Personal injury

Published on: May 8, 2020

Motorcycle Safety Involves More than Meets the Eye.

The weather is getting warmer and the roadways have been emptier than they normally are. This combination can make for a motorcyclist’s dream.

The National Safety Council has deemed the month of May as Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. This is the time to bring awareness to both motorcyclists and drivers alike to the special safety challenges faced by motorcycle riders.

Although riding a motorcycle can be an exhilarating experience, it also comes with some sobering statistics. Fatal accidents among motorcycle riders and passenger vehicles have more than doubled in the past 20 years. Since 2017, motorcycle accidents account for 14% of all traffic related deaths. Of these motorcycle death, older riders, age 50 and up, accounted for 36% of the deaths. What’s more, 91% percent of those who died in motorcycle accidents were male. And in a recent study, statistics showed that more motorcycle accidents occurred during the weekday versus the weekend. The study also released that accidents that occurred at night were more serious, and often fatal, than those accidents that occurred during the daytime.

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Published on: March 31, 2020

Tips for Night Time Boating Safety

By Robert N. Katz, Esq.

During the difficult recent times, there are limited options for people to engage in outdoor or recreational activity. For those who own a boat, being out on the lake may be one of the few options left. Boating at anytime of the day or year must be approached with skill and care. However, boating at night presents its own unique challenges.

Boating at night time is not something we recommend, because of the diminished visibility as well as the fact that sudden surprises or dangers might blindside you on the water in the dark. However, many Atlanta boaters do enjoy being out on a boat after sundown. In some cases, people may find themselves inadvertently stuck out on the water well past sundown, and have to make their way back to shore.

There are safety precautions that you can follow, however, to keep yourself and everyone on your boat safe at night. For one, understand all of the safety precautions that you follow during the day also apply, and even more stringently, at night. Most importantly, you absolutely must not be operating the boat without any boating experience or without basic boat safety training.

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Published on: December 9, 2019

When Can You File a Lawsuit?

By Robert N. Katz, Esq.

If you are injured in an accident, oftentimes the last thing that may be on your mind is starting a lawsuit. However, your injuries may be severely impacting your ability to work, to interact with your family and to live your daily life. And, more often than not, if your injuries were the result of someone else’s negligence, your attempts to recover compensation from the other party’s insurance company may not be as successful as you would like. That’s the time when you may have to consider filing a lawsuit to recover for your injuries.

When it comes to filing a lawsuit, timing is critical. All states have a time limit for when a lawsuit must be filed. This is called the statute of limitations which defines the time limits in which an individual may file a civil claim. This time limit ensures that claims are filed while evidence is still available, and it also prevents a party from threatening to sue long after a conflict has been resolved.

In Georgia, the statute of limitations varies significantly according to the type of claim. There is a two-year statute of limitations for personal injuries and fraud, while the state enforces a four-year statute of limitations for trespassing, debt collection, and injuries to personal property. A civil suit alleging libel or slander must be filed within one year, and medical or other professional malpractice claims must be made within two years or a maximum of five years after the act.

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Published on: November 25, 2019

What You Need to Know If You’re a Victim of a Hit-and-Run Accident

By Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Being in a car accident is enough to ruin anyone’s day. But when you are a victim of a hit and run accident, it can double a person’s frustrations.

If you are involved in a motor vehicle accident, Georgia law requires a driver to stop after an accident and provide identifying information to the other people involved. In any accident which results in injury or death to a person, or damage to a vehicle, a driver is required to stop at the scene of the accident and provide his or her name, address, and registration number of their vehicle. The requirement to information applies to any driver who is involved in a motor vehicle accident, regardless of who is at fault. There are some who may think that they are not required to exchange information with the other vehicle if the police are not called to the scene of the accident. However, this requirement also holds true even if the police are not called to the accident.

Georgia law also requires a person to provide reasonable aid or assistance if a person is injured as a result of the motor vehicle accident. This can include calling an ambulance or even transporting the injured person to receive medical care. If the injury victim is unconscious or unable to communicate, the other driver is required to make reasonable efforts to contact the police and emergency medical treatment.

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Published on: September 19, 2019

Bus Company Keeps Negligent Driver Despite 50 Prior Accidents

By Robert N. Katz, Esq.

In a recent case in New Jersey, a pedestrian was struck by a city bus in an intersection. The bus’ impact caused catastrophic injuries to the pedestrian including permanent brain injury, as well as multiple fractures and broken bones.

What is as, if not more, troubling about this accident is that the driver of the bus had a record of being involved in over 50 accidents during his 30-year course of driving for his employer. What’s more, the driver had over 40 violations during his employment for issues ranging from distracted and careless driving, driving with a suspended license, and failing to follow police instructions. Yet, the bus company allowed the driver to continue to drive buses despite the egregious driving record the employee had. When this happens, an employer can be held responsible for their employee’s negligence.

Under Georgia law, and in most states as well, if an employee commits a negligent act while on the job, the employer can be liable for their employee’s negligence under the theory of respondeat superior. An employer can also be held independently liable for injuries caused by their employee’s actions under the theory of negligent hiring, supervision or retention. If the injury victim can prove that the employer knew or should have known that the employee had the tendency to engage in certain behaviors, such as careless driving, and that the accident and injuries were caused by similar behavior, the employer can be liable for failing to properly hire, supervise or retain the employee.

