Georgia Injury Law Blog

Published on: May 3, 2011

Possible Increase in Workers’ Compensation Claims Involving Older Georgia Workers

Atlanta Workers’ Compensation lawyers are likely to see a spike in the number of claims being filed by older American workers.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning in a new study that the number of senior workers being injured in workplace accidents, has increased substantially. As the CDC noted, the increase in work accidents for seniors is likely due to the fact that we have more senior in the workplace than in the past due to the recession. Therefore, more and more seniors will have workers comp claims to assert. Unfortunately, some insurance companies are likely to take advantage of the fact these seniors have more limited life expectancies to reduce the level of their settlement offers in worker comp cases beyond what is reasonable for that issue.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of injured older workers in the workforce increased from 12 % in 2003 to 17% in the latest estimates.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that much of the reason for this increase has been the fact that there are more older workers in the workforce now than ever before.During these troubled economic times, many seniors who had been looking forward to retirement, have been forced to re-enter the workforce instead.In many cases, these older workers are entering a work environment that has simply not taken their specific safety issues into consideration.

For instance, older workers may be at a high risk of certain types of accidents, like slip and fall accidents.They may also be at a high risk of fall accidents from elevated surfaces, or from ladders and stairways.These falls can leave an older worker with serious injuries, like fractures, hip fractures, broken ribs and other injuries.A hip fracture, for instance, can mean the end of an older worker’s ability to earn a livelihood.In fact, studies show that older persons who suffer a hip fracture, have a much higher risk of dying within a year after suffering the injury, than those who have not suffered a hip injury.

Published on: May 2, 2011

Rotator Cuff Injuries Are a Frequent Result of Slip and Fall Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Rotator cuff injuries often occur as a result of slip and fall accidents, or because of repetitive stress or strain over a period of time.A severe rotator cuff injury can leave a person in constant pain and with difficulty in shoulder movement.Now, a new experimental surgery is offering a ray of hope for people who suffer from these debilitating injuries. Injury attorneys in Atlanta and elsewhere welcome any surgery that is helpful with this injury.

In the case of moderate rotator cuff tears, there are surgeries that can help.However, in the case of severe rotator cuff injuries, surgical options are fairly limited.Typically, physical therapy is used to treat such injuries.Besides, doctors may also prescribe steroid injections or minor surgery.However, these treatments may have a limited effect, and over a period of time, rotator cuff injuries may lead to arthritis.In fact, in severe cases, the person may need partial or total shoulder replacement.Now Dr. Spero Karas, who also happens to be the associate professor of orthopedics at Emory Healthcare Sports Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, is using a new procedure that can help fix serious injuries to the rotator cuff.

The surgery involves using a surgically placed cadaver tissue graft to replace and reattach the injured tendon.So far, studies have indicated that the experiment with this graft-to-bone technique is very effective in treating defective tendons and repairing the injury.Some patients who have had the surgery performed on them have been able to go back to their normal routine activities, including golf. However, this procedure will not work for all rotator cuff tears.

Published on: May 1, 2011

Study Finds Antidepressants Help Repair Brain Cells, Heal Brain Injury

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Traumatic brain injuries are some of the most devastating injuries that Atlanta auto accident lawyers see.These serious injuries can also be seen as a result of a slip and fall accident when a person sustains impact to the head.What makes these injuries even more devastating is that there is no complete cure for traumatic brain injury.All doctors can do is administer emergency treatment as quickly as possible.A new study indicates that the use of antidepressants can help increase brain cells, thereby helping treat an injury.The researchers believe that if a patient is administered antidepressant therapy right after a traumatic brain injury, in addition to all other kinds of therapies, it could help foster the survival of healthy brain cells after an injury.

The use of antidepressants in the treatment of brain injury is not exactly new.In fact, most patients who suffer from TBI are susceptible to depression, and are often prescribed antidepressants.However, a new study conducted on mice found that injured mice that were given antidepressants had up to 70% more brain cells after four weeks on the antidepressant therapy, compared to those mice with brain injuries who had not been given antidepressants.The mice had been given the antidepressant, imipramine

That’s not all.Researchers also analyzed the performance of the mice during a novel object recognition test, to determine whether the thriving of brain cells in these mice, actually contributed to better cognition skills.Researchers analyzed how much time the mice under the antidepressant therapy spent looking at new or novel objects.Researchers found that the mice that had received the antidepressant therapy spent at least 15% more time looking at the novel objects.This indicates that these mice found the objects to be new, thereby indicating better memory capacity.

