Alpharetta Personal Injury Attorney Blog

It can happen to any one of us as we go about our daily lives; suddenly, unexpectedly we are involved in a car accident. Do you know what to do after a car accident? Knowing what steps to take immediately after a car accident are important and can help prevent further injuries, speed up the claims process, and insure that you will receive fair and full compensation from the insurance companies for your losses. Knowing these things helps you to be prepared and being prepared is better than suddenly finding yourself in a situation feeling clueless.

What To Do After a Car Accident

First make sure everyone is ok and if medical help is needed call 911 - safety and medical care is most important immediately following a car accident. If possible move vehicles to the side of the road and keep people out of the roadway to avoid being hit by other passing vehicles.

Don't leave the scene of the accident even if it is minor, it is unlawful to do so and could leave you open to criminal liability as well as liability for the car accident.

Call the police and exchange personal and insurance information with the other parties involved especially if there is a lot of property damage and/or injury. Get the name and badge numbers of the responding police officers. Talk to any witnesses and get their contact information at the scene of the accident.

Call your insurance company to report the accident as soon as possible. Be truthful with your insurance company about the facts of the car accident. Lying to your insurance company can get you into trouble and might even result in their denial of coverage. Give your insurance company a copy of the police report which will point out which traffic laws were broken and by whom and who they cited as being the at fault driver.

Take pictures documenting the accident and any damage which can help you with your insurance claim. A picture can serve as evidence in the case of a dispute later. Most people carry cell phones with cameras now days making it easy to capture pictures of car accident damage. If you are one of the rare people who don't own a cell phone, an inexpensive disposable camera is a handy item to keep in your car's glove box.

Continue reading "DO's and DON'Ts After a Car Accident" »

School will soon be out all across the nation and many families are choosing to travel to and from their vacation destinations by car. The National Highway Safety Administration has some safe driving tips to help you plan your road trip to not only make it more enjoyable, but also help keep everyone safe from breakdowns and car accidents.

Georgia Personal Injury Attorney Recommends Following Safe Driving Tips

Pre-Vacation Checklist - Check your vehicle to make sure it is up to date on all maintenance, including checking tire pressure, fluid levels, the condition of belts & hoses, windshield wiper wear, lights, air conditioner performance. Have a tune up and fix, repair, or replace any parts that are showing wear or not performing well.

Plan Ahead for Children's Needs - First make sure your children, if applicable, have the properly fitted car seats, booster seats, or child restraints and require their use. Next, plan to have car games, books, handheld video games and/or other kinds of things that will keep them busy and content. One popular, inexpensive travel game scavenger hunt is one which children of all ages can enjoy. Not only will your children be happily occupied during a long trip, it is also safer to drive without the distraction of noisy, crying, or acting up children. Plan on periodic stops to let everyone, children included, stretch their legs and use bathroom facilities. If you do experience a problem with a child, pull off the road or into a rest stop to take any actions needed. Never try to discipline children while driving.

Employ Safe Driving Practices - Use your seatbelt and make sure all passengers are using theirs or, in the case of children, are appropriately restrained. Never drive impaired. Impaired driving includes anything which can take your attention away from driving safely such as drinking or eating while driving, talking or texting on a cell phone, adjusting the radio, using any type of electronic technology including GPS systems, drinking alcoholic beverages or using any drugs (even prescription drugs) which affect your driving ability. You should also avoid becoming fatigued. Driving while drowsy has been shown to be as bad as driving under the influence of alcohol. Have a co-driver to share the responsibility of driving, stop to rest, or plan on a shorter driving day.

Pre-Plan Your Route - Know the route you will be taking for your vacation. Allow for extra time for unexpected conditions like, traffic congestion, road work, detours, bad weather, and unfamiliar roads. By staying focused on driving safely and pre-planning how you will handle those unexpected distractions and conditions you can help keep yourself, your family, and others you share the road with, safe.

Continue reading "Safe Summer Driving - Practice These Summer Safe Driving Tips from NHTSA" »

A recent article in the online Health Day section of U.S. News and World Reports is an eye opener for parents and guardians who may have thought that it was ok to allow their underage children to have a drink at home. While most people associate teenage drinking and car accidents, 2010 federal research data has shown that 32% of underage drinking resulted in fatal car accidents, 30% in murder, 14% in suicide, 9% in alcohol poisoning, and 15% in other affects.

Parents may mistakenly believe that if they allow their kids to drink at home they won't be out drinking someplace else. They don't want their kids drinking and driving, but they don't believe they should not drink at all. They never take into account the effects of alcohol on kids beyond the home where it has been shown that kids who drink don't perform as well at school, have a higher pregnancy rate, and often become alcoholics later in life.

