Senior Citizen Blames Atlanta Accident Injuries on Defective Seat Belts

Any Atlanta car accident lawyer would confirm – seat belts help save lives and prevent serious injuries. An Atlanta area senior citizen, who was injured in a car accident involving a state van in Villa Rica last week, has said that the seatbelts in the vehicle were not working properly at the time, and that this contributed to his injuries.

The Georgia state van was taking a group of elderly persons to a Valentine’s dance in Carrollton, when the van slid on a patch of ice, and flipped over. There were six senior citizens in the van, and all six persons were injured in the accident. One of the passengers, a 72-year-old man was seriously injured in the accident. He had not been wearing a seat belt at the time.

The man has told CBS Atlanta that his injuries were a direct result of a malfunctioning seatbelt. According, to the injured senior, he would not have been injured if the seatbelt in the van had been functioning properly. Just before the accident, the injured passenger told the driver that his seatbelt was not working properly, but received little response. CBS Atlanta then asked the other passengers in the van, and at least one of them confirmed that the seatbelt in question was not working at the time. All of the other passengers had been wearing lap belts at the time of the accident.

Officials from the Georgia Department of Human Services reported back to CBS Atlanta that they had inspected the van, and found the seatbelts had been functioning properly. According to the Georgia Department of Human Services, they had inspected the van at least two weeks before the accident, and found nothing wrong then. Now the spotlight is on the driver of the van, to see whether she fastened in all drivers safely before driving. In a situation like this, the driver would be liable under the theory of negligence if she did not properly secure each passenger, as these passengers were not in a position to do this themselves. Many times during litigation, it becomes apparent that there are specific protocols in place to protect against this exact type of passenger injury, yet the protocols are not followed by the driver. Other times, there are not proper procedures and training in place, and this is the proximate cause of the injuries.

In a rollover accident like this one, a seatbelt can be the only thing standing between a person and death or serious injury. Seatbelts keep a person restrained and secure, and prevent passenger ejections, which is a primary cause of fatalities in such rollover accidents. All common carriers are responsible to make sure that their passenger are adequately protected from these danger and that is why there are laws on the books that hold common carriers (such as airlines, railroads and bus service companies) to a higher standard of care.

Robert J. Fleming has been handling wrongful death cases, dental malpractice, bus accidents, car accident cases and premises injury cases for individuals and families who have been harmed, injured or died as a result of the carelessness or negligence of another for more than 20 years. He practices in and around the Atlanta, Georgia area including handling lawsuits in Fulton, DeKalb, Clayton, Gwinnett, Cobb and other counties and nearby cities including Alpharetta, Austell, Avondale Estates, Chamblee, College Park, Conyers, Duluth, Decatur, Doraville, Hapeville, Johns Creek, Jonesboro, Lawrenceville, Norcross, Peachtree City, Riverdale, Roswell, Sandy Springs, Stone Mountain, and Smyrna. If you have been seriously injured in a car accident and would like discuss your case, contact Robert J. Fleming directly on (404) 525-5150 or contact us online.