Source: https://www.armondlaw.com/blog-georgia-attorney/?category=Pedestrian+Accidents
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 02:00:57+00:00

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According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, fatal traffic accidents involving pedestrians are up 16% in Georgia this year. Georgia's new hands-free law goes into effect on July 1, 2018, but experts are looking for additional ways to prevent this increase in pedestrian fatality accidents. The AJC story notes that increased horsepower and larger vehicles may be a factor in the increase. This blog post by Richard Armond, a serious injury and wrongful death lawyer in Lawrenceville, Georgia, briefly highlights some of the sobering statistics involving pedestrian deaths in Georgia.
The AJC story linked above includes statistics which demonstrate the dangers to pedestrians in Georgia. Pedestrian fatalities appear to have been, in general, increasing over the last decade. Last year there were 260 pedestrian fatalities and there have been 111 so far this year. Further, Georgia had the fourth most fatal hit and run crashes in the United States in 2016, with 72 fatalities. Those numbers also appear, in general, to have been on the rise over the last decade.
Please keep these statistics in mind when utilizing roadways and sidewalks as both a pedestrian and a driver to keep everyone safe and healthy.
If you have lost a loved one in a pedestrian accident or you or a loved one have been seriously injured in a pedestrian traffic accident, please contact Gwinnett County based personal injury lawyer Richard Armond at (678) 661-9585 for a free consultation.
This blog post by personal injury and wrongful death attorney Richard Armond of The Armond Firm, LLC, a Gwinnett County law practice based in Lawrenceville, Georgia, addresses statistics released this week on pedestrian fatality accidents.
The Governors Highway Safety Association released its 2017 preliminary data on pedestrian traffic fatalities earlier this week. The report has some disturbing trends. Overall, nationwide pedestrian fatality numbers were virtually unchanged from 2016 with approximately 6,000 deaths in 2017. While other types of traffic fatalities have declined in the last decade, pedestrian fatalities have increased 27%.
Additionally, in states where marijuana has been legalized for recreational use pedestrian fatalities increased 16.4% in the first six months of 2017, while in states where marijuana is not legal for recreational use pedestrian fatalities declined 5.8%. While the marijuana statistics speak to correlation without proving causation, the general trend of an increase of pedestrian fatalities over the last decade is cause for concern and the marijuana statistics make one want to see longer term statistics to see if there is any significance to them.
Georgia had the sixth most pedestrian fatalities in the nation during the first six months of 2017, but our state's total was down 20% from 2016.
When looking through all of the statistics certain things stand out from a safety standpoint. The most pedestrian fatalities occur when it is dark outside and the highest percentage occur on local municipal streets (urban areas as opposed to highways, county roads, etc.). Additionally, smartphone use has continuously increased over the last decade.
These statistics leave open a lot of questions. Could the trend towards more urban, walkable communities be a contributing factor (are there more pedestrians now than a decade ago)? Could marijuana legalization pose a danger to pedestrians (it is against the law in Georgia not just to drive under the influence of alcohol, but to drive while under the influence of marijuana, See O.C.G.A. § 40-6-391(a)(2))? Is smartphone use a/k/a distracted driving a/k/a texting while driving a main contributing factor to the increased danger to pedestrians?
Please keep in mind the danger to pedestrians which seems to be increasing. Use safety precautions when walking near roadways, especially at nighttime.
If your or a loved one have been injured in a pedestrian accident in Georgia, please contact Gwinnett County based personal injury and wrongful death lawyer Richard Armond at (678) 661-9585 for a free consultation.
A sad story out of Cobb County, Georgia, is in the AJC regarding an incident yesterday in which an alleged hit-and-run driver struck with his car a six year-old boy who was a pedestrian. As a personal injury attorney based in Lawrenceville, Georgia, (Gwinnett County) who handles car accident and pedestrian accident cases all around metropolitan Atlanta and the State of Georgia, I will analyze this news story for potential issues in a Georgia personal injury case. Fortunately, according to the story, though a witness feared for the life of child, he suffered two broken legs but no permanent damage.
According to the AJC report linked above the hit-and-run driver is alleged by police to have "improperly passed the stopped traffic and drove on the wrong side of the roadway and struck the victim in the crosswalk." These allegations, if proved, could form the basis for a claim of negligence on the part of the driver for violating Georgia's rules of the road. That one quote alleges multiple different obvious traffic violations.
O.C.G.A. § 40-6-44 provides: "No vehicle shall be driven to the left side of the center of the roadway in overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction unless such left side is clearly visible and is free of oncoming traffic for a sufficient distance ahead to permit such overtaking and passing to be completely made without interfering with the operation of any vehicle approaching from the opposite direction or any vehicle overtaken. In every event, the overtaking vehicle shall return to an authorized lane of travel as soon as practicable and, in the event the passing movement involves the use of a lane authorized for vehicles approaching from the opposite direction, before coming within 200 feet of any approaching vehicle."
