Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

The Atlanta interstates are heavily used by semi trucks heading to all points in the southeast creating a perfect storm when combined with car traffic and cell phones. A new study indicates that tractor trailer truck drivers who text while driving are 23.2 times more likely to be involved in a trucking accident.
Trucking accidents and texting studies, have raised the profile and interest in the impact of texting on a driver's ability to focus on driving. In Florida recently, a semi truck crashed into a school bus while the driver was distracted by his cell phone. Other studies have shown that car drivers are just as easily distracted by texting.

The researchers at Virginia Tech Transportation Institute actually installed cameras in the cabs of trucks to provide a true picture of what happens when a driver texts. This is the first long-term "naturalistic" study where a driver's habits were recorded for 18 months. Most previous studies have been conducted on simulators.

The findings show that texting caused drivers to take their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds which is equivalent "to a driver traveling the length of a football field at 55 mph without looking at the roadway."

Most states do not ban cell phone use while driving which includes texting. However, this study recommends that texting in moving vehicles be banned for all drivers. More importantly, in my view, is that drivers take responsibility for their actions and leave the cell phone alone while driving. It is not only a matter of life or death, but negligence and liability.

If you didn't test yourself last week when I posted this simulated game try it now:
Gauging Your Distraction.

In a tragic motorcycle accident, a Marietta woman was killed on Tuesday, July 28, 2009. An automobile driver turned left in front of the motorcycle on Alpharetta Street in Roswell, Georgia. The motorcyclist died after being taken to North Fulton Regional Medical Center while the driver of the car and her two children were not injured.

Frequently, car drivers neglect to give the right of way to motorcyclists. This type of accident is unfortunately too common. A similar motorcycle accident in Cumming, Georgia occurred at the end of June. In this Forsyth County motorcycle crash, a car made a u-turn in front of a motorcyclist who later died at Grady Memorial Hospital. The driver of the vehicle was initially cited for an improper left turn while other charges were pending.

Public education on motorcycle safety is one of the best ways to lower the rate of these types of car and motorcycle accidents. The Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) offers not only motorcycle rider safety courses but engages in public awareness campaigns to let the public know how to share the road with motorcycles.

In Ten Things All Car & Truck Drivers Should Know About Motorcycles, MSF points out that because motorcycles are small in size they look farther away than they really are. They suggest before you make a turn in front of a motorcycle you should assume the motorcycle is closer than it looks - in other words, give the motorcyclist an extra margin of safety.

Continue reading "Roswell Motorcycle Accident Ends in Death" »

In Georgia, approximately 22% of traumatic brain injuries are caused by car accidents often involving trucks, motorcycles, bicycles or pedestrians. Between 2004 and 2007, there was a 29.5% increase in traumatic brain injury in Georgia alone. Traumatic brain injury, sometimes referred to as TBI, is the result of a head injury when there is a sudden impact to the brain. Most often in auto accidents, an individual will suffer a closed head injury which occurs when the head violently impacts an object yet the skull is not broken. Fortunately, those of us who live anywhere in the Atlanta area from Macon to Athens to Cumming to Douglasville have access to some of the best treatment for brain injuries in the southeast including the only level one trauma center within 100 miles of the metro Atlanta area at Grady Hospital.

The high level of research and study of brain injuries allows Atlantans to have access to cutting edge treatment. An Emory University Brain Research Laboratory professor was recently honored for his commitment to finding treatments and cures for brain injured patients. People come from all over the United States for further treatment and rehabilitation at the Shepherd Center which is a state of the art facility for brain injury and spinal cord injury patients.

Having lived through the type of treatment and care that goes into a family member having a brain injury, I know how important it is to have the latest techniques and medicines available. Once your loved one has survived the car accident and head injury, an enormous amount of your energy and resources will be tied to rehabilitation. My sister almost lost her life in an auto accident, and the reality of it is that she lost the life she had led due to her traumatic brain injury. Nothing can ever fully repair the brain damage that is suffered in a serious head injury.

Learn more:
Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Fund Commission of Georgia

Brain Injury Association of Georgia

Continue reading "Car Accidents in Atlanta are Leading Cause of Brain Injury" »

Every day in the Atlanta area from Lawrenceville to Roswell to Marietta to Stone Mountain, you and I pass drivers who are engaged in their cell phone - not in driving. The New York Times recently reported in an article on cellphones and car accidents that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) never made public the research from a 2003 study related to the risks of cell phone use while driving. In this blog just a few days ago, a 2005 study was cited by the NHTSA that showed driver distraction caused by cell phone usage contributes to car accidents regardless of whether it is a handheld or hands free device. Try out the game at the end of this post to guage your own distraction level.

