Atlanta Injury Law Blog

As a Georgia trucking safety trial lawyer based in Atlanta, I often see the tragic effects of fatigue among truck drivers who are pushed by trucking companies and shippers to perform beyond the normal limits of human capability. On the other side of the Atlantic, SafeDrive Europe has released its Driver Fatigue Monitor, which is…

A new Alabama law increases the minimum automobile liability insurance coverage to equal what has long been required in Georgia — to $25,000 in coverage for a single injury or death, $50,000 for multiple injuries or deaths, and $25,000 for property damage.  Alabama motorists will be required to comply with the new limits when they…

After traumatic brain injury, it is critically important to immediately begin nutritioal supplementation, by a gastric tube or PIC line if necessary.  According to a recent study from New York Presbyterian Hospital, without gastric feeding within the first 5-7 days of suffering their injury, TBI patients had a two- and four-fold higher likelihood of death.…

Though my accident and injury law practice is in Atlanta, Georgia,  I recently spent ten days in southern California, where I saw the heavy marketing for hands-free devices for cell phone due to the new law that went into effect on July 1.   In California, it is now against the law to drive a vehicle…

The inside of a truck cab offers more electronics and gadgets than ever before. A trucker can monitor how his truck and engine are performing, GPS mapping to stay on the right route, email communications with his dispatcher, cell phone conversations with family, and perhaps a reckless few play a movie or surf the web…

As an attorney representing citizens in cases of catastrophic injury, I depend upon courts being fair, evenhanded and impartial.  Georgia judges are relatively nonpolitical and fair to both sides. An analysis of the Mississippi Supreme Court shows how bad it can get when courts become politicized.  According to an article by Alex Alston of the…

In my trucking trial law practice as an attorney in Atlanta, I see too many trucking accidents where drug use — including prescription medications — is a contributing factor. Recently the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report on truckers’ drug tests that explains why and how. The GAO report describes a defective oversight system…

In trucking accident cases in Georgia, one interesting legal twist is that punitive damages are tried in the second phase of a bifurcated trial, are subject to a “clear and convincing evidence” standard and are generally capped at $250,000. But the same conduct that would support punitive damages can support an award of attorney fees…

As a trucking accident trial lawyer, I occasionally see trucking companies try to evade responsibility for their driver. Generally, that is covered adequately by 49 C.F.R. § 390.5 which in the interstate trucking context defines “employee” to include “an independent contractor while in the course of operating a commercial motor vehicle.” But when a really…

Trucking accident trials often revolve around Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and evidence of how they were violated. Some of the regulations often referred to in cases where tired truckers wreck include the following: 49 C.F.R. § 392.3, Driver Impairment. No driver shall operate a commercial motor vehicle, and a motor carrier shall not require…