Attorney Hubert E. Hamilton III's Legal Cases

Trucking accident

Michael Nordone v. RSB Logistics, No: 4:08-cv-2-HLM, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia.

Jun 30, 2010

OUTCOME: $1,100,000 Settlement

Battling against strong headwinds, including an unfavorable report by the investigating state trooper, a client who could not remember what happened, and very inconsistent statements from the only eyew ... itness, settlement was reached after mediation. The Plaintiff was self-employed, performing high-end woodworking and remodeling when this wreck occurred on January 31, 2006. He was returning home from a job site in Dalton, GA, accompanied by an employee, in a modified 2003 F350 work truck when they were rear-ended by the RSB tractor-trailer, driven by a 70 year old driver, as they were northbound on I-75. The truck driver claimed that the plaintiff cut in front of him, moving suddenly from the right lane to the middle lane, and then slowed down so he could not avoid the wreck. The only eye-witness, the employee riding in plaintiff’s vehicle, had given different versions of what happened, so his value as a witness had been seriously compromised. However, the plaintiff’s case was aided by inconsistent data downloaded from the electronic control module (ECM) in the RSB truck. In addition, no data was found on the restraint control module (RCM) in the plaintiff’s truck when RSB’s expert attempted to download the data shortly after the wreck. This raised suspicion of improper downloading or even spoiliation.

Motorcycle accident

Currie v. Farmer

Mar 11, 2010

OUTCOME: $792,500 Jury Verdict for Plaintiff

A 39 year-old self-employed roofer/sheet metal fabricator was injured in a bad wreck when he took his Harley motorcycle out for a ride over to his mother’s house. As he cruised along Highway 341 near C ... hickamauga, Georgia at a safe speed, a Buick Skylark, driven by an 88 year-old man, suddenly turned left directly in front of him. The impact shattered the plaintiff’s left ankle. The orthopedic trauma surgeon was able to use steel plates and screws to put the bimalleolar ankle fracture dislocation back together, but the plaintiff was left with a painful arthritic ankle with limited mobility. The jury provided $50,000 for medical expenses, $37,500 for lost earnings to date, $379,000 for future lost earnings, $20,000 for pain and suffering to date, plus $306,000 for future pain and suffering. The biggest challenge faced was overcoming sympathy for the defendant, who appeared in court in a wheelchair, after defense counsel made a big show of the fact that the defendant was ill. Judge Peppers prohibited further appeals to sympathy and the jury took seriously admonitions not to let “outside reasons” influence their determination of the proper amounts of money required to balance out the harms and losses the plaintiff suffered. Walker State Court.

Personal injury

Silicone Breast Implant Cases

N/A

OUTCOME: Dozens and dozens of successful settlements

Millions of dollars recovered for numerous women whose bodies were damaged by silicone breast implants.

Workers compensation

State Board of Workers Compensation

N/A

OUTCOME: Settled

A young machine operator and material handler at a North Georgia manufacturing plant suffered a below the elbow amputation to his left arm in an industrial accident involving a press in 2013. The case ... was accepted as catastrophic. After projecting future medical needs, and obtaining CMS approval for a Medicare Set-Aside, which included prosthetic maintenance and replacement, the case settled for a present cash value total of $1,428,526.00. The settlement includes an annuity for future medical expense to fund the MSA account with a lifetime payout totaling $2,141,349.00.

