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By David Garner 14 Jun, 2023
A frequent comment I get from workers' compensation inquirers is "I don't know if I even need a lawyer for this." And often, they are right. But how do you know? Often, a case where a lawyer should have been hired, but was not, is far more difficult and far less likely to end with the client treated fairly as compared to a case where a lawyer was hired from the start. A few tips on how to determine whether you need an attorney. First, what kind of job do you have? A career firefighter or police officer, teacher, career government employee, or a highly paid white collar worker, may value their career far more highly than whatever value exists in a workers' compensation claim. In general, these types of workers will need to consider hiring a lawyer when the employer or insurer is not paying for something they should, delaying or refusing treatment, or otherwise being grossly unfair with the claimant, or if the injury is so serious that it will threaten your ability to return to the job in any event. If the employer and insurer is paying for all of your medical treatment, paying you for your time out of work, and working with you on return to work issues such that you are able to work within your restrictions, and the injury is such that you are likely to be able to return to your normal job, hiring an attorney is probably not going to improve your standing with your employer, and is unlikely to result in you getting more benefits than you are currently receiving. That does not mean you should not consult with an attorney. It just means any good attorney is going to be honest with you and tell you whether they can help you or not. And if they cannot, they will suggest to you that your job is more valuable than the case. Second, what type of injury do you have? I have clients who have relatively minor injuries, but the claim is denied and the employment is not as "career" oriented as those mentioned above, and I am always happy to assist with that sort of case as long as I can provide some value to the client. I also have clients with terrible, catastrophic, life altering injuries who need my assistance no matter what type of job they have. In general, the worse you are injured, the more the workers' compensation system is going to shortchange you. The system is designed as a compromise, and while a horrific injury is objectively more valuable than a minor injury, the system is not really designed to make you whole. When you get a more significant settlement, but you will never be able to work again, or perhaps will have to change to a lower paying profession due to your injury, the fact that your settlement was bigger is cold comfort. That is why with more severe injuries, it is imperative to get legal assistance to maximize your recovery. Third, what is your goal? If your goal is to get a lot of money for your minor injury and keep your job, that is something the workers' compensation system is not really designed to accomplish for you. If your goal is to return to work after your injury and resume your normal job, an attorney may or may not be able to help, but an honest attorney will give you all of the pros and cons of obtaining legal counsel. If your goal is to maximize your recovery so you can transition to another line of work or ensure you are able to get continued care for an ongoing, permanent disability, an attorney can certainly help you with that. When in doubt, call us. I often turn down cases and even advise people not to hire me or another attorney because it does not make sense to hire an attorney at this stage. You will get an honest opinion about your case, and the reassurance that I will not have you sign a fee agreement only to leave you worse off than if you had not hired me.
By David Garner 28 Feb, 2023
When charged with a crime, sometimes it's easy to assume that you have plenty of time to hire an attorney and defend the case. Sometimes, especially with a traffic citation, even a serious one like a DUI, you may even think you can handle it yourself. Be wary. The 30-day letter: If you're wondering what a 30-day letter is, let me suggest that this is why you should consider retaining an attorney. Sometimes with a DUI, you only have the underlying charge to deal with. However, in some cases, the arresting officer decides you did not voluntarily comply with a request to provide chemical analysis of your breath or blood. This is called "implied consent." As part of the State of Georgia's licensing scheme