Georgia Injury Lawyer Blog

Toyota lawsuits and Toyota lawyers seem to have been the constant theme of the past year in Toyota news. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem Toyota consumers can catch a break. After a wave of Toyota acceleration problems leading to injuries and lawsuits, the latest news is that Toyota is having a new recall for engine defects in their Toyota Corolla sedans and Matrix hatchbacks.

Toyota recalled 1.33 million of these vehicles in the U.S. and Canada yesterday because their engines may stall, the latest problems at the Japanese auto manufacturer.The recall covers 2005-2008 years sold in Canada and the U.S. Toyota has now recalled more than 10 million vehicles worldwide for problems that run from floor mats, faulty gas pedals, and more. Separately, General Motors Co. also conducting a recall on 200,000 Pontiac Vibes due to a similar problem.

Fortunately, both automakers will replace the problem parts at no charge and will mail notifications to owners in mid September. This same problem was caused by a possible defect in an engine control module manufactured by Delphi Corp, a auto parts supplier in Michigan.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been investigating the possibility of engine stalling in the Corolla and Matrix vehicles since last year and now with this latest news of recalls, reported that it has stepped up its investigation. If you or a loved one has been seriously injured due to a Toyota or other auto defect or malfunction, Georgia law entitles you to compensation for your injuries.

In Georgia, Toyota manufacturers would be held strictly liable in products liability torts action. Georgia lawmakers did this in order to protect the consumer by shifting the burden of the loss to the wrongdoer, i.e. the manufacturer of the defective product that caused the injuries. The essential elements of this tort action are: first, the manufacture of the product (Toyota manufactured the cars); second, a defective product (the vehicles are in fact defective hence the recalls); third, an injury to a natural person proximately caused by the defect (multiple Toyota owners suffered injuries due to this defect); fourth, a sale of the product as a new product (Toyota dealers sold these new vehicles off their dealership lots); and fifth, the existence of the defect at the time the product left the manufacturer's control (the defect was present when Toyota sold the car to consumers.)

Continue reading "Toyota Lawsuits, Toyota Acceleration, Toyota Injuries, Toyota Wrongful Deaths.... Now More Toyota Recalls!" »

Bed bug lawyers filing bed bug lawsuits in Georgia are becoming more frequent as terrible bed bug epidemics spread throughout the country infiltrating hotels and other public establishments. Victims of bed bug injuries are often very traumatized due to not only the physical injuries but the psychological fear of the very serious possibility of taking the bed bug infestation back to one's home.

If you have been a victim of bed bug bites at a hotel or inn, it is important to do the following:

1. Immediately report the incident to management and ask for a copy of the report if possible.

2. Immediately see a physician as soon as possible to obtain proper treatment. This is important for two primary reasons:

**** First it is absolutely essential to receive necessary medication to insure that the bugs do not spread (in the event it is scabies) and that your bites are treated to avoid painful symptoms and possible infection. The terrible itching and scratching bed bug bites cause can also lead to scarring. Particularly for our African American clients, these scars can be extremely devastating as the skin can keloid.

**** Second, if there is a "gap in treatment" (time between your injury and you seeing a doctor), insurance companies can become more unwilling to pay for your injuries. Thus it is important to fit in an emergency appointment to see your doctor to obtain treatment as soon as the injuries occur.

3. In the event of scabies (also a type of bug that can be transmitted from hotel beds), these bugs will hatch under your skin and lay their eggs. The only way to kill them is to cover your skin from head to toe with a prescription medication, to wash all linens (towels, sheets, and blankets) and dry them on the hottest cycle, and to bag all remaining clothes for a minimum of 3 weeks. Sometimes bedbug bites can become infected or worse, spread if the bugs hatch their eggs in your belongings and follow you home.

4. Since bed bugs and scabies can follow you home consider carefully disposing property such as suitcases or clothes that you brought with you into the hotel in order to insure the bugs do not transfer to your house.

5. Take photographs of your bites. Make sure you use a good camera with proper lighting to carefully document your injuries.

What does the Law in Georgia Say About The Duty Of Hotels?

