Legal Question in Personal Injury in Georgia

Re: Asbestos Laws

Georgia provides that the surviving spouse (if any) has the right to bring the case (there are certian exceptions to that)for wrongful death but must turn over the money to the children less the amount the surviving spouse gets. That amount is the same as a child's part but not less than 1/3 or the recovery.Most of the time this is not a problem--the parent is usually the mom or dad of the children so has a parent's love and wants to do right by the children.Where I have seen this break down is where the spouse at the time of death is not the parent of the children.Then all sorts of things start happening---hiding the fact of the recovery and the amount,etc.In such a situation there is no doubt--the children need their own lawyer.I caught a second wife one time who was literally days away from signing settlement papers,getting the money and leaving the country.She was going to stiff the deceased's only daughter from a previous marriage.Also, many people do not understand this but a separate claim exists for the estate of the deceased.This claim is for pain and suffering ,medical bills, funeral expenses and other things. This cause of action is to be brought by the executor (if there is a will)or the administrator if no will exists.Who gets to be the administrator(and control that part of the lawsuit) can be a point of contention.If you have something like this you better get a lawyer who knows what he is doing about this sort of thing ASAP.

Re: Asbestos Laws

GA law, in O.C.G.A. Sec. 51-4-2, in typically complicated fashion, states that the spouse and the children shall share in the settlement, but the spouse shall receive no less than one-third. You can check out the statutes at http://www.ganet.org/services/ocode/ocgsearch.htm

I do a lot of personal injury/wrongful death cases. If you would like a free consultation, feel free to give me a call.