About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2023)
KH OUR REGION John Chambliss| Managing Editor 770-718-3407 | news@gainesvilletimes.com The Times, Gainesville, Georgia Midweek Edition-March 1-2, 2023 Ga. high court ruling may affect Hall case BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com Editor’s note: This published in a previous E-Paper edition and is being provided here for print-only readers. A footnote in a Georgia Supreme Court opinion may affect a Hall County medical malpractice case in which a jury previously granted a $3 million verdict against North east Georgia Medical Center, according to court documents. A Hall County Superior Court jury granted a $3 million verdict March 23, 2021, favoring the fam ily of Frances “Suzi” Mitchell, 42, of Jackson County. Mitchell’s two adult children were listed as the plaintiffs against Northeast Geor gia Health System, the medical center and Dr. Andrew Green. The original lawsuit claimed Green pierced Mitchell’s small intestine during a May 3,2016, sur gery to remove an ovarian mass. Mitchell died four days later. “An autopsy revealed that a small perforation or hole in her bowel had caused an abdominal infection, resulting in her death,” according to a summary from the Georgia Court of Appeals. “The medical examiner who conducted the autopsy concluded that the per foration occurred during the sur gery performed by Green.” The Georgia Court of Appeals vacated the judgment in March 2022, ruling that Mitchell’s estranged husband was the proper party to file the wrongful death claim. The Georgia Supreme Court granted review to consider a Thomas County wrongful death medical malpractice case, Hamon v. Connell. The wrongful death case was brought by the deceased man’s daughter instead of his wife, who had been separated from the man for some time. The high court reviewed the case to see if the trial court made a mis take in allowing the man’s daughter to pursue the wrongful death case. The Georgia Court of Appeals pre viously reversed the trial court’s decision regarding Connell, which was used to decide Mitchell’s case. The Wrongful Death Act in Geor gia states that a decedent’s child or children can pursue a claim if there is no surviving spouse. “However ... under certain cir cumstances, Georgia courts have applied equitable principles to allow someone other than the dece dent’s surviving spouse to pursue a wrongful death claim to benefit a decedent’s children,” the Georgia Supreme Court justices wrote in their unanimous opinion on Feb. 7. In a footnote before the last page of the opinion, the justices wrote that they “overrule” the Northeast Georgia Medical Center ruling that relied on the Georgia Court of Appeals prior ruling in the Connell case The attorney for Mitchell’s fam ily, Kenneth Lewis, filed a motion Feb. 16 to reinstate the March 2021 verdict citing the Connell case. Lewis also filed an amicus brief for the Georgia Supreme Court’s consideration in the Connell case, according to a footnote in the court’s decision. Typically, a ruling like the Feb. 7 opinion would apply to all subse quent cases. Lewis, however, argued in his motion that this falls under an exception when an “interpretation of the law involves a statute that has been interpreted differently by the Georgia Supreme Court.” “In addition, neither side would be inappropriately injured by the reinstatement of the judgment,” Lewis wrote. “Reinstatement con serves judicial resources as well.” Attorney M. Scott Bailey, who is representing the health system, wrote in an email to The Times that he was not authorized to comment “beyond saying that we disagree with the premise that the decision ‘overturns’” the case. NGHS spokesman Sean Couch said the hospital would not add anything beyond Bailey’s response to The Times over email. ‘This is a major project’ ■ Photos by SCOTT ROGERS I The Times Signage warns motorists along Ga. 211 Monday, Feb. 27, near I-85 of construction for a road-widening project. Work underway off Ga. 211 in Braselton aimed at widening road Pipe is stacked along Ga. 211 across from Chateau Elan Monday, Feb. 27, near i-85 where a road- widening project has begun. BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Editor’s note: This published in a previous E-Paper edition and is being provided here for print-only readers. Work has started on a stretch of heavily congested Old Winder Highway/Ga. 211 in Braselton. The $25.5 million project calls for widening the road from two to four lanes between Pinot Noir Drive and Interstate 85. The project, expected to be completed by Oct. 31, 2025, will include a 5 3/4-foot sidewalk on the east side of a bridge on Ga. 211, as well as multi-lane roundabouts at 1-85 and Tour de France, a road leading to Cha teau Elan resort. “This is a major project, and the first part of it has begun with the clearing and grubbing (of trees and vegetation) on the sides of the road,” said Eliza beth Johnson, Georgia Depart ment of Transportation district spokeswoman. Moving utilities, including lines and poles, is expected to take 7-8 months, depending on the weather, she said. “The town has worked very hard in partnership with the Georgia Department of Trans portation to get this project to construction,” Braselton Town Manager Jennifer Scott has said about the project. Ga. 211 in Braselton is a busy, fast-developing road, intersect ing in Hall County with Friend ship Road/Ga. 347, which leads to Northeast Georgia Medical Center Braselton, which is under going a $565 million expansion. A huge, multi-use develop ment, Braselton Village, is