Court Decisions

Federal Judge Chides Defense for Destroying Evidence in Accident Lawsuit

August 22, 2014 | Benjamin S. Persons, IV

In any personal injury lawsuit, it is critical the parties to the case preserve any relevant evidence. A court may sanction either side if there is destruction or “spoliation” of evidence. A recent decision by a federal judge in Macon offers an example of these sanctions in practice.

Little v. McClure

This is an ongoing personal injury lawsuit arising from a motor vehicle accident. In February 2012, a tractor trailer collided with another vehicle at the intersection of Interstate 76 and Interstate 75 in Macon. The tractor trailer driver is the defendant. The plaintiffs allege he was negligent because he was distracted by talking on his cellular phone at the point of the accident.

Federal Court Holds Medical Interest Groups Should Not Dictate Admissibility of Expert Testimony

August 15, 2014 | Benjamin S. Persons, IV

Expert testimony is a critical element of medical negligence cases. The United States Supreme Court has charged trial judges with serving as “gatekeepers” who must screen out “speculative, unreliable expert testimony” before it even reaches a jury. But that does not mean judges enjoy unlimited discretion to decide which experts to admit. A federal appeals court in Atlanta recently chided a district judge for improperly excluding a plaintiff’s expert witness in a Georgia negligence case. The appeals court also rejected an attempt by the medical industry to dictate its own standards of expert witness reliability to the courts.

Adams v. Laboratory Corporation of America

The plaintiff in this case suffered from cervical cancer. She received several Pap smear tests, but the laboratory that analyzed the results failed to discover the cancer before it had spread to the plaintiff’s lymph nodes. The plaintiff then sued the laboratory for negligence.

Georgia Court of Appeals Says Accident Victim May Pursue Damages Arising from Emotional Trauma

August 8, 2014 | Benjamin S. Persons, IV

On July 16, a fractured Georgia Court of Appeals held a plaintiff could seek damages for emotional distress arising from a truck accident. Although Georgia law generally does not allow damages for “negligent infliction of emotional distress,” there is an exception for a “pecuniary loss” arising from physical injury. In this case, the appeals court judges disagreed over whether this pecuniary loss rule covered the circumstances alleged by the plaintiff.

Oliver v. McDade

The plaintiff and several others were returning home from a dirt race in a truck owned by the plaintiff and driven by one of his friends. The truck was towing the plaintiff’s race car. Somewhere on I-16 in Dublin, they stopped to check the trailer hitch. At that moment, a tractor trailer swerved onto the shoulder and hit the plaintiff’s truck and trailer. The plaintiff’s friend was crushed and killed immediately. The plaintiff suffered a number of physical injuries. He was subsequently diagnosed with a number of emotional injuries, including depression, insomnia, anxiety and suicidal thoughts.

Georgia Supreme Court Upholds Accident Victim’s Right to Seek “Uninsured Motorist” Compensation

August 1, 2014 | Benjamin S. Persons, IV

The Supreme Court of Georgia issued an important decision on July 11 that will make it easier for accident victims to pursue uninsured motorist claims against their insurance carriers. The Supreme Court, reversing a 2013 decision by the Georgia Court of Appeals, said a plaintiff could allocate part of a settlement with the defendant’s insurance carrier to punitive damages while retaining the right to pursue an uninsured motorist claim for compensatory damages. Georgia law does not permit recovery of punitive damages under an uninsured motorist policy.

Carter v. Progressive Mountain Insurance

This case began with a February 2010 two-vehicle accident. One driver sued the other for negligence. The plaintiff alleged the defendant was driving under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident. The defendant had an insurance policy limited to $30,000 in liability coverage. The plaintiff had her own uninsured motorist policy with Progressive Mountain Insurance.

Georgia Court Says Defendant Cannot Fault Plaintiff’s Employer in Accident Lawsuit

July 25, 2014 | Benjamin S. Persons, IV

If you are in an accident, and you sue the other driver for negligence, can the other driver turn around and argue your employer—who is not a party to the lawsuit—was partially to blame for letting you drive its car? That was the unusual question presented to the Georgia Court of Appeals. In a decision issued on July 16, a seven-judge panel of the Court rejected what it dubbed a “creative argument” by a defendant trying to mitigate her own potential liability.

