Georgia Injury Lawyers Blog

Cyclist Awarded $3.2 Million in Sinkhole-Related Injury

April 4, 2018 | by Slappey & Sadd, LLC

A New Jersey man and his wife have been awarded $3.2 million in damages after a Philadelphia jury found the city of Philadelphia liable for his injuries. On May 17, 2015, Anthony Degliomini was riding his bike as part of the inaugural Phillies Charities Bike Ride when he hit a large hole just before crossing the finish line. Although he was wearing a helmet, he flew over the handlebars, hit the pavement, and was knocked unconscious. He was hospitalized for five days at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital before being transferred to Magee Rehabilitation Hospital, where he stayed for an additional 20 days. His attorneys say that his injuries were severe, including an injury to his spinal cord that necessitated the implantation of rods and screws to fuse his spine together.

Degliomini’s attorneys argued during the trial that the city of Philadelphia knew of the sinkhole before issuing the event permit to its organizers because it was visible on Google Earth images in October 2014, nine months before the event. They said that the city’s attempt to patch the sinkhole prior to the event failed because it was treated like a routine pothole. There was even debate during the trial over whether the hole in question was actually a “pothole” or a “sinkhole.” The hole measured 16 square feet in diameter and was six inches deep. Degliomini argued that this qualifies as a sinkhole, while the city of Philadelphia argued that it was merely a pothole. Either way, the jury sided with the plaintiff.

Holes and broken pavement present a serious issue for cyclists since they can cause a bicycle to stop abruptly, throwing the rider over the handlebars. And even if the rider is wearing a helmet, he or she could still suffer facial and spinal cord injuries like the plaintiff in the above case. In Philadelphia alone, the city repaired 30,000 potholes last year and is on track to repair approximately 44,000 this year. City officials say that this year is particularly challenging for potholes because of the constant freezing and thawing that the region has experienced, which helps to create potholes.

How to Prove Distracted Driving

April 4, 2018 | by Slappey & Sadd, LLC

Distracted driving is a major cause of accidents every year in the United States. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were 3,447 deaths and 3901,000 injuries due to distracted driving in the year 2015 alone. Among all types of distracted driving, texting is considered the most dangerous, since sending or reading one text can take your eyes off the road for a full five seconds. While texting is the most common and most dangerous type of distracted driving, there are many activities that can take your attention away from the road, including:

Eating
Grooming

Combatting Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

March 30, 2018 | by Slappey & Sadd, LLC

2017 was a watershed moment of sorts for victims of sexual harassment in the workplace, with many women (and men) coming forward to report inappropriate behavior by their superiors that long went unacknowledged. The wave of accusations that have come out in recent months has spread to seemingly every corner of our society—the media, the entertainment industry, and even Capitol Hill. We have previously published an article outlining the various civil actions available to victims of sexual abuse, but, in this post, we will define what behavior constitutes sexual harassment and what to do about it if it happens to you.

What Behavior Constitutes Sexual Harassment?

Under federal law, there are two forms of sexual harassment: quid pro quo and hostile work environment. Quid pro quo sexual harassment requires that a person in authority demands that subordinates tolerate sexual harassment as a condition of getting or keeping a job or job benefit, including promotions and raises. Hostile work environment harassment is grounds for legal action when the conduct is unwelcome, based on sex, and severe or pervasive enough to create an abusive or offensive work environment. Courts analyze several elements in determining whether a hostile environment harassment claim is valid, including:

Terminix Fined $9.2 Million for Using Pesticide that Poisoned Family

March 28, 2018 | by Slappey & Sadd, LLC

The pest control company Terminix will pay more than $9 million in criminal fines tied to their use of a banned pesticide that sickened a Delaware family who was on vacation in the US Virgin Islands in 2015. The US Department of Justice says Terminix was sentenced earlier this week after admitting to using a pesticide called methyl bromide at 14 locations, including the St. John resort where the Esmond family was vacationing. Terminix will pay $8 million in fines and $1 million in restitution to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The company will also perform community service.

The EPA Found Traces of the Illegal Substance

The incident occurred in 2015 while the family was on vacation at the Sirenusa resort on St. John when two employees of the local Terminix fumigated the villa below theirs on March 18 with methyl bromide, which is not approved for residential use. After the family became ill, the Environmental Protection Agency found traces of the lethal gas in their villa. The exposure was so significant inside the treated unit that 6 weeks after the family fell ill, dangerous amounts of methyl bromide were still being detected inside the rental villa, according to EPA documents.

Car Accidents Caused by Road Defects

March 26, 2018 | by Slappey & Sadd, LLC

Human error is the responsible for many traffic accidents and, in those cases, it’s fairly easy to allocate blame. Normally, the person who was responsible for causing the accident is liable for any damages he or she caused to other drivers. But what about accidents that were not caused by human error, but were instead caused by dangerous conditions on the road itself, such as potholes? In most cases, the entity liable for accidents caused by poor road conditions is the government agency responsible for maintaining the road on which the accident happened. However, suing a government entity is a bit more complicated than suing a person or a business.

