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A law that prohibits the use of hand cell phones while driving for Georgia motorists has possibly contributed to a drop in the number of auto accidents caused by distracted drivers in the state. Unfortunately, before the law was passed, there were a significant number of car accidents in Georgia involving persons talking and texting while driving.

According to representatives at the Georgia Governors of Highway Safety, there has been a reduction in the number of car accidents directly caused by distracted motorists since the ban was passed. The law which prohibits Georgia motorists from using a handheld cell phone to send or receive text messages or to even touch a telephone while driving was passed in 2017, and went into effect the following year.

The  Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety only has statistics for the year 2021, and the data for that year seems to  indicate that the number of people convicted for handheld cell phone use increased significantly after the stricter ban was enacted. There were more than 43,000 distracted driving convictions in 2021 for violation of the ban.  Many  of these involved people who were driving while holding their cell phones.  That was a significant four -fold increase from 2017.

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Car seats for young children are an extremely important safety device. Every parent recalls having to deal with situation of installing a car seat for the first time or when they get a new car. Unfortunately, far too many car seats are improperly installed,  exposing children in the seats to the risk of potential life – threatening personal injuries in car accidents.

Securing a child in a car seat is an absolute must before any journey.  Most  parents, fortunately, in Georgia, are aware of the need to restrain children in car seats.  Car  seats should not only be used every time for young children, but also must be appropriate to the age and weight of the child.  Many  car seats have been designed to be easy to use,  in order to make it easy for parents to install these seats.  Unfortunately,  even with these easy –to use designs, parents still make errors  in the installation of these car seats.

According  to a new study,   too many seats are being improperly installed, exposing the children in the seats to the risk of potentially catastrophic or even life- threatening  personal injuries in the event of an auto accident.  The researchers looked at seat check data from  between 2015 and 2019, and found that approximately 70% or an overwhelming majority of all the errors involved car seats installed with seat belts. Other errors involved recline angles. About half of the errors involved top tether on forward – facing car seats.  The  tether is an important component of the car seat and is meant to be attached to the vehicle, and according to the study, many parents either fail to secure it or secure it incorrectly.

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Children, the elderly and -surprisingly enough – young adults seem to be at the highest risk of being involved in slip and fall accidents on stairs. Among young adults, women seem to be at a higher risk of personal injuries in such accidents.

These findings come from a new study, and while the fact that young children and the elderly are at a greater risk of falling should not come as a surprise, the inclusion of young adults in their twenties definitely raises  eyebrows. According to the researchers, children below the age of 3 and elderly people above the age of 85 have the highest risk of suffering personal injuries in a fall on stairs.  However, young adults in their twenties also have a significantly higher risk of being involved in slip and fall accidents.

Among young adults in their twenties, young women seem to have a higher slip and fall risk compared to males.  The  researchers  analyzed  the results of the study to understand the reasons for the higher fall risks involving females.  They  believe that inappropriate footwear could probably be a reason why young women are more likely to fall down stairs compared to males. The researchers specifically identify  flip flops, sandals and heels as being inappropriate footwear that  increase the  risks of a fall down the stairs. They also believe that women are more likely to be walking with someone which means they are more likely to be talking and, therefore, distracted.

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A vast percentage of seniors who have age-related cognitive declines continue to operate motor vehicles, seriously increasing their risks of being involved in an auto accident. Senior are especially susceptible to serious personal injuries when involved in a car accident which makes preventing these accidents a high priority.

According to a new study, far too many seniors who have impaired cognitive abilities or thinking declines as per a cognitive assessment score continue to operate motor vehicles without hesitation.  The  study found that more than 600 adults in a particular county suffered from thinking declines as per the cognitive assessment test,  and that more than 61% of these persons who suffered cognitive declines continued to drive.

Suffering a cognitive decline does  not automatically mean that a person may be unable to drive.  In  fact, not all of the caregivers who were involved in the study believed that  the senior drivers in the  study had their driving skills   affected by their  cognitive difficulties.  About   one -third of the  caregivers  admitted to having concerns about  the driver’s ability to safely operate a car. However, there are  safety issues involved when a person with cognitive issues takes to the road.

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Persons who have suffered a traumatic brain injury due to an auto accident or any other type of accident may suffer from long term consequences that are very similar to the symptoms suffered by persons living with a chronic condition.

Those  conclusions came from a new study recently published in the Neurology journal.    The  researchers analyzed data on more than 900 patients who had suffered mild traumatic brain injury like concussions  as well as 200 patients with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury, and compared these patients to a group of  150 patients with no history of a traumatic brain injury.  Brain injuries are frequently suffered by persons involved in car accidents, slip and fall accidents and even due to medical malpractice. As  part of the research, the persons were asked about physical symptoms like headache and  fatigue.   They were also asked about their thinking abilities, especially  the ability to  perform daily and routine tasks,  as well as their overall mental health and memory.

They  found in their analysis that 21% of the persons with a mild brain injury suffered declines overall, compared to 26% of the persons with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury.  Among  the  persons with no brain injury, the decline was just 15%.

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Even  though the elderly are at risk of major complications from Covid- 19,  most  nursing homes around the country used alarmingly  low levels of antiviral drugs that are proven to fight symptoms of the deadly disease on their residents, during the pandemic. The failure to use appropriate medications could lead to a larger number of malpractice claims.

