Atlanta Injury Lawyer Blog

Savannah Suger Refinery an Example of More Georgia Corporate Irresponsibility

April 7, 2009 | Robin Frazer Clark

Just like the Peanut Corporation of America in Blakely, Georgia, the Imperial Sugar Refinery in Savannah, Georgia knew of the dangers its plant exposed its employees and Georgia citizens to and did absolutely nothing. In an article today in the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, it is obvious the sugar corporation deliberately exposed its employees to the very real chance of death by ignoring an expert consultant’s report warning the corporation’s executives of the danger. Which brings to mind the question: What is wrong with Corporate America? Has corporate greed become so all important that dollars over safety is a corporation’s creed now? Or is it that the past administration of the last eight years has permitted Corporate America to thumb its nose at corporate responsibility for the sake of unregulated profit such that even when human life hangs in the balance, the Almighty Corporation gets by with murder?
It is clear that in the case of the Savannah Sugar Refinery, the fourteen employees who died in the explosion and the dozens of other Georgians injured in it were asked to sacrifice too much for corporate greed. These Georgians are left with nothing but inadequate workers’ compensation claims now as the Imperial Sugar Refinery is protected from the rough justice of twelve jurors in the Georgia Civil Justice System by the “exclusive remedy” of the workers’ compensation system. And that is a crime.

Fulton County, Georgia Jury Returns $2.3 Million Verdict for Botched Circumcision

March 27, 2009 | Robin Frazer Clark

A Fulton County, Atlanta, Georgia jury has just returned this afternoon a verdict in the amount of $2.3 Million in a medical malpractice case involving a botched circumcision. The trial on March 16, 2009, and the jury deliberated from 10:30 a.m. yesterday until about 1:45 p.m. today, when they returned a verdict in the amount of $1.8 million for the minor child, and $500,000.00 for the mother.
The case involved an alleged botched circumcision, in which the young male child involved (who was 2-days old at the time of the incident), had about five millimeters (or about one-third) of his glans penis negligently removed during a circumcision procedure on November 6, 2004. This is obviously a significant permanent injury that will go with the child the rest of his life.
Defendants not only contended they had committed no negligence, and that any injury was an accepted risk of the procedure, but also somewhat surprisingly contended that the incident did not even occur, asserting that the child was suffering from a congenital deformity of the penis. I guess the jury just didn’t buy that argument. There are some detractors of the Georgia Civil Justice System who might decry this verdict as excessive, but my guess is those who do have 100% of their penis. Bless this Fulton County jury for taking into the consideration the emotion toil this unnecessary deformity will have on this child as he grows into a young man…something he will have to live with every day of his life, all due through no fault of his own.

Insurance Industry May Have Defrauded Millions

March 27, 2009 | Robin Frazer Clark

That headline should come as no surprise to my readers here in Atlanta, Georgia. Georgians have a unique ability to know when they are getting ripped off, and it appears United Healthcare has been doing that to Georgians and Americans everywhere in the form of insurance fraud. The United States Senate is holding hearings now on the issue.

Witnesses tell Senate UnitedHealth may have defrauded one in three insured Americans.

CQ Healthbeat (3/27) reports, “UnitedHealth Group officials are in for an unpleasant experience at a Senate hearing next week – if a set-up session on Thursday was any indication.” At a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing today, witnesses “described how health insurers routinely defrauded millions of patients who sought out-of-network care by paying less than the insurers owed for medical bills.” A witness told the panel, which will hear from United representatives next Tuesday, that “the practice could have potentially affected as many as one in three insured Americans and lasted for at least a decade.” Committee Chairman John D. Rockefeller, IV (D-WV), “declined to say what types of changes should be included in health overhaul legislation,” saying, “I want to make sure exactly what it is we need to do…just in the saying of it, I could do damage to health reform.”

Some Georgia Legislators Intent on Protecting Georgians’ Legal Rights in Georgia Civil Justice System

March 6, 2009 | Robin Frazer Clark

There was a wonderful and truthful article in today’s Fulton County Daily Report, the “legal organ” of Fulton County, Georgia, that I share with you below. Georgia citizens should know that many of us plaintiff’s personal injury trial lawyers continue to fight for your rights to access to the courts to obtain justice. Enjoy.

Friday, March 06, 2009

GOP legal issues are losing steam

Georgians Deserve Better than What Governor Perdue Offers with FDA Immunity

February 20, 2009 | Robin Frazer Clark

I have written about the attempt going on RIGHT NOW at the Georgia Capitol by Governor Perdue and Senator Bill Cowsert and others who take up Governor Perdue’s mantra to eliminate Georgian’s rights to sue a Georgia pharmaceutical company if its drug harms a Georgian. Senate Bill 101, heard yesterday in the Economic Development Committee (NOT the Judiciary Committee, where it actually belongs), would strip Georgians of ALL of our rights to hold a Georgia drug manufacturer liable for damages its drug causes a Georgian. Ironically, this bill would hurt ONLY Georgians; those folks who took the drug in any other state, Alabama, for example, WOULD be able to hold the Georgia company responsible for the harm it causes, as it should be. Can you imagine any worse affrong to the rights of Georgia citizens than this? This should show you how little the Governor of Georgia and his followers in the Georgia General Assembly think of the welfare of Georgia consumers. Yesterday in the Committee hearing, the Chairperson did not allow the Committee to vote on the bill.

