Medical malpractice elements | Atlanta lawyer

A claim for medical malpractice is a specialized negligence action. There are 4 essential elements of a cause of action for negligence. First a duty to conform to a certain standard of care to protect others from unreasonable risk of harm, 2nd a breach of this duty, and 3rd, a legally attributable causal connection between the breach and the injury, and forth, some damage or injury to a legally protected interest from the breach of the duty. These 4 elements are summarized as the duty or standard of care, proximate cause, and injury. Sometimes the Georgia appellate court joined proximate cause and injury as one element. As a consequence the practitioner may read cases that mention only 3 elements of the malpractice claim; one a duty inherent in the doctor-patient relationship, breach of that duty by failing to exercise the requisite degree of skill and care, and this failure being the proximate cause of the injuries sustained. Although these elements are commonly presented in this sequence, the Supreme Court of Georgia has ruled that a jury charge that restricts the order for addressing the constituent elements of negligence claim can have a harmful effect of precluding the jury from giving proper consideration to the totality of the facts and circumstances relevant to the ultimate determination. Critser v. McFadden, 277 Ga. 653 (2004). The Supreme Court reversed a case because the trial court instructed the jury to first consider the question of negligence, and then go to the question of proximate cause, and then move to the question of damages. Critser court erroneously gave a jury instruction that person should consider the question of negligence or whether the defendant departed from the standard of care, as I will explain that phrase to you. If you find the defendant did not depart from the applicable standard of care, then he should go no further and you would return a verdict in favor of the defendant. Contact an Atlanta lawyer immediately for a free consultation.

Atlanta insurance lawyer | Duty to read insurance contract

Duty of the insured to read an insurance contract

nobody wants to read their insurance contract. It's tedious, long, and boring. However, you may want to read that insurance contract. You may want to read your insurance contract because the law recognizes that an insured has a duty to read insurance contract as issued and to determine whether it provides the desired or expected coverage. Pickering v. Allstate Ins. Co. 254 Ga. App. 27 (2002). If the provisions of the contract are expressed in unambiguous terms, the insured will be bound by those terms. He's charged with knowledge of the terms and conditions of the written policy and particularly to determine whether those terms and conditions are consistent with the coverage he intended to receive from the insurer. So the bottom line is we need to read that insurance contract. Of course, this duty to read the insurance contract into another terms and conditions arises only upon delivery of the policy to the insured. This only make sense as you cannot know something that you don't have. If, therefore, the coverages agreed to between insurer and insured, a loss occurs before delivery of the policy, an insured will not be bound by the terms contained in the contract to the extent that they are not consistent with the terms agreed to and which the insurer had a duty to incorporate into the policy. See Greenway Ins. agency 213 Ga. App. 14 (1994), insurer had a duty to read the application she signed, which clearly indicated the coverage provided, although copy of the policy had not been delivered before the covered loss. Contact an Atlanta lawyer if there is a discrepancy in your insurance policy or you have obtained a policy inconsistent with what you bargained for. Contact an Atlanta lawyer immediately for help.

No automobile insurance | Atlanta lawyer

Atlanta lawyers know the general rule that statutory provisions are incorporated by law into the insurance contract does not necessarily apply to statutory exclusions. The difference in the two rules may be demonstrated by their effect on the contract. Statutory provisions which require coverage will be enforced even if not included in the contract. However, the law recognizes that an insurer may provide greater coverage than that required by law. Accordingly, any statutory exclusion which limits or lessons coverage otherwise available to the insured not apply where an insurer in its contract provides such coverage within its contract, notwithstanding the statutory exclusion of coverage. For that reason, statutory exclusions are not automatically read into an insurance contract so as to limit the coverage available to an insured. To be sure, the law allows an insurer to provide greater coverage than that required by statute. Rockwell v. Continental casualty 198 Ga. App. 545 (1991). Contact an Atlanta DUI lawyer if you have any questions regarding your insurance coverage.

What is an exclusion | How does it affect the cove andve in my case?rage I ha

Atlanta lawyers know that the courts consider insurance policies as contracts of adhesion, since they are drawn by legal draftsmen of the insurer and the insured has no opportunity to negotiate or change the terms and conditions of the contract. Thus, in the construction of an insurance contract standard is not what the insurer may have intended its words to mean, but what a reasonable person in the position of the insured would understand the words to mean. This standard requires a policy be read as a layman would read it and not as it might he analyzed by an insurance expert or an attorney.

