Georgia Injury Law Blog

Published on: December 28, 2011

Indiana Offers $300,000 Wrongful Death Settlement to Families of Victims of Stage Collapse

The state of Indiana has offered a settlement of $300,000 to families of each of the 7 people who were killed during a stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair in August. This amount is substantially below the settlement value of these types of wrongful death claims. The rest of the $5 million compensation fund will be paid out to people who suffered a personal injury during the stage collapse. As personal injury attorneys are well aware, when a government entity is involved, victims are seldom fully compensated for their injuries or the death of their loved ones.

The stage collapse accident occurred at the Indiana State Fair in Indianapolis on August 13.Rigging on the stage collapsed in the late hours of the evening, killing 4 people immediately.One other person died the morning after the accident, and 2 other persons died in the days after the collapse.More than 40 persons were injured in the collapse.Just before the collapse, fair organizers and security officials had noticed strong winds measuring 77 mph, and had even been considering postponing the concert by Sugar Land that was due to take place.However, those plans to postpone the concert never materialized.

Under Indiana’s liability laws, the state’s liability in an accident like this is restricted to $5 million.Now, the state has proposed its plans to divide the $5 million.The state is offering a settlement of $300,000 to the families of each person killed in the collapse.Families of victims, who had been hospitalized before their deaths, are likely to receive additional compensation.More than 60 other persons were injured in the collapse, and they will be compensated from the remainder of the $5 million fund.The compensation for those were injured in the accident, is likely to depend on the severity of the injuries.Some of the injured are being offered settlements that amount to just about 60% of their total documented medical expenses.One of the injured, who was left paralyzed, has been offered compensation of $500,000.

Published on: December 27, 2011

School Bus DUI Incident Underscores Bus Safety Challenges

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A school bus driver who was caught driving under the influence in another state underscores to Atlanta bus accident lawyers the challenges involved in keeping children safe on school buses. Importantly, school districts must be extremely diligent in hiring bus qualified drivers or they risk serious injuries to children and claims for negligent hiring and retention. A New Jersey school bus driver was arrested on charges of driving under the influence. That on its own may not have been a media- worthy event, except for the fact that it was the children on the school bus who called and informed their parents about the driver’s intoxicated behavior.

Parents received calls from their children on the bus, who noted that their driver was driving erratically and was dozing off at the wheel. The frantic parents called the school, and school authorities got in touch with the police. The driver, Carole Crockett was later arrested. She has been charged with DUI with a minor, endangering the welfare of a child, disorderly conduct and a number of other charges.

Police conducted breath tests, and found that Crockett registered at a startling .25% on the test. She is a commercial bus driver, and therefore, her maximum allowed BAC level is .04%, compared to the .08% that is allowed for other motorists. On a side note, this is one instance where Atlanta car accident lawyersare really glad that the children on the school bus happened to have their cell phones with them and used them. With a BAC concentration of .25%, it’s highly likely that this driver would have caused an accident.

Published on: December 16, 2011

Wrongful Death of Police Officer in DeKalb County Wrong Way Driving Car Accident

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A police officer was killed, and another person suffered personal injury in a car accident that police are now blaming on a wrong way driver.The crash occurred on westbound interstate-20 early in the morning.

According to DeKalb police, the driver of a westbound vehicle crashed into a sports utility vehicle that was traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes.The driver of the westbound car sustained fatal injuries in the crash.The wrong way driver also suffered injuries in the auto accident.

Investigations into the car accident have begun, and investigators now believe that the driver of the sport-utility vehicle was traveling in the wrong direction.These investigations are likely to also include blood-alcohol tests to determine if the driver was driving under the influence of alcohol.

Published on: December 14, 2011

Woman, Children Injured in Georgia Truck Accident

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Four people, including a woman and three children were injured in a truck accident in Loganville, Georgia.The accident occurred on Friday when a tractor-trailer crashed into an SUV. According to police, the truck accident occurred at an intersection when the tractor-trailer struck the SUV in the left rear quarter panel.Witnesses at the scene have confirmed to police that the SUV driver had the green light.Police have charged the tractor-trailer driver with failure to obey a traffic control device.The female driver of the SUV has also been charged with failure to restrain a child.Her three children were in the car, an eleven-year-old, a ten-year-old and fourteen-year-old, were taken to a hospital.

