Georgia Personal Injury Blog

Understanding Long-Term Consequences of Spinal Cord Injuries

By Grant Law Office on May 21, 2012

Spinal cord injuries can occur in nearly any type of severe accident. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), motor vehicle accidents cause 46 percent of all spinal cord injuries each year. Falls, including accidental falls in the workplace or other venues, account for another 22 percent, while intentional or negligent injuries suffered during sports add another 12 percent.

The long-term effects of even a mild spinal cord injury can be severe. They include partial or total paralysis, numbness, or nerve pain in the areas of the body below the site of the injury. They may also include malfunctions or difficulty controlling organs or body functions, like difficulty breathing or controlling bathroom functions. If the injury is severe or includes injury to the brain, difficulty with thinking, communication, and memory can also occur.Read more…

Georgia Seat Belt Use Statistics Holding Steady, but Average for the Nation

By Grant Law Office on May 14, 2012

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.Read more…

Protect Motorcyclists by Sharing the Road

By Grant Law Office on May 9, 2012

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:Read more…

Traumatic Brain Injuries Can Cause Lifelong Struggles

By Grant Law Office on May 7, 2012

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.Read more…

Norcross, Georgia High School Mourns Classmate Killed in Car Crash

By Grant Law Office on May 3, 2012

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.Read more…

Automakers Re-Tool Hands-Free Gadgets to Decrease Distracted Driving Risks

By Grant Law Office on April 30, 2012

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.Read more…

Lake Lanier Boating Crash Leaves One Dead, One Injured

By Grant Law Office on April 26, 2012

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.Read more…

Study Finds Youth Injuries on Farms is Declining

By Grant Law Office on April 19, 2012

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.Read more…

FMCSA Pushes to Overhaul Computer Systems, Stop “Chameleon Carriers”

By Grant Law Office on April 17, 2012

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.”Read more…

Hypothermia May Cause Additional Damage to Severely Injured Accident Victims

By Grant Law Office on April 13, 2012

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.Read more…