Wrongful Death

Published on: May 31, 2011

How You Can Prevent Motorcycle Accidents in Atlanta

Much of motorcycle safety depends on the ability of motorists to respect motorcyclists’ right.This alone would prevent many of the motorcycle accidents we see which often involve serious personal injuries or a wrongful death. The most important thing that drivers could do to prevent accidents involving motorcyclists is to acknowledge that motorcycle riders in Georgia have the very same rights that motorists do.In other words, that a motorcyclist sharing the highway with your SUV is not an outsider with no rights, but a legitimate highway user with the same rights as you.

Many accidents that Atlanta motorcycle accident lawyers come across occur because drivers fail to look out for motorcyclists, especially when they are making lane changes or entering thoroughfares.Look especially closely for motorcyclists in your mirrors during these times. Here are some basic tips for motorists.

When you are sharing the road with a motorcycle, do not try to pass the motorcycle in the same lane.

Published on: May 6, 2011

Death in Cobb County, Georgia Car Accident Traced to Red Light Violations

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The parents of a young Cobb County woman, who was killed in a car accident two weeks ago, are calling for stronger charges against the motorist involved.Cobb County police are blaming the accident on red light violations. Car accidents involving wrongful deaths often involve a red light violation. Of course, auto accidents of this type also result in significant personal injuries since persons trying to “beat” the red light are often traveling at a high rate of speed. As an Atlanta injury lawyer, I know these cases are occur far too often.

The young woman had been driving a Toyota Safari, which was struck by an Infiniti.The woman had a green light at an intersection, when the Infiniti driver ran a red light and broadsided the Toyota.The Toyota driver suffered serious injuries, and was rushed to the hospital.However, she died two days later.

The Infiniti driver now faces misdemeanor charges.However, the parents of the young woman want felony vehicular homicide charges to be brought against the man.Vehicular homicide charges can only brought in cases where the motorist was driving under the influence, was driving at excessive speeds or was on the run from police.This particular accident doesn’t seem to meet any of those criteria, and therefore, it isn’t very likely that felony charges will be filed here.

Published on: April 30, 2011

Students Injured in School Bus Accident in Gwinnett County, Georgia

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Several school students were injured in a bus accident involving two school buses in Gwinnett County earlier this week.The accident occurred at an intersection where two school buses were stopped.A third bus approached the scene, and rear-ended the second bus.The driver of the third school bus sustained minor injuries, and was taken to the Gwinnett Medical Center.Unfortunately, as an Atlanta injury attorney, I have seen too many bus accidents result in far more serious injures and wrongful death.

There were a total of 38 children on the third bus, and 10 of them suffered back injuries. The students on the other two buses did not suffer any injuries.The driver of the bus has been cited for following too close.The drivers of the other two buses have been suspended temporarily while an investigation into the accident continues.

Atlanta bus accident lawyers will have to wait until investigations are completed to learn why the third bus driver was not able to stop in time to avoid crashing into the other bus.However, it’ll probably be worthwhile to probe the role of distractions and inattention as a factor in this crash.School bus drivers have an additional responsibility to be cautious and completely attentive while driving.These buses carry some of our most precious cargo, which makes it all the more important for drivers to be attentive at all times.

Published on: April 29, 2011

Woman Killed in Atlanta Tractor-Trailer Accident

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A newlywed woman has been confirmed dead in a commercial truck accident on Interstate 285 in Atlanta earlier this week.According to police, the accident occurred when a tractor-trailer was trying to change lanes on the highway.The truck crashed into a Nissan vehicle, and the impact sent the car into a guardrail, and into another tractor-trailer.Truck accidents are often the most deadly type of accidents on the roadways today. They also cause permanent and disabling injuries. As an Atlanta injury lawyer, this is the reason I have regularly opposed increasing the size of trucks.

The Nissan rolled over on its side, killing the female driver.Her husband, who was a passenger in the vehicle suffered injuries, and was taken to the hospital.

The driver of the tractor-trailer has been charged with vehicular homicide in the second degree and making an improper lane change.Accordingly, a wrongful death action will likely arise due to the accident. Sadly, according to news reports, the couple was newly married.

