Injuries to the discs of the spine are the most common injuries we see as injury attorneys at Spaulding Injury Law. Typically these are bulges or herniation of the cervical (neck), thoracic (mid-back), or lumbar (lower back) discs. One particular type of disc injury not seen too often as a result of a personal injury incident is an annular tear.

An annular tear occurs when the liquid inside a disc leaks out of the center of the disc causing the liquid to come into contact with tissue or nerves in the body causing pain, numbness, and other associated problems. Unfortunately, unlike bulging or herniated discs, annular tears are difficult to heal oftentimes leaving the patient with symptoms indefinitely even after invasive surgical procedures.

We most often see clients with annular tears as a result of a violent car accident. This seems to be the case because annular tears are typically produced by an injury-causing significant spinal column pressure on the discs between the spinal.

The telltale signs of an annular tear are back pain with or without leg pain that is worse with sitting; a positive sciatic stretch test causing worsening of back pain over leg pain, and increased pain when pressure is applied to the spine. A discogram is the best objective study to determine whether you have an annular tear, at what level of your spine, and what side of the disc contains the leak.

A discogram is an x-ray-guided procedure under local anesthesia. The doctor takes a needle and injects dye into the center of each disc he or she believes contains an annular tear (typically the doctor has already ordered an MRI or CT scan that shows where the suspected tear(s) are). The x-ray scan is then used to see if the dye leaks out of the disc and where. Interestingly, doctors have told us that they will know right away if a disc contains an annular tear upon the injection of the dye into the disc because doing so will generate immediate intense pain in the patient.

In addition to tracking the seepage of the dye, the doctor will also measure the pressure within each affected disc. Again, this is because pressure is the number one cause of annular tears.

Most of our clients who have been diagnosed officially with an annular tear through MRI, CT, and/or a discogram end up having a decompression procedure of some sort performed. These procedures can range from minimally invasive procedures to lessen the pressure on the affected disc to full-blown surgery to decompress the disc. Which procedure depends on the exact findings of your doctor.

Spinal injuries such as annular tears are very traumatic, affect a person’s daily life for years–potentially indefinitely, and are very expensive to treat. Therefore, it is always important that someone suffering from a serious spinal injury caused by the fault of another, speak to a qualified car accident lawyer about his or her rights to compensation for medical expenses and pain and suffering.

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Driving can be a stressful experience for everyone. While some drivers are able to cope with frustrating conditions such as weather, traffic, running late, or other drivers, others are not nearly as patient. Aggressive driving can be extremely dangerous for everyone on the road and has the potential to result in serious accidents. People injured by aggressive drivers may be able to recover for their injuries by bringing a personal injury claim against the driver who injured them. An experienced personal injury attorney can help you make sure that you obtain the compensation that you deserve after an accident with an aggressive driver.

In an effort to combat aggressive driving, the Georgia legislature has defined that term in an effort to hold dangerous drivers accountable. The statute states that aggressive driving is:

“Intent to annoy, harass, molest, intimidate, injure or obstruct another person, while doing one or more of the following: overtaking and passing another vehicle; violating traffic lane markings; following too closely; violating signal, lane change, slowing or stopping laws; impeding traffic flows; reckless driving.”

Under a legal doctrine known as “negligence per se,” when an individual is in violation of a regulation or statute and causes the type of harm that the regulation or statute is designed to prevent, he or she may be deemed negligent. As a result, if a driver who caused an accident is determined to have been driving aggressively, any victims will likely be able to recover.

An accident with an aggressive driver has the potential to cause a wide range of injuries, some of which may be serious. Some of the most common injuries that occur after aggressive driving accidents include the following:

• Whiplash
• Broken bones
• Burns
• Concussions
• Contusions
• Lacerations
• Traumatic brain injuries

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident that you believe was caused by an aggressive driver, you may be entitled to significant compensation. To schedule a free consultation with one of our experienced Atlanta car accident attorneys, call Spaulding Injury Law today at (770) 887-3162.

