COVID-19 has thrust us into a global crisis unprecedented in the century since the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918-19. It is not merely disruptive in our daily routines. It involves life, death and enormous hardship in massive scale, probably for a prolonged time.  In this new reality, some of the routines dealing with individual injury cases may be eclipsed by a near term future we did not anticipate just a few weeks ago. The “new…

History is replete with episodes of epidemics  that devastated cities, nations, and civilizations. Bubonic plague, cholera, smallpox and influenza have killed untold hundreds of millions in waves of devastation over the millennia. Now we see the approach of a Category 5 hurricane of a pandemic called COVID-19, praying that it will not be as bad as predicted. The worst effect will the many deaths and serious but not fatal illnesses. Prediction vary wildly of…

Transformation of  lives of clients and their families is part of my calling in law practice. While money is the quantitative measure of success, whenever possible I also try to guide outcomes in a way that will redirect the trajectory of life for clients and their families. A recent case is a good example. Recently we handled a case for a 30-year-old single mom from a less than privileged background. She had struggled to put…

Sterigenics plants in Smyrna and Covington, Georgia, have long used ethylene oxide in sterilization of medical equipment. The Environmental Protection Agency air assessment from last year found several census tracts around those plants had significantly increased cancer risks due to ethylene oxide. The EPA recently concluded that the gas is dangerous at lower levels than previously believed. Ethylene oxide is an organic compound with the formula C2H4O. A colorless and flammable gas with a faintly sweet odor,…

For decades I have  represented people with so-called “mild” traumatic brain injuries. A “mild” traumatic brain injury  (TBI) may be defined as one affecting someone else’s family, not your own. These typically involve a concussion, with or without a loss of consciousness. Emergency medical personnel and emergency department physicians often focus primarily on more obvious physical injuries. If there are visible and immediately life threatening injuries, broken bones or internal bleeding, that is the focus.…

Ken Shigley of Shigley Law LLC, based in Atlanta, Georgia, recently earned his third national board certification, in Truck Accident Law, from the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Certification is based upon exhaustive testing, documentation of extensive experience in the field of trucking accident litigation, writing samples, and professional recommendations from lawyers and attorneys familiar with the applicant’s work. The National Board of Trial Advocacy operates under authority of the American Bar Association. …

Though common in litigation, confidential settlements can be controversial. While confidentiality agreements had help expedite settlement, there are concerns that secret settlements can work against public safety by covering up health and safety hazards. As with much in life, the hardest choices are not between good and bad, but between good and good, and between bad and bad. Under a confidential settlement agreement or order, some or all terms of a settlement are kept secret.…