Atlanta Injury Attorneys Blog

Studies show that texting while driving increases your chances of crashing by 20 times. Even using your phone in a hands-free mode is dangerous since it's a "cognitive distraction" which may decrease driving performance. In fact, texting and other distracted driving account for nearly 80% of all automobile accidents.
The effects of car accidents can be devastating. Crashes may results in death and catastrophic injuries, including brain injuries, paralysis and severe burns.

According to the Department of Transportation cell phones are involved in 1.6 million accidents a year, causing half a million injuries and 6,000 deaths.

Teens are especially hard hit. Just this past December a Georgia teenager died while texting his girlfriend. Statistics show the motor vehicle death rate of teens caused by cell phones is 21 percent and rising by 4 percent a year.

A bill aimed at Georgia teens passed the Georgia House last March, but has since stalled. Two more texting bills desgined to ban texting while driving have been introduced. Because of the extreme risks involved, It's crucial we pass these laws to ensure the safety of our Georgia roadways and drivers.

Texting accidents are not limited to automobile accidents. Driver texting has been found as a culprit in trucking accidents, bus accidents and train accidents. In order to address this growing problem, in late January the U.S. Department of Transportation announced it would ban drivers of commercial vehicles from using their cell phone to send text message, effective immediately. Truck and bus drivers who text while driving commercial vehicles may be subject to civil or criminal penalties of up to $2750.

Continue reading "Georgia Motor Vehicle Accidents - Texting While Driving Increases Risk of Serious Injury or Death" »

February 7 though February 13, 2010 marks burn awareness week. This week is designed to educate individuals and families about the dangers of burn injuries and teach burn prevention skills.

Burn injuries are one of the top causes of unintentional death in the United States. Last year alone approximately 2.4 million burn injuries were reported.
Burn injuries range in severity from least (first degree) to most (third degree). Burn injuries are complicated because they affect not only skin but also muscles, nerves, blood vessels and bone. Burn injuries are serious and can lead to debilitating and lifelong issues such as disfigurement, scarring and pain. Oftentimes, burns are due to the negligent or reckless conduct of another person or entity.

Burns can result from a variety of sources, including but not limited to:
• Car, truck and motorcycle accidents
• Cooking accidents
• Unattended cigarettes
• Work-place accidents
• Electric wiring problems
• Defective products
• Chemical exposure

Burn awareness week provides an opportunity to focus on burn prevention and take some simple steps to prevent burns in our environment.

Some home safety tips include:
• Have an emergency escape plan
• Place smoke detectors on each level of your home
• Avoid wearing loose-fitting long sleeves while cooking
• Don't leave food unattended while cooking
• Replace all worn cords and appliance
• Unplug all electrical tools when not in use

Continue reading "Georgia Burn Injuries - Burn Awareness Week Focuses On Injury Prevention" »

The type of Georgia auto accident one is involved in is often predictive of which driver is liable. In addition, certain types of injuries are more common with different types of accidents. For example, when a driver is stopped at a stop sign or red light, and he or she is hit from the rear, then it is almost always, without exception, the fault of the driver behind him. The citation for the offending driver is typically "following too closely". Moreover, the injuries one sustains in such a collision are likely to be to the neck or the back because the neck and spine are thrown forward when one is struck from behind.

In Georgia, sideswipe accidents, head on collisions, hit and run wrecks, drunk driving accidents, intersection accidents, head on collisions, failure to yield wrecks and t bone car accidents can result in devastating catastrophic injury. Some other types of Georgia car accidents with the injury and liability consequences are listed below

Head On Collision. Head-on collisions usually involve one party driving on the wrong side of the road or crossing the centerline of the road into the path of oncoming traffic. Head injuries, traumatic brain injuries, internal injuries, neck injuries, spine injuries and amputation injuries, including decapitation can occur.

Intersection Accident. Intersection collisions often involve one driver disregarding a traffic control device. T-bone or side impact wrecks can result in devastating internal injuries if the driver or passenger is in an impact area that is hit directly and perpendicular. Head injuries are another unfortunate consequence.

