A few Recent cases handled by R&K:

• A six-year-old child was run over by a school bus in front of his home...
• A handgun discharged when it was accidentally dropped to the ground, firing a bullet...
• A young woman was riding as a front seat passenger...
• A 4 year old child was badly bitten on the face...
• The mother of four young children went to the hospital because her blood pressure became alarmingly high...
• An absentee corporate landlord owned property adjacent to a residential neighborhood...
• Our client was a minister of a 1200 member church. He started an outreach program...
• A large company from Saudi Arabia engaged a large company in Georgia...
• Our client's home was destroyed by a fire. The fire insurance paid...
• A disability policy was issued to our client. When she became disabled...

A six-year-old child was run over by a school bus in front of his home and suffered severe brain injury. The school board defended that the child had run out in the road. Our engineering expert performed a reconstruction of the accident scene in which he showed that the bus was partially on the left side of the road and over the center line at the moment of impact. The case settled shortly after that reconstruction.

A handgun discharged when it was accidentally dropped to the ground, firing a bullet through the brain of a two year old child. Suit was filed against the German gun manufacturer. Even though the gun was very old, we were able to show that the gun manufacturer knew of the defective design of the gun which allowed the drop fire to occur, but did nothing to warn the owners of the danger. The case was settled for millions of dollars.

A young woman was riding as a front seat passenger in her mother’s car on Christmas eve when they were involved in a head-on accident. Our client broke her right ankle. The case settled for over $200,000.00 eight months later.

A 4 year old child was badly bitten on the face by a seemingly friendly breed of dog, a golden retriever. Prior to trial, the case settled in the six figures.

The mother of four young children went to the hospital because her blood pressure became alarmingly high a few days after she gave birth to her youngest child. She went to the emergency room of a local hospital, but an administrative mistake left her waiting for many hours, even though a doctor was available. While waiting, she had a stroke, which permanently paralyzed one side of her body. This case against the hospital was settled prior to suit.

An absentee corporate landlord owned property adjacent to a residential neighborhood and rented the property to people who used the land illegally as a dump for tree stumps and other wood debris. The pileup of wood started a fire which burned for months and which the fire department could not put out. Many of the people in the surrounding neighborhoods had property destroyed or damaged by the fire. Other people's health was adversely affected by the smoke, including children who were hospitalized because the smoke caused severe asthma attacks. Suit was filed on behalf of 30 individuals in the neighborhood. The case was settled prior to trial.

Our client was a minister of a 1200 member church. He started an outreach program to help the community and leased a 9,000 square foot building for $9,000 per month. The landlord agreed that the outreach center could maintain a daycare center in the building, knowing that the daycare center would be the main source of income to pay the monthly rental. After approximately $100,000 worth or improvements were made by the outreach center, the landlord refused to cooperate and refused to sign the paperwork required by the county so that a building permit for the daycare center could be issued. The outreach center refused to pay any more rent, and the landlord evicted the outreach center. In the jury trial which followed, we obtained a verdict for the outreach center against the landlord for $631,000.00.

A large company from Saudi Arabia engaged a large company in Georgia to provide materials for a plant they were building in the Middle East. The Saudi Arabian company paid the Georgia company a $10 million retainer. A few months later, the Saudi Arabian government refused to grant a permit which would allow the plant to be built. The Georgia company refused to return any portion of the retainer, stating that they had done all of the work required, even if the materials were not delivered. This dispute was settled prior to filing suit.

Our client's home was destroyed by a fire. The fire insurance paid its benefits directly to the mortgage company. However, the mortgage company refused to reduce the amount it claimed the homeowner owed on the house, instead insisting that the homeowner pay the full balance. This amounted to several hundred thousand dollars. In effect, the mortgage company wanted to be paid twice, once by the insurance company and once by the homeowner. Suit had to be filed before it was resolved.

A disability policy was issued to our client. When she became disabled and made a claim, the insurance company decided after the fact to deny the policy on the basis of an alleged pre-existing condition. Suit was filed, and the case was settled prior to trial.