September 30, 2009

Macon hospital nurse charged with sexual assualt of patient

A 33-year-old woman claims that a former nurse at The Medical Center of Central Georgia sexually assaulted her. The former nurse, James Melvin Purvis, was arrested on March 30 and indicted this week for sexual assault.

The Macon Telegraph has the story.

The victim was a patient at the hospital after she suffered injuries in a car accident. Purvis, 56, had previously cared for the victim; however, on the day of the assault, he was not scheduled to be her nurse. The victim stated that on that day Purvis came to see her and they started talking. As they conversed, Purvis allegedly rubbed her shoulder and fondled her. When the victim attempted to stop Purvis, he kissed her on the lips.

Police report that Purvis admitted to visiting the woman, rubbing her shoulders, and kissing her. Purvis faces a possible 10 to 20 years in prison if he is convicted of the sexual assault. According to the hospital, Purvis is no longer an employee, but it is unknown if the hospital fired him.

This criminal prosecution may also lead to a civil suit against the nurse and the hospital. A good crime victim lawyer can help a sex crime victim pursue her attacker in civil court and, in some cases, recover significant damages. The hospital's liability in a case like this will depend on its knowledge of this nurse's prior history, and whether this assault was foreseeable.

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.

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Posted In: Crime Victims' Rights , Middle Georgia , Personal Injury , Premises Liability , Sex Crime Victims

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July 2, 2009

Atlanta personal injury lawyer wins $1.5 million verdict against Home Depot in Marietta, Georgia

In 2005, a Cumming man shopping at a Marietta Home Depot was injured in a forklift accident. On Wednesday, a Cobb County jury awarded the man and his wife $1.5 million for injuries.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution has the story.

The complaint alleged that Larry Reece, 58, was at the Marietta store when a stack of plywood fell from a forklift. The wood fell from more than 20 feet and crashed down onto a barricade. The barricade then hit Reece, and Reece found himself buried under a pile of wood. As a result, Reece sustained neck and spine injuries including herniated discs.

Aside from the sheer pain and medical bills, Reece also lost his livelihood. He had been a construction worker all his life, but due to the permanent injuries he received, he was unable to return to work.

After a two-day trial, the jury’s award was issued. Of the $1.5 million verdict, the jury awarded $30,000 to Reece’s wife for loss of marital relations and $120,000 in medical expenses. The jury did not address punitive damages, since Reece had settled that issue with Home Depot.

Similar suits have been filed against Home Depot in the past.

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.

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Posted In: Personal Injury , Premises Liability

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April 23, 2009

Macon Georgia lawyers win appeal in case involving ante-litem notice requirements for lawsuits against state agencies

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.

Posted by Pate & Brody | | Email This Post

Posted In: False Arrests/Excessive Force , Middle Georgia , Personal Injury , Premises Liability

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Contributors

Page Pate
Page Pate is an accomplished trial lawyer and founding partner of Pate & Brody. Page has been recognized by both Georgia Trend Magazine and Georgia Super Lawyers as one of the state’s elite trial lawyers…

Bernard Brody
Bernard Brody is an experienced trial and appellate lawyer and founding partner of Pate & Brody. Bernard has won trials and successfully resolved difficult criminal and civil cases in courts across Georgia…

Jess Johnson
Jess Johnson graduated first in his class from the University of Georgia in 2006, where he attained degrees in political science and sociology...

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