Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

As an Atlanta injury lawyer and metro Atlanta driver, I want to remind my fellow drivers to wait and look in both directions when you are the first stopped car at an intersection when a traffic signal turns from red to green. Every day as I drive to and from my office, I see motorists trying to beat yellow lights. Unfortunately, too many drivers do not beat the light and drive into the intersection after the light has turned red. When this happens, drivers waiting on side streets have green lights and come into the intersection into the paths of the vehicles resulting in violent collisions causing serious injuries and sometimes deaths.

Continue reading "Atlanta Injury Lawyer Reminds Drivers to Wait and Look When Traffic Lights Turn Green to Avoid Vehicles Trying to Beat the Light" »

I just read an article in the AJC online about motorist killed in Georgia over the recent Thanksgiving weekend. As a Atlanta car accident lawyer representing injured individuals throughout north Georgia, this is a stark reminder about the increase in car accidents and trucking accidents in Atlanta and throughout Georgia during all our major holiday weekends.

Continue reading "Holiday Car Accidents Cause Injuries and Deaths in Atlanta and Throughout Georgia" »

As an Atlanta car accident attorney, many of the cases I have rise out of injuries caused in accidents when it is raining. Indeed, on my 8 mile drive to my office this morning in the rain, I was passed on two separate occasions by emergency vehicles and actually came upon the scene of a rear-end collision before any emergency personnel arrived. It really does seem that Atlanta drivers lose their minds when it rains causing accidents and injuries, and I don't know why.

Continue reading "Atlanta Drivers Lose Their Minds When it Rains Causing Accidents and Injuries" »

Because of a recent landmark case, Atlanta car accident lawyers can now seek injury and wrongful death damages against retailers who sell closed or packaged alcoholic beverages to drunk drivers who hurt or kill on Georgia roads. The Georgia Supreme Court held in Flores v. Exprezit! Stores 98 - Gerogia, L.L.C., No. S10G1652, that the Georgia Dram Shop Act allows those hurt or killed by drunk drivers to recover damages against convenience stores, grocery stores, mom and pop roadside stores, and other retailers who sell alcohol to those noticeably intoxicated who cause accidents.

Before the Supreme Court ruling, the Dram Shop Act, the law that allows claims against those who sell alcoholic beverages to drunk drivers, only applied to restaurants and bars, or others who actually poured alcohol to drunk drivers. Now Atlanta and Georgia car accident lawyers can pursue retailers, in addition to restaurants and bars, to recover damages for those seriously injured and the families of those killed by drunk drivers. This is extremely important because DUI drivers often have very little or no insurance to satisfy judgments in favor of the injured or killed.

Continue reading "Atlanta Car Accident Lawyers Can Now Pursue Retailers Who Sell Alcohol to Drunk Drivers Who Hurt or Killed on Georgia Roads" »

As an Atlanta injury and wrongful death attorney I have been asked on several occasions to represent clients injured or killed when a vehicle hydroplanes and causes an accident on metro Atlanta and north Georgia roads. Because of the hills throughout north Georgia, when there are heavy rains (and sometimes not so heavy), roads often times have deep puddles and flooding that can cause a car or truck to hydroplane and drivers to loose control of their vehicles causing serious accidents.

When this happens and someone is injured or killed, the injured individuals and the families of those killed have claims against the person or persons responsible for causing the collision. The driver of the hydroplaning vehicle will often claim they did nothing wrong and there wasn't anything they could have done do to avoid losing control of their vehicle. My belief is that if the vehicle hydroplaned, it is more likely than not that the driver did do something wrong. First, a good argument can me made that if the vehicle hydroplaned, the driver was driving too fast for conditions. Simply put, if the driver had been driving at an appropriate speed for the conditions of the road, the car would not have hydroplaned. What we also find is that the tires on the hydroplaning vehicle are often overly worn, and had the tires been properly maintained, the vehicle would not have spun out of control. These two arguments often are enough to find the driver has some fault for causing the hydroplaning accident.

