Atlanta Injury Attorneys Blog

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 " »

As a Metro Atlanta bus accident attorney, I was saddened to hear of a Sept. 15 accident in which a school bus fatally hit a five-year-old child. Atlanta NBC affiliate WXIA reported Oct. 5 on a bond hearing in the case for bus driver Sharon Dale. Dale is charged with second-degree homicide, failure to use due regard and violating procedures for school bus drivers in the incident that killed kindergartener Everett Johnson in northwest Atlanta. The hearing, which was attended by a group of Dale's colleagues, ended with Dale's release on a signature bond. She is suspended from her job with pay until the outcome of the trial.

According to the article, the accident happened shortly after Johnson and six other students got off the bus. Johnson reportedly fell behind the pack because he had dropped his book bag. When he bent over to retrieve it, Dale allegedly couldn't see him and tried to pull the bus away from the curb. Dale was reportedly so distraught that police waited a day to interview her. At the hearing, police officer Kim Jones testified that she climbed into the driver's seat and found that it would have been impossible to see a bent-over child in the position Johnson had occupied. However, Fulton County prosecutor Richard Elliott argued that Dale had a responsibility to adjust the mirrors for full visibility. Jones testified that she observed nothing wrong with the mirrors.

My heart goes out to Johnson's family. As his grandmother observed in the article, no amount of legal maneuvers can reverse this terrible accident. But as a Gwinnett County bus accident lawyer, I am very interested in what bus manufacturers and bus drivers can learn from the tragedy. Dale may be guilty of extreme carelessness if, as Elliott suggested, adjusting the mirrors correctly would have helped her see Johnson. If that's the case, Dale, and perhaps also her employer, would be liable for her negligence in any lawsuit the Johnson family chooses to file. However, if it's not possible to adjust the mirrors to remove every blind spot from the driver's view, the negligence may more properly lie with the manufacturer of the bus. In that case, it would be the manufacturer who would be liable for the wrongful death.

Continue reading "Court Considers Bond in Case of Bus Driver Charged With Running Over Kindergartener" »

As a Gwinnett County auto accident lawyer, I was sorry to read in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about how the recent rains claimed their first life Sept. 23. Barbara Jean Smith of DeKalb County was killed after she stopped at Spaghetti Junction to help a driver whose car had spun out on the wet roads. She was out of her vehicle and standing on the ramp from I-85 south to I-285 east when a third driver rear-ended one of the stopped vehicles, pushing the vehicle into Smith and Smith over the edge of the bridge. She fell about 50 feet onto the northbound lanes of I-85, the newspaper said, and died at the scene.

Smith's three children, ages 19 to 22, describe her as a generous person who was sometimes impulsive in her urge to do good. She may have been acting on impulse when she stopped for the spun-out driver, Donald Sykes of Covington in Metro Atlanta. She had lent Sykes her cell phone and was standing with him on the elevated shoulder of the road when Marcelino Chavez-Lopez rear-ended one of the stopped cars. The crash pushed the stopped car into the two, throwing Smith over the bridge's railing and leaving Sykes with multiple fractures. Chavez-Lopez is charged with second-degree vehicular homicide, driving without a license and failure to stay in his lane.

I'm sorry to say that, as a Metro Atlanta car wreck attorney, I have long been aware that stopping by the side of the road is not very safe. Drivers who pull into shoulders and breakdown lanes to take care of car trouble or other unavoidable problems are killed far more often than they should be by drivers who drift out of their lanes. In fact, this is such a widespread problem for law enforcement and emergency personnel that Georgia has a Move Over Law requiring motorists to change lanes or slow down when passing emergency vehicles on the side of the highway. Drivers have a legal and moral obligation to be careful at all times, of course, but it's especially important to slow down and stay aware when passing stopped vehicles on a busy, high-speed highway.

