Atlanta Injury Lawyers Blog

Published on: June 29, 2011

Atlanta Workers Compensation Litigation

If you are injured on the job, please seek advice from an experienced Georgia Worker’s Compensation Lawyer. Here’s why:

When a worker is hurt on the job, the employer and its worker’s compensation insurer look at every way possible to deny your claim or pay as little in damages as they possibly can. While this is not comforting to know, it is reality. In order to have a fair chance, you must have legal representation and level the playing field. Many employers and their insurers try to steer the injured workers to doctors who are not helpful to the injured worker. This results in great damage to your case and this type of strong-arm tactics by the employer should be resisted at every turn.

Many times, the full extent of your injury is not known until the following are determined by a competent medical doctor: the nature and severity of your injury; whether you have a broken bone or fractured a bone in your arm, leg, or wrist; how much time away from work is needed in order for you to fully recover; whether you need physical therapy or future surgeries; or whether your worker’s compensation injury may cause future medical problems such as carpal tunnel syndrome or arthritis.

Worker’s Compensation is an accident insurance type of program which was set up by the state of Georgia and which is paid for by employers. This program eliminates the need to prove negligence on the part of the employer in order for the worker to recover for his or her injuries. The workers compensation program may be able to provide you with medical rehabilitation and income benefits if you have been injured on the job.

You are covered for work related injuries from the first day that you are on the job and, if you are injured while working on your job, you most likely will be entitled to workers comp benefits. It is important that you report any work related accident immediately, so that the facts of your accident and the extent of your injuries can be well-documented. In most work-related accidents that result in serious injuries, a worker compensation lawyer can help protect all of your legal right and increase the amount of recovery.
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Published on: June 23, 2011

Bill Would Make Dental Malpractice Insurance Mandatory

by Robert J. Fleming

The State Legislature of Pennsylvania approved legislation on Saturday that would require dentists to carry at least $1M in liability insurance. As an Atlanta lawyer who specializes in dental malpractice, I am eagerly following this bill, and I think it is long-overdue. There are many similar laws in place all over the country which require many professionals to carry malpractice insurance, and the area of dental malpractice should be no different.

Most serious dental malpractice injuries result from negligent root canals or dental implants which cause damage to the Inferior Alveolar Nerve or the Lingual Nerve. Many times, this damage is caused by crushing or severing the nerves and the injury causes numbness, pain, and a permanent disability.

The most common nerves traumatized in implant dentistry are the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) and its mental branch, the mental nerve. Other nerves at risk include the lingual nerve, long buccal nerve and the infraorbital nerve because of the anatomic location of these structures. Neurosensory impairment may occur during all phases of dental implant surgery, including anesthetic administration, incisions, soft tissue reflection, osteotomy preparation, bone augmentation, implant placement, suturing and/or soft tissue swelling after surgery. The reported incidence of such nerve injuries following dental implant procedures is highly variable, but the most common causes of these dental nerve injuries are during the osteotomy preparation or implant placement. In other words, the nerve is usually crushed or severed when the hole is drilled to place the dental implant, or when the implant is screwed into place and it is screwed right into the nerve.

When a nerve injury occurs, the dentist should be able to recognize the type and extent of injury and provide the most appropriate post-operative care. Traumatic and iatrogenic (i.e., caused by the dentists who was performing the dental care) nerve complications may involve total or partial nerve resection, crushing, stretching, or entrapment injuries. The resulting sensory deficits may range from a non-painful minor loss of sensation to a permanent and severe debilitating pain dysfunction. Presently, no standardized protocol exists for the dentist in the management of nerve injuries after implant surgery. Yet, surveys at the Misch International Implant Institute™ indicate 87% of dentists have encountered situations of neurosensory impairment within their practices. Yet, no organized approach to evaluate and/or treat this condition has been presented. The most commonly used term to describe an altered sensation is paresthesia. For years, paresthesia has been used to describe any altered sensation including pain, numbness, tingling, aching, warmth, cold, and burning. Recently, the Association for the Study of Pain has standardized a nomenclature system that defines the most frequently used neurosensory descriptive terms. There now exists three distinct categories with related subcategories describing neurosensory deficits. The most significant change is paresthesia which is limited to an altered sensation that is not unpleasant. Dysesthesia is defined as any altered sensation that is unpleasant. Anesthesia is the total loss of feeling or sensation. These three main categories are used to describe, diagnose and treat (including referral) the nerve injury in situations in which dental patients have suffered dental nerve injuries due to dental treatment.
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Published on: June 21, 2011

Common Forms of Medical Malpractice in Georgia

by Robert J. Fleming

As an experienced Atlanta medical malpractice attorney, I know that there are many different forms of medical malpractice.

