Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

Texting and driving is finally against the law in Georgia, and as an Atlanta automobile accident lawyer practicing all over north Georgia, I am hopeful that the new bills signed into law by our governor on June 4, 2008, will stop the epidemic of Georgia citizens (and visitors), operating their motor vehicles while they text and surf the web. The new laws ban texting and surfing the web by all drivers and ban the use of cell phones by drivers under the age of 18. Violating either law will cost you $150.00 and one point on your license.

The reason I say I am hopeful, is because today when I was driving on I-85 inside the perimeter, I looked over and a women traveling at least 70 miles per hour next to me was texting on her cell phone. Although the laws do not go into effect until July 1, 2010, you would think that with the amount of press that surrounded the governor signing the bills and the reason for the laws, people would immediately change their behavior. We can only hope that after July 1 and after folks start paying fines for violating the laws, drivers will finally stop this deadly behavior.

Unfortunately, the fact that texting and driving is now against the law and has catastrophic consequences will not completely stop drivers from breaking the law causing accidents and terrible injuries and deaths. Laws were passed many years ago outlawing drinking and driving, but that unfortunately did not stop everyone from drinking and driving. Innocent victims will continued to be badly injured and killed at the hands of drivers operating their vehicles while texting and surfing the web. The good news is that we can expect there will be many fewer injuries and deaths with the new laws finally enacted.

As a Atlanta automobile accident lawyer who practices throughout central and north Georgia, I have handled many personal injury lawsuits where the at fault party to a automobile accident is a minor or a college student driving a vehicle provided to them by one or both of their parents. The question that often arises in these cases is whether the parents of the young drivers are also liable for the damages caused in the accident.

In Georgia, a parent or parents are liable for the injuries and damages caused in an automobile accident by their children if the vehicle being driven can be classified as a "family purpose vehicle." The family purpose doctrine generally provides that when an automobile is maintained by the owner for the use and convenience of his family, the owner is liable for the negligence of a family member having authority to drive the car while it is being used for a family purpose. The courts look to four criteria to determine whether the family purpose doctrine applies:

1. The parent must own or have an interest in or control over the automobile;
2. The vehicle owner must have made the automobile available for family use;
3. The driver must be a member of the owner's immediate household; and
4. The vehicle must be driven with the permission or acquiescence of the owner.

Generally, if the child lives with his or her parents, the parents provide a vehicle for the child for his or her use, the parents retains control over the vehicle, and the child lives in the parents' immediate household, then the parents will likely be responsible for any accident the child has and responsible for any injuries and damages caused in the accident. If any of the criteria are not met, then there is no parent liability.

For example, in the last case I was involved in where the family purpose doctrine looked like it might apply, the driver of the vehicle was a college student at the University of Georgia living in Athens where the accident occurred. In that situation, even though the driver was at the time of the collision living away from home at college, the family purpose rule did apply because the student still had a room at home, received mail there and returned to the residence each holiday and intended to return after he graduated. In that situation, the student had two households, the one at college and the one with his parents.

It is important that if you are in an accident and you hire an attorney to represent you to recover damages for injuries you suffered in the accident, you hire experienced attorneys that know Georgia law and how to properly and successfully pursue a claim under the family purpose doctrine. Sometimes the only way to recover damages is if the parents are proper parties to the claim or lawsuit.

The attorneys in our office have the experience and know how to successfully pursue these claims. We have handled hundreds of claims involving the family purpose doctrine. If you would like to discuss your situation with me directly, please contact me and I would welcome the opportunity to speak with you about these issues and any other that you would like to discuss.

As an Atlanta car accident lawyer, I try to read as much as I can about the types of accidents that occur in Atlanta and north Georgia. I read a very interesting article in the AJC online this week. According to the article, 5 people have died in wrong way crashes since November 2009, and the department of transportation says 22 have died on Atlanta roads since 2004. According to a study conducted by the DOT several years ago, most wrong way collisions are caused by drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs or failing to take prescription medication.

The consequences of wrong way collisions are almost always catastrophic. Life changing injuries and death are the expected outcomes. Accordingly, victims of collisions with wrong way drivers need experienced personal injury lawyers to handle both the complex legal and complex damages issues that arise in these types of cases. Legally, because most drivers are DUI, the lawyer needs to know the ins and outs of pursuing punitive damages as well as the general damages of medical expenses, lost wages, etc.

Because the damages are catastrophic, the lawyer needs to know the complex medicine involved with life changing injuries and Georgia wrongful death law. The lawyer must also know the how to assist the catastrophically injured client to recover damages to take care of the long term needs of the client, which can include future income, future medical care, and future in home care, as well as other such issues.

Because the cost of such long term needs can be astronomical, the lawyer must also be an expert in finding available insurance to fund these damages. This is often one of the most difficult parts of handling a catastrophic injury case. It is heart breaking when the health care plan for a catastrophically injured client is in the millions and there is little or no insurance available to fund the plan.

