Auto Accidents

This is a very interesting case that began as a relatively straightforward auto accident case in Georgia involving three (3) vehicles where the accident report and the complaint both seemed to clearly establish the negligent driver in the accident. This case, however, turned into a case with many twists and turns where not only the police report, but also the complaint filed with the court, were in conflict with a witness who mysteriously appears later and calls into question who actually caused the accident.

This is a continuation from my last blog titled, “Automobile Accident that Causes a Chain Reaction brings a Georgia Plaintiff a $ 5.475 Million Dollar Recovery, but not without some mystery to the case ~ part 1,” where I began my discussion of a case that appeared to be one thing, but turned out to be another.

In the legal community, we have all heard the word “Runners” a/k/a Ambulance Chasers whereby a non lawyer is hired by an Attorney to actively seek business for an Attorney or Law Firm, usually involving personal injury cases and accidents. The business of running was used aggressively by many attorneys, but two (2) attorneys in particular were master minds at this scheme; Thomas C. Sinowski and Steven F. Freedman. Sinowski and Freedman went toe to toe with the Georgia State Bar for approximately ten (10) years about this type of practice until they were finally disbarred in 2011.

On July 20, 2013, at approximately 1:00 a.m.,Carlos Ashley and his soon to be bride, Adrianna Barron, were returning to their home in Henry County, Georgia from a premarital counseling session in Atlanta, Georgia when traveling on Interstate 75/85. On that same fateful night, Jeremy Crawley was also driving on Interstate 75/85, although he was drunk, when he hit the retaining wall and went across five (5) lanes of traffic before coming to a stop that was perpendicular to the highway. Three (3) of the four (4) cars that were behind Crawley were able to stop.

On July 20, 2013, at approximately 1:00 a.m., Carlos Ashley and his soon to be bride, Adrianna Barron, were returning to their home in Henry County, Georgia from a premarital counseling session in Atlanta, Georgia when traveling on Interstate 75/85. On that same fateful night, Jeremy Crawley was also driving on Interstate 75/85, although he was drunk, when he hit the retaining wall and went across five (5) lanes of traffic before coming to a stop that was perpendicular to the highway. Three (3) of the four (4) cars that were behind Crawley were able to stop.

Although it is still not the norm, we are beginning to see families who have lost loved ones in accidents involving vehicles, pharmaceuticals, or other products with product liability defects stand up to the companies who are involved in the manufacturing and otherwise of such products, and not settle for amounts in either class action suits or otherwise. I have blogged about two (2) such extraordinary examples recently.

The Plaintiff, Winfred Evans, then age 46 years old, was a freight conductor for Norfolk Southern Railway when he was the passenger in a van that was used to carry workers for the railway in the Inman Rail Yard in Georgia. The van was owned by Professional Transportation, Inc. (a/k/a PTI). On this particular day, the van in which Evans was riding was running parallel to a set of tracks of the railroad when it approached a railroad crossing simultaneously with a train. Instead of stopping to wait for the train, however, the van turned in front of the train causing the train to strike the side of the van in which Evans was riding.

As I posted in my April 9, 2015 blog post titled, “A $ 150 Million Dollar Verdict in Georgia against Chrysler for the Death of a Young Child Due to an Exploding Gas Tank Exposes the Company to Future Massive Tort Litigation (Video’s of the Trial Included),” a Georgia Jury in Bainbridge, Georgia, just over one week ago, awarded a family who lost their 4-year old son in a 1999 Jeep Cherokee gas tank explosion following a rear end collision, $ 150 Million Dollars in Damages for the loss of their son and for their son’s pain and suffering in his horrific death. In that blog, I stated that the National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), after investigating the Jeep’s gas tank design by, among other things, 20 year old data submitted by Chrysler, had determined that the Jeep was an, “unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety.”

On March 6, 2012, the Waldens were driving in Bainbridge, Georgia when their 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee was struck from behind by a vehicle that was traveling more than 50 miles per hour. Neither of the Drivers of either vehicle were injured in the impact. The 4-year old child that sat in the back seat of the Jeep Grand Cherokee, manufactured by Chrysler, only suffered a fractured leg until the Jeep burst into flames causing the death of the young Remington Walden. The parent’s marriage would also die that fateful night.

In 2012, Rebecca Grimes was driving on Warm Springs Road in Georgia heading West when she was hit in the side by John Watson who was driving on Manchester Expressway when he pulled into her and caused the collision. Ms. Grimes’ shoulder was severely injured as her arms were reaching towards the steering wheel causing a blunt force to her shoulder.