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As consumers we interact with countless products daily, from the moment we wake up until we go to bed. Most of the time, these products work as intended, making our lives more convenient and enjoyable. However, sometimes, things can go terribly wrong, leading to serious injuries or even death. That’s when defective product claims come into play, and it’s an area of law that’s more complex and ever-evolving than you might think.

What is Considered a “Defect”

Product defects can take various forms. Most often, these defects are found in design, manufacturing, or marketing. In Georgia, as in many other states, a product is considered defective if it poses an unreasonable danger to its users, and this defect directly causes harm. It’s a simple and yet incredibly important concept because it directly impacts our safety.

In the past, we’ve discussed medical malpractice and wrongful death, but we don’t often consider exactly how someone with years or decades of training could overlook or outright refuse to treat patients with real concerns. Overweight women in particular have to contend with sex-specific ailments that tend to cause even OBGYNs to attribute every type of pain to “obesity” in general. Everyone can agree that being “healthy” is ideal, but isn’t that the point of going to the doctor in the first place? When doctors ignore their patients’ concerns, it can lead them to make poor choices that lead to injury or even death for their patients.

Non-Collaborative Treatment Plans

Every individual seeking medical care needs a specific treatment plan that fits their lifestyle and treats their concerns. The trouble with that is doctors aren’t specialists in every field. Complaints of stomach pain to a general practitioner may lead them to believe that a patient’s issues are simple to treat with over the counter medication; while a gastroenterologist may be better equipped to pinpoint what’s causing the pain. The trouble is getting to that specialist and for them to take your issues seriously.

Georgia has a thriving tourism industry and people from all over the world want to visit our amazing cities. As great as it is for our economy, it also brings thousands of drivers with different driving styles and oftentimes different personal injury laws. Like many states in the U.S., Georgia follows an “at-fault” system, otherwise known as comparative negligence, for determining liability in personal injury cases. Conversely, some of our neighboring states follow contributory negligence, which can add a layer of complexity to personal injury cases. Understanding these concepts may be helpful when traveling or if you’re in an accident that involves an out of state party.

The Foundations of At-Fault Systems

In an “at-fault” or “tort” system, determining fault is essential in personal injury cases. Comparative and Contributory Negligence are two legal doctrines used to allocate fault and assess liability for damages which impacts the amount of compensation for affected parties.

When you go shopping, the last thing you want is for someone to run in and endanger everyone inside with a weapon. Similarly, if you’re sitting in your apartment, unwinding after work, you don’t want to have to worry about someone breaking into your car or through the front door. Becoming a victim of violent crime is never your fault, but based on some recent Georgia Supreme Court rulings, property owners may be liable for neglecting their duty of care. Premises liability regarding shootings and crime have become significant concerns in public and private settings, like apartments, malls, and parking lots. Under certain circumstances, if you’re harmed by violent crime in these places, you may be entitled to compensation. 

Duty of Care and Business Owner’s Responsibility

Business owners have a “duty of care” to provide a safe environment for their visitors and patrons. This duty typically means they need to maintain their property and keep things in a reasonably safe condition. Sometimes, particularly in “high crime” areas, that means taking precautions to prevent foreseeable crimes or harm. For example, a mall owes its patrons the greatest duty of care because they are inviting them in to shop and there is a reasonable expectation of safety when they arrive. Malls in areas that have experienced a significant number of crimes may have a duty of care to provide appropriate security measures to prevent harm.

The massive size and weight of commercial freight trucks are an impressive sight, and their use can be very convenient for our supply-chain needs, but their presence is an ever-looming threat. The number of large trucks on the road has increased over the last 20 years, but the danger they pose has not been appropriately mitigated. Recent Georgia legislation increased the intrastate truck weight limits to over 80,000 lbs for certain commercial industries. However, just because trucks of a certain size are limited to using certain roads and highways does not mean they’re any less dangerous. 