Continue reading "DeKalb County Woman Dies in Rear End Accident While Trying to Help Flooded Driver" »

If a Georgia Auto Accident or truck accident results in the death of a driver, passenger or bystander, a Georgia Motor Vehicle Accident Report is drafted by the investigating police officer, just like for any other accident. However, when a fatality is involved, Georgia law requires that a supplemental accident report be drafted by specially trained officers. Sometimes these officers work for police departments, but rural areas and small cities may not possess the resources to staff a specially trained team. Usually, if a municipality does not have appropriate personnel, then the county will provide a team. If the county does not have a team, then another local jurisdiction can provide a team. If no local officers are qualified, then the Georgia State Patrol will investigate and draft the fatality accident report supplement.

What do these specially trained officers do? Well, they perform a complete forensic investigation, including but not limited to: a) an evaluation of the collision dynamics; b) a mechanical inspection of the vehicles; c) a more thorough identification and interview process for drivers, passengers and witnesses; d) speed calculations; e) time and distance studies; f) crash data downloads from on board vehicle computers on tractor trailer rigs that have been involved in serious accidents; and g) computer animations. If you have ever driven in metro Atlanta or Gwinnett, Cobb or Dekalb Counties near major interstates, you know that if an accident has resulted in a death, that the entire road can be shut down for hours. These teams do their jobs carefully, regardless of the ambient chaos around them.

The most highly trained of these Georgia accident investigation teams are the Specialized Collision Reconstruction Teams of the Georgia State Patrol. SCRT units were authorized in 1997 after the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of Georgia demanded greater emphasis be placed on forensic examinations so that serious violators of Georgia's traffic laws could be prosecuted and so Georgia DUI accident victims could obtain justice. SCRT officers receive over 1100 hours of comprehensive training in traffic accident investigation and reconstruction. Since January 1998, the SCRT units have conducted over 2000 fatal crash investigations. There are 5 SCRT teams in Georgia, spread out among the state so that they can cover all regions of Georgia quickly and efficiently.

Georgia Accident Reports and supplements for fatal car or truck accidents can be difficult to make sense of. You should contact an experienced Georgia wrongful death attorney to obtain copies and discuss the contents with the investigating officers. The reports, including any SCRT Reports, should be available through the Georgia Open Records Act.

Like any accident report, time is of the essence when mistakes are made. Mistakes can become "facts" if not corrected. Be diligent in obtaining and reviewing a report should a tragedy occur.

As a Gwinnett County auto accident lawyer, I was disturbed to read a recent reminder that we are all only as safe as the actions of the drivers around us. That point was driven home by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Aug. 31, reporting on an accident that killed a Metro Atlanta man sitting in his own living room with his family. According to the article, George Michael Bryant was killed when a driver in a speeding Lincoln Navigator SUV rammed into the side of his Douglasville home, injuring other family members and creating a huge hole in one wall. The driver, William Steward of Douglas County, was later charged with vehicular homicide, two counts of injuries by vehicle, and driving under the influence of alcohol.

According to the article, Bryant was watching a movie with his wife, their daughter and two grandchildren just before the accident. In addition to causing his death, the accident sent his wife, Joyce Bryant, and granddaughter, nine-year-old Aylisha Walters, to the hospital. Walters was in fair condition Aug. 31, while Joyce Bryant was expected to be released. Other family members were treated and released. Authorities say Steward was traveling at high speed when he hit the home, hitting mailboxes, bushes and a parked car on the way. Neighbors said drivers often speed on their stretch of road and sometimes lose control when rounding a nearby corner. However, WSBTV.com later reported that Steward had a blood-alcohol content of 0.19, more than twice the legal limit in Georgia, making this a serious Metro Atlanta drunk driving accident.

As a Metro Atlanta car crash attorney, I hope this accident prompts action to control speeding on this road, if it is the problem that the neighbors say it is. Speeding is illegal for a reason: Speed makes it more difficult to control vehicles and increases the force a vehicle brings to an accident, which means greater destruction and often more serious injuries for the people who are hit. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, speeding was a contributing factor in 31% of all fatal motor vehicle crashes in 2007, costing 13,040 lives and $40.4 billion. And statistics show that driving drunk correlates with speeding. In 2007, 40% of legally drunk (BAC of 0.08%) drivers involved in fatal crashes were speeding, while only 15 percent of sober drivers were speeding.