One Mothers Tragic Story of Allowing Underage Alcohol Use at Home

The thought that simply allowing our kids to experience drinking at home and not allowing them to drive after drinking is safe may need to be reevaluated. One mother who decided it did not hurt anything to let her son have an occasional drink at home experienced what no parent should ever have to, the tragic death of her son from alcohol poisoning.

Continue reading "Underage Drinking Has a Dark Side Which Goes Beyond DUI Car Accidents" »

According to research done by the American Automobile Association, 8 out of 10 drivers who are 65 and older regularly take 1 or more medications. While many medications can be taken safely with no adverse reactions that would impair driving, there are also many others which can cause problems for a driver such as drowsiness, blurred vision, loss of coordination, fainting, and confusion. Some medications taken alone do not present a problem, but when taken together with other medications can cause a drug interaction that might lead to drug impaired driving.

While statistics indicate that older drivers are less likely to drink and drive, they may inadvertently be putting themselves and others at risk by taking medications which impair driving. Older drivers should be sure to consult with their physician and/or pharmacist about their medications to help reduce the possibility of side effects and drug interactions that could lead to impaired driving and car accidents.

In Georgia Taking Prescription Drugs Can Result in a DUI

We are all aware that DUI, or driving under the influence is commonly used to refer to an individual who is charged with impaired driving while drunk or under the influence of drugs. However, most state laws do not differentiate between illegal, over-the-counter, or prescription drugs. If you are taking any kind of drug or medication and it impairs your driving ability and/or causes an accident, you can be charged with a Georgia DUI. Georgia code OCGA 40-6-391 makes it unlawful to drive under the influence of alcohol and drugs, including prescription drugs if it has impaired your ability to dive safely.

Since so many seniors regularly take medications they need to be sure that the prescriptions and over-the-counter medications they take will not affect their ability to drive safely. Many or our senior drivers are unwilling to give up the independence they have known for decades, but if it becomes apparent that their driving may endanger themselves or others by causing a car accident there are things they can do to still maintain some independence. They can use public transportation (busses, trains, subway), taxi cabs, senior shuttle busses or vans, walk, and sometimes ride with friends and family.

Anyone who takes prescription medication, especially seniors who may have multiple prescriptions, can take steps to help reduce the possibility of driving impaired. Some of these steps include;

• Read the fine print on your prescription label for warnings like "do no us while operating heavy machinery, or driving"
• Ask your doctor about the medications being prescribed, their affects, and other over-the-counter drugs and foods that should be avoided
• Inform your doctor if you drink alcohol or take any other non-prescription medcines
• Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about any side effects your medication could have on safe driving
• Never stop taking any medication without checking with your doctor first
• If it is apparent that any medication makes you feel drowsy or disoriented do not drive
• Be careful when starting a new medication, some symptoms and side effects may disappear after your body has adjusted to them
• Use alternate methods of transportation

Continue reading "Prescription and Over-the-counter Meds Can Impair Seniors Driving Ability" »

The assistant vice president of Liberty Mutual Insurance in Boston, Jim Quade, was recently interviewed by Fox Business News about what is important to consider when selecting car insurance coverage.

His advice was to buy enough car insurance coverage to protect your assets. You don't want to skimp on the premium and wind up losing the coverage you may need. The minimum car insurance coverage required in most states may not be enough, in the event of a serious car accident and/or a multiple car accident, to cover the costs of bodily injury and property injury. This is especially true when you consider skyrocketing medical costs, the possibility of rehabilitation, lost wages, expensive vehicles, and more.

If bodily injury and property damage costs exceed the coverage in your insurance policy, the injured party may file suit against you seeking to recover damages not covered by your policy. It is at this point that any compensation they are awarded you would have to pay out-of-pocket, putting your assets at risk.

Minimum Car Insurance Requirements in Georgia

The minimum car insurance requirements in Georgia are 25/50/25. The first number 25, is the maximum amount of bodily injury coverage for one person in an accident ($25,000). The second number 50, is the maximum amount of bodily injury coverage for one accident ($50,000). The third number 25, is for the maximum amount of property damage liability per vehicle ($25,000).

If you are a young driver and do not have a lot of assets to protect, you will still will want to have enough medical coverage to protect yourself for any serious injuries you receive. Choosing the right car insurance is important? Sit down with a professional insurance provider and discuss what insurance coverage level will protect you and your assets in the event of a serious car accident.

How insurance coverage protects assets is best discussed and worked out between you and your car insurance provider. If you are ever in a serious accident you will want to have sufficient coverage to take care of any accident injury claims while protecting yourself from any out-of-pocket expenses.