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Hiawassee is home to the NE Georgia Mustang Club’s 49th Annual Mustang Car Show from September 23 to September 24 this year, and it is a great opportunity to enjoy some truly spectacular Mustangs in all their glory. These cherry vehicles come with hefty price tags, and even minor accidents can lead to immense losses in the form of property damage – not to mention the physical, financial, and emotional losses experienced by the car’s occupants at the time.

The Value of Classic Mustangs

The most valuable Mustangs out there include the following:

• First-generation Mustangs (which refers to those manufactured between March 1964 through 1973): The Boss Mustang 429 (1969 to 1970), which – when in excellent condition – brings an average value of $259,000
• Third-generation Mustangs (which refers to those manufactured between 1979 and 1993): The 5.0 SVT Cobra R (1993), which – when in excellent condition – brings an average value of $93,900
• Fifth-generation Mustangs (which refers to those manufactured between 2004 and 2014): The Shelby GT500 convertible (2013 to 2014), which – when in excellent condition – brings an average value of $76,200
• Fourth-generation Mustangs (which refers to those manufactured between 1994 and 2004): The Cobra R (2000), which – when in excellent condition – brings an average value of $53,200
• Second-generation Mustangs (which refers to those manufactured between 1974 and 1978): The Mustang II Cobra II (1976 – 1978), which – when in excellent condition – brings an average value of $31,900

In other words, there are a lot of Mustang lovers out there, and – when well cared for – these vehicles tend to retain their value (and then some).

Car Accident Considerations

If you’ve been injured in a car accident involving your car-show quality vehicle, the losses associated with even a fender bender can be immense. Repairs to these showpieces are not only costly but also highly specific and could require considerable travel to receive the high-quality repairs you’re looking for. Additionally, there are the following considerations to take into account:

• Your medical expenses, which can range from emergency care to surgery, hospital stays, rehabilitation, and beyond
• Your lost earnings and any decrease in earning potential
• The physical and emotional pain and suffering you endure

The losses from any crash can be considerable and costly.

An Experienced Georgia Car Accident Attorney Can Help

If your car-show-ready ride was damaged by the negligence of another driver in a car crash, the insightful Georgia car accident attorneys at Spaulding Injury Law have reserves of experience handling complex claims like yours and are well prepared to skillfully advocate for compensation that covers the full range of damage to your valuable vehicle and beyond.

If you have been injured by another driver’s negligence while driving a high-end vehicle, you need a dedicated car accident attorney with considerable experience guiding challenging cases like yours toward advantageous outcomes on your side.

To learn more about how we can help you, please don’t put off contacting or calling us at 770-744-0890 and scheduling your free claim evaluation today.

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In this video, Attorney Ted Spaulding reviews the importance of spoliation of evidence letters for a tractor-trailer accident case. He explains what spoliation letters are in the context of this kind of litigation, and how a lawyer can assist. 

Why are spoliation of evidence letters so vital in your tractor-trailer accident case? Keep watching this video to find out.

Hi. I’m Theodore Spaulding. I’m an Atlanta personal injury trial lawyer and I’m the founder here at Spaulding Injury Law.

So spoliation of evidence letters is very, very important in tractor-trailer cases. They’re important in all personal injury cases but so much more so in tractor-trailer wreck cases.

First, what is it? Spoliation of evidence letters, a letter that your lawyer will get out that tries to preserve all evidence, potential evidence that could be involved with your case. Under the Georgia code, if that letter goes out and is received by somebody that has evidence, then they later are found to have destroyed that evidence, you get a presumption in court that that evidence would have been favorable to you. So it is a really big thing especially in these tractor-trailer cases because we’re talking about corporations that have documents and videos and all kinds of things that are evidence that could help you piece the puzzles of your case together. And if they destroy those things, either on purpose or by mistake, you’ve got to be able to have that presumption in court to say, “Hey, this is why it was destroyed or this is why it doesn’t exist anymore because it would have helped me.”