Continue reading "Injuries or Deaths Caused in Hydroplaning Accidents can be the Fault of Several Parties" »

Every so often I have clients call me about possible injury claims they might have when a deer runs into the roadway and causes an accident. I am not talking about claims for the actual collision with the deer - unfortunately, there is no way to make a claim against the deer. What I am talking about is when a deer runs into the roadway and is struck and the driver then loses control of their vehicle and causes an accident by leaving their lane of traffic. This can also happen when a driver causes an accident not after hitting the deer, but by steering to avoid the deer.

As a Georgia injury lawyer, my general attitude is that drivers on Georgia roads must keep their vehicles under control while operating them. But, having previously defended drivers in these situations, I am the first to recognize that if a deer runs out into the road and the vehicle hits the deer and the driver then loses control of the vehicle, a jury may find the driver did nothing wrong. The Georgia rules of the road, however, require (1) that drivers keep their vehicles under control at all times, (2) that they maintain their lane, and (3) that they not drive too fast for conditions. I think in the situation where the driver does not hit the deer, but swerves out of the lane to avoid the deer and strikes another vehicle, the driver would be liable to those injured in the other vehicle. Even though I like and enjoy wildlife, I don't think the decision to avoid a collision with an animal should be made if the consequences are injuring or killing a human being.

Continue reading "Georgia Injury Lawyer Discusses Possible Claims When Deer Causes Car Accident" »

As an Atlanta accident lawyer I was very excited last July when the Georgia General assembly and Governor Purdue passed legislation finally making it illegal for drivers and passengers of pick-up trucks to not use seat belts while in the front seats of the trucks. Up until that time, although it has been illegal for automobile drivers and passengers to not use their seat belts, folks in pick-up trucks were not required to do so. The exception made no sense at all, and I am sure many pick-up truck drivers and passengers were severely injured or killed by not wearing their seat belts. I thought with the passage of the new law, peoples lives would be saved. Unfortunately, the law itself cannot save lives.

Continue reading "Atlanta Accident Lawyer Saddened that Georgia Pick-up Truck Seat Belt Law Cannot Save Fayetteville Man's Life" »

Being a car accident and trucking accident lawyer, one of the things I regularly do is observe other drivers as I drive around the Atlanta and north Georgia. I can't help it, and it drives my wife crazy as I constantly comment on what other drivers are doing on the road. For years I have been watching with real concern one driver after another texting while driving, and I have written several blogs on the dangers of this practice. I was very excited when I heard Georgia law makers were planning to and then did pass a law making the practice illegal. I really thought that once the law went into effect on July 1, I would see a lot less texting on the road. Unfortunately, it appears that has not been the case.

Since the law went into effect earlier this year making texting and driving illegal and subject to a fine of $150 and one point on your license, I really hadn't noticed any difference in the number of drivers I observed texting and driving, and I was just commenting to a friend the other day about my observations. Then today, I read an article in the AJC on line that suggest that laws passed barring texting and driving may not be having any effect on the number of drivers texting and might be increasing accidents arising from texting and driving.

Continue reading "Atlanta Car Accident Lawyer's Suspicions that New No Texting Laws are not Working Appear to be Confirmed" »

As an Atlanta car accident attorney, I have always believed that when an insured driver causes an accident that damages another vehicle, the insurance company for at fault driver is responsible to provide a comparable rental car while the non-at fault driver's vehicle is being repaired. This is exactly what a Dekalb County, Georgia, Magistrate Judge ruled last week according to a recent article in the AJC on line.

According to the AJC article, the owner of a luxury Audi wanted the insurance company for the driver who negligently caused the accident to pay for the rental of the same make and model vehicle while the vehicle was being repaired. The insurance company for the at fault driver declined and instead offered to pay the Audi owner $125.00 for 5 days, the time the adjuster calculated it would take to repair the vehicle. The Audi owner wanted $282.00 a day for the 41 days it actually took to repair the vehicle. The judge more or less sided with the Audi owner awarding him $200.00 a day for all 41 days.

