In 2006, responding to a call for backup, twenty-five-year old officer James Stoudenmire was rushing down U.S. Highway 78 in Snellville going 80 mph—about 34 mph over the speed limit—and without lights or sirens on, when he slammed into 52-year-old Willie Allen Sargent Jr.’s car as he turned left across the lane of oncoming traffic. Sargent died at the scene, leaving a widow, Faustina Sargent, and her two sons. The lawsuit she filed against Gwinnett recently went to trial and resulting in a judgment of $2 million in her favor.

Officer Stoudenmire had not been on the force long and had no history of reckless driving. Moreover, he had just completed basic training, which included training in vehicle safety. The Gwinnett Police Department has insisted that the policies it has in place are sufficient to ensure that officers are properly trained and able to ensure public safety. Stoudenmire was reprimanded and temporarily suspended after the accident that killed Sargent, but eventually was forced to resign after arrested on a DUI charge.

Just months ago, Kathy Porter, the wife of Jeff Porter, an athletic trainer for the Atlanta Braves, was killed on New Year’s Eve when Georgia State Patrol Trooper Donald Crozier crashed into her while rushing in response to a call for backup. Crozier had previously been involved in four crashes in which he was held at fault. Like, Stoudenmire, Crozier too was speeding. While he claimed he had his sirens and lights on, witnesses reported that they did not hear any siren. Crozier was fired following this last collision and faces possible criminal charges.

While police officers may break traffic rules in emergency situations, they are nevertheless required to use caution and take care not to place pedestrians and motorists at undue risk. When they fail to do so, and especially when they act recklessly and past negligence or recklessness has been documented, county and state government may be held responsible for injuries and damage that they cause.

If you have been injured by the reckless or unlawful conduct of law enforcement, our Georgia trial lawyers may be able to help you recover compensation that will allow you and your family to begin on the road recovery and a new start.

Officer James Stoudenmire was driving to investigate a suspicious person report, without sirens or lights flashing, at the time of the accident. When Stoudenmire collided with him, Sargent was turning left, across a lane of traffic, into Uncle Woody’s Party Place, a nightclub in Snellville. Sargent died before he could be transported.

At the time of the collision, Stoudenmire was travelling at 75 to 80 miles per hour, but initial reports from the GCPD indicated that he had not been speeding, and claimed that Sargent was at fault for failing to yield. The GCPD backtracked on these claims a few days later, admitting that Stoudenmire had been speeding. He received a reprimand and was suspended, but allowed to continue on the force. After a 2009 DUI arrest, Stoudenmire resigned his position.

The lawyers representing Gwinnett County now claim that Sargent did in fact fail to yield and that he was responsible for the collision because he had some alcohol before driving and assumed the risk of an automobile collision. Sargent’s widow told reporters that she anticipates the trial being emotionally difficult for her and related Sargent’s closer relationship with her and her sons.

In a wrongful death case in Georgia, whether against an individual, a company, or local government, victims can generally recover three types of damages: general, special, and punitive.  Special damages are those that have simple dollar values such as medical expenses or lost wages.  General damages cover the typical consequences of any injury such as pain and suffering. They can be difficult to pin down to a certain amount, and juries have a great deal of discretion in deciding an appropriate amount, making effective representation by an experienced trial lawyer essential to maximize the amount a plaintiff receives.

Punitive damages are meant to punish the party responsible for the wrong. Punitive damages send a message to other would-be wrongdoers that the defendant’s conduct was reprehensible and deserves to be punished severely. Punitive damages are difficult to get and reserved for cases of truly egregious conduct.

According to Hatcher’s father, Ronald, the boy was abused by two teachers in the school and school officials did not act in response to his complaints about the abuse. The lawsuit has not been released yet, but 20 people at 2 Fulton schools are named as defendants. These presumably include both teachers who are alleged to have abused Aaron as well as complacent school administrators who did nothing to stop the mistreatment.

Due to his medical conditions, Aaron had difficulty holding his head up and his parents allege that at least one teacher placed a makeshift brace on his neck to hold his head up to force his face forward. They also claim that the brace caused bruising and scratching that required hospital visits on multiple occasions. Mr. Hatcher claims that he sent an email to administrators at Roswell High School warning them that Aaron would die if the mistreatment was not stopped. According to Hatcher’s attorney, the neck brace caused constriction of Aaron’s airway and prevented him from breathing properly. He ultimately died upon returning home from the hospital after having difficulty breathing.