So what kind of things are we talking about? Well, first, in our spoliation of evidence letters here at Spaulding Injury Law, we have no less than, I would say, 27 to 30 specific items that we lay out in our letter,. Very important because to meet the statute and to get that presumption, you have to mention these things specifically. A lot of personal injury lawyers who don’t do a lot of tractor-trailer cases don’t know that. So you’re looking for things like they may have like a GoPro or some other video that captures the wreck. I just got a case a couple of weeks ago where we have a video of the wreck from inside the commercial vehicle, huge evidence. They have black box information, for lack of a better term, they call ECMs, all kinds of different things, that tell you how fast they’re going at the time, braking, mechanical issues. You’re also gonna have the ECM data which is the communication with dispatch and all the others about the shipping routes and all of that. You’ve got logs.

You’ve got all this evidence, potential evidence in a tractor-trailer case that all can be very, very important and help secure a proper verdict for you in your case, that if you don’t do the spoliation of evidence letter, it could be gone by the time you get into a lawsuit. And you don’t have any rights once those things are gone if you haven’t protected yourself with the spoliation of evidence letter. Yet another reason why, if you have a tractor-trailer wreck injury case, you really need to hire a lawyer who knows what they’re doing and does it quickly.

I hope this answers your question. If you have any others or you have a claim or case that you’d like to see if my firm can handle, comment on this video below. Go to our website, spauldinginjurylaw.com. I’ve got a contact form on there. And I’ve got two phone numbers for you, give me a call: 770-744-0890 or 470-695-9950. Thanks for watching this video.

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In the summer months, many families in the Cumming area head to the swimming pool for a day of sun and recreation. While the pool is entertaining for all ages, it unfortunately also has a risk of accidents and injuries. If you or someone in your family has suffered injury at a swimming pool, you should always contact an experienced Cumming premises liability lawyer as soon as possible to discuss a possible case.

Negligence Causes Swimming Pool Injuries

Owners of swimming pools have a duty to keep the premises in and around the pool safe for all users. Due to high risk of injuries and drowning, there are numerous federal regulations regarding pool maintenance and safety, enforced by the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC). Despite these strict regulations, many pool owners fail to comply and have dangerous conditions that resulting serious or fatal injuries.

Acts of negligence that commonly cause swimming pool injuries include the following:

• Not having a proper barrier around the pool to keep out unsupervised children.
• Not having a proper gate with a latch or lock that is out of the reach of small children.
• Having ill-maintained tile or surfaces surrounding the pool.
• Leaving tools, hoses, or other obstacles out around the pool perimeter.
• Not having drain covers in compliance with the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Spa Safety Act (P&SS Act).
• Failing to post depth markers.
• Failing to post signs displaying necessary warnings, such as no lifeguard on duty or no diving.

These are only some of the negligent acts that can cause injury and for which pool owners should be held responsible.

Contact a Cumming Premises Liability Attorney for a Free Consultation

The pool should be a place for enjoyment, not for injuries. If you or your child suffered injury at a swimming pool in Cumming because the pool owner was negligent, you deserve to receive full compensation for your medical bills and other injury-related losses. At Spaulding Injury Law, our personal injury attorneys are committed to helping victims recover from unexpected and unnecessary accidents and injuries. Do not hesitate to call (770) 887-3162 to schedule a free consultation with one of our highly experienced premises liability lawyers today.

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Many children tend to be attracted to animals, especially dogs of all breeds. Unfortunately, many children also do not have an appreciation for the risk of dogs to suddenly turn vicious and bite them.

This combination is likely the reason that children under the age of nine years make up approximately half of all dog bite victims in the United States.

Dog bites can cause severe injuries, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that approximately 885,000 people require medical treatment for their dog bites. Because children are small, they are particularly susceptible to bites on their face, head, and neck. Such injuries may cause brain damage, permanent facial disfigurement, and more. Many young dog bite victims require emergency care, hospital stays, and surgical procedures after a dog bite. When they face the resulting medical bills and emotional trauma, parents naturally wonder whether they may hold anyone liable for their child’s injuries and suffering.

