Personal Injury

Published on: June 17, 2010

Malpractice Applies to More Than Just Medical Professionals

Malpractice can happen in just about any field. It’s not just exclusive to the medical profession.

When it comes to malpractice, people tend to automatically think medical malpractice. While there is a fair amount of medical malpractice happening these days, it isn’t just doctors and nurses that may be sued for malpractice.

In a nutshell, any professional with greater learning who makes a mistake and doesn’t treat you according to their level of higher learning, may be guilty of malpractice. Put another way, a malpractice case may involve those who have been specially educated or certified in some manner “not” doing their job up to the expected level.

Published on: May 25, 2010

Another 18-Wheeler Death in the Nation

By Stephen M. Ozcomert

This accident was unusual, as it was a single vehicle 18-wheeler crash. It cost the trucker his life.

This 18-wheeler accident happened on I-95 in Oklahoma. The trucker was hauling equipment for country and western singer Carrie Underwood when his vehicle veered to the left shoulder and scraped along 400 feet of guardrail. During the impact, the fuel tank was torn open, igniting the diesel as it spilled. The flames consumed the driver side of the bus he was hauling, as his truck slammed into a bridge abutment.

The abutment was located right where the I-95 passes over another road. At that point, the trailer tumbled over the embankment and landed on the median of the road under the abutment, blocking both southbound lanes.

Published on: April 25, 2010

Kids’ Toys, Jewelry and Slings Dangerous

By Stephen M. Ozcomert

When will the product recalls stop? This time, baby sling carriers are in question.

First it was kids’ toys, then jewelry and now, baby slings. What is the world coming to with all the dangerous products on the market lately? It isn’t just kids’ products either. Witness the massive recalls of blinds that are known to strangle children, cars that suddenly accelerate for no reason and cause accidents and death, Blue Bird school buses with wiring harness problems and All Tom’s BBQ potato chips for the risk of salmonella.

The latest flap involves two baby slings made by Infantino in San Diego, California. Although, this may be just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to baby slings in general. “These sling style carriers were recalled after three babies suffocated in them, prompting a massive recall of over 1 million slings,” outlined Stephen M. Ozcomert, who handles personal injury cases, accidents, and malpractice law in Atlanta, Georgia.

Published on: March 28, 2010

Standing Water on Concrete Floor Causes Serious Injury after Fall

By Stephen M. Ozcomert

Slip and fall accidents may be more than just embarrassing. They may cause serious injuries and even death.

“Premises liability is a tricky area of the law and there are several things that need to be in place before a good case is made to take to court. Let’s take a look at a case we heard about recently that involved an entrepreneur with her own business that badly injured her knee in a slip and fall at a grocery store,” said Stephen M. Ozcomert who handles personal injury cases, accidents, and malpractice law in Atlanta, Georgia.

The woman in question was shopping at a local grocery store where she slipped and fell in a high traffic area due to standing water on a concrete floor. The condition was made even worse because the water had plant food and organic soil in it, which made the surface of the concrete very slick. “In other words, this was not just standing water on concrete. It was standing water with additives that made the surface of the concrete slippery,” Ozcomert pointed out.

Published on: March 1, 2010

Cell Phone Convo Distracted Driver and Seriously Injured Police Officer

By Stephen M. Ozcomert

People just don’t seem to realize that being on a cell phone while driving is a deadly distraction. This case demonstrates that clearly.

This car crash happened on an expressway where vehicles were traveling at high rates of speed. A state trooper was seriously injured as a result of this collision caused by a 19-year-old woman talking on her cell phone.

The details of this case indicate that the 19-year-old Kimmy Buetel (name has been changed to protect the victims) was on the local expressway and busy talking on her cell phone; so busy in fact that she didn’t pay attention to the state police cruiser parked on the right shoulder of the road. The officer was handling a traffic stop.

Published on: February 27, 2010

Keeping Eyes Forward Not on a Cell Phone Prevents Accidents

By Stephen M. Ozcomert

There is only one cell phone law in the State of Georgia; the one relating to school bus drivers. That may change if the Bill in the House dealing with this is passed.