The newly disclosed research indicated that in 2002, twenty five percent of motor vehicle accidents were related to driver distraction. Driver distraction includes animals, eating/drinking, reading, rubber-necking, passengers, radio, smoking, children and cell phones. The National Safety Council issued a Cell Phone Use While Driving Fact Sheet that states drivers who use cell phones are four times more likely to be in a car crash. Approximately 6% of car accidents are attributed to cell phone use.

The reason behind the failure of the NHTSA to release the research is being used by consumer groups to bring the issue of prohibiting the use of cell phones while driving into public focus. Whether you believe the use of cell phones while driving should be illegal or not, common sense tells us that drivers already know (and have known for years) that cell phone use is a distraction along with texting and emailing. None of these activities should be done while driving and it is up to us, as responsible drivers to put the temptation aside and the cell phone down while driving. Avoid DUC (driving under the influence of cells) and not only will you be a safer driver, you won't run the risk of being sued for gross negligence when you are in a car accident, because you won't be on your phone!

Gauge your own distraction level with this cool interactive game on the dangers of driving and texting. I tried it and it was eye-opening!

Resources:

New York Times

NHTSA

National Safety Council

At the conclusion of Stage 16 today, following a rest day, Contador and Armstrong were numbers 10 and 12 respectively in the finish while Mikel Astarloza for Team Euskaltel-Euskadi took first. However, Alberto Contador remained in first overall with Lance Armstrong a close second. They have kept their team, Astana, on top and tomorrow will face the toughest day of this year's race riding through five passes in the Alps in France.

More:
Stage 17 Preview

Atlanta Bicycling and the Tour de France

In Fulton County, just as in the rest of the state of Georgia, federal and state regulations govern the trucking industry. Georgia laws specific to the trucking industry include certain roadways from Alpharetta to Peachtree City where truck traffic is restricted. In 2007, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration reported in the Large Truck Crash Overview that 12% of the people who died in car accidents were involved in a crash with a large truck.

Not surprisingly, safety issues have led to the promulgation of many trucking regulations. For example, truck drivers must not drive when they are over-tired. We all know how our own driving ability declines when we are tired, the same is true of truck drivers. The difference is that truckers' livelihoods rely on the delivery of goods and the quicker they can deliver one load the sooner they can pick up another.

Accordingly, one of the most important laws, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulation Rule 395.3, regulates the number of hours a driver may be on the road before taking a required break. By law, a tractor trailer driver may not drive more than eleven cumulative hours and must have a 10 hour break before he returns to the road.

In 38% of fatal crashes involving tractor trailers and cars, the cause of the accident was driver-related. And to be fair, 67% of motor vehicle drivers involved in fatal accidents with other automobiles were caused by the same type of driver-related factors such as inattention, speed, and failure to yield right of way. So to be safe, we all need to slow down, avoid driver fatigue, and leave plenty of room for the big rigs to maneuver safely on the highways.

Resources:

Atlanta Trucking Accidents: How Should It Affect the Way You Drive?

Georgia Department of Public Safety Motor Carrier Compliance Division

Photo Credited to DawnAllynn/stock.xchng

Atlanta has a very strong cycling presence and lots of fans are tuned into the Tour de France as it progresses toward the final stage on July 26. The news today is Alberto Contador took Stage 15 and claimed the yellow jersey. Lance Armstrong followed a bit behind and crossed the line as number nine. Armstrong graciously acknowledged Contador's feat and recognized his incredible ride today.

Every Saturday, bicycling fans hit the Atlanta roads decked out in their colorful riding gear. As I head out on my errands in the Dunwoody-Sandy Springs area, I keep an eye out for those riders. Unfortunately, Fulton and DeKalb Counties do not have many bike lanes for riders on the roadways, putting those cyclers at risk for biking accidents from drivers who may not be paying attention or, worse, the drivers don't know how to share the road with bicycles.

