This is big news for claimants and personal injury lawyers in Georgia and Decatur accident victims.  The Georgia Supreme Court just ruled that the cap on noneconomic punitive damages are unconstitutional.

The Court held that the Constitution guarantees a right to a jury trial.  The concept is that what the jury determines is how we administer justice. (Back in the day, the plaintiff and defendant will have fight, and who won must have been right because, it was believed that the God’s hand would strike the fatal blow.)

The ruling was based on a medical malpractice case that returned a verdict of punitive damages in excess of the $250,000 punitive damages cap.  The case went through the court system to the Georgia Supreme Court.  The Court reasoned that if the legislature could come up the number $250,000, then why could they not come up with the number $1 or $10,000.  This was important to the Court that the jury make the determination.  The Court reasoned that ”the law clearly nullifies the jury’s findings of fact regarding damages and thereby undermines the jury’s basic function,” Chief Justice Hunstein wrote.

The fact that the law permits full recovery of noneconomic damages up to the “significant amount” of $350,000 is not sufficient to make it constitutional. If the Legislature may cap awards at $350,000, then it could also cap the recovery at some other figure, “perhaps $50,000, or $1,000, or even $1,” the court said.

“The very existence of the caps, in any amount, is violative of the right to trial by jury,” the decision states.

The other side failed to persuasively argue that allowing a judge to reduce a jury ward is substantially the same thing.  The Court disagreed, holding that the judge’s use is limited and  the “judicial remittitur is a carefully circumscribed power, the exercise of which is authorized only in the limited circumstance.”

The ruling is to be applied retroactively.  This is a huge thing for all claimants and plaintiff’s attorneys.

One question that often comes up with clients is the question about punitive damages in a wrongful death lawsuit.  The answer to the question it that they are not allowed.  It may seem unfair until you look deeper.  The Georgia Wrongful Death Act is punitive in nature already.  Therefore, having more is not necessary.  Check out the page on Georgia wrongful death lawsuits to learn more about that subject.

The Law Office of Joseph P. McClelland handles all types of personal injury cases such as car accidents, premises liability, worker’s compensation, intentional torts and general negligence. Contact my office at 770-775-0938.

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This legal article was recently updated at Lost Wages about missed work recovery.  The information on this page has also been changed to reflect that.  This page is legally accurate as of the time of writing.  The article is about 1) knowing that you can recover money from lost wages and that 2) you need to do certain things in order to accomplish the goal of actually getting additional recovery from the wrongdoer’s insurance company.

Many times with an injury and almost all times with a serious injury you will miss work.  Your income will fall.  You will have less money.  You might even get fired because you can’t work because of the accident.  It could have been from something like a dog bite injury.  But more likely you were hurt in a car accident, truck accident or motorcycle accident.

Proving Missed Work Recovery and Lost Wages

How do you prove you could not work?  Think of the person who believes you the least.  What would they want to see?  Perhaps, a letter from the doctor recommending you not to work?  That sounds good.  Even that skeptical person would tend to start believing you.  So, maybe a little more proof could be in order.  How about a lost wage verification form from your employer saying that you didn’t work the days the doctor said you shouldn’t.  Now that person that never believes you doesn’t have anything to say.

But what does that have to do with my personal injury lawsuit?  Just substitute that skeptical person with the insurance company and you have it.  As your Georgia personal injury lawyer having a doctor’s letter and wage verification form is work exactly the amount of work you missed and getting that missed work recovery.  Your injury lawyer will use a wage verification letter to accomplish this.

Proving your lost wages due to your injury has an added benefit.  It shows you were hurt in the accident.  It shows that you responded to this accident like someone who was hurt.  It adds to your credibility to have the above-information before requesting compensation for lost earnings from missing work when negotiating with the insurance company.  Learn more from our Georgia Lawyer by contacting Mr. McClelland today at 770-775-0938.

Representing clients in McDonough, Henry County; Jackson, Butts County;  Monticello, Jasper County; Stockbridge, Henry County, Griffin, Spalding County, Macon, Bibb County, Decatur, Dekalb County, Atlanta, Fulton County, Marietta, Cobb County and all of Georgia.

You really should check this out concerning George accident reports. All people engaged in the wreck will certainly obtain a copy of this statement. An accident report has a massive volume of specifics. Such items as the names of the parties together with if tickets had been given are invaluable.

The facts listed in these kinds of reports should be provided in a great demand letter to the insurance company for the settlement of your court case. If you are interested in car crash articles and reviews, then I must advise this document. In this post we have listed 10 car crash articles that we feel are interesting to those who have been in an accident. As a Georgia attorney I see many unique forms of crashes, so this article gives a selection of these kinds of injuries and mishaps. Other articles are far more current events associated for example motor vehicle collisions relating to selected individuals. if you’re looking to read articles on letters to insurance companies, then look no further. This article is one among my top picks. I illustrate what would need to be in a letter to the insurance company. As a Georgia accident attorney, I enjoy providing information to the average man or woman.

Joseph P. McClelland graduated from Georgia Southern University with a Bachelors in Economics and Spanish.  He earned a juris doctorate degree from Loyola University School of Law New Orleans.  Mr. McClelland is a member of the New York Bar and the Georgia Bar.  Contact Mr. McClelland’s office for a free consultation about missed work recovery and wage verification letters in Georgia at 770-775-0938.