Atlanta Injury Lawyers Blog

Published on: June 30, 2012

A Surgeon’s “Artisitic” Claims Allegedly False

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) claims that 13.1 million cosmetic procedures were performed in the U.S. last year. This is a 5% increase over the previous year. However, as the number of cosmetic procedures increase in Atlanta, so do the number of injuries resulting from such procedures, many of which are caused by negligence.

For example, a plastic surgeon has been named in a medical malpractice lawsuit alleging that he left one of his patients with abnormalities. The plaintiff alleges that the defendant performed abdominoplasty and liposuction that disfigured her and left her in excruciating pain. The plaintiff also alleges that the surgeon neglected to give her post-operative instructions.

The surgery was performed on May 4, 2011, after the defendant referred to himself as a surgical “artist.” The plaintiff was told that the procedure had gone as expected and to wear compression garments. She alleges that the doctor did not inform her how to wear the compression garment or give her any information concerning post-op damage.

Published on: June 30, 2012

The Danger of Atlanta’s Crumbling Sidewalks

by Robert J. Fleming

An advocacy group called PEDS is taking issue with Atlanta’s crumbling sidewalks by pushing Atlanta City Council members to add sidewalk maintenance to the city’s budget. PEDS claims that Atlanta’s sidewalks are hazardous which can lead to injuries and lawsuits. Not only are the existing sidewalks in need of repair, there are many areas of Atlanta which, in my opinion, are not safe because they do not even have easily accessible sidewalks for pedestrians to safely walk without being in the way of traffic. Contrast this with the newly formed City of Brookhaven, which has been installing sidewalks along and around Buford highway and other areas of the new City. Perhaps the City of Atlanta could take notice of this and follow suit. After all, it is for everyone’s safety and benefit that a City’s pedestrians are able to walk about and be safe.

At 17th Street and Peachtree Circle, which is just around the block from PEDS Midtown office, the pedestrian advocacy group points to portions of a sidewalk that have been pushed up by the roots of trees. Other areas of the sidewalk are fractured and missing. News viewers have sent pictures of the worst sidewalks in their neighborhood in support of PEDS’ claims.

At present, the public works budget covers sidewalk repairs. An audit estimates that 25 percent of the sidewalks and curbs in Atlanta need to be repaired or replaced altogether at a cost of about $152 million. The maintenance of sidewalks is supposed to be overseen by property owners. However, as PEDS points out, this is seldom the case.

Published on: June 7, 2012

7 Year Old Wins Verdict in Brain Injury Case

by Robert J. Fleming

A settlement has been reached for a young boy whose brain injuries have left him permanently disabled. The boy and his family were driving in the family car when they were hit by another car driven by an intoxicated man who was returning home from a restaurant. Though all four members of the family were injured in the accident, the young boy was the most seriously hurt of the four.

The accident occurred about four-year ago when the injured boy was just two years old. His family filed a brain injury lawsuit on his behalf, which identified the intoxicated driver and the restaurant which over-served the defendant at fault driver as defendants. The attorney for the plaintiffs recovered a receipt showing that the drunk driver consumed no less than 23 alcoholic drinks in less than 2 hours at the restaurant.

Police reports supported that finding by showing that the driver’s blood-alcohol was more than three times the legal limit. The intoxicated driver was also convicted six prior times in two different states for drunk driving at the time of the accident and is awaiting trial on related drunk driving charges. The restaurant was held accountable as they have a social responsibility to provide alcohol in a way that does not harm their patrons or the public. Does anyone doubt the propriety of holding the restaurant liable in this case? After all, they over-served their customer to the point that he was 3 times the legal limit to driver and then they watched him get into his care and drive off. The restaurant, in my opinion, has gotten off easy.

Statistics show that over 50,000 automobile accidents occur in Atlanta and the rest of Fulton County each year. Flying wreckage and the impact resulting from crashes can cause a number of different kinds of head and brain injuries such as concussions, facial trauma, skull fractures, and subarachnoid hemorrhaging.

General damages in a personal injury action may be physical and mental pain and inability to work. Special damages are those damages that can be calculated as a result of a particular loss. Under Georgia law, a civil lawsuit for damages in which personal injury is involved must be brought in superior or state court. Georgia law provides that the proper place of trial in a case involving personal injury is the county in which the defendant resides when the lawsuit is filed. The courts in this county will have personal jurisdiction over the defendant and will be able to enforce a monetary judgment rendered against the defendant so long as the defendant is personally served with process (as opposed to service by publication, which is valid service but will not be sufficient service to enforce a monetary judgment against the defendant’s assets).

