Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

As an Atlanta car accident attorney, I was saddened to read in the Atlanta Journal Constitution on line that a 45 year old man was killed when he was thrown from the back of a pickup truck on I-285. The pickup truck rolled over after colliding with another vehicle and there was nothing the man in the back of the truck could do to protect himself. The driver and two passengers inside the truck suffered minor or no injuries.

In Georgia, it is illegal to carry passengers in the bed of a pickup truck on the interstate. Although no charges have yet been filed, on the facts set out in the newspaper article, it appears the driver of the pickup truck was violating Georgia law which contributed to the man's death. Even if no charges are filed, the driver may very well be liable to the family of the deceased man for his wrongful death.

Generally speaking, the estate and survivors of a deceased wrongfully killed in Georgia may recover damages for the medical bills, funeral expenses, conscious pain and suffering, and full economic and non-economic value of the life of the deceased. Wrongful death claims in Georgia can have signnificant value, oftentimes in the millons of dollars. Because of the significant values, insurance companies often fight hard to find ways to deny liability and pay little or nothing when these claims are made.

Accordingly, these cases need to be handled by experienced car accident lawyers familiar with the complicated issues involved in litigating wrongful death cases in Georgia. Hopefully, the family of the deceased in the article will be fortunate to have such competent counsel.

As an Atlanta personal injury lawyer practicing in north Georgia, I have written on this blog more than once about the dangers of texting while driving both cars and trucks. It seems that such behavior is condemned by many, and on Monday of this week, Oprah Winfrey discussed the dangers of texting and driving and the catastrophic consequences of such behavior.

It now appears that the Georgia General Assembly is seeking to pass a bill banning testing while driving and imposing stiff fines as punishment for such behavior. According to a recent article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on line, two members of the Georgia House of Representatives have introduced bills that would ban the practice. Under what will most likely be a bill merged out of the two original bills, "anyone found guilty of writing, sending or reading a text message while driving" would be subject to a fine most likely between $100 and $300 and have points added to their license.

The authors of the bills believe the legislation will save lives. The article gives the example of the grandson of a constituent of one of the bill's authors who recently died in a head-on collision. After the tragedy, the police investigation revealed that the young driver had sent six texts from the time he got in the car and the accident. It is likely that the last of those texts distracted the driver causing the vehicle to drift into the head-on collision. Texting and driving is becoming a very big problem with not only young people, but also adults. It distracts drivers and is a leading cause of accidents causing serous injury and deaths.

According to the newspaper article, a ban on testing and driving is the AAA's top legislative priority. If a bill passes in Georgia, our state will join 19 other states in banning the practice. If the bill passes in Georgia, it may also raise the stakes of civil penalties when suits are brought for damages for causing serious injuries and death while texting and driving. Punitive damages will now most certainly be available to punish and deter this behavior. It will be difficult for an offender to argue that they did not know how dangerous texting and driving is once it is banned.

As a personal injury lawyer in Atlanta and north Georgia, I am always interested in articles written in magazines and newspapers that are related to my practice. Today, I read two such articles in the New York Times on line. Both articles dealt with texting and driving and the catastrophic consequences of doing so.

The first article was entitled "Driven to Distraction: When Texting Kills, Britain Offers Path to Prison." This article discussed at length the tragic death of a 24 for year old university trained fashion designer caused by a 22 year old woman that plowed her car into the rear of the deceased's vehicle while texting. She had exchanged nearly two dozen texts with five different friends the hour before the fatal collision, and a last incoming message that was never opened came in seconds before the accident.

A jury convicted the 22 year old and a judge sentenced her to 21 months in a high security prison. The article discussed the case at length but also discussed British attitudes toward texting and driving and the criminal laws against the practice. The case has driven home to Britains the serious consequences of texting and driving, and a prison sentence from 4 to 7 years is now recommended if I person is killed when a driver is texting and causes an accident.

In a related article, "Many in the U.S. Want Texting at the Wheel to be Illegal," the author discusses the findings of a recent New York Times/CBS News poll finding that nearly all Americans say texting while driving should be punished as harshly as drunken driving. The article discusses other poll findings including that 80 percent of those polled felt using a hand-held cell phone while driving should be also illegal.