for drivers, you implicitly consent to have your breath or blood tested if the officer has probable cause to ask for it. If you refuse, or if the officer merely claims you refused , then your license can be suspended for 12 months. There is no temporary or hardship permit available. You will be without driving privileges for 12 months. It's okay, though, because I did not refuse a test: Oh, you agreed to blow in a breathalyzer, right? You didn't refuse. So, of course, this has nothing to do with you! Don't believe it. I have multiple cases in my office right now where the client blew in a breathalyzer at the scene, was not offered the opportunity to give blood or blow in a breathalyzer at the jail, and they were still submitted to the Department of Driver's Services as a refusal. The breathalyzer at the jail is the one that counts for implied consent, not the portable one on the side of the roadway. A blood test at the jail is also valid. Refuse either of those, and you can expect your license to be suspended. But the more important point is, even if you did not refuse, if the officer claims you did, you have 30 days to contest his false claim or you will lose your license. There are not very many good options if you do not appeal the administrative suspension, so get in touch with a lawyer immediately if you have been charged with a DUI. Do not assume your license will not be suspended simply because you agreed to blow in a breathalyzer on the roadside, or even at the jail. You have 30 days to appeal, or you will serve the full 12 month suspension. The Administrative License Suspension Hearing: This is not your trial for your DUI case, and really has nothing to do with the DUI charge itself. Let's say you refused to blow in a breathalyzer, and you received notice from the officer that your license is being suspended. If that happens, the "30-day letter" is just a notice to the Department of Driver's Services that you would like to appeal the suspension. Even if the officer had probable cause to stop you and request the test, you can appear at the ALS hearing and seek to have the suspension dismissed. Sometimes the officer doesn't show. Other times the officer does show and you may agree to plead guilty to DUI or a lesser charge in exchange for having the suspension dropped. In either case, you save your license until the DUI is adjudicated. If you plead guilty to DUI in court, there is a mandatory suspension, but you can get a temporary permit, which remember, you cannot if you let the implied consent suspension take effect. If you plead to a lesser charge, often there is no suspension at all. Thus, the biggest threat to your driving privileges is not the DUI charge itself. It is the administrative suspension of your license for refusing to submit to chemical testing of your breath or blood. And again, even if you did not refuse, often the officer will claim you did and submit the case to DDS for a suspension. So contact a lawyer immediately to preserve your driving privileges. The police are not your friend: Police officers are good people, usually seeking to make society safe for all of us, and we respect them and appreciate the work they do. This is not a statement on the moral character of police officers. However, they are not there to be your buddy. They are not there to be honest with you. Their sole mission when they charge you with a DUI is to collect enough evidence to convict you. Any honest police officer will tell you this. But they will probably not tell you that on the side of the road when they are conducting a DUI investigation. Sometimes this is obvious. I cannot count the times a client has said "the officer was a real jerk," and then we find out the officer claims my client refused when they actually did not. Every group has its bad apples. But other times, the officer is real nice, even chatty or friendly. Most police officers are not going to lie in order to obtain a conviction. But some will. You don't have the luxury of picking which one you get. So when you are charged, do not think that just because the officer said he's trying to do you a favor, that means you can trust him. Police officers don't exist to do favors for those they think have been driving under the influence. They are there to arrest them and collect sufficient evidence to obtain a conviction. Do not go it alone: The penalties for DUI are too severe to take lightly. Proceeding without an attorney is taking it lightly. If you have been charged with a DUI, call us at (770) 575-2747 today to discuss your case.