The lawyers in our office have the experience to handle these types of cases. If you would like to discuss your claims with us, please do not hesitate to contact our office. We would welcome the opportunity to assist you.

As an Atlanta car accident lawyer, I have written several times in the last 3 months about the dangers of texting and driving. In each blog, I have talked about the injuries or deaths caused at the hands of drivers operating motor vehicles while texting. I have also talked about the citations issued to the drivers of the vehicles, and in one blog, I wrote about the legislation introduced in the Georgia state house to make texting and driving illegal.

Now, even before any legislation has been passed, according to an article in the AJC on line, the Gwinnett county police department has charged a 48 year old woman with vehicular homicide arising from the death of a pedestrian the woman ran over while allegedly texting and driving on a rainy night on October 30, 2009. Along with a charge of vehicular homicide, the woman was also charged with reckless driving, failure to exercise due care and engaging in actions which distract from the safe operation of a motor vehicle.

Although the article made clear that the charge is going to be fought hard by the woman and her lawyer, what is important is that this appears to be the first time in Gwinnett County a vehicular homicide charge has been levied against a driver when someone is killed while the driver is texting and operating a motor vehicle. I believe this will become common place in all Georgia counties, especially once the General assembly passes legislation making texting and driving illegal.

Driving and texting is clearly a deadly combination. Now, a driver who negligently kills another motorist or pedestrian can expect to be charged with vehicular homicide and may spend many years in jail. If you are texting and driving, please think of these consequences before you do it again. It is clearly not worth it.

According to an article I read this morning on the AJC online, dozens of accidents have been caused by icy roads in the metro Atlanta area in the last 24 hours. As an Atlanta car accident lawyer who practices in all over north Georgia, I have wanted to write a blog on the issues of car and tractor trailer accidents caused by icy roads. Because of the snow we had yesterday, I am finally getting around to it.

As we all know, driving on icy roads is very difficult and dangerous. Because we all know this, it is not an excuse that an accident is not your fault because you lost complete control of your vehicle and there was nothing you could do to avoid the accident. The fact that you decided to drive when there are icy conditions can be negligence in and of itself.

In such situations, it is likely that if you are the one who ran the stop sign or red light or traveled out of your lane and caused an accident, you will be liable for the accident and liable for the damages arising from the accident. These damages can include, but are not limited to, the property damages to the other vehicle or vehicles and the injuries (or deaths) of anyone in the accident, including their medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering.

All things being equal, if there is ice on the roads, it is best not to operate a car or truck. I understand that unfortunately, because we live in the real world, sometimes we feel we have to drive when there are icy conditions - we have to go to work, for instance. If you have to drive, drive very slowly. You should drive so slowly and anticipate stops as far as possible in advance so that you can avoid using your brakes as much as possible. Braking is one of the main causes of accidents when the roads are icy.

Rapid acceleration is also a main cause of accidents. When starting from a complete stop or increasing your speed when traveling slowly, accelerate very gradually. This allows you to keep your vehicle in control. Braking and quick accelerations cause the tires of your vehicle to loose grip on the road, which is very difficult to regain on ice.

If you do loose control of your vehicle, do not panic. If your car is sliding to one side, although it is counterintuitive, steer in the same direction to regain control of your vehicle. Apply your brakes as gently as you can or not at all. Be very alert, and if you do get in a collision, keep cool headed and call 911. Hopefully, you will have been travelling slowly enough that neither you and nor anyone else will be injured.

The attorneys in our office regularly represent clients injured by drivers on icy roads. It you have been injured or a loved one has been injured or killed in an accident caused by icy roadway conditions, please contact our firm and talk to one of our experienced car accident lawyers about your rights and claims.

Three people were killed in two separate highway car accidents last week in Atlanta and north Georgia after they exited their vehicles after minor car accidents. In the first incident, 2 young women, one the mother of an eleven month old daughter, were killed Saturday January 30 when struck by a tow truck coming to the scene of a minor accident on I-20 near I-75. I have attached a CBS Atlanta video about the incident.

According to an AJC on line article, the second incident occurred on the evening of Friday February 5 on I-575 in Cherokee county. In the second incident, the driver of a vehicle involved in an earlier car accident had exited his vehicle and was standing in the median when a tractor trailer that veered to avoid the first collision struck and killed him.

As an Atlanta car accident and tractor trailer attorney, it saddens me because these types of tragic deaths can be avoided in most situations. Indeed, the family of the young mother in the Friday night incident stated in an interview on cbsatlanta.com that they believe that had she and her friend stayed in the vehicle, they would be alive today. That may very well be true.

If you are involved in an accident on a highway, you should follow some basic safety rules:

1. If possible, safely move the vehicles as far as possible off the roadway.
2. If you are capable, and as soon as you are out of harms way, call 911.
3. Stay in your vehicle until emergency personnel make the scene safe and tell you to exit your vehicle (even if your vehicle is off the roadway).
4. If you feel you must exit your vehicle, be extremely careful doing so and move as far away from your vehicle, traffic and danger as possible.

