Atlanta Injury Lawyers Blog

The Tyrone Law Firm won a $545,000 verdict for their client against Clayton County, a county in Georgia. The jury verdict was three times the highest pre-trial offer to settle. A Clayton County Government employee, while driving a County van, pulled out in front of our client giving her no room to stop. In attempting to stop her car, her braking foot was broken. She sustained career-ending injuries that have significantly altered the course of her life. The injuries to her foot have required four surgeries to correct. Four years after the wreck she has fused toes, scar tissue on the sole of her foot and is unable to walk pain-free. Her doctors say that this pain is likely permanent. For a second degree black belt Karate instructor, this injury was devastating.

Her accident was preventable. The County employee was late, lost and was driving recklessly. You can try avoid reckless or aggressive driving in other drivers by employing the following techniques:

Get out of the way. Make every attempt to avoid reckless drivers. In cases like ours, unfortunately this wasn't possible. Pull over or slow down to allow a reckless driver room.

Identify Alternate Routes. If you know a certain road has heavy traffic and aggressive or reckless drivers, try to find another, less traveled road.

Concentrate. Do not talk on the phone, eat or drink. Pay attention to the task at hand, and you will be more likely to spot a reckless driver in time to avoid them.

Do not make frequent lane changes, express frustration or speed to respond to a reckless driver near you. Slow down, give them room, or find an alternate route.

For our client, there was no warning that the reckless driver was about to pull out in front of her car. Fortunately we were able to hold Clayton County accountable to help make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else.

Continue reading "Tyrone Law Firm Wins $545,000 Verdict Against Clayton County for Reckless Driving, three times the highest settlement offer pre-trial. " »

http://www.dailyreportonline.com/Editorial/News/singleEdit.asp?l=100421708552

Once Mike and Dee had children, they realized they needed more life insurance to provide for their family in case something happened. So Mike scheduled a physical exam for himself with the insurance company. During the exam, Mike had his blood drawn. The tech punctured a nerve during the blood draw which triggered an irreversible, horribly painful nerve disorder called RSD/ CRPS. Mike, Dee and their children will never be the same family as a result of that exam.

The jury learned about Dee and Mike's life from the moment they met, to his proposal, to their decision to have children, to the rules they decided on to raise their family. Having recently had my own child, I could speak to this on a personal level. The Defendant's carelessness in the needle-stick hit everything they built - their marriage, their home, their family - like a tornado. In the end, Mike was taken away, and everyone else was left standing in the wreckage. The severe chronic pain condition, CRPS, that Mike has been left with is permanent and incurable.

The lawsuit was successful. A jury in the Fulton County State Court of Georgia found that Dee and her family's Loss of Consortium claim was valid. The verdict for our client Dee was $2 million dollars. The highest offer to settle before the jury verdict during trial was $5,000.

Given what they put this family through, the verdict could have been twice what it was and it wouldn't have been enough.

Continue reading "$2 Million Dollar Loss of Consortium Verdict for our Client in Fulton County State Court" »

Communicating via texting has become a way of life for most of us. We text our office, our family, our friends, and the information being shared ranges from the merely comedic to the vitally important in nature. If you have gotten used to texting, it is very hard to imagine going a few hours without it, much less a whole work day.

Unfortunately too little has been made of the dangers of texting while walking- especially on busy sidewalks and in crosswalks.

The humorous Casey Neistat movie in the New York Times online opinion pages this month is a wry attempt at a public service announcement for pedestrians:

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2012/01/08/opinion/100000001269189/texting-while-walking.html

All joking aside, it can be dangerous to text and walk at the same time.

Pedestrians should always make eye contact with drivers before stepping into a crosswalk, if you are texting and "have the light" you may not notice the driver turning right on red that is about to hit you. Atlanta's sidewalks are often narrow, and often adjacent to some very fast-moving vehicular traffic. Because our traffic moves so quickly, and because it is in such close proximity to high volumes of fast moving cars and buses, it is imperative that as pedestrians we remain hyper-aware of our surroundings.