When vulnerable loved ones are placed in the care of schools, nursing homes, day care centers, and other institutions, it is natural and right to expect the high level of care required by law. When caregivers and responsible parties fail to provide adequate care by acting negligently, recklessly, or maliciously, they may be held responsible in court and made to compensate their victims. Our Georgia trial lawyers have successfully handled lawsuits on behalf of parties injured by others. We have achieved impressive settlements and jury verdicts for our clients that have allowed them to piece their lives back together following tragedy.

When she was five years old, the girl was molested on numerous occasions by the thirteen-year-old son of the day care center’s director (who no longer works there). The abuse apparently occurred during naptime, though even then the day care center’s staff should have been supervising the children. Though the boy denied the allegations, three therapists who had treated him testified at trial that he admitted to inappropriately touching the young girl. Before the civil trial, he plead no contest to sexual assault charges in the juvenile justice system and was sentenced to undergo counseling.

Attorneys for the young girl, now nine years old, claimed that she was traumatized by the experience. She is now afraid to look in mirrors because she sees monsters, including the perpetrator, and her mother has to cover them up. The day care’s lawyers, on the other hand, argued that $3 million was excessive because she had not proven that she suffered substantial pain and injuries from the abuse.Two other lawsuits against Discovery Day Care are pending, one brought by a child who witnessed sexual abuse and the other by second victim.

While sexual abuse is a particularly offensive crime, it just one of the many possible results of negligence by day care employees and management. When those entrusted with the care of children abandon their duties, children may be injured while playing, wander away, or, as in this case, be abused by other children or employees. If your child has been harmed at day care as a result of negligence, you are entitled to compensation for medical expenses as well as pain and suffering. An experienced personal injury law firm can help protect your rights and make sure that you are not forced to pay for consequences of others’ mistakes.

According to the complaint, Davis was in good health when he entered the jail on June 18, 2011, but after being denied his prescription Sotalol his condition became worse. Davis says she repeatedly complained to numerous people in the jail, including medical staff, and told them that he needed his medication. Moreover, not only did the jail personnel refuse to get his medication, they also refused to let her bring the medication to her son.

Davis died a week later on June 25.

Jail records show that Davis had been evaluated early that morning and that the mental health workers in the jail claimed that he was “manipulating the system.” The records, which have since been partially redacted, also show that his mother called the jail on the 25th and was “distraught.” At one point, jail officials claimed Davis was acting “erratically” and moved him to an a separate united for refusing to follow directions, instead of putting him in the medical unit. He was finally moved to the medical unit in the evening but was found without a pulse two hours later.

This is not the first time inmates have died from lack of medical care at the FCDC, a privately-run, for-profit jail. In 2010, Dean Ferguson died of a pulmonary embolism while in FCDC custody while nurses refused to examine him after he complained of leg pain and shortness of breath. The nurses were later put on probation by the private company that provides medical care to the jail under a contract. Dead had been serving a weekend-long DUI sentence. In 1997, an inmate died while going through detoxification after he  was booked for prescription forgery. In 2005, Gerald Cornett died at the jail after being refused medical care for injuries he received there, and in 2004, Dong Zhang committed suicide while left unsupervised, shortly after he was told he was being charged with murder. Most egregiously,  Timothy Wayne Jackson died in FCDC custody after being tightly strapped, face down, to a mattress for two days. Davis was a paranoid schizophrenic who had been in the jail for a month with no treatment for his condition. Medical records showed that his health had been progressively deteriorating for days.

Jail and prison administrators and personnel have a duty to care for the people that are in their custody—people who are prevented from caring for themselves. More and more, prisons and jails are being transferred to private control and being run for a profit. Inmate medical and mental health care is often a low priority. When jail and prison officials neglect the health of their inmates, the act negligently and can be sued in court for the injuries or deaths they cause. While incarceration has a legitimate purpose, when time in jail turns into a death sentence, an enormous wrong has been done, and those responsible should be held accountable. If you or a family member have been injured by negligence or mistreatment in a prison or jail, an experienced attorneycan help you get the compensation you deserve.

