Blog Archive - March, 2014

Distracted driving constitutes a complex and persistent danger that threatens the safety of everyone who shares the roads of Atlanta and the surrounding areas of Georgia. While there has been extensive media coverage and warnings from traffic safety advocates regarding the dangers of inattentive driving, many people who travel the streets and highways of Georgia acknowledge the risk, but do not adapt their behavior so that their full attention is focused on the task of safe operation of their vehicle.

Public information and safety campaigns are a common tool employed to deter hazardous driving practices, such as speeding or texting and driving. However, a new study conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) calls into question the effectiveness of this type of approach to reducing the number of preventable collisions. The study revealed that the vast majority of motorists understand that speeding is a dangerous driving behavior but routinely engage in the practice despite this awareness. This disconnect between driver attitudes toward and actual driving practices might explain why speeding continues to cause a third of all car accident fatalities nationally according to the NHTSA.

Our Atlanta tractor-trailer accident attorneys at Montlick and Associates recognize that collisions involving large trucks typically involve more complex issues than a typical car accident. These accidents involve defendants with deep pockets, experience in avoiding liability and an industry reputation for destroying evidence. The massive force generated by a large truck often causes trucking accident victims to endure severe injuries that impose substantial financial hardships. An experienced tractor-trailer accident lawyer will understand the unique challenges and issues involved in trucking litigation, which can result in a more significant financial recovery. We have provided an overview of the five most common causes of crashes involving large commercial trucks.

There are some car accidents where the issues of fault and significant injury are fairly clearly established based on the circumstances surrounding the accident and medical records. Under such circumstances, some auto accident victims may be misled into assuming that there is no need to retain legal counsel. However, there are many ways that a personal injury claim that arises out of a motor vehicle accident can be derailed when a personal injury attorney is not involved, even when the fault of a defendant is admitted. Our experienced Fulton County Auto Accident Lawyers have provided an overview of some common ways a personal injury claim can be derailed without legal representation.

While vehicle occupants face the risk of being seriously injured anytime they are involved in a crash while navigating the streets of Atlanta, the consequences can be far more devastating for those who are not wearing a seat belt. A recent serious vehicle ejection accident in west Atlanta on I-20 serves as a reminder of the value of buckling up. While the WGCL-TV Atlanta report did not expressly indicate that the crash victim was not wearing a seat belt, the risk of being ejected during a collision is almost non-existent when vehicle occupants are properly restrained with a lap and shoulder harness. The report indicated that the man was taken to a local hospital and listed in critical condition. Our attorneys and staff at Montlick and Associate express our wishes for a quick and full recovery to the victim of this car crash and his family.

Our Atlanta auto accident lawyers recently reported on multiple pending federal investigations of an apparent delay by General Motors (GM) in implementing a recall of vehicles with faulty ignition switches that could cause the vehicles to stall or lose power. In the wake of these investigations, another automaker Toyota Motor Corp has reportedly reached a $1.2 billion settlement to end a four-year criminal investigation by the U.S. Justice Department regarding its alleged failure to disclose safety issues.

Parents trust car seats to secure their most valuable cargo – their children. However, this type of vehicle safety device can provide a false sense of security when a car seat is compromised by manufacturing, design or labeling defects. A massive recall by Graco of child safety restraints with buckles that are alleged to be defective provides a recent example. The recall could become the largest car seat recall ever. When Graco initially announced the recall in February, it covered 3.8 million car seats. Graco has now added another 403,000 car seats to the initial recall, which currently makes it the fourth largest recall in history. However, the car seats covered by the recall may well expand even further.

General Motors (GM) has announced a wave of new vehicle recalls related to a range of safety issues. These recalls come at a time that the automaker is facing multiple investigations of its actions related to a prior recall of 1.6 million cars with defective ignitions switches. GM is currently facing pending investigations by the NHTSA, Department of Justice and U.S. House of Representative into the company's handling of the faulty ignition switch recall. The pending investigations are focused on the role of the delayed recall in causing fatal crashes related to the ignition defect according to a KTVN CBS news report.

