Wrongful Death Category Archives - Atlanta Injury Lawyer Blog Published by Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer

Solitary Confinement in Georgia Prisons is “Draconian”: Confinement in a Prison Shower is Immoral and Unconscionable

May 1, 2024 | Robin Frazer Clark

Last week, Judge Marc Treadwell, United States District Court Judge for the Middle District of Georgia, held several officers of the Georgia Department of Corrections in contempt of court for failing to correct numerous violations of the Federal and Constitutional rights of Georgia inmates who are housed in solitary confinement in Georgia Prisons. In his 100 page Order, Judge Treadwell threatened them with fines and ordered an independent monitor to ensure compliance with a settlement agreement for the Special Management Unit of the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, about 50 miles south of Atlanta. In its Order, the Court found that prison officials falsified documents and said they routinely placed new arrivals at the facility in “strip cells,” where one inmate said he was not given clothes or a mattress and could not use the toilet because it was broken and filled with human waste.

A psychology professor and prison expert, Craig Haney, Ph.D., J.D., told the court back in 2018 he had toured maximum security prisons in roughly two dozen states, and Georgia’s SMU unit was “one of the harshest and most draconian” he had seen. His report, submitted to the court in 2018 by lawyers for prisoners — included images of prisoners with self-inflicted cuts, blood on the floor of one cell and the window of another, and descriptions of “extraordinarily harsh” living conditions. His conclusion: “The prisoners at this facility face a substantial risk of serious harm, harm that may be long-lasting and even fatal.” Southern Center for Human Rights attorney Sarah Geraghty, who represented the prisoners, said in a news release back in 2018 when the initial agreement was reached“A civilized society doesn’t lock people in isolation cells for years on end,” she said. “It was past time to move out of the dark ages.”

These solitary confinement cells at the heart of this Contempt Order measure 7 feet X 13.5 feet, and contain a toilet and mattress. Inmates housed in these solitary confinement cells receive their meals through a slit in a solid door that has a small window at the top. You may think the photograph at the top of this blog post is of one of these solitary confinement cells that have been ruled to be inhumane. But you would be wrong. That’s because this photograph is of a shower stall in Smith State Prison in Glennville, Georgia, where my client was held for nearly three days and where, ultimately he hanged himself, resulting in his death. The shower stall measures only 3.75 feet X 6.75 feet, which makes the Georgia solitary confinement cells practically Ritz Carlton luxury in comparison. Also, as you can see, there was certainly no mattress in the shower stall, nor toilet where my client could relieve himself for three days. No ventilation, no heat, no cup of water. Just imagine. Housing an inmate in a shower violates Georgia Department of Corrections’ Standard Operating Procedures. So does falsifying cell counts so it looks as if an inmate is in his cell when he is actually physically being illegally detained in a shower stall.

Georgia’s Attorney General Would Certainly Ban Abortion Medication Mifepristone

March 26, 2024 | Robin Frazer Clark

What is mifepristone, the abortion pill at center of US Supreme Court argument? | CNN
Today the United States Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments in Case No. 23-235 FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION V. ALLIANCE FOR HIPPOCRATIC MEDICINE, a case in which certain physicians have sued the FDA alleging permitting the use of Mifepristone violates their rights. Much of the oral argument focuses on “standing,” i.e., whether these physicians even have the right to bring such a case against the FDA. I am listening right now live to the the SCOTUS oral arguments and even the super Conservative Justices seem extremely skeptical about standing. Here are the questions presented before the Supreme Court today:

QUESTION PRESENTED:

This case concerns mifepristone, a drug that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Would Frozen Embryos Be Considered “Unborn Children” in Georgia? You Bet They Would

March 12, 2024 | Robin Frazer Clark

By now we have all heard of the Alabama Supreme Court decision holding that frozen embryos are “unborn children” under Alabama State Law. This was the holding in LePage v. Center for Reproductive Medicine, issued on February 16, 2024. Although much hay was made out of a concurring opinion that quoted the Bible extensively, the primary opinion was based squarely on Alabama State Law only, specifically the Alabama Wrongful Death of a Minor Act. You can read the full, actual opinion here.

