fatal injuries

Published on: June 8, 2022

Data Shows Universal Motorcycle Helmet Laws Effective at Preventing Fatalities

A motorcycle accident is more likely to result in fatal injuries than any other type of motor vehicle accident. This is mainly because a motorcycle rider does not have the protection being in an enclosed vehicle, but also because many motorcycle accidents can result in serious head injuries. This is why a wearing a motorcycle helmet while riding a motorcycle is critical in preventing injury.

Georgia is one among several states that have universal motorcycle helmet laws requiring all riders and passengers on motorcycles to wear helmets while riding. Data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows that universal helmet laws go a long way in increasing helmet usage among passengers and riders, thereby preventing the kind of serious crash-related injuries that can result in death. If you are riding a motorcycle in Atlanta, you must wear a helmet regardless of your age, riding experience or whether you are a rider or a passenger on a motorcycle.

Universal motorcycle helmet laws make sense, and it can be hard to understand why only a few states have these laws in place. It wasn’t always like this. Several decades ago, the administration had tied universal motorcycle helmet laws to state accessibility to construction funds. As a result, all states excluding 3, had universal helmet laws. However, when these incentives were removed, many states went ahead with the decision to repeal universal helmet laws within their borders. This has proved to be a disaster for some of these states that have recorded high percentages of traffic accident fatalities involving motorcycle crashes since the laws were repealed.

Published on: December 24, 2009

Woman in Atlanta Wrong-Way Accident Succumbs to Injuries

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

It’s the fourth wrong way driving accident-related death in recent weeks in the Atlanta area. Last weekend, a mother and a son were seriously injured when their SUV collided head-on with another SUV that was traveling the wrong way in John’s Creek. The accident was caused when Raymond Myrand drove his SUV eastbound in a westbound lane. Alpharetta-resident Myrand died at the scene of the accident, while the woman and her 12-year-old son sustained critical injuries.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution now confirms the sad news that the mother has succumbed to her injuries. Her son continues to remain in the hospital, and is expected to recover from his injuries.John Creek police are continuing their investigation into why Myrand ended up driving the wrong way and on a collision path with the SUV.

As Atlanta personal injury lawyers, we have been blogging about a series of such wrong way driving accidents in Atlanta recently. In fact, the mother here is the fourth fatality in such accidents in recent weeks. The dead include a woman who was killed on the 21^st of November when her car was involved in a head on collision with a wrong way driver. The driver in that accident was intoxicated, and has been charged with DUI and vehicular homicide. Three people were injured in that accident, including the women’s two children. Last week, a 25-year-old woman was killed in a head-on collision with a man driving north in the southbound lanes of the Downtown Connector.

Published on: August 19, 2009

Elderly Lexington Couple Mauled to Death in Dog Attack

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Elderly Lexington Couple Mauled to Death in Dog Attack

Mystery still surrounds the death of a retired professor and his wife, apparently from a vicious dog attack.

On Saturday, the mutilated bodies of retired UGA professor 77-year-old Luther Karl Schweder, and his wife 65-year-old Sherry were found near their home in Lexington. Preliminary autopsies showed that Sherry had died from dog bite injuries. Her husband’s autopsy results are not yet available. But it’s very likely that Luther Schweder also died from injuries in the dog attack.