Articles Posted in Auto Accidents

Most Atlanta injury lawyers are well-versed in the more common car accident injuries such as orthopedic injuries (broken bones and fractures) and soft tissue injuries (torn or bruised ligaments, muscles or nerves). However, there is an increased incidence of mild to moderate brain injuries (also known as closed head injuries) diagnosed in Atlanta car accident victims.

Many times, closed head injuries are more debilitating than meets the eye yet go undiagnosed at first. The reason is simple: many doctors (and inexperienced accident lawyers) focus on the soft tissue or orthopedic injury because it is more obvious and fail to recognize the severity of the closed head injury.

Most symptoms of closed head injury are easily identified by family members and include brief periods of dizziness, overwhelming fatigue, vision problems, short-term memory problems, and unexplained irritability.
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Every responsible Atlanta parent will make sure that their child is safely secured in a child car seat before driving. However, not every car seat will protect your child from serious injuries in an accident. Many of these seats are only tested for their protection against injuries in a front impact accident, but not injuries sustained in a rollover accident, a rear-ender or a side-impact collision. While every parent surely has nothing but the best of intentions in trying to keep their children safe in the car, they can only act on the information that is provided to them. Unfortunately, this is information is not always accurate and up-to-date. A further investigation into the information related to car seats for infants and children bears this out.

The Washington Post has a new report that should concern any Atlanta injury attorney or parent. According to the report, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has limited abilities to test the effectiveness of car seats and prevent injuries to children. Most of these tests only determine the effectiveness of the car seat in front impact collisions, and the agency does not have a suitable-sized crash test dummy to test the effectiveness of the seats during rollovers, side impact crashes and rear end accidents. As an Atlanta car accident attorney, I see that some of the most serious injuries occur in these kinds of crashes. What that means is that in an accident like this, children who are secured in their car seats may have little chance of escaping serious injuries.

Besides, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has failed to keep pace with the change in the size and weight of America’s children. A growing population of overweight children has meant that parents have had to look out for large-sized car seats. Unfortunately, the NHTSA has failed to develop a plus-sized crash test dummy that it can use to test the effectiveness of car seats. In a situation like this, parents have no choice, but to believe the assurances of manufacturers when they buy plus-sized car seat.
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As an Atlanta personal injury lawyer, I don’t hesitate to call out auto companies when they prioritize profits before consumer safety. It’s, therefore, also necessary to hand kudos where it’s due, when these very same companies take initiatives to reduce the risk of accidents and enhance motorist safety. Across the country, Ford Motor Company has been conducting driving clinics aimed at preventing accidents involving teenage drivers, and at many schools struggling with slashed budgets, these programs have been, quite literally, a lifesaver. With teenagers beig able to obtain drivers licenses at such an early age, even though study after study has confirmed that their brains are not fully developed until their mid-20’s, this is a great idea.

In Georgia, teenagers in several counties can benefit from the safety programs that Ford Motor Company conducts in collaboration with the Governor’s Highway Safety Association. The initiative includes a day of driving safety activities for high school students, including a three-course driver program. The program, called the Ford Driving Skills for Life program, has teenagers learning what it is really like to drive drunk or driver with distractions. This is done through the use of simulators and goggles.

The drunken-driving course, for instance, involves driving around orange cones in a “sober state”. The students are given Innocorp Fatal Vision Goggles that simulate driving with a blood-alcohol level of .08%. That is the legal limit for drunken driving in the state of Georgia and most of the rest of the country. Finally, the teen driver is given another pair of goggles that simulates a much higher level of blood-alcohol. The teens find that while they can drive carefully and concentrate in a sober state, it’s very hard to do so with a level of .08%, and almost impossible to do when their blood-alcohol levels are higher than .08%.
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Another pedestrian was killed on Saturday night in Gwinnett County. She appears to have been trying to cross the street. The woman was hit by an unidentified jeep.

