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After  7 consecutive  years  of year- to -year increases in auto accident wrongful deaths, the federal administration has been recording slow, but perceptible drops in these numbers for four consecutive quarters.  Latest  estimates by the administration shows that the first quarter of 2023 has been no different.

The  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released its auto accident death projections for 2023.  The  estimates for the first quarter of 2023 show a 3% decline in the number of people killed in car accidents compared to the same period of time in 2022. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that a total of 9,330 people were killed in auto accidents in the first quarter of 2023. That was a drop from the 9,645 accident deaths recorded during the same period of time last year. The fatality rate for the first quarter of this year was 1.24 traffic accident deaths compared to 1.32 fatalities during the first quarter of last year.

The same trend could also be seen in Georgia where there was a drop in the number of people killed in auto accidents in the first quarter of 2023, compared to last year.  During  the first quarter of 2022,  a total of 468 people were killed in car accidents in Georgia, and that number dropped to 410 fatalities this year.  That was a significant 3.7% drop. The fatality rate in Georgia dropped from 1.62 fatalities  in 2022  to 1.36 deaths this year.

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Many  cities including the metro Atlanta region have seen a boom in the number of e – scooter riders, but limits on the operations of these vehicles mean that many of these riders choose to ride on sidewalks, increasing their risks of being involved in pedestrian accidents.

Around the country, there  has been an increase in the number of e – scooter  riders, and cities have welcomed the expansion of this community because that reduces the stress on motor vehicle traffic, especially in congested cities like Atlanta.  However, many cities have restricted the roads that these vehicles can be operated on.  This means riders often choose to ride on sidewalks, placing them in direct conflict with pedestrians,  and increasing their chances  of being involved in pedestrian accidents.  In fact, according to a new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, there has been an increase in the number of e – scooter  personal injuries and accidents  involving pedestrians.

In most cities, the laws allow persons to ride e- scooters on roads where the speed limit is 35 miles per hour or less.  That  restricts the operation of ride vehicles to bike lanes and bike paths.  In areas where it is not possible to ride on bike lanes, e – scooter riders prefer to ride on sidewalks.  This  may be safe for the scooter rider, but involves  increased risks for pedestrians, especially when the e-scooter is being operated at high speeds.  Most riders do tend  to lower their speeds when they are riding on sidewalks as compared to riding in a bicycle lane.  Even  so, the  potential   risk  of personal injuries to pedestrians is very real.  Some  cities have placed greater speed restrictions on privately operated scooters that are being operated  on sidewalks in order to reduce the risk of personal injuries to pedestrians in accidents  with the scooters. Other cities are even considering a complete ban on e – scooters on sidewalks.

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With  summer fast approaching and thousands of children  and families cooling off in swimming pools across the country, it is important for Atlanta pool owners to understand their risks of premises liability when a drowning  occurs on their premises.

Most drownings involving children occur in swimming pools.  According  to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, children between the age of 1 and 4 are more likely to die from drowning than any other factor. For children between the age of 5 and 14,  drowning is the second most likely cause of unintentional death, after auto accidents. Every year,  there are 4,000 fatal drowning accidents recorded in the United States, and as many as double that number of non -fatal drowning accidents.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Georgia has a drowning death rate that is approximately 1.37 for every 100,000 population.

Most  of these accidents occur in residential and commercial swimming pools. Even if a drowning does not result in death, it can result in severe or even catastrophic personal injury.  The loss of oxygen supply to the brain can result in brain damage and other consequences that can contribute to  long- term or   lifelong disability of a child or adult. Close to half of all drowning accidents that do not result in a death will result in hospitalization of the victim.  A drowning is much more likely to result in death or long term injury compared to other  unintentional injuries.

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The Georgia State Patrol has been steadily losing staff numbers, and there are fears that an understaffed agency could mean a higher risk of auto accidents on our already dangerous highways. When there are less police officers on the road to deter speeding and reckless driving, this conduct will only increase leading to more car accidents and pedestrian accidents.

According to reports, the Georgia State Patrol has been steadily and consistently losing staff members over recent years.  In April 2022, the Georgia State Patrol had a total of 828 troopers.  However, just a few months later in January 2023, that number had dropped to just 783.

This decline in staffing numbers at the Georgia State Patrol has been evident for a while now. Even as the number of vehicles on Georgia highways has increased exponentially, the number of troopers responsible for keeping these highways safe  and responding to car accidents has not kept pace. For example, in 1977, 524 Georgia State Patrol troopers were assigned to keep motorists safe on the highways  and respond to accident crises. In 2023, at one point, there were just 497 Georgia State Patrol troopers assigned to the highways,  lower than they were at least 45 years ago.  These 497 troopers were in charge of maintaining safety on highways that have a far denser population of motor vehicles than they had in 1977.

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Over the past 2 decades, there has been a staggering increase in the number of fatal slip and fall accidents involving American seniors,  with the rate doubling during this period of time.

