Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

(6) In Fulton County State Court, a jury awarded a Plaintiff $5,835,000.00 in wrongful death and pain and suffering damages in a auto-accident involving a drunk driver.

* Lawyer Richard Griffin: This case involves a wrongful death claim which means the family or estate recovered for the value of the victims life. The value of a life is determined by the jury and includes both economic (lost income over the projected life of the victim) and the non-economic damages (value of the life to the family and community). This case also involved a drunk driver which creates punitive damage exposure. Punitive damage is a damage to punish the defendant for actions that are not only negligent, but also, show a reckless disregard for human life."

Continue reading " $5,835,000 Georgia Jury Verdict for Wrongful Death Caused By DUI Driver " »

Attorney Richard Griffin specializes in personal injury and wrongful death claims. As a part of his practice, he routinely monitors Georgia jury verdicts in order to better serve his clients and to inform the public on the potential value of their personal injury, wrongful death, worker’s compensation, and social security claims. Jury verdict research helps in two important ways. First, it allows the personal injury and wrongful death attorney to educate the client regarding the likely value of his or her claim. Second, it allows the experienced personal injury lawyer and wrongful death lawyer to negotiate higher settlements from the adjuster and defense attorneys by providing evidence of how much a jury verdict would likely be for a specific case.

One source of jury verdict research is The Georgia Trial Reporter. According to The Georgia Trial Reporter, Vol. 21, Issue(s) 8, 11, for June and September 2009, several civil juries returned high dollar verdicts in several Georgia counties for cases involving personal injury claims and wrongful death claims. Some of these cases involved truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, and car-wrecks which involved head-on collisions, t-bone collisions, and rear-end collisions. Some of these cases also involved drivers who were distracted by cell phone use or even DUI (driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs).

Some of the recent large settlements published in The Georgia Trial Reporter include:

(1) In Bulloch County Superior Court, a jury awarded a Plaintiff $1,160,000.00 for pain and suffering and $75,000.00 for loss of consortium damages in a trucking accident.

(2) In Chatham County State Court, a jury awarded a Plaintiff $90,000.00 for damages suffered in an auto-accident when the Defendant rear-ended the Plaintiff’s vehicle, while picking up a cell phone.

(3) In Clayton County State Court, a jury awarded a Plaintiff 17,716,401.00 in compensatory damages for an auto-accident involving a head-on collision and a design defect.

(4) In DeKalb County State Court, a jury awarded a Plaintiff $6,100,000.00 for damages suffered when the Defendant negligently inserted a needle into the Plaintiff’s neck causing pain and limited paralysis.

(5) In DeKalb County State Court, a jury awarded a Plaintiff $1,300,000.00 in wrongful death damages resulting from an interstate auto-accident.

(6) In Fulton County State Court, a jury awarded a Plaintiff $5,835,000.00 in wrongful death and pain and suffering damages in a auto-accident involving a drunk driver.

Great jury verdicts usually involve plaintiffs who are like-able and believable, as well as, injuries that are serious. The pain and suffering damages are determined by the jury and often include permanent restrictions on the injured victim's personal or work activities. Jurors are often extremely motivated by the testimony of before and after witnesses who describe how the plaintiff's life was disrupted by the injures. Before and after witnesses that can describe the negative impact on the plaintiff from different view points and with specific details work best. For example a neighbor who explains how they no longer can job or exercise with the plaintiff is much more effective than someone who just says the plaintiff was generally less active. Good before and after witnesses can include family members, friends, co-workers, and any one else that has had significant contact with the plaintiff.

Continue reading " Recent Big Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Verdicts In Georgia " »

In recent months, the public has watched Toyota’s seemingly innocent story about slipping floor mats unravel into a story about known mechanical defects that endangered the lives of millions of drivers. Attorney Richard Griffin has spent his entire professional legal career handling personal injury, wrongful death, worker’s compensation, and social security claims, and Attorney Richard Griffin is closely monitoring Toyota’s major safety recall.

