Types of Wrongful Death Cases in Atlanta, Georgia

Although every family trusts that not one of its members will suffer a wrongful death as a result of negligence of a third party, the fact is these types of accidents are extremely common in the United States. Actually, the 5 leading reasons for wrongful death may affect a family at any given time and location.

What is a Wrongful Death?
Unlike a usual accident, a wrongful death is differentiated by the at fault party acting in a sense that shows careless or negligent disregard for the safety of others. Therefore, it was the responsible party’s conduct that directly resulted in the death of the sufferer.

Examples of negligent behaviors that may result in a wrongful death litigation comprise the following:
— Failing to post areas that are hazardous.
— Selling or using gear that is faulty.
— Failing to adequately train in how to respond to a workplace crisis, workers and renters.

The Most Common Sources of Wrongful Deaths
Today, there are a wide selection of actions that may lead to a wrongful death litigation. Oftentimes, a wrongful death lawsuit may involve more than one defendant, particularly if the departure was because of the activities of a business or alternative organization.

Automobile Accidents
Automobile accidents usually include a negligent driver, who’s in many cases driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Additionally, a rising number of accidents are the result of drivers who are texting or speaking on their mobile phone while driving.

Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice litigations result when a death is caused due to the neglect of the supervising staff, nurse or a surgeon during the course of the casualty’s medical treatment.

Workplace Accidents
Every company has a legal duty to maintain a workplace that is safe. Nevertheless, many wrongful deaths happen due to avoidable injuries brought on improper security guidelines, by defective equipment or the lack of effective employee training policies.

Defective Products
Either due to flaws in the product’s design or the failure to abide by appropriate production procedures, defective goods, can lead to the death of the product’s owner or operator. This is especially true for childcare gear and dangerous toys, which can cause death or harm to the children of a family.

Criminal Activity
The wrongful death litigation is an independent legal action and will not demand that the defendant be found guilty by a criminal court.
No matter which one of the 5 leading reasons for wrongful death a family has been victimized by, by getting settlement that is effective in a wrongful death lawsuit, proficient legal assistance is required. A family which has suffered a wrongful death should immediately contact the law firm of Haug Law Group as a way to ensure that their case will receive the seasoned aid it deserves.

Types of Working Surroundings Prone to Slip and Fall Injuries

People with home safety concept

Every employer has a legal duty to ensure the workplace is safe for their workers and customers alike. Nevertheless, many kinds of working environments prone to slip and fall accidents are not correctly maintained, resulting in the danger that customers workers, and visitors may suffer death or injury from an avoidable slip-and-fall accident. It is therefore vital that you comprehend what types of work environments pose the most dangers for these types of injuries.

The Essence of Slip and Fall Accidents
Based on the U.S. Department of Labor, slip and fall accidents account for over 16,000 fatalities every year. Non-fatal injuries coming from these mishaps include contusions, brain injuries and fractured and broken bones.

High Risk Working Environments
The most typical kinds of working environments prone to slip and fall injuries are those that require any kind of physical labour. Working in a warehouse, industrial plant or retail store can expose workers and customers to danger. One of the most typical reasons for a slip-and-fall accident are the following:
— Slick or wet surfaces, particularly floors and stairway.
— Improperly secured work equipment, including ladders and loading ramps.
— Insufficient lighting in work or walk areas.
— Improper training in safety procedures and equipment.

Retail Marketplaces
Retail markets, which range from supermarkets to warehouse design shops, pose a high risk of slip and fall injuries. Workers regularly fail to properly post warnings around hazards such as equipment that is unsecured or slippery floors. These institutions also have a large number of customers present, which can drastically raise the probability of an accident.

Industrial Plants
Industrial plants often have work areas that suffer from low lighting and high noise levels. This makes it very likely that workers may suffer from a slip-and-fall injury due to being unable hear warnings from their fellow workers or to see an obstacle. Moreover, many managers fail to ensure that that all workplace safety regulations are followed by their workers. Building Sites Construction sites can be especially prone to slip and fall injuries. In addition, many building sites are in regions with poor lighting and rough terrain, making these kinds of injuries even more likely.

Eventually, due to the number of person contractors working at most construction sites, the enforcement of national and state security regulations can be irregular. It’s important to immediately seek out powerful legal assistance, when a slip and fall accident happens. They can receive compensation for any injuries or other damages suffered due to the accident in case the injury was due to neglect on the part of supervisors or the employee’s coworkers.

