Georgia Injury Law Blog

Published on: September 7, 2010

Calls for Brain Injury to Be Defined As Disease

Calls for Brain Injury to Be Defined As Disease

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is not just a one-time injury that heals quickly, allowing a person to move on and forget about the injury.Rather, a person with a TBI can suffer several complications over his entire lifetime, depending on the severity of the TBI.A moderate brain injury could increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, besides placing the person at a higher risk for neuroendocrine disorders and depression.That is the reason why a team of researchers from the University Of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston is calling for a redefining of traumatic brain injury as a chronic disease, like diabetes.

According to the researchers, defining brain injury as a disease would allow doctors to frequently monitor patients with TBI for complications or new conditions that might develop in the future.Take diabetes, for instance.Diabetes is considered a chronic disease, and a patient is placed under frequent monitoring, that involves regular testing of his blood sugar levels.The doctors also monitor the patient for other complications that may arise, like kidney disorders.The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston researchers are calling for similar scheduled monitoring and tracking of patients with TBI.Currently, this is not done.Instead, patients with TBI often find themselves confused, anxious and with no financial and educational resources to deal with these complications.Defining TBI as a disease would allow these patients to be reimbursed regularly by insurers.

Published on: August 31, 2010

Accidents Cost US $99 Billion in One Year

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Accidents Cost US $99 Billion in One Year

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has analyzed the cost of traffic accidents in the year 2005, and come up with a staggering estimate-$99 billion.

That’s right.Fatal and non-fatal injurious accidents including car, motorcycle, truck, bicycle and pedestrian accidents cost the American economy $99 billion in 2005.Mind-boggling as that number is, it’s probably just the tip of the iceberg.According to the CDC, it does not include other factors that could increase accident costs, like the increase in insurance premiums after an accident and an increase in taxes.

Published on: August 30, 2010

Non-Approved Motorcycle Helmets May Not Protect against Injury

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Non-Approved Motorcycle Helmets May Not Protect against Injury

While the state of Georgia has a law requiring all motorcycle riders to wear helmets for their own protection, many motorcyclists in Georgia could be increasing their risk of injury by wearing unsafe, “fancy” helmets that are not approved by the Department of Transportation, nor by any private certifying agency.

The US Department of Transportation certifies hundreds of helmets every year.DOT-Approved helmets have an inner lining that protects the head during impact.They also have strong rivets, protective chin straps and other features that help prevent head and facial injuries during an accident. Unfortunately, too many motorcyclists in Georgia are riding with novelty helmets that look like military helmets, and do not cover the face completely. These helmets do not offer complete facial and head protection during an accident.In fact, wearing a helmet like this may not offer even minimal protection during an accident.

Published on: August 28, 2010

Report Indicates Drunk Driving Still Serious Threat

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Report Indicates Drunk Driving Still Serious Threat

Fact – Drunk driving fatality rates have dropped significantly over the past five years.

Fact – Fatal drunk driving accidents account for 31% of all highway accidents in the US.

Published on: August 27, 2010

Proposals to Mandate Speed Limiters on All Trucks Gather Steam

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Proposals to Mandate Speed Limiters on All Trucks Gather Steam

As Atlanta truck accident lawyers, we have supported efforts by truck safety groups to get the federal administration to mandate speed limiters on all commercial trucks.Ultimately, it might be environmental concerns that help meet that goal.

We’ve known for long that reducing speed limits on trucks can help prevent the catastrophic injuries and multiple fatalities that result during high-speed truck accidents.Besides, even a reduction of 1 mph in truck speed can contribute to a 1% increase in fuel efficiency. Environmental and trucking efficiency concerns are high right now, and this May, the President asked his administration to get to work on developing a policy that would tackle fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emission concerns.Speed limiters will help meet both these targets.

Published on: August 25, 2010

Traffic Fatalities Focus of Highway Study

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

More Focus on Highway Safety Technologies, Less on Distracting Issues

Does the super-sized focus on specific highway safety problems like distracted driving and auto safety issues like the Toyota acceleration crisis detract attention away from potential safety technologies and processes?It’s an intriguing question posed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and as Atlanta auto accident lawyers, we agree with many of the Institute’s opinions.

