Category: Premises Liability

The Crash on the Set of The Pickup Isn’t a Closed Case Just Yet

Last month, OSHA concluded its investigation into the car wreck that injured eight crew members on the set of the upcoming Eddie Murphy action movie, The Pickup. According to OSHA’s findings, Armored Film, LLC and Amazon MGM Studios did not commit any workplace safety violations. The crash took place in April, during a second unit stunt shoot here in Atlanta. Second unit filming focuses on shots that don’t involve credited actors or require the presence of the film’s main director. In this...

Victims of the Carmichael Development Explosion Are Still Awaiting Answers

The explosion at Carmichael Development in Canton is still under investigation. Or rather, it was still under investigation, as of the last public update. A month has passed since the initial press coverage and the statement from the Cherokee County Fire Department. No new details have been added so far. What we do know is this: On October 21st, 2024, an explosion set fire to the Carmichael Development building on Univeter Road in Canton, Georgia. Firefighters arrived to find two peo...

The Sapelo Island Dock that Killed Seven People Was Not Old or Overloaded

Approximately forty people were standing on the gangway of the Sapelo Island ferry dock on Saturday, when the structure suddenly and catastrophically failed, dropping half of those people into the water. It’s true that this was not an average day for Sapelo Island’s infrastructure. The crowd of people on the dock were friends, family members, and tourists arriving for the annual Cultural Day, celebrating the history and heritage of the island’s small Gullah-Geechee town, Hogg Hummock. T...

Survivors of the Delta Tire Explosion at Hartsfield-Jackson Have the Right to Sue

Two people are dead and a third under hospital care, following an accident at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on the morning of August 27th, 2024. The victims, Mirko Marweg, Luis Aldarondo, and a currently unidentified Delta employee, were working in a technical operations maintenance facility at the airport, removing a tire from the detached wheel section of a Delta Airlines plane. The tire exploded, killing Marweg and Aldarondo, and severely injuring the other employee. Delta...

Can You Sue a Security Guard?

Whether you are spending your Saturday night at a popular nightclub or bar, taking in a sports event at The Sports Arena, or attending a comedy show or concert, security guards are supposed to be there to protect you. Unfortunately, some security guards take their duties far too seriously and may get too rough with the public. If you suffered severe injuries after a confrontation with a security guard, you may have the right to take legal action. With help from a powerful premises liabilit...

Where OSHA Falls Short of Protecting Workers, the Civil Justice System Can Help

The federal agency known as OSHA came into being in 1970, with the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Its stated mission is to ensure every American worker a workplace free of known health and safety hazards. Unfortunately, that noble goal has never come close to being a reality. According to one analysis published in The American Journal of Public Health, the rate of serious, nonfatal, on-the-job accidents declined only slightly between the founding of OSHA and the year 20...

Swimming Facilities Are Responsible for Keeping Customers Safe

Taking a swim is a great way to stay cool and keep in shape in the summer, but it’s easy to become wary of this pastime amid the many reports of fatal drowning. Here in Atlanta, the last few years have been especially rough on that front. In 2014, a 4-year-old girl drowned during a pool party at the Ansley Golf Club. A lifeguard was on duty, but apparently didn’t notice when the girl fell in. Just two years later, a 10-year-old boy drowned in the pool of the Westin Peachtree Plaza, at a...

How to File a Claim After a Chemical Plant Accident

If you’ve been injured or lost a loved one in a workplace accident at a chemical plant, one of the first things you should do is file a workers’ comp claim. The easiest and safest way to do this is to hire a workers compensation lawyer to do it on your behalf, and we are happy to help with that process. You can, alternatively, do this yourself.  You’ll need to download the WC-14 form from the Georgia workers’ comp website, fill it out, and mail it to the address listed on the form. In t...

Industrial Safety Starts with Responsible Machine Engineering

There’s no doubt that the meatpacking industry — and indeed all manufacturing industries — could be doing more to ensure worker safety. However, this responsibility does not rest on the shoulders of packing plant owners alone. After all, industrial facilities don’t create their equipment from scratch. Most pieces of industrial equipment are off-the-shelf units, which are mass produced, assembled, and installed by third-party companies. Management at a specific facility might not even know ...

Landlords and Maintenance Companies Share Responsibility for Elevator Accidents

Any time you walk into a building in Georgia and see an elevator, you’re looking at a collaboration between at least two separate organizations, usually more. First, there’s the Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner, which is responsible for performing regular inspections on all licensed elevators in Georgia. Typically, there’s also a private company providing regular maintenance, to make sure the elevator stays in compliance and can pass its inspections. Then, there’s the...