Continue reading "Man Crashes SUV Into Douglas County Home Killing Grandfather and Injuring Family" »

A recent story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about a caught my eye as a Gwinnett County drunk driving crash lawyer. The AJC reported Aug. 25 that authorities believe Natasha Searcy, 22, was driving drunk when she hit a car carrying a Metro Atlanta family. The head-on crash killed Ashley Ingalsbe, 25 and her son Luke Ingalsbe, 4. It also injured another son, two-year-old Jacob Ingalsbe, and Ashley Ingalsbe's boyfriend, Thomas Vinnacombe, 24. Searcy was not seriously injured, but she is being held on suicide watch at Douglas County jail.

The accident happened at 5:45 in the morning of Aug. 24 on Skyview Drive, the newspaper said. Searcy allegedly crossed the center line of the road and hit Ingalsbe's car head-on. The crash killed Luke Ingalsbe instantly and his mother later in the day. Jacob Ingalsbe was treated and released from WellStar Cobb Hospital, but Vinnacombe was more seriously injured. His aunt, Amy Thomas, told the newspaper that he may need surgery for broken ribs and an injury to his spleen. Searcy was charged with vehicular homicide, DUI, driving without insurance and failure to stay in her lane. She has already appeared in court, where she was denied bail.

My heart goes out to these victims and their families. Losing loved ones unexpectedly is always a tragedy, but losing them to an apparent drunk driver is an extremely preventable tragedy. By now, high schoolers are routinely taught that drinking and driving poses a serious risk to themselves and everyone around them -- yet Metro Atlanta intoxicated driving lawyers like me continue to see more cases. Drunk driving causes wrongful deaths and catastrophic injuries, including head and spinal injuries that can cause lifelong disabilities. Under those circumstances, it's difficult to see the choice to drive while intoxicated as anything other than a deliberate, intentional choice made without consideration for the people who may cross the driver's path.

Continue reading "Driver Held for Alleged DUI Crash That Killed Mother and Child and Injured Two Others" »

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 a Gwinnett County car accident attorney, I was sorry to see another report about a fatal accident affecting a child. MyFox Atlanta reported Aug. 4 on the death of a seven-year-old boy who was hit by a woman's SUV as he walked to school. Police say Atlanta woman Shirley Ogilvie struck second-grader Cameron Dunmore while she was taking her own daughter to school. Ogilvie relied on a friend, Darlene Henson, to say how sorry she was, and reportedly cried on a relative's shoulder during the news conference.

According to the article, Dunmore was crossing the street in front of his elementary school when the accident occurred. A crossing guard reportedly held a stop sign in the middle of the street as he crossed, but for unclear reasons, Ogilvie failed to stop. Henson said Ogilvie drives the same street every day to take her daughter to school and is distraught over the child's death. Police say charges against Ogilvie are pending, including charges of vehicular homicide. The CEO of DeKalb County, where the accident took place, said he would start a traffic study on the crosswalk where the crash took place.

As Henson said at the conference, the death of a child is always devastating. As a Metro Atlanta car wreck lawyer, I'm sorry to say that I've handled several cases involving wrongful deaths of children in traffic accidents. In addition to being very emotionally difficult cases, they can often be financially catastrophic as well. Nobody worries about money right after a terrible accident, but as time goes on and accident-related bills begin to arrive, grieving families are forced to think about how they will pay the six-figure costs of necessities like hospitalization and a funeral. For many families, these unexpected costs completely swallow their savings, forcing them to scramble just to make ends meet.

Continue reading "Atlanta Woman 'Distraught' Over Fatal Accident With Child in Crosswalk" »

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" »

As an Atlanta car crash lawyer, I was grateful to see a good resolution to a terrible hit-and-run accident that took the life of a little girl this week. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Aug. 13 that a man who fled the scene after hitting a girl with his car has turned himself in. DeKalb County law enforcement officers say 44-year-old Gregory Armwood of Covington illegally changed lanes to pass a stopped MARTA bus before hitting six-year-old Sukmaya Mager. Mager died in the hospital Aug. 12, the same day she would have started elementary school. Armwood is charged with second-degree vehicular homicide and failure to exercise due care.