The law firm of Haug Law Group is experienced in handling slip-and-fall cases. The firm’s attorneys can assist his or her legal alternatives are understood by the sufferer of this kind of injury. Anyone who has suffered a slip-and-fall injury should immediately contact the law offices of Haug Law Group for a consultation regarding their particular case.

Data on Where Most Automobile Accidents Take Place

Sadly, they’re subsequently subjected to the risk of an accident in the hands of a negligent driver, which can result in damage to their care, harm or death. Nevertheless, in order to effectively protect themselves, it is important that passengers and drivers likewise know about the data on where most automobile accidents take place.

Where do Most Car Accidents Occur?
Generally speaking, although an auto accident can occur at any given moment and place, statistics on where most automobile accidents take place show that the three most common areas where a car crash will probably happen are the immediate neighborhood, parking lots, as well as the driver’s daily commute to and from work. Are these the areas where most motorists spend most of their time, but they are also the areas which are likely to see meetings with negligent or preoccupied drivers.

Driving Near Home
According to some insurance surveys, at least 52 percent of all accidents occur within five miles of the motorist’s dwelling. Additionally, residential areas might not have streetlights or traffic control signs, especially in old neighborhoods. Finally, drivers are most commonly in these neighborhoods at the beginning or ending of the workday, when their attention is likely to be distracted by other issues.

Parking Lots and Accidents
An extensive range of injuries happen in the parking lots in America. Low speed crashes are typical in these areas because many drivers are distracted. Furthermore, the presence of a significant number of pedestrians, a lot of whom aren’t paying attention to their surroundings, raises the possibility of an injury. While many injuries in a parking lot are not major, the potential for injury or death at the hands of a negligent motorist is a serious danger for pedestrians and vehicle occupants alike.

The Daily Commute
Most morning and evening commuters face busy roads and defeated or tired drivers. Due to this, auto accidents can be very common, especially during periods of inclement weather.
Data on where most car accidents take place reveal that a motorist should be mindful at all times when behind the wheel. However, should a negligent motorist cause an injury, then the victim should promptly get legal aid that is proficient. This is particularly significant for instances where an accident has resulted in severe harm or death. Due to this, it’s imperative that people who’ve been engaged in an accident immediately contact the law offices of Haug Law Group as a way to determine what their legal alternatives are.

Accident Compensation Lawyers

If you or a loved one are injured in an accident, many types of compensation may be available regardless of whether the injury is caused by a car wreck, premises liability incident (such as a “slip and fall“), or medical malpractice. This article will generally discuss a few of the major types of compensation that an accident victim may legally recover.

Obviously, because an injured person will need medical care, medical expenses are the most commonly-claimed form of compensation. A claimant may recover the costs of treatment from a hospital, doctor, ambulance, chiropractor, physical therapist, pharmacy or other similar medical provider. These costs are usually relatively simple to determine because the patient will receive a bill.

There are two important things to remember about compensation for medical costs. First, a claimant may recover not just the cost of medical care already received, but also the cost of future medical care, as long as the claimant can prove it is more likely than not that they will receive that treatment in the future.  For example, if a doctor agrees that a claimant will probably need a future surgery for accident-related injuries, the claimant has a good argument that the cost of the surgery should be recovered now.  Second, a claimant may recover the amount of his or her medical bills even if they were paid by health insurance or some other source.  This rule is based on the idea that a defendant who injures someone else should not be allowed to “take credit” for payments made by someone else.

Lost wages are also recoverable.  If an accident has left someone unable to work, he or she can seek compensation for the income they lost as a result.  Another type of compensation similar to this is that for “loss of future earnings“ or “diminished earning capacity.”  This refers to situations where a claimant’s injuries will prevent him or her from returning to work at their full pre-accident capacity.

Most people have heard of compensation for “pain and suffering.”  Unlike medical bills or lost wages, there is no set formula to determine the dollar amount of a person’s pain and suffering, so a jury must determine the amount.   This is why this type of compensation is often referred to as “non-economic damages.”  Insurance companies often fight hard on this issue.  An experienced personal injury attorney knows how best to convince an insurance company that a jury is likely to award a large amount for pain and suffering.

While the types of accident compensation discussed here are the most common, there are other types a claimant may recover.  This is why it is in an injured person’s best interest to hire an experienced car accident attorney.  If you or a loved one have been injured in an accident, do not try to go it alone.  Consult an attorney in your area to ensure that you have the best chance of recovering all the compensation to which you are entitled.