Stryker Hip Implants Claims For Life Threatening Complications

Aggressive South Georgia Stryker Hip Implant Injury Attorneys

One of the largest medical and orthopedic product manufacturers in the world, Stryker Corporation, created what was originally considered to be a number of revolutionary hip implant component devices. Specifically known as the AB Rejuvenate (Rejuvenate) and ABG II Modular-Neck Hip Stem (ABG II) systems, both of these product lines are comprised of metal and ceramic components, but are specifically made using chromium and cobalt with titanium coated stems. Despite being marketed to the public as a safer and longer-lasting alternative to metal-on-metal hip replacement devices (associated with a number of serious side effects), thousands of its users have nonetheless reported a multitude of adverse health consequences, such as metal corrosion, fretting, metallosis, and severe tissue inflammation and pain surrounding the implanted device (medically referred to as an Adverse Local Tissue Reaction).

Although any Cobb County car accident can result in serious injury, vehicle fires pose a particularly dangerous hazard because of the risk of explosion posed by the proximity of gasoline and a source of ignition. While vehicle fires are by no means the most common cause of injury in motor vehicle accidents, they can be caused by the force of impact or even vehicle defects. Toyota just announced that it was halting sales of thousands of its vehicles because of the risk of fire associated with seat heaters in the vehicles, according to the Los Angeles Times.

There are many types of accidents that can cause physical trauma to the body resulting in pain and disability, such as slip and fall accidents and construction accidents, but one of the most common type of accidents that are most likely to result in chronic long-term physical pain is a car accident. A collision in a motor vehicle inflicts enormous force on the human body, often resulting in the body being jerked violently. The body may continue forward even after the vehicle has stopped, causing the body to be jerked forward and then backward. Additionally, a driver in an Atlanta or Georgia car accident may suffer other injuries resulting in chronic pain if a part of the driver's body collides with the hard interior of the vehicle.

When motorists that have been consuming alcohol decide to take the risk of driving their car, innocent vehicle occupants, motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians often experience devastating permanent injuries. There have been many legislative and law enforcement measures designed to reduce the number of drunk driving collisions, including zero tolerance policies for inexperienced teen drivers, mandatory minimum sentences for repeat DUI offenders, ignition interlock programs and other similar DUI prevention policies. Sadly, these measures have had limited impact on habitual DUI offenders.

Premises liability claims based on falls caused by hazardous conditions that cause someone to trip and fall or slip and fall can pose challenges when attempting to seek financial compensation. While many falls are caused by foreign substances on the floor like pooled water from an air conditioning unit or a beverage container that spills, they will not always create a basis for imposing liability on the store, restaurant, bar or other commercial business where a fall occurs. Our state's highest court has identified two necessary elements that must be established to make out a premises liability claim in a fall based on slipping or tripping:

Atlanta and much of the south has been hit hard by harsh winter storms that have caused drivers to abandon their cars, kids to spend the night at local schools and motorists to crash in multi-car pileups. Since the start of December an analysis of police reports reveals that there have been at least 42 multi-car pileups across the U.S. involving at least ten vehicles with at least one fatality according to a USA Today report. The epidemic of multi-car pileups, which amounts to approximately one per day during the applicable period, serves as a stark reminder of the hazards of winter driving in snow and ice that can turn the roadway into a junkyard that stretches for over a mile in a matter of minutes.

Garbage trucks are huge vehicles that routinely travel along the streets throughout the Atlanta Metro area and surrounding areas of Georgia, while picking up trash from residences and businesses. The risk of being in an accident with a garbage truck in Georgia is higher since most of these trucks are allowed special privileges that the average driver is not permitted. These vehicles also substantially outweigh the typical passenger vehicle, but unlike tractor-trailers, operate on busy residential streets that are narrower and are more likely to have bicyclists and pedestrians including children in the roadway.

Serious infections like sepsis are commonly caused by hospital negligence. A study reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine indicates that nearly 48,000 patients per year suffer infections after entering a hospital with an associated additional cost to patients that is estimated to exceed $8 billion per year. Tight infection controls within a hospital can prevent the spread of serious infections, such as sepsis, a dangerous blood infection that may spread quickly. Patients also may suffer staph infections that cause kidney damage or even a flesh eating bacteria. A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine estimates that the five most prevalent hospital borne infections account for nearly $10 billion a year in additional health care system costs.

