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Organization_of_American_States_General_Assembly.jpgRecently, Williams Oinonen LLC LLC wrote a request for precautionary measures to the Inter-American Human Rights Commission on behalf of Grady Hospital dialysis patients.

The international human rights petition resulted in the Commission officially contacting the U.S. government and requesting that the U.S. respond to the petitioners’ allegations in addition to addressing the issue of medical treatment necessary for their survival. The Commission’s action represents the first step in deciding whether to grant precautionary measures. The decision should be made some time soon.

The petition was officially submitted by Williams Oinonen LLC LLC and Lindsay R.M. Jones. Mr. Jones who is lead counsel for the Grady patients, whose U.S. court case is currently to be submitted for appeal.

Grady dialysis patients lives are threatened due to the hospital attempting to deny the rights of the patients in accordance with a legally binding contract. The patients, third party beneficiaries to a legally binding contract, were denied the informed consent they are entitled to by law when Grady representatives told the patients that leaving the state was their only option. Moreover, Grady implored the patients to sign an agreement that reduced their contactual right of one year of treatment to three months.
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Protecting your name and reputation means a lot, especially in the world of government jobs where employment files are kept and shared on mostly all employees. If a government employee’s employment file has something negative regarding her name and reputation, she may find it impossible to get another government job upon being fired. In this respect, the government-employment world is slightly different than the private-sector world where, for example, a person may hide past employers and reasons for dismissal.

So, in Georgia, what does an unclassified government employee do when he or she is fired and his or her reputation has been damaged during the termination process?

Classified employees can be terminated. But these type of employees generally have the right to appeal the reason(s) for their termination. That means that classified employees generally have privy to a more complete administrative process that allows them to fight more forcefully against their termination and thus protect their name and reputation. However, unclassified employees are, generally, not so fortunate.

Once an unclassified employee is terminated, the employee generally cannot appeal the decision. So what can you do, if you are terminated, and during the termination process things are said about you that damage your reputation and chances to get another government job? Unclassified employees may have an option that protects their name and reputation.

The option is called a “name clearing hearing.” The idea behind this type of hearing is that damage done to a government employee’s reputation qualifies as a “liberty interest.” Essentially that means that you “may” be entitled to procedural due process, a hearing regarding the matter that has affected your name and reputation.

There are several factors that a lawyer must examine to ensure that a client may seek this remedy. Of those factors, here are six (6): (1) A false statement must have been made; (2) that statement must have been of a “stigmatizing nature” and related to (3) the discharge of the government employee; (4) the statement must have been made public by (5) the government employer; and (6) the discharged employee must not have had a meaningful opportunity to clear his or her name. Although these are not all the factors that will determine whether you are entitled to a name clearing hearing, they represent a good starting point, for the analysis of your case.

Of the above-mentioned six (6) criteria, point six may prove to be the most difficult. For example, if the unclassified employee was given an opportunity to provide a statement/report in his or her defense, did she have a meaningful opportunity to clear her name? This question and others are best suited for an experienced attorney in this area.
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Age discrimination is a “hot” topic right now due to a recent Supreme Court case, which some members of Congress are trying to combat with proposed legislation. Neither the case or the proposed legislation changes some general points you should consider.

So what can you do if you’ve experienced age discrimination? One of the first responses to that question is, what type of age discrimination did you experience? That will affect which federal law applies to your case and importantly, which agency you should file your complaint with. For example, you may be protected by the Age Discrimination Act (“ADA”), which applies to person of all ages. However the ADA does not apply to employment situations. Age discrimination related to your employment may be protected by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”) and only applies to people aged 40 and over. The Office of Civil Rights handles ADA complaints, while the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission handles ADEA complaint.

Be mindful that before an employee can sue his or her employer in court, after filing a complaint with the appropriate federal agency, you must wait for the agency to issue a “right to sue letter,” which will entitle you to sue, within a specified period of time, an employer in court. You can request a right to sue letter at anytime.

In court, if an employee has experienced anything less than age discrimination related to hiring and firing, courts have frequently found that he must prove that the discrimination she experienced was a “materially adverse employment action.” What is materially adverse is tricky. For example, merely being transferred to another department where there is a minor discrepancy in working conditions, work hours, and previous pay may not be enough. The facts of your case are vital.