In the aforementioned lawsuit, the parents of the injured child sought compensation for the financial burden brought on by the brain injury, lost earnings, emotional trauma, mental anguish, and medical expenses. If you or a loved one have been injured in a car accident, you can contact me at (404) 525-5150 or online for a free and confidential consultation.
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Published on: May 22, 2012

Whiplash Injuries

by Robert J. Fleming

If you ask the majority of insurance defense lawyers in Atlanta, you will hear some version of the following: Some people in Atlanta feign whiplash injuries in an effort to receive money from an accident. After all, a number of different types of accidents can cause whiplash injuries and the symptoms are easy to fake. And to complicate matters further, neck pain is a symptom that can be difficult for doctors disprove.

As an experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyer, I am familiar with these types of injuries and the types of situations that can cause them. So, in response to the defense lawyer mantra above, I say: On the other hand, whiplash related injuries are real and many times can be detrimental to the patients who actually suffer such an injury. In other words, just because there are no broken bones, does not mean that there is not an injury and, more importantly, an absence of broken bones does not always rule out that the injuries are not severe. To be sure, most soft tissue cases are not severe, however, like everything else in life, there are exceptions.

Whiplash happens when the body of the injured person remains still but the head is forced backward and then very swiftly forward (much like how the body reacts during a rear-end car collision). Whiplash is often used to describe the injuries, but whiplash only illustrates the movement of the injured person’s head and neck.

Published on: May 22, 2012

$2.3 Million Verdict in Georgia Slip and Fall

by Robert J. Fleming

Slip and fall cases in Georgia have been achieving some record results lately in the courtroom. A Gwinnett County, Georgia jury returned a verdict for the amount of $2.3 million to compensate the plaintiff of a slip and fall lawsuit against the Kroger Company after a judge determined that the supermarket destroyed and manipulated video evidence. The plaintiff fell onto his back when he slipped on crushed fruit that was on the floor of the deli section of the store.

The 49-year-old suffered a serious injury to his spinal cord calling for the surgical insertion of numerous rods and screws to stabilize the herniated discs in his spine. His medical bills came to approximately $135,000 and he was not able to work. Prior to the accident, the plaintiff worked as a commercial landscaper.

The attorneys of the defendant originally maintained that the store’s video footage from the time of the accident had been taped over because the videos are only kept for 17 days if there is no reason to keep them longer. They also claimed that the video cameras were not positioned to record the area where the accident happened, and they presented images taken from the camera to illustrate their claim.

However, while the manager was giving a statement at the store during a deposition, the plaintiff’s attorneys asked him to demonstrate for them the store’s video surveillance system. The manager’s demonstration proved that the camera was in fact recording the site where the defendant fell. Therefore, the camera caught everything from when the fruit fell to the floor, how long it was on the floor, and the defendant slipping and falling.
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Published on: May 22, 2012

The Rising Number of Georgia Dog Bites

by Robert J. Fleming

Each year, hundreds of millions of dollars in insurance claims is paid out to victims of dog bites. Dogs bite approximately 4.7 million people annually, with children compromising more than half of the total number victims. Nearly 400,000 people receive medical treatment for their wounds and about 16 people die.

After 5 to 9 year olds, seniors are the second largest age group in danger, followed by U.S. Postal workers (letter carries). Nationwide, over 5½ thousand carriers were victims of dog attacks last year with medical expenses costing the Postal Service a little over a million dollars.

Nationally, the average cost per claim was $28,799. California had the most number of claims with 309 totaling $10 million with a per claim average of $38,500. With the number of dog bite injuries rising each year, you ought to know what to do should you or a loved one get bit:

Jot down the name and telephone number of the dog’s owner and any witnesses. If at all possible, also write down their addresses. This is important because, in all the commotion, many times victims leave the scene in order to get medical treatment and the at-fault parties are gone and not able to be traced.
Depending on the seriousness of the bite, have it treated. And visit a veterinarian if your pet has also been bitten. The best bet, go to the emergency room because ER doctors are trained on how to treat trauma such as dog bites. In addition, they treat many similar dog bites throughout the year and these doctors (i.e., ER doctors) usually know exactly what to do and not to do when treating someone who has been attacked by a dog.
Be sure to keep copies of the medical bills and photographs of the bite(s). Most state statutes include dog-inflicted injuries, not only bites. For example, here in Georgia, a young girls was charged by a dog. The dog did not bite her, but the dog forced her into the street and into the path of an oncoming car, which, unfortunately, lead to her death. In this situation, the owner of the dog is liable to the girls parents for the girls death due to their negligence in allowing the dog off leash and trying to attack the girl.
Notify the police about the incident and check with the animal control department to find out if the dog is labeled dangerous or has been reported for prior attacks. Make sure a police report (or animal control report) is filled out to document exactly what took place. Once again, as time elapses, memories fade, witnesses are lost and what seemed like an open and shut case of negligence on behalf of the dog owner, become not so clear-cut. Make sure the proper information is taken down by the authorities. They are there to help you.
Acquaint yourself with the dog bite statutes of your state. In order to sue, Georgia’s statutes mandate that the victim must be able to prove the dog owner’s negligence. In many cases, this is established by proving violation of the local leash law or ordinance.
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Published on: April 30, 2012

