Written by: Sandro Stojanovic The law in Georgia is clear that the failure to use seat belts, or “safety belts”, is not admissible in a civil trial. O.C.G.A. § 40-8-76.1(d). The statute provision states as follows: “The failure of an occupant of a motor vehicle to wear a seat safety belt in any seat of a motor vehicle which has a seat safety belt or belts shall not be

Written by: Barbara Mulholland, Esq. September 10 – 15, 2018 is National Truck Driver Appreciation Week. Why in the world should you appreciate truck drivers you ask? Because without them, you would most likely be hungry, thirsty, bare-footed, have no cell phone, computer, furniture or make-up….and you’d be naked. Not a pretty picture. Reciting the statistics that truck drivers travel over 4.5 billion collective miles per year and contribute $738.9 billion

Written by: Sandro Stojanovic, Esq. Self-driving trucks are expected to “hit the road” in the near future. In October of 2016, Anheuser-Busch and Uber Technologies teamed up to deliver 50,000 cans of beers in a self-driving truck traveling a total of 120 miles from Fort Collins, via I-25, to Colorado Springs. While this delivery was a groundbreaking development in the autonomous driving technology, a question of liability must be examined. The

Written by: Sandro Stojanovic, Esq. Traditionally, motor carriers, as all domestic corporations, have been able to remove the venue to the county in which the corporation maintains its registered office. O.C.G.A. § 14-2-510(b)(1). The Court of Appeals has now made that right frail. In Blakemore v. Dirt Movers, Inc., 344 Ga. App. 238 (2018), the Court of Appeals held that when Plaintiff alleges facts to support venue under O.C.G.A. § 40-1-117(b),

Written by: Caitlin Dorné Mattler As of April 1, 2018, state and federal officials can now place truckers out of service for not complying with the FMCSA’s Electronic Logging Device Mandate (ELD). The ELD mandate requires commercial truck drivers to shift from using paper logs when chronicling daily and weekly record of duty status reports (RODS) to solely using electronic systems linked to their engines. Widely considered the biggest regulatory

Written by: Abigail Castleberry, Esq. The use of litigation financing has significantly increased in recent years. A study published by ALM Media found that 36% of U.S. law firms used litigation financing in 2017, up almost 30% from 2013.1) Typically, litigation finance companies will contract with doctors to provide medical care for injured claimants who lack medical insurance. These companies purchase medical debt from doctors at a discounted rate, and contracts

Written by: Ashley Gowder Mitchell, Esq.  Georgia is one step closer to enacting a bill that will drastically limit phone use while driving. Last week, a House committee voted in favor of a bill to crack down on distracted driving due to phone use. House Bill 673 would require drivers to use hands-free technology when using cell phones and other electronic devices. Violators would be fined at least $300. It

Written by: Ashley Gowder Mitchell, Esq. Data stored in Fitbits, Apple Watches, and other wearable personal activity “trackers” can be invaluable when evaluating and defending personal injury claims. These devices offer attorneys and claim professionals a wide array of relevant and easy to use information. Mining these devices for key evidence will only become more commonplace as the popularity of trackers increases. It is important for litigators and claims handlers

Written by: Payton D. Bramlett, Esq. In trucking cases, plaintiffs very often sue the motor carrier’s primary insurance company directly pursuant to Georgia’s direct action statute.  Traditionally, Georgia appellate courts have held that a direct action against a motor carrier’s primary insurance provider is permitted even when the accident occurred outside the state of Georgia.  See Johnson v. Woodard, 208 Ga. App. 41, 429 S.E.2d 701 (1993).  In Johnson, the Georgia Court

Written by: Sean Cox, Esq. Life Care Planners purport to calculate the total cost of future care related to the catastrophic injury. The term is a misnomer. Typically they do not, nor are they typically qualified to, determine what medical care the injured person needs. Neither will Life Care Planners typically help the injured person or her family plan how to obtain or provide that care. According to one of