Georgia Trial Lawyer Blog

A Henry County woman was awarded $1.05 million in a medical malpractice suit against a Fayetteville surgeon for a botched surgery.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution has the story.

Cynthia Bennett, who is a Henry County nurse, claimed that she almost died when her surgeon injured her bowel during surgery. Bennett and her attorney also argued that the surgeon failed to diagnose and properly treat the injury.

The jury verdict of $1.05 million was against the Fayetteville surgeon JuDonn Adams and New Millennium Obstetrics and Gynecology LLC. Bennett had originally filed the suit back in December 2003. One of Bennett's attorneys was Brandon Hornsby, an Atlanta trial lawyer.

Pate & Brody is an accomplished Georgia law firm with offices in Atlanta, Macon and Madison. Our lawyers are dedicated to pursuing justice for crime victims, people who have been defrauded by deceptive business practices, or injured through the fault of others. Our lawyers have been recognized on the list of Georgia's "Super Lawyers", and included among Georgia's "Legal Elite" by Georgia Trend Magazine.

Henry Bachmann of Port Wentworth won a $1.2 million verdict in 1999 against the Archdiocese of St. Louis for failing to supervise a priest who sexually assaulted him. An appellate court overturned that verdict a year later determining that the statute of limitations had expired. Bachmann’s attorney has appealed that decision.

The Savannah Morning News has the story.

Bachmann has battled with litigation against the church since 1994. He claims that in 1964 he was sexually assaulted by Rev. James Gummersbach at a St. Louis grade school. He says that he repressed the memory of the assaults until 1992, but that the abuse left a lasting and negative on his life. Since the abuse, Bachmann has dropped out of school, battled alcoholism, was diagnosed with predatory sexual disorders, spent time in jail and mental hospitals, and has attempted to take his own life. Recently, Bachmann has filed for bankruptcy and lost his job with the Georgia Ports Authority due to problems with authority.

The priest accused of the abuse sent Bachmann a letter in 1999 apologizing for his actions along with $25,000. However, Bachman says that he cannot forgive and he cannot forget. His attorney has appealed the appellate court’s decision on the grounds that it made an error when it calculated when the statute of limitations began to run. For now, it seems as though this 15 year legal saga for Bachmann will continue.

Proving sexual assault cases can be difficult, especially when the allegations involve incidents that occurred many years ago. Our firm, however, has the experience and skill to help sex crime victims recover substantial damages for the abuse they suffered at the hands of people they trusted. We have several cases like this pending now.

Pate & Brody is an accomplished Georgia law firm with offices in Atlanta, Macon and Madison. Our lawyers are dedicated to pursuing justice for crime victims, people who have been defrauded by deceptive business practices, or injured through the fault of others. Our lawyers have been recognized on the list of Georgia's "Super Lawyers", and included among Georgia's "Legal Elite" by Georgia Trend Magazine.

The Georgia Court of Appeals recently determined that a plaintiff’s failure to originally identify the correct governmental agencies in a personal injury suit against the state does not necessarily constitute grounds for dismissing the suit. The court held that the correct standard is to determine if the plaintiffs adequately investigated their claims or if the state had suffered prejudice.

In Young v. Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources, the plaintiff, Young, was injured at the Georgia National Fairgrounds in Perry, Georgia. Young brought suit for negligence and filed ante-litem notices with the Department of Administrative Services and the Georgia National Fairground. This ante-litem notice is a necessary step in suing the state for a tort. Upon realizing these were not the correct agencies sometime later, Young filed suit against the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Georgia Agricultural Exposition Authority (GAEA) which were the correct agencies.

The DNR and GAEA asked for the case to be dismissed, since Young had failed to identify the DNR and GAEA as the target agencies as required by the anti-litem statute. The trial court granted the motion by reasoning that a plaintiff must strictly comply with the anti-litem statute which waives the state’s sovereign immunity. The court further explained that the failure to include the DNR and GAEA rendered the original anti-litem notices invalid, and the plaintiff could not remedy the problem by later attaching the correct agencies.

The Court of Appeals disagreed. It held that the trial court should have conducted an inquiry into whether Young adequately investigated his claim or whether the state had suffered prejudice as a result of originally naming the wrong agencies. In doing so, the judgment was overturned and sent back to the trial court for the correct analysis to be conducted.

Pate & Brody is an accomplished Georgia law firm with offices in Atlanta, Macon and Madison. Our lawyers are dedicated to pursuing justice for crime victims, people who have been defrauded by deceptive business practices, or injured through the fault of others. Our lawyers have been recognized on the list of Georgia's "Super Lawyers", and included among Georgia's "Legal Elite" by Georgia Trend Magazine.

