Georgia Personal Injury Blog

The rate of seat belt use in Georgia has held steady for the past several years, and its rates are about average for seat belt use throughout the United States, according to a recent report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The report examined seat belt use from 2003 to 2010 in all fifty states. Fifteen states, not including Georgia, had an average seat belt use rate over 90 percent during this period. Georgia’s own seat belt use rate hovers just below the 90 percent mark, with an 89.6% use rate in 2010 – a 0.7% increase over 2003.

During these years, the state with the biggest increase in seat belt use was Kansas. Kansas strengthened its seat belt enforcement law in June 2010, which raised its use rate from 77% in 2009 to 81.8% in 2010. States with primary seat belt enforcement laws, like Georgia, tended to have higher rates of seat belt use. Many of these states also see lower rates of deaths associated with not using a seat belt. For instance, motorists involved in rollover accidents are more likely to suffer death or permanent disability if they are thrown from the vehicle during the rollover, which is more likely to happen if the person is not buckled in.

Seat belts are an easy way to protect yourself from injury in a motor vehicle accident, but they are not foolproof. If you’ve been injured in a car accident, the experienced Georgia auto accident lawyers at The Law Offices of Wayne Grant, P.C. can help. For a free, confidential consultation, call us today at (404) 995-3955.

Motorcycle accidents can cause serious injury or even death. Often, the person who suffers the most damage in a motorcycle crash is the motorcyclist, who doesn’t have the protection that a motor vehicle affords.

Motor vehicle drivers have a responsibility to share the road with all other vehicles, including motorcycles. Here are some ways you can share the road safely with motorcyclists and help prevent serious motorcycle accidents in Georgia:

• Never drive, walk, or ride a bike while distracted. Pull over and stop before you have to read a map, make a phone call, or do anything else that might take your attention from the road.
• Give a motorcyclist a full lane. It’s never safe to try and ride alongside a motorcyclist in the same lane of traffic, even if the road looks wide enough.
• Leave extra room between the front of your vehicle and the back of a motorcycle. This will allow you to stop in time to avoid hitting the motorcyclist or the bike if the bike suddenly swerves or the rider loses control.
• Double-check your mirrors and blind spots before changing lanes, as motorcycles may be hard to see. Always signal before changing lanes so that motorcyclists can see what you’re planning and adjust their own speed and position accordingly.

If you or someone you love has been injured in a motorcycle accident, the skilled Atlanta motorcycle accident attorneys at The Law Offices of Wayne Grant, P.C. can help. Call us today for a free and confidential telephone consultation. Our number is (404) 995-3955.

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) occur when the brain is damaged in some way. A blow to the head frequently causes a traumatic brain injury known as a concussion, while an object penetrating the skull causes a different but also dangerous type of traumatic brain injury. Even a mild traumatic brain injury can cause lingering TBI symptoms, such as difficulties with memory, concentration, mood, sleep, balance, and head pain. Severe traumatic brain injuries can cause permanent disabilities or even death.

Approximately 1.4 million U.S. residents suffer a traumatic brain injury each year, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Common causes of traumatic brain injury include auto accidents, falls, blows to the head, and sports injuries. Explosions can also cause traumatic brain injuries, although these are less common among civilians than among members of the armed forces.

In some cases, traumatic brain injury can occur even if there is no direct blow to the head. Explosions can cause this, as can a severe whiplash injury such as those suffered in some kinds of car accidents. In these accidents, the effect of the explosion or whiplash causes the brain to move inside the skull, which can bruise or injure the brain’s tissues even if no object actually comes into contact with the outside of the skull.

Traumatic brain injuries can cause permanent damage. If you’ve suffered a traumatic brain injury in an accident, please don’t hesitate to call a knowledgeable Georgia traumatic brain injury attorney at The Law Offices of Wayne Grant, P.C. for a free and confidential consultation. Our number is (404) 995-3955.

Students at a Norcross high school gathered together recently to mourn the loss of one of their own, a 16-year-old girl who lost her life in a car crash on the school’s prom night, according to an article in the Gwinnett Daily Post.

