Results of Atlanta Personal Injury Attorney | Georgia Workers Compensation Lawyer | GA Accident Settlements | Marietta, Fulton County, Cobb, DeKalb

1. Akin & Tate obtained a $1.3 million verdict in Meriwether County Superior Court against the Georgia Department of Transportation for a man whose wife was killed in a car wreck because of a downed stop sign (Baldwin v. Georgia Department of Transportation). The verdict was later affirmed by the Georgia Court of Appeals in 665 S.E. 2d 898 (2008).
2. Akin & Tate obtained an acquittal in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia, for a man charged with conspiracy to distribute illegal drugs (U.S. v. Danny McElrath). The federal Drug Enforcement Agency had set up a sting involving an alleged drug dealer - a wheelchair-bound paraplegic who recruited Akin & Tate's client to drive him to the drug deal. Akin & Tate's client was charged with misdemeanor possession, since he had a small amount of drugs at the time of his arrest, resulting in a probation sentence rather than 10 years in prison.
3. Akin & Tate obtained an acquittal in a murder trial in the Superior Court of Floyd County (State v. Autry). Akin & Tate's client had been charged with the drowning death of his grandmother allegedly to obtain an inheritance. Akin & Tate offered persuasive alibis for the grandson, and presented numerous other suspects with equal motive and opportunity.
4. Akin & Tate successfully defended Oglethorpe Power in a case in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia, where a 25-year-old construction worker was severely injured after falling through a hole in the floor of a power house (Pogue v. Oglethorpe Power Corporation). The plaintiff's counsel claimed it was Oglethorpe's responsibility to have covered the hole, while Oglethorpe presented evidence that it was the defendant's employer's responsibility. That employer, however, was immune from suit because of the exclusive remedy provisions of the Workers' Compensation Act. This led to a complex set of rulings and appeals, which ultimately resulted in a 10-day trial and a Cert Petition to the U.S. Supreme Court.
5. Akin & Tate obtained a confidential settlement prior to trial in a medical malpractice case against Crawford Long Hospital; Akin & Tate was associated to handle the matter by Bobby Lee Cook of Summerville, Georgia (Price v. Crawford Long & Emory Healthcare). The plaintiff was pregnant when she was hospitalized with a descending aortic aneurysm. After her child came to term, he was delivered by C-section and the mother received further surgery to repair her aneurism. She did well in surgery but remained on a respirator in ICU when a nurse accidentally pulled the breathing tube. While the nurse immediately sounded the alarm as the patient "coded" and several respiratory therapists responded, none followed the basic standard of care. Had they done so, they would have found her airway was extubated and could have saved her life. The key witness, a surgical resident at the University of Virginia who at the time was working at Crawford Long and discovered the therapist's errors, was uncovered during Akin & Tate's thorough investigation of the case.
6. Akin & Tate obtained a $100,000.00 counterclaim verdict in a product liability case in Bartow County Superior Court (Harcross v. Enforcer Products). Akin & Tate defended Enforcer when it was sued by Harcross for non-payment of an $80,000.00 bill. Harcross had delivered bleach for use in Enforcer's product "10 Minute Hair Clog Remover" in what Akin & Tate proved to be a tanker truck with a defective liner. That defective liner caused problems with Enforcer's product, causing it to sustain over $100,000.00 in consequential damages. Harcross denied the bleach was defective, requiring Akin & Tate to mount a complex and largely circumstantial case regarding the "blown" truck liner. In the end, the jury awarded the firm's client over $100,000.00 on the counterclaim against the company that had sued them.
7. Akin & Tate obtained a $2 million consent judgment in Fulton County State Court on behalf of a Cedartown construction worker, who was employed by a contractor of Atlanta Gas Light and suffered severe brain damage after inhaling natural gas while on the job (Barrett v. Atlanta Gas Light). One million dollars was paid out and an assignment against the gas company's insurer for the second million is being pursued by the firm in a separate action. Akin & Tate also tried and won Barrett's workers' compensation case against his employer and settled it for $200,000.00 while their appeal was pending.
8. Akin & Tate obtained an acquittal on all charges in Bartow County Superior Court for their client, who was accused of murder that allegedly resulted from an altercation with the victim and the victim's friend (State v. Heldt). Akin & Tate was able to show 1) minimal involvement of their client in the altercation through the testimony of various witnesses and 2) substantial reason for self-defense based on autopsy records showing the purported victim to be "high" on illegal drugs at the time of his death.
9. Lester Tate served as special counsel to the City of Adairsville investigating and prosecuting disciplinary charges against then-City Police Chief Delbert Gray (City of Adairsville v. Delbert Gray). Gray had allegedly disobeyed direct orders from the City Manager to disentangle himself from fundraising activities conducted by an Adairsville City Police auxiliary group. There was a strong suspicion that the funds raised by this group were not being used for their stated purpose. Gray testified that he had ledger books accounting for every penny; however, when he produced them, Akin & Tate showed them to have been fabricated just recently. Gray was fired by the council at the conclusion of the hearing, and subsequently sued the City in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia. After several days of trial and a repeat of Gray's testimony and cross-examination by Tate at the termination hearing, Judge Harold Murphy granted the City a directed verdict.
10. Akin & Tate is currently representing the Chairman and certain members of the Board of Directors of an Electric Membership Cooperative (EMC) in a member derivative action regarding the formation of a for-profit subsidiary (Pounds, et al v. Cobb EMC). This complex commercial case was contentiously litigated in Cobb County Superior Court through the discovery phase with numerous motions hearings. A complex settlement agreement was ultimately reached in late 2008, but the case remains ongoing as corporate governance issues continue to arise. The case has gained widespread media attention in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Marietta Daily Journal.