Published on: April 26, 2011

One Person Killed in Wrong Way Driving Accident in Gwinnett County

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

As Atlanta car accident lawyers, we often notice that wrong way driving accidents are some of the deadliest collisions.These accidents typically involve one car traveling at highway speeds in the direction of other vehicles that are also traveling at the same level of speed.Such accidents are typically high-impact accidents that end with multiple deaths or serious injuries.An accident over the weekend in Gwinnett County, Georgiathat killed one person and left two others with critical injuries, is being blamed on a wrong way driver.

The accident occurred on Saturday night, and involved a total of three vehicles.According to Gwinnett County police, a car traveling the wrong way veered across the median and crashed head-on into another vehicle.The car then flipped over, and crashed into a third vehicle.A woman was killed in the accident.Two other people, including the wrong way driver, suffered critical injuries.Police are investigating the accident, but no charges have been filed yet.Police are considering the possibility that the wrong way driver may have been driving under the influence of alcohol.

Every year, approximately 300 people are killed in accidents caused by wrong way motorists.Many of these accidents are caused because motorists are driving under the influence of alcohol, and end up traveling in the opposite direction.Alcohol use is the most common cause of wrong way driving.It’s not so surprising to Atlanta car accident attorneys that alcohol use is so often cited in wrong way driving.Alcohol use clouds a person’s judgment, blurs his vision and affects his powers of reasoning.A person like this is also likely to miss highway street signs, ending with him driving in the opposite direction.

Published on: April 20, 2011

Rising Car Accident Wrongful Death Rates among Atlanta Baby Boomers

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Has all the focus on teen and elder drivers affected traffic safety for other groups of motorists?That’s the question that Atlanta car accident attorneys are asking this week after Edmunds.com released its analysis of car accident data.Even as the numbers of people dying in auto accidents across the country has been declining over the past decade, there has been an actual increase in the numbers of male car accident deaths in the 51 to 65 age group.

The data comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.According to the analysis, the number of male and female car accident deaths in other age groups has been steadily declining over the past few years.Even drunk driving accident deaths have declined over the past five years, helped by a lowered tolerance to intoxicated driving, and stronger enforcement.However according to the data, the number of adult males aged between 51 and 65 years killed in auto accidents, increased by almost 25% between 2000 and 2009.In comparison, car accident deaths for all male drivers during the same period of time declined by more than 20%.Even auto accident deaths for female drivers declined by about 20% during the study period.

According to the analysts, it’s not just the increase in male car accident deaths in this age group that is concerning, but also the fact that much of this increase is related to drunk driving accidents.In fact, when it comes to drunk driving accident deaths, there has been an increase in fatalities among both men and women in this age group.The number of annual DUI deaths among baby boomers increased by 37% between 2000 and 2009.During the same period of time, rates of drunk driving accident fatalities across the country dropped by almost 7%.

Published on: March 25, 2011

Georgia Needs More Trauma Centers to Treat Injuries of Auto Accident Victims

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The Atlanta car accident lawyers at our firm have been blogging regularly about the need for more trauma care centers in Georgia to treat auto accident victims and others.Rural areas in Georgia have a severe shortage of trauma care centers to treat individuals who have suffered serious personal injuries. This has resulted in a significant number of unnecessary deaths. Unfortunately, a recent vote to provide a limited tax to increase the number of trauma centers was defeated.

According to estimates, approximately 700 people in Georgia are killed every year because they lacked immediate access to emergency trauma care.Many of these people were injured in catastrophic accidents, and sustained serious injuries that could not be treated without the facilities available at a trauma center.The first hour after a person suffers serious injuries is the “golden hour,” and if the person receives emergency care during this time, his chances of surviving the accident or injuries increase substantially.Unfortunately, many people who are involved in auto accidents in Georgia cannot be taken to an emergency trauma care center in time because there is not one close enough to them.

