Press Releases

Published on: February 27, 2010

Keeping Eyes Forward Not on a Cell Phone Prevents Accidents

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 18, 2010

The License Can Be Revoked for Professional Misconduct

By Stephen M. Ozcomert

Been to the dentist lately and come away with something you didn’t expect? Dental malpractice is a real issue faced by patients in the chair.

In order to practice law, accounting, medicine and dentistry, among other professions, the dentist is required to have a license to practice in a certain state. This isn’t just a piece of paper that says nice words and welcome the dentist to the world of dentistry, this is a license that means that subject to heavy duty rules and regulations, they are allowed to practice their trade. Professional conduct is high on the list of things dentists are required to have.

Most states also have a licensing board that investigates complaints laid against dentists for various forms of negligence and malpractice. When in doubt about the rules and regulations in a certain state, it’s time to speak to a “licensed” and skilled medical malpractice attorney to find out the lay of the land. Knowing what rights a plaintiff has is a smart move. Even if the person inquiring suspects they may have been a victim of dental malpractice but are not sure, ask questions and find out how to proceed.

Published on: January 10, 2010

Gluing a Cracked Tooth Versus a Root Canal May Result in Dental Malpractice

By Stephen M. Ozcomert

Not a lot of people realize that they have the ability to sue their dentist for dental malpractice. If in doubt about a procedure that caused you harm, speak to a malpractice attorney.

Just about everyone realizes that lawyers generally carry malpractice insurance. However, not a lot of people realize their dentist also carries similar insurance for mistakes that they may make. Medical malpractice is fairly common and in most instances people will know immediately what that refers to when they see or read a news item. One doesn’t often read stories about dental malpractice, but it does happen. If you think your dentist has done something negligently and has caused you serious harm, speak to an experienced malpractice lawyer and find out what your rights are.

Statistically speaking, dental malpractice claims have held relatively steady for the last ten years or so. The one area where dental malpractice claims differ from medical malpractice cases is in the area of damages awarded. In other words, dental malpractice claims are usually smaller. Typically, when harm does occur, it happens due to improper treatment or services for the patient or the dentist failed to spot or correctly diagnose problems.

Published on: November 28, 2009

Settling a Motorcycle Injury Claim

By Stephen M. Ozcomert

If an individual survived a motorcycle crash they will need to have an idea of what to do to get their claim settled. Don’t do this as a solo act, as dealing with an insurance company may mean settling for less than may be awarded through the courts.

In the event of a motorcycle accident, the first thing that needs to be done is to figure out how serious everyone’s injuries are.That is the first and only priority at the scene of an accident. If a person is able to use a cell phone or ask someone else to call for help, do so. If the accident was the result of someone else’s negligence, don’t bother getting into it with them about who is in the wrong or who is in the right. This can be sorted out later when a personal injury attorney has been hiredto represent an insurance claim.

The next thing to do is to prevent those involved in the accident from any further harm. Put out any available flares to warn off traffic. This will also help preserve the accident scene. Do no move any of the vehicles involved in the accident as this will just confuse the issue later if the case goes to court. Destroying evidence by moving a vehicle will count against the plaintiff, so be smart and just leave things for the police to handle. When they’re done with their investigation, they will have the bike moved.

Published on: October 20, 2009

Insurance Companies and Motorcycle Accidents Don’t Mix

By Stephen M. Ozcomert

Car to motorbike collisions usually leave at least one person seriously injured or dead, but the insurance company wants to minimize its payout.

If a biker happens to survive a motorcycle crash they may find out that they have been crippled for life. Perhaps the collision was not the biker’s fault and he or she feels everything will be fine because it is covered by the insurance company. It’s a good thing the premiums were paid regularly every year, there were no claims, and the coverage was second to none.

With all these things on the side of the motorcycle rider, they would have every right to expect fair and prompt compensation from the insurance company. While the biker may “expect” that would be the case, it often isn’t what happens. Many motorcycle accident attorneys know that the insurance company is not a friend to anyone; and definitely not friendly if there is a severe injury that may require years of treatment and millions of dollars.

