PERSONAL INJURY Lawyers in Georgia

• Medical bills (past and future). You are entitled to be reimbursed for your hospital bills, doctor’s bills, prescription drugs, physical therapy, rehabilitation, and any other medical treatments you need as a result of your injuries.
• Lost wages. This includes both past and future wages that you lose as a result of missing work while recovering from your injuries. Lost wages may include more than just your paycheck. You may also be compensated for any commissions, bonuses, and benefits you lost.
• Pain and suffering. Pain and suffering can be harder to calculate because it is not based on out-of-pocket expenses. A skilled premises liability lawyer will be able to figure out the value of this portion of the claim based on their experience handling similar cases.
• Loss of consortium. Your spouse may be entitled to damages for the loss of companionship due to your injuries.
• Wrongful death. When someone dies from a premises liability accident, their dependents can file a wrongful death lawsuit. Compensation can include funeral and burial expenses, medical bills, lost wages, loss of companionship, and more.

Unfortunately, nursing home abuse is all too common in Georgia and throughout the country. According to the National Council on Aging, about 1 in 10 Americans over the age of 60 have experienced some type of elder abuse. Some estimates say as many as 5 million senior citizens are abused every year. A study from the National Research Council found that only 1 in 14 cases of elder abuse are reported.

Research suggests a number of reasons why nursing home abuse occurs. Common explanations given include the growing number of people living in nursing homes and the difficulty of staffing them with qualified and well-trained staff members. Many nursing homes in Georgia are short-staffed, have under-trained and under-skilled employees, and a high turnover rate. It can be challenging for nursing homes to hire and retain quality employees. The jobs are sometimes not attractive due to the low wages offered.

When nursing homes are understaffed, staff members can become stressed. They may have to work long hours, which can cause burnout, stress, and frustration. When employees take out their frustrations on patients, it can turn abusive. Workers may also start paying less attention to important routine tasks, such as providing residents with food and water and administering medication.

In some cases, nursing home staff members are not properly trained to deal with difficult patient situations, and they handle them in an abusive manner instead. Lack of training may be attributed in part to a turnover rate. Some new employees are not properly trained before starting their job, causing them to make mistakes. The supervisory staff tasked with enforcing safety procedures may also not be effective in their duties.

The parties that can be held liable depends on the facts and circumstances of the particular defective product accident case. It’s typically the product manufacturer or product designer who is liable for injuries caused by the defective product.

If you suffer injuries due to a product having a defective design, you will need to prove the design of the product caused it to be unreasonably dangerous to use. This means the product is dangerous even when used in the correct manner.

Manufacturing defects are caused by errors in the manufacturing process. A manufacturer can be held liable for defects that happen as a result of faulty manufacturing techniques, regardless if they were careful and diligent throughout the manufacturing process.

Other potential liable parties in product liability cases include retailers, distributors, and marketers. If a product is not properly labeled regarding its dangers, the party that failed to warn customers may be held liable for the ensuing injuries.