Georgia Injury Law Blog

Atlanta’s pedestrians, who have only recently managed to avoid accidents walking on slippery ice and trudging through heavy rains, are likely to face more dangers even as the weather clears. The Atlanta Journal Constitution is reporting on a sudden outbreak of thefts in the Atlanta metro area. The thieves seem to be targeting grates and manhole covers across the city.

According to the Georgia Department of Transportation, as many as 645 grates and 20 manhole covers have been stolen around the city. The rash of thefts apparently began last spring.  While the GDOT has tried to use its investigators to catch these thieves, it has had limited success because the stolen grates and covers are scattered all around the Metro Atlanta Area. It’s very likely that these people are recycling the steel. Investigators have checked with recycling centers across the city, and have come up with zilch. This means that the covers are being disposed of outside the Metro Atlanta Area.

The DOT is welding down the grates and new manhole covers. Uncovered holes are being marked with cones and yellow tape. These thefts couldn’t be coming at a worse time for the Georgia DOT. The agency is grappling with a tight budget, and it is estimated that replacing these grates and covers may cost more than $500,000.

Meanwhile, Atlanta slip and fall accident lawyers would encourage pedestrians to watch out for open manhole covers and missing grates. These could pose a serious risk of a slip and fall accident. Falling into an open manhole is no joke. It’s a terrifying ordeal that can at the very least leave a person with fractures and lacerations, and at the worst, cause head and spine injuries.

We would also encourage motorists to look out for suspicious persons working near a grate. A non-GDOT car nearby would be a telltale sign of criminal activity.  

The Atlanta slip and fall accident attorneys at the Katz Law Firm represent persons injured in trip, slip and fall accidents in and around the metro Atlanta, area, and across Georgia.

Posted By Lisa Siegel In Governmental | 0 Comments Permalink

Study Shows no Link between Cell Phone Bans and Accidents

The results of a study last week have sent auto safety advocates, personal injury lawyers in Atlanta and elsewhere, and the auto industry into a tizzy. The study released by the Highway Loss Data Institute and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety indicates that there has been no significant drop in accident claims after laws banning hand held cell phone use while driving were enacted.

The study analyzed accident claims in 4 states that have banned handheld cell phone use while driving, and found no significant drop in accident claims after the bans were enacted. The study has, predictably enough, caused great consternation at the US Department of Transportation, where Secretary Ray LaHood has adopted distracted driving as his pet project. Just last week, the Department of Transportation banned text messaging while driving for commercial bus and truck drivers. Six states have bans on handheld cell phones in place, and several other states are considering similar legislation this y ear.

The findings of the study go against much of what personal injury lawyers in Atlanta and elsewhere, have been stressing over the past couple of years. So, what could have caused these findings, and how much importance should we give to a study that was financed by insurers?

For one thing, the study fails to take into consideration that passing a ban is one thing, and enforcing it is quite another. In short, enforcing a cell phone ban strictly is the key to seeing any results from the legislation. Besides, as Atlanta auto accident lawyers have been saying all along, half hearted measures like text messaging bans and handheld cell phone use bans only deal with half the problem. Using a handsfree set may be perfectly legal, but takes your attention away from the road just as much as using a hand held cell phone would.  As the National Safety Council has advised, the distractions from cell phone use come from the actual conversation that the person is having, and not whether he is using his hand to hold the device. 

Posted By Lisa Siegel In Cell phones | 0 Comments Permalink

Investigators looking into a fatal accident on Interstate 20 believe that bad weather could have been a factor in this crash. The victim, the mother of an 11-month-old infant, had been involved in a minor collision with another motorist. Both women were standing outside their cars when they were hit by a tow truck. The victim sustained serious injuries, and died at the scene of the crash. Investigators now believe that rainy weather could have been a factor in the accident.

With all the weather prediction technologies at our disposal and the precision of meteorological updates, it’s appalling that we continue to see weather-related accidents in Atlanta. We enjoy sunny weather for too much of the year, and the climate can be monotonously predictable, perhaps lulling motorists into complacency. The result is that several motorists and truckers continue to drive as they usually do, even during inclement weather.

Lack of experience with certain weather conditions can be no excuse to drive carelessly. As Atlanta auto accident lawyers, we find it frustrating to read about an increase in auto accidents when the weather gets icy, or when there are sudden showers. Part of your duty as a motorist is to drive not just taking into consideration the road and traffic conditions, but also weather conditions. It’s pure common sense that you need to drive more carefully during storms, strong winds, rains and icy weather conditions.