Following these simple rules can save your life. We cannot second guess if the 3 victims last week would not have been killed had they stayed in their vehicles. But nothing I read about the incidents indicated to me that the vehicles they exited were in any way further damaged after the original collisions.

Regardless, the families of the victims need to know their legal rights. This will be especially true for family of the young mother who left behind an eleven month old daughter. The fact that the drivers and passenger exited their vehicles does not mean that the drivers of the vehicles that ran them down are not liable for the deaths. If the drivers were in anyway negligent for the killings, the families of the deceased may be entitled to wrongful death damages.

In Georgia, good wrongful death attorneys know the survivors of a person wrongfully killed are entitled to recover the medical bills, funeral bills, pain and suffering and the full value of the life of the deceased. The value of these damages can be significant, often exceeding a million dollars. Hopefully, once they are able to begin to move on and heal from the deaths of their loved ones, the families of these deceased will talk to competent accident injury lawyers to discuss their rights.

I know I am beginning to sound like a broken record, but texting and driving kills. I just read another article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution on line where a Douglasville driver ran a red light in Alabama killing the driver of the other vehicle. It is not certain that the driver was texting, and I hope that is not the case. Unfortunately, it is likely the driver was texting and that is why he ran the light.

As an Atlanta personal injury lawyer who practices all over north Georgia, I am seeing more serious injury and deaths caused by texting drivers causing violent collisions. The article I read about the Alabama fatality, also mentioned a collision where a Lilburn man six days ago crashed his car into a tree while texting a friend. Thankfully, in that crash, the driver had only minor injuries and was treated and released from the hospital.

Charges have not yet been filed in the Alabama case. The State Patrol is still investigating, and although they feel texting was involved, they cannot yet prove it. The next step will be to subpoena the Douglasville driver's phone records. If the records confirm he was texting, charges will be filed, most likely for vehicular homicide. The Lilburn driver was charged with improper use of a cell phone by a driver.

As I mentioned in a previous blog, the Georgia General Assembly is working on two bills that would make the act of texting and driving illegal in Georgia. Both bills would require a fine between $100 and $300, and one of the bills would put two points on the offender's license. As far as I am concerned, the legislation can not be passed fast enough. Ever day I get another call or read another article about the perils of texting and driving. You would think that the perils of texting and driving are now absolutely obvious (both intuitively and because of all the press on the topic), and that legislation would not be needed. But like drinking and driving, we human beings will put others at serious risk of injury unless it is illegal to do so.

And even when it is illegal, we human beings will continue at some level to ignore the law and cause great harm. Even if the legislation is passed to make texting and driving illegal, I expect it will still be a problem for that very reason. And I worry many more drivers will continue to text and drive than now drink and drive. For the family of the driver killed in Alabama and all others killed and seriously injured by texting drivers, I hope I am wrong.

As a big part of my practice as an Atlanta personal injury lawyer in north Georgia, I handle many cases involving neck and back injuries. Many of these injuries are caused by motor vehicle accidents - involving cars, motor cycles and tractor trailers. Oftentimes surgery is required to treat these injuries. Unfortunately, insurance companies insuring the at-fault parties causing the accidents argue that such surgeries are not necessary to treat accident related injuries, but are needed to treat pre-existing conditions. The insurance companies do this to avoid paying the full value of a claim.

Typically, after an accident, my clients will feel pain and discomfort in their necks and/or backs and seek conservative treatment to treat these conditions. If conservative treatment is unsuccessful in resolving the problems, they will often have epidural steroid injections directly into the effected part of the spine. If these shots provide no relief, surgery becomes the last option.

The surgical procedures performed in these situations can include a diskectomy and fusion of the cervical (neck) or lumbar (back) spine; a decompression lamenectomy of the cervical or lumbar spine; a facetectomy of the cervical or lumbar spine, or some combination all of these procedures. These procedures are complicated, painful and proper recovery takes a lot of time.

The insurance companies, in an effort to justify not compensating for these procedures, will claim there is pre-existing arthritis and degenerative disc disease, including, spinal stenosis, osteophites, disc desication, spondilosis, and spondiolythesis, that are the cause of the surgery. The truth is, it is likely these conditions are present in the spine and do pre-exist the accident. That fact, however, does not mean the surgery was not required because of the accident and that the at-fault party/insurance company is not responsible for the related medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

An experienced Atlanta car and trucking accident attorney will know the complicated medicine related to spinal injuries and how to convince insurance companies - or the juries, if need be - that the surgery was required by the injuries caused in the collision and needs to be compensated. Arthritis and degenerative disc disease are often asymptomatic (they do not cause any pain, discomfort, numbness, tingling, etc.), and the trauma to the body in even low impact collisions can cause the otherwise painless conditions to become very painful and life changing. Don't let an insurance company determine whether your injuries and surgery are the result on their insured negligent actions. Please contact our firm if you or a loved one has suffered spinal injuries in a car or trucking accident to ensure this does not happen.

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.

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.