If you are injured on someone else’s property, the owner may be liable for negligence. This is known in Georgia as “premises liability.” A common type of premises liability occurs when a customer slips and falls in a store due to a hazardous condition. If the store had “superior knowledge”…
Personal injury claims are not always based on accidents or direct actions by a negligent party. In so-called toxic tort cases, for instance, a defendant may be held liable for a hazardous health condition that contributes to a victim’s injuries. In such cases, a plaintiff must establish causation through expert…
Negligence exists under Georgia law whenever a person breaches a “legal duty to conform” to a specified legal standard, and as a result, another person suffers an injury or loss. In the context of a car accident, for example, a person may be negligent if he or she fails to…
Georgia law prohibits individuals from carrying “weapons” in any public school. There are exceptions for law enforcement who need to carry firearms in carrying out their official duties. But the Georgia legislature has made it clear that schools are supposed to be “gun free zones.” Boatright v. Copeland There was…
In a Georgia car accident case, a negligent driver may be liable for punitive damages if there is “clear and convincing evidence” of “willful misconduct, malice, fraud, wantonness, oppression, or that entire want of care which would raise the presumption of conscious indifference to consequences.” For example, if the negligent…
Litigation is not uncommon following an auto accident. In many cases, the parties can still settle their dispute without the need for a full-blown jury trial. But before agreeing to any settlement, it is essential each party understands what rights they may be giving up. A settlement is a contract,…
Punitive damages are designed to punish a defendant in a personal injury lawsuit. Unlike economic damages, which are supposed to compensate the plaintiff for his or her losses, punitive damages are meant to have a deterrent effect on an especially irresponsible defendant. To that end, under Georgia law a jury…
Under Georgia law, the estate and surviving family members of a deceased individual may file a wrongful death lawsuit against any party whose negligence contributed to the death. Wrongful death cases are rarely simple matters. They often raise complex legal questions that can delay a final adjudication. Sturgess v. OA…
We often hear about cases in which a person is injured in an accident due to a defect in the manufacturing of a car. But there are also cases in which someone may be injured due to an improper repair made to a car. As with manufacturing and design defects,…
If you are injured in an accident and the other driver lacks sufficient insurance to cover any damages, you may turn to your insurance policy’s uninsured motorist coverage. But what happens if you are eligible for uninsured motorist coverage under two different insurance policies? Which policy has priority? The Georgia…