Pedestrians in the Atlanta area run a significant risk of injury or death. Many roads have no sidewalks or safe areas to walk, and drivers do not watch for pedestrians. Even getting to a bus stop can be hazardous.

Many drivers aren’t sure what to do when they encounter a pedestrian. In 1995 the Georgia legislature changed the cross walk law such that drivers must “stop and stay stopped” for pedestrians, not just yield to them. Be sure you know the law. You’ll avoid a ticket and maybe save a life. In the City of Atlanta, for instance, police will cite drivers who proceed through the intersection prior to all pedestrians clearing the cross walk. While it is nearly impossible to drive in downtown Atlanta traffic and not do this, you do run the risk of being ticketed for this technical interpretation of the law (instead of the common sense interpretation which requires, as evidenced by the applicable Georgia codes below, the driver to yield to pedestrians in the cross walk and to proceed through the intersection once the pedestrians are out of harm’s way). The applicable Georgia law that governs this area is as follows:

§ 40-6-91. Right of Way in Crosswalks:

(a) The driver of a vehicle shall stop and remain stopped to allow a pedestrian to cross the roadway within a crosswalk when the pedestrian is upon the half of the roadway upon which the vehicle is traveling, or when the pedestrian is approaching and is within one lane of the half of the roadway on which the vehicle is traveling or onto which it is turning. For the purposes of this subsection, “half of the roadway” means all traffic lanes carrying traffic in one direction of travel.

(b) No pedestrian shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is impractical for the driver to yield.

(c) Subsection (a) of this Code section shall not apply under the conditions stated in subsection (b) of Code Section 40-6-92.

(d) Whenever any vehicle is stopped at a marked crosswalk or at any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection to permit a pedestrian to cross the roadway, the driver of any other vehicle approaching from the rear shall not overtake and pass such stopped vehicle.

§ 40-6-92. Crossing roadway elsewhere than at crosswalk:

(a) Every pedestrian crossing a roadway at any point other than within a marked crosswalk or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection shall yield the right of way to all vehicles upon the roadway unless he has already, and under safe conditions, entered the roadway.

(b) Any pedestrian crossing a roadway at a point where a pedestrian tunnel or overhead pedestrian crossing has been provided shall yield the right of way to all vehicles upon the roadway if he uses the roadway instead of such tunnel or crossing.

(c) Between adjacent intersections at which traffic-control signals are in operation, pedestrians shall not cross at any place except in a marked crosswalk.

(d) No pedestrian shall cross a roadway intersection diagonally unless authorized by official traffic-control devices. When authorized to cross diagonally, pedestrians shall cross only in accordance with the official traffic-control devices pertaining to such crossing movements.

§ 40-6-22. Pedestrian control signals:

Whenever special pedestrian-control signals exhibiting the words WALK or DON’T WALK or symbols so directing a pedestrian are in place, such signals shall indicate as follows:

(1) Word or symbol message WALK — Pedestrians facing such signal may proceed across the roadway in the direction of the signal. Every driver of a vehicle shall stop and remain stopped for such pedestrians; and

(2) Flashing or steady DON’T WALK — No pedestrian shall start to cross the roadway in the direction of such a signal, but any pedestrian who has partially completed his crossing on the WALK signal shall proceed to sidewalk or safety island while the DON’T WALK signal is showing.

§ 40-1-1.(10) Definition of a Crosswalk:

“Crosswalk” means (A) That part of a roadway at an intersection included within the connections of the lateral lines of the sidewalks on opposite sides of the highway measured from the curbs or in the absence of curbs, from the edges of the traversable roadway; or (B) Any portion of a roadway at an intersection or elsewhere distinctly indicated for pedestrian crossing by lines or other markings on the surface.

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In Georgia, ignition interlock devices are used to keep repeat drunk driving offenders off the streets and prevent accidents involving these motorists. A new study shows that increased use of such systems can actually help reduce the numbers of repeat drunk driving offenders.

Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the arrest rates for drunk driving dropped by as much as 67% after ignition interlock devices were installed in offenders’ cars. The researchers point to this as ample proof that enhanced use of ignition interlock devices could help keep more numbers of DUI offenders off the streets, and prevent alcohol-related car crashes.

Atlanta car accident lawyers would agree. In Georgia, the Metro Atlanta area and rural communities struggle with large number of drunk driving offenders. While a typical offender may be punished with license suspensions and fines, very often, these penalties constitute a slap on the wrist, and may not be sufficient to prevent motorists from driving intoxicated again. While criminal punishment is a deterrent, holding at-fault drunk driver’s accountable for the injuries they cause in car wrecks is another way to deter their actions.  According to the CDC:

• In 2013, 10,076 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (31%) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States.
• Of the 1,149 traffic deaths among children ages 0 to 14 years in 2013, 200 (17%) involved an alcohol-impaired driver.
• Of the 200 child passengers ages 14 and younger who died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes in 2013, over half (121) were riding in the vehicle with the alcohol-impaired driver.
• In 2012, over 1.3 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics.3 That’s one percent of the 121 million self-reported episodes of alcohol-impaired driving among U.S. adults each year.
• Drugs other than alcohol (e.g., marijuana and cocaine) are involved in about 18% of motor vehicle driver deaths. These other drugs are often used in combination with alcohol.

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Five people were reported injured in a multi-vehicle accident in Atlanta that involved at least one tractor-trailer and several other vehicles. According to news reports, the accident occurred on Interstate 20 near Six Flags.

Several cars traveling on the highway had slowed down due to the sun. However a tractor-trailer that was following failed to slow down in time and swerved to avoid a collision. In doing so, the tractor-trailer went off the embankment, and negligently struck a parked car, triggering a chain reaction crash. At least seven other vehicles besides the truck were involved in the accident. At the end of the carnage, five people were injured, but all are expected to survive.

Anytime a tractor-trailer is involved in a rear-ending accident, an Atlanta truck accident lawyer’s first thoughts go to the speed of the truck at the time of the accident. The term “speed” here refers not just to the speed limits posted on the highway at the time of the accident, but also appropriate speeds for existing conditions. For instance, a truck driver may be said to be speeding not just if he drives above the posted highway limits, but also at higher speeds than are appropriate for the road, traffic and weather conditions.
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Any Atlanta car accident lawyer would confirm – seat belts help save lives and prevent serious injuries. An Atlanta area senior citizen, who was injured in a car accident involving a state van in Villa Rica last week, has said that the seatbelts in the vehicle were not working properly at the time, and that this contributed to his injuries.

The Georgia state van was taking a group of elderly persons to a Valentine’s dance in Carrollton, when the van slid on a patch of ice, and flipped over. There were six senior citizens in the van, and all six persons were injured in the accident. One of the passengers, a 72-year-old man was seriously injured in the accident. He had not been wearing a seat belt at the time.

The man has told CBS Atlanta that his injuries were a direct result of a malfunctioning seatbelt. According, to the injured senior, he would not have been injured if the seatbelt in the van had been functioning properly. Just before the accident, the injured passenger told the driver that his seatbelt was not working properly, but received little response. CBS Atlanta then asked the other passengers in the van, and at least one of them confirmed that the seatbelt in question was not working at the time. All of the other passengers had been wearing lap belts at the time of the accident.

Officials from the Georgia Department of Human Services reported back to CBS Atlanta that they had inspected the van, and found the seatbelts had been functioning properly. According to the Georgia Department of Human Services, they had inspected the van at least two weeks before the accident, and found nothing wrong then. Now the spotlight is on the driver of the van, to see whether she fastened in all drivers safely before driving. In a situation like this, the driver would be liable under the theory of negligence if she did not properly secure each passenger, as these passengers were not in a position to do this themselves. Many times during litigation, it becomes apparent that there are specific protocols in place to protect against this exact type of passenger injury, yet the protocols are not followed by the driver. Other times, there are not proper procedures and training in place, and this is the proximate cause of the injuries.
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