Atlanta Injury Lawyer Blog

Congratulations to Patsy Bates of Los Angeles, California, who just was awarded a $9 Million arbitration award by an arbitration panel against HealthNet, her health insurance carrier, for it's illegal cancellation of her coverage at the beginning of her treatment for breast cancer. The award came a day after the Los Angeles city attorney sued Health Net, claiming it illegally canceled the coverage of about 1,600 patients. City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo also said the company illegally ran an incentive program in which it paid bonuses to an administrator for meeting targets of policy cancelations. Health Net acknowledged that such a program existed in 2002 and 2003 but was subsequently scrapped.

This is a clear example of the callousness, and sometimes outright illegality, of the way in which insurance carriers attempt to avoid payment of legitimate insurace claims. Only this time, HealthNet got caught. This was an unusual situation because, apparently, there was an arbitration clause in the health insurance policy that allowed for pain and suffering damages. Most issues regarding payment of claims by a health insurance carrier are preempted by ERISA, and the injured policyholder is unable to sue in court to assert his or her rights under the policy.

Can we presume insurance carriers right here in Georgia are doing the same thing, i.e., cancelling a policy to avoid paying out on a legitimate claim? Yes, probably, they are. The little guy who is injured must continue fight the denial decision, and often at a time in that person's life when he or she needs to be focusing on another fight, like one against breast cancer, as Ms. Bates did. Fortunately, we have Georgia trial lawyers, like me, ready to take on that fight!

I am proud to be a Past President of Georgia Trial Lawyers Association. It is made up of true trial lawyers who love representing the underdog against enormous odds. Our members are some of the finest lawyers in the State of Georgia and professionalism in all aspects of the practice of law is our hallmark.

The Atlanta Journal and Constitution has reported that following the Savannah Sugar Refinery blast last week, a lawyer from Texas took out a full page advertisement in the Savannah paper soliciting victims of the blast. There have also been reports that lawyers from a silk stocking law firm here in Atlanta, with an office in Augusta, has been soliciting victims who are currently being treated in the burn clinic in Augusta. This silk stocking (meaning big and expensive) firm typically defends very big corporations rather than representing individuals who have been harmed by the negligence of big corporations.

To be absolutely clear, the leadership of Georgia Trial Lawyers Association (GTLA) condemns such solicitation. These victims and their families need to be focusing on healing, not on such high pressure tactics as direct solicitation of victims immediately after the tragedy. Below is a statement from the President of Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, Joe Watkins, on behalf of Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, condemning the practice and rightfully putting focus on the needs of the victims and their families. Our thoughts and prayers are with them during this difficult time.

Georgia Trial Lawyers Association
Protecting the Constitution’s Promise
For Justice for All

Media Release:

For Immediate Release For More Information Please Call:
February 14th, 2008 Rebecca Bukant (404) 376-3495

Georgia Trial Lawyers Condemn the
Practice of ‘Trolling for Victims’

Atlanta-The tragedy resulting from the Imperial Sugar Refinery has been made worse by the solicitation by unprincipled lawyers vying for the victims' cases. The news has reported that TV ads, print advertisements and even visits to the Augusta Burn Center by lawyers have occurred. Members and leadership of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association are outraged by this reprehensible behavior.

"The Georgia Trial Lawyers Association unequivocally condemns these unconscionable acts by attorneys," said the President of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, Joe Watkins. "We are shocked that attorneys from Georgia and other states are attempting to solicit the families while they are mourning the loss of loved ones and praying at bedsides at the Augusta Burn Facility."

The State Bar of Georgia Rules prohibit attorneys from contacting victims immediately following a tragedy. “This is not the time for lawyers from Georgia or any other state to harass families and victims of a tragedy. To say that is in 'poor taste' is putting it mildly," said Watkins. "The families and survivors will decide if and when they will seek legal advice."

The Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, and its leadership, strongly believes that the Rules governing Georgia’s State Bar regarding such solicitation should be strengthened and the Association urges the State Bar to take appropriate action regarding this matter.

"Unfortunately, it is the unscrupulous behavior of a few attorneys, often from out of state, that reflects poorly on the image of all attorneys. That conduct is in no way a reflection of the principles, ethics and the integrity of the members of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association,” said Watkins. “I speak for not only myself, but for our entire Association when I say that my thoughts and prayers are with the workers of the Imperial Sugar Refinery and their loved ones."

Georgia citizens are being placed at risk by the Georgia Department of Transportation. Two Georgia DOT bridge inspectors have now admitted they lied when they certified 54 Georgia bridges as being safe. David Simmons, who worked in a team with Gerald Kelsey, admitted to filing reports for 54 bridges they hadn't actually inspected, according to DOT. Steve Henry, director of operations at DOT, misses the point when he says "If we ever thought a bridge was unsafe we'd shut it down," because without the actual inspections having been done, the purpose of which is to determine whether a bridge is safe for the traveling public, there is no way to know whether they are safe.

Although these two Georgia DOT rogue employees were forced to resign (shouldn't they have been fired?), who knows what else is going on at the Georgia DOT and who knows whether Georgia citizens are really safe traveling on the roads and bridges in Georgia? We can only hope and pray that the good people of Georgia don't learn of any more shoddy work by the GDOT the hard way, the way Minnesota citizens found out this past summer when a major Minneapolis bridge collapsed, killing several citizens. Georgia citizens deserve better.

Justice is Served...for the third time, no less. The Supreme Court of Oregon has reaffirmed a $79.5M jury verdict in a tobacco products safety case against Philip Morris. The award was for the family of Jesse Williams, a former Portland janitor who started smoking during a 1950s Army hitch and died in 1997 six months after he was diagnosed with lung cancer. A jury in Portland made the award in 1999.

The Oregon Supreme Court said in Thursday's ruling that Philip Morris and the tobacco industry worked during the 1950s on a "program of disinformation" to create doubt about the dangers of smoking. Williams "learned from watching television that smoking did not cause lung cancer," but, once he came down with it, said the "cigarette people" had lied to him.

What's particularly satisfying about the Oregon Supreme Court's decision is that it reaffirms, for the third time, that the jury in the American Civil Justice System knows best. Despite the repeated attempts by the United States Supreme Court to take away the plaintiff's verdict in this case, the Oregon jury's decision has finally prevailed, proving again the jury knows best and the jury system works. It seems that only when Big Corporate America loses a trial does it rail against what they term "activist"judges. What is surprising is, if there is any "activist" judges in this case, it is the United States Supreme Court justices. They tried and tried to take away the jury's verdict and impose their own judgment on a trial that involved Oregon citizens and was decided by Oregon citizens. But, fortunately, the Justices' attempts have failed and, hopefully, the jury's verdict will now stand in this case.

By the way, when did it become wrong in America to be held accountable for your wrongdoing, including a corporations? The American Civil Justice System and trial by jury, is the only way to ensure justice is served, fairly, equally, impartially, without being a respector persons. There are those in our country who would tear down our revered jury trial system and eliminate accountability in our nation's courts for a myriad of wrongdoers. As a Georgia trial lawyer in the trenches, I will do everything in my power to fight the "dismantlers" of the American and Georgia Civil Justice System. The Oregon decision gives us renewed hope that justice will prevail for the little guy.