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

Since 2004 when Ragland & Jones, LLP was formed, the law firm has recovered more than $21 million in compensation for the clients it has represented. The high water mark was 2007 when the attorneys at Ragland & Jones, LLP obtained settlements in 21 cases totaling nearly $6.6 million. During the last five years, critically needed compensation has been recovered in all types of cases ranging from medical malpractice to disputes with life insurance companies. 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 attorneys Daniel A. Ragland and Evan W. Jones have achieved on behalf of clients they have represented. Case results are organized by the following categories:

• Medical Malpractice
• Nursing Home Litigation
• Commercial Vehicle Accidents / Trucking Litigation
• Traffic Accidents Involving Cars, Vans, SUVs, Small Trucks, and Motorcycles
• Dramshop Liability / Social Host Liability
• Bicycle / Pedestrian Accidents
• Product Liability Litigation
• Premises Liability Litigation
• Inadequate Security Litigation
• Food Poisoning / Food Safety Litigation
• Worksite Accidents / Construction Litigation
• Other Tort Cases
• Insurance Disputes
• Legal Malpractice
• Employment Disputes / Sexual Harassment

Medical Malpractice

Successful Appeal to Georgia Supreme Court / Confidential lump sum cash 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 cash 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. Attorney Ragland filed a malpractice lawsuit in August 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 for the physicians convinced the trial judge to dismiss the case based upon Georgia’s five year medical malpractice statute of repose, but Ragland & Jones, LLP 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 Defendants insisted that the amount of settlement be kept confidential.

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

Pretrial mediation conducted shortly before trial resulted in a 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 / vicarious liability / failure to diagnose spinal epidural abscess / quadriplegia

After years of discovery and just before trial, several physicians, nurses and a hospital agreed to settle a malpractice lawsuit involving mismanagement of a spinal epidural abscess which resulted in the Plaintiff’s incomplete quadriplegia. In addition to an upfront lump sum amount, the Plaintiff will receive lifetime benefits bringing the total payments of the structured settlement to nearly $6 million.

$1.1 million (present value) structured settlement / medical malpractice / vicarious liability / anesthesia errors

At a pretrial mediation, an Atlanta hospital agreed to settle claims that mistakes in handling a patient’s recovery from anesthesia after surgery led to a mother’s wrongful death. The structured settlement will pay future benefits of nearly $2 million to the patient’s adult children whose malpractice lawsuit alleged that extubation at the conclusion of surgery was improperly performed.

$850,000 lump sum cash settlement / medical malpractice / vicarious liability / wrongful death / failure to diagnose subdural infection

Soon after it was filed, an Atlanta hospital agreed to settle a malpractice lawsuit involving the wrongful death of an adult who died because a physician in the Emergency Room failed to diagnose and treat a subdural empyema.

$750,000 lump sum cash settlement / medical malpractice / vicarious liability / wrongful death / failure to treat head injury

Early in discovery, an Atlanta hospital agreed to settle a malpractice lawsuit involving a young adult who died within 2 days of arriving at the Emergency Room with a closed head injury sustained after falling off a skateboard. The wrongful death lawsuit alleged that a subdural hematoma shown on a CT scan was not properly monitored or treated by trauma and neurosurgery residents and attending physicians after the patient was admitted to the ICU. Favorable settlement was achieved despite Defendants’ contention that the patient was guilty of contributory negligence because of his failure to wear a helmet at the time of the accident.

Nursing Home Litigation

$975,000 (present value) structured settlement / long term care facility / wrongful death / failure to diagnose and treat a subclavian port infection

On the eve of trial, an Atlanta long-term care facility agreed to settle a malpractice lawsuit involving the wrongful death of a cancer patient who developed a subclavian port infection. The decedent’s spouse will receive more than $1.5 million in a lump sum and future periodic payments.

$375,000 lump sum cash settlement / nursing home negligence / wrongful death / failure to treat diabetes

At mediation, an Atlanta nursing home agreed to settle a wrongful death lawsuit involving an elderly diabetic patient who lapsed into a diabetic coma and died because needed medications were not administered.

$275,000 lump sum cash settlement / nursing home negligence / dialysis clinic liability / wrongful death / ruptured AV graft

Just prior to trial, a central Georgia nursing home and dialysis clinic agreed to settle a malpractice lawsuit involving the death of a diabetic patient following the rupture of her AV graft.

$250,000 lump sum cash settlement / nursing home negligence / wrongful death / inadequate infection control

Mediation produced a pretrial settlement of a wrongful death lawsuit involving an institutional bacterial infection outbreak which caused the death of an elderly nursing home resident.

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 large rental car company.

$850,000 lump sum cash 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 truck/van accident.