Personal injury

Parajuli v. Choo-Choo Waffles LLC, Case No. 16-C-05989-4, Gwinnett State Court

N/A

OUTCOME: Confidential

Plaintiffs alleged that in 2015, the Defendants served their minor child hot chocolate in a Waffle House restaurant in Cleveland, Tennessee, and that as the child attempted to sip the drink, the lid ca ... me off and extremely hot liquid spilled down her chest, causing her to suffer severe burns. Although this products liability cause of action arose in Tennessee, it was filed in Georgia, where the Defendants were incorporated, with Hubert Hamilton serving as co-counsel. Through discovery, it was determined that a videotape of a server making hot chocolate was taken one to two months after the incident. However, the Defendants did not produce the videotape. After a hearing in 2018, the court concluded that the videotape had been destroyed despite the Defendants’ knowledge of potential litigation and the plaintiff’s request that such evidence be preserved. In the court determined that such conduct on the part of the Defendants warranted imposition of sanctions for spoliation, citing Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, LLC v. Campbell, 258 Ga. App. 767, 574 S.E.2d 923 (2002) and Chapman v. Auto Owners Inc. Co., 220 Ga. App. 539, 469 S.E.2d 783, (1996), and decided that the Defendants would be precluded from disputing certain facts and the jury would be instructed as to the finding of certain facts and the spoliation of evidence, including the following: That the videotape had been destroyed by the Defendants, and that the destroyed videotape would have provided material and significant evidence; That the spoliation of the videotape created a rebuttable presumption that the video would have been harmful to the Defendants; That the water used to make the hot chocolate served to the child was 195 degrees Fahrenheit, and at that temperature the chocolate was scalding hot and dangerously unfit for consumption; and That the scalding hot chocolate was the cause of third-degree burns, permanent scarring, and injuries suffered by the child. In its June 2018 order the court also awarded $5000 in fees and costs to Plaintiffs’ attorneys.

Personal injury

Darlene Morgan v. Candace Nanette Charping, 16-SV-055, Bryan State Court.

N/A

OUTCOME: Settled

On January 12, 2015, Candy Charping crashed into the rear of a work truck driven by Michael Morgan, on I-16 in Chatham County, Georgia. The truck overturned and Morgan was ejected and killed. His job, ... which he had just started, involved pumping out septic tanks and portable toilets. Suit was filed suit in Bryan County, Georgia on behalf of Morgan’s widow and their young son. Even though Charping ran into the rear of the work truck, liability for the wreck was vigorously disputed. Her lawyers contended that Morgan was not wearing a seat belt, which is a violation of FMCSR 392.16, that the taillights on the rear of the truck were not visible, and that portable toilets being hauled on the rear of the truck were full and sloshing around, thereby causing the truck to overturn. At mediation, a compromise settlement agreement was reached for $925,000, after taking all available insurance coverage into account, with a structured settlement for the benefit of the minor child and the case was brought to a final conclusion in August 2017. Hubert E. Hamilton served as lead counsel for the plaintiff.

Workers compensation

Georgia Workers Comp Case Settled for $1.4 Million

N/A

OUTCOME: Settled

A young machine operator and material handler at a North Georgia manufacturing plant suffered a below the elbow amputation to his left arm in an industrial accident involving a press in 2013. The case ... was accepted as catastrophic. After projecting future medical needs, and obtaining CMS approval for a Medicare Set-Aside, which included prosthetic maintenance and replacement, the case settled for a present cash value total of $1,428,526.00. The settlement includes an annuity for future medical expense to fund the MSA account with a lifetime payout totaling $2,141,349.00. Hubert Hamilton served as counsel for the injured worker.

Workers compensation

Georgia Workers Comp Case

N/A

OUTCOME: Settled

A young machine operator and material handler at a North Georgia manufacturing plant suffered a below the elbow amputation to his left arm in an industrial accident involving a press in 2013. The case ... was accepted as catastrophic. After projecting future medical needs, and obtaining CMS approval for a Medicare Set-Aside, which included prosthetic maintenance and replacement, the case settled for a present cash value total of $1,428,526.00. The settlement includes an annuity for future medical expense to fund the MSA account with a lifetime payout totaling $2,141,349.00. Hubert Hamilton served as counsel for the injured worker.

Hubert E. Hamilton III's Legal Cases (18)

Michael Nordone v. RSB Logistics, No: 4:08-cv-2-HLM, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia.

Currie v. Farmer

Silicone Breast Implant Cases

State Board of Workers Compensation

Parajuli v. Choo-Choo Waffles LLC, Case No. 16-C-05989-4, Gwinnett State Court

Darlene Morgan v. Candace Nanette Charping, 16-SV-055, Bryan State Court.

Georgia Workers Comp Case Settled for $1.4 Million

Georgia Workers Comp Case