Our Atlanta Crane Accident Attorneys and Workers Compensation Attorneys at Montlick and Associates recognize that construction sites constitute one of the most dangerous work environments. When heavy equipment on a construction site is defective, poorly maintained or operated unsafely, the consequences can be grave injury and even wrongful death. A fatal crane accident that killed an electrician on a construction site in another state demonstrates the consequences of negligent maintenance and operation of cranes and other heavy machinery on construction projects. Our attorneys and staff at Montlick and Associates express our condolences to the family of Adam P. Nowak, who was killed when a crane hook plummeted sixty feet from a crane and struck him in the head.

When families visit the local pet store with the intention of adopting a dog, cat, bird, reptile or rat, there are a range of issues that potential pet owners usually consider. These issues usually center on the responsibility and cost of caring for the animal. Most people planning to adopt a pet probably spend little or no time contemplating the possibility of contracting a serious or even fatal disease. However, animals can carry deadly diseases, which might be contracted by humans if animals are not properly tested prior to a breeder or pet store selling an animal to an unsuspecting consumer.

Our Georgia Vehicle Defect Attorneys at Montlick and Associates are committed to promoting vehicle safety to prevent accidents that cause injuries and fatalities in Atlanta and throughout our state. As part of our commitment to reducing the number of serious accidents, we want to alert owners of certain GM vehicles of a faulty ignition switch according to a recent USA Today report.

Multi-car pileups can be extremely hazardous and pose unique challenges for those who suffer injury or lose a loved one, due to the involvement of a multitude of insurance companies and potentially responsible parties. When chain reaction accidents happen, it is not uncommon for some of the parties involved in the crash to be both a plaintiff and defendant. Sorting through the factual and legal challenges associated with a personal injury claim that arises out of a multi-car accident can be extremely complicated so it is important to seek prompt legal advice from an experienced Atlanta multi-car accident attorney.

Teen drivers, who are statistically more likely to be involved in a motor vehicle collision than older drivers, also engage in multi-tasking while driving at a higher rate than more experienced drivers. A recent study conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) in conjunction with the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development found that newly licensed teens initially avoid driving distractions but quickly start engaging in secondary tasks at a higher rate than older drivers. Our Georgia Personal Injury Attorneys at Montlick and Associates represent many people who suffer severe injury in crashes caused by distracted teen drivers.

Trucking accidents pose a unique danger because they disproportionately result in devastating permanent injuries and far too frequently fatalities. Commercial drivers and trucking companies can maximize profits by ignoring anti-fatigue rules (also referred to as "hours of service" rules). These rules limit the number of hours a driver may operate a semi-truck without specified off-duty rest periods. Drivers fighting fatigue sometimes resort to drugs to drive longer hours, while distorting their logbooks to cover-up the violations. Many trucking accidents are caused by drivers who are using drugs, including illicit drugs, prescription drugs and over-the-counter (OTC) medications to drive longer hours.

Working at a construction site requires the exercise of preventive safety measures due to the inherent hazards on a Georgia construction site. The safety of workers at a construction site can be compromised by improper maintenance and inspection, defective parts or machinery, failure of protective systems, loose rock or soil and other hazardous conditions as outlined in Occupational Safety and Health Administration OSHA (OSHA) Regulations 1926.650-653. Some occupational hazards that can lead to injury or death include electrocutions, slip and fall accidents, scaffolding collapses, defective equipment, or trenching accidents.

Although the trucking industry is heavily regulated because of the special danger posed by semi-trucks, the number of people who suffer serious life-changing injuries in commercial trucking accidents is still disproportionately high. A report just released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) indicates large commercial trucks are involved in 125,000 collisions annually. Tractor-trailer crashes cause injury to approximately 78,000 people per year and kill 4,100 more. The new GAO report was intended to evaluate the effectiveness of the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration's (FMCSA) Compliance, Safety and Accountability (CSA) Program. The GAO determined that the program has resulted in more investigations which has yielded safety benefits and has doubled the number of annual interventions by the FMSCA during the five year period ending in 2012.