The Georgia Court of Appeals was asked to decide if a homeowner’s insurance policy covered injuries stemming from intentional acts when the language only covered accidental occurrences. The court ruled that summary judgment for the insurance company was proper, since such language does not cover injuries arising from intentional actions.

In Perry v. State Farm, State Farm filed a declaratory judgment asking the trial court to find that one of their policies did not cover a personal injury claim. The policy holder, Blackwell, allegedly had sexual intercourse with a house guest, Perry, after she fell asleep on his couch while fully clothed. Perry also claims that Blackwell took photographs after Perry had been undressed. Perry claims that the actions were without her consent. As a result, Perry sued for battery, invasion of property, loss of consortium, negligence, and punitive damages.

After the complaint was filed, State Farm began to investigate and defend the lawsuit. When Blackwell was deposed, he stated that he woke in the middle of the night while sleeping with his wife and went to find Perry. Upon finding Perry, he began having oral and vaginal sex, but he stopped when he realized he did not have a condom. Blackwell stated that the two did not speak, but he believed that she was an active participant. Blackwell also admitted to being intoxicated. State Farm then sought the trial court to rule that it had no duty to indemnify him against Perry’s claims. The trial court agreed with State Farm. Blackwell argued on appeal that State Farm was required to indemnify him against Perry’s negligence claim.

The court of appeals noted that the policy protected against bodily injury caused by an “occurrence.” An occurrence was defined as “an accident” in the policy. The court determined that accident must mean an event that is an unexpected happening. The court further noted that the policy did not protect against an “accidental injury” which can arise from a conscious voluntary act. Here, any injuries were the result of Blackwell’s intentional actions. The court concluded that the policy covered an accidental occurrence but not an accidental injury. Thus, the policy did not require State farm to provide coverage for Blackwell’s intentional actions which included Perry’s claim for negligence.

Pate & Brody is an accomplished Georgia law firm with offices in Atlanta, Macon and Madison. Our lawyers are dedicated to pursuing justice for crime victims, people who have been defrauded by deceptive business practices, or injured through the fault of others. Our lawyers have been recognized on the list of Georgia's "Super Lawyers", and included among Georgia's "Legal Elite" by Georgia Trend Magazine.

The Georgia Court of Appeals recently had to determine if a defamation suit which alleged that a reporter published a plaintiff’s poor job performance should survive summary judgment. The court found that it should, since a jury could find that there was defamation.

In Gettner v. Fitzgerald, the plaintiff, Gettner, sued VNU Business Media, Inc. for defamation, because of a publication by VNU in which it was revealed that Gettner had been demoted based on poor performance. Gettner also sued his former employer, Fitzgerald & Company, for invasion of privacy, because the CEO told VNU about the nature of the demotion. Gettner claimed that he had been promoted to Executive Creative Director in 2001, but that he did not like dealing with subordinates. As a result, the company allowed him to return to his prior position as Group Creative Director in 2002. His company disputed this, and it claimed that he had been demoted due to poor performance. The company further argued that the company agreed to make it seem that it was Gettner’s decision in order for Gettner to save face. The form given to human resources showed that he had “stepped down.” The company even sent an email to its employees which gave a similar reason.

A reporter with Adweek investigated into the matter. The CEO of Fitzgerald told the reporter that Gettner lacked the qualities of an Executive Creative Director, but he also asked the reporter not to publish that information. In 2003, Fitzgerald had layoffs and let go Gettner. Adweek then released its annual report card for advertising agencies, and it gave Fitzgerald a “C” for management. The report explained this was due to Gettner’s poor performance. When Gettner confronted the reporter, she allegedly claimed to have known that Gettner stepped down voluntarily. Gettner then sued. The trial court granted motions for summary judgment in favor of both VNU and Fitzgerald.

The appellate court examined the four elements that make up defamation. First, the statement must be about the plaintiff. It was obvious that the statement was about Gettner. However, VNU argued it was only an opinion and not a statement of fact, but the court reasoned that the statement in question could be proven false which would make it not an opinion. Second, defamation requires that the statement made was false. Since Gettner put forth evidence that it was false, a jury could find that it was false. Third, the plaintiff must show that it was the defendant’s fault in publishing the statement. The court found that the reporter could have conducted a more thorough investigation, because she failed to verify the information with Gettner and others. Finally, the plaintiff must show some actual injury. VNU did not dispute this element. Thus, the summary judgment in favor of VNU was improper, and the appellate court’s decision will allow a jury to hear the decision.

Pate & Brody is an accomplished Georgia law firm with offices in Atlanta, Macon and Madison. Our lawyers are dedicated to pursuing justice for crime victims and people who have been defrauded by deceptive business practices or injured through the fault of others. Our lawyers have been recognized on the list of Georgia's "Super Lawyers", and included among Georgia's "Legal Elite" by Georgia Trend Magazine.

