Law Blog Atlanta

Georgia does not have a legal requirement for hospitals to create public accounts of known infections that patients can contract while receiving medical attention.  A public account of infections is not uncommon, as 28 other states have this legal requirement.

Some Georgia hospitals like Piedmont Hospital are more forthcoming about potential infections than others, even though it is technically not a requirement.

The caring and experienced lawyers at Pope & Howard P.C. are dedicated to representing the interests of clients who have suffered from infections caused by medical negligence. The expert legal team provides a thorough investigation, examining medical records of patient’s conditions and procedures, to file suit and claim fair and full compensation.

Infections from surgery or wrongly prescribed medicine can occur immediately or after time has passed. The skilled attorneys at Pope & Howard P.C. provide a comprehensive investigation to ensure that all evidence and pertinent information is gathered.

Common infections and conditions contracted while receiving medical care include:

• Staphylococcus (Staph) infections
• Nerve damage
• Anemia or other blood conditions

If you or someone you know has suffered from an infection while receiving medical care, please contact Pope & Howard, P.C. at 404-994-4486. You can also visit our website, popehoward.com, for more information.  The initial consultation is free.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is attempting to make the roads a little safer for everyone. Last week, the group petitioned officials of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to require greater standards for the underride guards found on commercial trailers and trucks.

If the Institute succeeds, underride guards, which are the structures that prevent smaller vehicles from sliding underneath trucks, would be required to be stronger than the current law mandates. This could do a great deal to limit the amount of damage and injury that trucking accidents cause every year.

Here at Pope & Howard, our team of trucking accident lawyers has seen accidents and injuries that leave our clients and their loved ones suffering. In some cases, the trucking accidents prove deadly. In other cases, the accidents leave our clients too injured to return to work. We are happy to see that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is taking tractor trailer accidents so seriously.

Do you need a trucking accident lawyer? If you’ve been severely injured in a trucking accident, whether due to underride or other factors, the Atlanta trucking accident lawyers at Pope & Howard, P.C. can help. Please visit the website at www.popehoward.com or call 404-994-4486 for more information. Your first consultation with us is free of charge.

ATLANTA, GA –12/7/10 – Atlanta trial attorney Marc Howard will address the holiday meeting of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association (GTLA) on December 10, 2010. Howard is chairman of the Civil Justice Political Action Committee (PAC) and will report on the activities of the PAC for the last election cycle.

Pope & Howard, P.C. is an Atlanta law firm specializing in catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases. Geoff Pope is the President-Elect of the GTLA and Marc Howard currently serves as Chair of the Civil Justice Political Action Committee of GTLA and is a member of GTLA’s Executive Committee.  Howard also serves on the Georgia State Bar Board of Governors, representing Atlanta Post 36.

The PAC is a bipartisan organization with the goal of supporting both Democrats and Republicans who support the civil justice system and the constitutional right to trial by jury. Howard steered the PAC through the last election cycle, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for Georgia legislative candidates.

“We need legislators who support the right of the people to have their cases determined by juries,” said Howard. “The Government should not substitute its judgment for that of citizens who have heard the facts of a case. We will stand behind candidates who stand up for the constitutional right to trial by jury, regardless of political party.”

The lawyers at Pope & Howard have successfully tried and settled hundreds of personal injury and wrongful death cases. They are committed to serving and protecting Georgians’ rights, and will continue providing high-end legal representation to individuals who suffer severe personal or financial injury due to the wrongful conduct of others.

For more information on Marc Howard, visit please visit http://www.popehoward.com or call today for a free consultation: (866) 910-0642.

About Pope & Howard, P.C.

The lawyers at Pope & Howard, P.C. in Atlanta, Georgia, are experienced trial lawyers dedicated to fairly representing clients for just compensation. The firm’s specialties include brain and spinal cord injuries, construction site accidents, trucking and tractor trailer, automobile and aviation accidents, and other cases involving wrongful death and catastrophic personal injury. Please visit the firm online at http://www.popehoward.com to learn more. Free consultations are available to potential clients.

Trial lawyers like those at Pope & Howard in Atlanta, Georgia, see many cases where the law unfairly limits the rights of victims of medical negligence.  However, at least one such limit has been found to violate the constitutional right of trial by jury.

Harvey P. Cole, M.D., of Atlanta Oculoplastic Surgery, performed a full facelift on Ms. Betty Nestlehutt. A few weeks after the surgery, complications arose, resulting in the patient’s face becoming permanently disfigured. Ms. Nestlehutt, along with her husband, sued the medical office for malpractice.

At trial, a Fulton County jury awarded the victim a total of $1,265,000.  Dr. Cole claimed that this amount should be reduced because of a $350,000 cap on non-economic damages that had been enacted into law in 2005.

Ms. Nestlehutt and her attorneys asked the trial judge to declare that the law violated the constitutional right to trial by jury.  The judge granted this request, and Dr. Cole appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court.

On March 22, 2010, the Supreme Court unanimously held that the right to trial by jury could not be limited by the Legislature through a cap on medical malpractice damages.  Therefore, the jury’s award of damages to Ms. Nestlehutt should be paid in full.

Because of this decision, victims of negligence in medical malpractice cases are entitled to have a jury of ordinary Georgia citizens determine the appropriate amount of damages after listening to the facts and being instructed on the law.

The Atlanta Medical Negligence attorneys at Pope & Howard P.C. represent injured victims of medical malpractice in the Atlanta area, and across the state of Georgia.