November 2011 Archives

At his friend's house near Lake Lanier, a 15-year-old smoked pot, drank bourbon, took prescription meds, and huffed dust cleaner before he died, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The death, which occurred in the home of Robert Lancaster and Laura Lancaster, led to an investigation into the condition of the house, which was found to be deplorable and decrepit. There were dead animals, feces, and bugs everywhere. As a result, Robert Lancaster and Laura Lancaster were charged with cruelty to children.

A woman from Stone Mountain is accused of starting up a fight in the Snellville Walmart nail salon, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Cell phone videos show that Monnessia Wright, 35, threw a porcelain bowl, and hit a 17-year-old customer, who suffered two broken teeth, said the police. The fight occurred inside the Regal Nails in the Walmart on Centerville Highway. Afterwards, police reported finding “pieces of hair, broken pieces of a bowl, and blood on the floor.”

Not sure if it is under the authority of the Patriot Act, or its a national security threat, but the Department of Homeland Security’s Twitter account has been warning the good people of the United States to watch out for their turkey fryers, reports the Washington Examiner.

“How dangerous can turkey fryers be?” asks the DHS Twitter account. “Make sure the turkey is completely thawed before placing in a fryer, or this may happen.” The “this” refers to this rather morbid video showing the dangers of turkey fryers.

Earlier on in this blog we discussed the first four stages of a personal injury lawsuit as identified by FindLaw researchers. They were: Meeting with a Personal Injury Attorney; Initial Court Papers; Finding and Discovery and Court Motions.

Today we look at the last four stages leading up to and beyond the resolution of a case.

1. Settlement

Many people don't realize this, but the majority of legal claims arising from accidents or injuries do not reach a civil court trial -- most are resolved earlier through a negotiated settlement among the parties. Through settlement, the plaintiff in a personal injury case agrees to give up the right to pursue any further legal action in connection with the accident or injury, in exchange for the payment of an agreed-upon sum of money from the defendant or an insurance company.

Winter weather brings added stress to the roof of a house. And although many people are under the impression that you can't do roofing in the winter, experts generally think winter roofing is perfectly doable.

Perhaps that is why the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently published its manual entitled Nail Gun Safety: A Guide for Construction Contractors.

Although accidents and injuries are a part of life, not everyone will end up involved in a personal injury lawsuit. Those that do get involved in such a case should be aware of the eight stages of a personal injury lawsuit, as identified by the FindLaw researchers.

Stage 1: Meeting with an Attorney

Once you've reached the point where you're thinking about a lawsuit, you should seek out an attorney and sit down with him or her. The attorney will ask you questions about the case and try to determine the merits of your case.

In a new video released by the White House, President Barack Obama has a tough message for cigarette makers: "be honest about the consequences" of smoking and do not block graphic images on cigarette packages.

President Obama didn't mince his words when talking about the graphic images: "Today, some big tobacco companies are trying to block these labels because they don't want to be honest about the consequences of using their products."

The President, himself a former smoker, who now chews nicotine gum, admitted that "quitting smoking is hard. Believe me, I know," reports Politico.

An 18-year-old by the name of Daniel Perez died at Kennestone Hospital as a result of a shooting, reports WSBTV.

The shooting was discovered when police officers responded to a car crash in a parking lot behind Marquis Place Apartments on Franklin Road. When they checked on the driver of the vehicle they discovered that the driver, Daniel Perez, was slumped at the wheel with a gunshot wound. He was rushed to hospital.

While some Internet daters like to photoshop their pictures, use nicknames, or fudge a little about their “bio-data”, some of these activities part and parcel of online dating might not be o.k. if the Department of Justice has its way. For example, lying on Match.com could become a crime, reports CNET.

To make a very complicated issue simple: the Department of Justice, under the authority of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) is claiming the right to make  “prosecutions based upon a violation of terms of service or similar contractual agreement with an employer or provider.” In other words, if Match.Com or Facebook’s Terms of Service say that you can’t use a fictitious name or engage in lying about your weight, then you could be prosecuted by the Department of Justice.

