Atlanta Injury Lawyer Blog

Georgia State Agency Admits Failure Regarding Day Care Van Death

June 27, 2011 | Robin Frazer Clark

Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning is drafting an emergency rule change one week after the death of 2-year-old Jazmin Green, according to WSB-TV. My question, as an Atlanta plaintiff’s personal injury trial lawyer, is this: Why does a child always have to die first before our Georgia Agencies do their job? The job they were created to do in the first place? How many Georgia children have to die before Georgia Agencies like Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) or Georgia Department of Family and Children Services (DFACS) do what they are supposed to do, i.e, protect Georgia children?

The death of Jazmin Green was a horrible realization that these State Agencies are woefully inadequate and give “protection” of Georgia children lip service. Little Jazmin simply should not have died if DECAL had not been asleep at the switch. Yet DECAL knew of potentially death-causing deviations of the required standards by this day care center, Marlo’s Magnificent Day Care, as evidenced by DECAL’s own inspection reports, and did nothing. A civil wrongful death suit can be brought against Marlo’s, as it should be, for the wrongful death of Jazmin. But no such civil suit can be brought at DECAL due to sovereign immunity. We know, however, that a civil jury would do the proper thing to DECAL to get its attention and tell DECAL what it is doing regarding the safety of our children is not working. A jury made up of mothers and fathers would let DECAL know what it did wrong here, but, unfortunately, that won’t happen. The parents of Jazmin need justice. Her heart has now been sealed for thy courts above. The Courts here in Georgia need to render justice for those Jazmin left behind.

GEORGIA DAY CARE’S NEGLIGENCE RESULTS IN WRONGFUL DEATH OF 2 YEAR-OLD IN AN UNATTENDED COMPANY VAN

June 22, 2011 | Robin Frazer Clark

child%20car%20seat.jpg As an experienced Atlanta, Georgia trial lawyer, I’ve successfully argued numerous day care personal injury and wrongful death cases over my years of practice. Nothing is more heartbreaking and frustrating than a preventable death, especially if the victim happens to be a child. So when I first learned of the recent news that a 2 year-old girl died under the noses of local day care employees, my heart sank.

The victim was left unattended for nearly two hours in a van, where temperatures quickly soared to a sweltering 140 degrees. Confined by the straps of her car seat with no means of escape, the child was left to suffer a lengthy, horrific end to such an abbreviated life. Police arrested Marlo Maria Fallings, the administrator of Marlo’s Magnificent Early Learning Center near Jonesboro, Georgia and her staff member, Quantabia Shantell Hopkins, on Tuesday, June 21. They are both being charged with involuntary manslaughter, cruelty to children and reckless conduct. They have already been released on $35,000 bond. These charges certainly fit the crime, however, more action needs to be taken in order to send a message to day care centers throughout the state that negligent conduct is a serious offense and will not be tolerated.

There may have been warning signs about the Clayton County Day Care Center. In March, Bright from the Start, the State agency that regulates day care centers, cited the center for not documenting a field trip and the children who were transported, according to the report. The report itself says the regulation was only “partially met” but, really, it was totally unmet. The report states:

Robin Frazer Clark Sworn In As President Elect, State Bar of Georgia

June 9, 2011 | Robin Frazer Clark

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Sarah I. Coole

June 6, 2011 Director of Communications

404-527-8700; 800-334-6865

Georgia Parents Lucky No Deaths in Most Recent Bus Crash

April 11, 2011 | Robin Frazer Clark

bus%20crash.jpg

Many Georgia parents are saying prayers of thanks tonight that no one was injured in the latest bus crash in Georgia. This latest crash near Macon, Georgia involved a bus loaded with Gwinnett County students coming home from Orlando, Florida following a school choir trip. Many of the bus passengers were injured, many with broken bones and other orthopedic injuries. I am sure this most recent bus crash has reminded many of us of the Bluffton, Ohio bus crash, also on I-75, that occured in 2007 here in Atlanta. Obviously, a parent’s worse nightmare.

Reports indicate the bus driver may have been following another vehicle too closely, leading to the wreck. Parents also report not being told of the accident for hours. Forty-seven (47) passengers were reportedly injured.

This bus crash also brings to light the issue of having seatbelts in buses, and I mean buses of any type, from charter buses like this one to Georgia school buses. With Bluebird bus manufacturer in Georgia, the country’s largest manufacturer of school buses right here in our very own state, it makes one wonder how many more people, including children, will have to be injured before seatbelts are made mandatory. I advocated this back in 2007 with the Bluffton crash. Had there been seatbelts in the Bluffton bus, lives would have been saved and young men would not have become paralyzed.

Ten Year Struggle for Justice Against WalMart

March 28, 2011 | Robin Frazer Clark

The United States Supreme Court will be hearing oral arguments tomorrow in a gender discrimination class action case against WalMart. The plaintiffs, female employees of WalMart, allege WalMart has been

paying women in the United States less than men for the same work and of passing the women over for promotions while only promoting men. The women plaintiffs’ march to justice has taken a mere ten years. This should show you how much courage and tenacity it takes to be a plaintiff in high stakes litigation against a large corporation. To say these women are the underdogs wins the Understatement of the Year Award. One of the original plaintiffs who first brought the lawsuit against the mega-retailer in 2001 confirmed this by explaining “I’m a fighter if nothing else, and so are all the other women that are involved,” said Christine Kwapnoski.

