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Communication is key.  Starting from the top down.  Safety as a first priority requires constant positive communication.  Having a plant-wide safety meeting after an accident happens is a must, but having plant-wide communication that allows a potential hazard to be identified and corrected before the accident happens is better.  And by better I mean more cost effective and morale boosting. Leadership has to be front and center in defining the safety culture, communicating the culture, providing opportunities for everyone to participate in the culture, and enforcing the culture.  Here are a couple of easy examples:  A 5 minutes start of shift safety ... Continue Reading

Partner Jeff Ward is presenting with Lindsay Gorbach, Cox PLLC, at the DRI Trucking Primer 2019 in Nashville, TN on June 26. Their topic, Direct Examination of Your Trucking Safety Expert, Charlie Beachley, will answer questions on if your safety expert is ready. This discussion will teach "skills needed to prepare a trucking safety expert for trial, and what you can expect from a plaintiff's counsel once your expert is on the stand." More Information For nearly 17 years, Jeff Ward has practiced as a trial lawyer in Georgia. He has successfully tried cases to jury verdict in both state and federal court and regularly provides guidance and counsel to a variety of clients. His civil ... Continue Reading

So what exactly is safety culture? Therein lies part of the problem. Safety culture is not exact, but a collection of attitudes and practices existing in an organization related to the commitment, type and effectiveness of health and safety matters. Sometimes it is simply referred to as how we do things around here. Historically, safety culture arose as a result of accidents or near misses. Think big issues: Cernobyl, Three-Mile Island and plane crashes. These types of accidents arose out of what are called broken safety cultures. There are a number of reasons or factors that may contribute to a broken safety culture. This can include: non-compliance with standards, policies, and ... Continue Reading

Partner Karen Karabinos is speaking on a panel titled, "Navigating through the Complexities of an Arson Investigation" at the 2019 CLM Southeast Conference in Orlando, Florida on October 3-4, 2019. Partner Karen Karabinos is speaking on a panel titled, "Navigating through the Complexities of an Arson Investigation" at the 2019 CLM Southeast Conference in Orlando, Florida on October 3-4, 2019. Registration opens on June 19, 2019. More Information Karen Karabinos has been litigating cases for more the 32 years, with the last 21 primarily focused on the complexities of property insurance law. She also represents clients with family law issues, including divorce and child custody ... Continue Reading

Partner Barbara Marschalk was the Keynote Speaker on Saturday, June 1, 2019 at the Medical Association of Georgia's 2019 Legislative Education Seminar. The seminar was hosted at Brasstown Valley Resort in Young Harris, Georgia. Barbara A. Marschalk’s practice is devoted to defending a wide range of corporations and individuals in multiple practice areas including the defense of claims involving alleged childhood sexual abuse and sexual misconduct, clergy malpractice, defense of claims against churches, national and local youth serving organizations and other eleemosynary institutions, professional malpractice defense (including medical malpractice, long-term care defense, and legal ... Continue Reading

If someone were to ask you about the safety culture at your business, how would you respond?  Could you answer the question?  After you think about it for a minute, now imagine an government inspector is in your office and asks the same question.  If your answer is that you do not know or you are working on it, the ensuing inspection is going to be difficult.  If you can answer the question, what does it involve?  Does it involve a clear and concise description of the safety policies, procedures and goals?  It is communicated to and understood by all employees?  Who is involved?  How is it supported?  How is it monitored? There are too many ... Continue Reading