By David Garner 26 Dec, 2022
I am an attorney. I represent clients for a living. That means I have to do this in order to earn money to feed my family. But if that were the only reason I did it, I would lead an empty life indeed. Being an attorney is not merely my job. It is my vocation. From the Latin vocare , which means "to call or summon," a vocation is a calling, something we do because it fulfills a higher purpose. That is fundamentally different from a job, which as we understand it in modern society is something of a utilitarian venture. A job is something you do because you have to. A vocation is something you do because you believe doing it furthers the greater good. My role in society is to help those who have been harmed, defend those who have been accused, and guide those who are mired in our often byzantine legal system, so that they can come out on the other side of that experience better off. Attorneys get a bad reputation in society. Personal injury attorney are often subjected to slurs like "ambulance chaser." Criminal defense attorneys are often accused of using legal technicalities to allow guilty criminals to continue to roam the streets unchecked. Neither of these is true. It is true that a very small number of personal injury attorneys are a detriment to society, bringing claims that lack merit to force settlements that are undeserved. It is also true that a very small number of criminal defense attorneys are a detriment to society, trying to find loopholes to ensure the guilty are not punished, and even blaming the innocent for being the victim of a crime. But neither of those things is true of the vast majority of us. Imagine instead a world where, having been injured through the fault of another person, you are at the mercy of an insurance company, which has a profit motive to pay as little as possible for your injuries. Imagine your valid claims are denied, your medical treatment delayed, or your income benefits withheld simply because the insurance company wants to minimize its exposure. Now imagine that insurance company has a mechanism to avoid its own risk by setting its premiums in such a way to pass on the majority of that risk to its insureds. And in auto accident and worker's compensation cases, further imagine that people are actually required by law to purchase the very insurance product that provides you little risk and much control over what may be charged. Would it surprise you that this is actually the world we live in? Or imagine a world where you have been accused of a crime. Perhaps you did something, but not what you are charged with. Or perhaps you did nothing wrong. Imagine the police have the right to put you in jail, take away your freedom, suspend your driving privileges, cause your insurance rates to go up, solely on the basis that the officer believes you committed a crime. I'd wager every person reading this has at least one story to tell about the cop that pulled you over and was not fair with you, accused you of things you didn't do, and cited you for crimes you did not commit. Imagine further that the Constitution provides you certain protections, but unlike those contained in a Miranda warning, they do not have to tell you about those protections. For example, imagine they can authoritatively ask permission to search your car, and if you acquiesce, even if you only do so because you are intimidated or they threaten to hold you up while obtaining a warrant, you cannot challenge the Constitutionality of the search. Or imagine the police can actually lie to you in order to get your confession to certain things, and then use those things against you (for example, perhaps they suggest your passenger has already told them you've been drinking). Would it surprise you to know that's also the world we live in? I don't write these things to suggest the world is so unfair and we should alter it to ensure that people who are injured have no need of demonstrating their injuries or the cause of them, or that criminals cannot be prosecuted for crimes they actually commit. This is not a lament so much as an observation. We live in a world that is unfair. The government and large corporations and insurers have more money than you and I do, and they spend that money to achieve their preferred ends. I also do not mean demean insurers or those who work for them. Insurance agents, claims personnel and others are just doing their job. But make no mistake, they are not looking out for those who file claims. Their loyalty is to the company they work for. They are good people who represent one side in a dispute. The same is true of police and prosecutors. They are not out to get you for the most part, and while they make mistakes, they are also not actively trying to ruin the lives of people who are charged with crimes. In most cases, they would love nothing more than to see you return to society better off than you were when they pulled you over to begin with. They, too, have a vocation. I do write it to suggest that the next time someone tells you how awful lawyers are, perhaps consider the good we do. The old joke is "everyone hates lawyers until they need one." Maybe as a society we could begin to work to soften the first part of that joke. Most of us are doing no more than fulfilling our calling. And I am grateful to be able to do it. In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, a transcendent lesson is taught. Famously, and in my case perhaps ironically, the "teacher of the law" asked "who is my neighbor?" The lesson was abundantly clear. Three men found a man lying on the side of the road that day, a priest, a Levite and a Samaritan, and only one, the Samaritan, the enemy, the one who was at enmity with the man lying in the roadway, was the one who cared for his neighbor. The one who, in the words of the "teacher of the law" "showed mercy to him." This is what vocation is about, and why I consider myself blessed to have the one I do. Many of my clients come to me with negative views of lawyers. I hope I am able to serve them in such a way as to soften their heart. Many more come to me with problems that leave others with negative feelings about them. Maybe they have been charged with a DUI, or been injured at work and are being viewed as someone who is faking or exaggerating an injury for profit, or were in a car wreck and are trying to recover damages and viewed as someone who wants to profit from an injury. Whatever the case, I always treat my clients with compassion and empathy. We are in this together. When you need me, even if you don't like people like me very much, or especially if others don't like you very much, I am here to help. It is part of my calling. And it is one I am extraordinarily fortunate to be able to fulfill.