The Atlanta Bicycle Coalition offers City Cycling classes to teach bicycle riders how to ride safely and defensively on our busy metro roadways. Cyclers are taught how to follow the rules of the road and avoid crashes. I remember when a friend's son was seriously injured as he made a left turn on his bicycle and the driver failed to yield right of way. These types of accidents happen too often with disastrous results. In case you don't recall from your driving test, people on bikes have the same rights on the road as automobiles. This means they ride in the same lanes and in the same direction as cars, therefore, as you approach a cycler, you may not pass him until it is safe to do so - the lane is his just as if he was in a car. If we all remember this one rule, the bikers on our roads and in our neighborhoods will be much safer on their rides.

Check out these bike trails:

Silver Comet Trail, connects Atlanta to the Alabama state line. In Alabama, it continues to Anniston providing a beautiful 101 mile bike ride.

Atlanta/DeKalb Trail system along the Freedom Parkway into Stone Mountain and Arabia Mountain.

Photo Credit: Nils/stock.xchng

A trucking accident involving an eighteen wheeler, tractor-trailer is generally much more serious than a typical car accident. In Atlanta, large trucks are not allowed within the I-285 perimeter unless they have specific business within the area. As a result, there is heavy truck traffic around the outside of the metro area which includes three major interstates plus their by-passes creating a higher risk of a serious injury or wrongful death.

The Motor Carrier Safety Progress Report updated through March 31, 2009 and released by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration indicated there were almost 5,000 deaths in trucking related accidents in the United States in 2006. With approximately 8.5 million trucks on the road at that time, the fatality rate was approximately .06 percent. Of course there were many more injuries than fatalities due to tractor trailer accidents; numbering over 126,000 in 2006 and dropping to 124,000 in 2007.

What can you do to be more safe on our Atlanta area roadways? Drive defensively and be aware that large commercial trucks cannot maneuver quickly. Give tractor trailers the space they need to change lanes and make wide turns. Most importantly, always be aware of traffic around you while traveling on the highway and look for open areas should you need to take defensive action. Make sure you are rested and alert before you hit the road and have a safe trip!

Resources:

Commercial Motor Vehicle Facts

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Georgia Commercial Driver's Manual

As I drive into Atlanta each morning, I pass scores of drivers talking and texting on their cell phones. We have all probably been guilty of it, but what you may not know is that if you are in a car accident and you were talking, texting or emailing on your cell phone you have opened yourself up to a bigger lawsuit with potentially higher damages. The first thing a good attorney will do is subpoena cell phone records to check whether a driver was on his phone at the time of the accident.

By the end of 2008 there were over 270.3 million wireless subscribers in the United States with over 87% of the population owning a cell phone. Several years ago, the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration conducted a study to determine just how the use of a cell phone while driving contributed to car accidents. Interestingly, the study found that it did not matter whether a driver was using a handheld or hands free device, either way, the drivers were distracted by the use of the device and phone conversation. Phone conversations, dialing, answering, and texting all resulted in delays in responding to slowing traffic and, particularly scary, a significant drop in the ability to merge into traffic while using a cell phone.

We all need to think a little more carefully before we get behind the wheel of a car and take a call or try to read a text. If you have teenagers make sure they are not using their cell phone while driving. It is truly a safety issue with deadly consequences.

Read more:
National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration

Flickr Creative Commons

Boating accidents are prevalent in our state which has many lakes and rivers. Last year in Georgia, there were 11 fatalities related to boating accidents. One of the more common reasons for boating accidents is the lack of a skilled boat operator. Too many people are buying their first boat and never taking a boating safety course.

Have you ever hopped on a friend's boat and realized your friend really didn't know a thing about navigating on the water? Even worse are the weekenders, who show up on a warm Saturday and when the sun sets, they don't know to turn on their running lights so other boaters can see them.

The law requires boat operators to remain sober but what else is required? (By the way, boating under the influence is a criminal violation in Georgia just like DUI.) Your boat must be registered and you must have an adequate number of life vests on board. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources offers several excellent boating courses that I recommend not only for boat operators, but for anyone who rides in a boat. And don't forget that even though you may be a knowledgeable boater, the person heading toward you probably isn't. Just like on the highway, drive defensively when you are on the water and have a safe summer!

Resources:

Georgia DNR Boater Education

Boating Statistics

There have been recent changes in Georgia's uninsured motorist law that you should know about. Most of us worry about being in an car accident with an uninsured or underinsured motorist, well a new option in coverage is now available to you. In fact, unless you reject it in writing, you will automatically have the new coverage as long as you already pay for uninsured motorist coverage.

