Georgia injury lawyer Kathy McArthur leads one of the State’s top law firms handling accident and injury cases in Georgia. The Firm’s personal injury lawyers Georgia are located in three cities: Atlanta GA, Macon GA, and Warner Robins GA.
While her business (as an Atlanta auto accident attorney) is representing seriously injured individuals and (unfortunately) sometimes as a family’s wrongful death attorney Atlanta), this page is largely focused on reminding those driving in the Peach State how to be safer on our highways.
Primary Reasons for Car Crashes in Atlanta
Many car wreck lawyers in Atlanta have pursued civil litigation cases for grievous bodily injury or even deadly crashes. When a spinal cord injury occurs or even a herniated disc, lengthy, painful treatment or surgery is often needed.
These case costs can be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and only 1 in 10 Georgia motorists (at best) will have sufficient auto liability insurance to cover these types of losses. Many clients are stunned to learn that too many drivers only carry state minimum liability coverage.
The Most Common Types of Motor Vehicle Crimes Leading to Crashes
Car mishaps can occur because of a variety of reasons, whether they are natural or a result of a driver’s behavior. Regardless of the reason, a seasoned car accident attorney in Atlanta can assist you in obtaining the complete compensation you are entitled to for your injuries.
Drug or Alcohol-Related Vehicle Collisions (DUI-DWI)
Drivers who are under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or medication are a danger to others on the road. The Georgia law is found in OCGA Section 40-6-391.
In Georgia, DUI drivers face potential criminal punishment from the legal system. However, court-ordered driving under the influence penalties usually does not involve compensating the victims in criminal cases.
According to Georgia DUI laws, juries can be informed about any instances where a driver operated a vehicle while under the influence. Moreover, intoxicated drivers consciously choose to drive despite their impairment, and as such, they should be subjected to punitive damages.
Punitive damages are a monetary amount that must be paid as a means to penalize and discourage the driver and to dissuade the broader community from driving while under the influence. The amount of money deemed suitable will be determined by a jury.
Should you find yourself in a collision with a driver who is convicted of operating under the influence, reach out to a drunk driving accident attorney in Atlanta immediately, to see civil recovery. In some DUI cases, punitive damages also can be recovered.
While distracted driving in Georgia is rapidly becoming a leading cause of car crashes, driving under the influence still holds the top spot. Even when slightly intoxicated, a person’s ability to concentrate on the road and make quick, crucial decisions begins to diminish.
Accidents Caused by Texting and Driving or Other Distracted Driving Error
When driving a car, the most important task for the driver is to drive safely and stay focused on the road. Georgia’s distracted driving law covers a wide range of behaviors. Georgia’s distracted driving statute states in part that “a driver… shall not engage in any actions which shall distract such driver from the safe operation of such vehicle….”
While texting while driving gets most of the media attention, many other activities can distract a driver and cause crashes, including putting on makeup, reaching for an object, or eating while driving.
A distracted driving accident lawyer in Atlanta can help you assess the damages, collect evidence, and determine the best course of action in your case. This law is found in O.C.G.A. 40-6-241.
Leaving the Scene of an Accident (or also called “Hit & Run” accidents in Georgia)
Georgia has a “Hit and Run” law found in OCGA 40-6-270. Under this criminal statute, a driver must REMAIN AT THE SCENE, and do certain things (to assist anyone harmed in that crash), regardless of who was the at-fault driver:
- (1) Stop and remain there until certain legal duties are fulfilled. Collisions involving these vehicles can result in significant harm to bus drivers, car drivers, and passengers. Incidents related to Uber, Lyft, and accidents involving ride sharing services.
- If you are a passenger in an Uber or Lyft vehicle or have been involved in a collision with one, you have the right to take legal action against the driver responsible and their company’s insurance coverage should apply.
- (2) Assist anyone who is injured.
- (3) When necessary, contact emergency medical services and local police to come to the scene.
- (4) Provide your name, address, car registration number, and driver’s license information.”
If a driver violates this “hit and run” law, the person can be charged with a serious misdemeanor crime (at best) or a felony, if a death has occurred. For various fact patterns, the jail time can be for well over a decade in state prison.
If you were injured in an accident and the other driver fled the scene, contact our litigators, such as Holly Stephens. She can represent you as your injury attorney for a hit and run case in Atlanta.
Failure to Yield Laws specify Who Has the Right-of-Way
If a driver doesn’t yield to oncoming traffic, it can lead to a rear-end or T-bone collision. Some left turn accidents can occur when a driver attempts to make a legal (or an illegal) left turn, and a driver coming from the opposite direction (and has the right-of-way) hits them in the passenger side of that turning vehicle, which is referred to by police as “t-boning” the other vehicle.
Incidents involving them can result in severe harm for bus drivers, car drivers, and passengers.
Uber, Lyft, and collisions related to ride sharing If you are a passenger in an Uber or Lyft or are involved in a crash with one, you have the right to take legal action against the driver responsible and their company’s insurance should cover the damages.
Not Heeding Hazardous Roadway Conditions caused by Weather or Road Construction
Anyone who has driven in Atlanta is aware of the numerous potholes, metal plates, and inadequate drainage on the roads. These road conditions can rapidly become a threat to drivers.
They can lead to drivers losing traction with the road or experiencing total vehicle failure, which can force drivers into oncoming traffic or cause crashes in other ways. Georgia’s reckless driving law under OCGA 40-6-390, is sometimes charged for cases with this set of facts.