According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration(NHTSA) website, on February 09, 2010, the NHTSA released a Consumer Advisory for Toyota owners, for gas pedal entrapment by floor mats and sticky gas pedals for most of Toyota’s vehicle line-up for models ranging from 2005 to 2010. If you are an owner of an affected vehicle, Attorney Richard Griffin advises you to follow the NHTSA advisory.

On February 16, 2010, the NHTSA posted a news release announcing a probe into the timeliness of Toyota’s recent recalls. The probe involves three recalls for Toyota and Lexus vehicles, including the September 26, 2007 and October 6, 2009, recalls related to the entrapment of gas pedals by floor mats which were expanded on January 29, 2010, and the January 21, 2010, recall for sticking gas pedals. According to David Strickland, an administrator for the NHSTA, “our top priority is safety and we expect that all manufacturers address safety issues quickly and in a forthright manner.”

According to a USAToday.com report, Toyota is the first automaker to be involved in a major safety recall since stricter criminal penalties were enacted following the Ford Explorer rollover recalls over a decade ago. The above mentioned NHTSA press release also announced that if the NHTSA finds that Toyota has “violated its statutory obligations, the manufacturer could be liable for a maximum of $16.4 million in civil penalties.” However, Attorney Richard Griffin notes that it is sometimes difficult to uncover all of the evidence needed for civil penalties so it will be very interesting to see how this Toyota investigation pans out.

According to a USAToday.com report, the stricter criminal and civil penalties may have had the unintended consequence of automakers purposely limiting the number of test results or conclusions that are put into writing by company engineers. Attorney Richard Griffin believes such practices hamper the ability of a victim of an automaker’s negligence to recover damages in court.

Recently, Attorney Richard Griffin read a report that further strengthened his suspicions. According to a CNN.com report, a former Toyota in-house counsel quit in 2007, because of alleged “criminal acts” committed by the automotive giant. The CNN.com report further uncovered that, Toyota allegedly had a “pattern and practice of not producing memos, minutes, reports, and email’s,” during the course of discovery, according to former in-house counsel Dimitrios Biller. If true, Attorney Richard Griffin advises that such an abuse of the laws of discovery is criminal and highly unethical and cannot be tolerated.
Attorney Richard Griffin will continue to follow any new developments in the Toyota story. Attorney Richard Griffin advises that owner’s of the affected vehicles should contact their dealership and make sure that their vehicle is safe to operate, and owner’s should continue to follow Attorney Richard Griffin’s blog for any new developments. If you have been the victim of an accident involving a recalled vehicle or believe such, Attorney Richard Griffin advises you to seek legal counsel immediately to make sure your rights are protected.

Continue reading " Personal Injury News: Legal and Safety Issues Continue to Mass for Toyota " »

In recent months, the public has watched Toyota’s seemingly innocent story about slipping floor mats unravel into a story about known mechanical defects that endangered the lives of millions of drivers. Attorney Richard Griffin has spent his entire professional legal career handling personal injury, wrongful death, worker’s compensation, and social security claims, and Attorney Richard Griffin is closely monitoring Toyota’s major safety recall.

According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration(NHTSA) website, on February 09, 2010, the NHTSA released a Consumer Advisory for Toyota owners, for gas pedal entrapment by floor mats and sticky gas pedals for most of Toyota’s vehicle line-up for models ranging from 2005 to 2010. If you are an owner of an affected vehicle, Attorney Richard Griffin advises you to follow the NHTSA advisory.

On February 16, 2010, the NHTSA posted a news release announcing a probe into the timeliness of Toyota’s recent recalls. The probe involves three recalls for Toyota and Lexus vehicles, including the September 26, 2007 and October 6, 2009, recalls related to the entrapment of gas pedals by floor mats which were expanded on January 29, 2010, and the January 21, 2010, recall for sticking gas pedals. According to David Strickland, an administrator for the NHSTA, “our top priority is safety and we expect that all manufacturers address safety issues quickly and in a forthright manner.”