Statute of Limitations

Every personal injury lawsuit must be brought within a limited amount of time of an injury under the Georgia Statute of Limitations.  The Statute of Limitations limits the amount of time that a plaintiff may bring a lawsuit.  If the plaintiff fails to bring his or her lawsuit within the time allowed by the Statute of Limitations, then the lawsuit is forever barred and the plaintiff may never recover.

The Georgia General Assembly enacted the Statute of Limitations to prevent the unfairness that would occur if defendants were forced to defend lawsuits years after the injury occurred.  Over time, documents are lost and memories fade, meaning that the jury has a more difficult time discovering the actual truth.  The law favors stability.  By requiring that all lawsuits be brought within a certain amount of time, the law ensures that the best quality evidence and testimony is available to discover the truth.

There are certain instances when the court will “toll” or extend the amount of time to bring a lawsuit under the Statute of Limitations.  The purpose of this is to protect those who either do not have the mental capability to bring a lawsuit or do not have access to the courts.  This means that in certain limited situations, the Statute of Limitations period can be extended for minors for example.  If the plaintiff does not qualify under one of these extremely limited circumstances, then a failure to bring suit in the Limitations period will lead to a forever loss of any right to recover.

The time to file a lawsuit under the statute of limitations may also be extended by the amount of time it takes the plaintiff to discover the injury.  This is most common in medical malpractice cases where the plaintiff does not realize that some procedure caused an injury until the symptoms of that injury begin to develop.  To prevent doctors from having to defend lawsuits in the future, the legislature has adopted a statute of repose – meaning the lawsuit will still be barred even if the injury is not discovered well into the future.

Finally, if the plaintiff’s potential lawsuit is against a government entity (whether local, state or federal), the plaintiff is required to give ante litem notice soon after the injury.  Ante litem notice is an official notice to the government that a lawsuit is coming.  Failure to send the ante litem notice to the correct government entity containing the appropriate language soon after the injury will forever bar the plaintiff’s right of recovery against the government.  A plaintiff with a potential case against any government entity needs to speak with a plaintiff’s lawyer immediately.

Ultimately, the Statute of Limitations serves to prevent defendants from fearing a lawsuit after a period of time in the future.  The Statute of Limitations, however, can forever take away a plaintiff’s right to sue if he or she does not act quickly.  Call a knowledgeable personal injury lawyer immediately to make sure your rights are protected from the Statute of Limitations deadline.

Damages in a Personal Injury Law Suit

When I was kid, I had my first experience with the American Tort System.  I was in a car accident. I knew at that moment that I wanted to dedicate my life to the pursuit of civil justice for those wronged by the actions of another as a civil tort lawyer.

The word tort comes from the French word for “injury” or “wrong.”  For centuries, civilizations have struggled to create the best system for civil justice.  In ancient times, civil law required “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.”  In other words, if your actions caused another person to lose their leg, then the authorities would cut off your leg too.  Luckily, the courts no longer apply this concept.  Today, justice in the American Tort System is given in the form of money damages.

No system is perfect.  Nothing will bring back the lost family member, restore the paraplegic’s ability to walk after a bad car accident, or take away a parent’s emotional pain of seeing their child suffer, but in the United States, the civil justice system aims to provide justice and compensation for individuals in their time of greatest need by awarding money damages.

Damages come in two distinctly different types.  First, damages can be used to compensate a person for their loss – these are called compensatory damages. Second, damages can also be used to punish and deter those individuals who have a complete disregard for the consequences of their actions.  These damages are called punitive damages.  Although rare, a court can award punitive damages when the responsible party’s actions are intentional or wantonness.

Given the nature of the America Tort System, the insurance system naturally developed in response.  Insurance allows individuals and companies to minimize their risk by pooling themselves with others.  Understand that when settling a case for their insured, the insurance company may not have the injured party’s best interests at heart.  Instead, the insurance company could be looking to pay the least amount possible.  Generally, a person only receives all the compensation he or she deserves through an effective attorney who knows the value of the case and the appropriate strategies for negotiation with the insurance company.

In our firm, we have dedicated our practice to helping those individuals get the compensation they deserve from the American Tort System.  Juries have given our clients record verdicts of both compensatory and punitive damages.  Since the day I was in my accident, nothing has given me greater personal satisfaction than getting a client a great settlement or jury verdict.  I know that I am making that client’s life a little better by helping them cope during the most difficult time of their life.

