Personal Injury

Published on: March 3, 2009

Accident, Injury Prevention Features still not Standard on all Passenger Vehicles

Electronic stability control, side impact airbags, neck restraint systems – these are just some of the high tech, innovative, auto safety features that manufacturers have developed and improvised to near perfection in recent years, in an effort to reduce the number of car accidents and injuries caused by vehicle collisions. Although these are becoming popular with car buyers, they are far from standard on all passenger cars, which means that motorists who wish to have these features in their vehicles should be prepared to shell out extra dollars for them.

The New York Times has this story on how some of the most ballyhooed car safety features continued to be optional on several car models. Electronic stability control (ESC) systems are one of the most impressive new auto safety technologies to make it out of R&D facilities in recent years. The system makes use of computerized sensors that can tell when a car is in danger of losing grip of the road. When a potential loss of traction is detected, the system automatically applies the brakes so there is no loss of control. Cars may be especially prone to skidding or loss of control when they turn at high speeds, or accelerate or brake suddenly. Loss of control in such instances can cause the car to roll over, exposing occupants to serious injuries. With an ESC system working in your car, the risk of an accident is dramatically reduced.

ESC systems will be standard on all vehicles by 2012. They are currently very popular with buyers who will pay extra for an ESC system if it is not included as part of a standard features package. However, in times of a recession, paying extra, sometimes up to $ 2,000 extra for a package that includes an ESC system may not be in every buyer’s budget. In times of economic turmoil, it’s more important than ever that automakers design their cars with a view to minimizing accidents and injuries that take a heavy economic toll. Like David Champion who is the senior director of automotive testing at Consumer Reports says, manufacturers shouldn’t be making it more expensive for buyers to access proven safety gear like ESC systems or side impact airbags.

Published on: January 9, 2009

Dog in Dekalb County Attack Quarantined

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Dog in DeKalb County Attack Quarantined

The dog that attacked and bit an adult male and two children in a house in Lithonia, DeKalb County continues to be quarantined, while the victims have threatened legal action unless the pit bull is put to sleep.

Maurice Jones has had to undergo treatment at the hospital for wounds sustained in the attack that occurred when the pit bull came chasing after two children, and into the yard of the house he was in.The dog apparently belonged to a neighbor, and although there has been no confirmation yet, it seems to have escaped through a broken down fence that separated the two houses.The two children who were also attacked, including a three-year-old child, sustained serious injuries, including head injuries.

Published on: September 19, 2008

Insurance Giant AIG Now Owned by US Government

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

This week in a stunning shake up of the financial markets, AIG, the largest property and casualty insurer in the world, was saved from bankruptcy when the federal government stepped in at the last hour with an $85 million bridge loan of United States taxpayer money.

On Wednesday, the feds orchestrated the loan along with taking an 80 percent ownership interest in the company.That’s right, the United States government now owns the world’s largest property and casualty insurance business. While the federal government interceding to takeover and in effect nationalize an ailing private company is not unprecedented, it was a rare occurrence in the United States until this week.

AIG’s biggest block of business, general insurance, accounts for nearly half of the holding company’s $110 billion revenue.However, AIG’s financial unit was heavily involved in providing credit default insurance, which was linked to subprime mortgages.

Published on: September 12, 2008

Injuries Caused by Lightning at Outdoor Sporting Event

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Twelve people were injured this week in Houston County when lightning struck at an outdoor middle school football game.One adult is in critical condition.Lightning struck while crowds were evacuating the stands.

As school has resumed, outdoor athletic events are taking place during what has been an excessive storm season.When storms threaten, school officials and coaches must not let their desire to compete in the sport override crowd and player safety.

Each year many people are killed or injured due to misinformation and inappropriate conduct during thunderstorms.Lightning casualties have increased at sporting events and for children of school age.Most of this trend is related to outdoor sporting activities.Hence, schools and other sports organizations need to develop specific policies for lightning safety at sports events.

Published on: July 2, 2008

Six Flags Ride Kills Teen

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

On Saturday, June 28^th, seventeen year-old Asia LeeShawn Ferguson, was decapitated when he was struck by the Batman roller coaster at Six Flags over Georgia in Austell, Georgia.

Witnesses report that Ferguson, who was with his family and a church group from South Carolina, scaled two perimeter fences with another teenage friend and entered a danger zone inside the ride area.

Although some witnesses indicate Ferguson was trying to retrieve a lost hat or possibly touch the feet of riders on the ride, Cobb County police dismissed those rumors as unsubstantiated.Instead, Ferguson and his friend may simply have been trying to re-enter the park from the parking lot rather than using the main entrance as required.