What the Insurance Institute is basically saying in its latest report, is that when federal transportation safety agencies focus heavily on a specific highway safety problem like distracted driving, and when already limited resources are devoted to tackling this problem, it takes much attention and effort away from the development of other technologies and processes that can prevent accidents.No one is denying that distracted driving is a serious problem, but it contributes to a small percentage of auto accident fatalities every year.Similarly, we aren’t saying that Toyota doesn’t have acceleration problems.In fact, in our capacity as Atlanta personal injury lawyers, we have always said that the company needs to be held accountable for its negligence.

Published on: August 24, 2010

Dog Bite Claims on the Rise; Insurers Pinched

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Insurers Concerned over Increase in Dog Bite Claims

Insurance companies are beginning to feel the bite as a nationwide increase in dog bite claims chews away at bottom lines.

In 2009, there was an increase of 6.4% in the amount that insurers had to pay out to settle dog bite claims.Companies paid out $412 million to cover dog bite claims in 2009, compared to the previous year, when the payout was $387.2 million.The average dog bite claim in 2009 exceeded $24,000 for the third year in a row.The number of claims increased to 16,586 – an increase of 4.8%.

Published on: August 22, 2010

Taking Away the Keys – Senior Motorists Need Encouragement to Give Up Driving

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The decision to step in and take action when you see an elderly motorist beginning to lose his driving abilities, is never an easy one to make.However, for millions of Americans in the position of caregivers for their parents, it’s a moment that presents itself sooner or later.

Studies estimate that elderly motorist safety is likely to become an even bigger safety concern in the years ahead, as the baby boomer population hits its 70s.According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, in 2008, 78% of the senior population in the United States had driving licenses, compared to 73% just a decade earlier.Those numbers are expected to increase over the next decade.

It’s important for families of these motorists to know when to make the decision to suspend or restrict the person’s driving privileges.It’s also important to gently ease the person into giving up the keys, or at least present him with a set of alternatives to driving.Here are some steps you can take to keep your loved one and others safe.

Published on: August 19, 2010

Bus Accident Injuries Curbed by Seat Belts

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Feds to Mandate Seatbelts on All Buses

The worst bus accident in Atlanta in recent memory occurred three years ago, when a bus carrying a baseball team from Bluffton University plunged off a highway overpass, killing seven people including five baseball players.Some of those who were killed or injured were ejected from the vehicle, as the bus swung around sharply before it flipped over.Would those statistics have been different if the students were wearing seatbelts at the time of the accident?It is quite likely, and if a US Department of Transportation proposal to mandate seatbelts on all motor coaches is successful, we might be able to dramatically reduce the number of people seriously injured or killed in bus accidents in the future.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has announced that his agency is considering long-pending proposals by the National Transportation Safety Board, to mandate seatbelts on all motor coaches.The NTSB made the recommendations back in 1968, but any attempts at federal and state legislation to mandate seatbelts on all motor coaches have been thwarted by the powerful bus manufacturer lobby.The industry has managed to get away with putting thousands of vehicles sans seatbelts out there, and the impact has been seen in a series of deadly bus accidents, from California to Texas.

Published on: August 17, 2010

Higher Truck Weight Limits Will Impact Highway Safety

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A new piece of legislation that has been introduced in the U.S. Senate seeks to allow individual states to increase the gross weight limit on trucks plying the Interstate Highway System.The current gross weight limit in Georgia is about 80,000 pounds.If the legislation were to become law, trucking companies would be able to increase that weight to up to 97,000 pounds.

There are several reasons why Atlanta truck accident attorneys have a problem with this.For one, it would mean greater wear and tear on our already stretched highways.These are tough economic times, and funding for highway repairs and maintenance is already hard to source.The increased wear and tear from heavier trucks would leave Georgia’s highways compromised.

There’s another more serious reason why we strongly oppose any bill to increase funding for weight limits on trucks plying interstate highways.No matter how experienced a truck driver, he will find it a challenge to drive a trailer with an additional 17,000 pounds of cargo.Ask any truck driver and he will tell you that this is likely to be a safety concern if the bill actually becomes law.Trucking can be extremely strenuous, physically challenging work, and while experience can help, Atlanta truck accident lawyers often come across devastating truck accidents caused by experienced truckers.