Pedestrian Accident. Pedestrian impacts typically result in catastrophic trauma for the pedestrian because she is completely exposed and unprotected from injury, resulting in severe head injury, broken bones, spine injury, road rash, traumatic brain injury, amputation injury, internal injuries and limb injuries.

Failure to Stop at a Stop Sign, Yield Sign or Red Light. Various injuries can result.

Failure to Yield. Like failure to stop at a traffic control device, these crashes can result in varying types of impacts and injuries.

Side Impact or T-Bone Collision. With head on collisions, side impact collisions are typically the most serious of accidents. Traumatic brain injury, spine injury and catastrophic internal injuries can result.

Driving While Texting or Driving Using Cell Phone. Unfortunately, driving while texting or using a cell phone is not illegal in Georgia yet, but studies find that these activities can result in a major lack of awareness resulting in major impact injuries.

DUI Drugs Accidents

Drunk Driving Accidents

No injury is more devastating to a Georgia truck accident victim, auto accident victim or premises liability victim than a spinal cord injury. Paralysis occurs if the spinal cord is severed. Depending on where it is severed, the paralysis can be defined as quadriplegia for paralysis of all four limbs, or paraplegia for paralysis of only the lower extremities. Whatever the result, the practical effect of a spinal cord injury is life-changing.

Gwinnet County spine injury cases are complicated and require expert testimony concerning the real-life impact of the injury and an economic quantification of all the damages. Issues like future medical treatment, future physical therapy treatment, future lost wages, future reduction and ability to earn a living are all relevant inquiries. All aspects of the life status pre-injury compared to post-injury must be fully explored to assure a fair settlement or verdict for the injured party. Many times discovering all available insurance is the most challenging aspect of a lawyer's role. Most liability insurance policies do not cover the extensive damages suffered by spinal cord injury victims. Consequently, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage needs to be claimed. Multiple UM policies in Georgia can often be stacked to maximize coverage.

Securing the evidence needed to prove liability is also key. If the accident involved a tractor trailer, they typically have already obtained a head start in the process. Knowing that the injuries are often catastrophic, these insurance companies and responsible parties go out of their way to reduce their chances of having to pay any large amounts. An accident attorney needs to act aggressively to make sure the accident victim is protected.

Continue reading "Georgia Spinal Cord Injuries" »

There are no injuries that are more physically painful than burn injuries. As bad as the physical injuries are, however, disfigurement from burns can be even more psychologically devastating to an accident victim. One may feel unlovable or unattractive. Because of the follow-up skin grafts and scarring, the physical and emotional tolls often linger a lifetime. Keloid scars, contracture scars and hypertrophic scars can make an auto accident, truck accident, work accident or premises liability accident victim feel ashamed, embarrassed and depressed. Accordingly, the compensation recovered should be extremely high in light of these damages.

Georgia burn injuries from automobile, truck or other vehicle accidents are often the result of the combustion of gasoline or other flammable liquid. However, other types of accidents can cause different burns. Electrical burns, steam burns, contact burns, grease burns, chemical burns and other types of burns can also result from vehicle accidents or work accidents. Whatever the cause, catstrophic skin damage, nerve damage and cosmetic damages typically result, even if localized, and require a long convalescence.

I have represented many burn victims and obtained substantial recoveries. Burn victims injured in metro-Atlanta accidents should seek the services of a respected Georgia burn injury attorney. Juries are typically very emotionally sympathetic to these plaintiffs, feeling empathy for the hardships ahead for burn victims.

Continue reading "Burn Injury from a Georgia Accident Can Be Catastrophic" »

Traumatic brain injuries are devastating for the victim. Impairments vary depending on the type of trauma. An accident resulting in a seizure disorder can leave the victim many functional faculties of her brain, but the seizure patient is always anxious, afraid that a seizure might occur at an inopportune time. I have represented many clients with seizure disorders that were caused by head trauma. In fact, my very first client suffered a seizure disorder as a result of a serious traumatic injury. Because of the side effects, he was unable to take dilantin to treat the seizure, so he had to seek other medications. Seizure medications are often expensive, physically draining and have side effects that are very difficult to tolerate.

