Atlanta Injury Lawyers Blog

Published on: March 30, 2011

Prevent Atlanta Bicycle Accidents in the Spring

Spring is in the air, and many Atlantans, weary of the winter weather, will be heading out in their bicycles. It’s the right time for Atlanta bicycle accident attorneys to warn bikers of the special risks they face out there. While bicyclists can do nothing to compensate for the negligence of motorists, they can increase their own risks of surviving an accident, by wearing a helmet, riding a properly functioning bike and obeying all road safety rules.

The number one rule of bicycle safety is – wear a helmet. A helmet will not completely protect you from traumatic brain injury in the event of an accident, but will reduce the chances of suffering a seriously debilitating head injury. The helmet should be well-fitting and fit snugly on your head.

Before you begin a ride, check and make sure that the handlebars are functioning properly, and the wheels are secure. Make sure that your brakes are functioning properly.

Dress for bicycling. Wear brightly colored or neon clothes to stand out in traffic. A motorist is more likely to notice you if you’re wearing a neon yellow T-shirt and a matching yellow helmet.
Avoid biking at night as much as possible. If you really must bike at night, equip your cycle with reflectors and bright lights.

Avoid all distractions. Avoid cycling while listening to music, or talking on your handset.
Be extra careful when you enter intersections -these are bicycle accident magnets.
Continue reading

Published on: March 18, 2011

Lack of Crash Test Dummies Exposes Atlanta Children to Injury Risks

by Robert J. Fleming

Every responsible Atlanta parent will make sure that their child is safely secured in a child car seat before driving. However, not every car seat will protect your child from serious injuries in an accident. Many of these seats are only tested for their protection against injuries in a front impact accident, but not injuries sustained in a rollover accident, a rear-ender or a side-impact collision. While every parent surely has nothing but the best of intentions in trying to keep their children safe in the car, they can only act on the information that is provided to them. Unfortunately, this is information is not always accurate and up-to-date. A further investigation into the information related to car seats for infants and children bears this out.

The Washington Post has a new report that should concern any Atlanta injury attorney or parent. According to the report, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has limited abilities to test the effectiveness of car seats and prevent injuries to children. Most of these tests only determine the effectiveness of the car seat in front impact collisions, and the agency does not have a suitable-sized crash test dummy to test the effectiveness of the seats during rollovers, side impact crashes and rear end accidents. As an Atlanta car accident attorney, I see that some of the most serious injuries occur in these kinds of crashes. What that means is that in an accident like this, children who are secured in their car seats may have little chance of escaping serious injuries.

Besides, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has failed to keep pace with the change in the size and weight of America’s children. A growing population of overweight children has meant that parents have had to look out for large-sized car seats. Unfortunately, the NHTSA has failed to develop a plus-sized crash test dummy that it can use to test the effectiveness of car seats. In a situation like this, parents have no choice, but to believe the assurances of manufacturers when they buy plus-sized car seat.
Continue reading

Published on: March 11, 2011

X-rays Provide Objective Proof of Injuries

by Robert J. Fleming

Many of our clients sustain serious injuries in Atlanta automobile accidents. Insurance companies often dispute the severity of the injuries. Because x-rays can penetrate human tissue, they provide an excellent picture of the body’s anatomy and injuries thereto. X-rays are films of the body structures and look like negatives of photographs. When bones are fractured, the break is visible as a black line. This is why X-ray can provide an objective form of proof of a fractured bone or herniated disc spinal injury from an automobile accident.

In other types of cases, such as dental malpractice, for instance, radiographic evidence in the form of an x-ray, Cone Beam CT Scan (“CBCT”) or other type of film studies, can provide objective evidence of an injury caused by the malpractice. Sometimes these objective tests are performed before, during and after the treatment in question by the at-fault defendant. Other times, it is captured by care and treatment given by a subsequent treating doctor or dentist. But, in any case, the old adage: a picture is worth a thousand words, is equally applicable to x-rays and the like when it comes to proving dental malpractice or medical malpractice.

Of all the cases that we handle, x-rays are the most important in dental malpractice cases. The following are used in dental cases and become important in the evaluation and pursuit of dental malpractice cases:

Bite-wing X-rays (right)
highlight the crowns of the back teeth. Dentists take one or two bite-wing X-rays on each side of the mouth. Each X-ray shows the upper and lower molars (back teeth) and bicuspids (teeth in front of the molars). These X-rays are called “bite-wings” because you bite down on a wing-shaped device that holds the film in place while the X-ray is taken. These X-rays help dentists find decay between back teeth.

Periapical X-rays (left)
highlight only one or two teeth at a time. A periapical X-ray looks similar to a bite-wing X-ray. However, it shows the entire length of each tooth, from crown to root.