Slip and fall accidents are a major cause of wrongful deaths and personal injury involving seniors,  and in fact, according to some statistics, contribute to the highest number of wrongful deaths involving seniors every year.   However, a new study shows exactly how alarming those risks are, and how dramatically those wrongful death rates have increased. The study by researchers at the Pennsylvania State University shows that in 1999, there were a total of 10,100 fatal slip and fall accidents involving American seniors above the age of 65.  By the year 2020, that number increased to 36,500  fatal slip and fall accidents involving seniors.

That is a staggering increase, and seems to show that in spite of advancements in fall protection for seniors, these personal injuries are only increasing.  The researchers say that there simply is not enough of a focus on slip and fall prevention involving senior citizens, and that is contributing to this increase. The study also shows that fatal slip and fall accident rates  seem to  have increased among all categories of seniors since 1999.  Rates seem to have increased for both men and women. White male adults had the highest slip and fall death rate with as many as 78 deaths for 100,000 population in 2020. Fall-related death rates also rose for black, native American, Hispanic and Asian seniors.

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Summer is when there is typically an uptick in the number of dog bites and attacks reported across Georgia and the rest of the country.  Did you know  that there are three dog breeds that most home insurance companies simply refuse to include in their dog bite liability coverage?

Many insurance companies have breed lists that include breeds of dogs that the company will not cover if the customer has the specified breed of dog in their home.  Most  insurance companies, for instance, refuse to include  Doberman Pinschers, Rottweilers and pit bulls in their  liability coverage.  That  means that if you are a homeowner who owns one of these breeds, you are  likely to find yourself in serious financial trouble if your dog attacks another person and that person brings a dog bite claim for damages against you.

While some insurance companies have such breed lists, others may consider whether they will provide coverage for these dogs on a case -by – case basis. For instance, many insurance companies refuse to extend coverage when a  homeowner has a dog that has been tagged as a “vicious dog” on the premises. A “vicious dog” is one that has been involved in an attack or a bite involving injuries or damage.

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Traumatic  brain injuries like those that typically result from auto accidents, pedestrian accidents and slip and falls can have a number of long term consequences.  A new study finds that the risk of criminal behavior increases after even a mild brain injury. This increased risk is something that has to be considered when litigating personal injury claims.

The study was conducted in New Zealand, and found that a brain injury does not have to be severe in order to have effects that result in criminal behavior.  Even a mild brain injury like a concussion can significantly increase a person’s risk of engaging in criminal behavior.

The analysis found that people with a brain injury had a higher rate of criminal convictions and arrests, compared to persons who had not suffered a brain injury.  Further, the risk of criminal behavior seemed to increase with the number of brain injuries the person had suffered.  A  higher number of concussions translated into a higher risk of criminal activity.

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Persons who have suffered spinal injuries in car accidents or fall accidents may suffer from dangerous drops in their blood pressure.  A  new implant can help circumvent this problem.

A person who has suffered a spinal injury may suffer from dangerous drops in blood pressure when he tries to move from a sitting to a standing position.  In  such cases, the person may feel dizzy or nauseous when he moves or stands. In some cases, the person may even faint as a result of the drop in blood pressure.  An extremely severe drop in blood pressure can even have possibly fatal consequences.

The conservative approach to treating this  problem of dips in blood pressure in spinal injury victims has been to prescribe a high – salt diet or compression stockings.  However,  even with the use of such methodologies and aids, victims continue to complain of dizziness and other problems.

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The  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently released new statistics that show that the total number of people killed in car accidents in the United States dropped last year compared to the previous year.  However,  it may be too early to celebrate.

According to the latest statistics by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a total of 42,795 people were killed in auto accidents in the United States last year.  That  translated into a minute  0.3% drop from the previous year.  In 2021, a total 42,939 people had been killed in auto accidents. However,  the toll for 2022  still remains 18% higher than the figures in 2019.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg calls this a “national crisis of traffic safety” on our roads,  and says that Americans need to do their part in helping reverse this rising trend of auto accident deaths.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently conducted a comparison of the United States with at least 29 other industrialized countries and found disturbing results.  The  study found that the United States fares very poorly on traffic safety parameters, compared to other wealthy nations. In fact, most Western countries did not record dramatic rise in wrongful deaths in car accidents the way the United States did during the  pandemic.

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While there have been many theories for the disturbing rise in auto accident wrongful deaths across the country,  one under examined factor is now under the scanner.  Experts  believe that a drop in police enforcement since just before the pandemic is possibly partly responsible for a spike in car accident deaths.

Car accident deaths in 2022 were as much as 18% higher than the numbers in 2019.  They have continued to increase, spiking even during the pandemic when vehicular traffic volumes were at all time lows.  During  a time when American roads should have been safest, they were actually even more dangerous than before the pandemic with normal traffic volumes.  This   phenomenon was also uniquely American.  Most Western countries did not report increases in car accident deaths during the pandemic.  Many, in fact, actually saw a drop in car accident rates as a result of lockdowns and lower traffic volumes.

There have been a number of theories that have been espoused as reasons for the increase in car accident deaths in the United States.  From  an increase in speeding to larger volumes of distracted drivers, experts believe that a combination of factors has led to a spike in the number of people being killed in car accidents.  However, one particular factor has not received a lot of attention and NPR recently addressed this.  The report by NPR says that a drop in police enforcement across the country is at least partly responsible for the spike in car accident deaths.

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