*****The duty of an innkeeper is well settled in Georgia as the duty to exercise ordinary care to afford guests premises that are reasonably safe for use and occupancy." Hotel Richmond, Inc. v. Wilkinson, 73 Ga. App. 36, 41 (35 SE2d 536); Holloman v. Henry Grady Hotel Co., 42 Ga. App. 347 (156 SE 275); Newton v. Candace, Inc., 94 Ga. App. 385 (2) (94 SE2d 739); S. A. Lynch Corp. v. Greene, 99 Ga. App. 797, 799 (109 SE2d 615); Hotel Dempsey Co. v. Teel, 128 F. 2d 673 (5th Cir.).

*****The question of a violation of the duty to exercise ordinary care to afford [guests] premises that are reasonably safe for use and occupancy, "which is the duty an innkeeper owes his guests, is a question of negligence and this court is bound by the rule that such matters are for the jury. . "Johnson v. John Deere Plow Co., 214 Ga. 645, 647 (106 SE2d 901) Hillinghorst v. Heart of Atlanta Motel, 104 Ga. App. 731, 1961 Ga. App. LEXIS 784 (Ga. Ct. App., October 4, 1961, Decided )

***** Furthermore, the innkeeper has a duty to inspect and is liable for such injuries caused by defects as would be disclosed by a reasonable inspection. Johnson v. John Deere Plow Co., 214 Ga. 645, 647 (106 SE2d 901) Hillinghorst v. Heart of Atlanta Motel, 104 Ga. App. 731, 1961 Ga. App. LEXIS 784 (Ga. Ct. App., October 4, 1961, Decided ).

Because a massive infestation present in a hotel room can be disclosed if there is a reasonable inspection by hotel staff, Georgia law finds hotels liable for bedbug injuries to their hotel guests.

If you are going through such a terrible experience, don't panic: Follow the above advice and you are welcome to contact us for legal consultation at 404-654-0288.

Good Georgia Truck Accident Lawyers praised the recent U.S. Transportation Secretary's announcement that 109 commercial truck and bus drivers were removed from public roadways as a result of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's annual alcohol and drug sweep this summer.

Said US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood: "If you are a commercial driver or carrier operating in violation of federal drug and alcohol laws, we will remove you from our roadways." Additionally, he stated: "Parents deserve to know their children are being driven by bus drivers who are drug and alcohol free, and every motorist deserves to feel confident that the drivers of large trucks and buses are safe and sober."

The sweep was done by an investigation into the alcohol and drug safety records of all truck and other commercial drivers employed by bus and truck companies including hazardous material transporters, school bus drivers, interstate passenger carriers and general freight truck drivers.

The goals was to identify those offenders in violation of drug and alcohol testing and remove them from the road. The terrifying fact is that there are truck drivers who move from company to company just to evade the federal drug and alcohol testing and reporting requirements.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration warned that they are committed to ensuring that only safe truck drivers are allowed to operate. Unfortunately, there are truck drivers all over the country who have violated federal laws wreak havoc on public safety. Families all over Georgia have lost loved ones and been seriously injured due to the terrible negligence and criminal acts of truck drivers who recklessly take to the roads putting Georgians at risk.

If you know of someone who has suffered due to a truck driver's negligent acts, Williams Oinonen LLC is committed to bringing justice to Georgians who have been injured due to truck driver negligence. Please call us today to discuss how we aggressively fight the trucking companies who break laws and negligently allow dangerous truck drivers on the road risking the lives of our loved ones.

Continue reading "Georgia Truck Accident Lawyers Praise Crack Down on Truck Drivers Who Purposely Evade Drug and Alcohol Testing: Georgia Trucking Accidents Part Four " »

Georgia Truck Accident Lawyers help you when your loved one has been injured or killed due to a trucking accident. One of the biggest reasons people die from horrible truck accidents is due to "driver fatigue"---because the truck driver has been driving for hours on little sleep. Unfortunately, truck drivers by law are allowed to drive up to 11 hours per day which for those of us who have driven that long, know that it can be exhausting and very difficult to do it for long periods of time.

Just last month, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration submitted an important proposal for the new proposed truck driver hours of service rule. The details are unknown, but it is believed that the new laws will shorten the number of hours truckers are permitted to drive each day.

The trucking industry of course is concerned about losing money and is urging that the current 11 hour rule per day is allowed but public safety groups and consumer advocates are pushing for an eight hour day requirement.