Occlusal X-rays (right)
are larger than most X-rays. They highlight tooth development and placement in children. Each X-ray shows nearly the full arch of teeth in either the upper or lower jaw.

Extraoral Radiographs
Extraoral X-rays are made with the film outside the mouth. These can be considered the “big picture” X-rays. They show teeth, but they also provide information on the jaw and skull. Extraoral radiographs are used to:

Keep track of growth and development
Look at the status of impacted teeth
Examine the relationships between teeth and jaws
Examine the bones of the face

Extraoral X-rays are less detailed than intraoral X-rays. For this reason, they are usually not used for detecting cavities or flaws in individual teeth.

Panoramic X-rays show the entire mouth on a single X-ray. They include all teeth on both upper and lower jaws. This type of X-ray requires a special machine. The tube head that emits the X-rays circles behind your head while the film circles across the front. That way, the full, broad view of the jaws is captured on one film. Because the machine moves in a set path, you have to be positioned carefully. Devices attached to the X-ray machine hold your head and jaw in place. All this may look and feel intimidating, but the process is very safe. It often uses less radiation than intraoral X-rays.

Cephalometric projections are X-rays taken of the entire side of the head. They are used to look at the teeth in relation to the jaw and the person’s profile. Orthodontists use cephalometric projections to determine the best type of orthodontic treatment.

Cone-beam computed tomography (CT) provides three-dimensional images. You stand or sit while the machine rotates around your head. The beam is cone-shaped, instead of fan-shaped as in a standard medical CT. A cone-beam scan uses less radiation than a medical CT scan but far more than any standard dental X-ray. The cone-beam CT is particularly useful for dental implant selection and placement.

Standard computed tomography (CT) usually must be done in a radiologist’s office or a hospital. Typically, you will lie down while the image is taken. The radiation exposure is higher for this type of CT than for a cone-beam CT. A standard CT scan may be done to determine size and placement location for implants.

Digital Radiographs
Digital radiographs are one of the newest X-ray techniques. Standard X-ray film is replaced with a flat electronic pad or sensor. The image goes into a computer, where it can be viewed on a screen, stored or printed out. Digital X-rays taken at different times can be compared using a process that highlights differences between the images. Tiny changes therefore can be caught earlier. Used properly, digital X-rays use about half the radiation of conventional film.
Continue reading

Published on: March 10, 2011

Teen Accident Prevention Efforts in Georgia

by Robert J. Fleming

As an Atlanta personal injury lawyer, I don’t hesitate to call out auto companies when they prioritize profits before consumer safety. It’s, therefore, also necessary to hand kudos where it’s due, when these very same companies take initiatives to reduce the risk of accidents and enhance motorist safety. Across the country, Ford Motor Company has been conducting driving clinics aimed at preventing accidents involving teenage drivers, and at many schools struggling with slashed budgets, these programs have been, quite literally, a lifesaver. With teenagers beig able to obtain drivers licenses at such an early age, even though study after study has confirmed that their brains are not fully developed until their mid-20’s, this is a great idea.

In Georgia, teenagers in several counties can benefit from the safety programs that Ford Motor Company conducts in collaboration with the Governor’s Highway Safety Association. The initiative includes a day of driving safety activities for high school students, including a three-course driver program. The program, called the Ford Driving Skills for Life program, has teenagers learning what it is really like to drive drunk or driver with distractions. This is done through the use of simulators and goggles.

The drunken-driving course, for instance, involves driving around orange cones in a “sober state”. The students are given Innocorp Fatal Vision Goggles that simulate driving with a blood-alcohol level of .08%. That is the legal limit for drunken driving in the state of Georgia and most of the rest of the country. Finally, the teen driver is given another pair of goggles that simulates a much higher level of blood-alcohol. The teens find that while they can drive carefully and concentrate in a sober state, it’s very hard to do so with a level of .08%, and almost impossible to do when their blood-alcohol levels are higher than .08%.
Continue reading

Published on: March 7, 2011

Gwinnett Woman Struck by Jeep

by Robert J. Fleming

Another pedestrian was killed on Saturday night in Gwinnett County. She appears to have been trying to cross the street. The woman was hit by an unidentified jeep.

Pedestrians in the Atlanta area run a significant risk of injury or death. Many roads have no sidewalks or safe areas to walk, and drivers do not watch for pedestrians. Even getting to a bus stop can be hazardous.

