Marietta Injury Lawyer Blog

As a University of Georgia graduate I thought it appropriate to post a tribute to the late great Larry Munson. As most already know, Larry passed away Sunday evening at the age of 89. Munson served more than forty years as the broadcaster for UGA football, and is remembered by many to be the best to ever to call the game. In 1994, Munson was inducted into the Georgia Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. In 2005, he claimed a spot in the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame. Two years ago, he was inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame.

Prior to becoming a broadcaster he served in World War II as a medic, and during the war saved enough to enroll in a Minneapolis radio broadcasting school. Larry first began to handle the radio play-by-play for the Bulldogs in 1966 and did so through the 2008 season. Munson was a true bulldog, from 1966 to 2007 Munson amazingly missed only one game when he was recuperating from back surgery in 1990.

Even though Munson hasn't called a game since 2008, I still find myself turning on the
radio waiting to hear his one of a kind voice. There is simply no one who can call a game the way Munson did. Larry Munson will be greatly missed and the Bulldog Nation was lucky to have him for so many years. You were a damn good dawg Larry!

Everyone has the favorite Munson quote, but this has to be mine. This is Larry's famous
"Hobnail Boot" call after the 2001 victory over Tennessee.

CooperVision Inc. announced this week they are expanding a recall first issued in August and are recalling more than five million contact lenses. The contacts were sold under the brand name Avaira, and are being recalled because they may be tainted with silicone oil residue that could result in blurred vision, eye injuries, and severe pain. The recall comes after the FDA issued a Class I warning about the lenses last month. Class I warnings are the most serious warning issued and involve problems in which there is a reasonable chance of serious health consequences or death.

By the end of October the FDA had received more than forty reports of problems associated with the contact lenses. According to the FDA, at least fifteen of the lenses were sold under the Avaira Toric label, and at least two were sold under the brand name Avaira Sphere. Avaira Toric users have reported a wide range of problems with the lenses, from hazy vision to the much more serious condition of torn corneas that require emergency surgery.

Some Product Liability Attorneys have accused CooperVision of issuing a "stealth recall" that did not properly alert many consumers to the possible danger.The FDA apparently agrees and has said that the company should have put more effort into making customers of the recall.

Consumers with problems or questions related to the recalls should contact the company at 855-526-6737. CooperVision says it has reached out to affected consumers to ensure their safety. The company says they are cooperating fully with the FDA, and as of now they are unaware of any permanent damage caused by the lenses.

Joplin, Missouri was destroyed by an EF-5 tornado in late May of this year. The storm resulted in at least 160 deaths and more than 900 injuries in the small town. One of those injured was Mark Lindquist, a social worker who risked his life in an effort to save three developmentally disabled adults during the storm.

On the day of the storm, Lindquist had just driven the three men to a group home when the tornado warning sirens went off. Without any time to carry the men to safety, Lindquist put a mattress over the men and laid on top of it for their added protection.

Lindquist was found after the storm buried in rubble with large chunks of flesh torn off, and impaled by a piece of metal. Mark was in a coma for three days, and the injuries to his body were so severe that it had become swollen and unrecognizable. Lindquist hospital bills totaled more than $2.5 million, and he requires 11 daily prescriptions as a result of the injuries he sustained.

Though this is an amazingly heroic story, Lindquist's worker's compensation insurance company, Accident Fund Insurance Company of America was not impressed by Mr. Lindquist's actions, and initially decided to deny his claim commenting that he was at no greater risk than the general public at the time he was involved in the Joplin tornado.

Continue reading "Workers Compensation Insurance Company Initially Denies Claim of Man Injured While Risking His Life for Others During Tornado" »

At some point you or someone you know has probably flashed their headlights into oncoming traffic to warn them of an upcoming speed trap, and probably never worried about the fact there may be a crime being committed. But is it really illegal? This situation is exactly what got Erich Campbell, a college student from Land O' Lakes, Florida, ticketed in December of 2009. Though Mr. Campbell felt he was just being helpful, the Florida Highway Patrol did not share his sentiment, and wrote him a citation for flashing his lights to warn oncoming of traffic of a speed trap. He told the Florida Highway Patrol at the time that he had no idea providing a warning to fellow motorist was a violation of any laws.

After researching the situation, Mr. Campbell decided he was not going to take the ticket lying down, and felt what he did was completely permissible under the law. In September he filed a lawsuit on his own behalf, as well as for every other in driver in Florida ticketed for the same violation over the previous six years. The lawsuit accused police of misinterpreting state law and violating motorists' free speech rights. He further claimed that there was no law on the books that would prevent him from warning other motorist of police up ahead. Campbell's attorney said he felt that police were misinterpreting a law that's meant to ban drivers from having strobe lights in their cars or official looking blue police lights. Campbell said that most of the tickets that were issued were, "Frustrated police officers who feel they were disrespected. When someone comes along and rats them out, they take offense to it."

Continue reading "Is it Illegal to Flash Your Headlights at Other Motorist to Warn of Speed Traps? Florida Man Wins Suit that Allows Motorists to Flash Lights " »

An Atlanta area man was stunned last week when the air bag in his 2008 Honda Accord deployed unexpectedly. Chris Androvic said he was driving his car under normal conditions when his airbags exploded in Forsyth County last Monday afternoon. Androvic was traveling in heavy afternoon traffic when the air bags above his head and his seat inexplicably deployed.

Surprisingly, a local Honda dealership said that the problem was his responsibility. Adrovic says they gave him a bill for over $5,000, as there were no recalls in place for this type of defect in Honda Accords making the damage his responsibility. But Adrovic, through his research on safecar.gov, found dozens of complaints specifically of other 2008 Honda Accord owners for similar incidents.

Honda responded to the situation with a letter stating that, "Neither NHTSA or Honda have initiated any recall action." Adding that, "Customarily, a recall would be initiated only when a defect has been observed in many cases . . ." Though Honda said they will continue to carefully monitor the situation.

Continue reading "Atlanta Driver Surprised by Unexpected Airbag Deployment " »

State Farm Insurance made an interesting decision when they recently asked a family to pay for repairing a broken bumper after their dog was struck by a vehicle and killed. Kim Flemming's 12 year-old yellow Labrador Jake was struck by the vehicle in the family's quite neighborhood just outside of Aurora, Ontario. Ms. Flemming had just gotten home from work when a man came to the door to let her know he had run over the family pet. "I got to the road and he was dying," Fleming told local media. "He died in my arms."

Just as the Flemming's were beginning to get over the tragedy they received a bill from State Farm insurance in the amount $1,648.95 for the man's bumper who ran over Jake. The letter, that included five pages of documentation and three pages of photographs, said that through their investigation they determined Ms. Flemming to be "100-per-cent responsible" for the damage to the vehicle, and stated, "As such, we are looking to you for reimbursement." The bill included costs for parts and labor for replacing the bumper, as well as the cost of the rental car for the person who ran over Jake. State Farm spokesman John Bordigon responded to media questions over the bill with little compassion stating, "They could have made sure their dog wasn't free on the roadway."

Continue reading "After Dog is Run Over and Killed, Family Receives Bill for Bumper Damage From State Farm" »