According to the article, a Clarkston police officer saw Armwood cross a double line to pass the stopped bus and another car. Mager, her mother and a neighbor were crossing the street in front of the vehicles, putting them right in Armwood's path. The article did not specify whether Mager's mother or neighbor were hurt in the crash, but it did say they were refugees from Nepal who had just arrived two weeks ago and don't yet have jobs or good English skills. State records show that Armwood has multiple traffic offenses on his record, most recently in 2003, including speeding, DUI and running stop signs and red lights. He and his attorney did not comment for the article.

My heart goes out to this family, which must deal with this terrible tragedy while they build new lives in the United States. According to the article, the Magers have no relatives here, speak no English and have not yet found jobs, which means they will have trouble paying for their daughter's cremation. As a Georgia auto accident attorney, I'm sorry to say that I see families thrown into similar financial situations all the time. Although the vast majority of my clients have jobs and are native-born Americans, a car crash can wreak havoc on a family's finances, causing six-figure medical bills and weeks of lost wages from time when victims cannot work. Part of my job is helping families in this situation find solutions to these overwhelming legal and financial problems, caused by a serious accident that was no fault of their own.

Continue reading "Driver Admits Responsibility for Hit-and-Run Crash That Killed Six-Year-Old Girl" »

A driver's failure to slow when entering morning traffic on Interstate 285 caused a fatal chain-reaction crash, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Aug. 6. DeKalb County law enforcement said their believed an unnamed driver in an SUV caused the five-vehicle crash on the morning of Aug. 5. The article did not give details, but said the chain ultimately resulted in an 18-wheeler striking a group of motorcyclists. That crash killed motorcyclist Joseph Johnson of Clover, S.C. and injured three other riders, one seriously. The SUV driver also sustained moderate injuries.

Of course, it would be a mistake to make a judgment about fault without some of the facts missing from this article. But this set of facts makes it seem likely that the SUV driver was at fault. As a Metro Atlanta car wreck lawyer, I regularly use police reports to establish fault in the accidents I handle. (You can find much more about accident reports on my site, under Accident Report Resources.) A police report is not proof, but it is powerful evidence that a presumably neutral third party agrees that the defendant was at fault for the accident. If the DeKalb police say they believe the SUV driver caused the accident, that would be strong evidence in any Georgia car crash lawsuit victims decide to file. Any criminal charges or traffic tickets for the SUV driver could further strengthen the case.

The story also caught my eye because it involved a crash between a large truck and a motorcycle. Motorcyclists' rates of injury and death are considerably higher than other motorists', in part because their lack of a steel cage, seatbelts or airbags leaves them vulnerable in an accident. That would be especially true in an accident with a large truck, whose weight and size is hundreds of times greater than that of even the largest motorcycle. As a Gwinnett County, Georgia car accident attorney, I know that a collision with a big rig can kill or seriously injure people inside even large passenger vehicles. Motorcyclists in the same position would be likely to suffer wrongful deaths or very serious injuries.

Continue reading "Motorcyclist Dies in Metro Atlanta Morning Chain-Reaction Car Crash" »

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.

In a tragic automobile accident, a Lawrenceville mother was killed by a drunk driver on Sunday, June 7, 2009. The woman, Sabrina Stanek, was standing in her yard when she saw a man in a Ford 350 pickup truck zooming up and down the road in her residential neighborhood. Stanek began waving at the man, Constantin Toncz, to slow down when she was struck and killed. Toncz apparently jumped the curb and struck Stanek, and then slammed his truck into her boyfriend's parked truck, pinning Stanek in between. After the violent truck wreck, the drunk driver did not stop to render aid. Instead, he abandoned his truck and walked to a family member's house down the street. Police arrested Toncz there later that night. Toncz has been in trouble with the law before and was out of jail on bond for a felony theft charge when the tragedy occurred. Police reported that Stanek died just after 9 p.m. Toncz was charged with first-degree vehicular homicide, breach of duty to drive, stop, or return to the scene of an accident and driving under the influence of alcohol.

