Articles Posted in General

Recent news reports in Atlanta have detailed the tragedy of a woman who fell to her death from the W Hotel in Atlanta this summer.

A group of friends were celebrating in a room on the 10th floor. Two girls, allegedly, began horseplay that led to them leaning against the window. The glass gave way, and the two women fell through the glass. One woman landed on the roof just below and is recovering from her injuries, but the other fell to her death on the street ten stories below.

Tragedies like this remind us that we can’t always trust our environment. In this case, the hotel had no records of window maintenance or repair, even though a massive renovation had been completed on the hotel just a few years ago.

A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine has concluded that frequent dancing is not only a good stress reducer, but also an activity that might just ward off dementia.

So why would a law firm make note of this study in its blog?

At our firm, we deal with clients involved in stressful situations, and we’re always looking for simple advice that we can provide to them to help them feel better and reduce their stress. For that reason alone, we found this study very useful.

Many of us have some idea what to do if we are in a car or truck accident:  Stay at the scene, trade insurance information, take pictures, etc.  However, would you know what the law says you must do in a boating accident in Georgia?

First, you must stop your vessel immediately.

Second, except in the case where this could cause further peril, you are required to assist anyone injured or in danger.  (You can’t be held liable if your help was “rendered in good faith and in a prudent manner.”)

The operator of the bus that injured 17 Gwinnet County students has been cleared of fault.

On April 10^th, the Jamie Villafane, who has been a bus driver for 25 years, claimed to have swerved to miss another vehicle.  The bus ended up going off the road and ending up in a “perilous angle on the embankment.”  Needless to say, the bus was prevented from overturning, but not before some students ended up with broken bones, black eyes, and miscellaneous cuts and bruises.

When you’re on the road, it is important not only to pay attention to your own driving, but to those around you, as well.  Each car type has a different center of gravity and roll inertia.  When a driver causes a bus to swerve, that driver is putting everyone on board that bus in danger.  What may be a slight swerve for you is a devastating swerve for them.

CUMMING, GA – April 4, 2011: Experienced trial lawyer David M. Van Sant has been named by Georgia Super Lawyers as a Rising Star and one of the top up-and-coming attorneys in the state for 2010. Each year, no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state receive this honor.

Rising Stars of Georgia was founded to recognize the top up-and-coming attorneys in the state — those who are 40 years old or younger, or who have been practicing for 10 years or less.

The selections for this esteemed list are made by the research team at Super Lawyers, which is a service of the Thomson Reuters, Legal division based in Eagan, MN. Each year, the research team at Super Lawyers undertakes a rigorous multi-phase selection process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, independent evaluation of candidates by the attorney-led research staff, a peer review of candidates by practice area, and a good-standing and disciplinary check.