Stock image.

Decatur, GA—Trial opens Monday for a Georgia man who says he suffered serious injuries when his car was rear-ended in a metro Atlanta-area crash. Blatnik v. Youngblood, 15A56329. 

Stock image. 

Update 4/21/17: Parties to the suit settled their case Friday, three days before jury selection was scheduled to begin in the case. Terms of the settlement were not immediately released. 

Lawrenceville, GA—Jury selection is set to begin in Gwinnett County State Court Monday over a former frozen food worker's claim that years of exposure to an artificial butter flavoring caused his lung disease. Anderson v. Illes Food Ingredients, 10-C-15420-S4. 

a plaintiff can recover “the full value of a deceased’s life” in a Georgia wrongful death suit. However, where the bulk of a damage claim is for non-economic value, or what made the lost life at the heart of a case special, the damages argument becomes more complicated. In a wrongful death case involving a 22-year-old hairstylist and mother of two, Trent Speckhals’ closing argument emphasized the importance of non-economic damages and helped deliver a hefty award. Mitchell v. The Estate of Otis South, 09A03669.

Trent Speckhals delivers his opening statement at trial over the head-on collision that killed Fatima Bird.

Decatur, GA—Jurors Wednesday awarded $5.35 million for the role a drunk driver played in the 2008 crash that killed a 22-year-old mother of two. Mitchell v. The Estate of Otis South, 09A03669.

Attorneys drew battle lines at trial over the brain trauma a nursing student suffered in a fiery tractor trailer crash. While a settlement during deliberations ultimately carried the case, Bob Cheeley's stirring closing rebuttal helped sway jurors to deliver an eight-figure verdict.  Richards v. Total Transportation of Mississippi LLC, SUV2015000174.