By David Garner 16 Dec, 2022
If you've never hired a lawyer before, it can sometimes be difficult to know what to expect. And the truth is, often what you can expect will differ depending on the type of lawyer you hire. In my practice, I am fortunate to help people who need assistance navigating difficult times in their lives. This means my clients are rarely calling me during the best times in their lives. This post will outline what I consider to be good legal service and competent representation, as well as the simple day-to-day handling of a particular case. With clients who have suffered an injury, whether it is an injury sustained at work or in an accident due to someone else's negligence, the first thing you should expect from your lawyer is compassion. I only take cases that I believe have merit. The reason for this is simple. I do not get paid on personal injury or workers' compensation cases unless I recover compensation. This means that if I take the so-called "frivolous" cases you often hear about from people who do not like attorneys very much, then I am doing two things wrong. First, I am putting work into cases that I have little chance of ever seeing a reasonable fee on. The second is I am taking time away from other cases that do have merit. When you come to us with a personal injury or workers' compensation claim, you can expect that I believe in your case, or I would not agree to take on the representation. Because of this, you can also expect compassion and empathy. We will treat you with respect and we will understand that you are suffering, and we will do our best to get you the medical care you need to alleviate your suffering. We will also do our best to recover the compensation to which the law entitles you. With clients accused of traffic offenses or DUI, often our clients have admittedly done something wrong, but perhaps have been accused of more than they actually did. Other times our clients are guilty of the crimes of which they are accused. Still other times our clients are innocent of the charges against them. In these cases, the fee is paid up front, so the main part of my job is to accurately assess whether you have been properly charged, educate you about the consequences, and assess the risk of going to trial versus working out a plea bargain. Because I am paid up front, you should expect an honest assessment of the charges against you and an honest evaluation of whether I can help you or not. Often, I get calls from people charged with very minor traffic offenses, who do not need an attorney. I will tell you that. More often, I get calls from people who have been charged with serious traffic offenses. Sometimes, I can be of assistance, and other times I cannot. I always try to honestly assess what I can do to assist, and if I believe there is any question as to whether I believe I can get the charges reduced, I tell potential clients that up front, before a fee is paid. The reason for this is also simple -- I do not want to have a reputation for taking money from people who end up in the same place they would end up if they didn't hire me, but have paid me a fee just to find that out. Sometimes, I tell clients "I am not sure I can help you with this" and they hire me anyway. But I work very hard not to have any surprises for the client once we end up in court. I try not to take a fee from someone unless I can actually improve their situation. Above all, no matter the type of representation you need, you are entitled to honesty, good communication, and a fair assessment of the risks and benefits inherent in your case. My assistant is compassionate and as dedicated to our clients as I am. Since we are the only two people who work at this firm, you can expect that as a team, we will always put your best interests first. We will answer your calls, we will respond to your emails, and we will be sure that you understand the risks and benefits of proceeding with your case versus a settlement or plea bargain. As I've said before, we will treat you like a friend and neighbor. Often, clients with one type of case end up with other legal issues. Some of these we can help with. We can draft a will or power of attorney, or assist you with certain aspects of a personal injury claim such as working out subrogation liens or ensuring medical bills are paid. We can assist you with issues regarding your driving privileges in cases where the charges against you result in a suspension. Other times, clients have legal issues that I am simply not competent to handle. You can expect that I will inform you of that and try to refer you to another attorney who is competent to assist you in that area. Not every lawyer can handle every type of case. An honest lawyer will tell you that instead of trying to get a fee on something he or she is incompetent to handle. What do we expect from you? That is also simple. Good communication, cooperation in obtaining medical records or answering discovery or showing up for court, and a fair approach to the ultimate resolution of your case, whatever type of case you have. We understand our clients are often in stressful situations that are less than ideal. However, your cooperation in the handling of your case is paramount to getting a good result. I do not expect you to blindly follow my advice. I do expect that you will hear me out and let me explain why I believe the approach I suggest is in your best interest. It is for this reason that I do not settle cases before they are ready, and I do not plead out cases without having all the information you need to make a good decision. Ultimately, hiring a lawyer complicates your life. You suddenly find yourself meeting discovery deadlines, having court dates or trial dates, answering questions about intimate details of your life in a deposition, and otherwise doing a lot of things that may seem disruptive to your life. The good news is, you do not have to do it alone. When you hire me on a matter, your problems related to that matter become my problems. And I will work as hard as I can to navigate you through them so you can get the best result possible.