Online dating could just get a whole lot uglier.

A 61-year-old killed in Cobb County has been identified as Dennis Michael Smith, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The police in Cobb County were not able to identify Smith until the county medical examiner’s office got involved.

The man from Smyrna was struck and killed Thursday night. He had been walking on Mableton Parkway at Boggs Road and was hit by a car driven by Ariel Britton, a 26-year-old from Powder Springs, driving a 2011 Toyota Corolla. Ariel Britton’s Corolla had been southbound when Dennis Michael Smith walked in front of her car. Ms. Britton will not be facing charges.

A man named Allen Crockett was shot in the arm and leg by a gunman, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The crime against Mr. Crockett occurred during the course of his employment. The chinese food delivery man was shot in southwest Atlanta, reports Channel 2 Action News. He is 58-years-old.

A team of Italian researchers led by Ricardo Polosa of the University of Catania have developed a considerably healthier alternative to cigarettes that hard-core smokers actually like called the e-cigarette, reports the New York Times.

E-cigarettes are based on vapor technology. A user "vapes" or puffs on the vapor (a new age Sherlock Holmes) to take a pull of addictive nicotine; but there are none of the dangerous substances that are in regular cigarettes.

Chicken pox parties are being organized via Facebook so helicopter parents who control everything about their children's lives can also control when and how their children get chicken pox, reports ABC 26.

Basically, using a Facebook group called "Find a Pox Party Near You", parents can take their un-vaccinated child to the home of an infected child, thus getting the chicken pox over with now, rather than later. Allegedly, at some of the parties tainted items like lollipops may be passed around to accelerate the infection. All in the name of efficiency and keeping a better schedule, of course.

Americans with diseases acquired from a lifetime of smoking have repeatedly brought personal injury lawsuits against the major cigarette companies. It is a topic of discussion that has been the subject of countless documentaries, novels, and films.

More recently, activists representing people harmed by smoking have been closely monitoring whether the court system would allow a new program -- which shows images of sick and diseased individuals on cigarette packages as a way to warn potential buyers -- would be allowed to go ahead.

Well, for now, the answer is no. A federal judge has struck down graphic images on cigarette packages, reports the Associated Press.

Georgia Tech University recently learned of the terrible and tragic death of a promising 21-year-old student, Naren Raghumaran, caused by a car accident in Pickens, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The accident, which occurred last week, also involved two other students that were riding in a 2010 BMW on Georgia Highway 136 with Naren Raghumaran. The car apparently left the roadway on a curve, struck an embankment, and overturned, reports the AJC. All three of the passengers were trapped in the vehicle. The other students are Ratheesvar Mohan and Daniel Bernard Hickman. All three men were wearing seat-belts at the time of the accident.

A crane accident in Kennesaw injured one person, reports 11 Alive. The injured person, whose name was not revealed, was transported to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta in critical condition. Another worker was trapped on the crane until he could get be removed safely.

The injury occurred when the crane hit some power lines at Vulcan Materials. As a result of the accident, an investigation will take place. The Mine Safety Health Administration and Vulcan Materials will both conduct the investigation into the industrial accident.

The need for safe day care centers in Georgia is of concern to millions of local families, and one woman is making a fight out of it, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Amanda Hester lost her four-month-old daughter Jace Hester when she stopped breathing at the day-care she used to spend some time at. Compounding this tragedy is the fact that nine other children died in licensed day-care care centers across the state over the past five years.

If you are annoyed by Kim Kardashian because of the way her reality shows (including her wedding) seem to take away from personal privacy, then you should become familiar with the various torts related to the right of privacy. Georgia privacy experts will obviously be aware the Peach State was the first state to create a tort for the invasion of privacy.

These civil laws, or torts, which occur when someone commits an invasion of your privacy, are discussed below.

Out in Albany, Georgia, apparently a chalupa led to arson, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Describing it as a fire-bombing of a Taco Bell, the AJC states that police are looking to find the identity of a man who was apparently quite angry that he didn't get enough meat in his chalupa. It is not usual that a chalupa led to arson, but food makes people do strange things.