Driving while Texting
Distracted driving, including texting while driving, is a significant issue on Atlanta’s roads. Even though Georgia enacted a new hands-free regulation over a decade ago, and revised it later, many people persist in texting while driving. Young people looking at their phones while driving has led to many tragedies.
At highway velocities, reading or responding to a text can distract a driver for five seconds — a duration sufficient to 1000 feet or more without tracking the road with their eyes. This is somewhat like an unguided missile.
How Most Head-On Collisions Occur
Head-on crashes can occur when a driver drives in the opposite direction on the road.” Because of the laws of physics, these types of “opposite direction” crashes can cause severe injuries or even lead to a wrongful death claim from the impact. These crashes occur based on a variety of different fact patterns but usually occur in downtown areas.
Following too Closely and Causing a Rear-End Collision
Rear-impact crashes are the most frequently occurring kind of accidents, varying from slight bumper damages to major collisions.
Excessive Speeding
The allure of exceeding safe driving speeds is a common one, particularly when we’re pressed for time. However, speed limits are established for a reason. When a driver is moving too quickly, maintaining control of the vehicle becomes increasingly challenging.
At high velocities, even a minor adjustment of the steering wheel can lead to catastrophe. Moreover, it becomes significantly more difficult to halt promptly if the traffic ahead unexpectedly decelerates.
Vehicle Recalls/Manufacturing Flaws
Despite the careful measures taken by manufacturers to ensure the safety of their vehicles, some flaws may not become apparent until several years later. For example, tire separation can lead to a blowout, engines could get too hot and start a fire after three years of use.
Similarly, faulty airbags might not deploy properly over time. When these defects in manufacturing issues unexpectedly arise, they can lead to serious, and possibly deadly, car accidents. These types of automotive defects can lead to catastrophic accidents, therefore product liability claims can produce hefty penalties for these companies as an added incentive to perform effective quality control.
Extended Periods of Driving Create Fatigue
Drivers for Uber and Lyft may be on the road for excessive periods, leading to fatigue and compromised driving safety. Unlike truck drivers, there are no regulations on the duration for which an Uber or Lyft driver can operate. Consequently, many of these drivers work a full-time job and then spend additional hours driving, a practice that is hazardous and frequently leads to accidents.
When you are a passenger in an Uber or Lyft involved in a crash or your vehicle is hit by one, you can sue the driver who hit you and possibly the Rideshare company’s insurance usually will become, to the extent of that per case limit.
Accidents Involving Passenger Buses or School Buses
Most school buses are big and don’t have seat belts. Accidents involving buses can lead to serious injuries for the bus drivers, car drivers, and any passengers, including school-age children. Passenger vans with large capacity (e.g., 16 passengers or more) fall under commercial motor vehicle guidelines.
Shopping Center or Big Box Store Parking Lot Accidents
Parking lot accidents may happen at slow speeds, but they can still cause injuries like whiplash, muscle strains, and tendon strains. Police typically should be called to come make an accident report, especially if injuries are apparent.
Our Car Accident Lawyers Discuss Truck-Pedestrian or Car-Pedestrian Accidents
People walking along roadways and streets have the right to be in certain places at certain times. For example, people walking near streets and roadways have the right to cross the street in designated crosswalks. In rural areas crosswalks don’t exist, so pedestrians need to give way to passing vehicles before crossing.
Pedestrians, though, also have personal safety responsibilities. Those walking need to obey traffic lights, do-not-walk signs, and wait-signs, as well as other electronic or mechanical safety warnings being activated for pedestrians.
Citizens also have the right to walk on public and private sidewalks. However, when a pedestrian is in an accident with any motor vehicle, catastrophic injury or death can follow.
Because so much is now delivered by tractor trailer trucks, pedestrians need to be aware that the visibility from the cabs of these big rig vehicles is often very limited. Pedestrians are often not observed in the massive commercial trucks’ mirrors. The safest practice is to let that truck finish its turn unless you have verified that he or she has seen you and is yielding.
For example, if there is a parallel sidewalk next to the road, pedestrians should walk on it and not on the roadway. When the police arrive at an accident scene and the physical evidence points to the fact that the car accident victim was at fault, some of these serious injury claims are not viable to file or pursue in court.
In the absence of a sidewalk on a public street, individuals on foot should proceed along the shoulder while walking toward oncoming traffic. Even if pedestrians may have the right-of-way, she or he is still obligated to maintain a vigilant watch for oncoming vehicles and other people nearby who are also on foot.
FREE Consultation Lawyers to Represent Seriously Injured Citizens
When you need to seek compensation for a trucking accident claim or car accident claim, please take advantage of our FREE consultation about any car accident case in which a debilitating or grievous injury to a family member or close friend has occurred. Call our Atlanta number, 404-565-1621, for immediate attention to your potential legal case. Since the call is FREE, why wait any longer?
More Motor Vehicle Wreck Resources
If you’d like to learn more about motor vehicle lawsuits in Georgia then read our informative articles on Georgia motor vehicle law below. We explore every aspect of Atlanta personal injury attorneys and the motor vehicle wreck cases McArthur Law Firm handles.
- Bicycle Accidents
- Boating Accidents
- Bus Accidents
- Car Accidents
- Drunk Driving Accidents
- Motorcycle Accidents
- Trucking Accident Attorney in Georgia
- Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer: Atlanta Accident Attorneys
- Injury Attorney Macon GA: Car Accidents and Truck Wrecks
- Attorneys in Macon GA: Accident Lawyers in Macon Georgia
- Personal Injury Lawyer Macon: Auto Accident Attorney Team
- Macon Auto Accident Attorney: Cover Story Lawyer McArthur