By David Garner 05 Dec, 2022
My Design for Better Legal Representation
By David Garner 28 Nov, 2022
So why should you hire a lawyer for a traffic citation? The short answer is "maybe you shouldn't." The longer answer follows. There are three main classes of people who contact us who need representation on a traffic offense. Those charged with major traffic offenses such as DUI, driving on a suspended license, hit and run, etc. Those who are under the ages of 21 or 18 and are charged with violations for which points are assessed. Commercial drivers The first class should be obvious. If you are charged with any offense that carries mandatory jail time or a mandatory suspension of your license, you need a lawyer. While it is theoretically possible to handle these cases yourself, you don't know what you don't know, and the odds of you missing something along the way are high. The consequences of not handling these cases properly are severe. That is why they cost more, and it is why you need a lawyer to help you. The second class may be less obvious. For the better part of 15 years now, young drivers have been subject to more severe penalties for traffic offenses. Zero point, non-reporting offenses are still roughly the same for young drivers, but when points are assessed, the result can be a mandatory suspension. If you are under 18, your license will be suspended if you get 4 or more cumulative points. This means if you have four 1-point violations in a consecutive 12 month period, your license will be suspended. When you turn 18, things get a little better, but until you turn 21, you will still be suspended for any single violation of 4 points or greater. This means as a younger driver, "I'll just pay the fine" is not always a wise choice. If you make the wrong call, your license will be suspended and it may be too late to change that after the fact. Even if it is possible to set aside your guilty plea, the attorney's fee to do this will be significantly more expensive than if you'd simply hired a lawyer to begin with. The third class also might not be immediately obvious. Most commercial drivers are aware they are held to a higher standard than a non-commercial license holder. However, the complexity of CDL cases may not be immediately apparent to the CDL holder. For example, in cases where a non-CDL driver would not have points assessed or have the offense reported to the Department of Driver Services ("DDS"), a CDL driver will have the offense reported in many cases, including "too fast for conditions" or speeding under 15 miles per hour. This means the offense, while it will still carry zero points, will also show up on a Motor Vehicle Report ("MVR"), and therefore will be seen by your employer and their insurance carrier. In some cases this might not cost you your job, but it certainly is going to result in some uncomfortable questions. If you have defenses to these charges, you should consult an attorney. Also, the federal government has regulations forbidding so-called "masking," which is defined as plea-bargaining a case to avoid reporting of the offense. An example of "masking" would be pleading guilty to a local ordinance instead of the state law for the sole purpose of avoiding having the offense reported. You are allowed to engage in normal plea-bargaining, since each case has its own risks and defenses, so pleading a charge down from what was accused is allowed. But it is not as simple as it is with non-CDL holders. Finally, a CDL driver can be disqualified from driving if convicted of a "major" offense such as DUI or hit and run, or two "serious" offenses. "Serious" offenses include speeding over 14 miles per hour and other offenses that most people likely do not consider very serious. This means if you simply pay a fine, you could get a notice from DDS that you are disqualified from driving a commercial vehicle. This, in turn, will almost certainly negatively affect your employment status. We pride ourselves in being fair and honest with our clients. We believe the best way to earn the trust of the community is to do the right thing. When you call our office, you will not be subjected to a sales pitch or a hard sell to get you to retain us. If you do not need an attorney, we will tell you that. Consultations are free, so there is nothing to lose by calling us to discuss your case. I hope you are never charged with any offense that could result in loss of your freedom, driving privileges or ability to earn a living. If you are, I hope you will call us to discuss your case for free.