If you need to text while waking, make a phone call, or otherwise take a moment to check your phone- first step aside to a safe place. Stop moving, make sure you are not in anyone's path, and then check your phone. This small ounce of caution may make a big difference one day- either to you personally or to others around you.

Continue reading "Atlanta's Safe Pedestrians Stop to Text" »

Georgia enacted a law prohibiting Distracted Driving in 2010. In Georgia, teens and bus drivers are not allowed to use a cell phone at all while driving, even with a hands free device, and texting is banned for all drivers.

What many people don't realize is that there are many other kinds of distractions besides texting that can lead to accidents that result in severe injuries and even death. These other distractions are dangerous behaviors that drivers engage in and are called "Distracted Driving".

Distracted Driving can be any of three categories: Visual, Manual or Cognitive.

Visual Distraction is looking at something besides the road while driving.

Manual Distraction is taking your hand off of the steering wheel.

Cognitive Distraction is directing your thoughts to something else while driving.

Talking on your phone, eating, drinking, handing something to a child in the backseat, jotting down an important "to-do" memo to yourself and daydreaming about your fun Saturday night plans are ALL Distracted Driving. Texting is the worst offender because it involved all three kinds of distraction at once.

In 2009 alone, nearly 5,500 people were killed and 500,000 were injured in Distracted Driving accidents in the United States. An estimated 20% of all motor vehicle accidents are a result of distracted driving. Using a cell phone- even a handsfree device- delays a drivers reactions as much as having a blood alcohol level of .08- the legal limit.

Think about enforcing new "rules of the road" for your family that prohibit any behavior that takes your mind- or your hands- off of the very important task of driving a vehicle. It just might save a life.

Continue reading "Distracted Driving Laws in Georgia" »

An April 2011 study by The Insurance Research Council reports that 1 out of very 6 motorists in Georgia is uninsured. This is higher than the national average of 1 uninsured motorist out of every 7 drivers. Therefore, it is increasingly likely that if you are injured in an accident, the responsible driver will have no insurance or very little insurance to collect against.

There is nothing more heartbreaking than an auto accident that could have been prevented or that was caused by the recklessness of others. Unfortunately, the reality is that most drivers on the road carry only the minimum insurance required by law- $25,000. If the accident was their fault, and you don't have additional uninsured motorist coverage yourself, the most you could collect to cover your medical bills and lost wages would be $50,000.

It is imperative that you take action to protect yourself and your family from these under-insured or uninsured drivers. First, review your insurance policy to see what your coverages are. You can elect to increase your "uninsured motorist" insurance from the standard coverage of $25,000- which is included by default in all auto policies- to as much as $500,000 per person, per accident. Carrying the maximum uninsured motorist coverage your carrier offers is the single best way to protect your family from careless drivers who either can't afford car insurance or who have elected to carry only the minimum insurance policy required by Georgia law- $25,000.

If you or a passenger were to be catastrophically injured in a car wreck, $25,000 would not begin to cover lost wages, medical bills, nursing care, or rehabilitative care for your or your loved one's injuries. But, if you have additional uninsured motorist coverage, the additional insurance can mean that your family is taken care of during the difficult months and years following a horrible accident.

Tragically, many people are permanently injured by careless drivers every year in Georgia. If your injuries leave you permanently disabled, your medical care for the remainder of your life could easily exceed your disability insurance. Another way to ensure that you have the most protection possible is to carry an umbrella policy with additional uninsured motorist coverage. You can get an umbrella policy that would give you an additional $1,000,000 more coverage in the event of an accident.

Continue reading "Uninsured and Under-insured Motorist Coverage for Atlanta, Georgia Drivers" »

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the number of motor-cycle crash related fatalities in the United States doubled from 2000 to 2010, while the number of passenger car crash related fatalities decreased by 20% in the same 10 year period. More people are killed on motorcycles during the evening commute- 3pm to 7pm- than at any other time of day.

