Personal Injury

Motorcycle Crashes and Helmets: Statistics Prove that Helmets Save Lives

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently issued statistics indicating that in 2006 helmets dramatically saved lives in motorcycle crashes. The NHTSA estimates that had all motorcyclists involved in collisions worn helmets in 2006, 752 more people would have survived their injuries. As it was, in 2006 it is estimated that motorcycle helmets saved 1,658 lives. Over 4,800 motorcycle riders died in 2006.
Obviously, in those states that require helmet use, the number of riders wearing helmets are greatly in excess of those in
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Chilling Statistics for Motorcycle Accidents

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (a division of the United States Department of Transportation), in the calendar year 2006, 4,810 people died in motorcycle crashes. This number was up over 5% from those killed in 2005 (4,576). The number of those killed in 2006 were at their highest levels since 1981. Additionally, according to the statistics maintained by the NHTSA, motorcycle fatalities have increased every year for the past consecutive 9 years.
Of course, there are more motorcycle riders on the road
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The Blufton Bus Crash: “An Accident That Did Not Have To Happen”

According to investigators for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the March 2, 2007 Blufton University bus crash that killed 5 members of the Ohio Blufton University baseball team and injured 28 others was “an accident that didn’t have to happen.” After a year long investigation, investigators for the NTSB concluded that driver error, confusing highway signage and a lack of passenger safety features in the bus carrying the baseball team were all contributing factors in the collision which also claimed the lives of the bus driver and his wife.

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Medication Errors Still Occurring in Hospitals

A baby in a Corpus Christi, Texas, hospital neonatal intensive care unit has died after receiving an overdose of the blood thinner heparin. The baby was one of up to 17 babies in a neonatal intensive care unit receiving overdoses heparin. Heparin is an anticoagulant often used to clean the IVs of patients and prevent blood clots from forming in the lines.
The problem with heparin overdoses of infants in hospitals entered the public arena last year when the twins of actor Dennis Quaid almost
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Motorcycle Accidents and Uninsured Motorist Coverage

This past year our firm handled several motorcycle accidents involving wrongful deaths and serious injuries. What we see in these cases is the importance of a motorcycle rider having uninsured motorist coverage to protect their interests. Even where a motorcycle rider is doing everything right, is wearing a helmet and is operating the motorcycle safely, it is not uncommon for us to see wrongful death and serious injury cases in such contexts. For whatever reason, many people pull right out in front motorcycle
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Police Chase Cases and Innocent Passengers

Since the seminal case of Scott v. Harris as decided by the U. S. Supreme Court there seems to be a prevailing mood that “the gloves are off” and the police can chase a suspect who defies their orders to pull over for as long as possible notwithstanding the dangers to the public. Fortunately, even though this has been the reading by some of the Supreme Court Opinion, the legal landscape is hardly as bleak as some would think. Indeed, state laws like that enacted
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Surgical Checklist For Reducing Errors

The World Health Organization issued its first guidelines on Tuesday aimed at reducing complications and deaths from the rising numbers of operations now being performed. Many who read the checklist will react by wondering why hospitals and surgeons have not been doing this for years.
The guidelines are a list of simple safety checks that the health organization said could halve the rate of surgical complications. The list is intended to improve anesthetic safety practices, avoid infections and improve communication among members of surgical teams.
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Bicycle Accidents and Road Hazards

Earlier this year our Atlanta attorneys settled a wrongful death case involving a bicycle accident which occurred inside the city limits. In that particular case, the bicycle rider, who lost his life, became entangled with loose utility wires hanging from a utility pole near a busy intersection on Peachtree Street. The evidence established that the utility wires had been in a state of disarray for several months but had not been repaired. Unfortunately, this wrongful death case is not an isolated incident.
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Georgia Courts Do Not Favor Consumers

Georgia Court Watch is a project of Georgia Watch, a nonprofit and nonpartisan group committed to strengthening the rights of consumers in Georgia. It has recently issued its annual report on Georgia appellate courts. The reports shows that, contrary to the statements of many politicians, the Georgia Appellate judges are not activists and not overly consumer friendly.
The report analyzed the activity on payday loan, insurance coverage, medical misdiagnosis, and other significant consumer issues. The “2007 Annual Report” identifies and profiles the most noteworthy consumer-related
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The Importance of Uninsured Motorist Coverage

In our personal injury practice we are oftentimes astounded at the lack of understanding by the public of the important nature of uninsured motorist coverage. Many people do not know what uninsured motorist coverage is. Regrettably, many people learn what it is too late to benefit from such important insurance coverage.
In order to get license tags to lawfully operate a vehicle in Georgia, the motorist must have a minimum of $25,000.00 in liability insurance coverage per person, $50,000.00 per accident. What this means is
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Motorcycles and Drunk Drivers: A Deadly Combination

