Atlanta Injury Attorneys Blog

In my law practice as a Gwinnett County catastrophic injury lawyer, I have experience with the dangers of single-car accidents. In fact, I have written about these often serious single vehicle crashes in the past, as they occur frequently in Georgia and as noted earlier this year, these crashes are currently being studied at the renown Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.

Last month, two Gwinnett County college students were tragically killed in just such a fatal auto crash. In an accident that is still under investigation, two college freshmen were killed and two others were seriously injured. All had been friends in high school and all had graduated from Collins Hill High School.

The deceased students attended Georgia College and State University and both were from Gwinnett County. The accident occurred in Milledgeville and local police advised the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the students had been shopping at Walmart and were returning to campus when the accident occurred.

Although there is no alcohol alleged as a factor, weather has not been ruled out as a possible factor in the tragic car accident. It is also not certain whether charges will be filed in this crash.

The deceased students were in the back of a Mini-Cooper when the driver lost control and it became airborne. The vehicle flipped, apparently more than once, and eventually hit a tree. Sadly, the young men were pronounced dead at the scene after being removed from the vehicle by emergency personnel. The other two young men were taken to Oconee Medical Center in Milledgeville but were later transferred to Medical Center of Georgia in Macon.

The College has issued a statement about this tragedy saying that: " 'The Georgia College community extends our most heart-felt condolences to the family members, friends and associates of our deceased students ... we will have counselors available to assist any university person or group who wishes assistance.' "

A very moving story about these fine young men and their families reminds us of the delicate balances in life. Most certainly, all families in this tragedy are grieving this loss.

In my profession as a serious car accident lawyer, I help families deal with the legal aspects of such things as wrongful death of a child. But the legal aspects of these accidents is only part of the picture.

The Georgia legal system provides for what is called "discovery" which includes an investigation of the facts of each case. This process involves legal skill and building the strongest legal and factual case possible, including sometimes hiring medical or accident reconstruction experts to support the case for the best outcome. It also involves supporting families emotionally and helping them to deal with the financial aspects of often very challenging life crises.

Many lawyers do not provide this personal level of support and that is what distinguishes someone who is running a law practice that focuses on the clients' needs first, which is what we do at the Law Offices of P. Charles Scholle. Please contact my law firm to arrange for a free consultation with me on matters ranging from truck accidents, motorcycle crashes, personal injury, wrongful death and estate administration. We have offices throughout the Atlanta area in Duluth, Buckhead, the Perimeter and Decatur. for your convenience.

Trucking accidents are among the most dangerous accidents on Georgia's highways. A week doesn't go by without a major accident on one of our roadways. Often these truck accidents involve serious injuries to Atlanta area residents --- the victims of tractor-trailer crashes that I represent as an Atlanta trucking accident lawyer.

So it is a welcome development that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is taking a heavy hand with truckers who use cell phones while driving. Last week they endorsed a ban on the use of cell phones for truckers. This would mean that truckers, along with other commercial drivers, could be prohibited from texting or talking on the phone while driving.

The NTSB does not want truckers to have access to hands-free devices either. This is similar to recommendations made for those responsible for ships and planes. Although the NTSB is aware that this will not be a popular move, it is important for the safety of everyone on the road.

The NTSB endorsed the ban, after a hearing in which the agency determined that a driver talking on his cell phone caused a horrific head-on truck crash last year. Eleven people died in the accident which occurred in Kentucky in 2010.

This is basic safety. The data is absolutely clear that driving while distracted can lead to disaster. Many studies have shown this. Trucks are heavy and cannot stop quickly. The time it takes to stop is a serious problem when a driver is texting or talking on the phone.

The truck in the Kentucky crash was 38 tons and when the driver hit the brakes hard, he drove into oncoming lanes and hit a van head-on. Driver fatigue and cable barriers were also said to be factors. Alcohol or other substance were not involved. The family and friends in the van were going to a wedding in another state and only two children survived the crash. The NTSB learned that the driver, who was also killed in the crash, had been using a cell phone for many hours prior to the fiery crash. He had also been driving for 13 hours.

To actually impose the endorsed ban, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration along with the states would have to approve this. Although 34 states have now banned texting for drivers of any vehicle, some states still allow drivers to hold phones or use hands free devices.

Drivers of such vehicles as tanker trucks, tractor-trailers and other large trucks, must be licensed with what are called Commercial Motor Vehicle licenses. The ban that is now proposed would apply to these drivers. There are nearly three million truck drivers in the United States.

As a Gwinnett County, Georgia Truck Accident Attorney with offices throughout the Atlanta metro region, Charles Scholle litigates motor vehicle and truck accidents and truck injury cases in all surrounding cities and counties, including Duluth, Fulton County, Grayson, Gwinnett County and more. Please contact our law firm for a free confidential consultation at our main Gwinnett County law office, or at our offices in Decatur, the Perimeter and Buckhead.

Earlier this year, the Atlanta Injury Attorneys Blog posted on a tractor-trailer accident involving a young woman who had been recently married. Tragically, she was killed when her car was hit by the tractor-trailer on I-285. At the time of the accident, the driver of the truck was making a lane-change when he struck her car. In my experience as a Gwinnett County serious injury lawyer and as an Atlanta truck accident lawyer, I am acutely aware that accidents such as this one are particularly tragic because they are often avoidable. Nothing is more tragic than the needless loss of life.

