injury from truck accidents

Published on: January 7, 2011

Students Injured in a Truck Accident in Cherokee County

There has been yet another serious school bus accident in Georgia.Six students on a school bus suffered personal injuries in a truck accident in Cherokee County over the weekend.The accident involved a school bus and a tractor-trailer.The bus was taking students to the Free Home Elementary School when it struck a tractor-trailer early Tuesday morning.The bus driver, truck driver, and six students of the school suffered personal injuries in the crash and had to be taken to the hospital.

The year 2010 proved to be a dangerous year for Georgia school children.A number of accidents involving school buses and other vehicles were recorded last year, and some of these ended in personal injuries and even fatalities.The accident is under investigation, but according to CBS Atlanta, the school bus driver was a substitute driver.She had been with the Cherokee County School System since November.By all accounts, she had had sufficient hands-on training according to state laws.However, some parents have been questioning whether her driving was sufficient.

Besides, this school bus accident also brings up the question of seat belts on school buses.Atlanta personal injury lawyers would like to see some movement in this direction in 2011.New bus safety rules that were announced in 2010 include charter and intercity buses, but not school buses.This is in spite of the fact that school buses transport some of the most vulnerable passengers, and are at a high risk of being injured in an accident.

Published on: October 26, 2010

Pedestrian Child Critically Injured in McDuffie County Bus Accident involving Truck

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Georgia State Patrol investigators are investigating a pedestrian accident involving a third-grade boy, who was critically injured in an accident as he was getting into his school bus. The pedestrian accident occurred last Tuesday.As the school bus pulled over, the boy who was waiting at the stop, walked into the road to get on the bus.At that point, he was struck by a pickup truck. The boy was thrown about 50 feet away from the point of impact.He sustained critical injuries, and is being treated at a local hospital.

The driver of the school bus says that he had stopped the bus, and a stop sign was clearly visible at the time of the accident.However, the driver of the pickup truck insists that the bus had not stopped moving when the accident occurred, and the stop sign was not out when his vehicle hit the boy.Neighbors in the area have their own explanation for the accident.They say there’s a serious problem with speeding motorists on that stretch of road.

This accident came during the same week as another crash involving a school bus in Barrow County.In that accident, several students were injured when their bus was rear-ended by a Jeep.None of the students were seriously injured.

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: July 8, 2009

18 wheeler-Ice Cream Truck Accident in Atlanta Leaves Driver Injured

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

An accident involving an 18 wheeler and an ice-cream truck has left the driver of the truck seriously injured. Police have now arrested the 18 wheeler driver.

According to police, the 18 wheeler driver was traveling east on Camp Creek Parkway. He seems to have made a left turn at a green light that didn’t have a left turn arrow. The 18 wheeler was struck by an ice-cream truck, and also collided with another vehicle carrying four occupants. The driver of the ice-cream truck suffered serious injuries, and was airlifted to the Atlanta Medical Center. He is reportedly in serious condition. No other people were injured in this truck accident.

Drivers of commercial trucks must pay attention to traffic rules at all times. As the driver of a massive vehicle that can weigh up to 80,000 pounds, a tractor trailer driver simply does not have the luxury of making errors in judgment or other mistakes while driving. Any errors made by a tractor trailer driver can prove deadly.