Experienced Atlanta Trial Lawyers Here to Fight for You

The Georgia attorneys of Garland, Samuel & Loeb are experienced and skilled in the areas of personal injury and civil litigation. Under the leadership of Robin Loeb, the firm has tried or settled numerous civil cases with judgments exceeding $1 million. Ms. Loeb has gained a reputation throughout the state for her meticulous preparation of complex civil litigation cases involving:

• Personal Injury: Serious Bodily Injury, Brain / Head Injuries, Burn Injuries, Spinal Cord Injuries, Back Injuries, Catastrophic Injuries, Injury or Damage by Animals, Injuries from Explosions, Fires, and Gas Leaks, Prenatal Injuries, Emotional Distress, and more
• Wrongful Death: Compensation for the death of a loved one due to Car Accidents, Health Care Negligence, Faulty Products, Dangerous Places, and more
• Automobile Accidents: Motor Vehicle Accidents, Tractor Trailer Accidents, 18 Wheeler Crashes, Truck Collisions, Car Accidents, Motorcycle Crashes, Pedestrian / Vehicle Accidents, Boating Accidents, Aviation Accidents, Plane Crashes, and more
• Malpractice : Medical Malpractice involving Hospital Negligence, Physician Errors, Nursing Mistakes, Birth Injuries, and other forms of Professional Malpractice
• Defective Products: Product Liability, Product Recalls, Warranty Liability, Products with Inadequate Warnings, Dangerous Products such as Accutane, Baycol, Bextra, Celebrex, Ephedra, Meridia, Prempro, Serzone, Sillica, Vioxx, Welding Rods, Asbestos, and more
• Premises Liability: Nursing Home Abuse, Swimming Pool Accidents, Parking Lot or Parking Garage Attacks, and more
• Business Dispute Litigation: Business Torts, Racketeering, Business Fraud, Breach of Contract, Class Actions, Intellectual Property, Shareholder Derivative Actions, Tortious Interference with Business Practices, and more
• Appeals: Handling Appeals and Habeas Corpus cases related to Criminal Convictions and other Unfavorable Judgments in civil cases, including injury and fatality cases

The law firm of Garland, Samuel & Loeb has won many significant victories. Our civil litigation lawyers represented the Plaintiffs in Peller v. The Southern Co., a shareholder derivative action filed against the directors of The Southern Company and Georgia Power Company alleging waste, mismanagement and negligence in planning and building two of their power facilities. The case settled for $ 9 million.
In Jackson v. City of Douglasville, the firm filed a civil rights case on behalf of the children of a man who was fatally shot by a police officer. That case settled for close to a million dollars.

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Atlanta, Georgia Personal Injury Attorneys

If you have suffered a catastrophic personal injury, you can’t afford to lose your case. The more serious your injury, the greater the challenges you will face, both medically and financially. To meet these challenges successfully, you have to be willing to fight.
At the Atlanta law firm of Watkins, Lourie, Roll & Chance, we have helped hundreds of injured people throughout Georgia take up the fight against the parties who injured them. Our victories include many multimillion dollar recoveries.

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Should Fulton Superior Court Judge Craig Schwall Be Appointed To The Georgia Supreme Court? Part Two

Earlier this week I blogged about Judge Craig Schwall, a Fulton Superior Court judge who has been nominated for promotion to the Georgia Supreme Court. Here is the conclusion of my thoughts on the matter.
Consider this comment from an attorney who was involved in one case I mentioned in my last post - the case where Judge Schwall banned a doctor from testifying for life:
" . . . there is such a thing as judicial temperament. It assures the public that a judge is making rational decisions instead of just spouting off unsupported views to degrade people who cannot defend themselves. Unfortunately this judge does not have it and he never will."
Saying "he never will" develop judicial temperament is a little strong for my taste. I for one hope very much that we will see a change for the better in Judge Schwall. No one is beyond redemption, no one beyond the reach of grace.
But I think it would be wiser to give Judge Schwall some time off the bench so he can work on developing the necessary attributes and temperament rather than promoting him to higher office.
I have seen Judge Schwall in action and can personally attest to his demeanor on the bench.
I had a wrongful death case in his courtroom when he was on the State Court bench. I went in to defend a motion to dismiss my client's case and Judge Schwall let the other side make their argument but did not permit me to make my argument. When it came time for our oral argument he turned into devil's advocate and I didn't get to present our response. He gave every impression of having no intention of giving us a fair hearing.
We dismissed that case and re-filed in Superior Court to get a judge who would listen. This caused much delay and unneccesary additional court costs for my clients.
Interestingly, Judge Schwall's office somehow didn't have a record of our dismissal and months after we dismissed and re-filed in a different court we got an Order from him granting the defendant's motion to dismiss the case. His Order was moot at that point, thank God!
Here is the rub - the case went on to settle for close to half a million dollars! The case had merit (Judge Schwall said it did not). The case had value (Judge Schwall said it had none). The clients deserved their day in court (Judge Schwall tried to deny them that).
That experience with Judge Schwall is the worst I've ever had with a judge becoming an advocate for one side.
I hope others have better things to report about Judge Schwall, I truly do. But I can not support his candidacy and am constrained to oppose it.


