Atlanta Injury Attorneys Blog

Important safety news this week from Toyota as it issues a major recall for one of its most popular trucks. As an Atlanta and Atlanta truck accident lawyer and Atlanta metro area motor vehicle accident lawyer, I want readers of the Atlanta Injury Attorneys Blog to be informed about this recall and to take action if they own one of the recalled trucks.

The recall involves about 51,000 Tundra trucks. The potential problem? The rear drive shafts must be inspected for a component that could break.

Although to date, no truck accidents or injuries have occurred, one slip yoke has failed and there is a risk of catastrophic personal injury with a drive shaft problem in other trucks with parts that were created at the same time as the failed part.

According to Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc., only 0.5 percent of these trucks potentially have the faulty slip yoke. This problem occurred in the casting of the part at the foundry process. The company is aware of one slip yoke failure. There are no reports of accidents or injuries related to the condition at this point.

Toyota is no stranger to potential defects in their vehicles and their handling of recalls in the recent past. From gas pedals that were believed to stick and cause accelleration dangers, to floor mat defects, the company has been inundated with negative press and slammed with a big bill of nearly $50 million from the federal government for the way they handled the recalls. The company has also been named in numerous law suits for these defects and recalls.

Toyota will inspect your Tundra and replace the defective part at no cost to owners. In addition to the problem with the Tundra, a separate recall has been issued for more than 300,000 RAV4 and Highlander vehicles to correct an airbag issue from 2007-2008 model years. Owners should consult the Toyota website or call their local dealer to get their cars inspected.

In a horrible story from this weekend, a recently married woman was tragically killed in an Atlanta tractor trailer accident. The victim, Danyal Holley, was a Woodstock resident according the Medical Examiner of Fulton County. According to police, Jack Parsons, the driver of the tractor trailer, attempted to change lanes on Interstate 285 when he struck Mrs. Holley's Nissan Sentra, forcing it into the guardrail. The driver of the Nissan lost control, crossed into the opposite lane of 285 when it was struck by the cab of another tractor trailer travelling in the opposite direction. The accident blocked all Southbound lanes of 285 for several hours.

As a Gwinnett County truck accident lawyer, I can certainly testify to the power and momentum that a commercial truck brings to bear upon smaller cars. A relatively light tap can cause a small car to careen out of control, and when a small vehicle comes into the path of a large tractor trailer, the small car dosen't have a chance.

Parsons was charged with second degree vehicular homicide and improper lane change. He was arrested and booked Sunday evening into the Fulton County jail. Second degree vehicular homicide is a misdemeanor charge, so Parsons could only receive up to one (1) year in jail. Realistically, absent some type of aggravating factor like DUI, Parsons is highly unlikely to serve any jailtime. Accordingly, the civil justice system is probably her survivor's only option for justice. A Wrongful Death in Fulton County will probably be the appropriate action.

Mrs. Holley's husband, whose name was withheld, was a passenger in the Nissan. One can only imagine the pain and anguish he is enduring right now. He was transported to Grady Memorial Hospital after the accident with minor injuries.

The Atlanta Injury Attorneys Blog has recently posted on an Atlanta area MARTA bus accident in which a car played a major factor in the crash. We have also posted on the push to implement federal bus safety standards that have been in place for a decade, but are not yet fully implemented.

Last week, a Harmon Brothers Tour bus chartered to carry 52 passengers from the Mill Creek High School in Buford, was traveling on 1-75 in a construction zone when it had to swerve off the highway to avoid a car stopped in its lane. The bus traveled up an embankment and struck an overpass, all to avoid the car.

The car was in the lane in which the bus had been traveling due to a rear-end collision that occurred before the bus came along. The car had been pushed into the lane in which the bus was traveling, after it had been involved in the rear-end collision.

There were 47 Gwinnett County high school students on board the chartered bus when the accident occurred. One bus passenger was airlifted to a hospital in Macon and 19 others were taken to nearby hospitals. The airlifted passenger was said to be in stable condition. The other passengers were taken to the local hospital as a precaution and were not expected to have any serious injuries.

As with so many Atlanta area highway accidents, this colliison occurred in a construction zone at a merge point where three lanes merged into two. Accident and injury can be avoided if drivers slow down in construction areas and allow the merge to occur without trying to rush through the situation.

The Atlanta-Constitution Journal reported last week on an important food recall. The Atlanta Injury Attorneys Blog wants to ensure that our readers are aware of this food recall to keep Georgia and Atlanta residents from personal injury to themselves and their families in using the unsafe food product.

The food recall involves a curry spice that has been sold through Georgia's Target stores as well as those around the country. The nationwide recall is due to the fact that the curry has been found to contain high lead levels.