The 16-year-old was riding with the car’s driver, and both were going to a post-prom party after the end of their prom. The car was traveling north on Steve Reynolds Boulevard in Norcross when it crossed the center line and skidded into the southbound lane, where it was hit head-on by a car coming in the opposite direction.

Both the 16-year-old and the driver were thrown from the vehicle. The driver was taken to a nearby hospital, where he is currently listed in critical condition. Two other passengers, who were riding in the back seat, were treated for minor injuries and then released to their parents.

Investigators say it was likely neither of the people in the front seats was wearing a seat belt. So far, investigators do not believe that alcohol played a role in the accident, but they are still trying to determine whether or not excessive speed was a factor.

Car accidents can cause serious injuries, permanent disabilities, or even the loss of a loved one. If you or someone you know has been injured in a car accident, the experienced car accident lawyers in Atlanta at The Law Offices of Wayne Grant, P.C. can help. Call us today at (404) 995-3955 for a free, confidential telephone consultation.

Many vehicles now come with hands-free tools intended to decrease distracted driving in Georgia and across the U.S. and allow drivers to operate their vehicles more safely, according to a recent article in the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette. However, as research indicates that merely keeping the driver’s hands on the wheel isn’t enough, many automakers are re-designing these systems so that they further decrease distractions, improving safety.

Some vehicles can currently be purchased with built-in features like voice commands and hands-free cell phone connections. The driver merely pushes a button or speaks a command to do things like turn on the radio, get GPS directions, or call home. While these keep the driver’s hands on the steering wheel, they don’t do anything about distractions that take the driver’s eyes off the road, such as having to read a GPS or other screen readout.

They also don’t prevent the driver’s mind from being distracted which prevents the brain from registering or processing information about the road that the driver must see and respond to properly in order to avoid an accident. Distractions like these are the next step for automakers, who are working on reducing screen readout data and minimizing mental distraction so that drivers can focus on the road.

Distracted driving can easily take lives or cause serious injuries. If you or someone you love has been injured by a distracted driver, call a skilled Georgia distracted driving accident attorney at The Law Offices of Wayne Grant, P.C. today. We’ll help you understand your legal rights and options and take the next step to protect yourself and your family. Call us today at (404) 995-3955 for a free and confidential consultation.

One boater lost his life and another was severely injured when their boat was struck by another boat on Lake Lanier near Buford, Georgia recently, according to a news report from 11 Alive.

The boat damaged in the crash and those who had been aboard were found during the night on Lake Lanier when another boat occupied by a young couple ran into the damaged boat in the water. The couple’s own boat was damaged during the discovery, so the pair swam to shore and flagged down a passing driver, who called 9-1-1. Rescue workers arrived at the scene to find the boat’s driver, a man, had lost his life in the crash and the boat’s passenger, a woman, was severely injured.

The woman was taken to a local hospital for treatment of her injuries, and both damaged boats were hauled out of the water. Investigators are still examining the evidence to determine how the crash occurred. The couple whose boat struck the injured people’s boat did not say that they saw the boat before the crash or that they knew what their own boat had hit.

Boating accidents are less common than car accidents, but the results can be just as devastating. If you’ve been injured in a boating accident, the knowledgeable personal injury lawyers in Atlanta at The Law Offices of Wayne Grant, P.C. can help. For a free, confidential telephone consultation about your Georgia boating injury, call us today at (404) 995-3955.

A recent study by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has found that the rate of injuries young workers suffer while doing farm labor has declined in recent years.

For young workers on farms that aren’t also their homes, the injury rate has dropped from 13.5 injuries per 1,000 workers in 2001 to 7.2 injuries per 1,000 workers in 2009 – a decrease of nearly half. The study defined “young workers” as those under age 20, and an “injury” as one that sidelined the worker for at least four hours or that required medical attention. The group examined included both young people who were hired to work on a farm and young people who were volunteering or merely visiting the farm.

Among workers under age 20 who worked on the same farm on which they lived, the overall injury rates are even lower. The study found that in 2001, 3.1 young workers per 1,000 suffered injuries on their home farms. By 2009, however, that number had dropped to 1.2 young workers per 1,000.

