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A common mistake that unrepresented individuals can make following a car accident is to hastily agree to a settlement offer made by the defendant’s insurer and sign a liability waiver, precluding them from filing suit for any future issues that may arise, such as undeveloped or undiscovered personal injuries.

In one such case, it appears as though the plaintiff may have been represented, as there was very specific language regarding the nature of the limited liability waiver which she signed.

In the case, Watford v. Cowart, Dist. Court, MD Ga. (2013), the parties were involved in a car accident in Cook County, Georgia. Following the accident, the plaintiff filed suit, seeking damages for the injuries she alleges were caused as a result of the defendant negligently and recklessly operating her vehicle. Plaintiff’s initial complaint sought general damages, special damages, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees and costs pursuant to Georgia State Law.

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Sometimes when car accidents occur, they are the result of a third party’s negligence, who was not actually involved in the collision.

In one such case, Wolfe v. Carter, 726 SE 2d 122, Ga. Ct. App.  (2012), a man suffered injuries when he became sandwiched between two tractor trailer trucks, when an unidentified driver made a u-turn across the highway. Apparently, the visibility on that day was very poor, due to some thick fog-like smoke. The drivers of the vehicles and law enforcement officials reported an inability to see more than 20-30 feet ahead due to the conditions.

An officer that responded to the collision believed that a fire must have caused the smoke, and thus contacted the Forestry Commission, and learned that only one person, the defendant in this action, had conducted a controlled burn in the area. The officer did not know whether the smoke on the roadway was caused by the controlled burn and conceded that it could have been caused by any fire in the area. Thus, believing that the smoke was responsible for the collision, and that the defendant was the only individual granted permission to conduct controlled fires around that time, the plaintiff filed suit against the defendant. Continue reading

Often the blame for an accident may fall on two people.

In this case, the mother of a young woman killed in a mid-intersection collision with a police cruiser alleges that the officer was driving recklessly and negligently just prior to the crash.

The 21-year-old woman, a passenger in the Jeep involved in the wreck, was ejected on impact. She was unresponsive at the scene, and was transported to a local hospital. The officer was taken to another medical facility.

In the 21st century people are living longer, fuller lives. In some instances, however, seniors or those with other disabilities need to be admitted to the care of a nursing or long-term care home. Statistics are showing that negligence and nursing home abuse is on the rise.

It’s a fact, over 1.6 million people in the US alone are nursing home residents, or patients in a long-term care facility. This is the tip of the iceberg though, as further analysis of the population trends indicate that nearly one quarter of the total US population will, at some point in their lives, need long-term care. This, of course, means an enormous load for the nursing staff dealing with these individuals on a daily basis.

While we’d like to think that our loved ones receive quality care, respect, a healing touch, and the dignity they deserve, this often is not the case. Studies carried out by the federal government have instead highlighted that nursing home care is not what it should be by any stretch of the imagination. Negligence and abuse are on the increase.