Who hasn’t been behind a person on cell phone trying to drive at the same time and making a total mess of it? Cell phone use while driving and texting while driving are two new additions to what makes driving a real hazard in the 21^st century. That last brutal car crash on the Interstate, the one that took the life of a young teenage boy, was the result of the teen texting while driving. He never saw the 18-wheeler he slid under.

“While it may seem to be a no-brainer that people who use cell phones and drive at the same time are accidents looking for a place to happen, this isn’t easy to prove statistically speaking. I just recently read a study released by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety that indicated bans on handheld cell phone usage while driving didn’t make a different to accident rates. This piqued my interest and I did some further research, knowing Georgia was about to pass a ban into law,” commented Stephen Ozcomert, an Atlanta personal injury and malpractice attorney.

Published on: February 1, 2010

Premises Liability Extends to Golf Courses as Well

By Stephen M. Ozcomert

Who would think that premises liability would extend to a golf course? It does and course owners and employees need to be aware.

Let’s consider a case that we heard about just recently about a man who wound up with traumatic brain injury after falling off a golf cart. The man’s wife is seeking damages for the trauma and loss of consortium in the form of a personal injury lawsuit.

The story goes like this: the gentleman was golfing when one of the club’s employees offered to give him a ride in one of the club’s golf carts. Evidently rather than being able to sit on the front seat with the employee, he was told to stand in the area normally reserved for carrying the golf clubs. The foundation of this personal injury lawsuit is the negligence of the employee who was driving the golf cart at the time of the accident.

Published on: January 30, 2010

Who Is at Fault in an 18-Wheeler Accident Is Critical

By Stephen M. Ozcomert

When a car meets an 18-wheeler head on, the results are not pretty. In cases like this, it is critical to know who was at fault for the accident.

Let’s take a look at a real life case example. Picture a big rig barreling down the interstate heading west. On the other side of the highway route, a car is traveling east. The car, for some unknown reason, suddenly veers left of the centerline, causing the semi to swerve to avoid the car. While the intention was there to avoid an accident, in reality, the defensive driving maneuver the trucker took failed. The car was subsequently stuck under the big rig.

It will come as no surprise that the driver of the car was pronounced dead at the scene. An open and active cell phone was found by police lying on what was left of the front seat of the car. The accident also caused an oil and gas spill.

Published on: January 20, 2010

Georgia Insists on Car Insurance

By Stephen M. Ozcomert

Just in case you don’t know this, you should if you live in the state of Georgia. Everyone must have car insurance.

If you’re a newbie just arriving in Georgia from another state or out of country, one of the first things you will want to know is that you need car insurance. If you think no one will know whether you have it or not, think again. In 2003, Georgia made an arrangement where the state police have access to the Department of Motor Vehicle Safety database. This information clearly shows the police who has expired insurance or no insurance.

Now you may be thinking that if you happen to be carrying an insurance card and have an accident that this is proof enough. It isn’t, and can’t be used as proof of valid insurance. Unfortunately, having the card could mean the driver is trying to pull a fast one on the police. While the vast majority of car owners would be honest enough to actually “have” the required insurance, there will always be exceptions to the general rule.

Published on: December 28, 2009

The Scoop on Personal Injury Lawsuits

By Stephen M. Ozcomert

More than any other area of law, personal injury cases tend to be extremely confusing to many. Victims are often not sure what they should do.

“After being in practice for as long as I have, the number one area that I get questions in usually pertains to some very common misconceptions about personal injury law. The top question is usually asking if they need to hire an attorney to settle their case,” commented Stephen Ozcomert, an Atlanta personal injury attorney.

It’s one thing to not really understand the law and how it works; after all the “is” a lawyer’s job. However, not really grasping what personal injury law is about, even in a general manner, may have a significant impact on an individual’s claim and potential settlements. “While it’s true that victims aren’t mandated to hire an attorney, it is generally in their own best interests to do so. Why? Because the attorney is able to outline the type of compensation handed out in other similar cases,” added Ozcomert.