Several Blogs ago I wrote about the perils of texting and driving. As the articles discussed above indicate, the consequences of texting and driving can be catastrophic injuries including death, and we can expect more States to make doing so illegal. If you have been injured in an accident by a distracted motorist texting while driving, please call me to discuss your claims and damages and the possibility of pursuing punitive damages to help deter this behavior.

Our Georgia personal injury lawyers are representing two pedestrians run down by an Atlanta driver distracted by using her cell phone and not paying attention to her driving. This car accident was caused by the driver cutting across the wrong lanes of traffic while pulling out of a driveway. Because she was on the phone, she never saw our clients who were lawfully crossing the roadway. Our clients were plowed over and seriously injured and their lives will be changed forever.

If you drive anywhere in metro Atlanta and are paying attention, it seems more drivers than not are on the phone - and most do not have hands free devices. Studies show that drivers using cell phones (whether held by hand or using hands free devices) are significantly more distracted than drivers not on phones. Indeed, we expect the number of accidents in Atlanta and Georgia caused by drivers talking on cell phones will continues to climb because cell phone use has exploded and will continue to rise.

The injury lawyers of our firm have handled many of these types of cases. Numerous cases have involved large SUVs and truckers. Death and catastrophic injuries are often the result when large passenger vehicles and semi trucks are involved. This is especially true when the driver is distracted to the extent that often times he or she is unaware the accident is going to occur until it actually happens.

If you have been injured or a family member has been injured or killed in an accident caused by a driver of a car or truck using a cell phone, please call our offices to talk to one of our injury lawyers about your rights.

It seems new Atlanta clients are calling the Atlanta injury lawyers weekly regarding claims for personal injuries caused in car accidents and trucking accidents where the drivers of the other vehicles were driving under the influence (DUI). There were 2 more this week. The first case involved a client who suffered internal injuries and two broken bones in her leg after the drunk driver ran a red light and t-boned my client's vehicle totaling both vehicles. The other driver had been drinking beer all day while watching college football and had a blood alcohol level that was beyond twice the legal limit.

The second case involved a client who also suffered serious injuries when the other driver slammed into the back of his vehicle while stopped at a red light. The other driver in this case had been taking prescription drugs and drinking beer. Although this driver's blood alcohol level was just beyond the legal limit, the police report narrative indicated that the driver could barely walk upright and had severely slurred speech.

In these types of cases, injured clients are entitled to claim the typical damages for medical bills, lost wages, and physical and emotional pain and suffering. But cases involving DUI drivers, whether involving alcohol or drugs, allow for additional punitive damages. Punitive damages are meant to punish and deter the behavior of the drunk driver. Because punitive damages can significantly increase the value of a claim, it is very important to hire an attorney who knows how to properly pursue these damages.

In addition to the facts of the accident at issue with the client, the drinking and driving history of the at-fault party is critical to the value of the case. If the drunk driver has prior or post DUI arrests and convictions, the case becomes much more valuable. Most juries understand the need to send a clear message to the habitual drunk driver that such behavior is not acceptable. Clearly criminal penalties are not causing a change of behavior. The jury can easily understand, therefore, that a significant financial penalty is needed to get the driver's attention that drinking and driving will not be tolerated.

The attorneys in our firm know how to obtain the complete drinking and driving histories of DUI drivers and to most effectively use this information. Please call to talk to one of our attorneys if you have been in an accident and you know or suspect the other driver was drinking or under the influence of drugs. We can help you.

I have received numerous telephone calls recently from individuals who already have hired a lawyer, but who want to get a new lawyer because their lawyer will not return their phone calls. While as an Atlanta personal injury lawyer I am always happy to get calls from potential clients in a personal injury or wrongful death case, these calls disappoint me because it means fellow members of my profession are treating their clients unprofessionally.

If you have hired a lawyer to represent you in a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit (this actually applies to anyone who has hired an attorney to represent them for any reason), you have the right to be treated with respect throughout the representation and to have your phone calls and emails returned in a timely manner. You also have the right to have your questions answered and to be updated on the status of your case at regular intervals.

If you are not getting the kind of service you expect from your lawyer, schedule an appointment to meet with him or her in person to discuss your expectations. By meeting with your lawyer and bringing your concerns to their attention, it is likely he or she will be more responsive to your future needs. You definitely want to give them a chance to make things right before finding another lawyer.

