Blog Archive - January, 2012

When parents walk their children to the bus stop, they presume that once their children board the bus they will be safe. However, last year there was a wave of school bus accidents in Georgia that have resulted in the tragic injury and even the wrongful death of school children.

The past holiday season, iPhones and iPods were incredibly popular gifts. Although iPhones and iPods are extremely popular, they can also pose dangers to their users.

The recent revelations regarding sexual abuse of children by prominent assistant coaches for the Penn State football team and Syracuse basketball team serve as a cautionary tale for parents.

Teen texting and driving continues to be a serious problem that causes a substantial number of car accidents. Although Georgia and a number of other states have laws that prohibit teen texting and driving, difficulties in enforcing the ban have rendered it relatively ineffective.

Sometimes a combination of factors that may seem unlikely creates unanticipated accident risks. A recent accident in Atlanta reveals potential causes of motor vehicle accidents that most motorists never consider.

A fatal pedestrian accident this past New Year's weekend serves as a sad reminder of the important role urban planning can play in pedestrian safety. A seven year-old boy from DeKalb County suffered fatal injuries when he was hit in a pedestrian accident while he was crossing the street with his step-father and siblings on New Year’s Day.

In early 2011 the Georgia Supreme Court recently struck down damage caps in medical malpractice cases that place an arbitrary limit on awards for non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering and diminished enjoyment of life.

Distracted driving is one of the most significant causes of motor vehicle accidents. This risk is even more significant when a driver is trying to dial a number or carry on a conversation while behind the wheel of a vehicle that may be sixty feet long and weigh more than forty tons.

Federal motor vehicle safety agencies have concluded an investigation of a major multi-car pileup last year in Missouri which has revealed a perfect storm of factors that combined to create this fatal accident.

Sexual victimization of students in the Georgia’s school system has risen by 55% since the year 2000. Teachers are in a unique position of trust and an unequal power relationship toward students that is susceptible to potential abuse.

Recent cases are developing an increasing focus on personal injury litigation concerning discovery and social media accounts.

A serious Marietta car accident in which a hit-and-run driver fled the scene is now being blamed on an epileptic seizure. The Marietta accident involved multiple vehicles.

While there are many safety regulations designed to protect employees at industrial work sites in Georgia, many employees are injured by defective equipment used in industrial plants. Although these industrial tools may create a risk of serious injury or wrongful death, they also may be essential to performing one’s job responsibilities.

This Atlanta personal injury blog has frequently addressed the danger posed to motorcycle enthusiasts of being involved in a serious motorcycle-car collision. Even if a motorcycle enthusiast does everything right, a rider may still suffer catastrophic injuries, including spinal cord and head injuries, if a negligent motorist collides with or cuts off a motorcycle rider on Georgia roadways.

When Atlanta drivers are navigating their way through traffic in the parking lot of the Mall of Georgia or other parking lots, drivers are rarely concerned that they will be involved in a car accident. The low rate of speed that most drivers employ when negotiating a parking lot creates a false sense of security.

Anesthesia medical malpractice errors are rare but devastating when they occur. A five-year-old Henry County girl died after being given a fatal dose of the local anesthetic lidocaine while the girl’s broken arm was being set.

While the drug Chantix, Pfizer’s smoking cessation drug, has previously been linked to reports of incidents of violence and suicide, the prevalence of the problem may have been vastly underreported according to the Institute for Safe Medicine Practices, a non-profit drug company watchdog organization. While the serious adverse events were previously reported, they were reported according to procedures that permitted them to be hidden amongst minor adverse reactions. Pfizer reported hundreds of serious adverse reactions to the FDA through a process that lumped the serious adverse events in with reports of 26,000 minor adverse reactions.

Parents certainly have a whole other set of responsibilities when it comes to raising their children these days.

There has been a softening of laws and policies designed to prevent DUIs related to alcohol and marijuana, in terms of making them more available. As many as a third of all states currently permit the sale of medical marijuana.

An abhorrent recent case of senior neglect and abuse in DeKalb County serves as evidence of a growing problem of elder abuse and neglect committed by unlicensed elderly caregivers. A woman was arrested and faces criminal charges after keeping a 59 year old man, Johnny Ray Hill, with a number of medical problems, locked in squalor in her basement.

Alcohol-related auto accidents claim the lives of over ten thousand people per year and account for approximately one-third of all fatal auto accidents.