Continue reading "Having the Right Car Insurance Protects Your Assets in the Event of a Serious Car Accident" »

Problems with product design, defective material & workmanship, and contamination have caused problems with many different kinds of consumer goods over the years. Sometimes these bad products have caused serious injury and even resulted in death to consumers. After such incidents are reported, manufacturers and distributors along with the appropriate government agency usually issues a warning and puts out a product recall.

For example the U.S. Department of Agriculture issues recalls on meat, poultry and egg products. The Food & Drug Administration issues recalls on other food products as well as pet food and animal feed. The National Highway Traffic & Safety Administration is responsible for the safety of vehicles and associated products that travel our nation's roadways.

17.8 Million vehicles, Child Seats and Other Auto Equipment Recalled in 2012 By the NHTSA

A recently released report by the Consumerist.com on January 17, 2013 discussed the large number of recalls in the auto industry in 2012. According to the story the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic & Safety Administration reported that automakers issued 650 recalls that affected more than 17.8 million vehicles, child seats and other automobile equipment because of safety issues.

The NHTSA is able to work along with manufacturers for unsafe auto product recalls, in part due to the help of the public which reports consumer complaints, in helping identify unsafe vehicles and other vehicle-related products and equipment. Over 41,912 consumer complaints were received by NHTSA in 2012. The NHTSA administrator, David Strickland, noted that consumer complaints were the main driver in altering the government agency of product safety issues and in initiating government investigations and recalls.

Continue reading "Automakers Issued 650 Product Safety Recalls in 2012" »

This November 2 states voted to make the recreational use of Marijuana legal. Colorado and Washington State voters cast their ballots on November 2, 2012 permitting legal Marijuana use by their citizens. Governor Hikenlooper was not in favor of the measure, but did not have any veto power to stop it. According to a story by Fox News he approved the measure by executive order on December 10 because he believed he should not overrule the wishes of the people.

State Marijuana Laws At Odds With Federal Drug Laws

Both Colorado and Washington still need to work out Marijuana use regulations which will be written next year. Adults over the age of 21 will be allowed to have up to an ounce of Marijuana or six plants but the public use and sale of it is still illegal. Although these two states are allowing the recreational use of Marijuana, they are at odds with Federal law which prohibits Marijuana possession and use.

There has been a lot of speculation on what the outcome will be if Colorado and Washington continue to allow pot use while the Federal government outlaws it. This has also brought up a lot of debate on how Marijuana affects driving. Even though recreational pot use will be allowed, it is still a crime to use drugs and/or alcohol and drive and this includes marijuana. The states are going to have to figure out how they are going to regulate the amount of pot in a person that will cause impairment that is comparable to the amount of alcohol that constitutes driving impaired.

Some proponents for safe driving believe that even people who smoke regular cigarettes should not be allowed to smoke and drive because it is just another distraction on the same level as electronic devices like cell phones. Add Marijuana to the mix and they believe distracted driving accidents may increase dramatically.

Determining Marijuana Impairment While Driving Might be Hard to Prove

Police have years of experience with drunk drivers and they are aided by being able to administer a breathalyzer test to determine the amount of alcohol in a person's bloodstream. With marijuana there is no easy way to determine how much of the mood altering drug is in their system and no regulations as of yet which sets an amount as being over-the-limit. In addition, one blood test for marijuana checks for the presence of the chemical THC. This chemical in marijuana gets stored in a persons body fat for weeks after use and would indicate that a person had used marijuana, but not when such as just before driving.

Continue reading "Will Legalized Pot in Two States Impact DUI and Distracted Driving Legislation Across the Nation?" »

In just the past two weeks there have been 4 wrong-way car accidents in the Atlanta metro area. Police are concerned about the increase in these wrong way type of crashes because they are usually caused by a driver who is under the influence of alcohol or drugs. This is especially worrisome as the Labor Day holiday weekend is upon us and that means an increase in drinking and partying.

Evading The Police, Drugs & Alcohol Involved In String Of 4 Deadly Head On Car Accidents

The most recent wrong-way crash happened on Wednesday, August 29, as reported by the Atlanta Journal Constitution, when a small truck was driving southbound in the northbound lanes near the exit to Old National Highway and the I-285 interchange. The truck hit another vehicle head-on and resulted in the deaths of both the driver of the small truck and a passenger in the vehicle which was hit. Although this accident is under investigation, it is believed the truck driving the wrong way was trying to elude police after having been involved in an earlier accident.

Another head on collision that took place in Gwinnett County a week earlier caused serious injury to 5 people, including a 12 year old child. The driver at fault in that accident was believed to be under the influence of the drug Propofol. Earlier that same day 22 year old Carlyn Royball of Alpharetta was killed when she drove north in the southbound lanes of Florida 400 and hit an SUV head on. The driver of the SUV suffered broken bones.

Continue reading "Police Worried About Increase In Wrong-Way Car Accidents In Atlanta" »