The five most common forms of medical malpractice are:
1) Sub-Standard Care: when the medical care received falls below the level of skill, expertise, and care practiced by other physicians in the same or similar community under similar circumstances (e.g. the doctor makes a mistake in surgery).

2) Bad Diagnosis: when a doctor delays or fails to diagnose a condition or disease or treats a patient for a condition or disease he or she does not have. These cases are actionable if the doctor’s mistake has resulted in injury or the progression of a disease beyond that which would have resulted from a timely diagnosis or if the unnecessary treatment or medication has harmed the patient.

3) Bad Treatment: when a doctor correctly diagnoses the patient’s condition but either fails to treat the problem entirely, dismissing the presenting symptoms as temporary or minor, or fails to treat the problem properly (e.g. attempting a less successful novel treatment in place of a more conventional one).

4) Unauthorized Treatment: when a doctor in a non-emergency situation fails to obtain informed consent from the patient or patient’s family member. Virtually all states now require doctors to provide patients with information about their medical conditions, prognosis, treatment choices, and the risks of each treatment option. The information must be in plain language that can be readily understood and sufficient to allow patients to make an informed decision about his or her medical care. A doctor who fails to obtain informed consent may be charged with a civil fine or criminal offense such as “battery,” or may be at risk for a medical malpractice suit. However, for a plaintiff to prevail in a medical malpractice suit, she must be able to show that she would not have opted for the treatment or procedure had she known of the risk that was not disclosed.

5) Breach of Doctor-Patient Confidentiality
If you feel that you have been the victim of medical malpractice and wish to sue, you should know that the doctor who has been negligent may not the only potential defendant. The hospital where the doctor is employed or the private medical partnership to which the doctor belongs may be vicariously liable for the doctor’s negligence.

Unfortunately, you should also know that in medical malpractice cases, the burden on the plaintiff to show that the doctor has behaved negligently is extremely high. This means that not all instances of medical malpractice are actionable, even if the plaintiff’s have suffered serious damages. To find out whether your medical malpractice claim is likely to be successful, contact an experienced Atlanta Medical Malpractice Lawyer.
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Published on: June 21, 2011

Severe Lower Back Injuries Caused by Atlanta Auto Accidents Being Treated with Spinal Cord Stimulators

by Robert J. Fleming

As an Atlanta Car Accident Lawyer, I understand that automobile accidents are one of the leading causes of lower back pain. Common back injuries resulting from auto accidents include a herniated disc, lumbar or lower back strain, and spinal cord injuries. These injuries can cause serious and debilitating pain in the lower back, making everyday activities – like working, caring for your family, or engaging in leisure activities – difficult. In fact, about 10% of these auto accident back injuries lead to long-term disability for Atlanta car accident victims who we have represented over the years.

Spinal cord injuries, in particular, can cause serious nerve damage, resulting in paralysis, loss of feeling in certain areas of the body, and loss of reflex functions. Spinal cord injuries can also lead to secondary medical problems including infection, sexual dysfunction, muscle spasms, loss of bladder control, and centralized hypersensitivity or pain in certain areas of the body.

Treatments for lower back pain include orthopaedic care, physical therapy, chiropractic care, prescription medication and surgery. However, for people suffering from spinal cord injuries whose chronic pain has proved unresponsive to prior treatments, doctors have begun using Spinal Cord Stimulators.

Spinal Cord Stimulators are prescribed for the treatment of chronic pain (lasting 3 months or more) and work to manage chronic lower back pain by intercepting and altering the perception of pain signals from the nerve pathways along the spine to the brain. Spinal Cord Stimulators are devices with internal and external components. A battery-powered stimulator is placed inside the abdomen, upper buttocks or collar-bone area, while wires called leads are implanted along the spinal cord and attached to the stimulator. A hand-held remote control helps the patient moderate his own pain.

Although a Spinal Cord Stimulator has recently provided good pain relief for one of my clients who was severely injured in an Atlanta auto accident, these devices also come with many risks, including, but not limited to, infection, allergic reaction, scarring, loss of blood and need for blood transfusion, loss of function of any limb or any organ, paralysis, brain damage, need for repeat surgery, persistent pain, cardiac arrest or death. In addition, the implanted battery inside the stimulator will wear out over time and additional surgeries will be required to replace the battery. Current batteries can be expected to last between three and five years, and the cost of a single surgery to replace a dead battery may be as much as $30,000.
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Published on: June 12, 2011

How can I protect my elderly parents from nursing home abuse?

by Robert J. Fleming

We all want our parents and elderly relatives to live with dignity, integrity, and independence, even if we find ourselves having to place them in nursing homes. As an Atlanta Elder Abuse Lawyer, however, I know that nursing home residents sometimes face mistreatment and abuse. Because many of these nursing home residents have limited abilities to communicate, identifying potential abuse requires perseverance, careful monitoring and persistence.

