BY SUSAN M. WITT, WITT LAW GROUP, LLC It was a February evening when I got a call from a man about his fiancé who had undergone an outpatient plastic surgery procedure and was now lying in ICU fighting for her life. The family was led to believe that something had gone terribly wrong during the surgery, but the facts ...

BY LEE WALLACE Professional liability cases ought to mediate regularly and successfully. After all, trial is an unsavory option in a malpractice lawsuit, given the high costs of experts, the complex subject matter that is difficult to explain to a jury, and the lengthy trial time. Furthermore, mediation can be very effective at resolving cases. For example, in the medical ...

As professionals, a lot is expected of us. It is assumed that we are tough, can handle almost anything, can persevere more than the “average” person. All those things might be true, but we are also human. It is very common for professionals like physicians, nurses, attorneys, etc. to experience symptoms of depression and possibly suicidal ideation. It might be ...

BY ROBIN FRAZER CLARK You don’t have to be all that religious, or even members of a certain faith, to be familiar with the parable of The Good Samaritan. In fact, in Georgia, we often refer to our duty to render aid under O.C.G.A. § 40-6-270 as “The Good Samaritan” statute. In the Good Samaritan parable, a “legal scholar” sets ...

BY LEE GUTSCHENRITTER AND GARY THOMPSON In an urban environment, it is almost an everyday occurrence to witness a first responder emergency vehicle (typically with lights and sirens flashing and blaring) speeding through city streets. The more prudent drivers of these emergency vehicles remain aware of their surroundings and slow down as they approach intersections to make sure they are ...

BY MITCHELL B. LADSON JR. All practicing lawyers have cringed when a client, no matter how well prepared, states something during a deposition that is not true – for the plaintiff: a forgotten MRI 5 years ago, exaggerated pain (12 out of 10 on the pain scale a year later). A fact of the plaintiff lawyer’s life is that plaintiffs ...

BY ROSS MOORE AND JAMES STONE As a general rule in Georgia for both federal and state courts, the scope of discovery is limited to “any matter, not privileged, which is relevant to the subject matter involved in the pending action,” and relevancy is defined as anything “reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.” O.C.G.A. § 9-11-26(b). ...

BY THE TRIAL TEAM OF PIASTA NEWBERN WALKER, LLC One evening in February 2013, 42-year-old Carlos Hicks fell through a two-foot hole in a guardrail at the Civic Center MARTA station while waiting for a MARTA bus. He fell 25 feet and broke his neck, causing his death. The medical examiner found Hicks had a 0.311 blood alcohol concentration at ...

BY MADELEINE SIMMONS As plaintiff’s lawyers, we have the great responsibility and unique honor of helping those in need as part of our everyday law practices. Many lawyers, however, take it upon themselves to go beyond the call of duty and spend their time and resources aiding those in our community simply because they care about making our world a ...

BY JAMES STONE The one aspect of a jury trial that is undeniably the most important is the jury selection process. Because of this, lawyers can find themselves married to a particular method or process when selecting their juries. While some may be willing to change and adapt and incorporate new ideas for this process, others might consider their way ...