Georgia Dog Bite Law

Numerous states in the U.S. hold dog owners strictly liable for dog bites, whether their dog had previously bitten anyone or not. Regrettably for Atlanta dog bite victims, the state of Georgia does not have such a law. Instead, Georgia’s dog bite law actually weighs in favor of the dog owner over injured victims.

In Georgia, you may hold a dog owner liable if you show in court that the dog was vicious or dangerous AND that the owner knew that the dog was vicious or dangerous. This is a difficult showing if the dog has never previously bitten a person. You may also hold a dog owner liable for your child’s injuries, however, if a dog owner lets the dog run free in an area that requires the dog to be on a leash.

Contact an Atlanta Dog Bite Attorney to Schedule a Free Consultation

Though the state of Georgia does not make it as easy for dog bite victims to recover as other states, the dog bite lawyers at Spaulding Injury Law are committed to helping parents of dog bite victims fully receive the compensation they deserve for their child’s injuries and related losses. Our personal injury lawyers are on your side, so please call our office today at (770) 744-0890 for help.

Spaulding Injury Law
750 Hammond Dr #300
Atlanta, Georgia 30328
Phone: (770) 744-0890

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Who can file a wrongful death claim in Georgia?

Hi. I’m Theodore Spaulding. I’m Atlanta personal injury trial lawyer and I am the founder here at Spaulding Injury Law.

So this is a really important question in wrongful death cases. Who’s got the claim? The injured party, unfortunately, has died, so they obviously can’t bring the claim themselves, right? So what Georgia has done is set up a statutory scheme that lists, in order of importance, of who has the claim and you, kind of, go down that list. If you don’t have the first person, you go to the second. If the second person isn’t there, you go to the third.

And so naturally, it all starts with spouse. If the deceased was married at the time of the incident, then the spouse is the one that has the ultimate claim rights. Okay, now, the spouse has it along with any children. So that’s very important. The spouse can’t just file this claim, prosecute it, receive a settlement or a verdict from a jury, and not have compensation available for the children of the deceased. Okay? So that’s really important to know. So it’s not a race to the courthouse for that reason.

So the first level would be spouse and any children. Okay? So the spouse would be the one to do it for the children, obviously, certainly, if they’re minors. If they’re not minors, the children can come in separately. But typically, there’s not a need to do that. If you’ve got the spouse, the children are involved, everybody gets along, can pursue it together. Then if there is no spouse, it’s the children. If there are no children involved, okay, then it would go to parents. So just like spouse and children, if you fall down to the parent level, then it is one or both of the parents, all right, can pursue the claim. So mom and dad or mom or dad can pursue it and have that claim going forward. And then it goes down from there.

If you don’t have any parents that are living, then you’re going down further. It’s almost like estate planning. You’re going down the kinship route, you know. Then do you have siblings of the deceased, okay? Do you have other next of kin? And you, kind of, keep going down. Normally, you get to spouse, children. Rare, no spouse, no children, it’d be parents. Obviously, when you have an unfortunate event of a child who dies, then it will be parents, right, because they’re not married yet. They don’t have children of their own. But with adults, it’s hard…typically, you’re not going to get past the spouse or living children.

So got to look at that statute, got to follow it, got to make sure the proper party or parties are pursuing that wrongful death claim.

All right. The other is the estate. The estate always has a claim, but it’s not a wrongful death claim, so that, I’ve got other videos and articles on that. That is a distinction that everyone needs to know and you’ve got to have a wrongful death lawyer that knows what they’re doing to know the difference between the wrongful death claim and the claim that the estate may have, two totally separate claims. So be careful with all these steps in your wrongful death claim.

So anyway, I hope this answers your question. If you have any others or if you have a claim or case that you’d like to see if my firm can handle, please reach out to me. Comment on this video below. Go to my website, spauldinginjurylaw.com. We have a contact form on there, fill it out, we’ll reach back out to you. Or give me a phone call, I’ve got two phone numbers for you: 770-744-0890 and 470-695-9950. Thanks for watching this video.