Under the old law, if your uninsured motorist coverage was $100,000 and the at-fault driver's coverage was $25,000 then you had to subtract the coverage available from the at-fault driver from your coverage leaving a total, in this example, of $75,000 in uninsured motorist coverage that you could claim from your own $100,000 policy.

Under the new law, you can stack the coverage, so you add your $100,000 coverage to the at-fault driver's $25,000 and you now have $125,000 in coverage, including your entire $100,000 policy available to you.

Check out the resources below and then call your insurance agent with any questions you have about your uninsured motorist coverage.

More Information:

Uninsured Motorist Coverage New Option

Georgia Office of Insurance

By now you've probably read about the construction investigation underway in the collapse of a large parking deck in Atlanta, Georgia. Construction accidents such as this one are fortunately few and far between. Even more surprising, this was an almost new parking deck completed in 2004. Miraculously no one was injured.

Constructed of concrete and steel, a structurally sound parking garage must meet exact design specifications. The Atlanta Journal reported that a spokesperson for Gateway Development, which owns the Cyntergy parking garage, indicated an exterior beam, called a spandrel beam, "popped out." The beam runs from column to column and the question for investigators is what caused the beam to pop out. Besides looking for structural defects or inappropriate use of materials, investigators will also try to determine if any changes were made to the specifications in the design, such as a change in the angle of a beam.

With a total of 1514 parking spaces, when the single interior section collapsed approximately 35 spaces were affected. Of the 700 cars removed from the deck, 45 were crushed beyond repair and many more had cosmetic damage. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has begun an investigation and Hardin Construction Company which was the acting contractor for the parking garage is cooperating. Hardin was also the contractor of the Atlanta Botanical Gardens pedestrian bridge which collapsed last year killing one person.

Read more:
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Collapse baffles experts

Hardin pledges cooperation in deck probe

Additional Resources:
OSHA: Track Investigations and Inspections

Photo courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons License

Who doesn't remember getting their first PEZ®? There are collectors of PEZ® and PEZ® Clubs. People trade PEZ® on ebay. And now PEZ® is suing a small California museum, the Burlingame Museum of PEZ Memorabilia, for trademark infringement. The museum was founded by devoted PEZ® fans who went to the trouble to have the largest working PEZ® dispenser in the world created for their museum. In fact, the 7'10" snowman dispenser made it into the Guinness Book of World Records.

Yes, PEZ® certainly has a right to protect their trademark dispenser and, in fact, must proactively work to retain that trademark protection, but somehow their suit seems a little skewed. Isn't this a great marketing opportunity? Seems to me that the parties need to sit down at the table with their favorite PEZ® character and work toward an agreeable outcome. Maybe PEZ® could become a sponsor of the museum which already markets and encourages love and affection for the candy dispenser. What could be better than an afternoon at a free PEZ® museum with the opportunity to buy more PEZ® memorabilia?

Read more:

PEZ Not so Sweet on Local Museum

PEZ Sour on Owners of World's Largest Dispenser

PEZ Sues Museum Over Giant Dispenser

Photo courtesy of Christopher at Flckr

With the Georgia drought officially over and the warm summer weather here, Georgia is set for another season of swimming accidents. Over the July 4th weekend, one person drowned in Robin Lake at Callaway Gardens trying to help a 9 year old. Fortunately, the 9 year old was pulled to safety by another person. Even with lifeguards present, the victim was not able to be rescued. Having grown up around water, I know that serious injuries result from water accidents and most are preventable.

Many of us have backyard swimming pools or access to a neighborhood pool. What are your obligations as a host of a swimming party? Common sense says never leave the pool unguarded - always have someone in charge of watching the pool. Make sure your guests know how to swim and if they don't, insist that they wear a life vest.

If you are serving alcohol, it is even more critical that you have a designated person who is not drinking watch the pool while others are swimming. Keep lifesaving equipment next to the pool such as a reaching pole and a ring buoy. You should also have a cordless phone nearby in case you need to make an emergency call.

If you are going to the beach or a lake, make sure there are lifeguards present and use the buddy system when you go in the water. If you are not a strong swimmer put on a life vest. Do not rely on inflatable swim rings, rafts or noodles to keep you afloat. Find out more about preventing swimming accidents at the Red Cross Water Safety page.

Read more:
Officials ID Callaway Drowning Victim

Photo courtesy of Flickr