It doesn’t take rocket science smarts to figure out that you are more likely to lose control of a vehicle on slick streets, in poor visibility, or with heavy winds threatening to push your car off the roads. It’s 2010, and excuses about the weather are simply intolerable to Atlanta car accident lawyers.

Posted By Lisa Siegel In Auto Accident Claims | 0 Comments Permalink

Thirty five truck drivers from Georgia have been honored by UPS for their impeccable driving. The 35 have been admitted to the company’s “Circle of Honor.” The Georgia drivers are among 928 UPS drivers who have been admitted into the elite group this year.

The honor is given to those drivers who have completed 25 years of driving without accidents.  Georgia’s safest UPS driver is Robert Millican Jr. of Flintstone, who has accumulated 40 years of driving without a single accident. Milliken Jr. is placed at 9^th position among 102,000 UPS drivers.

The Circle of Honor is a UPS tradition that celebrates drivers who have completed a quarter century or more without accidents on their record. Out of a total of 2,436 UPS drivers in Georgia, there are now 197 drivers who are members of the Circle of Honor. These drivers have among them a total of 5,693 years of driving without an accident.

As Atlanta truck accident lawyers, our practice also includes helping injured truck drivers who have been involved in accidents. Suffice to say we come across hundreds of drivers every year. We have found most of them to be hard working people with a strong moral fiber and a desire to be safe and help others on the road reach home safely.

These truckers work in what is easily in one of the worst occupations in America. Long hours that begin at the crack of dawn, days away from family and loved ones, loneliness, strenuous loading and unloading, risks of dozing off from fatigue on endless highways, risk of developing obesity, hypertension, diabetes , cardiac disease, sleep apnea and a range of other disorder – a trucker’s life includes all these and more travails. That’s why it is so gratifying to know that so many of Georgia’s UPS drivers have been able to complete 25 years without a single truck accident on their record. To overcome all risk factors and maintain a blemish-free record is definitely worth our appreciation and our thanks!

Posted By Lisa Siegel In Truck Accidents | 0 Comments Permalink

Teenager Killed in Stone Mountain Pedestrian Accident

A Stone Mountain teenager was killed last week in an accident involving a teen motorist. Tanesha Williams was walking to her mother’s home after school when she was struck by the car. According to DeKalb County Police, the 17-year-old driver lost control of the vehicle and drove on to the sidewalk. The other two students with Tanesha suffered moderate injuries. Tanesha died later of her injuries. She was all of 14 years old.

Meanwhile, detectives believe that the teen motorist was likely trying to pass a second car at a high rate of speed. This likely caused the driver to lose control of the car, and driving up on the sidewalk and hitting the three pedestrians. Police still don’t know whether the second car was involved in the accident or if the two cars were racing.

Due to their age and inexperience, teen motorists are more likely to exhibit reckless driving behaviors, like speeding. On this blog, we have been calling for stronger participation from parents, schools, and the broader community in preventing teen motorists-related accidents. It’s important that parents have regular and frank discussions with their children about the dangers of drunk driving, speeding and other reckless behaviors.

Keeping tabs on your children’s driving may seem horribly old fashioned, but a survey last year showed that teen motorists whose parents are involved in their lives and are aware of their whereabouts, were less likely to be involved in accidents. As Atlanta auto accident lawyers and parents ourselves, we would encourage parents to take a much more active role in their children’s driving practices. Some cars even make it easier for parents to monitor their children’s driving.  Ford has its My Key technology that allows parents to set maximum speed limits on their children’s cars, and encourages buckling up by failing to start if the driver or the front seat passenger are not wearing seat belts.

Posted By Lisa Siegel In Pedestrian accidents | 0 Comments Permalink

Boy Escapes Injuries after Fall Down MARTA Elevator Shaft

A 5-year-old boy had a miraculous escape after a fall down an elevator shaft at the Kensington MARTA station earlier this week. The boy was apparently on the second floor of the station, and was leaning against the elevator door when it suddenly opened. The child fell about 12 to 15 feet down, and landed on top of an elevator car. Firefighters used a ladder to get down to the elevator car, placed the child in a Stokes basket and brought him up.

The boy suffered minor injuries and underwent a medical evaluation. He was released, but had to be brought back to the hospital after he began to complain of headaches. MARTA is investigating the accident.

MARTA needs to get to the bottom of how this happened as quickly as possible. This was an accident that could have so easily turned serious. Whether it was a malfunctioning locking mechanism, or staff negligence, we need to know before there are other such accidents with not-so-happy endings. 

