Trial Attorney Blog

At a recent Senate hearing , several lawmakers blasted the U.S. Supreme Court over a series of opinions they say protect businesses at the expense of ordinary Americans. Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, said the Court’s recent opinions on employment discrimination, federal preemption and mandatory arbitration have empowered and protected corporations while making it harder for workers and consumers to get redress.

Leahy pointed to Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 127 S.Ct. 2162, handed down just over a year ago. In that case, the Court ruled against a disparate pay plaintiff who said she was unaware of her employer’s discriminatory practices and contended the statute of limitations should be restarted with the issuance of each unequal paycheck.

The Court disagreed, ruling in favor of the employer. This prompted a bid by Congress to overturn the decision with legislation. The bill died earlier this term.

As we previously wrote, there are specific laws regulating bicycles in the state of Georgia. Many of these requirement are unknown to bike riders, and in many instances are used by defendants to attempt to avoid liability for injuring bike riders. Our attorneys have seen one section in particular used many times by defense attorneys in an effort to try to shift blame from an at fault motorist onto the biker. That law, Section 40-6 -294 of the Official Code of Georgia, establishes requirements for lights, equipment and helmets.

It provides that every bicycle when in use at nighttime shall be equipped with a front light which shall emit a white light visible from 300 feet from the front; and, a red rear reflector of a type approved by the Department of Public Safety, visible for 300 feet to the rear when directly in front of a lawful upper beam of headlights on a motor vehicle. A light emitting red light visible from a distance of 300 feet from the rear may be used in addition to the reflector.

The law also requires that every bicycle sold or operated in the state shall have a brake which will enable the operator to make the braked wheel skid on dry level pavement. No bike can have handlebars which require the operator to raise his or her hands above shoulder level in order to grasp the normal steering grip.

Defective automobile tire valves manufactured in China are the subject of a recall. Some 6 million tire valve stems manufactured by Shanghai Baolong Automotive Corp. of China between July 2006 and November 2006 have been recalled. It is estimated that 36 million of these tire stems were manufactured.

The U.S. distributor of the tire valves, Dill Air Control Products, of Oxford, N.C., notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of potential problems with the tire valve stems after it was named in a lawsuit filed in Florida. The lawsuit contends that a defective tire stem caused a rollover crash.

The Florida suit alleges that the tire valve stem on the rear tire of a 1998 Ford Explorer cracked causing the tire to fail and leading to a rollover. The driver was killed.

Atlanta bicycle accidents and injuries are increasing at an alarming rate, as we have previously written. Yesterday, the Atlanta Journal Constitution published a story which echoed our information and addressed the growing conflict between bikers and automobile drivers.

Many bike riders, and most motorists, do not realize that under Georgia law and in most other states, a bike is considered a vehicle; and, with some exceptions, is subject to the same laws and rules as a motor vehicle. There are specific laws which relate only to bicycles and we will address some of them here. At a later time we will discuss some of the most pertinent general vehicle laws as they apply to bicycles.

The laws specific to bicycles are found in the Georgia Official Code beginning at section 40-6-290. That section provides that the laws which follow apply to bicycles while on the roadways and on any path set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles. The next section, 40 – 6- 291 makes bicycles subject to the laws applying to other vehicles on the roadways.

Bicycle injuries and fatalities are an increasing problem. The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center is a program of The University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center in cooperation with the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals. It is funded by the U.S. Dept. of Transportation.

Statistics published by the Center reveal patterns of biking fatalities and injuries. Using 1999 data, there were 750 bicycling fatalities and 51,000 bicycling injuries resulting from traffic crashes in the United States. Bicyclist fatalities accounted for 2 percent of all traffic fatalities as well as 2 percent of all traffic injuries. The patterns were as follows:

Motorist turning or merging into the path of a bicyclist (12.1 percent of all crashes). Almost half (48.8 percent) of these crashes involved a motorist making a left turn in front of a bicyclist approaching from the opposite direction.