Lead is particularly dangerous for pregnant women, infants and children, but it is also unhealthy for adults to ingest. This product is not safe and if you have it in your home or suspect you have it in your home, please take it immediately to your local Target store.

Lead is a substance that over time accumulates and can be very harmful in healthy development. That is why it has been taken out of paint products and toys. Lead has also been found in corroding lead pipes in drinking water in cities around the country, but the amount of lead is monitored to ensure public safety. There is some controversy about what is a "safe" level of lead.

Specifically, the Georgia Department of Agriculture notes that the voluntary recall involves a ground turmeric that was sold in glass bottles at Target stores. Since this spice is often used to make curry dishes, it is widely used in various cuisines such as Middle Eastern and South Asian dishes.

The curry product is called "Archer Farms Ground Turmeric" and has a "best buy" date of June 2011 to January 2012 with a UPC code of 0-85239-02612-0. If you or a family member purchased this item, return it to the Target store. For more information on contacting the manufacturer directly please click here.

The Associated Press reported last week that the Internal Revenue Service has awarded its first whistleblower award and it is big -- $4.5 million which nets over $3 million in the pocket of an observant honest citizen. Atlanta Injury Attorneys Blog readers may be aware that Georgia law provides for whistleblower and qui tam awards when fraud or other abuse are reported and proven in many circumstances.

Whistleblowers are individuals who are in a position to have specific knowledge about wrongdoing and take steps to report fraud or other wrongdoing in their companies or workplaces. The law protects them from retaliation from their employer and often they are entitled to recover an award from appropriate governmental agencies when they report fraudulent activity that is legally proven to have occurred. Recent examples of whistleblower awards include those involving the tobacco industry, securities and mortgage industries, and the pharmaceutical industry, among others.

The IRS matter involved an accountant who blew the whistle on his employer for failing to pay federal taxes. The underlying tax liability is about $20 million plus interest.

The accountant sought a whistleblower lawyer to move the case forward. The matter had been reported by a complaint to the IRS Whistleblower Office in 2007. The accountant whistleblower wants his identity to remain confidential and reportedly plans to keep working in his small town. That decision to keep working, might just reflect the values of someone who is willing to report fraud when he or she sees it.

This award was made possible because the IRS established a Whistleblower office after Congress authorized it in 2006. It is intended to provide incentives for employees and others to provide information on tax fraud. It provides for awards when the amount of unpaid tax is over $2 million. Reportedly, the IRS is waiting for the two-year period for tax appeals to expire before finalizing awards.

The taxes and interest that was not paid will now be placed in the United States Treasury. But without the whistleblower, it might not have determined that the funds were owed. Whistleblower programs are beneficial to governmental agencies and the public. And while whistleblowers are courageous people, the law protects them from retaliation.

Georgia law provides that awards can be paid to whistleblowers who report fraud by entities that, for example, submit false claims for reimbursement. A Georgia qui tam lawsuit is a suit involving an organization or company that is engaging in fraud against the government. This can include fraudulent use of government funds stemming from over-billing, false billing and other fraudulent activities to improperly receive government funds.

For many years now, the National Transportation Safety Board's recommendations for bus safety have been ignored with very little action taken by the Department of Transportation or Congress. And just when the federal government is about to start hearings on bus safety, we have a local reminder of the dangers inherent in Atlanta bus accidents.

Earlier this week, 13 passengers were injured when a MARTA bus was hit head on by a vehicle that veered into the wrong lane. The bus was turning into the Indian Creek MARTA station and had been traveling on route 119. As the bus prepared to turn into the station, it was hit. The driver of the car has been charged and the bus driver is said to have no fault in this incident.

The larger concern about bus safety is demonstrated by this MARTA accident. All the passengers that were injured were in the bus, including a three-year old girl who was taken to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston. Other injured passengers were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital.

The national bus safety issues are looming after so many passengers have been killed or injured across the country. We regularly read about Georgia bus accident deaths and injuries. Just last fall, the Atlanta Injury Attorneys Blog posted on a tragic accident in which one student was killed and ten other were injured after a bus overturned between on Highway 113. As is often the case in bus accident deaths, the passenger who died had been ejected from the bus.

This spring the NTSB will hold hearings on the safety recommendations that have been in place for over a decade. These include seat belts in buses, safer windows, stronger roofs, recorders to track the time a driver has been driving to avoid fatigue, as well as better driver instruction and licensing controls.

The United States Department of Transportation has taken some small steps for bus safety and drivers are prohibited from texting while driving. As the economy struggles and many are trading in their cars for public transportation the Atlanta Injury Attorneys Blog urges that bus safety be taken seriously and that governmental entities responsible for passenger safety standards, implement more safety for all bus riders.