When you use a public property, you do so under the assumption that the property has been secured for use. You don’t except there to be wobbly handrails, broken steps, dark corridors, floors slippery with grease or water and other hazards. It is a property owner’s responsibility to maintain safe premises for visitors, guests, customers and others who visit the property. Maintaining safe premises does not mean that the property must be perfect or brand new. It does, however, mean that all reasonable safety standards must be met.

The Atlanta premises liability attorneys at the Katz Law Firm represent injured victims of slip and fall accidents, dog bite attacks, and assaults across the state of Georgia.

Posted By Lisa Siegel In Premises Liability | 0 Comments Permalink

A week of frosty weather in Georgia left a trail of auto accidents, killing several people and injuring more. Now that the worst is over, it’s time to estimate the damage. Insurers are estimating a price tag of $25 million in snow and ice-related insurance claims in Georgia. 

Two of the dead were killed in an accident blamed on icy weather in Lumpkin County last week. The two victims were in a Chevy when the driver lost control and crashed the car into a Ford truck. The 18-year-old passenger in the vehicle was declared dead at the scene, while the driver had to be airlifted to Atlanta Medical Center where he later died.

The accident was just one in a series of snow and ice-related auto crashes last week. Georgia troopers were left overworked and overstressed by the sheer volume of accidents.  Emergency services officers were stretched to the limit, and often found their route to an emergency blocked by yet another accident.  In Atlanta alone, there were 229 accidents between last Thursday night and Friday morning alone, with dozens more accidents occurring as the snow began to melt, leaving a layer of black ice on the road surface.

Unconditioned to driving in icy weather conditions, many Georgians found it impossible to avoid the slipping and sliding that results in serious crashes. One of the larger wrecks involved 29 cars near the Hartsfield Jackson International Airport.  

Survivors of auto accidents, and those who have seen property damage from the bad weather, now have to file claims. Unfortunately, many of them could find that surviving the treacherous weather was a cakewalk, compared to dealing with insurance companies who are looking at millions of dollars in claims over the next few weeks.

The Atlanta insurance litigation attorneys at the Katz Law Firm represent policyholders in cases where claims have been delayed, denied, or where insurance companies are trying to pay out a lower amount than promised, and other insurance litigation matters.

Posted By Lisa Siegel In Insurance Law | 0 Comments Permalink

Highway Safety Group has Traffic Safety Advice for Georgia

As personal injury lawyers serving auto accident victims in Atlanta and around Georgia, we know how better and stronger laws could prevent accidents and fatalities in our state. That has now been confirmed by a report from Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.

The group has released its Road Map Report, which reviewed states based on 15 basic laws that will contribute to lowered fatalities and injuries on American roads. These laws relate to adult occupant protection, teen driving, child passenger safety, drunk driving and distracted driving. The states were then rated based on their adoption of these recommended laws. The ratings were coded in

1.      Green denoting significant advancement toward adoption of basic safety laws,

2.      Yellow, denoting progress, but with several gaps in highway safety laws,

3.      Red, which denotes that the state has failed to adopt basic laws that could minimize fatalities and injuries in accidents

Georgia received a yellow rating, which means we still have to make progress in adopting the safety laws that would prevent injuries in auto accidents. Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety recommends the following safety laws for Georgia:

·        Primary enforcement of seatbelt laws

·        Booster seat laws for children through the age of 7

·        Minimum age 16 for learner’s licenses

·        Nighttime restrictions on GDL without secondary enforcement

·        Passenger and cell phone restrictions on GDL motorists

·        Laws requiring installation of ignition interlock systems on all vehicles of DUI offenders

·        Text messaging restrictions on all drivers

The report says that failure to implement these has caused 1,493 accident fatalities in Georgia in 2008. 

Georgia state officials have chosen to ignore the risks from non seat belt use by pickup truck drivers. Besides, our ignition interlock systems are only required during the last 6 months of a DUI offender’s suspension period. It’s not surprising therefore that Atlanta drunk driving accident lawyers see so many fatal crashes involving repeat DUI offenders driving on suspended licenses. A total ban on text messaging while driving is another potential law that Atlanta auto accident attorneys would support. Last year, there seemed to be some momentum on the seatbelt and cell phone legislations, but unfortunately, it seems to have fizzled out. These laws could possibly save hundreds of lives in auto accidents. Georgia legislators, are you listening?

Posted By Lisa Siegel In Auto Accident Claims | 0 Comments Permalink