The Hamilton Firm Blog

Hubert Hamilton recently posted (2/6/14) the following comment to Regulations.gov concerning the proposed changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, particularly as to the dramatic limitations on the scope of discovery as well as shortening the time to complete service of process: “These changes seem designed to tilt the playing in favor of defendants…

On Wednesday afternoon, November 9, 2011, a Hamilton County jury returned a $784,676.65 verdict in Circuit Court in favor of Norma O’Neal, whose Chattanooga home at 1706 Estrellita Circle went up in flames just two weeks before Christmas Day in 2009. Hubert Hamilton and Patrick Cruise served as trial counsel for the Plaintiff. Mrs. O’Neal…

The Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1991 requires drug and alcohol testing of safety-sensitive transportation employees in aviation, trucking, railroads, mass transit, pipelines, and other transportation industries. Mandatory drug testing is required for five specific categories of drugs (referred to as the SAMHSA 5, previously called the NIDA-5): 1. Cannabinoids (marijuana, hash) 2. Cocaine…

The Georgia Supreme Court has held that an arbitration clause signed by the decedent (or by a person having power-of-attorney for the decedent) in a nursing home case is enforceable and requires the decedent’s wrongful-death beneficiaries to arbitrate their claims, United Health Services v. Norton, S16G1143 (3/6/17). The Court of Appeals had held otherwise, 336…

MCG Health filed a $36,177.68 lien against the plaintiff’s cause of action in MCG Health v. Kight, 2015 Ga. LEXIS (3/2/15) pursuant to the Georgia Hospital Lien law, OCGA § 44-14-470 et seq for the “reasonable charges” of hospital care furnished to the plaintiff. However, at that time, the Hospital had been compensated by insurance…

A motor carrier engaged in interstate commerce and subject to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR) must have minimum liability coverage of $750,000. The insurer must provide a MCS-90 endorsement to the liability policy, and that endorsement is supposed to be filed with FMCSA. In Grange Indemnity Insurance Company v. Burns, 2016 Ga. App. LEXIS…

The Georgia Supreme Court ruled 6-1 on Tuesday (7/5/11) in Flores v. Exprezit! Stores 98-Georgia, LLC, that a convenience store can be held liable for selling a 12-pack of beer to a noticeably intoxicated customer who was involved in a motor vehicle wreck which killed five other people. The Supreme Court overturned a lower court…

Transport Topics reports that Starsky Robotics, an automated truck technology startup, successfully completed its first unmanned test drive of a tractor-trailer on a public highway June 16, 2019 in Orlando, Florida. The Class 8 Volvo sleeper berth tractor-trailer traveled at 55 mph down a 9.4-mile stretch of Florida’s Turnpike. Click here for a link to…

Truckers came by the thousands from all across the country, pulling into into the Petro Stopping Center, a 24-hour truck stop off Interstate 285 in Atlanta, where they could find coffee and CB radios, tires and a tattoo shop, and a chiropractor, known as “Dr. Tony.” Dr. Anthony Lefteris got federally certified in 2014 to…

Whether you are a truck driver or a trucking lawyer, you must be familiar with the rules and regulations. In Georgia, one crucial document to be familiar with is the Georgia Commercial Drivers Manual. A copy of the Manual can be found here.If you need to speak one of our lawyers regarding a Georgia truck…