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Anatomy of an Auto Accident Insurance Claim

An auto accident insurance claim always begins with an accident. If you are involved in a car accident, there are some very important things you should do at the accident site to the extent you can. At the first opportunity, you should report the accident with your insurance carrier and begin the process of filing a claim. After you have submitted your claim, a claims adjuster (someone who works for the insurance company and deals exclusively with claims) will either call, write or email you regarding your claim. He or she will then look at your policy to determine the types of coverage you have, deductibles, and any coverage limits that may affect your claim.
If your claim is simple (i.e., fault is not at issue, the damage was minimal, and little or no medical treatment was necessary), the adjuster may have you get an estimate for repairs and then send you a check. You will have to fill out some paperwork, but you may not have to meet with the adjuster in person. If your claim is more complicated (for example, liability is unclear, you do not have enough coverage in your policy, or you do not agree with your adjuster’s settlement offer), then the negotiation process will take longer.
Investigating Your Automobile Accident Claim
In relatively complicated injury accident claims, adjusters typically must do some investigation in order to adequately assess the insurance company’s liability. The adjuster will comb through your policy and possibly contact witnesses to the accident, the other party to the accident, look at the police report if there is one, take photographs of the damages and scene of the accident and generally investigate your medical expenses by sending out requests to your medical providers for information regarding your treatment. If you are seeking to have medical bills covered, the adjuster will send you a medical authorization form for the release of your medical records.
The Settlement Offer
Once the adjuster has investigated your claim and looked at your policy, he or she will typically send you a settlement offer. The settlement offer will tell you what the insurance company is willing to pay on your claim. It could be all, it could be part, it could be none. This opening offer is typically on the low side. After all, the adjuster’s job is to save his or her employer money. But the adjuster also wants to close a case and thus is typically allowed a settlement range that offers room for negotiation. See When the Adjuster’s Settlement Offer is Too Low.
The Demand Letter
If you are confident about how much you think your claim is worth, you can preempt the adjuster’s settlement offer with your own settlement proposal (demand letter). Your demand letter would outline fault (if an issue), damages and ask for a certain amount to settle your claim.
So, should you make a demand first, or wait for the offer? See Making a Demand or Waiting for a Car Insurance Offer and Settling Your Car Insurance Claim: How to Write a Demand Letter.
Negotiating with the Claims Adjuster
If you’ve already received an opening offer from the adjuster, keep in mind that opening offers for settlement are almost always on the low side. Whether or not you think the offer is reasonable, read When the Adjuster’s Settlement Offer is Too Low for more information on how to evaluate that opening offer. Then, unless you’re willing to go with that opening offer (knowing that it’s too low) without an argument, you will ultimately need to negotiate with the adjuster for a higher settlement. See Negotiating Your Car Insurance Settlement.
If Your Auto Accident Claim is Denied
If your claim is denied in whole or in part, there could be many legitimate and reasonable reasons. Most have to do with limits in your coverage. You can check the denial letter against your policy to see if the denial seems legitimate or not. If you still think your claim was unfairly denied, read When Your Car Insurance Claim is Denied for more on what you can do next. But whatever you decide to do, don’t wait too long to do it. If you sit on your claim for too long, you may lose the right to sue in court to get your recovery. Each state has a statute of limitations (a time limit for filing a lawsuit in court). In most states, the statute of limitations for personal injury claims is 2 or 3 years, but could be shorter or longer. An attorney will be able to advise you.

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