Georgia Personal Injury Law Blog

As the holiday season draws to an end and we welcome 2016, we all look to the future with expectations of improvement and resolution to do better, enjoy more and get things right. But what if we aren't given the chance? Or what if someone we love isn't able to? What if you or a loved one's life is changed forever because you were on the roads on New Year's Eve and so was a driver who had celebrated a little too much and made the poor decision to get behind the wheel, heading to another party or on a beer run or perhaps home, that decision will become a costly one, for them and for the strangers in the car they involve, leaving lasting devastation on countless people's lives. Using victim in an encompassing sense?including families who must cope with either the pain or death of one they cherish?if…

Motorcyclists can never be too careful. The same can be said for everyone else on the road, particularly concerning how we navigate and share the roadways with motorcyclists. Drivers are often encouraged and reminded to look twice for motorcycles. A failure to look carefully may have contributed to the cause of why a woman's life was cut tragically short on a Sunday afternoon in December. A woman leaving a holiday Christmas parade in which she had driven her motorcycle was pronounced dead approximately a half-hour after her bike struck a van that allegedly pulled out of an apartment complex in front of her. The driver of the van was an elderly woman of nearly 90 years. No charges have been filed, and the elderly woman was taken to the same hospital as the deceased woman but was listed in stable condition. A passenger in the van was reportedly uninjured. When…

The act of teenagers borrowing the family car can be considered a rite of passage in many American families. Most of the time this happens, the result is harmless. But on occasion, something can go terribly wrong and an accident ensues that harms others. In such instances, the question can come up whether those who actually owned the car were negligent in allowing another person to drive it. This question comes under the legal theory known as "negligent entrustment." In Georgia, courts have defined negligent entrustment of a motor vehicle to be when an automobile owner lends his or her car to another person (it does not have to be a family member) to someone whom he or she knows (that is, has actual knowledge) is incompetent to drive or is otherwise habitually reckless. The negligence on the part of the vehicle owner in lending it to someone who should…

The fact that motorcycle operators and their passengers do not have a steel frame surrounding them to provide protection is one of the reasons catastrophic injuries are common in a motorcycle collision with a car or other motor vehicle. This is why it is important for motorcycle riders to take precautions before going out on the road to minimize the chances of becoming a motorcycle accident victim. According to Georgia officials, most catastrophic injuries and deaths associated with a motorcycle crash are caused by either a neck injury or a head injury. Wearing a helmet increases your chances of surviving a motorcycle accident. Helmets should meet federal standards and should not show signs of cracks or other defects that could limit their effectiveness in protecting you in the event of an accident. If the helmet is not equipped with a face shield, state law requires you to wear some form of…

It can be difficult, at times, to determine the cause of a car collision until after the completion of an accident investigation. Although it might appear as though a driver acted responsibly by obeying the traffic laws, a thorough investigation by the police or by an attorney acting on behalf of a victim suffering a serious injury might disclose evidence to prove the person was a negligent driver. A recent auto accident in which three vehicles were involved appears to have been caused by a driver who obeyed a stop sign. Unfortunately, the individual failed to yield to other traffic in the intersection as he drove away from the stop sign. The result was a three-car accident that sent three people requiring medical treatment to the hospital. According to police, one of the drivers pulled away from a stop sign without maintaining a proper lookout for other vehicles in the…

Two Georgia brothers, both members of their high school marching band, were killed in an accident that involved two vehicles. Their vehicle, a small sedan, was traveling north on a local roadway when the driver turned west and collided with a rental truck. The small sedan was struck on the driver's side. Authorities say that the weather might have played a factor in this accident. The driver of the truck, a 44-year-old man, was taken to a local area hospital, as was the oldest brother and driver of the small sedan. That brother, who was 17 years old, died from his injuries the next morning. The younger brother, who was 15, died at the scene of the accident. The wreck occurred within a quarter of a mile from where the boys lived. Both boys were members of the marching band and both were percussionists. They were remembered by friends and…

Car-truck accidents can be gruesome to behold. You may have seen pictures of the aftermath of such encounters: the economy car that looks like it has been put a trash compactor; the sedan that has its side stove in; the pickup that not only got rolled over but ended up with the big rig that hit it resting on top of it. The circumstances under which you might find yourself involved in an accident with a truck can vary. Still, regardless of how it happens, a definite possibility is that you will suffer significant injuries as a result. Injuries from a trucking accident can take time to heal. They can even lead to long-term disability or prevent you from returning to work at all. Aside from the prospect of lost income, don’t forget the medical bills that can wipe out your savings, outstrip your insurance coverage, and leave you facing…

If you are a parent, one of your nightmare scenarios is likely the possibility of being involved in a car accident while your children are in the car. You can drive as defensively as you can, but that does not mean that every other driver is being as careful as you, and a serious, injury-producing accident can happen that has little or nothing to do with how well you were driving at the time. Your second line of defense when it comes to protecting your children when they travel with you in an automobile is to understand and comply with Georgia's safety laws governing children in cars. Child safety laws depend heavily on the age of the child; the younger the child, the stricter the precautions must be. The threshold age is eight. If your child is not yet eight years old, you are required to have an approved safety seat…

Personal injury lawsuits arising from incidents like car, truck or motorcycle accidents can sometimes result in injuries of such severity that the person harmed can die as a result. In other posts we have covered the topic of how the immediate family members of a person so deceased can still pursue a money damages remedy against the defendant through a wrongful death action. But what if, instead of your loved one who was involved in an injury-producing accident, it is the other driver who dies? Does that mean that you can no longer file, or maintain a lawsuit against that person? The answer to that question, fortunately, is “No.” Georgia law holds as a matter of public policy that a person cannot escape liability for an act of negligence or wrongdoing by dying. There is a specific statute governing the survival of causes of action against estates of people who had they…

When a speeding truck slams into the rear of a car, the results can be catastrophic. Collisions caused by an inattentive truck driver, or by someone suffering from truck driver fatigue, failing to apply the vehicle’s brakes in time to avoid an accident is an all too common occurrence on Georgia highways. The existence of automatic braking systems that employ lasers and other technology to signal a truck driver of stopped or slowing vehicles up ahead, has prompted the federal government to consider requiring their installation in all trucks. According to government investigations into the causes of a typical 18-wheeler accident, 64 percent of them involved a frontal collision as the truck crashed into another vehicle. The automatic systems apply the brakes to slow or stop a truck in the event the driver does not do so after being signaled of a crash risk up ahead. Truck accident statistics show…