Articles Tagged with car injuries

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ambulance1-resized-600-200x300Each year over 65,000 pedestrians are struck and injured by motor vehicles in the United States. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) most of these accidents occur on public roadways in urban areas. The majority of people never imagine the possibility of being struck by a motor vehicle during their walk to work or a leisurely stroll, but the reality is that injury and death caused by a motor vehicle strike is increasingly common. The exact cause of the prevalence of such accidents is attributed to the increase of distracted driving, however, there are instances where the pedestrian may, in fact, be at fault. Regardless of the situation, if you have been struck by a motor vehicle it is critical that you immediately seek the counsel of a personal injury attorney. Your attorney will be able to answer any questions you may have and advise you on whether or not you are eligible for compensation due to the injuries you sustained.

Pedestrian Rights

In the state of Georgia, pedestrians have the right of way on all crosswalks. However, drivers are often oblivious to this rule or the existence of pedestrians on a busy street. Drivers will often try to shift the blame on pedestrians in the event that an accident occurs. In order for the pedestrian to prove that the driver was at fault, they must prove that the driver’s negligence led to the accident. In general, negligence is defined is the failure to take reasonable action to protect others from a foreseeable risk. To prove that a driver was acting negligently in an accident with a pedestrian the following must be proven:

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crash5By now most people are familiar with the concept of self-driving cars, however, few are aware of the legal and safety implications this new technology presents. Companies like Alphabet, Inc. (Google’s parent company) and Tesla are leading the way in self-driving vehicles–more formally known as autonomous driving. While statistically far safer than human operated vehicles, many people are still very apprehensive about the idea of releasing the wheel and letting a computer take over. Part of the reason for this fear is due to the widespread media coverage of any crash an autonomous vehicle is involved in.

 Autonomous Driving & The Law

 In the near future, autonomous driving vehicles will begin to sweep across the nation. With heavyweight corporations investing large amounts of time and resources in self-driving programs it is only a matter of time until we see widespread fully developed autonomous vehicles. With these developments must come adequate a new legal framework to support this developing segment of transportation that society will partake in. As of 2016, only six states in the country have passed legislation regulating autonomous driving. In the coming years is Georgia is expected to pass its own legislation as the state house of representatives passed House Resolution 1265 in 2014 which laid the foundation for the development of a House of Representatives committee on self-driving vehicles.

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car accidentWhiplash injuries resulting from auto accidents are the most common type of personal injury cases. An auto accident occurs every ten seconds in the United States, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. In 2005 there were six million auto accidents in the U.S., resulting in 43,443 deaths and over 2 million injuries. Negligence is the most frequent cause of auto accidents. Some specific causes include distracted or inattentive driving, drunk driving, speeding, and reckless driving. Other causes include defective tires or brakes, malfunctioning traffic signals, and poorly maintained highways, roads and freeways.
SOFT TISSUE INJURIES

One common injury that victims of car accidents suffer is known as the soft tissue injury. A soft tissue injury is an injury to the supporting parts of the body that are not bones. These parts include tendons, ligaments, joints, and muscles. These soft tissues can be torn or stretched beyond their breaking point, causing pain, swelling, bleeding, and loss of function.

  • Common soft tissue injuries include the following:
  • Strains (damage to the muscle or tendon)
  • Sprains (damage or tear of ligaments)
  • Bursitis (inflammation of one or more bursae, which are small sacs of synovial fluid in the body)
  • Tendonitis (inflammation of a tendon)
  • Contusions
  • Bruises
  • Dislocations
  • Nerve damage

Soft tissue injuries do not appear on x-rays, so you may not know if you have been injured until symptoms appear. These symptoms can be immediate, but can take from a few hours to several days to present themselves. The two most obvious symptoms are pain and inflammation. Continue reading →