Case Results

Verdicts and Settlements Achieved in Personal Injury,
Wrongful Death, Medical Malpractice and Insurance Dispute Litigation

Since 2004, the Atlanta law firm of Ragland Law Firm, LLC has recovered more than $45 million in compensation for clients it has represented. During the last eight years, critically needed compensation has been recovered in all types of personal injury and wrongful death cases involving medical malpractice , nursing home neglect, drunk driving crashes , dangerous products, contaminated food, and unsafe conditions at a retail store. These recoveries were obtained from large corporations, government entities, small businesses, insurance companies, hospitals, physician practice groups, and individuals. Below, we are providing information about some of the case specific results trial attorney Daniel A. Ragland has achieved on behalf of clients he has represented. Case results are organized by the following categories:

• Medical Malpractice
• Commercial Vehicle Accidents / Trucking Litigation
• Car and Motorcycle Collisions
• Dramshop Liability / Social Host Liability
• Bicycle / Pedestrian Accidents
• Product Liability Litigation
• Food Poisoning/Food Safety Litigation
• Premises Liability Litigation
• Worksite Accidents / Construction Litigation
• Insurance Disputes
• Legal Malpractice
• Employment Disputes / Sexual Harassment

Medical Malpractice

Georgia Supreme Court decision / confidential lump sum settlement / medical malpractice / failure to provide vaccines / overwhelming post-splenectomy infection / quadruple amputation

A primary care doctor, seven OB-GYN physicians, and their respective practice groups agreed to a lump sum settlement following a unanimous decision by the Georgia Supreme Court in Schramm v. Lyon , 285 Ga. 72 (2009). This appellate victory and subsequent settlement was achieved on behalf of a wife and mother of three young children who retained attorney Daniel Ragland after she suffered an overwhelming post-splenectomy infection (OPSI) and resulting amputation of all four of her limbs in September 2004. A malpractice lawsuit was filed in 2006 alleging that the Defendants negligently failed to give numerous vaccines needed by asplenic patients for prevention of OPSI despite knowing that the Plainiff had lost her spleen in a car accident several years earlier. Defense attorneys convinced the trial judge to dismiss the case based upon Georgia’s five year medical malpractice statute of repose, but Ragland Law Firm, LLC successfully appealed that unfavorable ruling first to the Georgia Court of Appeals and then to the Georgia Supreme Court. Both appellate courts ruled that the Plaintiff had viable claims against the physician Defendants for their failure to protect their patient against OPSI. The parties agreed to keep the amount of settlement confidential.

$7 million (present value) structured settlement / medical malpractice / pharmaceutical liability / medication error / stroke / catastrophic injuries

Pretrial mediation conducted shortly before trial resulted in the structured settlement of a lawsuit involving claims of medical and pharmacy malpractice on behalf of the plaintiff who suffered a stroke caused by co-administration of two contra-indicated prescriptions drugs. Under terms of the structured settlement, the spouse of the stroke victim will receive a lump sum amount plus lifetime monthly benefits totaling more than $10 million.

$4 million (present value) structured settlement / medical malpractice / failure to diagnose spinal epidural abscess / quadriplegia

After years of litigation, settlement was reached in a malpractice lawsuit involving mismanagement of a spinal epidural abscess which resulted in the Plaintiff’s incomplete quadriplegia. The Plaintiff will receive an upfront lump sum amount plus the lifetime benefits totaling nearly $6 million.

$3.25 million dollar settlement/Medical Malpractice/Failure to anticoagulate patient with mechanical heart valve during elective surgical procedure.

$3 million judgment / medical malpractice / radiology error / delayed diagnosis of lung cancer / wrongful death

A judgment of $3 million was obtained against a radiologist (and his corporate employers) who failed to properly read a chest x-ray and failed to note the presence of a mass in the patient’s lung which later proved to be malignant. Because of the delayed diagnosis, the patient died of lung cancer prompting the spouse to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit. Part of the judgment has been collected, and efforts to recover the remaining balance are ongoing.

$1.25 million dollar settlement / failure to diagnose a subperiosteal abscess resulting in patient’s death.

$1.2 million (present value) structured settlement / medical malpractice / wrongful death / failure to diagnose meningitis

Several physicians agreed to settle a wrongful death lawsuit alleging they had negligently failed to timely diagnose crytococcal meningitis which resulted in the death of the Plaintiff’s husband.

Commercial Vehicle Accidents / Trucking Litigation

$3.1 million (present value) structured settlement / wrongful death / commercial vehicle / employer vicarious liability

Mediation prior to the filing of a lawsuit resulted in a structured settlement that will pay lifetime benefits of over $5 million to the widow of a man killed in a head-on collision near Orlando, Florida caused by a commercial vehicle negligently driven by the employee of a rental car company.