The science of brain injury is complicated and sometimes difficult to decipher, even for expert doctors, and seizure disorders are one area of medicine that has not been adequately understood. This is changing. Modern medicine has developed devices that fit inside the head and countermand the electrical impulses that can lead to seizures. However, many more years of clinical tests are necessary before many of these mysteries will be unlocked. Many times the seizures can be controlled, but they are usually present for the life of the patient.

Brain injuries from traumatic accidents like automobile accidents, boating accidents, motorcycle accidents, truck accidents, premises liability and other types of injuries that occur because of someone else's fault are particularly devastating because they occur without warning and without any opportunity to prepare you or your family financially, emotionally or logistically. Epileptics and other seizure disorder patients often are not allowed to drive or operate heavy equipment. This affects their mobility and their ability to maintain employment. If the uncertainty and upheaval associated with a traumatic brain injury has affected you or someone in your family, contact a well respected Georgia brain injury and seizure injury attorney.

With Halloween coming up soon, I would like to remind drivers and families to keep safety in mind as they have fun. Most people don't realize this, but according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Halloween is the second deadliest day of the year for pedestrians, surpassed only by New Year's Day. Not surprisingly, alcohol plays a big part in that statistic. The Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety reports that across the nation. 58% of highway fatalities involved a driver who was legally drunk, with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08 or greater. This is far above the national average for the entire year, which is routinely around 32%. As a father and a Georgia drunk driving accident attorney, I'd like to offer safety information for trick-or-treaters of all ages.

In response to the typically high rate of DUI accidents on Halloween, the Governor's Office of Highway Safety promises that law enforcement will be on high alert for drunk drivers. In fact, police agencies began their crackdown a week before, on Friday, Oct. 23, according to MyFox Atlanta. On that day, police agencies throughout Metro Atlanta set up checkpoints to check for alcohol-impaired drivers and stepped up patrols. The same measures are expected throughout the Halloween weekend that begins Friday evening. The enforcement effort includes mobile blood-alcohol testing as well as a team of wreckers standing by to impound vehicles of drivers found to be under the influence of alcohol.

Avoiding drunk driving is at the top of the list of Halloween safety tips offered by Consumer Reports for drivers. In a blog post dated Oct. 28, the magazine reminded drivers that kids may be out even later than usual this year because it's a Saturday followed by the end of Daylight Saving Time, which adds an extra hour to Nov. 1. The blog suggested to drivers that they use extra caution in residential neighborhoods and anywhere else children are gathered, driving slowly and keeping an eye on child pedestrians. It also reminded parents to let kids out of vehicles on the curb side of the road; use flashers during stops; avoid using phones while driving and always use age-appropriate safety seats. For trick-or-treaters on foot, Consumer Reports said parents should accompany kids under 12; kids should stick to sidewalks and walk rather than run; and parents should consider giving their kids glow sticks, flashlights or costumes with reflective material, so drivers can see them easily.

As a Gwinnett County DUI accident lawyer, I hope both drivers and pedestrians take these warnings to heart. Through my work, I frequently see the heart-breaking results of drunk driving. When people choose to get behind the wheel after drinking, they expose all of the innocent drivers and pedestrians around them to death and permanent, irreversible disabilities. These catastrophic, emotionally devastating injuries can throw victims into a financial panic as well, thanks to the double whammy of huge medical bills and unplanned, injury-caused time off work. And of course, the drunk drivers themselves face the heartbreak of knowing they are responsible for these injuries, as well as criminal prosecution and liability in a potential Georgia drunk driving injury lawsuit.

