Law Blog Atlanta

Reputable trial lawyer of Pope & Howard P.C. and President of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, Geoff  Pope, will be speaking on September 15, 2011 at the Ritz Carleton Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia from 11:35 a.m. – 11:50 a.m.

Pope will be presenting information on how to effectively use the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association to benefit legal practices. Pope’s discussion will be part of the Beasly Allen “Legal Strategies Atlanta 2011 Seminar.”

As President of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, Pope contributes to the efforts of the organization, which works in the legislative, political and media arenas to ensure that Georgians know and understand the importance of their rights to justice and are protected. For more information about the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association visit their website at http://www.gtla.org/GA/.

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 popehoward.com to learn more. Free consultations are available to potential clients.

One person was killed, another seriously burned and three individuals were injured as the result of a nuclear plant explosion in southern France.  Those injured by the explosion were not contaminated with radiation.

The explosion took place in an oven used to melt radioactive metallic waste, but the cause has yet to be determined. No leaks outside of the site have been reported.

Regardless of where a plant explosion occurs, unfortunately people can suffer catastrophic injuries or even death. The industrial accident attorneys at Pope & Howard, P.C. have extensive experience representing the victims of industrial accidents. Victims who survive these accidents can have their lives impacted in many ways, including:

• Pain and suffering
• Permanent burn injuries
• Expensive medical bills
• Lost income due to an inability to work
• Intense emotional distress

Pope & Howard, P.C. understand how complex industrial cases work, and have the knowledge to navigate the complex relationship between worker’s compensation and industrial accident litigation.

If you or someone you know has been injured or killed in an industrial accident, please contact Pope & Howard, P.C. at 404-994-4486. You can also visit our website, popehoward.com, for more information.

A terrifying situation occurred on Friday, April 1, 2011, when a hole tore open on top of a plane, carrying 118 people. Passengers used oxygen masks, while pilots quickly maneuvered the plane below 10,000 feet. No serious injuries were reported.

The nearly disastrous accident took place on a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 in Yuma, Arizona. Mechanics have since placed a large green aluminum patch on the plane to repair the hole. As a response, the Federal Aviation Administration issued an emergency order for urgent inspections on similar older-model planes.

Airplanes have a reputation of being safer than other forms of transportation, but aviation accidents do occur, usually due to a mechanical error. The experienced lawyers at Pope & Howard, P.C., represent victims who have lost loved ones due to aviation accidents that take place due to a variety of causes, among them, failed parts, mechanical errors or human errors. The lawyers at Pope & Howard have a full understanding of aviation law, and can recommend the best course of action for you and your family.

If you or someone you know has been injured or killed in an aviation accident, please call Pope & Howard, P.C. at 404-994-4486 or visit the website at www.popehoward.com. Tell us about your experience – the initial consultation is free.

On New Year’s Eve, an explosion at the Federal-Mogul plant in Blacksburg, Virginia seriously injured workers at the plant. Such industrial accidents often trigger an investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and it is likely such an investigation will occur here.

Marc Howard, founding partner of the Pope & Howard, P.C. law firm, is a Blacksburg, Virginia native who routinely handles cases involving industrial accidents resulting in severe injuries.

“Explosion cases are some of the most difficult for the people involved, as they often result in serious burn injuries and post traumatic stress” said Howard. ‘Industrial accidents, including explosions often cause catastrophic and permanent injury.” In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were a total of 5,488 workplace fatalities in the United States in 2007.

Industrial and workplace accident litigation is an extremely complicated, sophisticated area of personal injury law. Usually, thousands of pages of documents, multiple parties, the need for electronic discovery, and large corporate defendants make industrial accident cases difficult for most Plaintiffs’ attorneys.

Contrary to what most personal injury lawyers think, workers’ compensation does not usually bar workplace injury or industrial explosion lawsuits. Contractors working at an industrial facility, for example, can usually recover against the premises owner. Employees of the facility operator may be able to recover against other contractors on the property, inspection services, and product manufacturers. In some states, employees may sue their employer for gross negligence (which often exists in the workplace accident scenario). Third-party lawsuits almost always result in a significantly larger award than the award available in the workers’ compensation system.

In the Blacksburg Federal Migul explosion case, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office stated that four contract workers sustained multiple injuries while doing maintenance on December 31, 2010. It is likely that OSHA and state investigators will review the case to determine a cause of the explosion.

Pope & Howard, P.C., www.popehoward.com, is a top rated industrial accident law firm specializing in numerous practice areas, including personal injury, construction site accident cases and premises liability cases.

By Pope and Howard

Are you texting while driving? Do you know others who text when they drive? As Atlanta personal injury attorneys, we’ve seen several cases where clients have lost their loved ones due to texting and reckless driving. After years of increasing automobile accidents due to texting, a texting ban will go into effective July 1, 2010. Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue signed the bill, which goes into effect this week.
The Caleb Sorohan Act, named for a Morgan County teen who died texting behind the wheel, can cost a driver $150 fine and a penalty of one point on his or her license.

In addition to the financial penalties, texting while driving can be the basis for a claim of negligence. “For years, we have argued to juries that texting while driving is negligent. Now we can tell them the law prohibits it too,” says trial lawyer Marc Howard of Pope & Howard.

Though this new law may be bring a great deal of relief to many motor vehicle drivers, there are many stipulations left to face. The bigger question is, how enforceable will this law be? This newly passed law faces an uncertain legal future. Many complain that an officer cannot fairly distinguish if a driver is simply looking at an incoming call or reading a text.

The governor thinks that making the act of looking at a phone screen illegal could lead to an increase in lawsuits as well. Some government officials are worried that trial lawyers might want to subpoena phone records and assign blame for every accident that happens.

Gov. Perdue urged lawmakers to come back and take a tough look at the law in the 2011 legislative session, with an analysis to revising the part about reading texts.

Texting bans, now in effect in various forms in 28 states, have drawn wide support from law enforcement, highway safety advocates and even the cell phone industry. But there are questions about how they work in practice

Many believe that Georgia’s law will travel up the legal ladder as attorneys defend against local cases, with some questions ultimately decided by the Georgia Supreme Court.

With years of experience as trial lawyers, Pope & Howard P.C.’s attorneys have a unique understanding of the legal, factual, and insurance issues behind each case in the auto accident field. Pope & Howard P.C. only accepts cases involving catastrophic injuries or death.

Contact the attorneys at Pope and Howard law firm if you or a loved one has suffered a severe injury or the death of a family member due to another’s negligence.