Georgia Injury Law Blog

Published on: December 26, 2017

Georgia’s Dram Shop Laws: What to Know If You’re Hosting a New Year’s Party

As you’re making plans to ring in the New Year, make sure you are not unwittingly breaking Georgia laws if you are hosting a New Year’s Eve party this year.

While you want your guests to enjoy your event, if you are planning on serving alcohol, you should be aware of the fact that you could be held accountable for your guests’ actions after they have had a few drinks at your party. That accountability is outlined under Georgia’s dram shop and social host liability laws.

Under Georgia law, a social host, or a person who hosts an event or a party, may be held liable for any injuries caused by persons who have consumed alcohol served by the host. In other words, you could be held accountable for serving alcohol to a person who leaves your event and causes an accident that results in injuries.

Published on: December 12, 2017

Top 10 Dangerous Toys to Avoid This Holiday Season

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

From choking and suffocation hazards to burn risks, there are a number of ways that the toys on this year’s list of most dangerous toys of 2017 can harm your child. The consumer watchdog group World against Toys Causing Harm has made the job gift giving easier by compiling a list of the most dangerous toys this season. There have already been countless children injured in Georgia by these dangerous toys. If you’re considering buying any of the following toys as gifts, you may want to reconsider.

According to World against Toys Causing Harm, as reported by Consumer Reports, the toys on this year’s list are dangerous for a number of reasons.

The Hallmark Itty Bitty Baby Stacking Toy-These toys can pose a serious choking hazard to children. The Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled these toys in August 2017, but parents can still access these toys online.

Published on: November 28, 2017

Stricter State ATV Laws Can Prevent Child Injuries

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

ATVs are the most popular off-road vehicles. However, these vehicles are far too heavy and bulky for children to handle. ATV vehicle use is linked to more than 3,000 fatalities in the United States over a span of three decades. More than 50% of these fatalities involved children.

The state of Georgia has some of the highest rates of ATV accidents involving children in the country. Lawmakers must invest time and resources in enacting legislation that sets restrictions on children’s use of all-terrain vehicles and other off-road vehicles.

Children below the age of 16 should not be allowed to operate ATVs. Unfortunately, far too many parents believe that it is safe to let their children operate such a heavy vehicle not realizing that it poses a tremendous risk of severe injuries in an accident.

Published on: November 14, 2017

Georgia Lawmakers Consider Anti-Distracted Driving Measures

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Lawmakers in Georgia are looking closer at steps that can be taken to strengthen the state’s laws targeting distracted driving in order to reduce the number of accidents involving electronic distractions.

In 2016, there were more than 1,500 fatalities on Georgia highways, a one-third increase from 2015. It’s not clear how many of those fatalities were directly linked to the use of electronic devices while driving. However, it is very likely that the overall national increase in traffic accident fatalities is directly linked to more motorists using cell phones and texting while driving.

In fact, statistics show that just in last year alone, the Georgia Department of Driver Services issued more than 3,800 citations to motorists who were found using phones while driving. That was an increase of more than 30% from 2015.

Published on: October 21, 2017

The Leading Car Accident Risk That No One Talks about

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Everyone knows of the dangers of using a cell phone while driving, but there is yet another driving distraction that most people in Georgia are not aware of – daydreaming.

Most of us would not consider daydreaming to be a dangerous activity. However, driving while daydreaming significantly increases your risk of being involved in an accident. In fact, driving while daydreaming is one of the leading causes of accidents. Unfortunately, most people may not even realize the dangers associated with driving while daydreaming since it is something most of us do at the wheel at one point or another.

New research shows that most people are likely to daydream when they are behind the wheel, especially when driving familiar routes. In a recent study, participants submitted to a driving simulation and had their brain activity analyzed during the simulation. The researchers found that people’s minds were more likely to wander, i.e. daydream, when they were involved in a routine driving activity such as driving the same route several times as opposed to driving in unfamiliar settings. The daydreaming occurred more than 70% of the time during the study. Even more concerning was the finding that the participants were only aware that they were distracted approximately 65% of the time.

Published on: September 14, 2017

How Princess Di’s Tragic Death Helped To Reduce Car Accidents on French Roads

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

August marks the 20th anniversary of the tragic death of Princess Diana. What many people are not aware of, however, is how Di’s tragic death in a Paris tunnel in 1997 significantly changed the driving landscape in France, and significantly reduced the number of car accidents.

After the accident in a Paris tunnel in 1997, French investigators came to the conclusion that the accident was the result of unsafe and dangerous driving practices. In 2002, the French government signed a number of new laws that were specifically designed to help reduce the incidence of unsafe driving. As a result of those laws, traffic accident fatalities in the country actually dropped by as much as one-third. This is a substantial reduction. According to Statista, the United States had 6.3 million car accidents in 2015. Therefore, if the United States was able to achieve a similar outcome, this would result in 2.1 million fewer car accidents each year.