After Walters slipped on some crushed fruit and fell onto his back, he was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries and had to have surgery, including having rods and screws inserted into his spine. Because his medical bills came to $135,000 and he was no longer able to work as a landscaper, Walters sued Kroger for compensation.

Kroger initially claimed that the security camera footage from the day of the accident had since been taped over, because recordings are only held for 17 days. They also claimed that the security cameras did not point in the direction of the deli area where Walters slipped. During preparation for trial, Walters’ lawyer, Lloyd Bell,  asked for a demonstration of the store’s security cameras and saw that a camera pointed directly at the area where Walters fell.

The judge in the case agreed and found that the company had spoliated evidence by destroying the tapes. He then held the company had been negligent and was liable for Walters’ injuries. A trial was then held, but the only issue for the jury was how much Kroger owed Walters. After three days, they awarded Walters $2.3 million.

Spoliation often affects victims of products that have injured them. If they cannot produce the evidence for experts to examine, they will often have a hard time convincing a jury that the manufacturer was negligent. But spoliation also means that when property owners know someone has been injured on their property, they have a duty to make sure the evidence of the accident is preserved. When they fail to do so—or actively try to destroy the evidence—they can be found automatically liable for the victim’s injuries.

Even mundane oversights—like fruit left on the floor for an unreasonable time—can have catastrophic consequences resulting in severe injury, enormous bills, unemployment, pain, and even death. Lawsuits for personal injuries ensure that innocent victims of negligence are not made to shoulder such extreme consequences by themselves and that the parties who actually caused an injury compensate those they have harmed. It is important in all personal injury cases to make sure that evidence is preserved so that negligence can be proven later. If you or a family member have been injured by product or on another’s property, do not wait to find an who can ensure that the evidence you’ll eventually need is kept safe.

Abiola Bankolemoh’s parents, Kemi Green and Gbolohan Bankolemoh, thought that they had investigated their two young children’s day care sufficiently and believed that it was safe. Though it was run out of a home, they were shown a CPR license and were assured that the owner was licensed, as any paid child care provider must be if caring for three or more children, and that the center was periodically inspected by the state. However, not only was Tanya Moon not licensed to provide child care services, the state has no record that she ever applied for a license. Moreover, the house could not have been approved by the state in its current state because of unobstructed access to an above-ground swimming pool in the back yard.

In March 2009, on a day when Moon was caring for four children, 23-month-old Abiola got out the home’s back door while unattended. He wandered into the backyard and went to the family’s above-ground pool, where he was later found dead. Abiola’s three-year-old brother was also in the home that day. Abiola’s parents sued Moon, along with her husband and father-in-law, who owned the home. Criminal charges were initially filed against both Moon and her husband, though the charges against him were later dropped. Moon still faces criminal charges stemming from the death.

The verdict for Green and Bankolemoh included $50,000 for their pain and suffering in addition to $9.8 million for Abiola’s death. Attorneys for the parents, Jeff Harris and Alan Cleveland, told the press that they expected to collect the entire amount from the three defendants’ insurance providers.

Day care centers are regulated by the state to ensure that the provide safe environments for the children in their care. Sadly, serious violations of state safety regulations occur frequently. Both home-based and commercial day care centers are guilty of neglecting safety rules and procedures, and as a result a significant number of children are seriously injured or die in Georgia day cares each year. Our Atlanta trial lawyers have successfully represented numerous victims of negligence throughout Georgia, recently including a few parents whose children were harmed by day care center negligence. We hope that by filing suit, we can punish those responsible for our clients’ injuries and help them and their families get the compensation they need and deserve.

The young man, Jade Holder, was in his jail cell when a group of inmates entered his cell and savagely beat him. Jade’s mother, Evangeline Holder, was initially told by jail officials that her son had sustained broken bones and some lacerations. When she arrived at the hospital, however, she learned that her son had died from his injuries. She was told by the Department of Juvenile Justice that five to eight inmates along with a guard have been arrested in connection with the attack.

