Atlanta Injury Attorneys Blog

The past two weeks have seen two children--one 4-year-old in Lawrenceville and one 7-year-old in Suwanee--drowned in Gwinnett County apartment swimming pools. In addition, 21 more near-drownings, including one in Lilburn on Monday, have already been reported in Gwinnett County in 2010. Compare that to the grand total of 23 calls for the entirety of 2009, and you've got one busy year for the Gwinnett County Fire Department. The strangest part is that the summer's only just begun.

Fire Department spokesman Captain Tommy Rutledge has said that warmer temperatures this year are partly to blame. When it's hot, it's into the pool for the kids, especially if there's a pool right at home.

Which brings us to apartment complex swimming pools, the site of both of these deaths. Unlike county swimming pools, Rutledge said, most apartment community pools don't have lifeguards. Obviously this puts kids who swim at apartment pools, and other swimming pools that might be left unattended, at a greater risk.

The deaths and near-deaths we've already seen this year serve as a sad reminder that children need constant surveillance in pools, regardless of the depth. It's known that a child can drown in just a few inches of water, so even if you've just got a paddling pool, it's crucial to always have someone watching. No excuses.

This past Thursday saw an unfortunate but all-too-common incident in Gwinnett County: a motorcyclist was hit by a truck, and the victim is in critical condition in Gwinnett Medical Center.

There is the problem of who's at fault. The Journal-Constitution only says that the truck made a left turn into the victim who was proceeding southbound, and that charges have yet to be filed pending an investigation. So one can guess endlessly at the accident's circumstances: was the motorcyclist's visibility compromised by a curve or a hill? Was he or she speeding through a red light, or accelerating to beat a yellow? Were they wearing a helmet and other proper road gear? Or did the truck simply misjudge his or her left turn?

Who knows, but we do know one thing for certain: the road fatality rate for motorcyclists is much higher than that of their car- and truck-driving counterparts. A motorcycle is simply no match for a truck, whether that truck is an eighteen-wheeler or a pickup. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, "per vehicle mile traveled in 2007, motorcyclists were about 37 times more likely than passenger car occupants to die in a motor vehicle traffic crash."

It's incredible sometimes what people decide to do while driving. Today, a 52-year-old Dacula man went on a veritable rampage down I-85, for 21 miles from the Hamilton Mill Road exit through Duluth and beyond--almost the entire length of Gwinnett County, according to police. In all, Strawn reportedly hit seven vehicles, amassing 30 felony charges and counting. These include aggravated assault, hit and run, and fleeing law enforcement.

Despite the fact that this man, Mike Strawn, sat in his aptly named Dodge Ram and slammed other vehicles with impunity--three of them as he was pursued by police!--no serious injuries had been reported at press time, although one motorist did say they were in pain. This, of course, is subject to change: when one is injured in an adrenaline-inducing event such as a car crash, it can take hours or even days for symptoms to fully reveal themselves.

It was not reported whether the vehicle-ramming was entirely rear-end collisions or if some cars were side-swiped, but as a Gwinnett County car collision attorney I can tell you that likely injuries from such an event include neck and back injuries like whiplash, head injuries such as concussion, spine injuries, and even brain injuries. All of this risk, and just from one case of road rage.

Have you heard about Miguel Mesa, the Gwinnett County middle-schooler who was hit in the face with a bleach-filled water balloon while walking home on the last day of school? Well, as one might expect, the story of what police say could only have been meant as a "random, silly prank" is far from over.

I am pleased to report that the suspects who performed the drive-by deed have been arrested. According to Lilburn police, the high schoolers have all given matching confessions. The eldest, a 17-year-old, is being charged as an adult and has been booked at the Gwinnett County Jail. The rest are being held at a youth detention center. In some ways it seems the case was open-and-shut.

However, Mesa is still injured and is now struggling to keep his sight. Although police say that the teens only meant to ruin the clothes of some unsuspecting kids, it is well known that bleach doesn't just whiten clothes or keep surfaces clean. It is a strong, dangerous chemical, and chemicals can cause burn injuries. In this case, Mesa's eyes were burnt by the bleach, and his vision has been compromised. Whether the worst of the damage has been done or is still developing is hard to say. Eye injuries can be quite complex. One thing is certain: this so-called prank has indelibly changed Mesa's life.