelerate or brake suddenly. Loss of control in such instances can cause the car to roll over, exposing occupants to serious injuries. With an ESC system working in your car, the risk of an accident is dramatically reduced.

ESC systems will be standard on all vehicles by 2012. They are currently very popular with buyers who will pay extra for an ESC system if it is not included as part of a standard features package. However, in times of a recession, paying extra, sometimes up to $ 2,000 extra for a package that includes an ESC system may not be in every buyer’s budget. In times of economic turmoil, it’s more important than ever that automakers design their cars with a view to minimizing accidents and injuries that take a heavy economic toll. Like David Champion who is the senior director of automotive testing at Consumer Reports says, manufacturers shouldn’t be making it more expensive for buyers to access proven safety gear like ESC systems or side impact airbags.

Published on: January 9, 2009

Dog in Dekalb County Attack Quarantined

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Dog in DeKalb County Attack Quarantined

The dog that attacked and bit an adult male and two children in a house in Lithonia, DeKalb County continues to be quarantined, while the victims have threatened legal action unless the pit bull is put to sleep.

Maurice Jones has had to undergo treatment at the hospital for wounds sustained in the attack that occurred when the pit bull came chasing after two children, and into the yard of the house he was in.The dog apparently belonged to a neighbor, and although there has been no confirmation yet, it seems to have escaped through a broken down fence that separated the two houses.The two children who were also attacked, including a three-year-old child, sustained serious injuries, including head injuries.

Published on: September 19, 2008

Insurance Giant AIG Now Owned by US Government

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

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: 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: April 29, 2008

School Bus Accidents Rampant in April

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

April has been a bad month for school bus accidents.We covered this subject in March when a Cherokee County school bus overturned and several students were taken to area hospitals.Since then, school bus accidents continue to be the subject of local news programs across the country.Many students suffered serious personal injuries as a result.

Monday morning of this week, two Pope High School students were injured when a car, driven by a teenage driver, ran up on the sidewalk and struck them.A fifteen-year-old girl was flown by helicopter to Children’s Hospital at Scottish Rite and is in critical condition.A seventeen-year-old boy was taken to Kennestone Hospital and treated and released.

The driver of the Jeep, Corey O’Connell, was driving northbound when a Nissan Maxima stopped in front of him to make a left-hand turn.He did not see the stopped car in time, swerved onto the sidewalk, and ran over a fire hydrant and an electrical box before striking the students with his vehicle.He has been charged with following too closely and failure to maintain his lane.

Published on: March 17, 2008

Tornados Wreak Havoc; Bad Faith in Issue

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A Friday night tornado ripped through downtown Atlanta, causing serious damage to buildings in the business district.Inside the CNN Center, water flooded parts of the building, shattered glass littered the floor and dust and debris entered from the torn roof. Next door at the Georgia Dome the SEC conference basketball game was halted.The storm ripped part of the ceiling of the dome off.

On Saturday afternoon, a second tornado claimed the lives of two victims in Bartow and Floyd County in north Georgia. That twister was five times wider and stayed on the ground longer than the Friday tornado.One victim was killed when her home was flattened; flying debris killed the other.

Spring is peak season for tornados.Most tornados occur in what is known as “Tornado Alley” which is the plains of the central and southern states – east of the Rocky Mountains and west of the Appalachian Mountains.The most frequently hit states are Florida, Oklahoma and Texas.Wind speeds vary from 100 to 300 miles per hour and most tornados are two miles long.Tornados come from the energy released in a thunderstorm.

Published on: March 12, 2008

Students Injured in Canton Bus Accident

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A school bus carrying 27 students overturned on March 3, 2008 in Canton, Georgia.Twenty-six students were taking to area hospitals, but none were seriously injured.The driver, Luis Monserrate, was charged with failure to maintain a lane.

According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the driver let the school bus dip off the roadway onto the shoulder.He then overcorrected, causing the bus to veer off the road.The bus clipped a utility pole and then overturned.

Currently, there are 585,000 school buses in use in the nation.Over twenty-three million children travel on school buses each year.The Transportation Research Board reports that school buses are the safest mode of transportation for students. School bus accidents account for 6000 injuries annually and 20 deaths.Compared to incidents caused by adult drivers transporting students in a private vehicle, these cause 51,000 injuries and 169 deaths annually.Most deaths occur from students boarding or exiting buses.