Georgia Injury Law Blog

Published on: June 29, 2010

Spinal Cord Injury Treatment Comes from Unlikely Source

American and Japanese researchers have found a potential treatment for spinal cord injury from an unexpected source-mice hair. This week, researchers unveiled their new discovery at the World Congress for Hair Research in Australia.

Researchers stumbled on this astounding discovery by accident. They were examining the skin of mice while researching cancer treatments at the Anti Cancer research lab in San Diego in California. They discovered that mice hair contained cells that, if placed on damaged nerves, could repair these nerves. Researchers used the mice hair to rejoin damaged nerves in mice with a spinal injury. At the conference, a video was shown of a mouse with a spinal injury, recuperating almost completely after being treated with hair cells.

There is enough reason to hope that this treatment can be duplicated in human beings too. Human hair has been found to contain similar cells that have equally beneficial results when used on mice with spinal cord injuries. Researchers believe that chances are high that a damaged human nerve will also respond well to the same kind of hair cell treatment.

Published on: June 28, 2010

Federal Regulation To Decrease Truck Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The Federal government finally decided to crack down on truck companies and truck drivers with poor driving records. According to the Federal Motor Common Carrier Safety Administration website the “Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010, CSA 2010, is a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) initiative to improve large truck and bus safety and ultimately reduce commercial motor vehicle (CMV)-related truck accidents, injuries and fatalities. The initiative has three major components – measurement, evaluation and intervention.Using inspection and truck accident results, the initiative identifies carriers and drivers whose behaviors could reasonably lead to truck accidents and injuries. The FMCSA and its state partners then evaluate the data to create better methods for improving the safety of these problem drivers and companies. Finally, the initiative allows the FMCSA to intervene to resolve safety issues with trucking companies and truck drivers who are unsafe.

However, at a recent meeting in Atlanta, Georgia sponsored by Eyefortransport, trucking companies complained that the new initiative will cause an increase in driver attrition of at least 5 to 8 percent. The American Trucking Association continues to support the initiative, but seeks to have two changes. First, it only wants data regarding accidents considered if the truck driver was determined to be at fault in the accident. Second, it does not want warnings issued by law enforcement officials considered in the data.

Simply put, it is about time that the FMCSA aggressively evaluated the safety and accident records of all truck companies and truck drivers.The initiative is likely to have two significant positive impacts. First, it will result in the removal of unsafe truck drivers from our public highways and roads. Second, it will cause truck drivers to driver more carefully due to the risk of losing their commercial driver’s license.In order to decrease the number of trucking accidents, there needs to be a significant change in how truck drivers choose to driver. The initiative is long overdue and needs to continue to be strengthened and not watered down.

Published on: June 25, 2010

Older Drivers Not Necessarily Bad Drivers

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

More Older Drivers Doesn’t Necessarily Mean More Accidents

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has, in the past, warned about a growing population of senior motorists and the implications for highway safety. The agency had published a study nine years ago, expressing its concerns over the heightened risk of accidents with more numbers of elderly motorists on the road.

As it turns out, those concerns may have been completely misplaced. An updated report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows that although there are more numbers of elderly motorists on the roads, they are not necessarily being involved in more numbers of accidents. In fact, there has been a decline in the number of serious/fatal accidents involving elderly drivers over the past decade.

Published on: June 20, 2010

Reclining Seats Increase Risk of Injuries and Death in Auto Accident

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

It is not something that we give a second thought to while riding in someone’s vehicle. In fact, most of us have probably done it at some time or the other. We are talking about reclining the passenger seat when you’re in a moving vehicle, for some quick shut eye. However, a recent study indicates that you have an increased risk of injury in an auto accident if you seat is reclining.

Trauma care doctors at the Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center studied a pattern of injuries in passengers who were in reclining seats during an auto accident. The researchers found that no matter which part of the country these accidents occurred, passengers who were in reclined seats were much more likely to suffer head injuries, spinal cord fractures, leg injuries and severe chest trauma. In fact, the study found that when the passenger was in a partially reclined seat, his fatality risk shot up by 15%, and if he was in a fully reclined seat, his fatality risk spiked by up to 70%.

Reclining seats have long been touted by auto makers as an affordable piece of luxury. However, not many passengers are aware that their risk of death in an auto accident increases dramatically, if they’re in a reclining seat at the time of the crash. Automakers have always known about these risks. That’s why most of them mention these risks in the car’s user manual. Unfortunately these warnings, when they do appear, are always in obscure fine print, the kind that hardly anyone bothers to read. That lack of warning is very disturbing to Atlanta accident lawyers, considering the dramatically diminished odds of surviving an accident if you’re in a reclining seat.

Published on: June 19, 2010

Motorcycle Safety Tips for Summer – Avoiding Motorcycle Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Summer also happens to be motorcycling season across Georgia.Thousands of motorcyclists will take to the highways this summer and, unfortunately, many of them will be involved in a motorcycle accident. They can accept warm weather, clear skies, and unfortunately, also plenty of hostile motorists. There are several things that motorcyclists can keep in mind to help them to avoid an accident and serious injuries.