Ms. Holder was also told by authorities that they do not know if her son left his cell door open or if a guard left the door open. Ms. Holder claims that Jade’s door was always locked and that she doesn’t believe her son would have left his cell door open. The GBI has initiated an investigation into Jade’s death to determine all of the parties that should be held responsible.

Our firm is currently investigating another serious incident at a Georgia YDC that caused an inmate to be paralyzed. It is important to insure that state detention facilities for juveniles are as safe as possible. Most of these kids are in custody for minor drug offenses and (as in this case) non-violent theft offenses. While they may deserve to serve some time for their conduct, they do not deserve to be brutally attacked and beaten. If the detention officers were aware of the threat of violence to these kids and deliberately ignored it, then they may be liable for their injuries.

Since 2006, nine children have died in Georgia day care centers and five of those fit the profile of SIDS, where an infant dies unexpectedly and without any other explanation while sleeping. Of those five infants, four had been put to bed on their stomachs and all five child care providers had violated some regulation related to the infants’ sleeping, including two who were caring for more children than permitted by law. Scientists and physicians have known since the early 1990’s that infants who sleep on their stomachs are at increased risk of death from SIDS. Nationwide, SIDS deaths have since been cut by half since then, but Georgia lags behind and has not had consistent improvements in the past decade.

Part of the reason for Georgia’s relatively poor performance may be that state authorities have not vigorously enforced state regulations governing how infants are put to sleep. Fines are not issued where violations have been found but no death has occurred. This practice gives child care providers in the state less incentive to comply with best practices. As the article points out, infants have traditionally been placed to sleep on their stomachs because they will usually sleep more soundly and cry less, and it can be difficult to persuade adults to change tried-and-true practices. This is especially true for home-based child care providers—where most recent SIDS cases have occurred—who are not subject to internal regulation as in a corporate facility. In one SIDS case discussed in the article, authorities found dog excrement in the room where the baby had died unsupervised, lying on its stomach. In that extreme case, the child care provider faced criminal charges for reckless conduct. She plead guilty and was fined and sentenced to a year probation.

While injuries do occur no matter how much care is taken, all too often children are injured while at day care due to unsafe practices and lack of supervision. When child care providers fail to follow basic safety guidelines, they commit negligence and can be held accountable for the harm they cause. Our Atlanta trial lawyers have successfully represented numerous victims of negligence throughout Georgia, including those injured by schools, foster homes, and nursing homes. Recently, our firm has accepted a few clients whose children have been harmed by the negligence of day care owners and employees. We hope that by filing suit, we can punish those responsible for our clients’ injuries and help them and their families get the compensation they need and deserve.

Sean Venegas and Brian Kidd were driving in the early evening in Southwest Atlanta, bringing pizza to the apartment of Kidd’s girlfriend, when three officers from the APD’s paramilitary-style Red Dog Unit encountered them and began to follow them. The officers followed the two men and eventually pulled them over. Later, the officers would cite Venegas for running a stop sign, but there was no stop sign at the intersection.

After pulling the men over, officers ordered Venegas and Kidd out of the car without explaining why they had stopped them. The officers searched the car without explanation and slammed the men against the car. On officer strip searched Venegas on the side of the street while it was still light out. He removed Venegas’ pants and underwear, groped his genitals, and performed a cavity search on him while forcing him to spread his buttocks. Another officer reached into Kidd’s pants and groped his genitals. No drugs or contraband were ever found.

The APD’s infamous Red Dog Unit has now been disbanded under public pressure following a string of claims of officer brutality and lawlessness. This summer the city settled a case brought by a group of men for civil rights violations for over $1 million. Red Dog Unit officer—two of whom were involved in the stop of Venegas and Kidd—illegally detained and assaulted patrons of the Eagle, an Atlanta gay bar, insulting the men with gay slurs, forcing some to lay on the floor in broken glass, and destroying evidence by erasing the contents of cell phones.

Lawsuits are an effective tool not only for getting compensation for illegal arrests and police brutality, but also for forcing cities and states to respect the civil rights of their residents. Police brutality is shocking and gives rise to public outrage when it is made public. And while it is generally difficult to prove police misconduct, in those cases where sufficient evidence exists, juries often award significant damages.