In 2006, approximately 5,000 people lost their lives and 80,000 were injured in motorcycle crashes. We have blogged before about the staggering number of statistics when it comes to those killed or injured while riding motorcycles. Obviously, riders must wear protective gear to protect themselves with defensive driving since they have little other protection in the event of a crash. What the statistics show, however, is that motorcycle injuries and fatalities are on the rise. In 1996, 2,161 people were killed in motorcycle crashes. In ten years time this number had more than doubled to 4,810. In 1996, 55,000 people were injured in motorcycle crashes and collisions whereas this number approximated 80,000 in the calendar year 2006.
Statistics are one thing but to suffer a serious injury or death for an individual is quite another. Each individual affected by a serious injury has experienced, by definition, a life altering event. Those who are lucky enough to survive must deal with the medical and vocational issues that follow, whereas their family members must deal with the loss of income and the possible destruction of the family bond caused by stress, economic hardship and medical issues.
Motorcycles are less expensive than automobiles, are more economical to operate and can be a great deal of fun but the statistics reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the Department of Transportation clearly indicate that motorcycle usage can be deadly. We have seen many wrongful death cases and serious injury cases arising out of motorcycle crashes. We continue to hope that all of our clients who ride motorcycles will wear their helmets and will drive defensively at all times, particularly in metropolitan areas where traffic is so congested and conditions so dangerous for motorcycle riders.

Bicycle accidents are increasing at an alarming rate as the popularity of road biking has increased over the last few years, and, as more people are turning to bikes as a means of transportation to save fuel. With the increase of bike riders it is only natural to assume that injuries would increase as well.
Our attorneys and staff are reviewing many of these matters. We are seeing the expected increase of injuries from the failure to wear a helmet and from improper positioning of a helmet. But, perhaps more disturbing is the rise of serious injuries and fatalities due to the negligent acts of motorists and others. As bikers and motorists share the road, many times the motorist will either not see the biker or negligently attempt a maneuver, such as passing, which results in serious injury or death to the biker.
Our attorneys recently resolved a tragic case involving the death of a young man after his bike handlebar became entangled in a wire hanging from a light pole. Unfortunately, he was thrown from his bike and struck his head on the concrete sidewalk. Our investigation revealed that this problem is endemic throughout the city of Atlanta. We located hundreds of light poles which had wires which were left dangerously unattached to the poles. There have been other reports of injuries under similar circumstances. Tragically, this promising life was extinguished due to the failure of workers to properly inspect the light pole and correct the problem.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently issued statistics indicating that in 2006 helmets dramatically saved lives in motorcycle crashes. The NHTSA estimates that had all motorcyclists involved in collisions worn helmets in 2006, 752 more people would have survived their injuries. As it was, in 2006 it is estimated that motorcycle helmets saved 1,658 lives. Over 4,800 motorcycle riders died in 2006.

Obviously, in those states that require helmet use, the number of riders wearing helmets are greatly in excess of those in states where there is no requirement that the rider wear a helmet. According to the NHTSA, only 20 states and the District of Columbia had laws on the books requiring all motorcyclist to wear helmets. In another 27 states, only people between specific ages (usually between 17 to 20 years of age) were required to wear helmets. Three states had no helmet use laws at all.

