Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Melton to step down
Litigation Reports
Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold D. Melton announced Friday that he is stepping down on July 1.
Melton said in a statement that he doesn’t yet know what he’ll do next, but that he is exploring opportunities “for the next season of life that will allow me to best serve our legal community and my extended family.”
Melton, 54, was appointed to the state’s highest court in 2005 by former Gov. Sonny Perdue. He became chief justice in 2018.
He is leaving in the middle of his judicial term, and Republican Gov. Brian Kemp will appoint a replacement.
Melton is currently the only African American serving on the Georgia Supreme Court. In recent months, Melton has grappled with the coronavirus pandemic’s effect on state courts. He has been renewing a declaration of judicial emergency every 30 days that limits what court cases can be conducted in person, leading to a backlog of cases.
Melton’s statement said the court “is well-positioned to continue the high calling that has clearly been set before us. I have such a peace and confidence that justice will continue to be served.”
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Does a car or truck accident count as a work injury?
If an employee is injured in a car crash while on the job, they are eligible to receive workers’ compensation benefits. “On the job” injuries are not limited to accidents and injuries that happen inside the workplace, they may also include injuries suffered away from an employee’s place of work while performing a job-related task, such as making a delivery or traveling to a client meeting.
Regular commutes to and from work don’t usually count. If you get into an accident on your way in on a regular workday, it’s probably not considered a work injury for the purposes of workers’ compensation.
If you drive around as part of your job, an injury on the road or loading/unloading accident is likely a work injury. If you don’t typically drive around for work but are required to drive for the benefit of your employer, that would be a work injury in many cases.
If you are out of town for work, pretty much any driving would count as work related. For traveling employees, any accidents or injuries that happen on a work trip, even while not technically working, can be considered a work injury. The reason is because you wouldn’t be in that town in the first place, had you not been on a work trip.
Workers’ compensation claims for truck drivers, traveling employees and work-related injuries that occur away from the job site can be challenging and complex. At Krol, Bongiorno & Given, we understand that many families depend on the income of an injured worker, and we are proud of our record protecting the injured and disabled. We have handled well over 30,000 claims for injured workers throughout the state of Illinois.