The following are common causes of motorcycle accidents, and could be the basis for filing a personal injury lawsuit if the accident involved a death or an injury:

-Coming into a motorcyclist's lane while trying to make a lane change.
-Failing to yield the right of way to a motorcyclist at a controlled intersection.
- Making a left-hand turn in front of a motorcyclist.
-Turning in front of a motorcyclist from a driveway or parking lot.
-Inattention or indifference to the presence of motorcyclists.
-Following a motorcyclist too closely.

It is important to immediately get as much information about the accident as possible, before the evidence of the accident- skid marks, road conditions and witnesses, has disappeared. The best first thing to do is to have an accident investigator investigate the scene and write a report. This report will be evidence in a trial, and can often be the key information needed to support a successful claim against another driver.

Continue reading "Wrongful Death in Motorcycle Accidents" »

A University of Virginia study published October 20th in The American Journal of Public Health concluded that women are 47% more likely to be seriously injured in an automobile crash than are men. This is due to the fact that women are more likely to be driving passenger cars at the time of the accident, are usually not overweight, and are on average 5.5" shorter than their male counterparts.

Additionally, women are more likely to be injured because of their different neck musculature, their shorter stature, the positioning of the head restraints in a vehicle and their preferred seating posture.

It is vitally important that the safety restraints in a vehicle be tailored to the each individual passenger and driver. Children, pregnant women, women and men all have vastly different passenger restraint needs and should be checked for proper fit each time they buckle up.

Here are three important tips from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration regarding seat belt restraints in a vehicle:

1. Place the shoulder belt across the middle of your chest and away from your neck.
2. Adjust the lap belt across your hips below your stomach.
3. NEVER put the shoulder belt behind your back or under an arm.

Ask your car dealer about seat belt adjusters if you feel that your seat belt isn't fitting properly. If you need a roomier belt, contact your vehicle manufacturer to obtain seat belt extenders. And of course, always, always buckle up!

Continue reading "Women are More Likely to be Seriously Injured in Automobile Crashes in Georgia" »

In 2009, more than 4,000 pedestrians died in motor vehicle accidents. Georgia is a great place to be a pedestrian- the weather is beautiful and you can often walk to the corner store, the playground or to school; but it is very important to be aware of the vehicles around you. Especially in Atlanta cars, buses and trucks are not expecting to encounter pedestrians in their daily travels around town, and often are not aware of the well-marked crosswalks in their own communities.

When walking in your neighborhood, make sure you ALWAYS use a crosswalk, even if it means walking a few extra blocks out of your way. If you are injured by a vehicle while crossing mid-street or not within a crosswalk, the accident and injuries could be your fault! Also, it is important to always cross with the light, and look for drivers turning right on red who may not be looking for you. Make eye contact with the driver before stepping out into the crosswalk, even when you have the light or the right-of-way.

To test your neighborhood for it's "walkability", take a walk and make note of the following things:

- Are the crosswalks well-marked, and can you see and be seen by drivers in both directions of traffic?
- Can you walk on a sidewalk facing on-coming traffic?
- Do parked cars block your view of traffic at intersections?
- Do Drivers look for pedestrians in the crosswalk before turning right on red?
- Do the traffic signals give you plenty of time to get across the intersection?
- How fast is the traffic moving on the streets where you want to walk?

Remember to be hyper-aware while you are a pedestrian in Atlanta's communities. Use headphones for music only with extreme caution and at very low volume levels. Never talk on the phone or text while crossing a street, and hold your children's hands tightly at all times.

It is healthy, fun and terribly convenient to be able to walk places in your neighborhood. With a cautious attitude and a heightened awareness of your surroundings, you can make it a safe trip too.

Continue reading "How Walkable are Georgia's Communities?" »