One of the most important factors that impact the potential compensation in a Fulton County car accident is the nature of the medical attention that a Fulton car accident victim obtains in the wake of a serious auto collision. The promptness of getting that treatment can be important also.

Many people sometimes suffer head injuries resulting in potential concussions in motor vehicle accidents, slip and falls and sports accidents. It is not uncommon for a victim to dismiss a potential concussion as a mere “bump on the head” that will go away quickly.

Every year thousands of people are killed in accidents involving heavy machinery. An accident in Atlanta at the end of last year serves as a reminder of the danger associated with heavy machinery.

Parents raising children afflicted with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) face unique challenges, but a new study suggest kids with ADHD may face a risk that few parents consider.

A car collision can pose a serious detour in one’s life, especially if you suffer a severe bone crush injury or compound fracture that requires the insertion of metal hardware and/or reconstructive surgery. While any broken bone or fracture can be a significant injury, such injuries can be much more severe when suffered in a car accident. Motor vehicle accidents involving passenger cars, trucks and SUVs often exert enormous traumatic force on the body that can result in very severe bone related injuries. Because the human body is very resilient, many broken bones and fractures incurred in an Atlanta car accident will completely heal though they may cause substantial pain and prolonged time off work. Bone crush injuries and many compound fractures may result in permanent loss of mobility along with prolonged pain and disability.

As we have reported previously in this blog, there has been a substantial number of drugs and medical products recalled by Johnson and Johnson (J&J) over the last several years. These recalls have been based on a wide range of quality control issues, including foreign objects in the drugs, foul odors being emitted and excessive amounts of the active ingredient. These quality control issues are now alleged to have taken a fatal turn.

A Hall County man faces vehicular homicide charges related to a fatal July 4th rollover accident that resulted in the tragic death of two Atlanta teenagers. Tony James Delong, 19, was driving his Jeep Wrangler on Whelchel Mill Road when he lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle left the roadway, collided with an embankment, and rolled over several times.

The unique danger posed by tractor-trailers in Georgia makes it essential to continue to develop new safety technology so that these massive vehicles can safely share Atlanta roadways with other motor vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians.

An accident a few months ago that was reported in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution serves as a warning regarding the risk posed by road debris to a motorcyclist. A motorcyclist was tragically killed when a tire blowout caused tire tread to litter I-85 at the I-985 split in Gwinnett County. The motorcyclist hit the debris in the roadway and lost control of his bike.

Some dangerous head injuries suffered in an Atlanta car accident go undetected because the signs and symptoms of serious head injuries do not always appear immediately. When a person is involved in a motor vehicle collision, it is normal to examine a person for physical signs of injury including lacerations, bruises, swelling and other physical indications of injury.

Our Atlanta brain injury attorneys realize that concussions related to football and other contact sports have become an increasingly serious issue, and the subject of litigation involving the NFL. The devastating long-term impact of concussions is not limited to head injuries in contact-related sports.

If you are involved in a serious motor vehicle accident involving a car, truck, SUV or motorcycle, you can suffer serious life-altering injuries, including the loss of a limb or amputation. We understand that when you suffer this type of severe injury, it can affect your life in fundamental ways that impact your family relationships, daily activities and employment.

A fatal SUV rollover accident involving a Georgia family raises questions about the possibility of the failure of seatbelts in a rollover accident. Four members of a Gwinnett County family were killed in a fatal Florida SUV crash when the father steered hard to recover control of an SUV when it dropped off the edge of the road causing it to rollover several times before landing on the roof of the vehicle.

Even when extreme care is taken, there is still a serious danger for pedestrians who must share the roadways of Atlanta with motor vehicles. Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) makes the scope of the danger clear. Approximately 64,000 people per year are injured in pedestrian accidents with motor vehicles and another 5,000 people are killed.

Georgia Accident Attorneys, Montlick & Associates, announced today the release of Montlick Mobile, a new application designed to help smart phone users in the aftermath of an accident. The free App answers the question- "What should I do after an auto, truck, motorcycle or SUV accident?", and provides important information that everyone should have available on their smartphone! With Montlick Mobile, users of Droids and iPhones have the ability to contact emergency personnel, locate the nearest hospital, show proof of insurance, as well as capture and preserve accident data and photos - all from a single application on their mobile device. The new app also includes a checklist of important steps to take at the scene of an auto accident.

There are a virtually limitless number of reasons that people drive recklessly. Regardless of the reason, reckless drivers who do not respect basic driving laws and traffic safety are responsible for a significant number of Georgia traffic accidents and resulting injuries and wrongful death.