Workplace injuries can affect any worker at any age, and their long-term effects can be devastating. The experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyers at The Law Offices of Wayne Grant, P.C. are dedicated to helping injured workers and their families get the compensation they need so they can focus on getting well. If you’ve been hurt in an on the job accident, call us today at (404) 995-3955 for a free and confidential case evaluation.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is responsible for keeping track of safety violations and other legal violations made by commercial truck and bus companies within the U.S. If a company’s violations are particularly dangerous, repetitive, or common, the FMCSA has the power to put the company “out of service,” forcing it to stay off the roads until the issues are corrected.

In recent months, however, the FMCSA has found that its outdated computer systems – which are maintained separately and do not share information with one another – are making it increasingly difficult for the agency to keep up with “chameleon carriers.”

Chameleon carriers are companies that don’t bother to fix problems when they’re placed out of service. Instead, they just shut down the company and start again under a new name and DOT (Department of Transportation) number.

This action is barred by FMCSA regulations, but without integrated information systems, the FMCSA often finds it hard to figure out which new carriers are “chameleons.” The confusion makes it easier for companies to get away with continued problems instead of fixing them, and also increases the chances that these companies will cause serious harm in a semi truck accident.

Recently, however, members of Congress have mentioned that upgrading the FMCSA’s ability to identify and stop chameleon carriers is a priority. Many are backing additional funding for FMCSA to implement the plan it has already created to upgrade its systems and bring truck and bus regulation enforcement into the 21st century.

Truck accidents can cause serious injuries. If you’ve been hurt in a truck crash, call the dedicated Georgia truck accident attorneys at The Law Offices of Wayne Grant, P.C. today. We have the legal resources and the real-world experience to help you find out exactly what happened and hold any negligent parties accountable for their acts. For a free, confidential consultation by phone, call us today at (404) 995-3955.

When a serious accident occurs, those injured by it often need serious trauma care and they need it fast. Rescue workers are trained to determine what a seriously injured person needs to stay alive until they can be transported to an emergency room or trauma center for treatment. However, many patients arrive at trauma centers suffering from hypothermia, or abnormally low body temperature – a condition that can cause its own harm and make other injuries more difficult to treat.

Trauma patients are at a higher risk of hypothermia than other patients for several reasons. One, when a serious brain injury or spinal cord injury occurs, the body loses its ability to regulate its own inner temperature, making it more susceptible to cooler temperatures – even if they’re not properly cold. Also, infusion of saline and other fluids can lower body temperature, because they are often at a room temperature of about 70 degrees, versus the body’s normal temperature of approximately 98 degrees. Very young and very old patients also lack the ability to regulate body temperature the same way a healthy adult does, causing body heat to dissipate more quickly. Finally, open wounds lose body heat much more quickly than normal skin surfaces, so patients with open wounds, including serious burns, lose body heat more quickly.

At The Law Offices of Wayne Grant, P.C., our knowledgeable personal injury lawyers in Atlanta are dedicated to helping injured people seek the compensation they need so that they can focus on getting well and returning to their jobs, schooling, hobbies, and families. For a free and confidential consultation, call us today at (404) 995-3955.

It’s not a surprise to many motorists that cell phone use may increase the risk of an Atlanta distracted driving accident. Many motorists can share stories of how they saw a driver on a cell phone nearly cause an accident, and too many can relate how they or a loved one were actually injured in an accident involving a cell phone-using driver. Many states have banned or restricted texting and handheld cell phone use in an effort to protect drivers from these serious accidents.

However, recent research indicates that using a cell phone while driving increases the risk of accidents as many as four times over, even if the driver uses a hands-free device like a headset, and that going hands-free does not reduce the risk of an accident versus holding onto the cell phone.

Researchers believe this increased risk is because the human brain needs all of its processing power to focus on the many little tasks needed to operate a car safely. When part of the brain is occupied with a phone conversation, it is not paying attention to the road; therefore, the driver can easily miss something that then leads to a serious accident.

At The Law Offices of Wayne Grant, P.C., our skilled Georgia cell phone accident attorneys can help you through the difficult days after an accident. We will investigate your case thoroughly and strive to build an outstanding case on your behalf that holds any negligent parties accountable for their actions. To discuss your case with us confidentially and free of charge, call our office today at (404) 995-3955.