In addition, after an employee complains formally or informally to their employer about feeling discriminated upon because of age, employees often experience retaliation. Employer retaliation comes in many forms: verbal abuse; threatening emails; exclusion; unjustified demotions; groundless accusations that affect an employees reputation; and unsubstantiated suspensions without pay and other disciplinary actions, amongst other things. Sometimes employer retaliation becomes so severe that an employee experiences what is known as “constructive discharge” from their job.

Simply, constructive discharge is an environment that would compel any reasonable person to resign or consider resigning. Proving constructive discharge is not so simple, however, and requires being able to obtain essential information related to the hostile climate in which you were working in. In today’s technological age, that information involves more than witness testimony. A good lawyer should understand electronic discovery, how to get the emails, text messages, and other electronically transmitted information that can more forcefully argue your case.
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Several years ago a huge international scandal erupted surrounding the Chinese exporting lead contaminated toys to forty countries, sickening children from around the world who were exposed to the dangerous poisonous products.

You may remember the American toy company Mattel ended up having to recall over 1.5 million Chinese toys because of lead hazards. Unfortunately, since that big scandal several years ago, toy manufacturers from China have sought to replace lead from their products with an equally cheap and dangerous product called cadmium—a carcinogen that hinders brain development in young children who can suffer exposure to the poison just by putting the toys in their mouths.

Just yesterday the Associated Press reported that federal and state investigators have conducted investigations on the use of cadmium which have been found in children’s jewelry items imported from China in U.S. stores that included pendants from three Flip Flop bracelets and four “The Princess and The Frog” necklaces bought at Walmart and two charms on a “Best Friends” bracelet bought at the jewelry chain Claire’s.

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image.jpgFrequently, people ask how much their claim worth. And the answer is never simple. In personal injury cases, too often attorneys in Georgia determine the value of a victim’s recovery solely based on multiplying the amount of an injured person’s medical bills. However, your recovery should not only be linked to a simplistic, mathematical formula.

Simply put, the value of your recovery will depend on what a jury feels your recovery is worth. But since most cases are settled (never reaching a jury), your recovery typically relies on what the other person’s attorney or insurance company feels a jury “may” think your recovery is worth. Several factor go into demonstrating to the other side the value of your recovery. Here are some of them:

1. What was your degree of fault (if any) in causing your injuries? Your attorney must know how to assess this in order to maximize your recovery.

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Multiple automobile accidents occurred throughout Georgia today due to the snowy weather. As of late tonight the roads are still dangerous, so until the sun melts the snow off the roads it is best to avoid driving if at all possible. If you do need to drive, consider the following top ten tips for dealing with icy roads:

1. Decrease your speed significantly and allow three to six car lengths between you and the car in front of you to stop.

2. Brake gently to avoid skidding.

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Unfortunately, identity theft is on the rise. In the age of the Internet, many thieves are stealing username and passwords to break into online bank accounts and steal your money leaving no paper trail. This makes it even harder, by law, to hold banks responsible. While this is frustrating for consumers, causing credit report complications and disposable cash problems, victims who are business-account owners really get a bad deal: many federal regulations that protect consumer accounts such as the Electronic Funds Transfer Act do not protect business-account owners, regarding identity theft and subsequent illegal withdrawals.

The question for business-account owners is the following: how do you get your money back from your bank when someone steals your username and password and steals money out of your online business account, in Georgia? The answer depends on the facts of your case but here are some considerations that an effective attorney must address:

By law, generally banks in Georgia may not always have a fiduciary duty owed to their clients–a fiduciary duty is a duty owed because of a special relationship between, in this instance, the bank and its client. However, a fiduciary duty can be created, by law, if you have a contract with your bank that requires certain actions to be taken regarding your business account. That means the bank may have a higher standard of conduct owed to you.

For example, sometimes business owners open up business accounts that require special authorization before money or certain sums of money can be paid out from their business account. If that is the case, the bank “may” owe a fiduciary duty to you and be on the hook for money illegally withdrawn from your online account. Of course, other factors are involved.