No doubt that these women plaintiffs are fighters. You have to be to take on one of the world’s largest corporations, who can afford the most expensive legal talent in the United States. And, to bring a claim of gender discrimination which, unfortunately, has become one of the hardest types of cases to win as a plaintiff. The case law that has developed by interpreting the application of Title VII, The Equal Rights Act, tends to favor the employer in nearly all circuits. The Eleventh Circuirt Court of Appeals, of which Atlanta is a part, has some of the most conservative opinions in the country interpreting Title VII such that only a very small percentage of these cases ever sees the light of day with a jury. The vast majority of them are thrown out of court by the trial court judge on what is called a Motion for Summary Judgment. The odds are clearly against the plaintiffs.

City of Atlanta to Pay Residents $1.5 Million for Longstanding Sewer Damgage

March 8, 2011 | Robin Frazer Clark

Residents Awarded $1.5M For Sewer Damage

Posted: 6:45 am EST March 8, 2011

Updated: 6:46 am EST March 8, 2011

Georgia Federal Jury awards $700,000.00 to former MARTA Employee

March 4, 2011 | Robin Frazer Clark

Jury awards MARTA lieutenant $700,000 verdict

ShareThisPrint E-mail By Bill Rankin

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

DOT Employees Face Dangerous Job Every Day

January 31, 2011 | Robin Frazer Clark

I was saddened to learn of the death of a DOT Hero Unit employee today while he was doing his job helping a stranded motorist on the side of I-85. My deepest sympathies go out to the family of the deceased DOT employee. As a plaintiff’s personal injury lawyer here in Atlanta who represents family members who have lost loved ones, I have seen first hand the depth of grief caused by the sudden loss of a beloved family member.

This tragedy todays brings to light the truth of how dangerous many Georgia Department of Transportation jobs are. Since 1973, 56 Georgia DOT employees have been killed in construction zones. Construction zones are inherently dangerous places, but today’s DOT employee death happened on an Interstate Highway, not a construction zone. It has been reported that it was a Ford F-450 truck pulling a landscaping trailer that hit and killed this man on I-85. Georgia law requires vehicles to move into the next lane when there is either a police officer or other emergency vehicle in the emergency lane giving assistance. The Ford F-450 driver apparently didn’t do that, so it would not surprise me if vehicular homocide charges are filed against this individual. Clearly, he is at fault in this wreck. Remember, under Georgia law, vehicular homocide is death by vehicle where the at fault driver was simply careless or negligent; drugs or alcohol do not necessarily have to be involved. The concept of “negligence” is an unintentional act that reasonably prudent people would not do. Violation of a statute, such as the one requiring drivers to move over into the next lane when there is emergency personnel present in the emergency lane or shoulder, can be evidence of negligence. Said another way, a reasonably prudent person would have done something different.

Although bringing charges against the at fault driver of the Ford F-450 won’t bring back the loved one, it does sometimes give the family a sense of justice that can be instrumental in helping the family cope with their sudden loss.

Georgia Motorcyclist Killed in Wreck

January 7, 2011 | Robin Frazer Clark

As a plaintiff’s personal injury attorney, I often have the difficult job of representing the family members or next-of-kin in wrongful death cases in which a loved one has been killed in a wreck. That sometimes includes motorcyclists, bicyclists and even riders of ATV’s.

I saw that another Georgia motorcyclist was killed late Thursday when he collided with a vehicle that had pulled into his path.

According to ajc.com, the wreck happened about 10:30 p.m. at the intersection of Ga. 85 and Porter Road in Fayetteville. The young motorcyclist was operating a 2009 Kawasaki motorcycle northbound on Ga. 85 when a 1994 Jeep Wrangler, driven by an 18 year old, making a left turn from Porter Road pulled into his path.

Consumer Product Safety Commission Launches Searchable Site

December 20, 2010 | Robin Frazer Clark

I am thrilled to hear that the Consumer Product Safety Commission will be launching a new website on which consumers may search for a product by name or type to see what safety issues may arise with that product. This is long overdue and I believe will prevent numerous injuries caused by defective products.

The CPSC, a relatively small federal agency of about 530 employees, has jurisdiction over more than 15,000 kinds of consumer products used in homes, sports, recreation and schools. It does not, however, have any actual real recall power, and the decision whether to recall an unsafe or defective product still rests with the manufacturer. I think that is a misperception that alot of people around the U.S. probably have, i.e., that the CPSC has some enforcement mechanism to mandate removal of unsafe products. It does not. The consumer has to be proactive in searching out information about certain products and the new CPSC website will help. The new CPSC website is not expected to be up and running until March 2011, so check it then. In the meantime, you may still gather alot of information about any product you may suspect has a problem at the CPSC’s current website, www.cpsc.gov.