The Georgia Supreme Court recently had to determine if the state is immune from liability when a police officer negligently strikes a vehicle while performing official duties. A divided Court ruled that the state was not immune to such a suit.

In Georgia Dept. of Public Safety v. Davis, the plaintiff, Davis, was injured by a police vehicle while driving her mail carrier pick-up truck. The state trooper was traveling behind Davis’ truck while running radar on vehicles approaching from the other lane. It is a technique known as blocking. Davis stopped in order to make a left turn; however, the trooper was not able to stop in time and collided with Davis’ truck. Davis was injured as a result of the accident, and she brought a suit for damages against the Department of Public Safety. The Department moved to dismiss the suit arguing that the state legislature did not intend to waive sovereign immunity for this type of incident. The trial court and the Court of Appeals disagreed, and the case was then appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court.

The Department leaned on a statute which reads: “The state shall have no liability for losses resulting from. . . the failure to provide, or the method of providing, law enforcement, police, or fire protection. . .” The Court adopted a test from Texas and West Virginia which asks if the losses resulted from the making or implementation of a policy decision. Thus, the state is immune if the injury is caused during the implementation of a policy that is defective. However, the state is not immune where its employee implements a non-defective policy in a negligent manner.

The Court reasoned that it is the policy of the Department of Public Safety to apprehend speeders. However, it is not policy for an officer to negligently strike a vehicle while apprehending speeders. Furthermore, a review board found that the trooper did not operate his car in a manner consistent with policy and training. Since the trooper’s negligence was not a part of any policy, the state can be held liable for injuries caused by the negligence.

Pate & Brody is an accomplished Georgia law firm with offices in Atlanta, Macon and Madison. Our lawyers are dedicated to pursuing justice for crime victims and people who have been defrauded by deceptive business practices or injured through the fault of others. Our lawyers have been recognized on the list of Georgia's "Super Lawyers", and included among Georgia's "Legal Elite" by Georgia Trend Magazine. Our firm is also listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers by Martindale-Hubbell.

A Georgia boy whose penis was severed during a negligent circumcision has been awarded $1.8 million by a Fulton County jury. The boy’s mother was also awarded an additional $500,000. No punitive damages were awarded.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution has the story.

In 2004, a doctor at South Fulton Medical Center performed a circumcision while a pediatrician looked on. The mother of the child filed suit two years later arguing that the doctor removed an excessive amount of tissue. It was also alleged that the pediatrician did not respond when a nurse became alarmed over the amount of bleeding. Additional evidence was introduced which showed that the tip of the penis could have been reattached for eight hours after the procedure, but doctors failed to do so.

The jury found both the doctor who performed the circumcision and the pediatrician to be negligent; however, the hospital itself was not found liable. The jury’s award will go towards medical and psychiatric treatments for the boy and his family. The lawyers for the doctors may appeal the case.

Pate & Brody is an accomplished Georgia law firm with offices in Atlanta, Macon and Madison. Our lawyers are dedicated to pursuing justice for crime victims and people who have been defrauded by deceptive business practices or injured through the fault of others. Our lawyers have been recognized on the list of Georgia's "Super Lawyers", and included among Georgia's "Legal Elite" by Georgia Trend Magazine. Our firm is also listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers by Martindale-Hubbell.

A lawsuit has been filed against the staff and owners of Great Expectations Child Development Center in Kennesaw, Georgia for locking a 4 year old girl in a bathroom and sitting on her.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution has the story.

The lawsuit specifically alleges that a teacher locked the girl in a bathroom over a toilet accident, and that the girl was hit in the head with the bathroom door when she tried to exit the bathroom. According to the lawsuit, the same teacher and the center’s director also sat on the girl several times in order to keep the girl on her sleeping mat. On a separate occasion, the girl was allegedly taken to a mop room where she was stripped of her clothes and sprayed with a hose.

A 5 year old boy was also allegedly chocked and locked in a bathroom by the same teacher.

The teacher named in the lawsuit, Monica Hollins, was arrested in December by Kennesaw police and was charged with reckless conduct and simple battery.

The parents of the girl are seeking at least $2.5 million for medical and psychological treatment.

Pate & Brody is an accomplished Georgia law firm with offices in Atlanta, Macon and Madison. Our lawyers are dedicated to pursuing justice for crime victims and people who have been defrauded by deceptive business practices or injured through the fault of others. Our lawyers have been recognized on the list of Georgia's "Super Lawyers", and included among Georgia's "Legal Elite" by Georgia Trend Magazine. Our firm is also listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers by Martindale-Hubbell.