Georgia Injury Law Blog

Published on: April 7, 2010

Georgia House Passes Ban on Texting While Driving

Georgia House Passes Ban on Texting While Driving

The Georgia House last week passed a bill that will ban texting while driving for all motorists, and cell phone use for motorists below the age of 18. The bill will now go to the Senate, and Atlanta injury lawyers are hoping for the passing of a long-awaited legislation that will reduce the risk of distracted driving on our streets.

Bill 938 was approved by a 134-31 vote. It now goes to the Georgia Senate, and if the Senate does what Atlanta accident lawyers hope it will, then the bill will go to Gov. Sonny Perdue, and finally become law. The sponsor of the bill Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon, says the bill is a no-brainer, given the widely recognized risks of texting while driving.

Published on: April 6, 2010

NASA Investigates Toyota Defects

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The investigation into the causes of acceleration in Toyota vehicles has taken a unexpected turn, with the Obama administration this week announcing that it was bringing in NASA scientists to help with the investigation.

There has speculation for quite a few weeks now that the causes for the acceleration go beyond floor mats or gas pedals. Space radiation experts have put forward the theory that modern vehicles with the massive amount of electronic circuitry they have on board, could be at risk from interference from space radiation. The effects of such radiation on consumer goods like cell phones and computers, have been known for a while now. These space radiation experts believe that Toyota cars, which come with massive amounts of electronics, could be at special risk for interference from cosmic rays. The announcement that the Toyota probe will now include NASA scientists has lent credence to those theories.

The Obama administration has also asked the National Academy of Sciences undertake a separate study into computer technologies in vehicles. This study will last for 15 months. The study is expected to look into the potential of computer malfunctioning and electromagnetic interference as factors in acceleration in these vehicles.

Published on: March 30, 2010

Elevator Injuries Among Senior Citizens on the Rise

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Study Indicates Rise in Elevator Injuries Among Senior Citizens

Every year, thousands of elderly persons are injured in elevator accidents. That information comes via a study conducted by researchers at the Department of public health at the Indiana University School of Medicine. According to the researchers, elderly persons are likely to suffer slip and fall accidents, or get caught between elevator doors. Those are two of the most common ways senior citizens suffer injuries in elevators.

The researchers studied data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission between 1990 and 2006. They found that there were approximately 44,870 elevator injuries involving the elderly, during this period of time. The injuries were serious enough for the person to be admitted to the hospital. Fifty one percent of these injuries were caused by slip and fall accidents. The most frequently seen injuries were sprains, followed by fractures and cuts. Hip fractures were the most common injuries that required admission into a hospital. Most injuries involved women, and the risk of injuries increased with the age of the victim.

Published on: March 25, 2010

Pickup Truck Drivers to Buckle Up Per Georgia Senate Bill

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Georgia Senate Passes Landmark Bill Requiring Pickup Truck Drivers to Buckle up

On this very blog, we have frequently discussed Georgia’s failures in enacting mandatory seatbelt laws that include pickup truck drivers. The law relegated Georgia to the backwoods of traffic safety, with our state being the very last in the country to hold on to an archaic law allowing pick up occupants to go without bucking up. Not anymore. The Georgia Senate has passed a bill that will make it mandatory for pickup truck drivers to buckle up.

The failure to buckle up contributes to the deaths of approximately 67% of all pickup drivers killed in accidents. Those rates have galvanized Atlanta car accident attorneys, and citizens groups. Buckling up might be pure common sense, but as we have seen, you need laws to get people to do the sensible thing and save their own lives. With this bill, pickup drivers in Georgia will have a much higher chance of surviving an accident.

Published on: March 24, 2010

Georgia Bicycle Safety Bill Gaining Speed

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Support Grows for Georgia Bicycle Safety Bill

More than 1,000 bicyclists converged in Atlanta yesterday in a show of support for a pending piece of legislation that would create a safety zone around bicycles, preventing the risk of injuries and accidents.

The bill is similar to other legislation already in effect in 16 other states around the country. It has been widely supported by bicycle safety groups and Atlanta bicycle accident lawyers. The bill, HB988 will establish a 3-foot safety zone around a bicyclist. Motorists will be required to maintain the 3-foot zone while passing a bicyclist. This will greatly increase safety for these bikers, who often find themselves run off roads and frightened by honking cars that get too close to them.