Continue reading "Metro Atlanta Police Agencies Plan Extra Patrols to Cut Down on Halloween DUI" »

As a Metro Atlanta auto accident lawyer, I was pleased to see that the driver allegedly responsible for three deaths in commuter traffic last week is facing the charges against him. According to an Oct. 20 article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, driver James Miles surrendered to authorities at the DeKalb County Jail that day. Miles is accused of driving recklessly in the Oct. 13 incident, which caused the deaths of three Southern Co. employees in a nine-person commuter van. One other employee is hospitalized with a broken skull and leg. No injuries to Miles were reported.

The crash happened on U.S. 78 in DeKalb County. Witnesses say Miles, in a Dodge Stratus, was changing lanes in and out of traffic before he clipped the back of the Southern Co. van. The crash caused the van to flip it on its side, trapping the passengers and requiring rescue crews to remove the roof. Killed were the driver, Robert Harold Clinton Jr., 60; and two passengers, Ollie Benny Stephens Jr., 49, and Cindy Fitzgerald, 54. All were from Lilburn. Seriously injured was Courtney Hill, 25, also of Lilburn. Miles is now facing three counts of misdemeanor vehicular homicide, charges that some of the crash survivors said seemed light. Misdemeanor vehicular homicide is punishable by up to a year in jail for each offense. Felony vehicular homicide is punished more severely, but is reserved for cases of DUI, reckless driving or certain other offenses. A former district attorney told the newspaper that reckless driving can be difficult to prove.

I understand the frustration these survivors, who are co-workers and friends of the victims, may be feeling. As a Gwinnett County car wreck attorney, I see the results of careless driving through my work on a weekly basis. Even if a choice doesn't meet the legal standards necessary for a felony vehicular homicide charge, that doesn't mean it's a safe, reasonable or necessary choice under the conditions on the road at that time. However, even if prosecutors' hands are tied, surviving family members have another legal option for bringing the careless driver to justice: a Georgia auto accident lawsuit. With a legal claim, victims of a serious crash can hold the wrongdoer responsible for his or her actions and recover the costs the accident caused.

Continue reading "Driver Surrenders to Face Charges for Fatal Rush Hour Crash " »

The most common serious injury suffered by the victim of an auto, truck, boat, motorcycle or other vehicle accident in Georgia is a back or spinal cord injury.

Spinal cord injuries are extremely serious and require immediate medical attention. The symptoms depend on the severity and location of the trauma. A "complete spinal cord injury" is defined as an injury where the nerves are not functional at any point below the injury, where with a "partial spinal cord injury" there is some nerve function below the injury.

The human body has 24 movable vertebrae: 7 cervical, 12 thoracic and 5 lumbar. The spinal nerves wind through the spinal canal. The cervical vertebrae are in the area of the neck, the thoracic center around the upper back and the lumbar are associated with the lower back. The vertebrae are numbered in sequential order with #1 at the top, so C1 would be the top cervical vertebra and C7 the bottom cervical vertebra and the one above T1. An injury occurring higher up the spinal cord results in relatively more paralysis than one affecting the lower vertebrae.

A complete spinal cord injury in the C1 region is considered a catastrophic spinal injury and could affect a victim's breathing and result in quardraplegia, paralysis of all limbs. A compete injury of the thoracic or lumbar vertebrae might result in paraplegia, or paralysis of the arms or legs. Other symptoms of spinal cord injuries could include: stiffness or spasticity of the affected arms or legs, loss of bowel or bladder control and sexual dysfunction.

Treatment of the injury for spinal cord usually consists of 3 distinct phases:

1. Stabilization of the injury and minimization of further injury to the spinal cord;

2. Rehabilitation of the injury so that the patient can function at maximum mobility;

3. Coping with the injury and the life changes associated with any permanent impairments.

More than 10,000 American suffer serious spinal injuries each year. Most of these occur in automobile wrecks and trucking accidents. Motorcycle accidents and boating crashes are other common causes. If you are injured in an accident, even if you don't necessarily feel seriously hurt, seek medical attention immediately. If the injury is a complete spinal cord injury, you will likely have no choice. However, even with a partial spine injury, wait for the ambulance. Adrenaline may cause you to feel stronger and less injured than you really are. You can make the injury worse if you don't stop moving immediately.

