A business owner has a duty under Georgia law to exercise “ordinary care” in maintaining a safe premises for customers. This does not mean a business owner is liable for any and all safety hazards on the premises. Rather, it means an owner who has “superior knowledge” of a hazard…
Not all motor vehicle accidents include an automobile or truck. Off-road or all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) are involved of hundreds of accidents and fatalities each year. The staff of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently released a report on ATV accidents that took place between 1982 and 2012. The…
According to the American Humane Association, nearly 50% of dog attacks in the United States each year involve children under the age of 12. Bite rates tend to be higher for younger children. Young boys are also more susceptible to dog bites than girls. Georgia law holds the owner of…
In a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit, it is not enough to show the defendant was at fault for the plaintiff’s injuries. Under Georgia law, a plaintiff cannot recover damages if he or she is “50 percent or more responsible” for the injuries suffered. The question of responsibility is…
In civil cases, such as personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits, a jury must determine the defendant’s liability and what damages, if any, are owed the plaintiff. Juries must reach a unanimous verdict on both issues. And while unanimity may require a certain level of bargaining among jurors, there are…
General Motors recently issued a sweeping recall for a more than 2.5 million vehicles sold between 2005 and 2011. The recall includes the Chevrolet Cobalt, Pontiac G5, Saturn Ion, Chevrolet HHR, Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky models. According to GM, the vehicles have a defective ignition switch that affects the…
Medical malpractice occurs when a physician fails to observe a commonly accepted “standard of care” and that failure is the “proximate cause” of a subsequent injury sustained by the patient. The question of causation is normally decided by a jury. If a plaintiff fails to provide any evidence of either…
Most hotels and motels are affiliated with a national brand such as Hilton or Marriott. This means that individual hotels are owned and operated locally but comply with certain standards imposed by the national brand. Recently, the Georgia Court of Appeals considered the issue of whether a national brand could…
What happens when you get in an automobile accident where the other driver is never identified? If you have uninsured motorist coverage, your insurer should cover the damages. Georgia law defines a vehicle as uninsured when “the owner or operator of the motor vehicle is unknown.” But there must be…
Process matters when bringing a personal injury lawsuit. This goes double when the defendant is a state government agency. The Georgia Tort Claims Act (GTCA) governs personal injury lawsuits against the state for torts committed by its employees. Normally any government enjoys “sovereign immunity” from lawsuits in its own courts.…