Given the statistics which indicate that helmets save lives and prevent serious injuries, it is clear that motorcycle riders should wear their helmets at all times. As we have indicated before, our practice mirrors these national statistics. In every serious injury case we have had involving motorcycle riders, we are confronted either with a death claim, an amputation claim or a serious head injury claim. These collisions are always serious for the rider. Thus, the greater protection for the rider the better the likely outcome. The NHTSA statistics bear out the experience of our serious injury and wrongful death attorneys.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (a division of the United States Department of Transportation), in the calendar year 2006, 4,810 people died in motorcycle crashes. This number was up over 5% from those killed in 2005 (4,576). The number of those killed in 2006 were at their highest levels since 1981. Additionally, according to the statistics maintained by the NHTSA, motorcycle fatalities have increased every year for the past consecutive 9 years.
Of course, there are more motorcycle riders on the road now than ever before. With rising costs of gasoline, this is expected to increase. Nonetheless, statistics indicate that motorcycle riders were, at least, 35 times more likely than passenger car occupants to die in a crash in 2006 per vehicle mile traveled and 8 times more likely to be seriously injured. The fatality rate for motorcycle riders in 2006 was 5 ½ times the fatality rate for occupants of passenger cars. In 2006, motorcycle riders accounted for 11% of all traffic fatalities, 13% of all occupant fatalities and 4% of all occupants injured.
Regrettably, of all fatally injured motorcycle riders, 27% had blood alcohol levels of .08% or higher in 2006. Thus, many of the fatalities reported by the NHTSA involved alleged contributory negligence by the motorcycle rider. Nonetheless, in the vast majority of cases, there was no alcohol involved and yet the fatality statistics continued to rise from the previous years. These statistics prove that motorcycle riders must be extremely careful, more so than passenger drivers. In the event of a collision, one driver has protection (airbags, seatbelts, car crashworthiness, etc.), the other has none other than a helmet. Defensive driving and heightened safety consciousness therefore are the best things a rider can do to protect themselves.

According to investigators for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the March 2, 2007 Blufton University bus crash that killed 5 members of the Ohio Blufton University baseball team and injured 28 others was “an accident that didn’t have to happen.” After a year long investigation, investigators for the NTSB concluded that driver error, confusing highway signage and a lack of passenger safety features in the bus carrying the baseball team were all contributing factors in the collision which also claimed the lives of the bus driver and his wife.
Several of our lawyers driving to work pass the site of this tragic collision every day. The signage that was being used at the time was confusing and according to the NTSB is still inadequate from a safety standpoint even as of today’s date. Numerous recommendations were made by the NTSB to state and federal officials to improve the signage so as to reduce confusion for those using High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes. NTSB investigators concluded that the bus driver operating the bus in question thought he was getting onto an HOV “thru lane” when he drove onto an elevated exit ramp plowing through a stop sign at highway speed and hurling from the overpass onto the interstate below. Investigators with the NTSB determined that Georgia Department of Transportation officials negligently changed the layout of the signs after having trouble with their mounting. The changes made by the Georgia DOT deviated from federal guidance about placement of certain exit signs to make them more clear. Moreover, there were 9 accidents which occurred at the site between 1997 and 2000 including 3 fatal collisions. The drivers in all of those crashes were from outside the Atlanta area. According to the NTSB, had appropriate investigation been done at the state level by the Georgia DOT regarding these prior fatalities, the tragic accident involving the Blufton University baseball team might never have occurred.
Even though the signage at the exit was confusing at the time, there was signage available to the driver of the bus indicating that he was taking an exit. Also, once he entered the exit ramp, inexplicably, he traveled for 14 seconds at a speed of 65 miles per hour, never once slowing down even though there were warnings and stop signs ahead. There was no evidence of breaking activity until after the driver ran the stop sign crashing over the barrier that lead the bus to crash onto the underpass below. Thus, according to the NTSB, not only did inadequate and confusing signage erected by the Georgia DOT contribute to the collision, so did driver error. Additionally, because the passenger bus did not have occupant restraint systems and neither had lap belts or shoulder harnesses available for occupant usage, there was clearly a lack of protection for those in the bus. Since many of the baseball team members were ejected from the bus and sustained serious injuries, the NTSB noted that had there been occupant safety restraint systems, such ejections may have been avoided.
Regrettably, there are no federal standards requiring that commercial buses have occupant restraint systems for its passengers although there is a strong argument to be made that even despite the absence of such requirements the available technologies and alternative designs available to the manufacturers of buses is sufficient to impose such an industry standard of care particularly since such restraint systems are widely available in European countries.

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