I represented a man with a partial spinal injury who exacerbated the injury by his unrestrained movement after the fact. Not only was he more severely injured than he should have been, but he also could not seek damages for the exacerbation caused by his post-accident movement, as it was not caused directly by the wreck. Don't let this happen to you. And, by the way, wear your seatbelt in your vehicle and your helmet on your motorcycle because a severe head or brain injury is not just devastating, it's likely fatal.

Hire a lawyer who is experienced in cases involving spinal cord and head injuries. The medical details can be confusing, and you don't your lawyer to learn on the job when so much is at stake.

The most common serious injury in a vehicle accident is a back or neck injury. With so many cars in Atlanta, Gwinnett County and the surrounding areas, I have seen my share of clients with major back and neck pain. Everyone understands that back injuries are serious. Tragically, the effects of a spinal cord injury are immediate obvious. Spinal cord injuries that result in paralysis are catastrophic and devastating. But, what about serious back injuries that are not obvious at the time of an auto accident, truck wreck or motorcycle crash? Herniated discs, slipped discs, ruptured discs and bulging disks are just those types of injuries. These may not be catastrophic injuries, but they are often permanent injuries affecting the victim for the rest of his or her life.

Disc injuries are almost never diagnosed on a trip to an emergency room. In fact they cannot be detected with an X-ray, CT scan or the other types of diagnostic equipment typically at a hospital ER. Instead, if an accident victim complains about a back or neck injury, and there is no bone fracture, the ER doctor will typically advise a patient to follow up with an orthopedic doctor if the pain persists. If the patient does so, the orthopedic doctor will typically advise the patient to seek physical therapy or massage therapy. Only after all conservative measures are exhausted, will a doctor order a magnetic resonance image (MRI) of the affected area. Sometimes, he will only do so at the insistence of the patient. MRIs can be expensive, and insurance companies do not want to pay for them.

The MRI will show the orthopedist the state of the cartilaginous discs in between the spinal vertebrae. These discs are filled with fluid and allow the spine to bend and twist, allowing normal torso movement. When a bulging disc is suffered, the disc has swelled or is otherwise "bulging" in one area relative to the rest of the disc. More seriously, a disc can become herniated or ruptured, and all that spinal fluid that keeps the disc hydrated can leak out. The disc can then become brittle and lose its elasticity. Unfortunately, this fluid cannot be put back in, and the disc cannot heal or become whole again.

Herniated discs are very serious injuries, and anyone who has suffered a herniated disc in an accident that was caused by someone else should seek the services of an excellent back and spine injury attorney. Surgical options are typically limited and imperfect for disc injuries. The doctor could perform a discectomy, where he or she removes the shredded disc. Alternatively, the doctor may "fuse" several vertebrae together. Obviously, fusing vertebrae together does not result in the type of mobility one enjoyed before this procedure. There is simply not a lot that can be done to make the patient the way they were before. After surgery, a victim of a herniated or ruptured disc may still suffer debilitating pain. This is one reason people get addicted to pain medications.

Perhaps medical science will advance to the point that herniated or ruptured discs can be made perfect by surgical procedure. Until that day comes, one needs to make sure that they are fully compensated for their future medical costs, pain and suffering.

As a Georgia 18-wheeler accident lawyer, I was disturbed to read recently that trucking companies in our state and elsewhere are still on the road despite a clear federal order to shut down for safety reasons. According to the Associated Press, a report by the Government Accountability Office shows that hundreds or even thousands of "motor carriers" -- trucking and bus companies -- that were ordered to shut down because of safety violations stayed in business by simply changing their names. These "reincarnated" companies use different names but the same addresses, owners and contact information. As of late July, the GAO said, more than 500 reincarnated carriers were still on the road. Georgia is one of at least nine states with the rogue companies.