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

A large 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. The plaintiff’s theory of liability was that the opposite bound Asplundh truck was traveling too fast. An accident reconstruction expert was retained and his calculations placed the truck’s speed at 10 -15 mph over the speed limit, and showed that the truck could have stopped prior to the point of impact if it had been traveling at or below the speed limit. This case required years of intense litigation and the favorable result was difficult to achieve given the plaintiff’s contributory negligence.

$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.

Traffic Accidents Involving Cars, Vans, SUVs, Pick-Up Trucks, Motorcycles

$650,000 (present value) structured settlement / auto accident / drunk driving / 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 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 / auto accident / drunk driving / negligent highway construction / multiple fractures

A road construction contractor agreed to settle a Clayton County 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.

$600,000 recovery of maximum UM limits / head-on auto accident / underinsured motorist / quadriplegia

A young driver with minimum automobile insurance negligently drove his car across the center line and caused a head on collision with an SUV in which a passenger sustained spinal cord injuries resulting in quadriplegia. Recovery of the maximum limits of UM coverage applicable to the SUV and the maximum limit of UM coverage contained within the passenger’s own automobile policy was achieved. In addition to recovering the maximum limits of UM coverage available under two separate auto policies, a product liability lawsuit was filed against the vehicle manufacturer alleging that its passenger restraint system was defective and made the SUV uncrashworthy. That lawsuit is currently pending.

$330,000 lump sum cash settlement / auto accident / high speed police chase / wrongful death

A county sheriff department in Georgia agreed to a pretrial settlement of a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the wife of a man who was killed when his car was struck by a pick-up truck being chased by a deputy. The chase involved a teenager whose only crime prior to fleeing from the deputy’s attempted traffic stop was a minor traffic violation.

$300,000 lump sum cash settlement / intersection auto accident / employer vicarious liability / traumatic brain injuries

The employer of an at-fault driver agreed to settle a lawsuit involving an intersection car collision in White County, Georgia which resulted in a passenger sustaining traumatic brain injuries. A favorable settlement was achieved despite the Plaintiff’s status as an illegal alien and the existence of a genuine dispute over which driver was at fault in causing the collision.

Dram Shop Liability / Social Host Liability

$2 million lump sum cash 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 cash 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 regional 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 drove her car off the road striking a tree and causing her minor daughter in the back seat to suffer a permanent spinal cord injury. Attorney Daniel Ragland had tried a similar dram shop case against the same defendant in the same venue several months earlier. That case produced a defense verdict which influenced the decision to reach a settlement in this case. A special needs trust was established to preserve the monies paid and to be paid to the minor.

$165,000 lump sum cash 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. The nightclub was uninsured so its owner contributed personally to the settlement. An insurance company for the valet company also contributed.

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, 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

$350,000 lump sum cash 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. This was a remarkable result given the challenging facts.

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

During mediation, a large 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.

$125,000 lump sum cash settlement / product liability / defective motorized scooter / broken jaw

American distributor of motor scooters made in China agreed to settle a product liability lawsuit involving a rider who suffered a broken jaw when he was thrown over the handle bars of his scooter during an accident sequence precipitated by the sudden failure of the scooter’s front wheel assembly.

$100,000 lump sum cash settlement / product liability / defective contact lens solution / Fusarium keratitis eye infection

Bausch & Lomb agreed to settle a product liability lawsuit involving its ReNu with MoistureLoc contact lens solution product which caused an Atlanta woman to suffer a Fusarium keratitis eye infection. The infection was effectively treated and resulted in minimal long term consequences. The lawsuit was initially filed in federal court in Atlanta and pursuant to rules governing multi-district litigation, the case was transferred to a federal court in Charleston, South Carolina as part of the ReNu with MoistureLoc Liability Litigation. This was one of more than a hundred cases in the MDL arising from the 2006 outbreak of Fusarium keratitis infections caused by the defective Bausch & Lomb contact lens solution product.

Premises Liability Litigation

$500,000 policy limit settlement / swimming pool diving accident / quadriplegia

An insurance company which insured a “mom and pop” hotel in Dayton 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.

$125,000 lump sum cash settlement / slip and fall / grocery store / shoulder injury

National grocery store chain agreed to a pre-suit settlement with a customer who sustained a serious shoulder injury when he slipped and fell in an area where a previous spill had been poorly mopped and left to dry without warning signs.

Inadequate Security Litigation

$680,000 lump sum cash 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.

$40,000 lump sum cash settlement / premises liability / inadequate security / hospital / assault and battery

Hospital in central Georgia agreed to settle a premises liability lawsuit involving claims of inadequate security on behalf of a patient who sustained minor injuries when she was assaulted by an unstable patient who was being treated in the psychiatric ward.

Food Poisoning / Food Safety Litigation

$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.

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.

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.