While the Covid- 19 pandemic ravaged large portions of the metro Atlanta region, especially in the above-65 age category,  efforts were made to deliver more life- saving antiviral medications to these sections of the population.  Use  of the antiviral drugs was  higher in nursing homes than in the general community.  However,  a new study finds that a large number of nursing homes administered very low levels of the drugs.

In fact, shockingly, the study found that  as many as 40% of nursing homes did not use antiviral drugs as of the end of 2022.  The use of antiviral drugs in these facilities was low even as the pandemic gathered steam, and continued to remain low even after the medications were approved as oral drugs.  In  fact, according to the researchers, residents  with Covid- 19 in  only about 18% of the nursing homes were treated with antiviral medications.

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Summer  is when there is an increase in dog bite attacks across Georgia,  possibly due to the fact that more people are out during this time and in contact with   dogs.  However, the  weather may   play a much bigger role in the increase in dog bites  during the summer months than earlier believed. Unfortunately, dog bites often result in serious personal injuries.

According  to the results of a new study that was published recently, hot weather may cause aggression in dogs just the same way as it does in humans.  When temperatures are higher, human beings are likely to become  irritable and aggressive. They may suffer from disturbed sleep during hot days which causes increased irritability  and discomfort.  Incidents of road rage, for instance, are likely to peak during summer months. Several  studies have underlined this fact.  However,  there have not been enough studies done to understand the impact of higher temperatures on animals like dogs.

The  researchers focused on 8 metropolitan American cities, and extracted data on dog bite attacks that occurred in these cities over  a 10 – year period.  They found  more than 69,000 bites occurred in these cities over the time period.   When the researchers  drilled down further into the data, they found that dog bites were more likely to occur not only when temperatures were   higher, but also when there were higher  UV levels.  In  short, they found a link between higher temperatures, ozone and higher levels of air pollution and increased attacks by dogs.

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There are a significant number of persons in the United States who like to drive what are commonly called “muscle cars.” These are cars with high horsepower which are capable of high speeds and fast acceleration.  Examples of cars often referred to as “muscle cars” include the Dodge Charger, Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS, Dodge Challenger and the Camaro. Unfortunately, some muscle cars have been identified with an increase in car accident wrongful deaths.

A new study by the Insurance Institute  for Highway Safety finds that smaller cars  that have more powerful engines can be deadly for not just motorists and passengers, but also for drivers of other cars.  Traditionally,  safety experts have believed that larger vehicles like SUVs and pickup trucks are more dangerous  for drivers and passengers of other vehicles in  the event of an accident.  However,  the dangers may be even more serious in the case of smaller muscle cars like the Ford Mustang or other similar vehicles.

Muscle  cars are basically smaller American cars that have increased horsepower. These are boxy cars that  usually have 2 doors and a powerful engine.  These  cars are typically marketed to a certain type of consumer,  and the study believes that the way in which these cars are marketed also contributes to the higher death rates associated with these vehicles.

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When an individual has been convicted of drunk driving, they often are required to have an ignition interlock device placed on their cars. These devices prevent a person from starting a car until they have passed a breath test for driving. States have passed compliance laws that strictly require individuals who have had an ignition interlock device installed in their vehicle after a DUI offense to comply with these devices. The devices can only be removed once the person has shown to have complied with the devices for a defined period of time. These compliance laws seem to have much higher success than other methods of preventing repeat offenses and reducing the risk of alcohol – related car accidents.

Those  findings come from a new study conducted by the Governors Highway Safety Association. The report focused on the effectiveness of compliance- based removal components in ignition interlock device laws.  Currently, all states, including Georgia, have some form of ignition interlock device laws which require that they get devices installed in their vehicles that prevent them from operating their vehicle if their system contains more than a certain amount of alcohol.  At  least 33 states have compliance- based removal laws in place that clearly define conditions that must be met for an exit from the interlock device requirement.  Georgia, unfortunately, does not have a compliance- based removal component as part of its  ignition  interlock device laws.

The  Governors Highway Safety Association focused on two states that   have compliance – based removal laws and two states that do not have such laws.  The study established that states that have compliance -based laws have  much lower recidivism rates  for drunk driving compared to states that do not have such compliance laws in place. The Governors Highway Safety Association researchers say that there is no way to absolutely confirm that these higher recidivism rates in states that do not have compliance -based removal laws were related to the absence of these laws and that other factors could also play a role.  But  they also stress that compliance -based  removal laws do  provide an extra layer of protection that can prevent these auto accidents. The researchers  are encouraging states like Georgia to review their ignition interlock laws to identify deficiencies and correct  these in order to make these laws more effective.

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Researchers  have known for a while that a brain injury can result in depression, but the kind of depression that a traumatic brain injury causes is different from other forms of depression. Traumatic brain injuries often arise out of car accidents, motorcycle accidents, trucking accidents, or any other event that causes a significant impact to the head.

A  new study finds that the kind of depression that results after a brain injury may be different from   regular  depression with some unique symptoms.  In  fact, the researchers believe that  brain injury -related depression could possibly be its own distinct condition.  These  are important findings because they shed new light on the kind of consequences that a brain injury patient can suffer.

For years now, researchers have known that  depression can set in after a person has suffered a brain injury,  but there have been questions about whether the depression is a result of the injury itself or because of the trauma related to the car accident or incident that caused the personal injury.  The general consensus, however, is that the depression is caused by the personal injury.

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