Proving Negligent Road Maintenance or Construction

A person who is the victim of a car accident due to poor road conditions must first prove that the road conditions actually caused the damage to the car and resulted in their injuries. Second, the plaintiff must also show that the agency or company responsible for maintaining the road was negligent in its duty to provide a safe roadway or that they failed to adequately warn drivers of a potential hazard. And third, the plaintiff must determine if the agency responsible is allowed to be sued in court and whether too much time has passed since the accident. In order to prove that the agency in question was negligent in its duties, the plaintiff must show that the agency could and should have maintained the roadway but chose not to do so, or that the agency built the road in an unsafe manner. For example, assume that a state decides to cut down on roadway maintenance, which causes erosion of a roadway on a dangerous, steep curve. If a car goes off the curve because of this erosion, the agency may be liable for the driver’s damages.

What to Do if You are Bitten by a Dog

March 22, 2018 | by Slappey & Sadd, LLC

In the United States, we are a nation of dog lovers. There are an estimated 78 million dogs living in the United States, and approximately 44% of all households in the United States own a dog. That’s a lot of dogs running around. While the vast majority of dogs in this country live up to their title of Man’s Best Friend, not all of them do. Sadly, many dogs endure neglect and abuse at the hands of their owners, which often have the effect of making the dogs more aggressive than they would naturally be.

Below, we’ll go over what you should do if you are bitten by a dog and what legal options are available to you.

Steps to Take if You are Bitten by a Dog

Can Vehicle Owners be Liable for Damages Caused by Their Stolen Vehicles?

March 20, 2018 | by Slappey & Sadd, LLC

Imagine this scenario: You are sitting at the end of a long line of cars at a stoplight, and suddenly, your vehicle is violently struck from behind by a speeding driver who didn’t stop in time. To add insult to injury, the driver speeds off and you couldn’t make out his license plate number. After you are treated for your injuries, it turns out that the car that hit you was stolen.

This situation raises an interesting question—who is liable for your damages, the thief or the vehicle owner? In most cases, the thief will be solely responsible for your injuries. However, as with every legal issue, there are exceptions to the rules. Read on to find out when, and under what circumstances, vehicle owners can be liable for damages caused by thieves driving their stolen vehicles.

Vehicle Owners are Generally Not Responsible for Damages Caused by Their Stolen Vehicles…

Five Ways to make Money If You’re Out Of Work Due to Injury

March 16, 2018 | by Slappey & Sadd, LLC

So you’ve been involved in an accident and you can’t work until you are healed. How do you make money in the meantime? This is a very common dilemma many of our clients face, and something that we are asked about often. While workers’ compensation and disability can help to lighten the blow of not being able to collect a paycheck, you may have additional expenses you need to take care of that those programs don’t cover.

Below are five ways that you can make additional money while you are out of work due to an injury.

Online Selling

Civil Liability for Zika Virus Infections

March 14, 2018 | by Slappey & Sadd, LLC

The Zika virus is a mosquito-borne illness that originated in Africa in the 1940s and was initially detected in monkeys. It was later identified in humans by 1952. From the 1960s to 1980s, Zika virus infections were found mostly in Africa and Asia and were typically accompanied by only minor illness. Now, however, the Zika virus has become a full-blown epidemic in many South and Central American countries and has even made its way to the United States. Zika virus during pregnancy is often the cause of congenital brain abnormalities in the fetus, including microcephaly, and the Zika virus is also a trigger of Guillain-Barré syndrome. The virus is primarily transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito, but can also be spread through blood transfusions and sexual activity.

Below, we’ll examine three ways that you may be able to hold someone else liable if they were responsible for your Zika infection.

Employer Negligence

Study Shows that High School Seniors are the Riskiest of All Teen Drivers

March 12, 2018 | by Slappey & Sadd, LLC

A new study conducted by Liberty Mutual Insurance and SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) has found that older teen drivers experience more accidents and near misses than younger drivers. The study hypothesizes that this is because older teen drivers are often overconfident and perceive themselves as safer drivers than they really are. What is even more interesting is that parents may be unwittingly allowing this kind of behavior as consequences taper off for older teen drivers. Nearly 70% of teens aged 15 and 16 said they would lose their driving privileges if they were to get into an accident, while only 55% of older teens believe they would experience the same consequences.

Concerning high school seniors specifically, the study found that 75% of seniors feel confident in their driving abilities, but with age comes riskier behaviors. Older teen drivers (71% of whom were high school seniors) are more likely to use a phone while driving than younger teen drivers (55% of sophomores). These types of behaviors occur most often at red lights, stop signs, and while sitting in stop and go traffic, which are all situations in which the risk of having a rear-end accident are higher.

According to Dr. Gene Beresin, the senior advisor on adolescent psychiatry with SADD, “It’s natural for teens to gain confidence behind the wheel as they get older and log more driving hours…However, this age group is more likely to test the boundaries as consequences for bad driving behaviors decrease and their freedoms and responsibilities at home increase, making them feel more like adults. As a result, it is even more important for parents and teens to have conversations about safe driving practices to avoid potentially putting themselves and others at risk on the road.”