Blog Archive - September, 2014

Many men faced with erectile dysfunction have come to view Viagra® as a dream drug, but a new study suggests that the dream could turn into a nightmare.  According to a new study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the drug might significantly increase the risk of melanoma.  The ten year study concluded that men who take Viagra® face a substantially higher risk of developing melanoma than men not taking the drug.  This study potentially raises concerns about the drug that has allowed many men to continue their sex life because melanoma is the most dangerous form of skin cancer.

Intoxicated drivers adversely impact the lives of many families throughout the United States every day.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that drivers endanger other vehicle occupants, motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians 112 million times per year by climbing behind the wheel while under the influence of alcohol.  Alcohol impaired drivers also claim the lives of over 10,000 people annually, and MADD reports that someone is injured by a drunk driver every 90 minutes according to data from NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), and someone is killed every 53 minutes.

A jury just hit R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. with a $23.6 billion punitive damages award in a lawsuit filed by the widow of a long-term smoker who died of lung cancer in 1996.  The lawsuit is one of thousands of lawsuits that have been filed in Florida since the Florida Supreme Court tossed out a $145 billion class action verdict.  The court in the prior class action case also ruled that plaintiffs only needed to prove that the product caused addiction and illness or death.

While we have previously discussed some of the issues involved in cycling accidents caused by roadway defects, the best way to understand these issues may be in the context of an actual personal injury lawsuit. For example, a DeKalb County jury returned a $7.6 million verdict against the Georgia Department of Transportation and other defendants when a bicyclist suffered serious injury in a crash alleged caused by a roadway hazard.

Drug and alcohol impaired driving can have a devastating impact on many lives, including the accident victim, the impaired driver and both of their families. The spike in prescription drug abuse in the United States has increased the risk of collisions caused by drugged drivers. According to SAMHSA's National Survey of Drug Use and Health, 10.2 million people reported driving under the influence of a drug taken for non-medical reasons during a 12 month period. When drivers elect to take the risk associated with drugged driving, they can be subject to punitive damages for injuries or fatalities they cause in traffic accidents.

Most motorists know that using their cell phone while driving can result in a traffic ticket, they might be less aware that their use of a GPS device also might run afoul of distracted driving laws in some states.  Whether you get your GPS data from a cell phone or a stand-alone navigation device, certain uses of GPS devices can constitute distracted driving.  A recent story in Consumer Reports discussed the applicability of distracted driving restrictions to GPS devices in all fifty states.

While dog bite laws differ from state to state, the knowledge of a dog owner that his or her dog has a tendency to be vicious can be an important issue in a Georgia dog bite lawsuit. This knowledge requirement is sometimes referred to as the "scienter requirement". This element of a dog bite claim is also sometimes referred to as the "one bite rule", but this terminology is misleading because the dog need not have bitten anyone in the past, and the dog does not get "one free bite".

When families entrust their aging loved ones to the care of a nursing home, they expect that the facility will provide adequate staffing both in terms of the quantity and quality of staff. If a nursing home cuts corners or fails to conduct adequate screening and supervision of staff members, the consequences for vulnerable nursing home residents can be devastating. Because elderly nursing home residents might suffer from cognitive limitations cause by Alzheimer's disease or dementia, residents might have a harder time alerting loved ones or seeking help when they are being mistreated, neglected or abused.

While Georgia drivers typically are attentive and cautious when traveling our streets and interstates, they might be a little less vigilant in parking lots. Drivers in parking lots can have a false sense of security because there are fewer moving vehicles, and drivers traveling through a parking lot tend to move at low rates of speed. However, a fairly sizeable number of auto collisions occur in parking lots. Further, these parking lot accidents often cause painful injury and costly vehicle damage.

Airbags have saved many lives and prevented car accident victims from suffering more severe injuries. However, defectively designed airbags can provide a false sense of security or expose vehicle occupants to even more serious injury. A study conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that frontal airbags saved 2,788 lives in a one year period. Despite these benefits, faulty airbags have allegedly caused hundreds of deaths and many more injuries.

While massive judgments in defamation suits might not be an everyday occurrence, Jesse Ventura recently convinced a California jury to award him $1.8 million in damages. The former governor of Minnesota and pro wrestler prevailed in a lawsuit that named Chris Kyle, author of the book "American Sniper", as a defendant. The focus of the defamation lawsuit was a claim in the New York Times' best seller that Kyle "decked" Ventura after reportedly hearing Ventura claim that the Navy SEALS "deserve to lose a few". Prior to Kyle's death last year, he denied that he made the story up despite Ventura's claim that the incident was fabricated.

Our Atlanta auto accident lawyers at Montlick and Associates have written before about the importance of Georgia's "move over" law. The purpose of the law is to protect those providing emergency services and otherwise performing work on the side of Georgia roadways. The law requires motorist to move over when emergency personnel or DOT personnel working adjacent to the roadway have their lights flashing. If the circumstances make it unsafe to move to an adjacent lane, then drivers are supposed to reduce their speed. However, the law, which is designed to protect police, firemen, EMTs, DOT workers, tow truck drivers and other emergency responders, has recently come under attack by skeptics who claim the law is not being used for the purpose intended.

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) announced a worldwide voluntary recall of its morcellator medical devices due to concerns of spreading cancerous cells. Removal of the device from the market follows J&J's Ethicon Inc. subsidiary's decision to suspend global distribution of the surgical tool three months ago. Ethicon is one of the biggest manufacturers of the device.

With the Labor Day weekend now in the rearview mirror, the days of summer fun and recreation are dwindling. Many kids are already back in school so opportunities to enjoy Georgia waterways are now becoming scarce. Our experienced Atlanta personal injury attorneys at Montlick & Associates encourage people considering swimming, fishing or boating on a Georgia waterway during the next few weeks to observe safety boating practices and to carefully supervise children.

A recently released report provided by the Insurance Information Institute (III) and State Farm® indicates that Georgia is among the top ten states for dog bites claims.  State Farm® is the largest provider of homeowners’ insurance policies in the United States.  During 2013, the insurer allegedly paid 106 Georgia dog bite claims that resulted in a total payout in the amount of $2.1 million.  The report demonstrates that our state has a ways to go in terms of adequately protecting individuals from dangerous dogs and indifferent dog owners.

Motor vehicle accident rates spike during the summer months for a number of reasons, but one possible factor involves the number of drivers traveling for vacation.  Drivers might be motivated to push to reach a vacation destination despite fatigue from a significant number of hours behind the wheel.  Similarly, drivers on vacation might keep later hours, consume alcohol and neglect their need for sleep.  Because our experienced Fulton County car accident lawyers recognize that sleepy drivers are much more likely to be involved in a serious collision, we encourage Georgia motorists not to drive when they are sleep deprived.