Published on: March 23, 2010

Georgia Throws out $350,000 Cap on Medical Malpractice Claims

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Georgia SC Throws Out $350,000 Cap on Noneconomic Damages in Medical Malpractice Claims

It’s been a while coming, but the much-awaited judgment that trial lawyers in Atlanta and victims of medical malpractice have been waiting for, is finally here. The Georgia Supreme Court yesterday threw out the $350,000 cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice claims.. The ruling nullifies a key provision of tort reform laws passed by Georgia’s legislators in 2005.

The 7-0 Supreme Court decision involves the case of Betty Nestlehutt, who suffered severe disfigurement after a botched plastic surgery procedure. Nestlehutt had visited Atlanta Oculoplastic Surgery to correct bags around her eyes. The resulting procedure left wounds on her cheeks, which have since resulted in permanent scarring.

Published on: March 19, 2010

Georgia Roads Are Both Deadly and Desirable

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Georgia Has Best and Deadliest Roads in the US

A study published in Reader’s Digest magazine indicates dichotomies in Georgia’s road safety. The state’s roads are some of the best in the country indicated by their position at number 13 on the list. However oddly enough, Georgia’s roads are also mentioned as some of the deadliest in the country, placed at number 20 on a different list.

So, how could our roads be safe and a pleasure to drive on, and still be linked to an inordinate number of accidents and fatalities?

Published on: March 18, 2010

Truck Driver Safety Spearheaded by Jason’s Law

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The widow of a trucker, who was killed during a robbery as he parked his truck in an abandoned gas station, is spearheading legislation to allocate funds for truck stop and rest area expansion across the country.

Hope Rivenburg’s husband Jason was shot on March 5, 2009 by a robber at a gas station in South Carolina. Rivenburg was waiting for a milk store to open to make his delivery. At the time of his death, Hope was pregnant with their twins.

A year later, Hope Rivenburg is lobbying for legislators to pass Jason’s Law. The legislation will pay for a pilot program to build new parking facilities and rest areas in high-tech corridors across the country that are currently starved for such truck stops. The law will also provide for enhancement of current truck stops, opening up of current parking facilities to allow parking of trucks, and easier access to safe parking areas.

Published on: March 17, 2010

Bicycle Safety Enhanced by Google Maps

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Last week, Google rolled out its new Google bike maps feature that does for bicyclists what it already does for motorists. The feature provides bicyclists quick and safe routes to get to their destination.

Bikers have been calling for adding biking directions to Google Maps for a while now. A petition containing more than 50,000 signatures from bicyclists was sent to Google, asking the search engine giant to develop a map feature exclusively for bicyclists. That moment is here, and bicyclists couldn’t be happier about it. As bicycle accident lawyers in Atlanta, we couldn’t be more pleased at the way Google has stepped in to make biking not just quicker and more convenient for bicyclists, but also safer.

According to Google, the bike routes have been developed taking into consideration the safest way for a biker to get to his destination. The routes avoid crowded and congested streets, streets with no bike lanes, streets with a high volume of traffic, busy intersections, narrow streets and hills.

Published on: March 15, 2010

Baby Slings Pose Suffocation Risk

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Baby slings, those soft and snuggly baby carriers that are all the rage, have now come under the microscope at the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The agency is expected to make an announcement later this week, warning about the special risks of suffocation to babies, especially newborns, who are placed in these slings.

CPSC chairperson Inez Tenenbaum is expected to make the announcement, warning parents about the high risk of suffocation in certain kinds of sling designs. The risk, according to child safety experts, comes from the fact that many of the designs allow babies to settle into a comfortable fetal position, that can have their chin touching their chest. In a position like this, there is a high risk of a respiratory blockage, and consequent suffocation. Some brands like the “Sling Rider” from Infantino have been named as posing a special risk because of the design. Besides, babies may be at risk in these slings when they turn towards the person carrying them, and become smothered in their clothes.

The risks from baby slings are not entirely new to injury lawyers in Atlanta. There have been at least seven confirmed reports of deaths of infants who have suffocated in these slings.In 2008, there were dozens of instances of babies falling out of the fabric slings, and injuring themselves.