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Published on: September 13, 2019

Bike Lanes – Not As Safe As You Think

By Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Cities throughout the U.S., and over the globe, are increasingly encouraging alternative forms of transportation to ease traffic and improve air quality. In response, bicycling as a means of transportation has gained popularity in many urban areas. And with the increase of cyclists on the road, city planners and governments have been working to improve safety for both the cyclists, as well as the vehicles and other pedestrians that they share the road with.

Dedicated bike lanes are the most common protections cities have implemented to keep cyclists safe while travelling on local roads. Forms of bike lanes vary from street level bike lanes with painted lane markings, street-level bike lanes with protective barriers, and protected bike lanes that are raised from the roadway. Of these, the safest type of bike lanes are the protected bike lanes that are raised and separate from the roadway as these provide a permanent and solid barrier, such as a raised curb or sidewalk, between the cyclist and motor vehicles. Statistics have found that the fewest number of bike accidents involving crashes with vehicles occur in these types of bike lanes.

Many people tend to think that a street-level protected bike lane, protected by physical barriers such as posts or landscaping, would be safer for cyclist than conventional bike lanes with just painted lines. However, a new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) found that this isn’t necessarily the case. While the level of serious injury and number of fatalities may be less with street-level protected bike lanes, the number of injuries is actually more than the number of accidents that occur with conventional bike lanes.

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Published on: July 16, 2019

Why Boating and Alcohol Do not Mix

By Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A large number of boating accidents on Georgia’s lakes and rivers are linked to alcohol consumption. Unfortunately, far too many boaters believe that the “no drinking and driving” rules that apply when they are driving a car no longer apply when they are operating a boat.

According to statistics, about 16 percent of all boating accidents are linked to boaters operating a watercraft under the influence of alcohol. Unfortunately, far too many boaters believe that it is okay to operate a boat while under the influence of alcohol, even though the same boater would never engage in drunk driving.

The effects of alcohol on your brain are the same whether you’re on water or land. In fact, the effects of alcohol may be even more dangerous on water for a number of reasons. Being exposed to the sun, heat and humidity while out on the water can make you dehydrated and intensify the effects of the alcohol. The frequent movements or rocking motions of the boat can lull an alcohol-impaired person into a false sense of complacency and security. The noise and vibrations of the craft can also make the effects of the alcohol more potent than they seem behind the wheel of the car.

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Published on: July 1, 2019

Pedestrian and Bicyclist Accident Fatalities Increased in 2018

By Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Summer is here which means more people are out walking or riding their bikes. This also means that there more pedestrians and bicyclist are at risk of being struck by a motorist while enjoying their activity. Preliminary data shows that pedestrian and bicyclist accident deaths increased last year, even though there was a slight drop in the number of traffic accident fatalities recorded in 2018.

The agency projected estimates of the total number of traffic accident fatalities for 2018, and believes that that number may be in the range of 36,750. That is a one percent increase from the number of deaths that occurred in 2018.

That is the good news. The bad news is that there was a significant 4 percent increase in the number of pedestrian accident fatalities recorded last year. Overall, pedestrian accident deaths increased from 12 percent of all traffic accident deaths in 2017, to 16 percent of all deaths in 2018. Further, bicycling accident fatalities, according to agency data, are projected to increase by 10 percent.

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Published on: June 19, 2019

How Nurses’ Mental Health can Impact Patient Safety

By Robert N. Katz, Esq.

When you are being treated at the hospital, it is not uncommon for you to interact more with the nurses than with the doctors. And because of that, the nurse’s role plays a critical part in your treatment. Many patients are not aware, however, that a nurse’s emotional and mental well-being can have a significant impact on the safety of the patients under his or her care.

There is enough research indicating that hospitals need to invest more in the mental well-being of their nursing staff. Earlier studies have indicated that depression is a fairly common problem among registered nurses. A study published last year in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that far too many nurses report below-average emotional and mental health.

Out of the 1,790 nurses who were included in the study, more than half reported struggling with problems like depression and reported poor mental well being. The lack of well-being also seemed to be directly linked to the risk of medical errors. In fact, the study found a 26 to 71 percent higher likelihood of the person committing a medical error as a result of their compromised mental condition.

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Published on: April 1, 2019

What is Comparative Negligence and How Can It Impact my Slip and Fall Claim?

By Robert N. Katz, Esq.

When you have suffered an injury as the result of a slip and fall accident, you may be able to file a claim for compensation. However, Georgia law has a provision called comparative negligence that essentially allows for a reduction of your compensation if it is found that you, the injured party, were responsible for your accident and injuries.

In any slip and fall accident claim, merely suffering a slip and fall accident on another person’s property is not sufficient for you to recover compensation for your injuries. You must be able to prove that the property owner was negligent in his duty to exercise reasonable care and caution in ensuring the premises are safe. If the owner can prove that he could not possibly have known of the hazard on his property or the risk it posed, you may not have a successful claim.

Georgia’s comparative negligence laws make the burden on the plaintiff or the injured party bringing the claim even heavier. These laws allow for property owners to claim that an injured party was at least partly responsible for his injuries. This allows the property owner to reduce his liability in the accident.

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