$1.7 million dollar settlement where a commercial box truck owned and operated by a tire company collided with a minivan causing serious injuries to both Roswell residents.

$850,000 lump sum settlement / wrongful death / tractor-trailer accident

Insurance company which insured a semi-truck agreed to a pre-suit settlement with the adult children of a divorced woman who was killed instantly when an 18-wheeler crossed the yellow center line and collided head on with an opposite bound van driven by the decedent. Favorable pre-suit settlement was achieved despite the decedent being unemployed and having cancer at the time of the tractor-trailer accident.

$510,000 (present value) structured settlement / commercial truck accident / traumatic brain injury

The Asplundh Corporation agreed to settle a Naples, Florida lawsuit filed by a young female who sustained traumatic brain injuries when she lost control of her car, crossed the yellow center line, and was struck by a large commercial truck. The plaintiff shared significant fault because her use of a cell phone contributed to her losing control and sliding sideways in the opposite bound lane where her car was struck by a large Asplundh truck. An accident reconstruction expert was retained and his calculations showed that the Asplundh truck was speeding and could have stopped prior to the point of impact if it had been traveling at or below the speed limit. The plaintiff will receive payments totaling more than $1 million over her lifetime.

$500,000 (present value) structured settlement / trucking accident / recovery of policy limits

Insurance company insuring a commercial truck agreed to pay its maximum policy limits to settle a lawsuit involving serious injuries suffered by the driver of an 18-wheeler in a large truck vs semi-truck accident on I-16 near Savannah, Georgia. The injured tractor-trailer driver will receive a lump sum and future periodic payments totaling over $800,000.

Car and Motorcycle Collisions

$1.3 million verdict / head-on automobile collision / underinsured motorist / spinal cord injury – quadriplegia

A Clayton County jury awarded a verdict of nearly $1.3 million against a negligent driver who caused a collision with a Ford SUV resulting in cervical spinal cord injury and paralysis to its center rear seat passenger. A significant portion of the verdict was collected from the Defendant driver’s auto insurer and two other auto insurers which provided uninsured motorist coverage on the Ford vehicle and other vehicles owned by the injured passenger. In addition, that same jury also rendered a verdict of over $16.4 million against the Ford Motor Company in connection with product liability claims arising from its equipping the rear center seat of the 2002 Ford Explorer with a lap only seatbelt. The jury agreed with the severely injured passenger that her seat occupant restraint system was defective and unreasonably dangerous because it failed to include a shoulder harness. All other seats in the vehicle had both lap and shoulder belts which prevented serious injuries to the driver and three other occupants. After the verdict, Ford agreed to a settlement which it insists be kept confidential. Ragland Law Firm, LLC associated attorneys James E. Butler and George Fryhofer who served as lead counsel in connection with the auto product liability claims against Ford.

$650,000 (present value) structured settlement / drunk driving crash / hip and leg fractures

As a result of mediation, an insurance company which covered a drunk driver with both an automobile policy and excess liability policy agreed to a pretrial settlement of a Gwinnett County, Georgia lawsuit involving a minor child who sustained hip and leg fractures in a crash caused by an intoxicated motorist. The lawsuit also sought punitive damages because of the defendant’s drunk driving which affected the amount of the settlement. The minor child will receive a lump sum and future periodic payments beginning on her eighteenth birthday totaling nearly $1 million.

$630,000 (present value) structured settlement / car accident / drunk driving / negligent highway construction / multiple fractures

A road construction contractor agreed to settle a Clayton County, Georgia lawsuit involving claims that its negligent road work created a dangerous condition that caused a drunk driver to lose control, cross a highway median, and collide head on with an opposite bound car causing its driver to sustain serious internal injuries and multiple bone fractures. The fact that the driver of the striking vehicle was impaired by alcohol made it especially difficult to establish liability on the negligent road construction company.

Dram Shop Liability / Social Host Liability

$2 million lump sum settlement / wrongful death / dram shop liability / vicarious liability

Owner of a restaurant near Macon, Georgia agreed to a pretrial settlement of a dram shop liability lawsuit involving the negligent service of alcohol to an intoxicated patron.

$250,000 lump sum settlement / wrongful death / dram shop liability / vicarious liability

Mediation resulted in a pretrial settlement of a dram shop liability lawsuit against a Mexican restaurant whose employees negligently served alcohol to an underaged patron who then caused a car crash which killed the innocent teenaged driver of the other vehicle.

