Blog Archive - November, 2012

A man suffered permanent injury to his back, shoulder and neck in a freeway accident when a van driven by a county employee plowed into the auto accident victim’s car. The auto accident victim was stopped on the freeway because of bumper to bumper traffic.

A bus driver received only probation for his involvement in a fatal Carroll County bus crash that resulted in fatal injuries for James Rashawn “Ray Ray” Walker, 17, when the boy was ejected from the vehicle and the bus rolled over on top of him.

Airbags provide a vital supplement to seatbelts when drivers and passengers are involved in a collision at moderate to high rates of speed. An increasing number of vehicle manufacturers are marketing their vehicles based on safety features including improved airbag systems.

When cars, trucks, and SUVs are involved in collisions, the decision to wear a seatbelt can literally be the difference between life and death. Although many states have adopted universal seatbelt laws, Georgia requires occupants in passenger vehicles to wear seatbelts only when riding in the front seat of a vehicle or when the occupant is 17 or younger.

While many SUV owners understand that these popular vehicles have a high risk of rolling over in a collision, there are not as many drivers that know there are factors within a driver’s control that contribute to rollover accidents in sports utility vehicles. Because the design of most SUVs involves a high center of gravity, they pose an enhanced risk of being involved in a rollover accident. SUV rollover accidents are particularly dangerous because of the danger of roof crush injuries and vehicle ejections.

In a recent decision issued by the Supreme Court of Oklahoma, a power plant worker overcame his employer’s motion to dismiss based upon the exclusivity remedy under the Workers’ Compensation Act. Specifically, in Jordan v. Western Farmers Cooperative, 2012 OK 94 (2012), the Court granted plaintiff David Jordan (“Jordan”) the judicial go ahead to pursue a toxic tort claim against his employer, Western Farmers Electric Cooperative (“Western”).

Each year, the end of Thanksgiving typically leads to a large surge of traffic across the U.S. as people head home from their respective travel destinations. Specifically, the Sunday following Thanksgiving is typically the most frequently travelled day of the year for motorists, especially in Georgia.

Energy drinks have become so popular that they now fill entire commercial refrigeration units in supermarkets and convenience stores. These drinks are marketed as a means to promote alertness and energy. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently received reports of thirteen fatalities allegedly related to the energy drink marketed under the name “Five Hour Energy.”

There are approximately twelve million motor vehicle accidents a year that involve up to 20 million vehicles and cause almost two million debilitating injuries, according to the National Safety Council (NSC). In addition, there are close to thirty thousand more vehicle occupants, motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians who die in fatal motor vehicle collisions annually.

As fall turns to winter, changes in weather can create substantial risks for motorists, especially when other drivers fail to adapt their driving behavior to adverse weather conditions. A tragic multi-car pileup in Texas this Thanksgiving morning provides an example of the devastating nature of chain reaction accidents caused by fog, snow, icy roads, heavy rains and other forms of harsh weather conditions.

Recent data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) reveals that approximately 4,500 people per year are killed in pedestrian collisions with cars, trucks and SUVs while 70,000 are injured.

The early or unexpected death of a spouse, parent or child can affect a family that is left behind in so many different ways.

The results of having insufficient auto insurance coverage can be devastating to a family. If someone is injured in a car accident and is rendered unable to work, the medical bills begin to stack up and can easily result in bankruptcy. Unfortunately, it is estimated that one-third of all drivers on the road are uninsured motorists. That is why it is so important that you make sure you have the right kinds and amounts of coverage, including uninsured motorist coverage, to protect you and your family.

Force, including deadly force, may be used by police officers to prevent the escape of suspects or to defend the officers or others from the perceived risk of injury or death. Police officers do such important work, and put their lives on the line for us every day.

Although most Georgia personal injury cases never see the inside of a courtroom due to being settled before a lawsuit is ever filed, the process that personal injury attorneys in Atlanta and throughout Georgia go through in order to come to a settlement is much the same as if they were preparing for trial.

In a perfect world, the events that lead up to and cause a Georgia car accident would be obvious so that accident victims could be easily compensated for their injuries. Unfortunately, the precise events involved in an auto accident in Atlanta or elsewhere in Georgia are often difficult to ascertain.

While there has been a significant decline in the number of motor vehicle accidents in Georgia during the last 5 years, Georgia roads remain more deadly than those in other states with accident rates exceeding the national average. Many of these accidents are the result of preventable unsafe driving practices, such as, distracted driving, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, violations of traffic safety laws (i.e. speeding, following too close, unsafe lane changes, failure to obey traffic signals, failure to yield, etc.) and aggressive driving.

There are a number of myths that the insurance industry wants consumers to accept on face value, because insurance companies can save a lot of money by avoiding liability for claims or limiting the amount of those claims if they can get consumers to accept them.

Despite clear protocols designed to reduce the risk of major surgical errors such as wrong site surgery and similar egregious mistakes, these errors still occur, including:

Most people recognize the dangers associated with motorcycles related to their lack of structural protection, safety equipment and handling. Due to their having four wheels, many people assume that ATVs are safer vehicles than a vehicle with only one or two wheels. However, a study conducted by researchers at John Hopkins found that ATVs are significantly more dangerous in crashes than those involving two-wheeled off-road motorcycles. The study analyzed 60,000 accidents involving ATVs and off-road motorcycles between 2002-2006. Some of the surprising results include the following:

Hundreds of mountain bikers (off-road bicyclists) from all over the country including Georgia gathered in Sun Valley, Utah for the 2011 USA Cycling Mountain Bike Cross-Country National Championships. The mountain bikers trekked over miles of mountains and otherwise uneven terrain.

Many states including Georgia have enacted graduated driver’s license (GDL) programs, designed to reduce the number of auto accidents involving inexperienced teen drivers.

Advances in technology sometimes have unintended and undesirable side effects. Hospitals and doctors have increasingly tried to use innovations in technology like computers, smartphones and other portable electronic devices to reduce the risk of medical mistakes.

While most Georgians know that they can face civil liability if their careless or unsafe driving practices cause a Georgia car accident, few know that under certain circumstances a person can be liable for personal injuries caused in a car accident even though they were no where near either vehicle during the time of the accident.

The high rate of teen accidents and high teen fatality rate in car accidents is an issue that all fifty states and the District of Columbia have worked aggressively to try to address.

The legal system is affected by the economy just like any other industry. The lagging economy does not stop people from suffering injuries in car accidents, but it does impact how car accident claims are litigated.

Although the U.S. achieved a 19 percent reduction in auto accident fatalities during a recent 15-year period, this reduction pales in comparison to that of a number of other developed countries according to a new report by the Transportation Research Board.

Few motorists are happy to see flashing red lights in the rearview mirror, and to feel anxiety settle in as one is pulled over by a law enforcement officer. A traffic citation carries with it penalties which can often include fines worth hundreds if not thousands of dollars.