Failure to obey traffic laws is important for any motorist, but these failures can be critical and can have devastating effects when they involve tractor-trailer drivers.Drivers of these massive commercial trucks are at a high risk of causing an accident when they run red lights, tailgate or break other traffic rules.The risk to motorists in the vicinity of a truck is high because drivers of smaller vehicles involved in an accident with a tractor-trailer are at a much higher risk of being injured.As truck accident attorneys know, an overwhelming majority of accidents that involve a tractor-trailer and a smaller passenger vehicle end with serious personal injury or wrongful death of the occupants of the smaller vehicle.

Those are frightening odds for any motorist to beat, and tractor-trailer drivers must always keep that fact in mind.Further, tractor-trailer drivers must avoid dangerous behaviors like speeding or distracted driving.Speeding is believed to be the number one factor in commercial truck accidents in the United States, contributing to more accidents every year than drunk driving or distracted driving.Driving at speeds beyond the posted limits for commercial trucks, or at speeds that are inappropriate for current traffic, weather conditions, can lead to devastating accidents.

Published on: December 12, 2011

Georgia Worker Seriously Injured in Power Line Electrocution – Workers’ Compensation Claim Likely

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A worker in Kennesaw, Georgia was seriously injured in an electrocution accident last month.The man, a welder was in a bucket truck when the boom of the truck came in contact with a high-voltage overhead power line.It was a 4160 V power line, and the impact immediately resulted in serious electrical injuries to the man.He was rushed to the local hospital burn unit, and then transferred to a burn center in Augusta.

The man’s employer, Vulcan Materials and the Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration are investigating the work accident. In the event there is a personal injury claim against a third-party in addition to any workers’ compensation claim, the reports from these investigations will be vitally important. to the personal injury lawyer handling the case.

Many occupations require workers to be in close contact with high-voltage power lines.These workers include construction workers, mining workers, truck drivers, people in the tree trimming and tree service industry, and agricultural workers.Electrical utility workers are also often in close contact with power lines.However, the difference between electrical workers and other types of workers is that electrical utility workers are generally trained to identify the dangers of electrocution in their work, and avoid these dangers.Other types of workers may not have the benefit of such training.

Published on: December 5, 2011

Police Suspect Drunk Driving in Metro Atlanta Wrong Way Car Accident

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A driver alleged to have been driving in the wrong direction has been critically injured in an auto accident northeast of Atlanta. The car accident occurred on Interstate-85 when a motorist driving a Ford Explorer began driving south in the northbound lanes of interstate-85.At some point, the female motorist struck a tractor-trailer, and then hit another commercial truck and a van.The impact caused the motorist to be ejected from the Ford Explorer, and she sustained critical injuries.No other people were injured in this accident.Police believe that alcohol was a factor here, and that the woman was driving under the influence. As all personal injury attorneys know, if a car accident involves a serious personal injury, alcohol is very likely involved.

According to azcentral.com, in the year 2009, 1,772 people died in accidents involving the wrong way driver.In all these accidents, a driver drove on the wrong side of the road, or towards oncoming traffic.2009 had the highest number of wrong way driving deaths in five years.

The national focus on wrong way driving and its lethal impact spiked after a New York accident blamed on a wrong way driver killed eight people.In July 2009, a Long Island resident was driving her SUV in the opposite direction, when her vehicle crashed into an oncoming car.The woman and four children in her car died in the accident.The three occupants of the car also died.It was later found that the woman had been driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.She had a large number of drinks and had used marijuana before she began driving that day.

Published on: November 28, 2011

Atlanta Ranks at Number Four in Auto Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

According to data from 2009, the city of Atlanta ranks at number four in the number of auto accidents.It also ranks at number six in the number of accident-related wrongful deaths that same year.

