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Articles Posted in Car Collisions

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On July 1, 2012, Brittany Sailors exited a neighborhood along with two passengers and attempted to turn left onto Lakeview Road near Grayson, Georgia when an oncoming motorist collided into the driver’s side of Ms. Sailors’ vehicle. The force of the impact to Ms. Sailor’s vehicle was so great that the damage totaled her vehicle and sadly ended her life at the scene of the crash.

Ms. Sailors had been operating a 2000 Mitsubishi Diamante and the other motorist, Matujah Paasewe, was operating a 1998 Bonneville. In comparison, the Bonneville model is a larger and somewhat heavier vehicle than the Mitsubishi. From the video shown in the AJC article, it appears that the Bonneville was traveling at fairly high speed. In contrast, Ms. Sailors was probably traveling at a slower speed as she was entering an intersection.
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Many of my clients ask the same question. They want to know whether or not the at-fault insurance company will pay for their medical bills when these bills become due and payable. The short answer is generally no. Let’s look at this dilemma from several different viewpoints
Injured Person Does Not Have Medical Insurance

A majority of the cases involve injured people who simply do not have insurance coverage. Due to the injuries received in a car wreck, an individual may typically treat with a hospital and perhaps several other doctors over an extended period of time. In some instances, injured folks treat with two to four doctors at different locations and these doctors will mail out bills at different points in time.
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Congress helped create what would eventually be the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in 1926 with passage of the Air Commerce Act. Initially, the NTSB investigated the cause of aircraft accidents. In time, Congress combined various transportation agencies which were created by the Act into the Department of Transportation (DOT). In turn, the DOT established the NTSB as an independent agency within the DOT that would promote safety within the broad framework of national transportation. Today, NTSB is viewed as an independent United States Federal Government Agency.

As part of its duties, the NTSB issues safety recommendations related to transportation safety in the United States, including the roadways of America. On December 13, 2011, the NTSB issued a historic news release following a board meeting on that same day in which it proposed a complete nationwide ban on drivers using portable electronic devices (PEDs) while operating a motor vehicle. However, the ban is not a law.
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A report prepared by Cambridge Systematics, Inc. in Besthesda, Maryland for AAA was released in November of 2011 and focused on the costs of traffic congestion and the costs of injuries from traffic collisions. The three key findings (based on 2009 traffic data across the country) in the report included the following: the total cost of traffic crashes was 3x more than the cost of congestion ($299.5 billion for crashes and $97.7 billion for congestion); the crash costs per person exceeded the costs of congestion in every city studied; and the costs of crashes per person actually decreases as the size of the metropolitan area increases.
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Yesterday morning, a 25-year-old man was killed near Dacula, Ga., when his vehicle traveled off the roadway and hit a tree. The Atlanta Journal Constitution article indicates that the motorist, Bernard F. Jacques, apparently lost control of his 1997 Honda Civic while driving on New Hope Road near Alcovy River Drive and Palm Creek. Gwinnett County Police Department Cpl. Edwin Ritter indicated that the cause of the crash was unknown and that neither drugs nor alcohol were contributing factors to the crash. The impact from the crash must have been significant as Mr. Jacques died at the scene. It was noted in the investigation that Mr. Jacques was not wearing his seatbelt at the time of the wreck.

Our thoughts go out to Mr. Jacques’ family.
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On October 8, 2011, a Gwinnett County high school basketball player and three members of his family died in an SUV rollover in Florida. Darrian George was a 17-year-old boy who played basketball for the Norcross High School basketball team. Eight people, including Darrian, were traveling down to Miami for the weekend. Only one of the eight persons was wearing a seatbelt.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution article, Darrian was operating a 2002 Chevrolet Tahoe just before 3 a.m. and was traveling on I-75 South near Ocala, Florida, when he allegedly lost control of the vehicle causing the truck to travel across three southbound lanes of traffic and overturning several times until it came to rest on its hood in the northbound lane. Darrian took evasive action including braking and steering to the right in an unsuccessful attempt to gain control of the truck. However, the truck hit the median guardrail and overturned. Six of the eight persons in the SUV were thrown from inside the vehicle. Three people died including two children who were siblings and Darrian’s mother, Tiffany Bradshaw.
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According to an Atlanta Journal Constitution article, two adults were injured early this morning when a wrong-way driver crashed into a car head-on on I-85 in DeKalb County, Georgia. Numerous calls were placed to DeKalb County police around 2 a.m. from eyewitnesses. The collision occurred at Clairmont Road in DeKalb County.

The wrong-way driver has been identified as John Mims, a 34 year old from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The victim in the other vehicle has been identified as Erin McPherson, a 19 year old from Alpharetta, Georgia. Ms. McPherson was operating a Ford Focus, a rather small vehicle.
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On September 22, 2011, John Harof and Alexander Delor, two freshmen from the Georgia College and State University were killed in a single car accident in Milledgeville, Baldwin County, Georgia. The two men had graduated together from the Collins Hill High School in Suwanee, Georgia last year. The Atlanta Journal Constitution article references that Christian Smith was operating a MINI Cooper when he allegedly lost control of the vehicle.
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On Sunday, September 18, 2011, a one year old baby named Olivia Hellwig, died as the result of injuries sustained from a collision between an SUV that was backing out of a parking lot and the baby’s stroller. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Gwinnett police investigators are scratching their collective heads trying to determine what crime to charge the motorist and the mother of Olivia. As is stands now, the police investigation has allegedly concluded that the mother, Brooke Hellwig, and Tekila Glass, operator of the SUV, are equally at fault for causing the death of the baby.
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In Georgia, the injured person has the ability to file or commence a lawsuit in Superior, State or Magistrate Court. This blog post will deal specifically with the nature and nuances of the Magistrate Court or what has been popularly referred to as small claims court and personal injury lawsuits. Magistrate Court is a court of limited jurisdiction in Georgia, meaning that the small claims court can only entertain or hear certain court cases. In Georgia, the amount in controversy in the Magistrate Court is capped at $15,000 or lower. There have been movements in the past to increase this jurisdictional cap as a way to aid backlogged court cases, but–to date–nothing has been passed. For a brief overview of Magistrate Court in Georgia, please visit this link.

Filing Your Petition (Complaint)

Most of the clerks in the larger counties in Georgia have preprinted petitions that the petitioner can fill out and file with the Clerk of Magistrate Court along with their filing fee. Typically, the petitioner would allege that defendant breached a duty by violating a rule of the road of Georgia (statute) and consequently caused damages in the amount of $X bills and pain and suffering. Sometimes, if the property damage of your vehicle has not been resolved previously, you would add in the property damage claim at this juncture. However, be careful, because the jurisdictional limit of the court is only $15,000. If you think your injuries or your injuries and property damage are worth more than the $15,000 limits, then small claims court is not for you and you should speak to an experienced personal injury attorney for advice and consultation.
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