Atlanta Injury Law Blog

Governor Nathan Deal is forming a Governor’s Commission on Teen Driving, to be comprised of at least 15 members between the ages of 15 and 19. Supervised by the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, this commission will prepare reports to the governor outlining ideas for a statewide strategy to educate teen drivers on hazards such…

When there is a catastrophic crash involving an interstate commercial motor vehicle, there can be a broad range of places to consider filing suit. The usual state rules strictly limiting venue options are preempted by the federal Motor Carrier Act which provides: A motor carrier or broker providing transportation … shall designate an agent in…

Large truck operations are governed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and largely identical state trucking safety rules. Sometimes people are surprised that these safety rules no not apply to tractor trailers only. Under 49 CFR 390.5, a commercial motor vehicle is defined to include any self-propelled or towed motor vehicle used on a…

When a loved one is killed or catastrophically injured in a collision with a tractor trailer, there may be a temptation to wait for a “decent interval” before hiring a lawyer who specializes in commercial trucking trial practice. The trucking company’s insurer may encourage that reluctance by saying some soothing things to lull you into…

Georgia State Capitol 1904 The Georgia Chamber of Commerce held a forum on tort reform last week. According to today’s Daily Report, Rep. Rich Golick, chair of the House Non-Civil Judiciary Committee who is a corporate attorney for Allstate Insurance Company in his “day job,” told the attendees: “Go talk to the plaintiffs bar. ……

Cruise ships are like floating cities with thousands of passengers on board. Usually a lot more fun than the typical workaday city, but probably no less likely to involve accidents and injuries. Cruise ship lines cannot guarantee that no one will get hurt aboard, but they do have a responsibility to prevent dangerous conditions on…

This month’s issue of the Georgia Bar Journal includes my swan song (“End of Year Report”) which I delivered June 1, 2012, at the plenary session of the State Bar annual meeting in Savannah. For those who need somnolent bedtime reading, here is the text as edited and published End of Year Report Kenneth L.…

Do advocates of more “loser pays” rules offer a solution in search of a problem? Are people unaware of the “loser pays” sanctions that are already part of Georgia law? As discussed in previous posts, Georgia already has five statutory “loser pays” rules, four of which passed in tort reform legislation during the time I…

Brig. Gen. Thomas R. R. Cobb, father of Georgia’s first “loser pays” statute” The oldest of the five “loser pays” rules in existing Georgia law has been in effect for nearly 150 years, having first appeared in the Code of 1863. That Code was largely the work product of Thomas R. R. Cobb, son-in-law of…

Before rushing into legislation to create yet another “loser pays” rule in Georgia law, it is useful to examine the five forms of “loser pays” rules we already have. I wrote earlier about OCGA 9-11-68 (offer of judgment / offer of settlement rule and frivolous claims and defenses rule) and OCGA 9-11-14 (no justiciable issue,…