Articles Posted in Wrongful Death

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Thanksgiving feasts and days spent with family mark the official start to our holiday season each year. According to the Department of Transportation, Thanksgiving is also the busiest time of the year, with more than 35 million people traveling by car to visit family and friends.

Combine distractions of a family road trip and an increase in traffic, and accidents are bound to happen.

Before you hop behind the wheel this Thanksgiving, check out our 10 tips for travel to ensure a safe and happy holiday:

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Photo is a worker for A-plus Well Service in F...

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Although the number of workplace injuries has fallen since 2011, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the risk of injury or illness remains high for employees in air transportation, public sector construction, nursing homes, and some other jobs.

If you were injured while on the job, you may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. Depending on the severity of your injury, your employer could be held liable for lost wages, medical expenses, rehabilitation costs, and benefits to your dependents.

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At McAleer Law, we specialize in personal injury and wrongful death litigation. Unfortunately, mistakes made before you contact an attorney could hamper your ability to recover compensation. You can increase your chances of having a successful case and recovering damages with these 10 tips:

  1. Know your rights. It is important to understand the rights entitled to you by both the state and federal government. Use www.Georgia.gov to stay informed about Georgia’s legal system.
  2. Avoid dangerous situations. While we can’t dodge all accidents, activities that are deemed ultra hazardous are best avoided. Inherently dangerous activities categorize the participant as strictly liable and may remove his or her right to sue.
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Property owners have a duty to provide a reasonably safe environment for other who may enter their establishment. In the legal world, we call this premises liability.

When someone is injured on another person’s property and sues, courts first seek to determine whether the injured was allowed on the premises. If the owner consents to a person’s entry on the property, the person is deemed an invitee or licensee. When consent is not given, the person is considered a trespasser.

A property owner may be liable for injuries of an invitee or licensee if: 

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Pharmacy Rx symbol

Pharmacy Rx symbol (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

More than 1.5 million people are injured each year in the U.S. due to medication errors, and about 7,000 are killed. When doctors or pharmacists makes a mistake with prescription medications, the consequences can be fatal.

Claims for prescription errors are often based on simple negligence, but can be attributed to professional malpractice. The following are the most common mistakes made by both doctors and pharmacies:

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A Pennsylvania woman died days after she was struck by a power line that fell into her yard. Carrie Goretzka stepped outside to call 911 about the line and was shocked and burned by a live electrical wire that fell from trees. Rescue workers were unable to administer treatment until a utility crew came to cut off the power.

Goretzka’s family filed a lawsuit against the utility company, West Penn Power, and its related companies. It contends the companies are liable for Goretzka’s death because utility workers failed to properly maintain the wires that fell near her home.

The family’s attorney, Shanin Specter, says the power line failed at a point where it was spliced. He says workers using a splice device know to use a wire brush to clean oxides from the wires, otherwise overheating will cause the splice to fail.

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According to the Insurance Journal, an estimated 2,500 daycare programs in Georgia have failed to meet the state’s standards for children’s health and safety at least once in the past four years.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution also investigated Georgia’s daycare programs. The report found that 220 daycares received a failing score for at least two years in a row, and at least 200 of those day cares are still open.

One facility in Marietta encountered 191 violations in the last four years, including starving a child and releasing a child to the wrong parent, who happened to be blind. Unfortunately, some daycare facilities in Georgia are so neglectful that children experience severe injury or even death.

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The case involving the 2004 explosion of a water heater in Indiana has been settled for $27 million.

The explosion leveled an apartment that was attached to a Morgan County barn, killing one man and critically burning six of his family members.

A year after the incident, the family filed a products liability suit against the water heater company. The jury decided South Central Indiana Rural Electric Membership Corp., RushShelby Energy Rural Electric Cooperative and SCI Propane LLC were 65 percent liable for the accident.

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The California Courts have awarded a grandmother $3 million in a wrongful death suit stemming from a 2010 car accident.

The traumatic accident occurred when an 81-year-old woman driving a Hyundai made an unsafe turn at an estimated 50 mph and collided into the center median, turning head-on into a Mazda holding two grandparents and their three grandchildren.

The grandmother’s husband of 48 years was killed in the accident and her three grandchildren were severely injured.

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In 2008, a five-year-old girl drowned in a pool at her after-school program, Little Bridges. The little girl was autistic and blind, and although Little Bridges was fully aware of this, they failed to provide the proper supervision for her.

The father of the California five-year-old filed a wrongful death suit against everyone connected to his little girl’s death, including the local school district. In March he was awarded $400k.

If you or someone you know has experienced suffering from the loss of a loved one please contact McAleer Law today.