CASES WE HANDLE

We represent drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and others injured in car crashes throughout coastal Georgia. When needed, we consult experts in accident reconstruction, interview witnesses, and pore over your medical records to build a compelling case for full compensation. Let us take the stress of being involved in an automobile accident off your shoulders.

Truck accidents are just like car accidents, but trucks can weigh 80,000 lbs when loaded, while cars and pickup trucks typically weigh about 4,000 lbs! Thus, the consequences of being involved with a truck can be much more significant than being involved in a wreck with another car. Additionally, trucks are regulated by various state departments of transportation, such as Georgia’s Department of Transportation, as well as the federal government, depending on whether they are interstate or intrastate, how much the truck weighs, etc. Those rules and regulations mean that they may have to carry significant liability insurance limits, sleep a certain number of hours for a period of time, only drive so much over a given period of time, be drug and alcohol tested within so many hours following a collision, etc. It is not surprising to see these rules violated since truckers get paid for the more time and distance that they are on the road.

Many people choose motorcycles as their main source of transportation, both for recreation and for going to and from work. Unfortunately, motorcycles, like bicycles, have no surrounding protection to help you in an accident. Thus, motorcyclists and bicyclists are frequently hurt worse than someone in a car, who is surrounded by metal, aluminum, crumple zones, and airbags.

Like bicyclists, we recommend that you have your lights on, even in the middle of the day, and wear a helmet. However, accidents do happen, even when you do everything you can to be safe. If you are injured in a collision, we are here to help.

Drivers of vehicles are frequently not looking out for bicyclists, but bicyclists have the same rights to the road as drivers of vehicles in Georgia. Where there are bike lanes, which are marked on the road, cars have to be at least three feet away from the edge of the bike lanes and cannot drive in that lane. Drivers are often distracted and do not even see the cyclist next to them when they turn. As a reminder to cyclists, while Georgia does not require all of the recommended safety precautions, it is always wise to wear a helmet and to use flashing front and back lights. Bicyclists are small compared to cars and even compared to motorcycles. Flashing lights make them many times more visible, even in the middle of the day. Bright clothing and a helmet, using safety colors, such as yellow and white, also keep you safe. However, accidents do happen, and we are here to help you when they do.

When a pedestrian is struck by a car or truck, there is little to protect them from serious—often catastrophic—injuries. At our firm, we review traffic camera footage from Savannah, Chatham County, and surrounding areas showing pedestrians violently thrown through the air upon impact, with personal items like shoes and glasses landing even farther away. These incidents frequently result in life-altering injuries or fatalities. If you or a loved one has been injured while walking, we are here to advocate for you.

We have handled numerous cases where pedestrians were struck while lawfully using crosswalks. We urge all pedestrians to use crosswalks where available and only cross during the designated white pedestrian signal. Entering a crosswalk during a red signal can be extremely dangerous, as vehicles may still be lawfully crossing at that time. Additionally, even when you have the right of way, always look both ways—drivers often attempt to beat a changing light, and may run red lights without noticing someone stepping into the intersection.

Your safety is our top priority. We would far rather see you protected from harm than receive a call after a tragedy.

Construction sites can be dangerous for workers. Even if you know and understand the risks of your job, you may still be injured due to your employer or other workers violating safety protocols that put your health—and even your life—in danger.

Because of the inherent risks at construction sites, it’s important for foremen, supervisors, and individual workers to follow strict guidelines for everything from operating vehicles and heavy machinery to issuing approved safety equipment and responding to accidents and injuries.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen, and some construction companies fail to train their workers or give them the resources they need to prevent serious accidents.

Georgia, like all of the other states, has a body of law known as workers’ compensation. Workers’ compensation is basically two types of insurance, mandated by the State of Georgia.

Workers’ compensation benefits are paid whether an accident is your fault or the fault of your employer. Employees cannot sue their employer for their injury and employers cannot defend or deny claims because it is the employee’s fault. However, if it is the fault of a third party, i.e., someone other than the employee or the employer, the employee (you) can file a regular lawsuit against that third party for your injuries.

Dog bites are painful, traumatic, and can even result in lifelong disability. Because of the risks associated with dog bites, dog owners are required to keep their dogs on a leash and under control when outside their yards. When they fail to do so, they can put other people at risk. Hundreds of thousands of people need medical attention each year because of dog bites, and many of those victims require treatment in emergency rooms.

If you are injured on someone else’s property, you may have a claim against the owner or occupier of the premises. We say owner or occupier because it depends on who has legal possession of the property. That party is the one who is responsible to maintain a safe premises for you when you come upon those premises.

Whether it’s the appliances in your kitchen, the vehicle you drive, or even the medical devices surgeons implant into your body, you count on manufactured products to be safe and free of defects that can harm you or jeopardize your health and well-being. We expect manufacturers to test their products, affix warning labels, and use quality materials. Still, defective products make their way into the market, putting people at risk of serious injury and even death. At Owens & Mulherin Injury Lawyers, we strive to hold big corporations responsible when their defective products cause harm to others. Our attorneys have handled a variety of cases, including those involving dangerous industrial machinery in paper mills, defective exercise equipment, and defective automobile airbags. If you or a loved one was injured by a defective medical device, household item, vehicle component, or other product, trust our law firm to pursue justice for you.

Doctors, nurses, physical therapists, nurse practitioners, and other medical personnel in Georgia must be licensed by the State of Georgia and must adhere to standards of care. The standard of care means what a medical professional must do, under like or similar circumstances, or must not do, when caring for a patient. The standard of care is not something that you can look up, but is the generally accepted requirements of what must be done, or must not be done, for those given circumstances. If the matter is discretionary, i.e., there is no set answer but there are a variety of techniques or choices which a medical practitioner can make, the making of one of those choices is not a violation of the standard of care. Thus, medical malpractice is not a bad result from the practice of medicine but is a bad result caused by a medical practitioner violating the required standard of care.

Unfortunately, when elderly parents and other loved ones can no longer care for themselves and are not capable of going to an assisted facility, many times, a nursing home is the only solution. Nursing homes are very often understaffed, and their employees are overworked. This results in them failing to clean residents and check them for ulcers or body sores. Staff may violate the written instructions of physicians to only provide a resident with liquid or pureed food, causing them to choke and suffer brain injuries or death. Facilities can be unlocked and residents of nursing homes can wander out into the street and be exposed to the harsh weather or vehicular traffic.

If your loved one has been injured by the neglect of a nursing home, contact us! We will provide a free evaluation, conduct a thorough investigation of your claim, and represent you in the matter if warranted.

The death of a loved one, even when due to a long-term illness or advanced age, is one of the toughest times a family must endure. But it can be devastating if their life was unexpectedly cut short due to someone else’s negligence. At Owens & Mulherin Injury Lawyers, we know that you may be unsure of the next steps to take after the loss of your loved one. Our Savannah wrongful death attorneys have helped many bereaved families get justice for lost loved ones, and we want our experience to work for you, too.

Our attorneys have handled wrongful death cases arising from auto accidents, tractor-trailer collisions, nursing home abuse or neglect, medical malpractice, and even falls. We will help you get an administrator or executor appointed for your loved one’s estate so that we can obtain their medical and other records and so that you can begin handling their estate.