What most Americans are not aware of is that often times, truck drivers are breaking the rules that protect the public and going over the mandated 11 hour maximum. Many times, tragic accidents that have caused innocent families to lose loved ones have happened due to truck drivers who have pushed themselves past the brink of exhaustion and driven more hours then allowed or humanly possible to do so safely. Oftentimes, in order to push themselves to meet deadlines with their thousand ton loads, truck drivers will take dangerous caffeine supplements and energy drinks which has a "crashing" effect later on. Sadly, these truck drivers end up literally "crashing" into other drivers on the roads and freeways. This type of criminally negligent behavior is often ignored by the big trucking companies who turn a blind eye to this behavior. However, it is the public safety that ends up paying the cost.

Hopefully, the new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration proposed rules for truck drivers will put public safety before the profits and pocketbooks of big trucking companies. No life is worth losing due to a company's greed and recklessness that encourages their employees to engage in such dangerous practices.

Good Georgia truck accident lawyers are essential to protecting your rights in a trucking accident where someone has been seriously injured or killed. In most personal injury trials in Georgia, mentioning the word "insurance" is the quickest way to a mistrial. This is unfortunate, because sometimes the jury doesn't realize that the injured party is going after a big insurance company that is refusing to pay them and not really going after the negligent driver who may or may not have a lot of money in his bank account. Sadly, this can prejudice the jury into not awarding the injured party the real value of the case.

However, in trucking injury cases this rule changes. The beauty about trucking cases is that it is the one area of law where an injured party is able to not only mention the insurance company but actually sue the insurance company. The Georgia Supreme Court in the case of Grissom v Gleason, 262 Ga. 374 375 (1992), ruled that this Direct Action Statute does not unfairly prejudice the defendants by notifying the jury that insurance is available.

Thus, the Direct Action Statute, which falls under O.C.G.A. §46-7-12, allows injured parties in an accident with a motor carrier (such as a tractor trailer truck carrying passengers or loads) to not only mention the word "insurance" but to actually sue the insurance company as a party to the lawsuit.

This is beneficial because the jury then understands that you are not really going after the pockets of some truck driver who was negligent, but the insurance company who will be held liable for payment of his wrongful acts.

Moreover, the statute not only covers tractor trailers but also any vehicle, tractor, machine, semitrailer or trailer drawn or propelled by mechanical power that transports goods for hire on the roads in Georgia. Thus, the statute generally applies to vehicles hired to carry passengers and property on public highways of Georgia, although there are exceptions which we will cover in another post.

To conclude, although mentioning insurance is generally not allowed in most injury cases, the Direct Action Statute allows the plaintiff to go after the insurance company directly by joining the insurer as a named defendant to the lawsuit. In order to do this, the defendant truck driver must meet the definition of a motor carrier and cannot fall within the statute's narrow exceptions. The Direct Action statute is one of the few times insurance is allowed to be mentioned in a civil case, and it is one of the best ways that the Georgia lawmakers saw fit to protect innocent drivers from drivers who operate dangerous vehicles or drive negligently on Georgia roads.

Good Georgia Truck Accident Lawyers can help you during a terrible truck accident. "How can I sue the truck driver and trucking company that killed or injured my loved one?" is question that none of us ever want to be faced with. It you are ever in that terrible predicament, is absolutely essential that you retain the services of a good Georgia lawyer immediately for one main reason: Trucking companies, similar to railroad companies are notorious for underhanded tactics when it comes to hiding the evidence in a trucking collision that has caused fatalities or serious injuries. Thus, it is essential that you have a good, trustworthy, competent attorney working on your side to fight against these tricks .

One of the first things a good Georgia lawyer will do in a situation involving trucking deaths and injuries will be to immediately send out spoiliation letters to preserve the evidence. For example, attorneys need to immediately request data from on-board recording devices, including ECM (electronic control module), any computer on board, or other recording device that was on the day of the accident and prior.

The "black boxes" are essential to help victims in their truck accident cases because the data is often able to provide evidence as to what actually was the causing factor in the collision. For example, "black boxes" often can be compared to the driver's personal log to see if the truck drivers actual driving time doesn't match up with what was actually recorded in the computer data.

If an attorney is not promptly hired on the scene, it is often the case that the trucking company will allow both the tractor trailer and the ECM black box to be destroyed.

Continue reading "Good Georgia Truck Accident Lawyer, How Can I Sue The Truck Driver That Killed My Family? Georgia Trucking Accidents Part One" »

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