In the new study, researchers claim that France’s decision to enact traffic safety laws in the aftermath of the tragic and high-profile death significantly improved traffic safety in that country, and may have helped save many lives. In fact, the study suggests that thousands of French lives could possibly have been saved as a result of these legal changes that were enacted. French road fatalities in the decades after the fatal crash fell by as much as 30% on an average, compared with an average of 15% in the United States.

Published on: September 7, 2017

Benefits of Oxygen Therapy for Brain Injury Patients

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

For years now, proponents of hyperbaric oxygen therapy have claimed the therapy can significantly help reduce the risk of long-term brain damage in persons who have suffered a brain injury. Recently, a case study of a brain-damaged three-year-old child who recovered significantly after being administered the therapy offered support for these claims. The hope is that the approach described in the case study will help other individuals who have suffered a severe brain injury. These types of injuries are common in motorcycle accidents as well as any collision which occurs when vehicles are traveling at a high rate of speed.

Claims of the benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy have been met with skepticism for many years, because its proponents have found it difficult to explain exactly why the treatment works in helping reduce brain damage after an injury. When these claims arise in litigation, the experts are often challenges under Daubert, a federal case that has nationally redefined when expert testimony is admissible or should be excluded. However, a number of recent studies have found that even a single session of hyperbaric oxygen therapy can significantly impact tissue recovery rates in a person with brain damage. Each session of hyperbaric oxygen therapy reduces cell death and inflammation, and boosts recovery, cell growth and repair rates. That can be seen in the rate of recovery of persons with brain damage. These studies may alter the admissibility of expert testimony since Daubert requires general scientific acceptance of principles to which an expert is testifying in court.

Experts point specifically to a recent case involving a three-year-old child who was found unconscious and unresponsive in her family swimming pool. The child had been deprived of oxygen for several minutes, and had suffered significant brain damage. There were signs of brain shrinkage, and loss of gray matter. Around two months after the injury, the child was administered hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and her doctors and parents noticed an improvement within 10 sessions of the therapy.

Published on: August 25, 2017

Fatality Numbers Underscore Pedestrian Safety Risks

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Walking has probably never been more dangerous in the United States. In 2016, the number of pedestrian fatalities increased for the second consecutive year. What’s more, those fatality numbers are at alarming new highs.

Pedestrian fatality statistics are especially bleak in the state of Georgia. Georgia was one of eleven states that had fatality rates equal to one or more per 100,000 people. Georgia had a rate of 1.06 fatalities per 100,000 population between January and June 2016.

Data released by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) showed that projected pedestrian accident fatality numbers increased by approximately 11% between 2015 and 2016 – the biggest year-to-year spike since the organization began tracking those numbers. In the first half of 2016, there were 2,660 fatalities in pedestrian accidents. During the same period of time in 2015, there were 2,486 fatalities. The report projected a 22% increase in pedestrian fatalities in 2016 from 2014.

Published on: August 20, 2017

The Heavy Cost of Bicycle Accidents in the United States

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Bicycle accidents take a heavy toll on the US economy. Now, a new study finds that these crashes cost the American economy more than $24 billion a year in health care and other costs. What’s worse, the study also finds that those costs have been steadily increasing over the years.

Researchers focused on fatal and non-fatal bicycle accidents across the country between 1999 and 2013. They found that during this period of time, there were a total of 3.8 million non-fatal bicycle accident injuries and nearly 10,000 bicycle accident fatalities. Researchers also found an alarming 120% increase in the number of hospital admissions related to bicycle accidents.

There is a specific reason why costs associated with bicycle accidents, especially healthcare costs, have been increasing the way they have. Accidents involving older bicyclists are one of those factors. Accident-related costs involving cyclists over the age of 45 contribute heavily to those expenses, because these crashes are usually involve longer hospital stays, and higher recovery times after accidents.

Published on: July 18, 2017

Trucking Industry Will Push for Greater Weight Limits on Tractor-Trailers

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

This year, the trucking industry will push for legislation that will increase weight limits on tractor-trailers and 18-wheelers across the country. Unfortunately, heavier trucks on our highways will only increase the risk of accidents, and jeopardize the safety of motorists on the highways.

In 2015, legislators defeated an amendment that would have increased the maximum weight of tractor-trailers on highways to 91,000 pounds from the current 80,000 pounds. In fact, such proposals have been rejected several times by Congress, and with good reason.

It is a proven fact that any accident involving a massive truck weighing more than 90,000 pounds is potentially devastating to the occupants of the smaller vehicle. It’s not just the impact of the accident with a large truck that seriously jeopardizes the safety of the occupants of the smaller vehicle, but also the fact that these trucks are more difficult to maneuver, thus increasing crash risks. They are more difficult to operate, and take a much longer time to come to a complete stop after the brakes are applied. Therefore, Congress has always rejected any legislation increasing weight limits for trucks.