Providing superior legal services to the residents of central and north Georgia is my business. If I receive a telephone message or email from a client, if the call or email is not related to an emergency - which I attend to immediately - I try to return the call or email by the end of the same business day. If for some reason I cannot respond by the end of the same day, I respond no later than 24 hours after receiving the message. I understand that being seriously injured or having a family member killed by the negligent acts of others and pursuing a lawsuit to recover damages related to such losses can be stressful and oftentimes very confusing. That is why it is important to have skilled and competent lawyers handling your case and giving you the attention you deserve.

As a personal injury trial lawyer who regularly travels the roads of Atlanta and north Georgia, I am shocked to see other motorists texting as they operate their cars and trucks. With one or both hands off the steering wheel and their eyes focused down on their cell phones, blackberries and I-phones, these reckless individuals seem to have no idea that their vehicles are more deadly and more likely to kill than a loaded gun.

If the driver of a motor vehicle is texting while traveling on a roadway, the likelihood of a very serious accident resulting in catastrophic injuries and death becomes a real possibility. Causing a deadly head-on collision, traveling into an intersection on a red light or through a stop sign, or striking the rear of a vehicle stopped in traffic at a high rate of speed are the likely consequences of a texting driver. Injuries from these types of accidents are often very serious, including, but not limited to, severely broken bones, serious internal injuries, brain damage, disfigurement, paralysis, and death.

Oftentimes it is an innocent victim of the texting driver that is severely injured or killed. It is surprising to me that the Georgia General Assembly has not made it a criminal offense to text while operating any type of motor vehicle on the roads of Georgia. I expect that such legislation will be passed in the future. Indeed, other states already have passed such legislation and the fines and penalties are stiff.

In civil suits arising out of injuries suffered by innocent victims of a texting driver, strong arguments can be made by competent personal injury attorneys that not only compensatory damages should be awarded by the jury (for example, medical bills, lost wages, physical and mental pain and suffering, etc.), but punitive damages are also warranted because of the texting driver's reckless indifference to the consequences. It is my opinion that driving while texting is as reckless as driving while intoxicated or while under the influence of alcohol or drugs (DUI). Juries and our society should have zero tolerance for such behavior.

If you have been injured or a loved on has been killed by a driver texting while operating a motor vehicle, please do not hesitate to call me or my partner to discuss your situation.

The Georgia Supreme Court issued an opinion today having a tremendous impact on personal injury cases, especially automobile accident, trucking and other road wreck cases. Until today, with very few exceptions, negligently injured individuals and the families of loved ones wrongfully killed on the roads of Georgia had 2 years to the day of the wreck to file a lawsuit. In Beneke v. Parker, S08G2078 S08G2082 (9/28/09), the Supreme Court held that in situations where the at-fault driver receives a citation for violating the rules of the road, the two-year statute of limitations is tolled (does not begin to run), until the citation is disposed of. This is a huge.

The facts of the case are straightforward. Ms. Parker was injured in a car accident on April 27, 2005, when she was a passenger in a vehicle which was struck from the rear by Mr. Beneke. Beneke was cited for following too closely. Parker filed a lawsuit against Beneke on May 11, 2007. On motion by Beneke, the trial court first dismissed the lawsuit because it was not filed within the two-year statute of limitations. On reconsideration, however, the trial court vacated it previous order and allowed the case to move forward. The case was appealed to the Georgia Court of Appeals and ultimately to the Supreme Court. Construing Georgia law, the Supreme Court agreed with the trial court and found the complaint was timely filed because the statute of limitations did not begin to run until the traffic citation was disposed of on May 19, 2005.

The Court recognized that its holding would have significant impact on personal injury lawsuits arising out of vehicle accidents by tolling the statute of limitations, but the Court felt that it had no choice but to reach the result it did because of the way the relevant statute (OCGA § 9-3-99) was written. The Court noted that if the legislature did not want the statute to be construed in this way, it certainly could have written it differently. Because it did not, the court reasoned that any undesirable result was a matter properly addressed by the General Assembly rather than the courts. My guess is that when the General Assembly meets next year, it will change the language of the statute to undo the ruling in this case. Until that happens, however, the statute of limitations should be extended in most road wreck cases, giving additional time for the filing of a complaint, because the at-fault party is almost always given a citation for causing the accident by violating the rules of the road.