Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Published on: June 30, 2010

It’s the Other Guy’s Fault

In most accidents, someone is at fault. The hard part is figuring out who that is in some cases.

“It’s one thing to be in an accident but quite another when you then have to argue with someone else over ‘who’ was at fault in the first place. I see this a great deal in auto accidents and motorcycle collisions,” said Stephen M. Ozcomert who handles personal injury cases, accidents, and malpractice law in Atlanta, Georgia.

In some cases, it will be painfully evident who caused the accident; in others, it may take a long time before the facts come to light to apportion blame. And yes, there are certainly some cases where both parties are to blame. No two accidents are ever alike, despite the fact they may look alike on the surface. “There’s something that a lot of people don’t realize about accidents. It’s not the police who determine who is at fault; it’s the insurance company after you file a claim. They use police information to decide who is at fault,” explained Ozcomert.

Published on: June 21, 2010

Nursing Malpractice on the Rise

By Stephen M. Ozcomert

Unfortunately, over the last few years, the number of nursing malpractice cases has been increasing. This is not good news.

Evidently, nursing malpractice statistics have started to increase sharply over the last five years or so. The evidence of this is provided by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, whose figures reveal that registered nurses are now, more than ever, being held accountable for malpractice and negligence. The types of errors they are being held accountable for include medication errors, documentation errors and failure to assess or intervene.

It may be helpful to understand just what negligence actually means on the part of a medical professional from the point of view of an Atlanta personal injury attorney. A medical professional may be a doctor, EMT, RN, LPN, dentist, physiotherapist, radiation technician or anesthetist, etc. Negligence means they fail to perform a medical duty or obligation according to the “normal” standard of care. In many cases, nurses are also present when patients are injured mentally or physically.

Published on: June 18, 2010

Product Safety Issues Prompt Product Recalls

By Stephen M. Ozcomert

Generally speaking, products are safety tested before they hit the marketplace. Now and then, something goes wrong.

“While it’s true that most products are safety tested before they are put on the market, there are cases where something goes wrong – either intentionally or unintentionally. When that happens, consumers may be at risk for serious injuries or death. Nowhere is this more critical than when it comes to products for babies and children,” remarked Stephen M. Ozcomert who handles personal injury cases, accidents, and malpractice law in Atlanta, Georgia.

“In many cases of product recalls, you might see the news release saying that there have been no reported injuries at the time of the recall and that the company was voluntarily recalling the product. That ‘may’ happen in rare cases, but frankly, most product recalls are product recalls because someone was hurt, and in reality, a product has to hurt someone before the maker recalls it,” observed Ozcomert.

Published on: June 17, 2010

Malpractice Applies to More Than Just Medical Professionals

By Stephen M. Ozcomert

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: June 11, 2010

Bilked out of Money – Professional Misconduct

By Stephen M. Ozcomert

Investment fraud is a form of professional misconduct that unsuspecting people need to be aware of these days.

Investment fraud or investment scams generally have the same outcome – someone loses money they can’t afford to lose. They have been bilked into investing their hard earned dollars in a scheme that sounds “great” but the information is often fake and gravely misleading. Too often in situations like this the person who lost their savings doesn’t have much in the way of recourse to recover their losses.

The unfortunate thing here is that the financial planning industry seems to have more than its fair share of brokers and advisors who would think nothing of scamming their customers just to get rich quick. This isn’t to say that the brokerage industry isn’t regulated, because it is, by federal and state laws. Professional misconduct and fraud is definitely illegal and you may be interested in knowing some of the things to watch for when dealing with financial advisors that walk on the wild side.

Published on: June 1, 2010

Super Speeder Laws Support Trauma Care

By Stephen M. Ozcomert

Georgia has new penalties for dangerous drivers that support trauma care in the state.

This is quite possibly a groundbreaking development in terms of trying to handle the number of dangerous drivers in the State of Georgia. The “Super Speeder Law,” also formally recognized by the designation HB160, went into effect January 1, 2010. Its main thrust is to try and cut down on the number of speed-related accidents.

The new law dings all drivers convicted of doing speeds of over 75 mph on two lane roads and all drivers convicted of doing speeds of 85 mph and over on other Georgia roadways. This isn’t the end of the fines though. In addition to paying local fees, illegal speeders will have to fork out an additional $200 state fee for driving like demons.

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: May 25, 2010

Motorcyclist Hits Back of Truck in Fatal Accident

By Stephen M. Ozcomert

In another case of a driver not seeing a motorcyclist, this biker hit the back of a truck. He died shortly after the impact.

In this case a 57-year-old biker was out for a Saturday afternoon ride. About halfway along to his final destination, a teenager driving a pickup truck turned left right in front of the motorcyclist. The biker had no place else to go and couldn’t stop immediately and hit the right rear of the truck.

The force of the impact was so great that the biker was ejected and landed hard on the pavement. When the EMS crews arrived, they pronounced the man dead at the scene. The 18-year-old teen was not injured in this accident.

Published on: April 26, 2010

Wrongful Death on a Houseboat

By Stephen M. Ozcomert

In this case, a man died of a heart attack triggered by carbon monoxide poisoning. The family considered it a wrongful death.

This case involved a 62-year-old man who perished in June of 2008, as the result of a heart attack that was presumably triggered by carbon monoxide that pervaded the cabin of a rented houseboat.

“Apparently, other family members on the same boat were taken ill, but were able to recover,” recounted Stephen M. Ozcomert, who handles personal injury cases, accidents, and malpractice law in Atlanta, Georgia.

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.