All in all, the GAO found at least 1,073 trucking companies and 20 of 220 commercial bus companies that had changed their names after an order to shut down or pay thousands of dollars in fines. The safety problems with the original companies included failure to test drives for drugs and alcohol; use of unsafe vehicles and equipment; and failure to have a valid license. GAO investigator Greg Kutz said the reincarnated companies pose a public threat because they dodge their legal obligations to fix the safety problems that got them in trouble in the first place. In fact, the GAO said the number of reincarnated companies may be higher than its report estimated, because it looked only at exact matches between names and addresses, not partial matches or very similar information.

As an example of the dangers of these reincarnated companies, the AP cited a bus crash in Texas with multiple fatalities, caused by a blown tire. The bus company involved, Iguala BusMex, was owned by Angel de la Torre, former owner of Angel Tours Inc. Angel Tours had been ordered out of service two months before the crash after an "unsatisfactory review." Iguala BusMex was waiting for a permit from the federal government when the bus crashed in August of 2008, killing 17 members of a Vietnamese-American Catholic group. The Iguala BusMex bus that crashed had a retreaded tire installed on its steering axle -- a violation of federal regulations.

As a Metro Atlanta bus accident attorney, I am very concerned about the potential safety problems posed by these reincarnated companies. Federal safety regulations are in place to protect other drivers from serious accidents caused by mechanical failure or irresponsible driving by motor carriers. When companies openly break those rules -- to cut costs or out of simple carelessness -- they put their own truck drivers and everyone around them at serious risk. In a crash between large vehicle like a tractor-trailer and a passenger car, simple physics and well-documented statistics say the truck will always crush the smaller vehicle, endangering the lives of everyone inside. That is, innocent people almost always pay the price when trucking companies cut corners on safety.

Continue reading "Study Finds Georgia Among Nine States With Trucking Companies Still Operating After Shutdown Order" »

As I have blogged about before, Atlanta truck accident victims suffer vertebral disc injuries which can go undiagnosed by their doctors. The reasons for this are twofold. First, ER doctors do not typically order MRIs (magnetic resonance images) of the neck or back, the diagnostic test used to show a disc injury. It simply is not an ER doctor's job. He is there to make sure that his patients do not die from an immediate injury, not to diagnose every single injury. Once he is convinced that someone is stabilized and not in mortal danger, the ER doctor either admits the patient to the hospital for further care or discharges him or her with instructions to follow up with another doctor. This is called triage. Second, MRIs are expensive, and insurance companies don't want to pay for them. Therefore, they insist that orthopedic doctors exhaust conservative measures before they order and MRI. Sometimes, orthopedic doctors don't even order them at all except for the insistence of the patient.

Sometimes, the patient, especially a man, wants to be tough and not admit to others he was hurt too badly. The adrenaline of the accident can convince someone he or she is fine. Dealing with an insurance company for a diagnostic is not fun either.

Whatever the reason, don't wait. Get the MRI. Back and spinal injuries, including disc injuries are very serious. If they are not diagnosed within a reasonable time, the insurance company of the at-fault driver may deny coverage. The later the diagnosis, the more these insurance companies argue that the injury was not suffered at the time of the collision. If the treating doctor cannot definitively say that the injury was caused by the accident, the victim may be out of luck. It's a vicious cycle.

You must recognize the symptoms of a herniated, bulging or ruptured disc injury.

Traumatic Structural Experience. A person who has experienced a disc injury may feel a "pop" sensation in his or her lower back or neck, followed by the onset of pain. The presence of such a sensation pop does not necessarily mean that the person has experienced a disc injury. In fact, the facet joints are capable of "popping." Moreover, if one is injured in a violent auto or truck accident, a small "pop" will probably not be audible.

Back Pain. Persistent back pain that endures beyond the first few days or weeks following the accident could be the sign of a disc injury. Spinal column discs are flexible and elastic, but the forces in an impact can push this cartilaginous tissue beyond its limits, causing a herniated or ruptured disc. The collapse of the disc can place great pressure upon the sciatic nerve. The pain can consist of numbness with bouts of sharp, stabbing pain, sometimes extending down to the feet and legs. If not treated, the pressure of the protruding or collapsed disc can cause chronic pain and numbness.