$175,000 (present value) structured settlement / dram shop liability / vicarious liability / paraplegia

During trial, a convenience store chain decided to settle a dram shop lawsuit involving the sale of alcohol to a noticeably intoxicated customer in Newnan, Georgia who later caused a single car crash in which her minor daughter suffered a permanent spinal cord injury.

$165,000 lump sum settlement / wrongful death / dram shop liability / vicarious liability / mistrial due to hung jury

After a week long trial resulted in a hung jury, an Atlanta nightclub and a valet company decided to settle and avoid the re-trial of a dram shop liability case involving an intoxicated patron who was over served alcohol, escorted out by club bouncers, given his car keys by the valet service, and allowed to get in his car which later struck and killed a pedestrian.

Bicycle / Pedestrian Accidents

$100,000 maximum policy limit recovery / bicycle accident / wrongful death

After a teenaged “judgment proof” driver struck and killed a bicyclist in Gwinnet County, Georgia his automobile insurer agreed to pay the maximum limit of liability insurance which covered the striking vehicle. No lawsuit was filed. Unfortunately, the bicyclist did not have UM coverage which exceeded the at-fault driver’s liability coverage.

$25,000 maximum policy limit recovery / bicycle accident / serious injuries

An avid bicyclist and tri-athlete living in Atlanta was struck by a van while vacationing and riding his bicycle in Panama City, Florida. The “judgment proof” at-fault driver had only $25,000 in liability insurance and the bicyclist had only an equal amount of UM coverage. Therefore, the claim was settled for the maximum limit of automobile liability insurance covering the striking van.

Product Liability Litigation

Confidential settlements in several escalator shoe entrapment cases filed against Crocs, Inc. / defective footwear / deep foot lacerations

The manufacturer of Crocs shoes agreed to settle a product liability lawsuit filed in Clayton County, Georgia by the parents of a four year old boy who sustained serious injuries to his foot when his Crocs shoe became entrapped on an escalator at the Atlanta airport in 2008. The lawsuit alleged that Crocs, Inc. had received numerous complaints about similar escalator shoe entrapment incidents involving small children wearing Crocs shoes but failed to provide any warnings to parents about this known hazard. In the lawsuit, premises liability claims were also asserted against the City of Atlanta, the Atlanta Airport Terminal Corporation (AATC) and Kone Corporation (which was responsible for the escalator) for their failure to provide a safe escalator or adequate warnings about the known Crocs shoe entrapment danger on escalators. The amount of the settlement with each of the Defendants is confidential and cannot be disclosed. In addition, confidential pre-suit settlements were also reached with Crocs, Inc. and the City of Atlanta on behalf of four other sets of parents whose children suffered escalator entrapment injuries while wearing Crocs shoes in separate incidents at the Atlanta Airport during the summer of 2008.

$350,000 lump sum settlement / wrongful death / defective boat trailer hitch/ drunk driving

During mediation, the manufacturer of a defective boat trailer hitch agreed to settle a product liability lawsuit involving a boat trailer which became detached from the vehicle pulling it thereby allowing the trailer to collide into another car killing its driver instantly. The fact that the trailer was being pulled by a drunk driver whose weaving caused the boat trailer to strike a curb and precipitate the hitch detachment made establishing a winnable product liability claim against the trailer manufacturer very difficult.

$285,000 lump sum settlement / product liability / wrongful death / unsafe medical device

During mediation, a corporate maker of medical products chose to settle a product liability lawsuit involving a defective medical device that malfunctioned and caused complications during surgery which led to the operating room death of an elderly patient.

Premises Liability

$680,000 lump sum settlement / wrongful death / premises liability / inadequate security

At a pretrial mediation, a hotel in Atlanta settled a premises liability lawsuit claiming that its negligent key control and inadequate security led to the fatal assault of its guest.

$500,000 policy limit settlement / swimming pool diving accident / spinal cord injury – quadriplegia

An insurance company which insured a “mom and pop” hotel in Daytona Beach, Florida agreed to pay the maximum amount of its liability policy limits to settle a premises liability lawsuit filed on behalf of a young man vacationing from England who suffered a permanent spinal cord injury after diving into and hitting his head on the bottom of an unsafe swimming pool located on the grounds of the hotel.

$300,000 settlement / premises liability / failure to remove a latent defect / wrongful death.

Settlement against a Johns Creek property manager for failing to correct an uneven curb, resulting in a patient with cancer suffering a hip fracture, subsequent infection, and death.