being graded off Ga. 211 near Pinot Noir Drive. The development will feature a 187,647-square- foot shopping center, including a Lowe’s home improvement store and five outparcels, on 32 acres. So, more traffic is likely to come to the area. Scott has said Braselton intends to continue working with GDOT to widen Ga. 211 from Pinot Noir to Friendship Road “in anticipation that we can get that project to award as soon as possible.” Plans also call for Ga. 211 to be widened in Hall from Friend ship Road to Winder Highway/ Ga. 53. The project, estimated to cost $92 million overall, has been set for 2026-30, according to the Gainesville-Hell Metropolitan Planning Organization. Development also is expected to boom on the Hall side of Ga. 211. Work has started on Rev eille, a planned 512-acre mixed- use development across from Union Church Road, and an 8,000-square-foot retail spec building off Ga. 211 and Union Church was approved in Febru ary by Hall County’s Board of Commissioners. Florida man gets 30 years for molesting girls in Hall BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com Editor’s note: This published in a previous E-Paper edition and is being provided here for print-only readers. A Florida man accused of molest ing two girls under the age of 10 was found guilty Friday, Feb. 24, by a Hall County jury, according to court documents. Jonathan Mar shall Wallace, 34, of New Port Richey, Florida, was indicted in January 2020 on two counts of aggravated child molestation, three counts of child molestation and one count of aggra vated sexual battery. He was con victed Friday afternoon on all six counts. Superior Court Judge Kathlene Gosselin sentenced Wallace to a total sentence of life plus 20 years with the first 30 years in prison. Wallace will receive credit for time served since Oct. 15,2021 plus another year of pre-trial detention, and Gosselin allowed for the remainder of the sentence to be served on probation. Hall County Sheriff’s Office detec tives began investigating the case in September 2019, when family mem bers of a 4-year-old girl reported she was sexually abused at a Hall County residence. During that investigation, detec tives determined Wallace also molested a second girl, who was 6 at the time, in 2013 at the same residence, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Wallace and the girls knew each other. The jury took the case about 9 a.m. Friday after hearing evidence since Tuesday, Feb. 21 before Gosselin. During the sentencing phase, Assistant District Attorney Harold Buckler asked for life in prison to reflect the amount of damage he’s done. “When one molests a child, it will always be a part of that child’s life. Even as the two victims in this case recover, our hearts are with them,” Northeastern Judicial Cir cuit District Attorney Lee Darragh said in a statement. “The punish ment imposed is punishment well deserved for the now convicted Wal lace. The verdict of the jury was just and appreciated.” Buckler prosecuted the case along with Assistant District Attorney Rachel Bennett. Wallace will also face the special sex offender conditions of probation. Defense attorney Chris van Ros- sem, who represented Wallace along with co-counsel Chloe Owens, declined to comment. Wallace was indicted in a separate case Jan. 25 involving a third young girl on charges of aggravated child molestation and child molestation. Citing the pending nature of the case, Darragh declined to discuss the newest charges for Wallace. Wallace Hall school board OKs S11M for big touchscreens in classrooms BY BEN ANDERSON banderson@gainesvilletimes.com Editor’s note: This published in a previous E-Paper edition and is being provided here for print-only readers. The Hall County school board on Monday approved $11.08 million in funding to replace projectors in all schools with interactive touch screen panels over the next three years. “It is necessary,” Superinten dent Will Schofield told the board, explaining that the projectors have reached the end of their lifespans. He said all classrooms will get a fresh coat of paint as well. The 86-inch panels will be pur chased from Clear Touch, a com pany that specializes in creating interactive technology for schools and universities. Aaron Turpin, assistant super intendent of technology, said the schools with the most faulty projec tors will get panels first. Turpin explained the decision to purchase the panels now, saying, “The price has come down to the point where they’re a better return on investment than projectors.” The project will be completed in five phases over the next three years. Phase one, June to September 2023 ■ C.W. Davis Middle School ■ Academies of Discovery at South Hall ■ Mount Vernon Exploratory School ■ Spout Springs School of Enrichment ■ East Hall Middle Phase two, September to December 2023 ■ Chestatee High ■ Flowery Branch High ■ Johnson High ■ North Hall High ■ West Hall High Phase three, January to April 2024 ■ East Hall High ■ Chestatee Middle ■ North Hall Middle ■ West Hall Middle Phase four, June to December 2024 ■ Chestnut Mountain Creative School of Inquiry ■ Chicopee Woods Elementary ■ Flowery Branch Elementary ■ Lyman Hall Elementary ■ Martin Technology Academy ■ Sardis Enrichment School ■ Sugar Hill Academy of Talent & Career ■ Wauka Mountain Multiple Intelligences Academy Phase five, January to July 2025 ■ Cherokee Bluff High School ■ Howard E. Ivester Early College ■ Friendship Elementary ■ Lanier School for Inquiry, Investigation & Innovation ■ Lula Elementary ■ Myers Elementary ■ Tadmore Elementary ■ World Language Academy