Many drivers aren’t sure what to do when they encounter a pedestrian. In 1995 the Georgia legislature changed the cross walk law such that drivers must “stop and stay stopped” for pedestrians, not just yield to them. Be sure you know the law. You’ll avoid a ticket and maybe save a life. In the City of Atlanta, for instance, police will cite drivers who proceed through the intersection prior to all pedestrians clearing the cross walk. While it is nearly impossible to drive in downtown Atlanta traffic and not do this, you do run the risk of being ticketed for this technical interpretation of the law (instead of the common sense interpretation which requires, as evidenced by the applicable Georgia codes below, the driver to yield to pedestrians in the cross walk and to proceed through the intersection once the pedestrians are out of harm’s way). The applicable Georgia law that governs this area is as follows:

§ 40-6-91. Right of Way in Crosswalks:

(a) The driver of a vehicle shall stop and remain stopped to allow a pedestrian to cross the roadway within a crosswalk when the pedestrian is upon the half of the roadway upon which the vehicle is traveling, or when the pedestrian is approaching and is within one lane of the half of the roadway on which the vehicle is traveling or onto which it is turning. For the purposes of this subsection, “half of the roadway” means all traffic lanes carrying traffic in one direction of travel.

(b) No pedestrian shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is impractical for the driver to yield.

(c) Subsection (a) of this Code section shall not apply under the conditions stated in subsection (b) of Code Section 40-6-92.

(d) Whenever any vehicle is stopped at a marked crosswalk or at any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection to permit a pedestrian to cross the roadway, the driver of any other vehicle approaching from the rear shall not overtake and pass such stopped vehicle.

§ 40-6-92. Crossing roadway elsewhere than at crosswalk:

(a) Every pedestrian crossing a roadway at any point other than within a marked crosswalk or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection shall yield the right of way to all vehicles upon the roadway unless he has already, and under safe conditions, entered the roadway.

(b) Any pedestrian crossing a roadway at a point where a pedestrian tunnel or overhead pedestrian crossing has been provided shall yield the right of way to all vehicles upon the roadway if he uses the roadway instead of such tunnel or crossing.

(c) Between adjacent intersections at which traffic-control signals are in operation, pedestrians shall not cross at any place except in a marked crosswalk.

(d) No pedestrian shall cross a roadway intersection diagonally unless authorized by official traffic-control devices. When authorized to cross diagonally, pedestrians shall cross only in accordance with the official traffic-control devices pertaining to such crossing movements.

§ 40-6-22. Pedestrian control signals:

Whenever special pedestrian-control signals exhibiting the words WALK or DON’T WALK or symbols so directing a pedestrian are in place, such signals shall indicate as follows:

(1) Word or symbol message WALK — Pedestrians facing such signal may proceed across the roadway in the direction of the signal. Every driver of a vehicle shall stop and remain stopped for such pedestrians; and

(2) Flashing or steady DON’T WALK — No pedestrian shall start to cross the roadway in the direction of such a signal, but any pedestrian who has partially completed his crossing on the WALK signal shall proceed to sidewalk or safety island while the DON’T WALK signal is showing.

§ 40-1-1.(10) Definition of a Crosswalk:

“Crosswalk” means (A) That part of a roadway at an intersection included within the connections of the lateral lines of the sidewalks on opposite sides of the highway measured from the curbs or in the absence of curbs, from the edges of the traversable roadway; or (B) Any portion of a roadway at an intersection or elsewhere distinctly indicated for pedestrian crossing by lines or other markings on the surface.

Published on: February 28, 2011

Use of Ignition Interlock Systems Could Prevent Accidents in Atlanta

by Robert J. Fleming

In Georgia, ignition interlock devices are used to keep repeat drunk driving offenders off the streets and prevent accidents involving these motorists. A new study shows that increased use of such systems can actually help reduce the numbers of repeat drunk driving offenders.

Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the arrest rates for drunk driving dropped by as much as 67% after ignition interlock devices were installed in offenders’ cars. The researchers point to this as ample proof that enhanced use of ignition interlock devices could help keep more numbers of DUI offenders off the streets, and prevent alcohol-related car crashes.

Atlanta car accident lawyers would agree. In Georgia, the Metro Atlanta area and rural communities struggle with large number of drunk driving offenders. While a typical offender may be punished with license suspensions and fines, very often, these penalties constitute a slap on the wrist, and may not be sufficient to prevent motorists from driving intoxicated again. While criminal punishment is a deterrent, holding at-fault drunk driver’s accountable for the injuries they cause in car wrecks is another way to deter their actions. According to the CDC:

In 2013, 10,076 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (31%) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States.
Of the 1,149 traffic deaths among children ages 0 to 14 years in 2013, 200 (17%) involved an alcohol-impaired driver.
Of the 200 child passengers ages 14 and younger who died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes in 2013, over half (121) were riding in the vehicle with the alcohol-impaired driver.
In 2012, over 1.3 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics.3 That’s one percent of the 121 million self-reported episodes of alcohol-impaired driving among U.S. adults each year.
Drugs other than alcohol (e.g., marijuana and cocaine) are involved in about 18% of motor vehicle driver deaths. These other drugs are often used in combination with alcohol.