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Justice is not always this swift. However, Spaulding Injury Law recently managed to secure a $75,000 settlement for the victim of a T-bone car crash within four months after the firm was hired. Even more impressive, this settlement came after the other side had turned our client down flat. The settlement gives our client much-needed funds to keep his health insurance premiums paid and to cover his living expenses until he is physically able to return to work.

Car accident settlements across America don’t always get resolved this quickly. Getting an insurance company to reimburse accident victims can take years and involve a protracted lawsuit.

Here’s What Happened in This Case

Our client was driving a Honda Civic at the intersection of Shiloh Road and Majors Road in Cumming, Georgia (Forsyth County). A minivan driver misjudged the oncoming Civic and pulled out to turn in front of him. Our client was traveling straight on Shiloh Road and the other vehicle was stopped at a stop sign on Majors Road. The minivan driver failed to yield and pulled out in front of our client’s car, causing a T-bone crash. Our client suffered a torn rotator cuff, limiting use of his shoulder.

Our client’s doctor was unsure whether the shoulder could be rehabbed with physical therapy or would require surgery. The decision was to attempt therapy. Soon it was determined that physical therapy was not working, and the doctor said he was not regaining enough strength in his shoulder to allow him to work.

In the meantime, our client was not able to perform his prior job, and there was no light-duty work available. This left him out of work and with no income. He was trying to get by on his scant savings but was also having to pay out of pocket for his healthcare expenses. The injury was taking a toll on him physically, emotionally, and financially.

Initially, the minivan driver’s insurance company denied the claim, calling into question how the injury could have occurred on impact. Unable to get satisfaction from the minivan driver’s insurance company, the driver of the Civic turned to our personal injury team three weeks after the crash. Spaulding Injury Law used the client’s medical records to demonstrate that the rotator cuff tear was in fact a traumatic injury.

In addition, our car accident lawyers were able to show that our client had been able to do heavy lifting at his job as a manual labor sheet metal worker before the crash but not after it. This finding helped us convince the insurance company to reimburse our client for his injuries and for other losses.

Spaulding Injury Law managed to secure the $75,000 settlement in increments that were critical for our client’s financial survival. Within 62 days of hiring our firm, our client received a $50,000 check from the insurance company. This money came in before our client had even had his surgery. Then, 50 days later, we secured another payment for $25,000, giving our client additional peace of mind as he waits for his long-term disability insurance to kick in.

This was a meaningful victory for our client at a time when he thought he was out of options. He realized that not just any Atlanta car accident lawyer could have successfully represented his interest. He is grateful to Spaulding Injury Law for turning around a dire situation and helping him on the road to recovery.

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In this video attorney Ted Spaulding reviews what makes motorcycle accidents a unique type of personal injury case, and what challenges they can present. He includes details regarding the legal process in Georgia and what complexities can arise. 

Hi, I’m Ted Spaulding. I’m an Atlanta personal injury trial attorney and I am the founder here at Spaulding Injury Law. So this is an important question because it’s something that I go through with each of my clients that have been in a motorcycle wreck, to steer them to what might transpire in their case.

So motorcycle accidents can be difficult because there’s a unique difference that defense attorneys and insurance companies like to try to use to their advantage to keep verdicts as low as possible in motorcycle accident cases. And the reason for this is oftentimes, motorcycle accidents that are being tried to juries, there’s huge damages. People have severe injuries after motorcycle wrecks, so they got to come up with a way to try to level the playing field, lower the verdict. And the way they do that is to perpetuate the, kind of, myth out there, if you will, by the general public that motorcycle riders take the risk and therefore, if they get injured, well, that’s what they asked for, right? That they assume the risk, basically, is what it’s called. And they use that bias as much as possible in selecting a jury and then, in trying their case. They do it subtly. They’re very good at it.

