Georgia Personal Injury Blog

Can I File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit Claiming Medical Malpractice?

By Grant Law Office on September 21, 2011

In Georgia, a medical malpractice claim is defined as any claim for damages that have resulted from the injury or death of any person caused by a healthcare professional’s or facility’s service, diagnosis, treatment, prescription or other care. A medical malpractice claim allows for a family to sue for losses and damages caused by the death of their loved one.

Knowing that it is possible to file a medical malpractice wrongful death claim is the first step, but knowing when to file a medical malpractice claim in Georgia is equally important. Generally, an action for medical malpractice must be brought no more than two years after the initial date of injury or death.Read more…

Preventing Intersection Accidents in Georgia

By Grant Law Office on September 19, 2011

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 2009 Traffic Safety Facts, there were 2,210,000 intersection and intersection-related accidents across the nation that year. This is an alarming number considering many intersections have some type of traffic control device, whether it is a traffic signal or stop sign. In fact, 1,158,000 of these accidents occurred in the presence of a traffic signal. Why, when there are laws and devices in place to facilitate an organized flow of traffic, are so many people involved in intersection accidents? The answer to this question is a simple, yet disheartening one: negligence and disregard for traffic laws and the safety of others.

Every state, including Georgia, experiences a large number of intersection accidents. Unfortunately, because intersections involve multiple lanes of traffic that are traveling in multiple directions as well as crosswalks for pedestrians, these crashes tend to be more severe. Even though you can’t control the actions of others on the road, there are a few safety tips that you can follow to help minimize the risk that you will be involved in a Georgia intersection accident:Read more…

What are the Legal Size and Weight Limits for Tractor-Trailers in Georgia?

By Grant Law Office on September 16, 2011

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), a large truck weighs more than 10,000 pounds and may either be a single-unit vehicle or a combination vehicle of a single-unit pulling one or more trailers. Although any truck weighing more than 10,000 pounds may be categorized as a large truck, most large trucks on the road tend to weigh much more than that. A large truck’s size and weight limitations are governed by both federal and state laws as there are both interstate and intrastate highway systems in Georgia.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) limits commercial trucks to a gross vehicle weight of 80,000 pounds on the interstate highway system. However, the gross vehicle weight is not the only limit. The weight distribution over the axles and wheels are also specified to prevent overloading and improper loading, which can cause the truck and trailer to rollover. Additional interstate size restrictions include a width of 102 inches and a maximum length of 780 inches (65 feet) or 900 inches (75 feet) as determined by the trailer connection. Although there is no federally imposed height restriction, most large trucks follow the 13.6 or 14.6 foot standard.Read more…

Amputation and Fall Hazards Prompt CPSC Recall of Phil & Teds USA Table-Top Clip-on Chairs

By Grant Law Office on September 9, 2011

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has announced the voluntary recall of 54,000 “Metoo” Clip-on Chairs by Colorado-based Phil & Teds USA Inc. due to reports of fall and amputation injuries. There have been 19 reports of the chair falling from a variety of table surfaces, including 5 reported injuries. An additional three reports documented bruising injuries and two more documented children’s fingers being severely pinched, crushed, lacerated, or amputated.

Injury Causes

These injury hazards are caused by missing or worn clamp pads which can cause the chairs to detach from the table inadvertently. Furthermore, children’s fingers can be caught between the clamping mechanism and cross bar, posing an amputation hazard. The user instructions are also considered inadequate.Read more…

Georgia Sees Fewer Labor Day Weekend Traffic Fatalities This Year

By Grant Law Office on September 8, 2011

Holiday weekends, like Labor Day, have traditionally been some of the most dangerous and deadly for motorists. There is not only an increase in the amount of traffic on the roads, but also an increased number of drunk drivers. This year, fortunately, did not live up to last year’s Labor Day reputation, however.

According to the Alpharetta-Milton Patch, the Georgia Department of Public Safety (DPS) counted seven traffic fatalities, across all agencies, this last Labor Day weekend. This number is half of the number of fatalities in 2010. During the 78-hour Labor Day time period, there were 435 accidents and 225 injuries across the state of Georgia, based solely on data from the Georgia State Patrol (GSP). The Georgia State Patrol attributes the decrease in fatalities, in part, to tropical storm Lee, which seems to have kept people off Georgia roads during the holiday weekend.Read more…

Mesothelioma Diagnosis and Treatment

By Grant Law Office on August 24, 2011

In last week’s blog post, we discussed the various signs and symptoms of mesothelioma. This week’s blog post is the final installment in our 3-part blog series and discusses the diagnostic process and treatment options for malignant mesothelioma.

Diagnosis

Because the symptoms of mesothelioma are also the symptoms for other conditions, it is often difficult to obtain a conclusive diagnosis right away. A physician will consider various diagnostic factors even before any imaging tests to screen for the disease. These factors include:Read more…

Signs and Symptoms of Mesothelioma

By Grant Law Office on August 17, 2011

In last week’s blog article, we discussed the basics of mesothelioma, including its definition and some historical background. This week, we continue our 3-part blog series with our second installment, covering the common signs and symptoms of malignant mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma is difficult to diagnose. The early signs and symptoms of the cancer can be very subtle or even mistaken for those of another condition, making it difficult to catch mesothelioma early-on. In addition, a person will not exhibit symptoms for 15 to 50 years after asbestos exposure, when the cancer has already developed, making it very difficult to make any connection between symptoms and disease.Read more…

Protecting Your Child by Understanding Child Injuries

By Grant Law Office on August 15, 2011

The fun of being a child is running, jumping, playing, and trying new things, but, because they are young and still developing, children tend to do these things in clumsy or awkward ways. Every parent has experienced their child coming home with a new bruise or scrape. Minor colds, fevers and infections are also common. Children usually bounce back easily from such minor issues, but some child injuries and illnesses are not caused by a child’s innocent curiosity or clumsiness. The negligence and/or wrongdoing of others can also cause children’s injuries and these are not always so easy to recover from.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):Read more…

What is Malignant Mesothelioma?

By Grant Law Office on August 12, 2011

The Atlanta mesothelioma attorneys at The Law Offices of Wayne Grant, P.C., understand the dangers of mesothelioma and why it is inexcusable that so many should suffer from it. In an effort to raise awareness of this devastating cancer, we will be posting a 3-part weekly blog series, where we will be providing valuable information concerning mesothelioma, including its definition, types, causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. Today’s article covers its basics and even a bit of history.

Definition

According to the American Cancer Society, malignant mesothelioma is a cancer that develops in the body’s mesothelial cells, which are found in the lining of certain parts of the body, such as the chest and abdomen. Mesolthelioma is most often caused by exposure to or inhalation of asbestos dust and fibers.Read more…

Bureau of Labor Statistics Releases 2010 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Late August

By Grant Law Office on August 11, 2011

According to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration’s (OSHA) online magazine, Occupational Health & Safety, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is set to release its 2010 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) later this month, on August 25. Previous statistics have shown a trend of decreasing fatalities in connection to the economic recession, especially in construction. Many are curious as to whether this trend continued through 2010.

According to previous CFOI reports, occupational fatalities had dropped dramatically in 2009 from those in 2008 as the result of the weakened economy. In 2009, there were about 4,340 worker fatalities, which was a 17 percent drop from the final 5,214 in 2008. The number of fatalities in 2009 was the lowest preliminary annual count in the CFOI’s history. The greatest decline in fatalities was in construction.Read more…