According to a USAToday.com report, Toyota is the first automaker to be involved in a major safety recall since stricter criminal penalties were enacted following the Ford Explorer rollover recalls over a decade ago. The above mentioned NHTSA press release also announced that if the NHTSA finds that Toyota has “violated its statutory obligations, the manufacturer could be liable for a maximum of $16.4 million in civil penalties.” However, Attorney Richard Griffin notes that it is sometimes difficult to uncover all of the evidence needed for civil penalties so it will be very interesting to see how this Toyota investigation pans out.

According to a USAToday.com report, the stricter criminal and civil penalties may have had the unintended consequence of automakers purposely limiting the number of test results or conclusions that are put into writing by company engineers. Attorney Richard Griffin believes such practices hamper the ability of a victim of an automaker’s negligence to recover damages in court.

Recently, Attorney Richard Griffin read a report that further strengthened his suspicions. According to a CNN.com report, a former Toyota in-house counsel quit in 2007, because of alleged “criminal acts” committed by the automotive giant. The CNN.com report further uncovered that, Toyota allegedly had a “pattern and practice of not producing memos, minutes, reports, and email’s,” during the course of discovery, according to former in-house counsel Dimitrios Biller. If true, Attorney Richard Griffin advises that such an abuse of the laws of discovery is criminal and highly unethical and cannot be tolerated.

Attorney Richard Griffin will continue to follow any new developments in the Toyota story. Attorney Richard Griffin advises that owner’s of the affected vehicles should contact their dealership and make sure that their vehicle is safe to operate, and owner’s should continue to follow Attorney Richard Griffin’s blog for any new developments. If you have been the victim of an accident involving a recalled vehicle or believe such, Attorney Richard Griffin advises you to seek legal counsel immediately to make sure your rights are protected.

Continue reading " Personal Injury News: Legal and Safety Issues Continue to Mass for Toyota " »

A Fulton County State Court jury awarded Donna Williams (a slip and fall victim) a judgment for $5 million dollars on 09/29/10. The Defendant was The Sports Authority Stores (TSA, Inc.). The personal injury claimant tripped and fell over an unpainted include in front of the store. Experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyers can make all the difference in the outcome of a personal injury case.

Why was The Sports Authority Stores liable or responsible for Ms. Williams slip and fall (trip and fall injury)? The legal theory is that the store has a duty to keep their store in a safe manner for the public. The personal injury attorneys for the plaintiff argued that this unpainted incline was a hazard that the store knew was dangerous due to two previous falls. The defense attorneys argued that the defect was open and obvious so Ms. Williams should have been able to walk up the incline without falling. The jury agreed with the plaintiff's attorneys and awarded $5 million dollars. However, the jury did attribute 14% of the negligence to the plaintiff. This defense is called comparative negligence and allows a jury to reduce the verdict by the percentage that they believe the plaintiff was negligent. The net recovery to the plaintiff in this case was $4,300,000.00 because the jury reduced the $5,000,000.00 verdict by the 14% negligence they attributed to the plaintiff.

What injuries did the personal injury victim in Fulton County, Georgia suffer? Ms. Williams suffered catastrophic injuries from this accident. She fractured her right hip which required surgery to repair. She also suffered from a disc bulge in the lumbar spine (L4-L5) which also required surgery. The defense argued that she had degenerative disc disease which was a pre-existing condition.

Why is it important to hire an experience personal injury lawyer? As you can see this personal injury case which arose from a slip and fall (premise liability) claim required litigation. If this personal injury victim had gone it alone and represented herself, then it is very likely that she would have been offered little or nothing from the store and their insurance company. The slip and fall lawyers at The Griffin Law Firm, P.C. have experienced similar success in negotiating and litigating premise liability claims. If you would like to learn more about premise liability claims (slip and falls, trip and falls, dog bite cases, improper installation or construction, and other premise liability claims) I encourage you to visit our website at www.injuryatlanta.com. Our slip and fall attorneys will also provide free consultations through the forms in our website or by phone at 866-847-6545.