Published on: October 2, 2009

Fentanyl Patch Potentially Deadly

By Stephen M. Ozcomert

Just when you thought you were going in for routine dental work or a simple day surgery, you are issued a Fentanyl (Duragesic) patch for pain and either suffer drastic side effects or overdose and die.

Modern medical science has advanced at light speed over the years and when pain patches were introduced to the market, there were cheers from pain sufferers the world over.

Much like the idea behind the stop smoking patches, Fentanyl patches are loaded with a powerful pain killer that is supposed to be dispersed in the body in a controlled manner. This doesn’t always happen and the results have the potential to be deadly.

Published on: September 10, 2009

Gas Nozzle Accidents May Be Negligence

By Stephen M. Ozcomert

If you’ve ever been totally soaked by gas while filling up your vehicle because the hose separated from the nozzle, you may have cause to file a personal injury claim.

Getting gasoline all over yourself including in your eyes and all over your face, not to mention your clothes, is an upsetting experience. It may also be one that causes serious harm unless you get help immediately. Depending on the circumstances of the gas splash, you may have grounds to file a personal injury claim against the gas station for having a defective gas nozzle. If you do find yourself in a position like this, make sure you speak to a skilled personal injury lawyer for advice.

Let’s say there was no emergency eyewash station or other solution on hand at the gas station and the painful experience of having gas in your eyes was only alleviated by using the washroom and washing it out with water. Let’s also say that the hose was very clearly defective and that the management of the gas station knew or should have known the hose was in such a bad state – bad enough that they would have reasonably expected your type of accident could and would happen.

Published on: August 10, 2009

Medical Errors May Cost Lives

By Stephen M. Ozcomert

Every year there are more deaths across America chalked up to medical errors. This is when a health care professional doesn’t offer the patient quality care, and injuries or death may result.

Medical malpractice/medical errors don’t just happen in the hospital, although this is the association that many people have when they think about this term. In addition, it’s not just physicians that may make the errors. Those who may make an error in medical management include surgeons, dentists, nurses, hospital workers, eye doctors and general practitioners.

If you have questions about the statistics, then make it a point to check out the Journal of the American Medical Association. One of their most notable articles indicates that roughly 12,000 deaths happen yearly thanks to unnecessary surgery. Close to 7,000 fatalities were the result of medication errors in hospital and nearly 20,000 deaths were the end result of other errors in a hospital setting. The dollar amount that goes along with these errors is astronomical.

Published on: July 1, 2009

Unusual Defective Products Resulting in Personal Injury

By Stephen M. Ozcomert

The last thing one would think of causing serious personal injuries is a laptop computer. Nonetheless, a defective product is a defective product, no matter what it happens to be.

Every year thousands of Americans buy products that cause them personal injuries. Every year there are also thousands of product recalls for a variety of glitches ranging from annoying to capable of causing severe harm or death.

The last thing consumers expect when they buy a product is that it will harm them, and the last thing they also expect is that a company they rely on would ever put out a faulty product. “Unfortunately, this happens a great deal with everything from medical devices to baby car seats,” explained Georgia super lawyer Stephen M. Ozcomert of Atlanta.

Published on: April 28, 2009

Defective Medical Products – Implantable Cardiac Defibrillators

By Stephen M. Ozcomert

Guidant had an idea to develop an implantable cardiac defibrillator that captured the world by storm, but ended up in a nasty recall of 7 models of their medical product.

Guidant, who is now under the wing of Boston Scientific, took off like a rocket when they first brought out their implantable cardiac defibrillators. When they started to fail and the products were recalled, the company took a nose dive in public confidence, not to mention it became the target of widespread lawsuits for marketing defective medical products.

Guidant began life as a small company in 1972 and was successful enough that Eli Lilly bought them out in 1978. Their specialty was finely crafted cardiac defibrillators, and they continued making them without a problem until 2005 when there were 26 reported cases of their product failing. Rumors abounded that the company had known about the problem prior to 2005 yet did nothing about it.