Truck Safety Failures

The additional weight carried by trucks and trailers significantly impact the safety of their drivers and the drivers around them. It’s basic physics; the heavier the object, the more effort it takes to stop once it’s in motion. Truck drivers are trained professionals, but there are still many safety factors to consider aside from possible negligence. Increased weight can affect multiple moving parts, including brake systems, tires, suspension, and early impact detection systems. This leads to significantly longer stopping distances, reduced overall maneuverability, and increased chances of parts failures for brakes and tires. No matter how much training a licensed commercial driver has, it will not prevent the possibility of a crash or limit the severe consequences for other vehicles involved. Regardless of how fast a truck is going on the road, if the driver fails to pay attention for a single moment, it could cost lives.

When you visit the doctor for a checkup or for a more serious matter, you’re entrusting them with immensely private information that is supposed to help them help you. But what happens when a medical professional violates that trust, and you end up being harmed in the process? Medical malpractice can have a devastating impact on a patient’s life and can lead to long-term physical, emotional, and financial consequences. Although it’s impossible to tell which doctors are more likely to be negligent than others, understanding the impact can give you a better idea of how to move forward after experiencing this kind of injustice.

What Constitutes Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice is when a healthcare professional (like a doctor or nurse) or facility fails to provide adequate care, which results in harm or injury. This can include misdiagnosis, surgical errors, prescription errors, or birth injuries. For example, if a doctor fails to take a patient’s ailments seriously and fails to diagnose cancer, the cancer could spread and become more difficult to treat. Another example is if a surgeon makes a mistake during a procedure and results in injury or death to the patient. In some terrifying and notorious cases, surgeons have left tools or materials inside someone’s body, leading to later serious complications. All of these are examples of medical malpractice.

Families don’t look the same as they did 30 or even 10 years ago. Although traditional families still tend to be the norm, there is a greater emphasis and acceptance of a chosen-family. Sadly, Georgia law has not caught up with the new social norms which leaves many families unable to legally advocate for their loved ones in many situations. Wrongful deaths leave a wake of disaster that spreads beyond an individual’s life. This article will outline some of the most important information you need to know about the wrongful death statute in Georgia and who can file a suit to find justice for their loved one.

What is Wrongful Death?

People die by tragic accidents every day, but some (or most) accidents can be prevented. Wrongful death occurs as a direct result of negligent, reckless, intentional, or criminal behavior or acts of another person or entity. For example, if a company fails to recall a dangerous faulty product and someone dies as a result, this could be considered a wrongful death. The damages that are collected after a wrongful death vary depending on the impact that person’s death has on their loved ones. Although the financial restitution will never undo the life-altering trauma from a wrongful death, it can help lighten the economic burden and give room for loved ones to grieve. 

Many people inadvertently downplay their accidents for many reasons. It makes sense that no one wants to be perceived as a “victim,” but when it comes to injuries caused by negligence, the best option is to file a claim. In this blog series, we have examined several ways in which an accident can impact someone’s life, and how that affects the damages calculation. In part I, we examined physical injuries; in part II, we discussed medical bills and lost wages. In the final part of this series, we will take a look at how accidents can impact daily life, and what that means for your damages claim. 

Disability

The main difference between being considered “disabled” and “abled” is access. A lifetime of dealing with a disability comes with physical and psychological challenges that can never be fully understood by those who have been abled their entire lives. Being suddenly and permanently disabled through an accident – especially through no fault of your own – has a tremendous impact on how you perceive the world, and how you move through it, in its own unique way. 

An accident can impact someone’s life in ways that they never expected. In our last blog post in the series, we discussed damage calculation as it pertains to permanent or temporary injuries. In Part II of the series, we will discuss how medical bills and lost wages contribute to the damages calculation in personal injury cases.

Economic Damages

After an accident, the only thing you should be concerned about is getting better and returning life to normalcy as quickly as possible. An unfortunate reality for many individuals is that the fear of medical bills and loss of income quickly take precedence over recovery efforts. This is why personal injury lawyers work so diligently to educate and provide assistance to those affected by negligence. Economic damages are thankfully a tangible number that can be provided when filing a personal injury claim so those who are injured can obtain the medical care they need. Examples of economic damages include lost wages and medical bills.