We read in the paper this week about a tragedy involving a motorcyclist who was struck and killed by a drunk driver. According to news accounts, the drunk driver was completely at fault in the incident and struck the innocent motorcycle rider from the rear. Regrettably, this case is indicative of the dangers to which all motorcycle riders are exposed. Such dangers are exponentially increased, obviously, when a drunk driver is involved.
We read in the paper this week about a tragedy involving a motorcyclist
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Dangerous Glass Products and Preventable Injuries

Approximately 2 years ago we published an article on the dangers of unsafe and dangeous glass products. We re-print this article because of the tragic death of a young woman who fell to her death this week after falling through a window at a hotel in downtown Atlanta. This accident was preventable but occurred because safety glass was apparently not properly used. In today’s modern age, with the known dangers involved, this is inexcusable. Our earlier blog entry is posted again in view of this
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Unit Measurement Approach When Discussing Wrongful Death Damages

If a 28 year old male is killed and hypothetically he should have a 48 year life expectancy, when killed at age 28, the decedent has lost 46 years of his life according to the Annuity Mortality Tables of most states. Forty-eight years translates into 46 years times 365 days a year times 16 hours a day of consciousness (46x365x16=268,640 hours). Because we sleep for 8 hours a day, if one argues before a jury that the decedent would have consciously enjoyed life for 46
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Measuring Damages In Wrongful Death Cases

As every individual is unique, so is the challenge faced by a trial attorney in trying to address a jury on the issue of the proper measurement of damages in the wrongful death case of any individual. All individuals are different. They come from different backgrounds and they are different ages, sexes, races, nationalities and religious beliefs. Whoever the unfortunate victim in a wrongful death case may be, the challenge is coming up with the best assessment of addressing damages when trying to obtain
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The Centers For Disease Control Releases Wrongful Death Statistics

According to a recently released report authored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, car accident cases and wrongful deaths cost the State of Georgia approximately $1.5 billion in the calendar year 2005. Regrettably, this is the most recent data which as been collated and studied. Nationwide, car accident related deaths cost approximately $41 billion. Georgia ranked number 4 among 10 other states with the highest medical and work lost costs associated with preventable deaths caused by motor vehicle collisions.
Obviously, much can
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New Georgia Law Designed To Prevent Injury To Children

Georgia Governor Nathan Deal has signed a new law requiring all children under the age of 7 to be placed in booster seats unless they are over 40 pounds in weight and/or stand more than 4 feet 9 inches tall. The new law will go into effect this coming January to give parents time to purchase booster seats if needed. The reason for the new law: Protection of our children. Authorities have tracked injuries to children over the last five years and have determined that
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Mammogram Recommendations Disputed By Scientific Studies

Women under 50 who follow the advice of a U.S. panel to forgo annual mammograms may be at risk for more severe forms of breast cancer
Three recent studies led by radiologists suggest that failing to get regular breast screenings left women more likely to discover cancer at an advanced stage. The delay resulted in larger tumors and a worse prognosis once the cancer was uncovered, the data found.
The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force said in 2009 that most women ages 40 to 49
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Nursing Home Infection Rates Increase

Infections are now the number one cause of deaths in nursing homes, causing nearly 400,000 deaths annually.
A study published in the May issue of The America Journal of Infection Control reports that 15% of American nursing homes each year receive deficiency citations for infection control.
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public Health, looked at deficiency data collected from about 16,000 nursing homes per year between 2000 to 2007 as part of Medicare/Medicaid certification.
The researchers reported
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Medical Errors Can Be Reduced

Preventable medical errors kill thousands of Americans every year.
A recent study found that nearly one out of three hospital patients is harmed by the care they receive. The Institute of Medicine, an independent nonprofit organization within the National Academy of Sciences which works to provide unbiased advice to decision makers within the medical community, estimates that as many as 100,000 Americans die each year from preventable medical errors in hospitals. This is approximately the same number of annual deaths caused by auto accidents, AIDS,
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Construction Accidents And Third Party Claims

When an employee is injured on a job site, particularly on a construction job site, unfortunately the injuries sustained can be serious. Heavy equipment is typically involved on large commercial construction projects and it is not unusual for construction workers on large construction projects to be exposed to a variety of different dangers during the work day. If an employee is injured on the job, under our Workers’ Compensation laws, the claim will primarily have to be brought against the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance
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