Three Boys Die after Wisdom Teeth are Pulled

by Robert J. Fleming

CBS Atlanta News is following an exclusive investigation into the deaths of three boys from Georgia who lost their lives following routine dental procedures. The boys, ages 14 to 21, all died within a month of each other. Each boy had his wisdom teeth extracted 16 to 72 hours before dying.

The families of the boys are speaking out for the first time in an effort to warn other parents of the dangers associated with such dental procedures. The parents of the victims claim that they were not forewarned of the possible dangers associated with nitrous oxide.

Nitrous oxide remains a routine part of dental surgeries in spite of mounting proof of its dangerous side effects. Researchers have found that patients who were given nitrous oxide as part of their anesthetic were more likely to experience wound infections.

One boy’s death was ruled a result of natural causes, but the coroner was unable to establish what caused his death. Another boy’s death was ruled as a bad reaction to penicillin. But dental experts say that infections are one of the principal causes of dental deaths and in the case of these boys, it would seem that complications from anesthesia may have played some part in the deaths.

The human mouth has more bacteria than any other part of the body, and that bacteria can become deadly if it gets into the blood stream. Patients can develop a post-operative infection that can lead to death. The brain swells and then brain damage can set in or brain death can result.

Reactions to anesthesia and inhalation of blood into the lungs, which can cause suffocation, and bad reactions to prescribed drugs are all possible causes of death following dental procedures warn experts.

A study published in Pediatrics in 2000 found that a disproportionately large number of adverse sedation events in pediatrics (defined in the study as patient who were under 20 years-old) occur with dental treatment when compared to other medical specialties. In addition, a significantly higher proportion of those children who experienced an adverse sedation event in a non-hospital facility (such as a dental practice or dental office) suffered death or permanent neurological injury when compared to a hospital. The takeaway from this is to understand that general sedation in a dentist’s office should not be routinely assumed to be safe. In fact, many times it is not and the complications that result from improper sedation during dental procedures in the dentist’s office can be fatal.

Published on: April 22, 2012

The $200,000 Dog Bite

by Robert J. Fleming

A $200,000 lawsuit has reportedly been filed against a film producer and his wife because their dog allegedly bit a woman on the hand at a hotel in Aspen, Colorado. As a litigation attorney in Atlanta, I’ve seen firsthand the physical pain and emotional anguish dog bites can cause.

The incident took place while the defendants were vacationing with their daughter and their Labrador Retriever. The victim of the dog bite asserts that the dog “lunged” at her, clamping down on her left hand as she was walking the hotel grounds.

According to reports, the defendants’ daughter pulled the dog away and told the victim that the dog was a “bad dog” after the bite happened. The injuries suffered by the claimant required several surgeries and caused a staph infection.

Published on: April 12, 2012

Cavities: A Growing Epidemic amongst Preschoolers

by Robert J. Fleming

A two and a half-year old in Seattle had two incisors extracted, root canal surgery on a molar, and fillings and crowns on eleven of his twenty baby teeth due to cavities.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) in Atlanta has noticed an increase in cavities among preschoolers. And dentists in Atlanta are seeing more and more preschoolers with six to ten cavities or more. Given such levels of decay, dentists are often opting to use anesthesia because children are not capable of sitting through such prolonged procedures.

These dental problems are preventable. But many parents say that they were not told when they should take their children to the dentist or when their children should start using fluoride toothpaste. Endless snacking and juice or other sugary drinks at bedtime seems to one of the causes of this problem. Bottled water is also a major contributor since it does not have fluoride in it like tap water.

Published on: April 6, 2012

Eight is Enough for Dental Malpractice Claim

by Robert J. Fleming

An injured dental patient has filed a dental malpractice suit against his former dentist over eight teeth that were extracted by mistake. The lawsuit is seeking $250,000 in damages as the defendant was also unable to properly fit the claimant with dentures.

According to the dental malpractice complaint on file with the court, the plaintiff originally went to the dentist to have one of his teeth pulled and root canal therapy. After pulling the teeth and performing a root canal, the plaintiff alleges that the defendant dentist couldn’t properly fit the claimant with dentures.

According to the suit, for two years the plaintiff “just gummed it” until two other dentists were able to fit him with dentures. The plaintiff also alleged in the complaint that he had another dentist examine the extracted teeth and it was determined that they were healthy despite a little plaque.
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