The old common-law doctrine of contributory negligence, which used to hold that if a plaintiff was in any way negligent he was barred from recovery, has been superseded in virtually every state including Georgia. Most states today use some form of comparative fault (also referred to as comparative negligence) when apportioning between the plaintiff and the defendant or defendants their respective share of the blame for the occurrence of the event that led to the plaintiff's injuries. In Georgia, the general rule of comparative fault is that if the jury finds that the plaintiff is 50 percent or more at fault this has the same effect as the old contributory negligence rule: the plaintiff is barred from any recovery. As long as the plaintiff is less than 50 percent at fault, then the plaintiff's award is reduced by the percentage of his or her negligence. Thus, for example, if in…

According to statistics released by the federal government, more than 150 billion text messages are sent each month in this country. It should not come as a surprise that 20 percent of teenagers and 10 percent of adults admitted to engaging in extended text messaging conversations while driving. Georgia has enacted several laws aimed at making highways safer by restricting activities by drivers that put other people at risk of serious injury in an auto accident. For example, school bus drivers in Macon and in other communities are prohibited from using their cellphones for talking or texting while driving. This ban also applies to drivers who are younger than 18 years of age. Drivers 18 years of age and older are prohibited from texting and driving. These cellphone laws are primary violations under state law. As a primary violation, a police officer may stop a motorist who is in violation without…

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…

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 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…

A man in Georgia was killed in a two-car accident that took place on Feb. 28. Before the crash, the 71-year-old victim was driving a sports car in Marietta. While the man was traveling westbound, another driver cut him off while the sports car was trying to make a turn. The car accident occurred after the victim had slowed his vehicle to turn left. When the victim began to turn, a 45-year-old man driving an SUV drove up behind him and crossed the centerline. The driver of the SUV then entered the opposite lanes of traffic and struck the front-left side of the victim's sports car. The impact of the collision caused both of the vehicles to end up in a residential yard that was close to the roadway. Both of the drivers were transported to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital after the crash. The older man died at the hospital, while…

Police in Georgia are investigating a Feb. 25 car accident that resulted in the deaths of two people and sent a third to the hospital. The accident occurred at about 4:30 p.m. on Old Clyattville Road in Valdosta. A Ford Mustang driven by a 22-year-old woman from Florida was traveling southbound on Old Clyattville Road at the time of the accident. A Ford F-150 traveling in the northbound lane attempted to pass a northbound school bus and collided head-on with the Mustang about two miles away from Interstate 75. The 22-year-old woman and her passenger, a 23-year-old Valdosta man, died as a result of their injuries. Emergency crews took the F-150's driver, a 34-year-old Valdosta man, to South Georgia Medical Center in Valdosta in serious condition. No passengers were aboard the school bus, and no one else suffered any injuries in the accident. A reconstruction team continued to investigate the…