In this accident, the truck driver was arrested and charged with Georgia's second degree vehicular homicide and making an improper lane change. Once the tractor-trailer struck the young woman's car it went out of control and after hitting the guardrail traveled across the highway only to be struck be another tractor trailer. The car ultimately flipped over. Small cars are no match for large trucks -- it is likely that catastrophic injury will result when they collide.

From a legal standpoint, what is instructive about this tragic case is that tractor-trailer drivers are required to comply with Georgia's commercial vehicle rules and laws with regard to the operation of vehicles such as large trucks. Truck drivers are supposed to be compliant in such things as the safe changing of lanes. But we have all been in situations in which trucks are traveling too closely to our vehicles or are in too big a hurry to get to their destinations to drive carefully and cautiously.

The improper of erratic change of lanes is one area in which truck drivers must comply. In fact, drivers can lose their license for various periods of time when they are convicted of serious traffic violations. For example, a serious traffic violation such as a dangerous lane change will result in suspension for not less than 60 days for two serious traffic violations within a three year period and for not less than 120 days if convicted of a third or subsequent traffic violation that is deemed serious.

In addition to these punishments, Georgia commercial motor vehicle rules provide that a major traffic violation will result in loss of the driver's license. In fact, drivers can lose their licenses for not less than one year if convicted of homicide by vehicle when they are driving a commercial or a non-commercial vehicle in some instances.

Given the harsh consequences of dangerous driving, one would think that drivers would have an incentive to be more cautious while driving. As noted in my ebook "Back On the Road, What to do After a Serious Semi, Tractor Trailer or Truck Accident in Georgia" which you are welcome to download from my law firm website, the improper maneuver such as an improper lane change is unfortunately among the five major categories of truck accidents and generally involve serious injury to any smaller vehicles involved such as that which occurred in the case earlier this year.

We share the road with large trucks, but accidents involving these vehicles are often very serious and cause death or catastrophic injury. If you have been injured in a tractor-trailer accident or have a loved one who has been hurt in an accident, please contact the Law Offices of P. Charles Scholle for a free consultation with me in one of our conveniently located offices throughout the Atlanta area.

Two Georgia residents found out recently that it is unwise to underestimate the public's willingness to help fight crime or the ability of law enforcement to uncover the facts. After a fatal motorcycle accident on I-75 last month, two are now charged with the hit and run portion of the accident. In my experience as a Gwinnett County motorcycle accident lawyer and having represented many riders and their families, this case is particularly disturbing.

On August 20, a Norcross resident was riding his bike near Windy Hill Road. He was in the southbound lanes of I-75 when a car struck him and then drove away. After he had already been struck, a second car hit him again. That driver obeyed Georgia law and remained at the scene where the motorcyclist died.

The second driver was able to tell the police that a silver Porsche had originally hit the motorcycle. The second car's driver will not be charged. Evidence from the first car was collected at the scene.

The Cobb County police had been looking for the hit and run driver for ten days according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The AJC reports that an observant body shop worker at a business in Alabaster found the situation with a vehicle in the shop suspicious and began to research on the web. The body shop worked learned that a silver Porsche had been involved in a hit and run and alerted police.

The two that had been in the uninsured Porsche and have now been arrested are alleged to have taken the Porsche to the body shop and ensured that the paper work was falsified to state that the work on the car was done prior to the date of the fatal accident.

The two had also wanted evidence destroyed and sought to have the car painted - a totally different color. Apparently, it was an observant person at the body shop who tipped police to the situation. The evidence from the Porsche that had been collected at the scene of the fatal motorcycle accident was a match with the suspects' vehicle.

The two arrested suspects, who were placed in the Cobb County jail and are being held without bond, are charged with several Georgia crimes. These include the crime of second-degree vehicular homicide, the crime of hit and run and the crime of tampering with evidence, among others.

Sometimes drivers think that when they hit another vehicle and cause minor damage they can get away with driving off. That is a hit and run.

We should all find it shocking and abhorrent that when a driver hits a motorcyclist, a pedestrian or any vehicle on the road and leaves, it is absolutely in violation of Georgia Motor Vehicle and Traffic Code section 40-6-270. This provision requires drivers who have been involved in an accident that results in either injury or death or damage to immediately stop and not only provide information of insurance and identity, including registration and if asked, one's license, but must also make a reasonable attempt to get medical assistance for the injured person or persons. In addition depending on the severity of the situation and if the injured persons are unconscious or appears to be deceased, the driver must by law seek emergency medical attention or contact law enforcement.

Georgia law requires drivers to "in every event remain at the scene of the accident until fulfilling" these requirements. Failure to do this where there is serious injury or death is a felony and can result in a sentence of one to five years in prison.

If you or a loved one has been injured or has suffered a fatality in a motorcycle crash, we have the expertise and experience in motorcycle injury cases to help you recover. Please contact our Duluth and Atlanta metro area injury law firm for a free consultation. As a highly-respected motorcycle injury and wrongful death attorney, Charles Scholle has the expertise to help guide you and your family.