Published on: February 27, 2011

Several Injured in Atlanta Truck Wreck

by Robert J. Fleming

Five people were reported injured in a multi-vehicle accident in Atlanta that involved at least one tractor-trailer and several other vehicles. According to news reports, the accident occurred on Interstate 20 near Six Flags.

Several cars traveling on the highway had slowed down due to the sun. However a tractor-trailer that was following failed to slow down in time and swerved to avoid a collision. In doing so, the tractor-trailer went off the embankment, and negligently struck a parked car, triggering a chain reaction crash. At least seven other vehicles besides the truck were involved in the accident. At the end of the carnage, five people were injured, but all are expected to survive.

Anytime a tractor-trailer is involved in a rear-ending accident, an Atlanta truck accident lawyer’s first thoughts go to the speed of the truck at the time of the accident. The term “speed” here refers not just to the speed limits posted on the highway at the time of the accident, but also appropriate speeds for existing conditions. For instance, a truck driver may be said to be speeding not just if he drives above the posted highway limits, but also at higher speeds than are appropriate for the road, traffic and weather conditions.
Continue reading

Published on: February 26, 2011

Adults Charged in Villa Rica Teen Drunk Driving Accident

by Robert J. Fleming

Several adults, and at least one teenager face charges arising out of a fatal drunk driving accident that killed a 16-year-old Villa Rica boy. The adults include fathers of some of the teenagers involved, as well as a liquor store owner.

The accident occurred over the weekend when a car full of teenagers crashed in Douglas County. According to the Georgia State Patrol, when the at-fault driver lost control of his SUV, and the resulting accident killed 16-year-old passenger. The SUV drivers was on bond for drug and alcohol charges at the time of the accident. Not surprisingly, the judge has denied his bond application this time around.

Investigations have been tracing the at-fault driver’s actions just before the accident. According to them, he first made a stop at a party being hosted by the teenage grandson of a Villa Rica man, who has now been charged in the accident for allowing underage drinking in his house. There, the at-fault SUV driver consumed an undetermined amount of alcohol, and then went on to his next stop, another party that was being hosted by another teenager. In that case too, the teenager had been allowed by his father to drink with his minor friends. This teenager purchased alcohol at a Douglasville liquor store, and the liquor store owner now faces charges. The at-fault SUV driver consumed more alcohol at the second party, and then drove on, resulting in the accident.
Continue reading

Published on: February 24, 2011

Products Liability Lawsuit May Proceed Against Mazda

by Robert J. Fleming

Despite years of legal jockeying, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the carmaker, Mazda Motor of America, Inc. (“Mazda”) may be sued under Products Liability laws for the death of a woman who suffered fatal injuries in a Mazda Minivan that was sold only with a lap belt for the middle portion of the rear seat.

Mazda had repeatedly argred that it should be insulated from liability in the deadly accident because federal regulations did not require a lap and shoulder belt for the middle seat (in which the woman was sitting when killed).

This is an important victory, not only for the dead woman’s family who is seeking to recover for her death, but also for all victims of product defects. With offices in Georgia, Mississippi, and North Caroline, our firm handles many serious accidents in the Atlanta area and throughout the Southeast. Robert J. Fleming is an experienced trial lawyer who specializes in personal injury litigation. According to Mr. Fleming, “many single-car accidents are immediately dismissed by inexperienced lawyers. However, a small portion of these may be caused by, at least in part, unsafe product defects such as faulty door latches, unsafe seat belts such as in the recent Mazda case, unsafe road defects and other product defects. That is why we take great care in fully investigating any potential car accident case that involves serious personal injury or death.”
Continue reading

Published on: February 17, 2011

Study Offers Hope for Atlanta Prescription Errors

by Robert J. Fleming

Patients in Atlanta hospitals can be given any number of drug combinations to deal with multiple issues. Some medications, safe and effective alone, can have dangerous consequences as drug combinations. Also, an important area of Medical Malpractice is plain pharmacy error. Sometimes pharmacists put the wrong pills in the bottle. Other times, the prescription is written wrong by the prescribing doctor and then filled by the pharmacist who did not catch the mistake. Obviously, this can also have disastrous consequences.

News RX reports that a study released in the Critical Care Medicine Journal has found including an on-ward pharmacist on the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) team significantly reduced prescription error and related patient harms. The study was instituted by J.E. Klopotowska of the University of New Amsterdam. As an Atlanta pharmacy error lawyer, I can see the direct benefits that can be derived from having a pharmacist in the ICU or ER areas. After all, the most common caused of medical malpractice and pharmacy error is a lack of communication between the different providers who are rendering care to the patient. In this particular case, the lack of proper communication (and double-checking that is often essential to the correct care) between the prescribing doctor and the pharmacist that fills the prescription, leads to dangerous consequences in the form of prescription error. Some of these errors are harmless, while others can be deadly.
Continue reading