Law Blog Atlanta

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.

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.

As trucking attorneys at the Pope and Howard Law Firm in Atlanta, Georgia, we often see the severity of tractor trailer accidents and how they affect normal families in Georgia. Tractor trailer accidents are a leading cause of serious injuries and wrongful death.

That was the case with a recent tractor trailer accident right here in Atlanta.

Over the Memorial Day weekend, 2010, a two- year-old died while sitting in a parked car when a semi trailer truck lost control and crashed into his parents’ vehicle. The truck accident occurred in a parking lot at an Auto Zone just off Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway.

The out-of-control semi trailer truck slammed into three parked cars in the store’s lot. The trucker lost control of the tractor trailer when a car crossed over the center line into his lane in oncoming traffic.

Two-year-old Zion Curney and his 14-year-old cousin were in one of the parked cars. The two children were waiting for one of their parents shopping in the Auto Zone store.

The driver, Kelly Canty, who hit the tractor trailer, was charged on Tuesday. Canty was charged with vehicular homicide, reckless driving, failure to maintain her lane, and driving without a license, insurance or tag.

Investigators have yet to determine why Canty crossed the center line of Hollowell Parkway ultimately leading to the deadly chain reaction collision. The trucking accident still remains under investigation.

Since trucking laws are governed by hundreds of regulations, it is important to consult with a tractor trailer lawyer who knows trucking laws. Contact the Atlanta Lawyers at the Pope and Howard Law Firm for a free consultation today for more information.