Michael Horst represents motor carriers, truck drivers and their insurers. He has extensive experience handling tractor-trailer accident cases involving serious injury and death, and is often retained within hours of a wreck to oversee the investigation of an accident. He understands the importance of a fast but thorough investigation into serious accidents as well as the premium insurers and trucking companies place on early, and more importantly, accurate assessment of the risk. He is a member of the Firm's 24-Hour Emergency Response Team, a group of attorneys dedicated to providing rapid post-accident intervention and investigation throughout the Firm's footprint and beyond, whenever and wherever it is needed. Mr. Horst also handles claims alleging negligent entrustment, hiring, retention, training and supervision as well as direct actions against a trucking company's insurance carrier.
Mr. Horst also represents clients in a broad range of commercial litigation matters. He provides substantial business counsel to clients in those matters, and regularly represents clients in complex litigation in both state and federal courts.
Mr. Horst has vast experience analyzing insurance policies. He has been asked to provide coverage opinions on a variety of different types of policies including trucking policies, business auto policies, bobtail/non-trucker's policies, errors and omissions (E&O) policies, directors and officers liability (D&O) policies, and commercial general liability (CGL) policies. Mr. Horst has filed numerous declaratory judgment actions in both federal and state court on coverage issues involving a wide variety of coverage issues.
Publications & Speaking Engagements
- Author – "Crash Course," Smart Business – Atlanta, October 2010
- Author – "Personal Injury Statute of Limitations: Tolled While Criminal Prosecution is Pending," Georgia Defense Lawyers Association Law Journal, 2009
Professional Honors & Activities
- Member – State Bar of Georgia
- Member – Trucking Industry Defense Association (TIDA)
- Member – Defense Research Institute (DRI)
- Member – Transportation Lawyers Association (TLA)
- Member – Georgia Defense Lawyers Association (GDLA)
- Member – American Bar Association, Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section – Commercial Transportation Litigation Committee
Admissions
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Georgia
- Supreme Court of Georgia
- Georgia Court of Appeals
- Georgia Superior and State Courts
Education
- Wake Forest University School of Law, J.D., 2001
- Miami (OH) University, B.A., cum laude and B.S., cum laude, 1998