Zaldivar v. Prickett

In 2009, two vehicles collided at an intersection. Although both drivers suffered injuries, only one driver sued the other for negligence. The other did not file a counterclaim.

Georgia Court Revives Pastor’s “Slip-and-Fall” Lawsuit Against Church

July 18, 2014 | Benjamin S. Persons, IV

Under Georgia law, the owner of a premises is liable for any injuries arising from a failure to “exercise ordinary care” in keeping said premises safe. A recent decision from the Georgia Court of Appeals illustrates how this duty is applied in “slip-and-fall” cases where there is an alleged hazard the owner failed to warn invited persons about.

Henderson v. St. Paul Baptist Church

The plaintiffs in this case were two visiting pastors, a husband and wife, invited to speak at a church in Clinch County. The church did not have a designated parking lot, so the local pastor directed the plaintiffs to park behind his own car on the left side of the building. The plaintiffs parked their car as directed, behind their host’s car and near some some shrubbery. One of the plaintiffs, the wife, later exited the car and walked towards the church’s front entrance. She walked through the ground near the shrubbery, which was covered in pine straw. Assuming it was safe, she stepped over the pine straw, which was in fact covering a hole. She fell into the hole and broke her leg.

“Sovereign Immunity” Won’t Let State Off the Hook for Faulty Road Design

July 11, 2014 | Benjamin S. Persons, IV

On July 10, the Georgia Court of Appeals ruled a lawsuit against the state’s Department of Transportation (DOT) could go forward. The lawsuit arose from a deadly accident at a recently redesigned road in Atlanta. The DOT argued it could not be held liable under the doctrine of “sovereign immunity,” but the appeals court said some of the plaintiff’s claims could still proceed.

Department of Transportation v. Kovalcik

In 2006, the DOT and the City of Atlanta agreed to renovate a section of Peachtree Road. The City hired a company to develop construction plans for the road, while the DOT awarded construction contracts. Construction took place in 2006 and 2007. The DOT conducted a final inspection of the road in January 2008.

Appeals Court Clarifies Definition of “Emergency Department” in Malpractice Cases

July 4, 2014 | Benjamin S. Persons, IV

Under Georgia law, an emergency room doctor (or other emergency health care provider) is not liable for malpractice unless there is “clear and convincing evidence” of “gross negligence.” This rule only applies when a patient is treated in “an emergency department” or taken to surgery from an emergency department. But what constitutes the “emergency department” of a hospital? The Georgia Court of Appeals recently clarified this issue.

Nisbet v. Davis

The Court of Appeals reviewed a trial judge’s denial of summary judgment to a physician at Gwinnett Medical Center in Lawrenceville. The plaintiff is the surviving spouse of a woman who died while under the physician’s care. The deceased had undergone surgery at another hospital in 2009 where the surgeon accidentally perforated her bowel twice. The next day, the woman complained of breathing problems, and she went to the Gwinnett Medical Center’s emergency department for treatment.

Georgia Supreme Court Shields Psychiatric Records From Family of Suicide Victim

July 3, 2014 | Benjamin S. Persons, IV

Georgia law declares “communications between [a] psychiatrist and patient” privileged and therefore excluded as evidence in a civil proceeding. But what happens when the patient is deceased and his heirs have reason to believe the psychiatrist may be responsible? A divided Georgia Supreme Court recently addressed that question.

Cooksey v. Landry

A young man committed suicide in 2012. He had been under a psychiatrist’s care for many years. A month before the man’s death, the psychiatrist prescribed two common antidepressant drugs. These drugs carried what is known as a “Black Box Warning,” which is the strongest warning the Food and Drug Administration may require for a legal product. The FDA cautioned that use of these two drugs can lead to “an increased risk of suicidal thinking and behavior in young adults.”

Insurer Liable for Ambiguously Worded Golf Cart Exclusion

June 30, 2014 | Benjamin S. Persons, IV

Not all motor vehicle accidents involve cars or trucks. Even the misuse of something like a golf cart may give rise to a personal injury lawsuit. And as with any accident litigation, the roles and responsibilities of the insurance companies may prove critical.

Golf Cart Accident

For example, the Georgia Court of Appeals recently weighed in on a personal injury lawsuit arising from a golf cart accident. The incident occurred in a planned community in Fayette County. A man was driving his motorized golf cart on one of the community’s paths when he struck and injured a woman. She sued for negligence.