Georgia Attorneys - Possible Lawsuit Questions

Factual Questions
1

Okay. I had a crime(aggravated battery) that was commited against me in Georgia back in late June of 2001. The police department did an absolutely horrible job on investigating this case in which led the case to be considered I guess a “cold case” until the D.A.'s office reopened the case in mid 2003. Without going into extreme detail, the guy that commited this crime was found guilty and sentenced in early 2005. Now, he won his appeal for “motion for new trial”, and since the case was “cold” to begin with, the D.A. has recommended to me that we accept their deal in which is he gets credit for time served(he was sentenced to 20 yrs. - 10 of them to be served in prison) and he remains on probation for 10 years without having any contact with me whatsoever.

My question to any lawyer/practicing lawyer is this. Do I have any grounds to sue him in a civil case? The statute of limitations is obviously run out, but under the “Discovery Rule”, I feel I have a chance since he was just convicted last year. I have heard many opinions, but IMO, I feel that you cannot name a suspect “John Doe” and allow the statute to run out. I feel that the day he was found guilty of this crime is the day that the statute begins. Further more, in the plea agreement that we are about to reach, part of the plea is that he pleads"Guilty" to everything. Any information on this would be greatly appreciated.

Step two. I also was wondering if I have a case against the City’s polic department as well. I am unsure of what/if any statutes fall in line, but I am wanting to sue them for mismanagement and negligence for doing a SHITTY job in the investigation.
Points of interest: The lead investigator on this case threw away criticall evidence. That same investigator interviewed two of the suspects at the same time. I have learned that any investigator learns in “Investigation 101” that you interview potential suspects seperately. Once again, that same investigator also told the D.A.'s investigators that at the time"I just didn’t have time to pursue this case because of other pressing cases."

I feel that the City should be held accountable for these actions by this investigator, because of his lack of interest and negligence/mismanagement, I was financially crippled($500,000 in medical bills) and I had no one to blame for the crime nor get restitution or Pain & suffering because of what I explained and much more that I didn’t explain.

Just so you know, the guy that was eventually found guilty set me on fire while I was asleep/passed out at a party.

Sorry for the long post, but any advice would be helpful…

Thanks.

2

I’m sorry to hear that you got set on fire, but it would probably be a better idea to actually contact an attorney in Georgia than to ask somebody online. Here’s a PDF brochure put out by the Georgia State Bar “How to Choose a Lawyer”:

And here’s a link to various local bars in Georgia, some of which have lawyer referral services:

http://www.gabar.org/directories/local_and_circuit_bar_information_and_referrals/

Again, good luck in finding justice in your case.

3

You’ll need a lawyer to answer your questions. Some things you might want to consider:
if you win a civil suit against this guy (I can’t call him what I would like to call him, because this isn’t the Pit) are you going to be able to collect? If he has no assets and is the kind of loser he appears to be, you can have a judgment but no money.

A lot of the time, governmental entities are immune from lawsuits.

Many lawyers offer a “first consult free” option. You might want to take advantage of one of those.

I can only say I’m sorry for what happened to you. No one should have to go through that.

4

Thanks for the information. What I can say is that I and many feel strongly about placing a claim against the city’s police department. Mismanagement and negligence are grounds to sue upon from my understanding. I don’t believe they are immune from a claim. As far as any monies received from the defendant, I just want him to be held accountable in any way whatsoever. The money with him isn’t the key, it is that he is held accountable both criminally and financially. If I win the judgement over him, he will ALWAYS owe me for the rest of his life, so in turn it would be giving him a life sentence.

I am in the process of locating the best attorney possible. I feel that one might take this on a contigancy(?) basis(30% of any settlement he/she receives).

I am just concerened over the statute.

Thanks.

5

Set on fire? Jeeesh. Sorry to hear. Someone will be along I’m sure with even more advice. Best of luck to you, buddy !

6

Thanks!

7

huh?