In LePage, three couples had their frozen embryos destroyed in an incident at a fertility clinic. The plaintiffs in the Alabama case had undergone IVF treatments that led to the creation of several embryos, some of which were implanted and resulted in healthy births. The couples paid to keep other embryos frozen in a storage facility at the Mobile Infirmary Medical Center. A patient in 2020 wandered into the area and removed several embryos, dropping them on the floor and “killing them.”

The justices ruled that wrongful death lawsuits by the couples could proceed. Justices, citing anti-abortion language in the Alabama Constitution, ruled that an 1872 state law allowing parents to sue over the death of a minor child “applies to all unborn children, regardless of their location.””Nothing about the [Wrongful Death] Act narrows that definition to unborn children who are physically “in utero.”

Drive Safer Sunday is November 26

November 21, 2023 | Robin Frazer Clark

Drive Safer Sunday is November 26

this year nearly 30 million passengers will travel in their cars for the thanksgiving holiday

Senator Warnock (D-GA) and Senator Capito (R-WV) introduced and passed a bipartisan resolution to designate the Sunday after Thanksgiving as DRIVE SAFER SUNDAY. The Sunday after Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel days of the year, and it’s also one of the deadliest. We are thankful that Senator Warnock and Senator Capito introduced this resolution to help raise awareness about the importance of safe driving, especially during the holiday season.

In Georgia, there were 18 traffic crash deaths during the 2022 Thanksgiving holiday period. In addition to fatal crashes, there were nearly 600 traffic crashes statewide during this period, resulting in almost 300 injuries. From 2017 to 2021, 82 Georgians were killed in traffic crashes during the Thanksgiving holiday period and there was a total of 16,171 traffic crashes reported that resulted in 5,727 injuries.

“Since the Sunday after Thanksgiving is one of the most congested road traffic days of the year and the day our son, Cullum, was killed while driving back to college, we hope that Drive Safer Sunday will encourage extra focus on safe driving that day,” said Steve and Susan Owings, Co-Founders of Road Safe America and Institute for Safer Trucking board members. “We also hope that this safety focus will be carried on during the holiday season and all year around.”

This Bi-Partisan Resolution encourages:

1. K-12 schools, colleges, teachers, and administrators to launch campus-wide educational campaigns to urge students to focus on safe driving;

2. Trucking firms to alert employees to focus on safe driving the Sunday after Thanksgiving and publicize its importance on the Citizens Band Radio Service and at truck stops;

3. Clergy to remind congregations to travel safely when attending services;

4. Law enforcement to remind drivers and passengers to drive safely;

5. Americans wear seat belts and educate themselves about highway safety.

First introduced in 2005, this resolution has historically been a bipartisan effort led by one of Georgia’s U.S. Senators. The effort was started by Steve and Susan Owings, board members of the Institute for Safer Trucking from Atlanta, whose son Cullum was tragically killed in a truck crash after returning to college from their family Thanksgiving in 2002. Since Cullum’s passing, Steve and Susan Owings have advocated for safer trucking and have worked with Georgia’s Congressional delegation to introduce this resolution. As a member of the U.S. Senate committee overseeing the nation’s transportation policy, transportation safety will always be a priority for Senator Warnock.

I am wishing each of you a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving.

Robin Frazer Clark is a trial lawyer who pursues justice for those who have personal injury claims as a result of being injured in motor vehicle wrecks, trucking wrecks, defective products, defective maintenance of roads, premises safety, medical malpractice and other incidents caused by the negligence of others. Ms. Clark is the 50^th President of the State Bar of Georgia, a Past President of Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, a Past President of the Lawyers Club of Atlanta and has practiced law in Georgia for 35 years. She is a member of the International Society of Barristers and of the American Board of Trial Advocates. She is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Mrs. Clark is listed as one of the Top 50 Women Trial Lawyers in Georgia and the Top 25 National Women Trial Lawyers and is a Georgia Super Lawyer. Ms. Clark is the co-host of the podcast “See You In Court,” sponsored by the Georgia Civil Justice Foundation. Ms. Clark has tried over 75 jury trials and argued in Georgia Appellate Courts over 45 times.

Robin Frazer Clark ~ Dedicated to the Constitution’s Promise of Justice for All.