DISCLAIMER:  The above article is provided for information purposes only and is not intended to be, nor should it be considered, legal advice.  Legal advice can only be given by a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction following an individualized consultation.  If you are seeking legal advice, please contact an attorney in your area.

Devastating Medical Malpractice Cases

Disastrous medical malpractice can result in long-term impairment or even death for its victims. Because of this, people who have suffered expected medical malpractice can get damages for their injuries. By procuring an experienced Atlanta, GA lawyer for his or her family and devastating medical malpractice cases the victim will probably manage to start the process of recovering from their injuries.

What exactly is Catastrophic Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice occurs when the patient suffers death or harm as a result of neglect of his or her healthcare providers.
— Failing to quickly treat the patient’s health state, resulting in avoidable health issues.
— Failing to correctly diagnose the patient’s health dilemmas.
— Prescribing or administering incorrect medication to the individual.
— Failing to properly supervise nurses and other health care providers during the patient’s recovery.
— Perpetrating egregious mistakes during a surgical procedure.
In all these cases, the patient will most likely endure long-term unwanted side effects from her or his maltreatment. These effects may include the need to tolerate other medical procedures as a way to rectify the mistakes in treatment, long term disability, and sometimes, death. Oftentimes, the worst symptoms might not show until sometime after the treatment, making it crucial the victim consult with an attorney skilled in developing a convincing malpractice case.

Kinds of Compensation

When an individual suffers from devastating medical malpractice, she or he is able to get compensation from the court. In general, malpractice compensation is divided into actual damages and punitive damages.

Actual Damages

This group includes a wide range of components, as well as the casualty may receive reimbursement for the following types of damage:
— The prices of any present or future clinical treatment the victim must receive, including long-term rehabilitation or care.
— Compensation for lost wages and work opportunities.
— In Case the victim is crippled or killed, his or her family can receive damages for any lost companionship and support from their loved one.

Because estimating the correct amount of real damages to maintain might be a very complex issue, it’s important to really have a lawyer present who can effectively present the court with the victim’s case.

Punitive Damages

Punitive damages are inflicted in cases of egregious negligence or actual malice. These damages can be visited on more than one individual or group. As an example, a hospital that failed to remove an alcoholic employee would be responsible for punitive damages as a result of its failure. Most of the time, the defendant present wills convince to settle out of court, getting rid of the need for a long and stressful trial.

Victims of catastrophic medical malpractice in Atlanta can seek compensation for long-term injuries or death. Haug Barron Law Group can aid in recovering actual and punitive damages. Contact us for expert legal assistance.

Obtain Punitive Damages in Court: Guidance from a Georgia Lawyer

There are all types of injuries that could happen and, consequently, there are several various levels of compensation which can be sought after suffering from someone else’s actions. Typically, injured people will need to seek damages for medical bills related to an injury, reimbursement for lost wages from work and compensation for suffering and pain. What many wounded victims do not realize is that they may additionally be capable to include punitive damages in a personal injury suit.

What Are Punitive Damages?
Punitive damages are intended to serve as a deterrent and a punishment. Punitive damages are frequently sought in lawsuits that involve harms caused by businesses or large organizations as a way to send the message that standards or the practices that resulted in the injuries involved are not adequate and should be changed. A business that does not supply regular safety inspections of its own facilities could be involved by an example of a scenario in which punitive damages might be sought. If an employee or visitor of such facilities is injured due to a collapsed roof, the injured person may contain punitive damages in his or her suit. This really is achieved to punish the firm for its neglect and to send a message to the business and its particular business that neglecting to provide regular, appropriate security inspections WOn’t be tolerated. The hope then is that standards will probably be raised across the board as a way to prevent potential injuries to others later on.

Should You Seek Punitive Damages?
If you and your attorney deem them necessary, punitive damages should be sought. Also, punitive damages should not be taken lightly and not punitive damages given will be seen by all cases. There are various reasons such damages wouldn’t be awarded, including claims that are frivolous, and seeking punitive damages may end up damaging your case and your credibility if they’re unwarranted. It is of crucial significance to talk to a personal injury attorney before seeking such damages to be able to maximize your potential for success and settlement.

Receive Answers from an Expert
In the Atlanta area and beyond, people turn to James R. Haug, of the Haug Law Group, for seasoned guidance when seeking punitive damages after an injury.