Georgia Personal Injury Law Blog

Courts in Georgia use the legal construct of the "reasonable person" when determining whether civil liability exists in a negligence lawsuit, such as one arising out of a car accident. The reasonable person is not a real individual, but rather a concept to help the jury decide if the defendant's act was wrongful. The question is whether a reasonable person under the circumstances would have done what the defendant did that caused the plaintiff's injury or property damage. If you are like most drivers, when you get behind the wheel you try hard to be the reasonable person.Unfortunately, however, you can be the poster example of the reasonable person and still get into an accident with another vehicle. For the truth is that not every other driver may be as concerned as you are with behaving reasonably.     Other people can act unreasonably in many ways: distracted drivers; drunk…

Wrongful death actions are fact-specific to every case. It is the role of a personal injury attorney to match the facts of your loved one's death to the cause of action elements so as to present the most effective case for either settlement or proof at trial, so an important consideration on your part would be to retain a law firm with experience in negotiating and litigating wrongful death cases If a loved one of yours dies as the result of the negligent or intentional act of someone else, then under Georgia law you may be able to commence a wrongful death lawsuit against that person. Wrongful death actions are a species of tort, and generally have the following requirements for the plaintiff to prove: As mentioned above, the death of the family member must be caused by a negligent or intentional act. You must be a surviving family member. Under Georgia…

Alcohol has different effects on the body according to the amount of alcohol that an individual consumes. While Georgia motorists know that this is why drunk driving is dangerous, many not understand what the effects are and when they start to happen. Individuals feel relaxed, have changes in mood, experience some loss in judgment and feel slightly warm when their blood alcohol concentration reaches .02 percent. This affects their driving performance by reducing the ability to track moving objects and do two tasks simultaneously. When their BAC reaches .05 percent, individuals usually feel good, exhibit exaggerated behavior, lose control of small muscles, experience reduced alertness, become less shy and have impaired judgment. The effects of this on driving include difficulty steering as well as reduced coordination, response to emergency situations and ability to track moving objects. Individuals with a BAC of .08 percent experience poor muscle coordination, trouble detecting danger,…

On behalf of Dozier Law Firm, LLC posted in Car Accidents on Tuesday, April 28, 2015. Based on the results of a study by the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety, Georgia drivers should keep their eyes on the road as much as possible. According to the study, even a two-second glance away can be dangerous. Using a driving simulation and tracking participants' eye movements, researchers in the study found that drivers who even briefly took their eyes off of the road were less able to process hazards than those who remained focused. This was the case even if they were aware of the hazard before looking elsewhere. Drivers tended to need a few moments to readjust their eyes when they once again focused their attention on the road, and this created problems for dealing with immediate dangers. Another finding was that drivers failed to recognize their inattention. In a questionnaire that the participants answered after…

An 18-year-old man was ejected through the passenger window of his truck after Georgia State Patrol said he ran a stop sign and hit an SUV. He landed about 15 feet away from his vehicle. The collision on GA 10 at Stagecoach Road in Thomson also hurt two people in the SUV. Police investigators said the 18-year-old driver of a Ford F-150 westbound on Stagecoach Road ran the stop sign for GA 10. His vehicle struck a Ford Expedition heading south on the highway. The impact rolled the Expedition over. A female passenger in the Expedition required air transport to GRU Medical Center. Emergency responders drove two injured men to the same hospital. A hospital representative later shared information on the medical conditions of the injured people. The hospital treated and released the 18-year-old man. The male driver of the Expedition was in fair condition, and the woman was upgraded…

When Georgia residents receive facial traumas in a car accident, they may suffer from a jaw fracture or a dislocation. These painful injuries require weeks of recovery time and possible surgical intervention. Jaw fractures may also include other associated problems that can be serious. A dislocation of the jaw involves the person's jaw being moved out of its sockets. Generally, people who suffer from a dislocated jaw will suffer severe pain. Doctors normally can use their fingers to move the jaw back into its place. Victims may then need to have their jaws taped and wired shut in order to prevent them from opening their mouths very wide. Recovery time for a dislocated jaw typically takes a period of about six weeks. Fractured jaws are more serious and involve breaking of the bones making up the jaw itself. Those whose jaws have been fractured may require surgery to insert pins to piece…

Georgia residents may be interested to learn of a recent study that found a sharp decline in drunk driving fatal accidents following a modest tax increase on alcohol. The study's authors reviewed data from Illinois, both prior to and after the state had increased its taxes on beer, wine and liquor. Illinois increased alcohol taxes in 2009, with the tax on beer increased by 4.6 cents for each gallon, on wine by 66 cents and on liquor by $4.05 per gallon. Following the tax hike, Illinois experienced a 26 percent decline in the number of drunk driving fatalities. The decline was most stark for younger drivers, who demonstrated a fall of 37 percent, while extremely drunk drivers demonstrated a decline of 25 percent. The study controlled for other factors, such as weather and road conditions, in order to determine whether the decrease was due to the tax change itself. The authors reported…

Georgia residents might benefit from learning more about breastbone injuries that can occur as a result of a car crash. The technical term for this type of injury is a sternum fracture. The sternum, or breastbone, is the bone along the midline of the chest that is attached to the rib bones by cartilage forming the front portion of the rib cage. The function of the rib cage is to protect major blood vessels and vital organs from being damaged by physical trauma. Research shows that women are more susceptible to suffering a sternum fracture than men. Studies also determined that people over age 50 face an increased risk of suffering a breastbone injury while children are far less likely. Approximately 60 to 90 percent of all sternum fractures are attributable to auto accidents. These injuries are usually caused by not wearing seatbelts or a lack of air bag protection.…

A Georgia accident that occurred near Lawrenceville claimed the life of both drivers. The accident occurred on March 16 on Buford Drive near Cripple Creek Drive. According to reports, a 50-year-old Lawrenceville woman was driving a Buick LeSabre north on the road. She apparently crossed the centerline, striking a southbound Toyota Camry being driven by a 42-year-old Buford man. Both the woman and the man died of the injuries they sustained in the collision. According to police, a pickup truck and a Honda were also involved in the wreck. The pickup truck's driver was not injured, while the driver of the Honda received minor injuries and was treated and then released from the hospital. Law enforcement authorities have not indicated what caused the woman to cross the centerline. They have also not reported whether alcohol or drugs were involved. The accident is being investigated by officers with the Lawrenceville Police…

On Aug. 8, 2011, a deadly trucking accident occurred on Highway 32 in a road construction zone west of Irwinville. Seven vehicles were at a standstill on the roadway when a truck driver failed to stop and crashed into the line of cars. Three of the drivers were killed when their vehicles became engulfed in flames. The male truck driver found responsible for this fatal accident received a 3-year judgment on March 13 in the Irwin County Superior Court. After pleading guilty to six counts of misdemeanor vehicular homicide earlier in the week, the trucker was ordered to begin serving 18 months in jail. Once he is released, the man will be on probation for an additional 18 months. He is also prohibited from driving commercial vehicles and was ordered to pay $3,000 in fines. A family member of at least one of the victims of the crash was dissatisfied…