Month: April 2011

Wrongful death cases involve liability just like other kinds of personal injuries. However, these cases are about recovering compensation for the economic losses incurred due to the death.

“We have seen many auto wreck cases over the years and tend to hear about many more. This one caught our attention when we discovered that the fatal accident was caused by a 14-year old driver. Needless to say, he lost control of the Mustang he was driving, flipped it over and slammed it into a tree. When a moving object hits a stationary one, the results are generally not pretty. In this case, two died and two were left in critical condition,” said Robert Webb, an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense and business law.

While the families may never know how the 14-year-old got behind the wheel and was driving, reports indicate that two of the dead included a 26-year-old woman and a 10-year-old boy. The car’s driver and a 6-year-old were critically injured and rushed to hospital. “The obvious question here is: what was the 26-year old-woman thinking when she allowed a 14-year-old to drive? The other not so obvious question is: who did the car belong to?” Webb asked.

Unfortunately, no one was wearing seatbelts at the time of the impact; a fact that made the injuries sustained even worse and pretty much ensured the death of the other two occupants. There is not much doubt that the family of the two dead individuals will likely want to speak to a wrongful death lawyer about obtaining compensation for the loss of their loved ones. “In this case, it may be the parents of the 14-year-old who will be sued when the dust settles and the police find out who owns the car and who allowed the child to drive in the first place,” Webb said.

Personal injury cases, including wrongful death situations, are cases that a skilled Atlanta personal injury lawyer will handle on behalf of a plaintiff. Each case is different. Each case is unique and assessed on its own merits. Each case will have a different outcome and each wrongful death case has a certain time limitation for filing, something that a plaintiff needs to discuss with the Atlanta personal injury lawyer.

“Wrongful death cases are civil cases and are filed under the auspices of your state’s wrongful death statute. Every state had different requirements and it’s best to ask your lawyer about those when you seek legal counsel,” Webb said.

To learn more, visit http://www.webbdorazio.com.

When a medical equipment manufacturer kept selling their product to a Georgia doctor, they were selling to a man facing 19 medical malpractice lawsuits.

“This is perhaps one of the most horrendous cases of medical malpractice that we have ever heard about,” said Robert Webb, an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense and business law. “It involved a complaint filed against a Georgia company that sold video-guided catheters to a doctor with 19 medical malpractice lawsuits filed against him.”

It is quite amazing that any medical equipment company would even consider selling equipment to someone with one medical malpractice lawsuit pending, never mind 19. The suits outlined that the video-guided catheter was being used with a laser; something the USFDA did not approve. “The doctor in question filed for bankruptcy; a move that put a complete halt on the med mal lawsuits,” Webb said.

Just prior to declaring bankruptcy, the negligent surgeon settled three of the 19 medical malpractice cases and lost two trials. He was forced into paying out at least $6.1372 million to the two cases that went to trial. Other lawsuits were variously asking for $750,000 and punitive damages based on the allegations that his patients sustained pain, numbness, paralysis, weakness, incontinence and nerve damage after being subjected to laser spine surgery. The spine surgery was done with an altered video-guided catheter combined with laser.

The disturbing thing about this case is that representatives of the company who made the original video-guided catheter were present during a large number of the operations. “They were aware of and knew the patients were at risk by allowing the doctor to alter its device in a manner not approved by the USFDA,” Webb said. Patients who sued the renegade doctor were asking that the company stop selling the device to the physician in order to protect other innocent people in the future – should the doctor still be able to practice.

While it is nearly incomprehensible that the doctor should ever be allowed to practice again, stranger things have happened. “If something like this has happened to you and you do not know where to turn, please, call my office, we would be happy to discuss your case with you and outline your legal rights,” Webb said.

To learn more, visit http://www.webbdorazio.com.

There are a number of ways to commit medical malpractice. Overdosing a baby with too many nutrients is one of them.

Medical malpractice is a highly controversial subject in America. On one side of the fence there are those who feel the damages awarded in a med mal case should be capped at a certain figure. On the other side of that same fence are the proponents in justice for the victim of medical malpractice. This particular case is one of those kinds of cases where justice for the victim should be paramount, but given med mal damage award capping, the innocent child victim may not have what she needs to move forward with her life.

This case made headlines across the nation for its inconclusive financial outcome for the victim. Ultimately, the jury in the case awarded the family $19.2 million to care for their blind daughter with cerebral palsy. The now three and a half year old was born prematurely in 2007, and for some reason the hospital gave her a dose of nutrients that was 100 times what the amount should have been.

That mistake sent the baby into cardiac arrest and caused other serious side effects, including cerebral palsy and blindness. The devastated family chose to file a medical malpractice lawsuit against the hospital. Their daughter would never be the same again and will remain in a wheelchair and need diapers for the rest of her life. She will never be able to feed herself.

The hospital argued in court that the reason the baby went into convulsions was due to her being premature. The jury did not agree and awarded the family $19.2 million. However, since the family lives in a state where there are liability caps, the award may be limited to $200,000. It is a struggle to think that would be fair compensation in a case like this.

Not all states have med map caps so before you choose to file a medical malpractice lawsuit, it is a wise investment of time to consult with a skilled Atlanta personal injury lawyer. You will need to know your rights, whether or not there is a med mal cap in your state, what documents you will need to move forward and what damages you may or may not expect. Do not wait too long, as there is a statute of limitations on medical malpractice cases; another thing you need to discuss with your Atlanta personal injury lawyer.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.

Today’s drivers have more than enough distractions to keep their minds off the road, making driving while distracted an accident looking for a place to happen.

While you would like to believe that everyone out on the road is careful, cautious, alert and paying attention to what they are doing while driving a large and potentially deadly vehicle, that is not always the case. Consider the circumstances involved in one really bizarre case where a woman relied on her global positioning system for instructions instead of paying attention to where she was. The result was an accident that could have been avoided.

Sure, GPS systems have their place in driving, but what if the GPS system, as may be the case here, is not accurate? If you are not watching where you are going and what you are doing, you too could have an accident, and not necessarily a minor one.

You may recall the story of a woman who was walking while distracted and followed the instructions of a GPS to take a route right down the middle of a freeway to get to her destination. She was hit by a car. Walking while distracted and driving while distracted have the same potential to be deadly, the same potential to result in personal injury accidents and the same level of personal distraction that has a serious impact on others.

In the case of the driver relying on a GPS system that provided erroneous directions, the woman was on her way to her daily workout and made a left turn when she was told to by her GPS. What happened was, instead of ending up in the parking lot of the gym, she turned left into the path of another car.

The accident was bad enough that both drivers needed to be treated for injuries. She was two-tenths of a mile from where she should have been and incurred physical injuries to her body and complete embarrassment over how those injuries were inflicted.

Luckily, the GPS driver in this story was not seriously hurt, but then again, the jury may still be out on that issue, as seemingly insignificant injuries often turn out to be worse than they look. As for the whole story itself, either you believe the GPS did the deed of providing lousy instructions that caused an accident or you believe that the woman just was not paying attention and caused the accident without the help of the GPS. Should this case go to trial, the outcome may be interesting.

For accident victims who have been in a crash and sustained personal injuries as the result of someone else’s negligence, make it a point to discuss your case with an Atlanta personal injury lawyer.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.