Continue reading "Atlanta Car Accident Attorney has Always Believed that Insurance Companies Must Pay For Comparable Loss of Use Vehicles" »

As an Atlanta auto accident lawyer and the father of two young children, I was sad (though not surprised) to read in the AJC on line about a 17 year old girl who apparently lost her temper while driving and ran over a 15 year old boy, critically injuring him. According to the article, she did this because she had been told to slow down by a group of kids in that neighborhood. Her actions are an unfortunate reminder of the unique hazards posed by young drivers on our roadways.

Not only do young drivers lack the experience to recognize and avoid hazardous driving situations, they also often lack the emotional maturity to safely deal with other motorists (or angry pedestrians). When representing people injured by young drivers, it is crucial to look beyond the bare facts of the collision. Teen drivers in Georgia younger than 18 years old are subject to the following driving restrictions:

- They may only drive between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 12:00 a.m.;

- During the first 6 moths they are licensed, they may only drive with passengers who are immediate family members;

- During the second 6 months they are licensed, they may only drive with one passenger other than an immediate family member;

- After the first 12 months they are licensed, they may not drive with more than 3 passengers other than immediate family members.

The violation of any of these restrictions may give rise to legal responsibility for an accident, even if the investigating officer does not find the young driver to have been at fault.

Additionally, the parents of young drivers may be held legally responsible for the auto accidents caused by their children. The Georgia "family purpose doctrine" generally provides that "when an automobile is maintained by the owner for the use and convenience of his family, such owner is liable for the negligence of a member of the family having authority to drive the car while it is being used for a family purpose." Phillips v. Dixon, 236 Ga. 271, 272, 223 S.E. 2d 678 (1976). In order for the family purpose doctrine to apply, four criteria must be established:

1. The family member 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 have been driven with the permission or acquiescence of the owner.

Continue reading "Young Atlanta Drivers Pose Unique Hazards for Other Drivers (and for Inexperienced Lawyers!)" »

As an Atlanta car accident attorney, I read with interest in the AJC on line that a major insurance company recently conducted a study in which it ranked America's safest cities for driving. Not surprisingly for those of us who live here, Atlanta ranked as only the 146th safest driving city. Atlanta residents can expect to be involved in an automobile collision about once every 8 years. By comparison, those living in the safest driving city (Fort Collins, CO) can expect to be involved in a car crash only once every 14 ½ years.

Continue reading "Atlanta Auto Accidents Are No Accident!" »

As an Atlanta car accident lawyer practicing in north Georgia, I have written several times about the perils of stopping on a metro Atlanta highway and exiting your vehicle. I am moved to do so again. There are articles in local papers weekly about someone being catastrophically injured or killed because they got out of their vehicle somewhere in metro Atlanta. I just read another such article in the AJC on line.

In the AJC on line article, a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle on I-75 in Bartow County. The Driver of the vehicle stopped to check on the pedestrian, and after exiting his vehicle to do so, a tractor trailer struck the stopped vehicle, the driver and the pedestrian. The pedestrian was killed and the driver was badly injured.

Folks, if you are involved in a motor vehicle accident or if your vehicle becomes inoperable for any reason when you are on a busy highway (in Atlanta or not), only leave your vehicle if it is safe to do so and you can quickly and safely get to an area where you are completely out of harms way. If you leave your vehicle under any other conditions, there is a very good chance you will be struck by on coming motorists.

If you are, it may not be your fault and the driver of the vehicle that hits you may be responsible for your injuries or your death. But that will be of little consequence because of the severity of injuries that typically occur when pedestrians are struck by vehicles moving highway speeds. Driver inattention may very well be the likely cause if you are hit. Drivers operate their vehicles daily on the highways while talking on the phone, texting, surfing the web, eating, drinking, grooming, reading, etc. So, even if you are extremely careful in exiting your car, when drivers are not paying attention, horrible results can occur.

Continue reading "Atlanta Car Accident lawyer knows Exiting your Vehicle on Metro Atlanta Highways can Lead to Serious Injuries and Deaths" »

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.