Medical malpractice lawsuits are filed when a medical professional's negligent behavior leads to physical, emotional and/or financial harm to a patient. This occurs when a doctor fails to diagnose a life-threatening illness that a more competent doctor would have identified or when a medical practitioner fails to notify a patient of risks or to deliver competent, timely treatment for a diagnosed condition. What are the requirements for a claim, and when to file The most successful malpractice lawsuits are filed soon after the negligent occurrence and provide clear evidence that all claim requirements are met, including: A clear doctor-patient relationship Negligent behavior on behalf of the doctor Injury that resulted directly from the negligent behavior Damages that resulted directly from the injury If you have the evidence needed to prove all of these requirements to the satisfaction of a court of law, then you may successfully win your case against one or more…

The National Safety Council, the nonprofit dedicated to preventing injuries and deaths "through leadership, research, education, and advocacy," recently released data showing that not only do we have a long way to go to make the nation's roads and highways safer, but that we've actually taken a step backward in this important endeavor in recent years. According to the NSC's preliminary data, there were 19,100 fatalities on roads and highways here in the U.S. during the first six months of 2016. As shocking as this figure is on its own, consider also that it constitutes a 9 percent increase from the first six months of 2015, and an 18 percent increase from the first six months of 2014. Breaking the numbers down further, the NSC found that at least seven states have seen even higher jumps in fatalities since 2014, including Illinois (24 percent), Indiana (33 percent), California (31 percent), North Carolina…

As you made your way to work, school, or another location on the highway over the last month, there's a good chance you've witnessed fellow motorists engaging in all sorts of rather dangerous and altogether frightening conduct behind the wheel. Indeed, you may have seen people texting, speeding, changing lanes without signaling, tailgating, and even driving with objects hanging precariously from trailers, trunks, and roofs. While this last practice on the part of motorists certainly elicits headshakes and gasps, a recently released study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety shows it should perhaps elicit outrage. What exactly did the study find? The AAA researchers set out to determine just how much of a toll debris was taking on road safety here in the U.S., focusing on the number of accidents it was responsible for causing from 2011 through 2014. Among their shocking findings: Road debris was responsible for over 200,000 crashes…

Even though the calendar shows we are rapidly approaching the midway point of August -- and the end of summer -- there's still plenty of time left for people to enjoy their favorite outdoor activities from fishing and softball to bicycling and, of course, motorcycling. Indeed, the coming weeks will undoubtedly see many motorcyclists out on the scenic highways throughout Georgia. While these riders will undoubtedly agree that there is no feeling quite like the open road, they will also undoubtedly agree that the risk posed by negligent motorists never really abates as the summer drags on. In other words, even though drivers should be accustomed to sharing the roads with motorcyclists by mid-August, the simple truth is that many still aren't looking for them, and still aren't properly judging distances when passing or pulling out from side streets. As alarming as this reality is during the daytime, consider how…

As much as we would like to believe that people are now more prone to rethinking their decision to get behind the wheel after a night spent imbibing, statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reveal that drunk driving is still the single biggest cause of deadly motor vehicle accidents, accounting for over 10,000 fatalities per year. In light of figures like these, questions naturally arise as to just how effective ride sharing services like the omnipresent Uber have been in reducing fatal drunk driving accidents. Indeed, the company, which markets itself as an on-call designated driver, frequently cites research showing that the ride sharing model reduces both DUIs and fatal drunk driving accidents. Interestingly enough, a recently published study in the American Journal of Epidemiology has called these claims about the efficacy of the ride sharing model in reducing drunk driving accidents into question. As part of the study, researchers…