Back Spasms. The muscles in the back, like the spinal erector, upper rhomboids and trapezium, can become very tight and inflexible. This is the body's defense mechanism. The body will attempt to limit mobility by tightening muscles to limit further movement and injury. This muscle tightness can extend to areas far away from the injured disc like the neck, shoulders calves, toes and feet.

If you have been in a serious automobile accident, boat accident or motorcycle accident, and have experienced back pain, make sure you follow up with your orthopedic. Don't see a chiropractor. See a medical doctor only. If you experience the symptoms above for an extended period, insist on an MRI. Finally, see an experienced Atlanta back injury lawyer to make sure that the insurance company does not claim that the disc injury was caused by something other than the accident.

As a Metro Atlanta car wreck lawyer, I was amazed to see a July 21 New York Times article reporting that the federal government may have suppressed research showing that even hands-free cell phone use is a dangerous distraction for drivers. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the federal agency responsible for studying car crash data, decided in 2003 not to make its research public for political reasons, the Times reported. The findings were made public after the Center for Auto Safety and Public Citizen petitioned for its release under the Freedom of Information Act.

This is big news for Georgia traffic accident attorneys like me, because it calls attention to a problem responsible for a substantial amount of serious crashes. Not every driver believes cell phone use is a safety threat, and some of them actively resist giving up a tool that has become very convenient for them. That could change if the federal government chooses to throw its weight behind strong research and a public awareness campaign, in the way that it did for seat belt use and intoxicated driving. Its failure to do so for allegedly political reasons means it may have failed to prevent thousands of crashes a year, including crashes causing wrongful deaths and catastrophic personal injuries.

The article said high-level Department of Transportation officials told Dr. Jeffrey Runge, head of the NHTSA, that the agency's funding could be in danger if it wrote to state governors about the findings, since it could be interpreted as "lobbying" the states. Runge recalled being asked whether they had enough evidence to avoid angering stakeholders, including the House Appropriations Committee, the voters it serves and the mobile phone industry. Clarence Ditlow of the Center for Auto Safety said this reasoning raised serious concerns. The research was analogous to research the NHTSA does on other topics, such as seat belt use, which has never been construed as lobbying. By allowing the research to be suppressed for political reasons, the NHTSA abdicated its responsibility to prevent deaths and injuries, Ditlow said.

The research itself (in PDF format), a review of more than 150 scientific studies, came to a damning conclusion: Talking on the phone while driving noticeably harms drivers' behavior and performance, regardless of whether they use a handset or a hands-free earpiece. In both cases, the study found, the cognitive demands of talking on the phone reduced reaction and information processing times, causing clear safety problems. This contradicts the prevailing approach to driver safety. No state bans cell phone use altogether, although five states and several cities ban hand-held phone use for everyone, and 21 states and the District of Columbia restrict it for drivers under 18. The NHTSA had called for its own study of cell phone use involving 10,000 drivers, but those plans were quashed along with the study. Until the safety groups' petition, only a bibliography was publicly available.

Other highlights of the study:

• Driver distractions, including but not limited to wireless devices, contribute to about 25% of all crashes. The agency had no data breaking down individual distractions.
• In 2003, 6% of driving time was spent on the phone, which was up from 4% in 2000.
• Research showed little safety difference between use of handheld and hands-free devices. The NHTSA's official recommendation is to avoid all phone use while driving, except in emergencies.
• The agency does not recommend hands-free-only laws because they "will not address the problem."
• It did recommend that states pay special attention to young and novice drivers' use of wireless devices

Continue reading "Groups Expose Suppression of Research Showing Talking on the Phone While Driving Is Unsafe" »

Law enforcement in Peachtree City asked the public for help finding a hit-and-run driver who seriously injured a woman, MyFox Atlanta reported July 12. Johnnie Moore was hit while crossing Highway 74 in Peachtree City this April. She cannot remember who hit her, but based on eyewitness reports, the police said they believe it was an SUV or a similar vehicle. They asked employees at auto repair shops to keep an eye out for vehicles of that size that may have been involved.