As a growing number of states repeal or soften their universal mandatory motorcycle helmet laws, the cost in human life, personal injury and public health care expense is rising. The impact of this shift away from universal mandatory helmet laws in many states is reflected in statistics involving motorcycle fatality rates. Because motorcyclists are completely exposed and vulnerable when they ride, motorcycle accidents have a much higher probability of resulting in catastrophic injuries like traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injuries, internal organ damage and other similar injuries or wrongful death.

Parents routinely push their toddlers through the grocery store in shopping carts and assume that because the cart has a seat for kids, it must be safe to allow small children to ride in shopping carts. A recent study indicates that parents may be lulled into a false sense of security by the appearance that shopping carts are designed to safely carry kids. Many more kids than most parents probably realize are injured in accidents involving shopping carts each year.

Falls constitute the leading cause of accidents in the construction industry, according to OSHA. This includes falls from ladders, scaffoldings, unfinished roofs and other elevations. Construction accidents involving falls also are the number one cause of fatalities among construction workers and account for over 100,000 injuries per year, which amounts to 10 percent of all construction site deaths based on Bureau of Labor Statistics. The effects of injuries sustained from a fall of this type can be long lasting and not only affect the victim but seriously impact the injured construction worker's family. The chances of permanent disability are high, and catastrophic injuries are common. This often results in significant medical expenses and long periods of painful rehabilitation.

While most people have experienced some form of vehicle malfunction related to maintenance issues or a vehicle defect, there are certain types of mechanical problems that put people at significant risk for being involved in auto accidents. When the brakes on a car, truck, SUV or other motor vehicle fails or malfunctions on a busy freeway, this type of vehicle problem can result in serious car accidents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating just this type of risk involving Toyota Camry® hybrid vehicles according to a USA Today report. The inquiry by federal regulators includes 30,000 Camry gas-electric hybrid vehicles with model years of 2007 and 2008 based on complaints from some consumers that the power-assisted brakes can fail.

There has been fairly extensive media coverage recently regarding hospital errors as the debate over the best way to reform our health care system continues to rage on in the wake of the troubled rollout of Obamacare. This coverage has tended to ignore the issue of errors committed outside of a hospital setting as in doctor's offices and private medical clinics. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) indicates that the time has come to focus on patient safety in outpatient settings. The recent study suggests that the recent focus on hospital errors may be misdirected at least in part.

There are few injuries as devastating as spinal cord injuries that can impact mobility, sensation and the functioning of extremities. A new study from John Hopkins University School of Medicine indicates that the number of serious traumatic spinal cord injuries are on the rise in the U.S. The researchers also have indicated that the leading cause of these severe spinal cord injuries is no long motor vehicle accidents, as they have been surpassed by slip and fall accidents.

The brutal winter snow storms that have disrupted traffic, left people stranded and contributed to a significant number of motor vehicles have permanently changed the lives of some car accident victims. There are many types of injuries that can permanently impact one's quality of life, such as the amputation injury suffered by a 14-year-old girl who lost a portion of her leg when she was hit recently on an icy road in Cobb County. The teenager was attempting to push her family's vehicle when another driver was unable to stop and slamming into her leg according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The teenager's leg was amputated below the knee in the accident according to the news report. Our Cobb County Auto Accident Lawyers at Montlick and Associates wish to express our deepest sympathies to this young victim and her family.

Cell phones are generally regarded as one of the most common causes of serious motor vehicle accidents, because many drivers engage in distracted driving practices like talking or texting. However, there is a possibility that cell phones may soon make drivers safer. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx recently announced plans to compel automakers to equip new vehicles with crash avoidance technology that is designed to monitor other vehicles and automatically engage in evasive action to avoid car crashes. Some traffic safety experts suggest that cell phones may be the most efficient way to achieve the necessary level of market penetration for this technology to improve roadway safety.

While rear impact crashes often ease the challenge of proving fault in relationship to a motor vehicle collision, these cases offer a unique set of challenges because insurance carriers often refer to these collisions as "rear-enders," "low impact collisions," or "fender benders." The use of these types of terms are part of the typical insurance company strategy in such cases, aimed at minimizing the settlement or verdict paid out to an injury victim.