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 25, 2011

Georgia Needs to Work on Preventing Bicycle Accidents and Pedestrian Accidents this summer

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Georgia has some of the lowest rates of bicycling in the US.That probably has something to do with the fact that this is one of the most dangerous states for bicyclists in the country.In fact, Georgia ranks at number eight nationwide for the number of bicycle accident deaths and, of course, these means there are also a significant number of injuries.As any Atlanta injury attorney will tell you, the state is not much safer for pedestrians either.According to the Georgia Department of Transportation, the Metro Atlanta region is the 10th most dangerous metropolitan area for pedestrians in the country.This summer, the Georgia Department of Transportation needs to focus on how to reduce pedestrian accident and bicycle accident deaths.

There’s no doubt that a pedestrian in Atlanta is at serious risk of injuries in an accident.For example in Georgia, pedestrian accidents make up just 1% of all traffic accidents, but these deaths account for 10% of all traffic accident fatalities every year.

Few cities in the country have the kind of congested traffic that Atlanta has, and pedestrians and bicyclists have a big role to play in relieving some of this traffic.It’s the reason why Atlanta bicycle accident lawyers believe in the need to encourage bicycling and walking as sustainable, efficient, and most importantly, safe means of transportation.However, encouraging biking in Georgia has been an upward climb, because of the high risk of injuries to bicyclists here.

Published on: April 24, 2011

Missing Airbags in Used Cars in Atlanta Pose Hidden Injury Risks Of Injury

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the most frequent cause of airbag injuries in an accident is not late deployment or early deployment, but failure to deploy.In many cases, airbags fail to deploy because they’ve not been replaced after the car was involved in a previous crash.What is even more worrying to Atlanta car accident lawyers is that there is currently little information about the number of used cars out there that do not have airbag systems.To prevent injuries, we need to develop a system to identify such cars before they are involved in an auto accident.

There have been several cases involving repair shops that charged for replacing of airbags after the vehicle was involved in an accident and then failed to replace the systems.One such repair shop was even sued by a couple whose son was killed in an accident.The couple had paid the repair shop to install airbags on its used vehicle, and after the accident, it was found that the airbags had been stuffed with paper.

For a repair shop, replacing an airbag system would cost between $1,000 and $3,000. In the absence of any regulations of these shops, there have been many cases where owners of used vehicles drove their car out of the repair shop, believing that their car was safe.Data by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that over five years, at least 51 fatal accidents could be traced to missing airbags in cars.These airbags failed to deploy because they had never been replaced after a previous accident.

Published on: April 23, 2011

14% Decline in Georgia Motorcycle Accident Deaths in 2010

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The Governors’ Highway Safety Association is predicting a 2% decline in motorcycle accident deaths for 2010, based on a slight decline in fatalities during the first nine months of the year.In Georgia, Atlanta motorcycle accident lawyers found slightly better news.The predicted decline in motorcycle accident fatalities in Georgia is a little more substantial than the national average.As an Atlanta injury lawyer, I welcome any decrease in the number of motorcycle accident deaths and hope this also indicates a reduction in the number of accidents involving serious personal injuries.

During the first nine months of 2009, there had been 112 motorcycle accident deaths in Georgia, and those numbers had decreased to 98 deaths during the same period in 2010.That was a decline of 14, and while it is not a bad performance, Georgia is way behind our neighbor Louisiana with a decline of 37, Oklahoma with a decline of 25 and Wisconsin with a decline of 24 fatalities. Georgia could do much better with saving motorcyclists lives every year, if it invested more in educating motorists about the specific dangers facing motorcyclists.

According to the report by the GHSA, motorcycle accident fatalities across the country decreased by approximately 2.4% during the first nine months of the year.The GHSA is predicting the total number of motorcycle accident fatalities for 2010 to be around 4, 376 or fewer.However, the agency is warning against any enthusiasm over this decline in motorcycle accident deaths.

Published on: April 22, 2011

Atlanta Children Escape Injuries After Ferocious Dog Bite attack

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A young boy waiting at the bus stop in southwest Atlanta had a miraculous escape after a dog bite attack by a pair of Rottweilers.The boy, who was about eight or nine years old was standing at the bus stop waiting for his bus, when the two dogs turned up and the dog bite attack occurred.Another child was also waiting at the bus stop, but managed to escape.Fortunately for the boy, a neighbor was able to scare the dogs away. As an Atlanta injury attorney, I have often found that dog bite attacks often result in extremely serious personal injuries.

Both of the dogs belonged to separate dog owners.Both the dog owners have been cited by the Fulton County Animal Control and the dogs have been removed from the neighborhood.

Children are the biggest victims of dog bites in Atlanta.According to the Centers For Disease Control And Prevention, approximately 4.5 million Americans suffer dog bites every year.Of these, one in five bites result in injuries that are serious enough to require medical attention.Among child victims of dog bites, the rate of injuries is highest in children in the age group of 5 to 9.Besides, children are much more likely to require medical attention after a dog bite.