Atlanta Injury Lawyers Blog

The family of a man killed while riding a scooter has settled their claim against the at fault party with the assistance of their Atlanta motorcycle accident lawyers. As personal injury attorneys handling wrongful deaths, brain and spinal cord injuries, and other injuries occurring as a consequence of motorcycle accidents, we believe that this was a good result for the family.

The wrongful death decedent was killed whole operating his motor scooter on a Georgia Highway in July of 2007. An individual in an automobile cut the decedent off causing a head on collision. The decedent died at the scene as a consequence of massive head trauma. The at fault party tested positive for cocaine shortly after the collision, as well as THC.

In addition to the personal liability of the at fault party, lawyers for the decedent argued that his employer was also liable under the doctrine of respondeat superior. Under this theory of the law, an individual's employer can be liable for the negligent acts of the employee if the negligent acts occur while the employee is acting in furtherance of the employers business at the time of the negligent act.

Our law firm continues to read through statistics recently released by the Georgia Office of Highway Safety relating to motor vehicle collisions in Georgia. One particularly distressing set of statistics indicate that there were a total of 1,703 traffic related deaths in the state last year. As Atlanta based car and truck accident attorneys representing individuals who have suffered the wrongful death of a family member, these numbers are of interest as they evidence just how dangerous Georgia's roads can be.

The Atlanta metropolitan area far and away accounted for the most car or truck accident fatalities within the state last year. Fulton County had 123 deaths, Gwinnett County 93, DeKalb County 85, and Cobb County 65. Adding these figures together, 1 car or truck accident fatality occurred in one of these counties for every 10 throughout the rest of Georgia. Every county in the state had at least 1 motor vehicle death, with the exception of Clay County, Jenkins County, Lincoln County, Miller County, and Wilcox County.

In reading through the Georgia Office of Highway Safety statistics, our firm was interested to learn about the type of vehicles associated with traffic related deaths in Georgia last year. Of all car or truck related fatalities, 1035 involved a passenger vehicle of some sort, while 511 involved a pickup truck. The most alarming statistic, however, related to the use of seatbelts. Stunningly, 301 the 1703 fatalities involved an occupant who was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the collision. This accounted for almost 20% of all deaths on Georgia's roadways last year.

A Cobb County jury, located just outside of Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, recently awarded $1.9 million to a teenager who was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident/car accident. The accident occurred when a motor vehicle negligently turned in front of the motorcycle while travelling on a roadway. The driver of the motorcycle could not avoid the collision, and the teenager, who was a passenger, was violently thrown from the bike.

Atlanta motorcycle accidents are common as traffic on the city's highways, combined with reckless motor vehicle operators, creates a perfect storm for such incidents to take place. As a consequence, Atlanta motorcycle accident attorneys are in high demand by individuals who have been injured while riding a motorcycle, or by families who have suffered the wrongful death of a loved one while riding on a motorcycle. The legal aspects of a Georgia motorcycle accident are not very different from a Georgia car accident, as the same standard of negligence applies. The typical difference between the two cases, however, is the value of a motorcycle injury. Because the injuries suffered by an individual in a motorcycle accident are generally much more severe (brain injury, spinal cord injury, wrongful death) the medical expenses and pain and suffering associated with the injuries are much greater than in a car accident. It is not uncommon for medical expenses to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. As such, Georgia motorcycle accident attorneys will generaly seek larger awards from juries than in a standard motor vehcile accident case.

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