By David Garner 21 Nov, 2022
An automobile accident is a traumatic event, whether you've been badly injured or barely escaped serious injury. How you proceed following a traffic accident can be the difference between recovering the full measure of damages you've suffered and being short-changed. When you've been injured in a car wreck, there are three basic issues to navigate: 1) Liability 2) Causation 3) Damages Liability simply means determining who was at fault. If it was you, you cannot recover from the other parties to the accident. If it was the other party, you can recover. As is often the case, if everyone had some level of fault, then the fault ascribed to the other party must be over 50% or you cannot recover (in other words, if you were mostly at fault, Georgia law bars you from recovering any damages). You can only recover the percent of fault ascribed to you, whether in negotiation with the insurance company or following a jury verdict. Causation means that the negligence of the other party must be the cause of your injuries. If you have Type 1 diabetes, and you are in a car wreck, you cannot make the other person pay for your Type 1 diabetes treatment, because the wreck did not cause your condition. If you have a neck injury or a broken arm or leg, and you did not have a neck injury or a broken arm or leg before the wreck, causation is a much simpler thing to prove. You can only recover for those injuries caused by the accident. Damages are the compensation you get for being injured. In car wreck cases, this usually takes the form of money paid for property damage, medical bills, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, lost wages, and similar damages. As above, you can only recover those damages caused by the wreck. Your actions, or inaction, following a car wreck can often make the difference in whether you can recover the full measure of your damages. If there is significant damage to your vehicle, and you are able, take pictures. If possible, take pictures of the damage to the other vehicle as well. If you are injured too badly to take the photos yourself, be sure a friend or family member, or your attorney, gets out to where the vehicle is stored to take them. If you are injured, get medical treatment. The single biggest factor in cases we have where clients are less satisfied with their recovery is the failure to get consistent, reasonable medical treatment. Do not treat frivolously -- if you are not hurt, it will not improve your case and you will end up owing money back to a doctor, chiropractor or your health insurance company that you will not recover in the lawsuit. But if you are hurt, get treatment and continue to treat until you are either recovered or as good as you are going to get (which physicians refer to as "maximum medical improvement" or "MMI"). Follow the treatment recommendations of your doctors, and try not to miss appointments for doctor visits or physical therapy. Keep track of who paid for what. If you go to the emergency room, often they will put a lien on your case. This is a statutory right where the hospital can require you to repay them out of any settlement you obtain. However, if your health insurance company paid the hospital, and they accepted the payment, your attorney can help to reduce or eliminate the lien. If your health insurer paid, they will also want their money back out of any settlement, and in many cases they are legally entitled to it. Keep track of any letters they send to you requesting their money back (called "subrogation" letters). Give your attorney any correspondence from your health insurer. A significant portion of managing an auto accident case is ensuring the client is not stuck paying medical bills or subrogation liens that the attorney should have dealt with when the settlement was disbursed. When you are through treating, tell your attorney immediately. Often, this means the case is ready to settle. If not, your attorney will need to take next steps so that the case can be postured for a settlement. In Georgia, you have 2 years from the date of accident to either settle or sue. If you fail to secure a settlement, and you do not file suit, your claim will extinguish. It is therefore imperative to ensure that actions are taken to resolve your claim when the opportunity arises, or that action is taken to file suit so that your claim may be heard by a judge or jury. It is advisable to contact your local attorney as soon as you are in a car wreck. A good attorney is not going to try to push a bad case. We only get paid if we recover money for you or win a lawsuit, so contrary to what some like to say, we do not take frivolous cases. If you are not sure if you need a lawyer, call us. We will tell you all of your options, with no pressure, so that you can make an informed decision.
What to know about worker's compensation in Georgia
By David Garner 19 Nov, 2022
What injured workers need to know about worker's compensation in Georgia.
By David Garner 16 Nov, 2022
How to know, and who to trust.
By David Garner 15 Nov, 2022
A discussion about why a local lawyer may be better for you than a big firm machine.

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