World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims: November 19, 2023

November 17, 2023 | Robin Frazer Clark

A large part of my law practice is representing people who have been seriously injured in traffic or road collisions. This includes not only drivers and passengers of vehicles, but also many pedestrians. The photographs above are just a small example of the carnage that occurs on Georgia roads every day. I am currently representing the family members of two separate families who have lost loved ones when they were killed as pedestrians on Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway in Atlanta.

Sunday marks the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. It is a high-profile global event to remember the many millions who have been killed and seriously injured on the world’s roads and to acknowledge the suffering of all affected victims, families and communities – millions added each year to countless millions already suffering: a truly tremendous cumulative toll. This Day has also become an important tool for governments and all those whose work involves crash prevention or response to the aftermath of crashes, since it offers the opportunity to demonstrate the enormous scale and impact of road deaths and injuries, call for an end to the often trivial and inappropriate response to road death and injury and advocate for urgent concerted action to stop the carnage.

“As every year, the objectives of WDoR 2023 are to provide a platform for road traffic victims and their families to:

Vicky Bostick: How the Bostick Family Has Channeled Grief into Good

May 8, 2023 | Robin Frazer Clark

I recently had the distinct honor of representing Damien and D.J. Bostick for the death of their wife/mother, Vicky Bostick, in a rear-end collision by a tractor-trailer. We have resolved part of the case and now continue to fight for Justice for the Bosticks in another, separate products liability lawsuit. Vicky was only 50 years old on the day she died, which also just happened to be her 25th Wedding Anniversary with her husband, Damien. “Tragic” is not a strong enough word to describe this tragedy. It is unspeakable.

I have had the pleasure of getting to know Damien and D.J. and their incredible family during this process. This is one of the many things I love about doing what I do. My clients become like family to me. I represent many families who have lost a loved one because of someone else’s negligence. A family never “gets over” the sudden, senseless death of their loved one. They have to find a way to live on without him or her. The deceased loved one is always with them. I have found that families who do something to memorialize their loved one’s life and time here on Earth, something tangible to remember their loved one by and honor their loved one, handle the overwhelming grief the best.

The Bosticks have joined iThink Credit Union and the iThink Community Foundation, where Vicky worked as a Mortgage Originations Manager at the time of her death, to establish a scholarship for a student from Marietta High School, D.J’s alma mater, in Vicky’s name. It it called “The Vicky Bostick Memorial Scholarship” and candidates for the scholarship must be graduates of the Mentoring for Leadership program. Here is what iThink said about Vicky:

DeKalb County DOT Creates Hazard and Then Just Leaves It

March 14, 2023 | Robin Frazer Clark

March 9, 2023

Michael L. Thurmond

CEO, DeKalb County

Mother Honors Her Daughter’s Memory with Georgia State Law School Scholarship

February 15, 2023 | Robin Frazer Clark

Last month I had the distinct and unusual honor of being a guest of my client, Carelle Karimimanesh, at the Georgia State University Law School Scholarship Donor Luncheon, to recognize Carelle for creating a law school scholarship in memory of her daughter, Naiyareh “Nai” Karimimanesh, with proceeds she received as a result of a settlement of a case for the wrongful death of Nai, in which I represented her. The scholarship is named the Naiyareh Karimimanesh Memorial Scholarship. Carelle also endowed a moot courtroom at Georgia State University in honor and memory of Nai, who graduated from Georgia State Law School.

Naiyareh Karimimanesh was born on May 17, 1979 in San Francisco, California. Nai graduated from Emory University in Atlanta where she graduated with a BA in History and minors in Religion and Persian (Farsi) in 2001. Her life and education were enhanced by summer study in Israel and Jordan. Nai was also an active member of the Emory Baha’i Club. While at Emory, Nai was a Jimmy Carter Presidential Center Intern, a University Senator, and a Senior Resident Advisor. She was a leader in the Residence Life Community and was respected and admired by all of her residents and the administration at Emory University. Nai earned her Juris Doctorate from Georgia State University in

2005.

Mental Health Emergency? Considering Suicide? Call 988

July 19, 2022 | Robin Frazer Clark

Ever since I began the Georgia State Bar’s Suicide Prevention Program back in 2012 when I was President of the State Bar of Georgia, I have been advocating for the need for more mental health services provided during an emergency. For longest time, all U.S. citizens have had available to them for an emergency is to call 911. This is, without question, an extremely valuable service to have when you need help from the police or fire department. But is hasn’t also proven helpful when what you have is really a mental health emergency. There have been numerous examples of incidents here in Atlanta in which, in my opinion, had there been a mental health emergency number available instead of just 911, a life would not have been lost.