The data which comes from the American Auto Association has no surprises for Atlanta car accident lawyers who are familiar with the auto safety culture in the city.In 2009, 498 people died in accidents in Atlanta.More than 62,000 people suffered a personal injury in car accidents in the city.

These accidents took not only a devastating personal toll, but also wreaked substantial economic damage.The metro Atlanta region suffered losses to the tune of more than $11 million in 2009 because of auto accident-related costs.Only Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York fared worse than Atlanta.The overall accident-related costs in the US totaled $299.5 billion.That’s more than three times the $97.7 billion cost of congestion.

Published on: November 23, 2011

FMCSA Postpones Publication of Truck Driver Work Rules – Increase in Truck Accidents Likely

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Atlanta truck accident lawyers, trucking safety groups and others who have been waiting for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to publish its Hours of Service rules for truck drivers, will have to wait a little longer.Unfortunately, this delay is likely to increase the number of truck accidents and, therefore, the number of persons who suffer personal injury and wrongful death due to these accidents. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has released a statement saying that it has decided to postpone publication of the work rules for at least another month.

The agency had been required to meet the deadline of October 28 for the publication of the new rules.However, in a statement, the agency says that several parties that have been opposed to the rule have agreed to an extension of the deadline for publication.The agency expects a deal to be announced on November 28, 2011.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s decision to postpone the publication of the rule is no surprise to any Atlanta truck accident attorney.After all, the agency’s proposal to review the Hours of Service for truck drivers has been a controversial one, and is heavily opposed by the trucking industry.

Published on: November 22, 2011

Marietta Motorist Claims Seizure Caused Car Accident

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A Marietta motorist, who was involved in a multi-vehicle auto accident, insists that the car accident was the result of a seizure that he suffered while driving.Police have already filed charges against him. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the auto accident occurred when the driver’s Ford F-250 struck another pickup truck on the same street.The motorist drove off after the accident and struck two more vehicles, before finally veering off the road and crashing into a tree.

Fortunately, the car accident did not result in life-threatening injuries for other drivers involved.The motorist has been charged with hit-and-run, driving too fast for conditions, failure to maintain lane and driving under a suspended license. Car accident attorneys regularly see cases in which a defendant driver claims a medical condition caused the accident. In order for this defense to be successful in a civil case, they must establish not only that the medical condition caused the accident, but that the medical condition was not known or it was not known that the medical condition would result in the issue which occurred.

Police say that he was fleeing the accident scene when he crashed, but the motorist claims that he has a history of epilepsy.According to him, he suffered a seizure at the time of the accident.The motorist says that he suffered petit mal seizures in his childhood, and was placed on medication.However, he stopped taking the medications after the seizures ended.The last time he had a grand mal seizure was three years ago.He does not know what caused this latest seizure that he suffered during the accident.According to him, he has no recollection of any of the events leading up to the accident.

Published on: November 21, 2011

Court Awards $144 Million in Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A Michigan jury has awarded $144 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit filed by a woman who alleged that negligence by her doctors left her baby with severe brain damage and in need of long-term care. Medical malpractice attorneys in Atlanta and elsewhere recognize the potential for sizable injury awards in all cases in which an infant suffers brain damage during birth. However, this is one of the largest medical malpractice awards in this settling.

The verdict came out this week against the Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan.It was here that the woman had been admitted for delivery in 2006.According to the lawsuit, the hospital as well as the doctor in charge of the delivery was negligent in failing to perform a cesarean section on the woman.The baby, a 10 lbs. 12 oz. girl was instead pushed through the birth canal.As a result, the baby suffered a fractured clavicle and began hemorrhaging severely.The baby was ultimately left with severe brain injuries and in need of long-term care.

The hospital and the doctor have said that they will appeal the verdict.The hospital alleged that the child’s injuries were the result of a genetic condition, and not due to negligence by the doctor or the hospital.However, an eight-member jury has now found in favor of the woman, and has found the hospital negligent.