Published on: April 29, 2008

School Bus Accidents Rampant in April

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

April has been a bad month for school bus accidents.We covered this subject in March when a Cherokee County school bus overturned and several students were taken to area hospitals.Since then, school bus accidents continue to be the subject of local news programs across the country.Many students suffered serious personal injuries as a result.

Monday morning of this week, two Pope High School students were injured when a car, driven by a teenage driver, ran up on the sidewalk and struck them.A fifteen-year-old girl was flown by helicopter to Children’s Hospital at Scottish Rite and is in critical condition.A seventeen-year-old boy was taken to Kennestone Hospital and treated and released.

The driver of the Jeep, Corey O’Connell, was driving northbound when a Nissan Maxima stopped in front of him to make a left-hand turn.He did not see the stopped car in time, swerved onto the sidewalk, and ran over a fire hydrant and an electrical box before striking the students with his vehicle.He has been charged with following too closely and failure to maintain his lane.

Published on: March 17, 2008

Tornados Wreak Havoc; Bad Faith in Issue

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A Friday night tornado ripped through downtown Atlanta, causing serious damage to buildings in the business district.Inside the CNN Center, water flooded parts of the building, shattered glass littered the floor and dust and debris entered from the torn roof. Next door at the Georgia Dome the SEC conference basketball game was halted.The storm ripped part of the ceiling of the dome off.

On Saturday afternoon, a second tornado claimed the lives of two victims in Bartow and Floyd County in north Georgia. That twister was five times wider and stayed on the ground longer than the Friday tornado.One victim was killed when her home was flattened; flying debris killed the other.

Spring is peak season for tornados.Most tornados occur in what is known as “Tornado Alley” which is the plains of the central and southern states – east of the Rocky Mountains and west of the Appalachian Mountains.The most frequently hit states are Florida, Oklahoma and Texas.Wind speeds vary from 100 to 300 miles per hour and most tornados are two miles long.Tornados come from the energy released in a thunderstorm.

Published on: March 12, 2008

Students Injured in Canton Bus Accident

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A school bus carrying 27 students overturned on March 3, 2008 in Canton, Georgia.Twenty-six students were taking to area hospitals, but none were seriously injured.The driver, Luis Monserrate, was charged with failure to maintain a lane.

According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the driver let the school bus dip off the roadway onto the shoulder.He then overcorrected, causing the bus to veer off the road.The bus clipped a utility pole and then overturned.

Currently, there are 585,000 school buses in use in the nation.Over twenty-three million children travel on school buses each year.The Transportation Research Board reports that school buses are the safest mode of transportation for students. School bus accidents account for 6000 injuries annually and 20 deaths.Compared to incidents caused by adult drivers transporting students in a private vehicle, these cause 51,000 injuries and 169 deaths annually.Most deaths occur from students boarding or exiting buses.

Published on: January 14, 2008

Accident Injury Patients Suffer as Grady Hospital in Critical Condition

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

January 14, 2008

The Georgia General Assembly begins its 2008 session today. Constitutionally, the legislature is charged with approving a budget for the state. One critical item on this year’s agenda must be saving cash-strapped Grady Memorial Hospital, which is in critical condition.

Grady Memorial Hospital (“Grady”), in the heart of downtown Atlanta, serves 850,000 outpatients a year and admits 30,000 inpatients. It is the only Level One Trauma Center in north Georgia, and it provides the city of Atlanta’s only emergency ambulance fleet. In addition to treating accident victims, Grady has the state’s only poison center and has an esteemed burn center. Serious accident victims are often transferred to Grady for care.

Published on: January 7, 2008

Personal Injuries Caused by Faulty MARTA Escalator

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Varying reports have now appeared about a MARTA escalator incident on New Year’s Eve.At first the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported, “a bunch rowdy college football fans lost their footing” when one of the Five Points MARTA station escalator’s malfunctioned.Eleven people were injured in the accident.

According to riders, the escalator suddenly began running backwards at four to five times its normal speed.The sudden reverse escalation caused the riders to fall to the stairs in a heap.Over 50 people were dropped to the station platform.One person sustained a broken leg, and 11 people were transferred to the hospital.

MARTA officials blamed the mishap on this group of “rowdies” and said “people should learn not to mess around.”Eyewitnesses disputed such behavior.Three days later MARTA admitted that three transit escalators in two stations failed that day. A MARTA spokesperson revealed that the braking system on two escalators failed at the Five Points station and one failed at the Georgia Dome station all on News Year’s Eve.The escalators were subsequently shut down and are under repair.The next day the Atlanta Journal Constitution demanded that MARTA “take aggressive steps to eliminate persistent equipment problems.”