According to estimates, there should be at least 30 trauma centers in Georgia for trauma care access for all.Currently, we need at least 12 more centers to ensure that all Georgia residents live within 50 miles of a trauma center.Georgia’s trauma care network leaves much to be desired, and the average trauma death rate in our state is much worse than the national average.To make matters worse, recent budget cuts have slashed approximately $10 million of funding for the existing trauma care centers in Georgia.

Published on: March 20, 2011

Untested Car Safety Seats Could Cause Injuries in Atlanta Car Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The role of car safety seats in preventing injuries to children in an auto accident is one that no Atlanta injury lawyer would deny.According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, between 1988 and 1994, the use of car seats led to a 73% drop in infant wrongful deaths and a 54% drop in car accident related injuries in children between the age of one and four.However, not all car safety seats may have been tested and approved to be safe for your child.

The Washington Post warns parents against assuming that the car seat that they’re using for their child will protect them from injuries in the event of an accident.The seats that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration regulates are only tested for protection in a front impact collision.The seats are not regulated against side-impact, rear end or rollover accidents.This is in spite of the fact that the risk of injuries and fatalities is often much higher in a rollover accident or a side-impact accident than a front impact collision.

One of the reasons why the federal agency has failed to regulate the effectiveness of car seats in these kinds of accidents is the lack of proper-sized crash test dummies.That is also the reason why the agency has failed to regulate the safety of large-sized car seats that are used for toddlers above 65 pounds.There’s a growing class of overweight children who are too heavy for infant car seats, and too young for seat belts.Car seat manufacturers have been marketing larger-sized car seats for children of this size, but the NHTSA has failed to regulate the effectiveness of these seats.One of the reasons has been the failure to develop a crash test dummy of an appropriate size.

Published on: February 23, 2011

Worker Killed in Forsyth County, Georgia Construction Accident

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

There has been yet another construction worker death linked to a trench collapse accident in Georgia. These types of construction accidents often result in the wrongful death of the worker or serious injuries. Unfortunately, workers compensation benefits fail to truly compensate the family of the worker since the workers comp statute provides for such a limited payment for the death of the construction worker. One of the things that Georgia needs to revise is the death benefit provided under the workers compensation laws for a worker’s family. Of course, the family may or may not have an injury claim, but that will depend on whether any third party may be held liable for the workers’ wrongful death.

According to authorities in Forsyth County, the man from Covington, Newton County was working in a trench when the walls begin to collapse. Personnel from the Forsyth County Fire Department rushed to the scene, but by the time rescue crews arrived, the man had been completely buried under the soil.

The crews managed to clear the soil from his head and shoulders, but by then, the man has succumbed to his injuries. At the time of his death, it had been more than one hour since the collapse. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has begun an investigation into the construction accident.

Published on: February 10, 2011

Man in Fatal Atlanta Auto Accident to Serve 10 Years in Prison

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The motorist, who was convicted of DUI (driving under the influence) and causing a wrong way driving auto accident that killed a woman on an Atlanta highway, will spend 10 years in prison. The motorist Theus Monroe was driving the wrong way on Interstate 85 in December 2009, when his vehicle crashed head-on into another vehicle. In that vehicle was Jazmine Zachary, who sustained fatal injuries in the crash. She was 25 years old at the time of her wrongful death.An investigation later revealed that Monroe was not only driving under the influence of alcohol, but was also high on drugs at the time of the car accident.

A Fulton County judge this week sentenced Monroe to a maximum sentence of 17 years in prison. However, Monroe will only serve 10 years, and have an additional year of drug rehabilitation. The sentence was a bit of a disappointment for the victim’s family who wanted that Monroe be ordered to serve the entire 17 years.

Atlanta car accident attorneys often see that intoxicated driving is the main factor in accidents caused by motorists driving the wrong way. These are typically fatal accidents, or high-impact auto accidents that end with serious injuries. Drivers, who are in the path of a motorist traveling the wrong way, don’t expect to see a driver headed in their direction, which takes them by surprise, leaving them with no time to avoid the wrong way driver. The potential for severe injuries and fatalities also increases because these are typically high-speed, full impact, head-on crashes. Wrong way driving accidents are also sometimes linked to drowsiness, when motorists miss a sign or signal because they are dozing off at the wheel.