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It may be surprising to know that as many as half of all child passengers in the United States are travelling in car seats and booster seats that are incorrectly installed or not suitable for the child’s age or weight specifications. Yet, many parents continue to remain unaware that they may be placing their child at risk of serious injuries in an accident.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is sponsoring Child Passenger Safety Week between September 15 and September 21 this year. The aim of the campaign is to make sure that parents know the importance of securing their child in the correct car seat for his age or weight, as well as making sure that the car seat is properly secured and installed. Parents should also remember to get their child’s car seat registered with the manufacturer.

One of the most important things to remember is to make sure that the car seat is installed correctly. You can get your car seat checked by a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician to ensure that it is correctly installed. Find a car safety seat inspection technician near you by using this tool. Remember, an incorrectly installed car seat is at risk of coming loose or collapsing in an accident, causing serious injuries to the child.

A brain injury is one of the most devastating injuries a person can suffer in an accident.  Brain injuries are not only debilitating to the victim, but they can have a tremendous impact on the victim’s family as well.

Car accidents as well as slip, or trip, and fall accidents are two of the most common causes of brain injuries.  And as serious as brain injuries are, they are also, surprisingly, one of the most difficult and complicated injuries to diagnose and treat.   According to the International Brain Injury Association, approximately 1.5 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) every year.  Of these, 75% are classified as mild TBI.  Unfortunately, a mild TBI is often unnoticed or misdiagnosed because many victims do not have visible symptoms that most people associate with a brain injury.  Because of this, the mild TBI has been called a “silent epidemic.” However, the term “mild” can be misleading as these injuries can still have long-term and devastating complications on a victim’s life.

Many times a person may have been involved in a slip and fall or a car accident and, although he or she may not think they sustained serious injuries, could very well be overlooking some classic symptoms of a brain injury or mild TBI.   Symptoms of a brain injury or mild TBI include (1) any period of loss of consciousness, even if just for a few seconds, (2) any loss of memory immediately before or after the accident, (3) any altered state of mind such as confusion or disorientation at the time of the accident, (4) any neurological problems including speech, vision or hearing, (5) headache, nausea or vomiting, and (5) fatigue, sleepiness or dizziness.

We have all seen it too often in the Atlanta area – delivery drivers and other commercial vehicles driving too fast or recklessly for the traffic conditions in an attempt to get to where they need to be.  Recently, there have been a few cases in the news where a driver of a commercial vehicle was involved in a car accident while on the job.  In one case, a delivery driver of a very well-known sandwich company rear-ended another vehicle causing injuries to both people in the car that was hit.  In other cases, a tractor trailer driver crossed a median and caused a head-on collision resulting in catastrophic injuries.  And earlier this year, a limousine driver was driving too fast for the conditions causing the limo to swerve off the road and killing all eighteen of its passengers.

In all of these cases, the offending driver of the commercial vehicle was on the job when the accident occurred.  In such situations, the employer of the negligent driver can be held liable for their employee’s actions.  Under Georgia law, if an employee causes a car accident while driving a vehicle owned by his employer, it is presumed that the employee was acting in the scope of his employment.  In order to avoid being held liable for the accident, the employer must show that the employee was not acting in the scope of his employment at the time the accident occurred.  This doctrine is known as vicarious liability.

An employer can also be liable for their employee’s negligence under the theory of negligent entrustment.   In order to recover compensation against an employer for their employee’s negligence, you must be able to show that the employer had actual knowledge of the employee’s negligent behavior.  In other words, if the employer knew that their employee had a pattern of, or caused, other prior accidents, while on the job, the employer could be held liable if they did not take any action to prevent their employee from causing any further accidents.

After someone has been injured in an accident, or due to someone else’s negligence, most people are focused on seeking medical treatment, recovering, and getting their life back on track.  One of the last things on their minds it making sure that they file a lawsuit on time.  However, filing your injury claim on time is one of the most important steps you can take to protect your rights after an accident.

In a recent case in Pennsylvania, a court denied a woman’s lawsuit for personal injuries sustained when a sponge was left inside her following a surgery.  The judge in that case found that the woman waited too long, almost 11 years after her surgery, to file her lawsuit.  Therefore, her case against the defendant doctors was dismissed.

Each state has different deadlines by which a personal injury lawsuit must be filed.  The time period to file a lawsuit is referred to as the statute of limitations.

A wrongful death claim can help offset many of the financial damages caused by the death of a family member. In the state of Georgia, it is also important to file the claim timely before the deadline passes.  This is one of the main reasons you should consult with an attorney soon after the accident to protect all of your legal rights.

Wrongful death claims can help family members and survivors recover compensation for the loss of the decedent’s income, loss of future earning and other damages like loss of affection, loss of parental guidance, and loss of consortium, as in the case of the death of a spouse.

A wrongful death claim can arise when a death has occurred as the result of the negligence of another. Examples can be claims that are filed after deaths in car or motorcycle crashes, deaths in slip and fall accidents, or deaths that occur as a result of the use of a defective product.  The statute of limitations may differ depending on the circumstances of the incident that has occurred.

Aggressive driving is defined as driving that involves a combination of one or more traffic offenses that place other motorists at risk of an accident. If you have been involved in a motor vehicle accident involving an aggressive driver, it’s important to understand your legal rights and hire the best attorney.

An aggressive driver could be engaged in a number of different driving practices that threaten his own safety, and the safety of people around him. Aggressive drivers often don’t consider the human element, and have little regard for the safety of other motorists, cyclists and pedestrians. Simply stated, a motor vehicle in the hands of an aggressive driver turns into a dangerous weapon.

Typically, the following driving behaviors may be included in the definition of aggressive driving.

When it comes to car accidents, there’s a broad spectrum of damage and the emotions that accompany it. From the bitter annoyance of your car getting bumped in a parking lot to the absolute turmoil of a more serious, life threatening accident. Where ever an accident falls on the spectrum, there is one emotion that can follow any accident: dread. In the weeks following a very minor incident in a crowded parking garage, I felt this dread. My driving became hyper aware, nervous that a possible accident was around ever corner. While this rapt attention is certainly appropriate, the dread only subsided when I recognized how to react when an accident does occur. In this post today, we’ll discuss what to do when you’re in an accident.

Keep in mind, every accident is different. Some steps apply more to certain types of car accidents than others. Think of each step as being prefaced with “as necessary.”

1. Stay calm!

A new study is raising questions about whether delayed school timings could decrease the number of auto accidents in which teenagers are involved. The thought is that helping teenagers get enough sleep at night would allow them to drive more safely the next day thereby decreasing the likelihood of auto accidents.

The study conducted by researchers in Virginia, compared two towns, Chesapeake and Virginia Beach. In Virginia Beach, classes started at around 7:20 AM, and the number of auto accidents involving teen motorists there was 41% higher than the number of auto accidents in Chesapeake, where the classes started at around 8:40 AM.

This wasn’t the first study that indicated that lack of sleep may be another contributing factor increasing a teen motorist’s risk of an accident. Last year, a study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, found that there was a reduction in teen auto accident rates by approximately 16.5% when school times were delayed by an hour.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/21/technology/21distracted.html?_r=1

Previously undisclosed documents that have now been made public, courtesy the Freedom of Information Act, show that federal auto safety agencies had access to thousands of pages of research that showed a clear risk of increased number of accidents because of cell phone use by motorists.In fact, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had that information back in 2003, but chose not to make it public.

The documents have been obtained by two consumer safety groups, Public Citizen and the Center for Auto Safety who filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act.The documents have been published by the New York Times.