Automobile insurance contracts generally follow the same format. For liability coverage the insurer broadly promises coverage for certain losses occasioned by an accident involving the maintenance, ownership, or use of an insured automobile. The broad all-inclusive coverage is then restricted or limited by the express terms of the policy. Limitations of broad coverage in the policy include the limits of liability and maximum coverage available for an insured event. Exclusions enunciate those conditions which if applicable to a loss arising out of an otherwise insured automobile accident, restrict or eliminate coverage. For example, a business use exclusion void coverage while the otherwise insured automobile is being used in connection with the insured's business. It is the expression of these limitations to coverage that the courts apply a more strict construction of the contract language. Accordingly, exceptions, exclusions, and other limitations of the contract must be narrowly construed and, are more strictly construed against the insurer. As applied in the construction of the contract, the insurer is bound thereby to express all limitations to coverage clearly and explicitly. Contact an Atlanta lawyer today to discuss your case.

Contact an Atlanta autoinsurance lawyer | Atlanta lawyer

Atlanta lawyers know that the issuance of automobile insurance contracts and the protection promised to the public in those contracts is considered a matter of such strong public interest that the Gen. Assembly has adopted a detailed statutory scheme governing the issuance of insurance contracts and the required provisions deemed necessary for the protection of the insured and the public. Those statutes governing insurance contracts are codified at OCGA section 33-1-1. The statutory provisions require that certain provisions be made part of the automobile insurance contract. To enforce the statutory scheme and to insure that the insurer and the public receive all the protection granted by statute a provision containing any contract of insurance issued in this state will be disregarded by the court if it is at variance with the mandatory statutory provisions. Payne v. Piedmont life Ins. Co. 120 Ga. App. 630 (1973).

Atlanta lawyer and contract interpretation | Atlanta lawyer

You may wonder what courts look at when deciding what an insurance policy means. The courts have held that the insurer in preparing its policy had the burden of using language that is clear and precise. If a policy of insurance is so drawn as to require an interpretation, and is fairly susceptible to different constructions, the one will be adopted most favorable to the insured. Policies of insurance will be liberally construed in favor of the object to be accomplished, and conditions and provisions therein will be strictly construed against the insurer, as they are issued upon purchase forms, prepared by expert's, at the preparation of which the insured has no voice. Any exclusion sought to be invoked by the insurer will be liberally construed in favor of the insured and strictly construed against the insurer unless some thing is clear and unequivocal. If the construction is doubtful, that which goes most strongly against the party executing the instrument or undertaking the obligation is generally to be preferred. Contact an Atlanta lawyer today for advice regarding your insurance policy.

Your Insurance company denying your claim? I Contact an Atlanta lawyer today

Many Atlanta lawyers who practice automobile insurance Law know that there are times when policies can be ambiguous. Most of the time there is a clause or some sort of exclusion inserted in the policy which is confusing, not something the insured was expecting, or just plain not fair. As plaintiff's attorneys it is our job to look at the policy and argue why coverage should exist even though there may be an exclusion or some other language in the policy that the insurance company will try and use to preclude coverage from the insured. The insurance company is in the business of making money and if there is any way to prevent having to pay a claim they will find it. The law gives us some background information on what we need to know about construing insurance contracts where there may be ambiguity or confusion.

Automobile liability insurance is a matter of contract, and the written policy issued by the insurer and delivered to the insured makes a written agreement of the parties. Rules of construction which apply to written contracts generally apply to insurance contracts. While policy of insurance shall be construed liberally in favor of the object to be accomplished, and its provisions will be strictly construed against the insurance company, or is susceptible of two constructions, that construction will be adopted most favorable to the insured, yet its contract of insurance should be so construed as to carry out the true intention of the parties. The same rule of construing an insurance policy or bond strongly against the insurer and favorably to the insured applies to the application or matters contained therein, as to the policy itself, the instrument having been prepared by the insurer. Jackson Nat'l life Ins. Co. v. Snead 231 Ga. App. 406 (1998).

If your insurance company is denying a claim that you feel should be paid please contact in Atlanta Atty. today.