Atlanta Injury Law Blog

A coalition of organizations has filed suit challenging the Hours of Services rules adopted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in 2005. Like the nearly identical rule issued by FMCSA in April 2003, which the court struck down in 2004, the 2005 rule dramatically increases both the number of hours that truckers may drive…

In the Amazing Firms, Amazing Practices blog, Gerry Riskin speculates that a new generation of suborbital commercial flight may lead to a breed of highly specialized global superlawyers who will go almost anywhere to bring unique skill and knowledge to bear on a legal problem. There is also an article in today’s New York Times…

Today’s New York Times reports that a growing shortage of qualified over the road truck drivers is leading cokmpanies to offer generous 401(k), stock option and health care packages to new recruits and cash bonuses and prizes to drivers who refer viable candidates. To compete with other companies for experienced drivers, some are outfitting more…

The Birmingham News reports today that tired truck drivers have killed 104 people on Alabama roads in the past three years. As we have frequently noted here, this is part of a national problem. From 2002 through 2004, the latest year for which statistics are available, there were 10,797 Alabama accidents in which the truck…

Sometimes it seems like half the job in catastrophic trucking litigation is analysis of insurance coverages. Recently I was consulted by a lawyer in my hometown about a situation in which an owner-operator’s insurer had tendered policy limits of $1,000,000. There was also a Lloyd’s “contingent liability endorsement” for an additional $1,000,00 issued to a…

A relaxed standard for determining whether expert testimony should be allowed to establish causation in a medical malpractice case has been adopted by New York’s Appellate Division, 2nd Department. The judges cautioned against an overly demanding approach to expert testimony which could result in prematurely choking off valid claims. The appellate court ruled that the…

Two studies released on Februry 16th may show potential for development of stem cell therapies for brain injuries. A Johns Hopkins University study has provided the first comprehensive map of a part of the adult human brain containing astrocytes, cells known to produce growth factors critical to the regeneration of damaged neural tissue and that…

We continue to see Daubert motions in which insurance defense lawyers attempt to exclude testimony of treating physicians on routine matters of diagnosis, causation and prognosis. We haven’t lost one of those motions yet, but they constitute a tremendous waste of time and resources for all involved. I would never accuse my brother lawyers of…

A septic tank truck failed to slow for traffic on Brown’s Bridge Road in Gainesville, Georgia, on Valentine’s Day, causing a four-vehicle crash. According to media sources, Kenneth David Chambers, 18, of Gainesville, a worker riding in the septic tank truck, was at risk to lose a leg. The Shigley Law Firm represents plaintiffs in…

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School have developed a technique for stretching axonal connections between neurons, forming an elongated nerve network that may be implanted to bridge damaged nerve tissue. While the study is a very early effort with lab rats, the researchers hope it will lead to treatment for human spinal cord…