Moore had just moved to the Atlanta area with her two daughters to start a new job as a caterer. After settling her family in a hotel room, she went across the street to get dinner. She remembers carrying the food back across the road, but not the accident itself, which left her with a broken leg and arm, a hurt back and internal injuries. Unable to start her job, she is relying on her daughters for basic chores and working with social service agencies to get needed medical care and financial support. She said doctors told her that her recovery will be long.

This article caught my eye because it is a good explanation of the sad financial effect that a serious accident can have on ordinary families. Moore moved to Metro Atlanta for work -- but because of this irresponsible hit-and-run driver, she physically cannot do the work she planned to do. As a result, she is struggling to support her daughters. The article does not specify this, but as an Atlanta car accident lawyer, I suspect she is also facing some very high medical bills. She was almost certainly hospitalized for the injuries mentioned in the article and will need at least some follow-up to deal with the broken bones. All of that costs money that she is now unable to earn, forcing her to rely on the kindness of strangers in her new home town.

After a serious injury, money is the last thing on most people's minds. But as this story shows, victims can easily lose their financial footing after a serious accident. Hospital bills can easily reach six figures, and injured people frequently cannot work while they recover. Fortunately, if the at-fault driver has the courtesy to stop -- or can be found by police -- he or she can be held legally responsible for those bills. In a Georgia car wreck lawsuit, victims can claim compensation for all of their bills, including anticipated future medical costs stemming from the accident. They can also claim lost income from time off work, which would be substantial in Moore's case. And of course, they may claim compensation for the injuries themselves, including any permanent disability, disfigurement or wrongful death.

Continue reading "Police Seeking Information on Driver in Peachtree City Hit-and-Run Accident" »

A motorcyle accident claimed the life of a metro Atlanta man a few weeks ago. 49-year-old Terry Hitt of Cumming died Sunday, June 21, 2009 at an Atlanta hospital. He suffered catastrophic personal injuries when his 1985 Honda CB 650 motorcycle, which was travelling northbound on Castleberry Road, collided with a 2007 Suzuki Vitara SUV driven by Marian J. Anwar, 25, of Estates Path in Cumming. Hitt was 49 years old.

The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office reported that Anwar was also northbound on Castleberry in her vehicle and was leading Hitt's motorcycle when she attempted an illegal u-turn at the intersection of Castleberry and Hutchinson roads. Hitt's motorcycle impacted direclty into Anwar's driver side door.

Hitt, Anwar and a passenger in her vehicle were all taken by ambulance to Northside Hospital in Forsyth County. Hitt was later airlifted by helicopter ambulance to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta where he died the next day. Anwar was charged with making an improper left turn and authorities said that additional charges will most likely be forthcoming. Police do not expect that Anwar was driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the collision.

When I first heard the tragic facts of this automobile-motorcycle accident, I suspected that Mr. Hitt was a DUI accident victim. It took place on a Saturday night and it appeared that perhaps the offending driver was not in control of all her faculties. However, this now appears to be another tragic case of a driver who just did not see or anticipate a motorcycle. Most motorcycle drivers I have spoken to say they are not worried about not being able to avoid collisions, they are worried about drivers of cars and trucks who just don't see them. Greater awareness of motorcycle riders must be burned into the public's awareness or another tragic wrongful death resulting from a motorcycle fatality like this will happen again.

Motorcyclist killed as car makes illegal u-turn, Atlanta Journal Constitution, June 22, 2009.

Illegal U-turn cited in fatal wreck, ForsythNews.com, June 23, 2009.

Cumming man dies following car-motorcycle accident, AccessNorthGeorgia.com, June 22, 2009.