There are many hazards on the road that drivers cannot control, like weather or construction. However, many accidents are not caused by hazards like these. They are caused by distracted driving. One such accident caused the death of a Georgia county sheriff officer's grandchild. The four-year-old girl died in an accident that occurred earlier this month. She was in the car with her mother and younger brother when the car was struck from behind by another vehicle. When authorities arrived on the scene, which included the child's grandfather, the little girl was pulled from the vehicle and CPR was administered. After the accident, the driver of the second vehicle told authorities that he had dropped a bottle and his phone into the floorboard of his car and was attempting to reach for them when he crashed into the vehicle carrying the mother and her children. Unfortunately, the child did not…

When drivers are involved in an accident one of their first instincts may be to exit the vehicle and survey the damage or get away from the vehicle. A car accident that occurred on I-75 in Georgia underscores that this reaction can have tragic results. In light of the tragic accident, authorities have attempted to emphasize the importance of staying inside of the vehicle after an accident so long as it remains safe to do so. The initial accident that began the deadly chain of events involved only two vehicles. A car rear-ended a pickup truck, with the car then facing the wrong way on the interstate. The truck did not stop, but the driver later contacted authorities to say that he kept driving because there did not seem to be any major damage to his vehicle. However, the car facing the wrong way on the interstate was struck by another vehicle and…

It may not seem too bad compared to a serious auto collision, but a minor crash is stressful. After a fender-bender, you need to spend several days dealing with the other driver, your insurance company, and repair shops. The last thing you and other Georgia residents may be thinking of after a minor crash is getting checked out by a doctor. However, the week following an accident is the exact time frame you should be paying attention to how your body feels. You might have walked away from the fender-bender without a scratch, but you could be feeling sore as early as the next day. Whiplash is a common injury suffered by countless people after minor collisions, especially rear-end crashes. This type of injury occurs when your head has been thrown back and forth by the impact. Often, you will not feel the effects of whiplash immediately, but you will begin to…

Unlike many states across the U.S., Georgia does not subscribe to no-fault insurance coverage. Drivers who are found to be at fault for causing the accident may be sued by any injured party, including passengers in their own car, under most conditions. This blog post will explain how "comparative fault" insurance works in Georgia and the ways to file a personal injury liability insurance claim for compensation. How Georgia's modified comparative fault laws work The first insurance matter to be settled in any motor vehicle accident on a Georgia road will be to determine which driver was at fault and whether both drivers may have shared some percentage of responsibility. If one driver is held 100 percent liable for causing the accident, then his or her insurance will be responsible for covering all liability damages paid to injured parties, including passengers in their own vehicle. However, if the other driver is determined to share some of the fault, 20 percent for example, then…

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…