The police shooting of Scout Schultz, a Georgia Tech student, is a prime example. Scout was a fourth-year computer engineering major with a minor in biomedical engineering at the time of his death. Scout was fatally shot September 16, 2017, after approaching officers with a knife and saying, “Shoot me.” A Georgia Tech officer who had not had mental health training shot Scout, even though Scout was yards away from him and couldn’t possibly hurt the officer with a knife from that distance. The officers needed mental health training on how to deescalate and handle a mental health crisis someone is going through instead of shooting that person. Had we had a 988 available then, perhaps Scout would still be with us. The same can be said for the police shooting of Nygil Cullins, who was having a mental health crisis at Fogo de Chao in Buckhead. Rather than handing it as mental health crisis, as it obviously was, the Atlanta Police shot and killed Mr. Cullins. What is truly sad is that his mother had tried to get emergency transport for her son to a mental health living facility by calling 911 and waited for two hours. She had even called Riverwood Behavioral Health Center ahead of time to make sure they had a bed available, and told 911 dispatchers she would follow police there and fill out the paperwork when they arrived. She said “all you have to do is transport him.” Mr. Cullins waited with his mother for two hours without any help from 911 and, ultimately, left for Fogo de Chao, without mental health intervention. The Atlanta Police, rather than sending a mental health team, sent armed police officer who handled the situation by shooting and killing Mr. Cullins. Another life lost senselessly and one that 988 may have saved.

So I am thrilled that we now have available to us 988 for mental health crises. “If you are willing to turn to someone in your moment of crisis, 988 will be there,” said Xavier Becerra, the secretary of the federal Department of Health and Human Services, at a recent press briefing. “988 won’t be a busy signal, and 988 won’t put you on hold. You will get help.” I pray this is true. The primary goal of the new number is to make it easier for people to call for help. Lawmakers and mental health advocates also see this launch as an opportunity to transform the mental health care system and make care easily accessible everywhere in the United States. The Biden administration has invested more than $400 million in beefing up crisis centers and other mental health services to support the 988 system.

Calling 911? Not So Fast!

May 17, 2022 | Robin Frazer Clark

Should a caller EVER be placed on hold when calling 911? Common sense tells us of course not, right? By the very nature of the call, that you are calling 911, you have an emergency that needs to be addressed, well, emergently. Unfortunately, many 911 calls in Metro Atlanta are being placed on hold, with the typical hold message of “Your call is very important to us.”

CBS46 News has investigated and reported on this new phenomenon in which the 911 Center places an emergency caller on hold. CBS46 uncovered a frightening trend in the numbers, showing an increase in 911 wait times. For the first four months of 2022, nearly 13%, which is over 40,433 people, sat on hold more than 40 seconds. That’s an increase from 2021 where it was at 9%, and 2020 at 5%. The majority of Atlanta’s 911 callers do not wait on hold for more than 10 seconds. In the first four months of 2022, roughly 75% of Atlanta’s 911 callers or 245,855 people called 911 and waited less than 10 seconds to talk to an actual person.

I experienced this personally recently when my husband called 911 to report a street racing incident occurring near a restaurant where we where having dinner out on its patio. We were enjoying dinner outside when we started smelling smoke and heard tires screeching. This occurred at the intersection of Briarcliff Road and LaVista Road in unincorporated DeKalb County on a beautiful Sunday early evening. Within seconds of the noise of the screeching tires, a crowd appeared, as if by magic. There were easily 80-100 people surrounding that intersection watching cars go round and round burning up their tires. I’m guessing some of those 80-100 folks were armed, thanks to our “concealed carry” law in Georgia. It wasn’t a leap in logic or imagination to believe someone might get hurt. My husband dialed 911 and was placed on hold with a message saying to him that his call “was important to them.” We later saw numerous posts on our NextDoor website that other folks attempted to call 911 for this same incident, also, and were placed on hold. Eventually, DeKalb County police cars arrived at the scene perhaps 10 minutes after we tried to call.