Food Poisoning / Food Safety Litigation

Confidential settlement / food poisoning / recall of Kellogg’s cereal

Kellogg Company agreed to a pre-suit settlement involving a mother and two of her children who suffered foodborne illnesses after eating Kellogg’s Corn Pops cereal which the company had recalled on June 25, 2010 because abnormally high levels of a petrochemical were present in packaging materials. The recall involved 28 million units of Corn Pops and other brands of Kellogg’s cereals.

$350,000 (present value) structured settlement / E. coli food poisoning / contaminated ground beef / improper cooking

Fast food restaurant in Tennessee agreed to a pretrial settlement of a food safety lawsuit involving a young child who suffered hemolytic uremic syndrome due to an E. coli infection after eating an undercooked hamburger made with contaminated ground beef. After the child reaches adulthood, she will begin receiving a stream of periodic payments which will total more than $600,000 over her life.

$63,000 lump sum settlement / Clostridium perfringens food poisoning outbreak / hospitalization

Outbreak of Clostridium perfringens food poisoning occurred after a food service company used spoiled eggs in a meat dish served to workers in an employer sponsored cafeteria. A pre-suit settlement was obtained on behalf of one victim who required several days of hospitalization.

Worksite Accidents / Construction Litigation

$1.8 million total cash settlements / 3 defendants / construction and work site accident

One subcontractor’s insurance company paid its entire policy limit of $1 million, and insurance companies on behalf of two other subcontractors contributed another $800,000 at a pretrial mediation to settle a lawsuit brought by several Hispanic workers who sustained injuries when a concrete block wall collapsed during construction in Warner Robins, Georgia.

$475,000 (present value) structured settlement / work-related accident / fall from billboard / spinal cord injury

Mediation resulted in the settlement of a Fulton County lawsuit which claimed that a worker fell from an unsafely designed and negligently maintained billboard resulting in a spinal cord injury and partial paralysis. The plaintiff will receive upfront cash plus lifetime benefits of nearly $1 million. The injured worker also pursued a workers compensation case which will provide additional benefits.

Roadside contractor hired subcontractor to help pave a new road near Athens, Georgia. Plaintiff was employed by subcontractor as an unskilled laborer. Plaintiff was injured by a 38,000 pound milling machine because contractor ordered that the machine be placed on a wooden trailer, instead of a steel trailer. Contractor wanted the milling machine moved down the road faster. The milling machine crashed through the wooden deck which could not support such weight and the machine’s conveyer belt injured Plaintiff. Much of the litigation was centered on proving that Plaintiff was not a borrowed servant (statutory employee) of contractor and therefore barred by the worker’s compensation laws in Georgia.

Insurance Disputes

$665,000 lump sum cash settlement / wrongful denial of disability insurance claim

At mediation, a disability insurer agreed to a pretrial settlement of a lawsuit filed by a dentist after his claim for long term disability benefits was wrongfully denied.

$150,000 lump sum cash settlement / wrongful denial of life insurance proceeds

Pretrial settlement was reached with a life insurer which wrongfully denied a wife’s claim under an accidental death policy following her husband’s fatal car accident.

Legal Malpractice

$235,000 lump sum cash settlement / legal malpractice / product liability / unsafe medical device / back injury

The malpractice insurer for an Atlanta attorney agreed to settle a lawsuit involving legal negligence which caused his client’s product liability lawsuit to be dismissed by the trial judge. The underlying case involved a defective medical device used in spinal surgery.

Employment Disputes / Sexual Harassment

$250,000 lump sum cash settlement / sexual harassment

A large U.S. multinational corporation agreed to settle a lawsuit involving a male executive’s sexual harassment of a female subordinate employee.

$200,000 judgment following favorable jury verdict / overtime compensation dispute / Fair Labor Standards Act / opt-in class action

Jury in a Rome, Georgia federal court returned a verdict in favor of 14 hospital custodial workers whose overtime pay was miscalculated and withheld by their employer. After the jury returned its verdict in favor of the plaintiffs, the federal district judge ruled that the defendant’s wage and hour violations were willful so he awarded liquidated damages (doubling of the jury verdict) and also included attorney fees and costs to the final judgment he entered. The judgment was satisfied by the defendant.

Obtain Legal Representation from a Qualified Atlanta, Georgia Trial Lawyer

Contact us if you want to discuss a potential personal injury or wrongful death case with an experienced Atlanta trial attorney. Our law offices are located in Dunwoody, Georgia and we are available to pursue a liability claim or lawsuit in Atlanta, Marietta, Douglasville, Carrollton, Griffin, Newnan, Gainesville, Athens, Macon, Albany or anywhere else in Georgia. We do not charge for an initial consultation.