As Atlanta motorcycle accident lawyers, we would like to stress the need for both motorists and motorcyclists to cooperate to prevent accidents this summer.One of the best things that a novice motorcyclist can do to minimize the risk of accidents and injuries is to take a safety training program before beginning motorcycling. Even if you have been an avid motorcyclist in the past and have spent a few years without riding, it’s highly recommended that you take a motorcycle training program to brush up your skills. These training courses provide excellent tips for avoiding accidents.

Wear protective gear. A helmet is an absolute must. Also wear protective leather clothing including jackets and boots.

Published on: June 18, 2010

Georgia’s Anti-Distracted Driving Efforts Likely to Decrease Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The Governor’s Highway Safety Association has just released a report that outlines the different steps states have taken to combat distracted driving and thereby prevent auto accidents. The report will be of special interest to persons injured in auto accidents and their lawyers because Georgia has just passed a law that bans text messaging while driving for all motorists.

The report titledCurbing Distracted Driving: 2010 State Safety Programs details the activities and programs undertaken by various states to deal with the problem of distracted driving causing accidents. Georgia ranks very well in certain sections of the report. The state has included distracted driving as part of its Highway Safety Plan. However, Georgia does not collect data about distracted driving-related auto accidents. The National Safety Council estimates that approximately 28% of all accidents nationwide are linked to distracted driving.With statistics like this, it’s about time that Georgia also began collecting data about distracted-driving related auto accidents.

The report also contained the results of a survey conducted in 2008 by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia focusing on teen motorists. The survey found that only 28 % of teen motorists believed that talking on the cell phone while driving makes a difference to driving safety.A significant number of motorists in the survey, 57%, said that they had seen their friends talking on the phone while driving a car. However, only 19% had witnessed a friend texting while driving.

Published on: June 17, 2010

Sleep Deprivation as a Factor in Teen Auto Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

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.

Published on: June 13, 2010

Preventing Injuries — Seatbelt Reminder for Georgia’s Pickup Truck Drivers

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Last week Gov. Sonny Perdue signed a new bill requiring all pickup truck drivers in Georgia to wear seatbelts while driving their trucks. The bill takes direct aim at persons who die and are injured in truck accidents each year. According to the Georgia Department of Transportation, there were more than 70,000 auto accidents involving pickup trucks in Georgia last year. These killed 187 drivers and 40 passengers and resulted in a large number of personal injuries. Many of these deaths and injuries could have been prevented if a law had required all pickup truck drivers to buckle up.

Wearing seatbelts should be a matter of common sense, and not a law. It shouldn’t require a law to get pickup truck drivers to do the one thing that could dramatically reduce their chances of injuries or death in a truck accident. However, legislators in rural Georgia have always managed to scuttle any proposal to require seatbelts for pickup truck drivers despite the number of injuries and death caused by truck accidents each year.

With this new law, Georgia will not only manage to save lives and prevent injuries every year, but will also be eligible for federal highway funds. For years, Georgia has lost out on its share of federal funds, because of its failure to enact mandatory seatbelt laws for all.

Published on: June 11, 2010

Study Shows Drunk Driving Still a Major Problem among College Students

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

In spite of all efforts by college and university authorities to crack down on binge drinking, drunk driving and other alcohol-related issues facing college students, there seems to have been little progress made on this front. In a new study, too many college students admitted to riding with a drunk driver, driving after drinking and driving while intoxicated. Of course, the risk of severe injuries in auto accidents dramatically rises when a drunk driver is involved in the accident.

Researchers at the Center on Young Adult Health and Development at the University Of Maryland School of Public Health followed 1250 college students over four years. The students were interviewed every year about traveling in a car with a drunk driver, driving after having a few drinks and driving under the influence of alcohol.

The researchers found disturbing results. After the first year, more than 40% of the students admitted to traveling in a car with a drunk driver, while more than half said they had driven after drinking. Approximately 20% said they had driven while drunk.

Published on: June 10, 2010

Fewer Injuries for Unbelted Motorists with Airbag Deployment

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

It seems like a cruel trade-off. A new study shows that motorists involved in auto accidents who are wearing seatbelts may actually be at a higher risk of fatal injury in an accident when their vehicle is equipped with airbags, compared to unbelted motorists, who suffered fewer injuries.

The study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety focused on more than 3,600 motorists between 2004 and 2007 who were involved in auto accidents. The researchers were stunned to find that motorists who used their seatbelts were up to 21% more likely to suffer fatal injuries in an auto accident, compared to motorists who were not wearing their seatbelts. The airbag designs in all these cases have been around since 2004, and, since 2008, have been part of the federal mandate for airbags. That means there are millions of cars out there equipped with these airbags, which seem to protect unbelted motorists against injury after an auto accident better than they do motorists who are safely buckled in.

There are no solid explanations for the results, but there are some theories out there.