ACT NOW! Folks, now is the time for everyone living in the State of Georgia to call your State Senator and ask them to vote NO on Senate Bill 101. Also, now is the time to call the Governor’s office and let Governor Perdue know you don’t appreciate his underhanded attempts to eliminate your constitutional rights.

Enough is enough.

New Safety Requirements in Effect for Commercial Pools

February 9, 2009 | Robin Frazer Clark

A new law has gone into effect for commercial pools that requires these pools all to have drains with anti-entrapment devices. Without these devices, a swimmer, usually a small child, can become entrapped by the sheer force of the drain suction. Some children have even been eviscerated by the strong suction in pool drains. This new law is designed to insure no other entrapments occur. Pools must be compliant with the new law as of December 18, 2008, so now all commercial pools should have these non-entrapment devices installed on their drains. Below is more information from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. If you regularly use a commercial pool, e.g., a country club pool, a county park pool or homeowner’s association pool, now is the time, before summer, to verify with the Board of Directors that your pool has the proper drain and is compliance with this new law. We want to make sure all Georgia swimmers are safe this summer!

Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act

June 18, 2008 Staff Interpretation of Section 1404:

Justice Leah Sears, Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, an Inspiration to All Georgians

February 7, 2009 | Robin Frazer Clark

On February 4, 2009 Justice Leah Sears, the Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, gave her last State of the Judiciary address to the Georgia General Assembly. It is her last such address because she has announced she will be retiring from the bench in June of this year. Georgia lawyers will miss her, because of her absolute committment to a strong, independent Judiciary and to the Rule of Law. She is a true role model for all Georgians, especially young women like my daughter, Alex, who is now 11 years old, and who are looking for the way to make their mark on Georgia and future generations. Below I have reprinted Justice Sears’ entire State of the Judiciary Address.

Lieutenant Governor Cagle, Speaker Richardson, Speaker Pro Tem Burkhalter, President Pro Tem Williams and other members of the General Assembly. Ladies and Gentlemen. I am overwhelmed by your warm welcome.

Today I stand before this distinguished body for the last time as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia. I am both honored and humbled. I have so many of you to thank for your years of support and encouragement. And I am forever indebted to my colleagues on the Supreme Court—my friends—Presiding Justice Carol Hunstein, former Chief Justice Robert Benham, and Justices George Carley, Hugh Thompson, Harris Hines and Harold Melton. I am also grateful to my friends on the Georgia Court of Appeals, now being ably led by Chief Judge Yvette Miller, as well as all of my other colleagues in the judicial branch.

Georgia Should Not Have a Victim’s Pay Law-It Is Unfair to Every Georgian

February 6, 2009 | Robin Frazer Clark

Governor Perdue is again trying to eliminate the rights of all Georgians to seek legal redress when they have been injured by another person’s negligence or carelessness. Please do your part to tell the Governor “No Thanks and No Way.”

Enacting ‘Victim Pays’ would be like taking away David’s Slingshot

SB 108 would allow intimidation and fear to rule our court of law

Georgians Deserve Better Than Governor Perdue’s Proposed New Tort Reform That Will Make Georgians Less Safe

February 6, 2009 | Robin Frazer Clark

Warning to all Georgia Citizens: Governor Perdue is trying to do away with your constitutional rights and make you less safe! Please help us stop him by letting him and your Legislators know you do not want them to support this bill. Please contact Governor Perdue now and ask him to withdraw SB 101.

Governor Perdue wants to place the safety of Georgia’s citizens

in the hands of a corrupt and mismanaged federal bureaucracy

Don’t Hold Your Breath for Governor Perdue to Fix Peanut Catastrophe

February 4, 2009 | Robin Frazer Clark

In the midst of what can only be described as one of the worst catastrophes to befall Georgia, the Peanut Corporation of America Salmonella Scandal, Governor Perdue today “promises” to do something about it. While wearing a tie with peanuts on it, (was that some apparent attempt at humor?) Governor Perdue promised he would do something but didn’t say what or when or how or by whom. No solutions.

And yet in the middle of this catastrophe, Governor Perdue has the time and energy and audacity to offer new legislation today that would eliminate the ability of a Georgia citizen to seek civil damages from any Georgia pharmaceutical company whose drug harmed a Georgia citizen if the FDA had approved the drug. The is the SAME FDA that coudn’t protect us from peanuts! Is he kidding? Or does he really mean to treat Georgia citizens like this? One of the ironic things about this bill is that ONLY Georgians are harmed by it! If a citizen of, say, Alabama, takes a drug from Georgia and is harmed by it, that Alabama citizen can sue the Georgia manufacturer in Alabama, but a Georgia citizen would have no ability to hold the Georgia pharmaceutical company liable for the harm it has caused to a Georgia citizen.

This is truly unbelievable and really shocking that the Governor or the Legislature would for even a minute take the bill seriously. I think it is more evidence of the arrogance of the Governor and his disdain for the Georgia Civil Justice System, which, as opposed to the FDA, is truly a legitimate method of holding negligent companies accountable. And by the way, since when did it become unacceptable to hold negligent corporations accountable for the damage they cause? Sometimes I feel like the Governor is in Wonderland.