Articles Posted in Court Decisions

Motor vehicle accidents often leave victims struggling to pay medical bills. Even if victims have insurance coverage through their employer, plan administrators may look for any loophole possible to deny benefits. A recent federal case in Georgia illustrates just how extensive litigation may become in such circumstances.

Faison v. Donalsonville Hospital, Inc.

This case began when a Georgia State Patrol officer attempted a routine traffic stop when he observed a motorcycle traveling 15 miles per hour over the highway speed limit. The motorcycle driver, who apparently feared a stop because he did not have a valid license or proper registration, decided to increase his speed in an attempt to elude the officer. Traveling upwards of 120 miles per hour, the driver lost control his motorcycle while navigating a curve, causing the vehicle to skid off the road. The driver suffered serious injuries as a result of this accident.

A federal judge in Augusta recently issued an interesting decision regarding an insurer’s liability for an accident allegedly caused by a drunk driver. The driver was driving his employer’s vehicle off-hours, and the insurer argued it was therefore not required to provide coverage under the employer’s policy.

Great American Alliance Insurance Company v. Hensley

This case arose from a 2012 accident between a truck and a motorcycle. The driver of the truck had consumed “at least four beers” prior to the accident, according to court records. The truck itself belonged to the driver’s employer. The employer had permitted the driver to use the truck for personal matters, and at the time of the accident he was not performing any work-related activity.

Last September, a federal appeals court in Atlanta asked the Georgia Supreme Court to rule on a question of state law relevant to a federal lawsuit. The Supreme Court delivered its answer in a unanimous May 11 opinion. The underlying case involves an accident victim’s entitlement to underinsured motorist benefits under an insurance policy.

FCCI Insurance Company v. McLendon Enterprises, Inc.

In September 2011, a school bus owned by Evans County collided with a privately owned truck. The truck’s driver, owner and passengers sued the Evans County Board of Education for negligence. Normally, state agencies like a school district enjoy sovereign immunity from civil suits. But the school district here had voluntarily taken out a $1 million liability policy. Accordingly, the school district settled with the defendants for the maximum limit on the policy, and could not be held liable for any amount beyond that.

Bicycle accidents occur all too frequently in Georgia and throughout the country. A 2012 federal study showed that 17 bicyclists died in accidents in Georgia, 11th highest among all states. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution further noted last year there were more than 129 bicycle collisions in Fulton and DeKalb counties alone in 2013, highlighting the potential safety risks of riding a two-wheel vehicle on the road.

But bicycle safety is not a one-way street. In Georgia, bicycles are considered “motor vehicles,” meaning bicyclists must obey traffic signals and follow certain safety practices. A bicyclist can never assume he or she has the right-of-way when riding into traffic. A recent decision by a federal judge in Georgia illustrates the perils for bicyclists who fail to obey traffic laws, then attempt to recover damages when they are subsequently injured in an accident.

Marshall v. Penland

Premises liability is often associated with “slip and fall” cases. For example, if a person slips in a puddle in the middle of supermarket and injures himself, the store can be held liable if it knew about the water and failed to mop it up in a timely fashion. But premises liability may arise from many types of hazards. Indeed, the Georgia Court of Appeals recently addressed a case where the alleged hazard was an unattended child sitting on the floor.

Barbour-Amir v. Comcast of Georgia/Virginia, Inc.

This case began when a woman went to a store in July 2010 to pay her cell phone bill. According to court records, “The store was narrow and crowded,” with several customers waiting in line. The woman waited her turn, proceeded to pay her bill, and as she turned to leave, she “tripped over a young child who was sitting on the floor behind her.” The woman fell to the ground and suffered injuries to her back, knees and ankle.

Government employees are not subject to the same standards as members of the general public. As a general rule in Georgia, a state employee enjoys “official immunity” when exercising discretion in the performance of his or her duties. Only when a state employee fails to carry out a specifically mandated “ministerial duty” can an aggrieved party seek damages in court.

Cooley v. Bryant

Recently a divided seven-judge panel of the Georgia Court of Appeals addressed this distinction between ministerial and discretionary acts. The plaintiff in this case is an inmate at a state prison. He suffered serious injuries when he lost control of a lawn mower assigned to him during a work detail. The mower’s “kill switch,” which is supposed to stop the engine in the event of such a loss of control, failed. The plaintiff subsequently sued the corrections officer supervising the work detail for “negligent inspection and negligent maintenance of the lawn mower.”

Jurisdiction is often a tricky issue to understand in personal injury cases. Most personal injury lawsuits, such as those arising from motor vehicle accidents, are heard in state courts. But a case may be tried in federal court if there is “complete diversity” among the parties. This means, for example, if you live in Georgia and get into an accident there, you can sue the other driver in federal court if he lives in Florida. And if you are suing multiple parties—say the other driver and her employer—then neither of those parties can be residents of Georgia.

Lyons v. O’Quinn

Here is a recent case addressing such a scenario. In October 2009, a woman was driving her vehicle the wrong way on Interstate 20. She hit a tractor trailer and died from her injuries. The tractor trailer driver also suffered serious injuries.

Malignant mesothelioma is a deadly form of cancer usually caused by exposure to asbestos. Prolonged inhalation of asbestos fibers can lead to a mesothelioma diagnosis decades after the fact. Because asbestos was commonly used in the construction industry until the 1970s, over a million people are still at risk for mesothelioma. Since the 1980s, litigation against asbestos manufacturers has skyrocketed.

Scapa Dryer Fabrics, Inc. v. Knight

The Georgia Court of Appeals recently weighed in on one such asbestos case. A divided seven-judge panel upheld an award of more than $4 million to a retired sheet metal worker and his wife.