In addition, while a contract may create a certain claim against your bank, what happens if you do not have a contract that created a fiduciary duty? An effective attorney must explore other claims and know what strategic approaches those claims require to be effective. For example, a claim of negligence could draw into question the bank’s security practices. In other words, did the bank use acceptable industry standards to protect your business account from being illegally broken into? Here, it is important to have an attorney knowledgeable about electronic discovery and computer forensics, amongst other things.
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Third party beneficiary contracts in Georgia are tricky. The closing of Grady Hospital Dialysis Center and the subsequent litigation regarding the effect of that closing on undocumented immigrants illustrates some of the obstacles that face third parties who have beneficiary rights under a contract in Georgia.

In October 2009 Grady Hospital closed its Dialysis Center and while those who qualified for Medicaid were transferred to another service provider, undocumented immigrants ran into a serious obstacle: they were named as beneficiaries to a contract between Grady Hospital and an external dialysis service provider. That contract stated that certain immigrants were entitled to dialysis care through September 2010.

Nevertheless, the immigrants had a legal claim against Grady Hospital if the contract terms made for their benefit were not upheld. The immigrants’ counsel eventually filed suit claiming, amongst other things, breach of contract.

In Georgia, third parties have a right to sue the “promisor” under a contract intended to benefit them. The issue then becomes, as the issue is for the immigrants in the Grady Hospital situation: who is a “promisor”? The answer depends on a thorough reading and understanding of both the contract at issue and the law. For example, is the contract unilateral or bilateral? And despite the language of the contract, what is the nature of the contract and the intent of the persons who made the contract? And, how identifiable are you, as a person intended to benefit from the contract, within the contract’s express language? These are only some of the important and complex questions that must be answered if you want to win your case.
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The law under O.C.G.A. §33-24-56.1 is very specific as to when your health insurance benefits provider can obtain reimbursement from your personal injury settlement due to the health benefits they provided you because of the injury. The law states that your health insurance benefits provider can only obtain reimbursement it has paid on account of the injury up to the amount allocated to those categories of damages in the settlement documents or judgment if they meet the following:

“1)The amount of the recovery exceeds the sum of all economic and noneconomic losses incurred as a result of the injury, exclusive of losses for which reimbursement may be sought under this Code section; and
2) The amount of the reimbursement claim is reduced by the pro rata amount of the attorney’s fees and expenses of litigation incurred by the injured party in bringing the claim.”

What does this mean for you? It means that only if an insurance company can prove that you have been fully compensated: “made whole” are they able to recover reimbursement. Here is an example to illustrate: let’s say you recovered $200,000 in a settlement for your personal injury claim, let’s also say the sum of all your economic and noneconomic losses totaled $300,000, and the insurance company paid $50000 in your medical bills for your injury which they are now seeking reimbursement. In this situation, the insurance company cannot go after your settlement money to get reimbursement because the sum of your recovery ($200,000) did not exceed your total economic and noneconomic losses, exclusive of losses for which reimbursement may be sought ($300,000-$50,000= $250,000).

However, if it did, we would then jump to the second prong of the statute which states that the amount of reimbursement still must be reduced “by the pro rata amount of the attorney’s fees and expenses of litigation incurred by the injured party in bringing the claim.”
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You’ve been injured in a serious accident and receive a $100,000 settlement for your injuries. Your health insurance company covered most of your medical bills. The question: Can your health insurance company seek reimbursement for all the medical bills they paid to treat your injuries? An effective attorney can help you with these questions.

Georgia statute §33-24-56.1 is known as the “Reimbursement Statute” under Georgia law. This law prohibits the insurance company from being reimbursed “if” you have not been fully compensated for all economic and noneconomic losses. §O.C.G.A. §33-24-56.1(b). Determining “if” you have been fully compensated requires a complete understanding of Georgia law because the issue is often complex.

Another important consideration is that O.C.G.A. §33-24-56.1(c) prohibits your health insurance company from withholding or reducing your coverage as a setoff for reimbursement. The law also prohibits insurance companies from creating policies or contracts that conflict with the law. O.C.G.A. §33-24-56.1. The law also sets forth a procedure to be followed by the you, the injured party in providing notice of the personal injury claim to the benefit provider (O.C.G.A. §33-24-56.1).

The point is clear: understanding the law when reviewing your policy is vital to maximizing your negotiating position with stubborn insurance companies, to help protect the compensation you receive, for the injuries you suffered.
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Atlanta, GA 30326
Phone: (404) 654-0288
Fax: 404-592-6225
Email: julie@goodgeorgialawyer.com

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