If you are involved in an auto accident, following a few simple steps can make a big difference in protecting your rights. If you are involved in an accident you should:

* Stop your car immediately. Remain calm and move your vehicle out of the flow of traffic.

* Make sure that no one is injured. If someone is injured call for help and do not move the victim.

* Call the police and file an accident report.

* Do not give any statement to an insurance adjuster or sign anything until you have had time to seek professional advice from an attorney.

* Write down as many of the pertinent facts as possible, including names and phone numbers of witnesses, statements from other witnesses and anything else that you can remember about the accident.

* After the accident you should keep detailed receipts of all expenses that you have relating to the accident or injury. These receipts may prove valuable in court. It is also important to keep careful notes related to any injuries you have received in order to document them for the court. Do not allow insurance companies to violate your rights for the sake of higher profits. Seek professional legal assistance from someone who cares about seeing to it that you get compensated fairly. At Simmons & Associates, we know how to handle accident cases just like yours. We have the experience and expertise to get you the compensation you deserve.

Sean Simmons knows how to find out if common negligent practices occurred such as:

• Whether the locomotive pulling the train that injured you or a loved one was “signed off” (a common railroad practice where a Manager pays employees fraudulent overtime to sign off on the maintenance of a locomotive’s repair for problems such as improper braking, lighting, or tractive effort, in order to illegally increase a shop’s production and increase the amount of equipment not out of service for repair). The employees fraudulently signing the documents as work completed make a killing in fraudulent overtime, the Managers show an increase in production, while the public that trusts these railroads to operate safely are left the seriously injured victims when these fraudulent maintenance and repair protocols fatefully meet the operators or passengers of vehicles.
• Whether the Employees actually performing the work have been properly trained to do the very work they are assigned to do. Today’s new locomotive fleets are high tech devices that require highly skilled labor to repair and maintain. As a former railroad Electrician and Manager of fleet repair at CSX Railroad, trained in GE DASH 8, DASH 9, GE CW40AC, and General Motors EMD GP 38, 38-2, 40, 50, 60, 70, MAC 70, and EVO locomotives, getting to the bottom of railroad negligence is like taking candy from a baby.
• Whether the Engineer and Conductor were performing their duties properly. All too often in the age of cellular devices, train personnel are spending their time in control of these ominous machines blasting through your towns across your routes back to your home and family while texting, trading on Ebay, and playing Candy Crush, instead of blowing the horns at the appropriate times, watching for vehicles stalled on crossings, and making sure they are obeying the necessary FRA guidelines and speed restrictions that protect the communities they are supposed to be good stewards of.

The railroads, hired Sean Simmons, they trained Sean Simmons, and they fired Sean Simmons. Now, they get to deal with Attorney Sean Simmons.

Each day catastrophic injury and death occurs as a result of negligence by over-the-road truck and tractor trailer drivers. Many times the wrongful acts that lead to the accident occur before the truck driver ever gets on the road. Either the trucking company hired a driver who is not adequately trained or is highly at risk or reckless and a danger to the motoring public. On many occasions drivers are not in compliance with specific federal regulations which are designed to secure the safety of the public from drivers who are fatigued or equipment is defective. Even the slightest carelessness by a fatigued driver operating a tractor trailer weighing in excess of 83,000 pounds can cause instant death and destroy lives. 

Under a survival action, the representative of the estate of the decedent brings a claim of action for medical expenses, funeral expenses, and pain and suffering. The representative of the estate must either be named by will or appointed by the Probate Court, usually in the County where the decedent resided at the time of death. The period in which a suit must be filed is generally two years from the date of death. It is important that this not be confused with a claim for negligence which may have occurred sometime prior to the death which lead to the death. This may in fact be a separate and distinct suit and the time to file that claim would tend to run from the date of  negligent act.

In December, 2001 it was noted by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations, that as of 1998 only 15 instances of physicians operating on the wrong body part or wrong patient occurred. Since that time, 136 have been reported to the Commission. Such errors are preventable with appropriate pre-operative measures.

Some common signs of neglect or abuse are:

* Untreated bed sores

* Bruises that imply restraints have been used

* Open wounds, cuts, bruises or welts

* Fleas, lice, or dirt on elder

* Excessive, sudden weight loss for no medical reason

* Fecal or urine odors

* Unprescribed changes in medication

* Caregivers refusal to allow visitors to be alone with the elder

Don’t allow your loved ones to be neglected and abused by careless Nursing Homes. They don’t have to be abused. Help them stand up for their rights and help them get back their dignity. We are committed to helping your loved one achieve a favorable outcome from a bad situation.

You do not have to prove that your employer was at fault to make a claim for benefits in Georgia. You do have to show that your injuries arose out of and in the course of your employment. In other words, if you got hurt while doing something work related and during work hours, you are typically covered. You are not covered if your injury was the result of your willful misconduct. For example, if you get into a fight at work and get injured as a result, you are not eligible for benefits. On the other hand, injuries resulting from a mistake are generally covered. In most cases you cannot sue your employer for negligence.

In order to receive medical coverage, you are required to see a doctor chosen by your employer. A list of approved doctors should be posted in the workplace. If you go to a doctor not on the list, it is considered “unauthorized treatment” and the cost will not be covered.

Attorney’s fees in Georgia work injury claims are limited to 25% of whatever your lawyer recovers for you (up to 400 weeks of benefits). If you recover $40,000, the attorney fee would be $10,000. However, if you get nothing, you would owe them nothing.

In Georgia, the law requires you to give your employer notice of your injury within 30 days of the accident. You should do this in writing as soon as possible so that there is no dispute as to when notice was given. If you fail to provide proper notice your case can be dismissed.

If you are having trouble getting benefits, or have any other dispute with the insurance company, it’s important to file a claim right away. There is a time limit on claims – one year from the date of the injury – or your case will be forever barred. The claim should be filed with the State Board of Workers’ Compensation.

Finally, please know that in Georgia a Workers’ Compensation Claim is not a lawsuit, but rather a claim for benefits similar to filing for health insurance or long term disability. In almost every instance your law firm deals directly with the insurance company for your employer, not the employer themselves. Unlike health insurance coverage disputes, quick action can make a disputed job injury case more successful.

A good Georgia work accident attorney can guide you through the benefits process and be there in case you have questions or anything goes wrong. They can also prevent problems such as unpaid benefits or denial of medical treatment from arising in the first place. Either way, it makes sense to have someone looking out for your best interests. Simmons & Associates stands ready to stand up for you.