Atlanta Injury Lawyer Blog

I attended the 2007 State Bar of Georgia Annual Meeting in Ponte Vedra, Florida last week as a Member of the Board of Governors, Post 36 Atlanta, Georgia. I am happy to report good news for the elections to the Executive Committee of the Georgia State Bar, as the Board of Governors duly elected fellow blogger Ken Shigley from Atlanta, Georgia and fellow Georgia Trial Lawyers Association (GTLA) member Thomas Stubbs from Decatur, Georgia as Members at Large to the Executive Committee. Both of these outstanding lawyers will serve the Georgia Bar well. They, like I, represent plaintiffs in a vast array of personal injury cases and are always fighting for justice for the underdog in the system. Ken, Thomas and I all share the same beliefs in the inherent value of the Georgia Civil Justice System and we will continue to support it and fight to maintain an independent judiciary, something all Americans agree sets our Nation apart from others. There has been an assault on the independence of the judiciary in last year's Georgia Supreme Court election and I am proud to say that the Georgia lawyers who believe in the integrity of our Civil Justice System fought it off and helped preserve an independent judiciary in Georgia that is not controlled by special political interests. We should all be proud of that. Justice Carol Hunstein, whose seat on the Supreme Court of Georgia was the target of this politicized assault, was awarded the Tradition of Excellence Award in the Judicial Category by the General Practice and Trial Section. Fellow GTLA member Paul Kilpatrick from Columbus, Georgia, was awarded the Tradition of Excellence Award in the Plaintiffs' Counsel Category and they both gave inspirational acceptance speeches that emphasized the importance of an independent, non-politicized judiciary.

Much of the credit goes to Immediate Past President Jay Cook, as he led the charge to preserve Georgia's tradition of an independent judiciary. We can expect our new Georgia Bar President, Gerald Edenfield, from Statesboro, Georgia, to follow in Jay Cook's footsteps on this very important issue.

Additionally, GTLA members Jeff Bramlett and Lester Tate were elected President Elect and Treasurer respectfully, so I can honestly and happily say the State Bar of Georgia is in good hands for years to come. These gentlemen champion the rights of the everyday Georgia citizens, not mammouth corporations or insurance companies.

The Annual Georgia State Bar Meeting is important to attend for many reasons, including legal education, fellowship and doing the Bar's work, but attending also reinvigorates us for the heavy fight to preserve the Civil Justice System of Georgia at all costs, because there are those out there, who I would refer to as "The Dismantlers" who would "dismantle" or undo the Civil Justice System and eliminate corporate responsibility for wrongdoing altogether. I pledge to every Georgia citizen I will do my utmost never to allow that to happen.

Continue reading "Successful 2007 State Bar of Georgia Annual Meeting" »

Posted by Robin Frazer Clark | Permalink | Email This Post

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The Georgia Department of Transporatation continues to study the feasibility of "trucks only" lanes here in Metropolitan Atlanta. I encourage you to speak in favor of the proposal as it would increase your safety as a member of the motoring public here in Atlanta and in Georgia. The Georgia Department of Transportation invites the public to view I-75/I-575 project maps, plans and displays and to voice their opinions on the expansion at the following meetings. For more information see www.nwhovbrt.com/ or call 404-377-4012.
Statistics in Atlanta show that even now traffic tops 10,000 trucks per day on the north end of I-285 and 30,000 trucks per day on parts of I-75. This represents a potential 40,000 truck and car wreck accidents looking for a place to happen on the roads of Metropolitan Atlanta. The tonnage shipped to, from and through Georgia is forecast to increase by 63 percent by 2025. Freight movement in the state is dominated by trucking, which carries 87 percent of all cargo. More than 100 motor freight carriers serve the Atlanta area alone. Georgia has 35 scheduled carriers, 2,200 intrastate haulers, and 25,000 interstate truckers serving points throughout the state. And we all know that in a wreck between an 18 wheeler and a small passenger car, the 18 wheeler wins. In my tractor-trailer cases I handle in my personal injury law practice, I can attest to the devastation that a wreck with a tractor-trailer can have on a family.
One Georgia possibility to expedite truck traffic is toll-financed truck freeways. When the Reason Public Policy Institute asked trucking companies to propose routes on which they would consider paying tolls in order to operate long double and triple tractor-trailers, the companies came up with 17 possible routes.[20] One of Reason’s tollway recommendations after analysis was the I-75 corridor from the Ohio Turnpike near Toledo south through Cincinnati, central Kentucky and Tennessee, and Atlanta to the northern end of Florida’s Turnpike and Tampa. Reason predicts it would be “a major north-south trucking route of high efficiency and safety.” I think Georgia should continue to explore this option through these public hearings about "trucks only" lanes.

Posted by Robin Frazer Clark | Permalink | Email This Post

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It seems that in New Jersey, physicians are forcing their patients to give up their rights to sue the doctor in the event of malpractice before the doctor will even agree to see the patient. To read the full article, click here.
Let's hope this doesn't make its way to Georgia...otherwise, hundreds of Georgia citizens will be involuntarily forced to give up their constitutional rights, under the Georgia Constitution, to hold a doctor accountable for that doctor's negligence or carelessness. Unfortunately, noneconomic damages in Georgia are already capped at $350,000.00, a drop in the bucket if you are talking about someone's life. The Georgia General Assembly decided that was the value of the life of a Georgia citizen, their constituents, when it passed SB3 in 2005. My guess is that if pressed on the issue, no Georgia Legislator would dare agree that the value of the life of one of his sons or daughters amounts only to a mere $350,000.00. But that's what the Georgia Legislature has told Georgia citizens their lives are worth. The largest medical malpractice insurer in Georgia, MAG (Medical Association of Georgia) Mutual, promised to lower their malpractice insurance premiums in exchange for SB3 and a cap on damages, but MAG hasn't lowered premiums yet, two years after the passage of SB3, and I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for MAG to do so anytime soon.
And let's think about this...what kind of healthcare do you think you're going to get if the doctor knows he won't have to responsible for his mistakes?
It's fair to say any such move to limit liability even more than it already is will not increase the level of healthcare that Georgia citizens receive. And what does that do to your physician/patient relationship after your doctor refuses to see you until after you have signed away all your rights? Unfortunately, physicians don't have the same degree of motivation as airline pilots have not to make mistakes. Airline pilots go down with the plane if they are careless...loss of the pilot's own life is a pretty good motivator to work with the utmost care. Physicians, however, if they make a fatal mistake, do not go down with their patients. SB3, which limits a physician's responsibility for his/her mistakes even more, only encourages an environment in which carelessness is no big deal.
I think Georgia citizens deserve better. I think the value of the life of a Georgia citizen is worth far more than a mere $350,000.00, any day, any time.

Posted by Robin Frazer Clark | Permalink | Email This Post

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