The tragic drunk driving auto accident devastated members of the young mother's family, who claimed she was simply trying to protect her children. Stanek's parents are now attempting to gain custody of their daughter's two children, ages 4 and 6. Mercifully, the children did not witness the accident because they were asleep in the home. Stanek had worked as a manager at a Lawrenceville product distribution company.

In a later development, Gwinnett County District Attorney Jennifer Taylor filed a petition to revoke bond. The District Attorney's office had uncovered new evidence that suggested Toncz had acted intentionally in striking Stanek. It is unknown what additional facts were discovered, but Toncz's bond was revoked.

The notion that this man would intentionally run down a woman and violently kill her in front of her own home in her own neighborhood is disgusting. If true, the man should be charged with first degree murder and be subject to the death penalty. Another tragedy is that the drunk driver's insurance company may use the fact that this man's actions were intentional to deny coverage under his insurance policy. This would mean that this woman's children may be denied any wrongful death settlement as a result. Intentional acts are not covered under any insurance. Will this happen? Potentially, it could. We can only hope that Ms. Stanek's family hires a very good wrongful death attorney who specializes in representing children who have been seriously injured by the reckless actions of another. The attorney needs to act quickly in establishing Mr. Toncz's state of mind. Hopefully, the Stanek family had underinsured and uninsured coverage on their own vehicles.

Court revokes bond for man accused of DUI, Gwinnett Daily Post, July 4, 2009.

Police: Drunk Driver, Hit Killed Woman, MyFoxAtlanta.com, June 10, 2009.

Man accused in fatal hit-run appears in court, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, June 9, 2009.

When a child passenger is injured in an automobile accident or tractor trailer accident, who protects his or her rights? Well, you would assume that the parents or legal guardian would represent the child's interests. They do, but with caveats. Parents must understand the law because how a personal injury case is handled for a Georgia child will affect that child's future in terms of recovery, rehabilitation, care and education.

A child under 18 is not competent to represent himself or herself in a personal injury claim or litigation. Such a child is not sui generis in the eyes of the law. Accordingly, Georgia courts will often "toll" the statute of limitations until such a child is eighteen, the age of adulthood in Georgia. This means that a 5 year old child may have as long as two years after his eighteenth birthday in which to file suit. However, you should never rely on tolling. It is subject to the discretion of the judge. If you are the parent or guardian of a minor child who has been injured, whether in a premises liability matter, a products liability case, a tractor trailer accident or similar incident, then you should bring the claim within the regular 2 year statute of limitations period.

Georgia courts will not allow the child to claim medical expenses for which the child did not pay and for which the child is not legally responsible. Therefore, the parents must join any lawsuit as "Next Friend" of the child in order for the medical expenses to be recouped.

Generally, the parents or guardian communicates with the lawyer and has responsibility for making the settlement or litigation decisions on the child's behalf. However, once a child injury suit is settled or the proceeds from a judgment paid, the money from the settlement must be placed in a conservatorship for the benefit of the child if the proceeds are over $5,000. The conservator is the person, usually the parent or guardian, who looks over the money and must report to the probate court judge at least once per year and every time any non-material amount is to be spent for the benefit of the child.

An alternative to a conservatorship is a "structured settlement". In a structured settlement the money is paid not to the child but to a special account for the benefit of the child under the Georgia Transfer to Minors Act. The account is set up with a broker or financial advisor and the parent acts as "Custodian", directing the financial advisor. When the child reaches age 18, the money is relinquished to the child. Many of these accounts also may qualify for 529 treatment, meaning that the earnings during years between deposit and the age of majority are tax deferred. A structured settlement is much easier, cheaper and less laborious than a conservatorship and should be the preferred method of funding a settlement for a minor.

If a child is killed from the negligence of another in Georgia, then the family will need to act in accordance with the wrongful death laws of Georgia and should speak to a wrongful death attoney as soon as practicable. If the child had no will, then an Administration will have to be established for the child. The parents are the likely beneficiaries of any proceeds from the estate of the child and any wrongful death settlement.