Signs of mistreatment include unsanitary and unclean conditions, frequent illnesses, infections, bed sores, dehydration, excessive weight loss, unreasonable physical constraints, the use of chemical restraints or of medication for any purpose inconsistent with that authorized by a physician, as well as unusual behavior such as rocking, biting, or sucking, or wanting to be isolated from other people. While no one want to believe that their elderly love ones are being neglected by the nursing home staff (or, worse, abused), the sad fact is that this does happen more than one might be lead to believe. Many time, the abuse is the direct result of the nursing home not properly screening the staff hires, which results in someone being hired to care for your parents, who is not qualified to render care to elderly patients, or worse yet, has a criminal record and/or a checkered work past and who should not, under any circumstance be left alone with someone who is vulnerable. Still others are caused by a lack of adequate policies and procedures in place to direct the staff on how they need to care for the residents so that the level of care does not fall below that which is considered adequate under the circumstances.

If you are worried about possible mistreatment of your elderly relative, you can report your concerns to your state licensing and certification body, which is required to investigate complaints filed by family members, as well as the National Center on Elder Abuse. However, you should know that regulatory investigations take time, are not always very thorough, and rarely provide adequate relief for individual nursing home residents. Sometimes by the time an investigator interviews a victim of abuse, the injuries have healed and the resident has forgotten the details of the incident (especially where patients are suffering from memory loss or dementia), leaving the investigator feeling he has insufficient proof to write up the home for a deficiency.

Published on: June 9, 2011

Common Georgia Dental Malpractice Injuries

by Robert J. Fleming

As an Atlanta Dental Malpractice Lawyer, I know that many so-called “routine procedures,” such as wisdom tooth extractions, root canals, crowns, and dental implants, can result in horrifying dental injuries. This is because the mouth contains many vital anatomical structures, including the lingual nerve, the inferior alveolar nerve, the mylohyoid nerve, the mental nerve, the infra-orbital nerve and the mandible or jawbone.

Many instances of dental malpractice involve damage to the lingual nerve. The lingual nerve descends from nerve centers in the brain into the lower jawbone and finally into the tongue and adjacent gums. Partial or complete severance of the lingual nerve can occur during the surgical extraction of a tooth, during the injection of anesthesia, or as a result of inflammation caused by an improper dental procedure. While less common, overfilling of the space under a tooth, during a root canal, for example, can also result in leakage into the mandible canal and result in a lingual nerve injury.

Damage to the lingual nerve or inferior alveolar nerve can result in numbness or decreased sensation in the tongue, the floor of the mouth, the inside of gums, and the lips. Clients who have experienced lingual nerve damage have experienced an inability to taste their food, to know when to swallow, to stop biting their own tongues, as well as drooling, slurred speech, and a changed appearance. Lingual nerve damage can also cause residual pain, which can decrease one’s quality of life and ability to work. This type of neuropathic pain is often worse at night, resulting in sleep deprivation and adding to the emotional burden of the sensory nerve damage.

In an attempt to regain functionality in their lingual nerve, some patients have undergone complex surgeries in which a nerve from another part of the body is removed and reinserted in their jawbone. However, these surgeries are not always successful and present additional risks to the patient.

Dentists have a duty, not only to provide competent dental care, but also to inform their patients of the risks inherent in any procedures they wish to perform. If you feel that your dentist has breached his duty to you, protect yourself by hiring an experienced dental malpractice lawyer to help you pursue your claim and redress your injuries. Once a dental nerve injury is sustained, regardless of what the cause of the injury is, it is imperative that the dentist either timely treat the injury or refer the patient out to a qualified nerve specialist (usually an oral and maxillofacial surgeon whose specialty is micro-neurosurgery of the lingual and inferior alveolar nerves). The longer a dental nerve injury goes undiagnosed or untreated, the less likely it is that the nerve specialist will be able to successfully intervene and treat the nerve.
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Published on: June 6, 2011

Georgia Dog Bite Injuries Particularly Severe for Children

by Robert J. Fleming

As an Atlanta Dog Bite Lawyer, I know that dog bites are a serious public health problem that can inflict considerable physical and emotion damages on victims and their families. Each year, more than 800,000 Americans seek medical treatment for dog bites. Sadly, half of these dog bite victims are children. In fact, in 2000, dog bites were the 5th largest cause of non-fatal injuries treated in children aged 14 and younger, just behind motor vehicle accidents, suffocation, drowning, and injuries due to falls and sports injuries.

Common dog bite injuries include disfigurement, permanent nerve damage, complex trauma to muscle tissue, and severe psychological consequences. In addition, dog bite-related injuries result in an average of 30 deaths each year. Children are exposed to many hazards and risks as they grow and develop into adulthood, and accident related injuries are the leading cause of death and disability for children and teenagers in the United States. The physical, social, cultural, political and economic environments in which they live can significantly increase or decrease their injury risks.