But you’re not gonna have a jury full of motorcycle riders. It’s gonna be the exact opposite. You’re going to have people that have never ridden a motorcycle, much less operated one, or had a friend that has operated one. That’s what your jury is gonna be full of. And they’re going to look at you and go, “Well, he was taking risks, she was taking risks, and are we really gonna pay them out for all these damages? Yeah, the other guy was at fault but, you know, they assume the risk when they got on a motorcycle. That’s a dangerous thing to do,” and that sort of thing. So it’s not what the law says. You have absolute right to full compensation. Just because you’re riding a motorcycle doesn’t mean you’re a lower-class citizen that doesn’t have a right to full compensation for all your damages.

But reality is reality, right? And you’re trying your case to 12 jurors here in Georgia, and again, those 12 jurors are not gonna be motorcycle enthusiasts and understand that it’s not that dangerous if you know what you’re doing and it’s a great pastime, it’s a lot of fun. They’re not gonna care. So this is why, unlike your four-wheel vehicle rear-end collisions and those sorts of things that are much easier to try to a jury, getting full compensation on a motorcycle injury case can be more difficult because you’re having to overcome that bias. So you need a lawyer that knows how to try these cases to a jury to overcome that bias. It’s the biggest thing you’re fighting against in one of these cases.

So anyway, I hope this answers your question. If you have any others or you have a claim or case that you would like to see if our firm can handle, comment to this video. Go to our website, spauldinginjurylaw.com. We have a contact form on there that you can fill out. Thanks for watching this video.

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So, you’re ready to purchase a new vehicle ─ after a bit of research, of course.

One of your most reliable sources may be Consumer Reports, the old granddad of quality ratings dating back to 1936. One of the measures you may be specifically interested in is the public crash safety rating. If so, you may be disappointed to learn that quite a few models are not crash-tested by independent organizations. These are mostly high-end sports and luxury vehicles that automakers don’t produce in high enough volume to justify crash testing.

So while you can research these vehicles’ fuel economy, 0-to-60-mph acceleration time, and cargo capacity in Consumer Reports, you won’t be able to find how they performed in crucial crash tests.

Which Vehicles Don’t Get Public Crash Test Ratings?

Nearly a half-million passenger cars and SUVs sold each year have not been crash-test rated by the two main organizations that conduct independent assessments: the federal National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which uses a star rating system, and the insurance industry-backed Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which rates vehicles from Poor to Good.

About 97 percent of all new vehicles sold are crash-test rated by one or both of the independent organizations. According to Consumer Reports, the vehicles that are not independently tested are:

• All Land Rover vehicles
• All Porsche vehicles
• All Jaguar vehicles
• Lexus GX
• Mercedes-Benz GLA
• Mercedes-Benz GLS
• BMW X7
• BMW 4 series
• Chevrolet Corvette
• Mercedes-Benz S class
• Mercedes-Benz A class
• Mercedes CLA
• Honda Clarity
• Toyota Sequoia
• Mazda MX5 Miata

If the vehicle you’re interested in is new and doesn’t have a rating yet, it may be worth waiting until it gets tested, says Jake Fisher, Consumer Reports’ senior director of auto testing. “This is another good reason not to get the first new model at the dealership,” he says.

Car buyers interested in a model without publicly available crash-test data should at least lookup driver fatality rates and insurance claim losses by make and model. This can be found on the IIHS website.

It is also important to note that even cars that lack public crash-test ratings from the NHTSA or the IIHS must still meet minimum federal safety standards. To sell a new vehicle in the U.S., manufacturers must provide data from their own internal crash tests to the NHTSA.

Ultimately, crashworthiness is a key factor in buying a new vehicle. In addition, advanced safety features that may prevent crashes from occurring are also high on buyers’ priority lists.

Hurt in an Accident? Contact our Atlanta Car Accident Lawyers Today

If you have been the victim of a serious car accident, don’t suffer in silence. Reach out to the advocates at Spaulding Injury Law to ensure your rights are protected. Schedule your free consultation today to learn how our attorneys can help you during this stressful time.

Posted in Car Accidents | Comments Off on Did You Know That Not All Cars Are Independently Crash Tested?