General Negligence

Published on: July 4, 2009

Happy 4th of July to Our Georgia Veterans

I would like to start off by wishing all of our proud and deserving Georgia veterans a happy and healthy 4th of July, or more appropriately, Happy Independence Day. Without these brave men and woman, we could not celebrate this day. Any celebration would not be complete without acknowledging their heroic efforts and monumental sacrifices in all of our wars and “police actions.”

I am a proud Army veteran. I joined the army right out of high school and completed my enlistment prior to starting college. I signed up for a two year enlistment. I proudly served my country as a Military Policeman. But, fortunately for me, the Army gave me so much; much, much more than I gave back. In exchange for two short years of service, I received the opportunity to go to college and to make something of myself. After all, I was able to complete my Army tour and finish college in about the same time it took to simply go to college. However, not all of our veterans are as fortunate. Of course, too many have given the ultimate sacrifice while defending our Country, their lives. Many have suffered crippling physical injuries while defending our Country. Many more have suffered horrific emotional injuries from the ravages of war. Clearly, these worthy veterans gave much more to our Country than they received. We owe them our deepest gratitude. What made me think of this was a recent visit I had with a great American and staunch Veteran Advocate, Marshall Berman.

A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of hosting a small brunch for Marshall and his family. Marshall is a special person. You see, he cares a lot about other people, and one of his life-long goals is to help our military veterans. He has done great things for our veterans in the past. For instance, while he worked at the Georgia Department of Labor, Marshall was instrumental in improving the lives of our south Georgia military veterans by making it more convenient for them to receive the medical and employment-related services many of them so dearly needed.

Published on: June 17, 2009

Georgia Insurance Bad Faith

by Robert J. Fleming

A jury has ordered American Physicians Insurance Corp. to pay $3.8 million for acting in bad faith by delaying payment on a claim it knew its client was liable for, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal. Court records show that American Physicians Assurance Corp. initially offered the plaintiff $75,000 despite estimating her injuries to be worth $1 million. Daniels was left permanently disabled after her doctor botched a cosmetic procedure he suggested she have while she underwent a hysterectomy. Full Article

In Georgia, if an insurer denies the claim of its insured based on inadequate evidence or based on inadequate investigation, it may be properly inferred by a judge or jury that such denial of payment of the claim was made in bad faith. Once this is established, the insurer who acts in bad faith is liable to the insured for damages, a statutory penalty and attorneys’ fees.

As experienced injury lawyers, we deal with many insurance companies. Many of them are guilty of bad faith by not adequately protecting the interests of their insureds. Attorney Robert J. Fleming has had great successes in helping seriously injured clients fully recover for their injuries. We do this by thoroughly investigating every case. Many times, this involves making a time-sensitive demand on their insurance company to pay the policy limits or face a suit for bad faith, in addition to the suit for damages the the insured client has suffered due to negligence. please contact us so that we can help properly evaluate your case.

Published on: March 4, 2009

Georgia Doctors May Require Full Payment in Advance

by Robert J. Fleming

Many patients who are being treated for personal injuries are finding that a co-pay is no longer sufficient to visit the doctor’s office. In a new trend, doctors’ offices are demanding full payments up to the deductible amounts, often before the doctor will see the patient. An industry analyst says that, as insurance companies and employers have started requiring consumers to pay more of the costs of care, doctors’ offices have shifted their fee recovery to consumers. Read Full Article.

One of the most important concerns for accident victims in Georgia is being able to pay for and receive the proper medical care needed to recover from the accident. If you are seriously injured in an car accident, for example, and suffer a back injury (herniated disc or bulging disc in the back) which requires surgery, your medical bills pile up quickly. This new approach by the medical providers could cause problems. I advise clients to utilize the medical payments coverage that comes with their car insurance policy and then to use health care coverage.

Robert J. Fleming has successfully represented many clients in Atlanta and the surrounding areas who have been injured due to the negligence of others in many different types of accidents. One of the first things we do when you hire us to represent you is to determine which methods you have available to pay for the medical treatment you need to recover from the accident. If you have been in a bad wreck, you likely will not be in the best emotional position to make these determinations. However, this is what we do for our client every day. We can sit down with you and, in any orderly fashion, figure out your best course of action to make arrangements to pay your medical bills. We also take great care to determine responsible parties and all available insurance to pay for the damages that you have sustained in the car accident or other type of accident. If you have been seriously injured in a car accident, slip and fall on commercial premises, or some other type of accident that was not your fault and would like to discuss your case in complete confidence, contact us today for a free initial consultation to discuss the specific facts of your case.