Dog bites in children, because of their smaller size, are frequently on the face. Such injuries to the face can be complex and may require specialists such as plastic surgeons, ear, nose, and throat doctors, and eye doctors. About 1 in 7 children who receive emergency treatment for dog bites to the face sustain ophthalmic eye injuries, which are more likely to have complications and need revision surgery that other injuries.
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Published on: June 3, 2011

How Do I Find a Good Lawyer in Georgia?

by Robert J. Fleming

In my over twenty years of experience as an Atlanta lawyer, I have often heard clients comment on how they did not know how to go about retaining legal counsel. Many times, people may have a quick legal question or wonder how much their case is worth. There really is no down-side to calling an experienced Atlanta lawyer to get some answers.

If you believe you have a legal claim, the first thing to do is call a lawyer for an initial consultation. Lawyers almost always offer free consultations, in person or over the phone. These consultations are an opportunity for you to see whether you feel comfortable with this person representing you and for the lawyer to determine whether you have a valid legal claim that he or she wishes to take on. The information you share with a lawyer during a consultation will remain confidential, even if you do not end up retaining that lawyer.

If you delay in contacting a lawyer, you run the risk that your legal claim will expire before you can file your complaint. For instance, in Georgia, the statute of limitations (the time you have to file a claim) in medical malpractice cases is two years from the first alleged act of malpractice. Similarly, the statute of limitations for auto accident cases in Georgia is two years from the date of the accident. For dental malpractice, the statute of limitations (the time you have to file a claim) in Georgia is two years from the first alleged act of malpractice. Two years is not a lot of time if you have to order records, have your case reviewed, obtain an affidavit from a medical expert, and prepare the appropriate filings. And, I talked to some unfortunate potential clients who have been led on by insurance adjusters, mistakenly believing that the insurance company was, in good faith, trying to settle their case, but were summarily dismissed immediately after the expiration of the statute of limitations. For all intents and purposes, they lost their case because the believed the insurance company adjuster that they would take care of them.

Published on: May 24, 2011

Americans Want More Safety Laws to Prevent Accidents

by Robert J. Fleming

A new study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety holds no surprises for Atlanta car accident attorneys. The study seems to indicate massive support for more federal and state traffic safety laws that can help prevent accidents. But wait, more laws, more regulations, more governmental interference in our lives. Is this really necessary? Well….maybe.

It seems that most people (or at least the most vocal ones) want less government and less regulations. However, according to the study, 62% of respondents wanted the federal government to get more involved in passing traffic safety laws that could protect motorists by reducing the incidence of undesirable driving behaviors. A further 57% also want states to get involved in traffic safety matters. 70% of respondents said they want traffic safety laws be more strictly enforced.

Besides, there also seems to be plenty of support for stronger graduated driver licensing programs in Georgia. 62% of the respondents wanted new drivers to undergo an education program before they begin driving with a full license. Also, 60% of respondents said they wanted more auto safety features to prevent accidents. I for one, believe that drivers permits and licenses are being issued to teenagers who simply do not have the advanced cognitive brain development to safely drive. While this is not a condemnation of our youth, it is simply a fact that the human brain, and especially the male human brain, does not fully develop cognitive ability until at least the early 20’s. While most young teenagers are simply dying to drive, what would be the harm in pushing back the legal driving age (and the age that they can get driving permits) a couple of years. In my opinion, the down side is minimal, but we could save a lot of lives if we did this, as a state.
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Published on: May 20, 2011

Needless Tooth Extractions Lead to Lingual Nerve and Inferior Alveolar Nerve Damage

by Robert J. Fleming

As an Atlanta Dental Malpractice Lawyer, I encounter many clients who have had asymptomatic wisdom teeth extracted. Not only is this a form of dental malpractice (because it constitutes over-treatment) but many of these procedures result in permanent nerve injuries to the lingual nerve and/or the inferior alveolar nerve. Many times clients have gone to the dentist for a check up and are told that they should have all four wisdom teeth extracted, even though there are no problems associated with these teeth. To be sure, there are times when wisdom teeth should be extracted, but this is not always the case.

Simply put, a wisdom tooth that is not causing any problems, should not be removed. Even “impacted” wisdom teeth should not be removed, unless they are infected or causing another serious dental problem.

Unfortunately, over ten million wisdom teeth (also known as third molars) are extracted from almost 5 million people in the United States every year. This results in hundreds of permanent nerve injuries when the lingual nerve or the inferior alveolar nerve is damaged due to a needle severing the nerve during nerve blocks injections, a root tip ripping the nerve during extraction or a number of other complications related to the drug use to numb the patient or the extraction. I have seen cases in which both of these nerves have been damaged by one extraction.
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