O.C.G.A. § 40-6-40(a)(1) provides: "(a) Upon all roadways of sufficient width, a vehicle shall be driven upon the right half of the roadway, except as follows: (1) When overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction under the rules governing such movement;"
O.C.G.A. §§ 40-6-91(a) and (d) provide: "(a) The driver of a vehicle shall stop and remain stopped to allow a pedestrian to cross the roadway within a crosswalk when the pedestrian is upon the half of the roadway upon which the vehicle is traveling, or when the pedestrian is approaching and is within one lane of the half of the roadway on which the vehicle is traveling or onto which it is turning. For the purposes of this subsection, "half of the roadway" means all traffic lanes carrying traffic in one direction of travel. . .(d) Whenever any vehicle is stopped at a marked crosswalk or at any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection to permit a pedestrian to cross the roadway, the driver of any other vehicle approaching from the rear shall not overtake and pass such stopped vehicle."
Additionally, the allegations against the driver, if provable in court, will likely result in additional criminal charges for Reckless Driving in violation of O.C.G.A. § 40-6-390 (driving in reckless disregard for the safety of persons or property), felony Hit and Run in violation of O.C.G.A. § 40-6-270 (a hit and run in which the accident is the proximate cause of serious injury or death), and felony Serious Injury by Vehicle in violation of O.C.G.A. § 40-6-394 (accident that temporarily rendered useless the legs of the child, which is one of three qualifying injuries to prove a violation of this code section--case law makes it very clear uselessness only has to be temporary).
These violations, if proven, would show that the driver had a duty under the law and that he breached that duty.
Causation should be very clear in a case like the one outlined in the AJC. The driver striking a child in a crosswalk with his car caused the two broken legs.
The six year-old child suffered significant injury. Two broken legs, weeks to months in casts, physical therapy, lost time playing with friends and doing the things a six-year old boy likes to do, the significant pain he suffered, the medical and rehabilitation bills--all of that adds up to damages in a case such as this. Fortunately, the child apparently did not suffer life-altering injuries as this Georgia traffic accident between a car and pedestrian could have been much worse.
The first source of recovery will be the insurance company who insured the alleged hit-and-run driver. Hopefully he had insurance on the vehicle. A major issue with the driver's insurance coverage will be how much his policy is worth. Did he have bare minimum coverage under Georgia law which would involve only $25,000 in liability insurance? A case such as this will likely involve damages well above the minimum.
A second potential source will be whether any person in the child's household has an automobile insurance policy with uninsured motorist coverage. If so, any such policies are a potential source of coverage in the event the driver (1) did not have insurance, or (2) damages exceed the policy limit on the driver's policy. Even if the driver had insurance, uninsured motorist coverage typically covers damages exceeding the policy limits of the other driver's policy in a case such as this. One note of caution: uninsured motorist policies typically have strict time limitations and notice requirements which must be complied with to avoid a coverage denial. This is why in cases such as this it is smart to get a Georgia personal injury lawyer involved immediately.
Again, fortunately the child was not injured worse. Let's all hope and pray for a speedy recovery for him.
If you or a loved one have been injured in a car or pedestrian accident in Georgia, please contact Gwinnett County based car and pedestrian accident lawyer Richard Armond at (678) 661-9585 for a free consultation.
This blog post addresses an incredibly sad story in the Atlanta news today. It involves a wrongful death of a child in an auto accident/pedestrian accident case and personal injury to the child's mother. This incident happened in DeKalb County, next door to Gwinnett County where my practice is located. I handled personal injury and wrongful death cases throughout metro Atlanta and the State of Georgia. This post addresses some of the legal issues in a Georgia personal injury and wrongful death case such as the tragic one today.
Today the AJC is reporting heartbreaking news from DeKalb County, Georgia, where an eight year-old girl and her mother were struck by a car. The girl has died and her mother has moderate injuries. Reportedly the girl and her mother were in a marked crosswalk and crossing the street for her school bus, which was stopped with its lights flashing and stop sign out. The driver of the car, whose name has not been released, has allegedly been arrested and charges are allegedly pending.
First and foremost thoughts and prayers should be with the mother of the child and her family.
I have written before about Georgia's rules of the road applicable to school buses (click here for that post). From a legal perspective this case would, after full investigation to determine if the driver was at fault, involve potential claims by child's parents for wrongful death and a personal injury action for the mother based on her injuries.
In addition to evaluating negligence of the driver of the car, the early reports from the AJC seem to indicate the potential of violations involving O.C.G.A. § 40-6-163 for unlawfully meeting a school bus and O.C.G.A. § 40-6-91 for failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk.
Typically in fatality accidents such as this one the accident investigation unit of the DeKalb Police Department will complete a full investigation including an accident reconstruction report. They will typically download any data from the onboard computer of the offending vehicle to determine potential negligence based on speed or lack of braking. They will also typically do a full analysis of the vehicle to determine if there were any defects with the vehicle and to determine if it was properly maintained in areas such as the braking system and tire tread. Sometimes they will also look at cell phone records of the driver to see if phone usage at the time is an issue (distracted driving or texting and driving).
If it can be shown that the driver of the car in this Georgia pedestrian accident is liable through negligence and/or other violations of the rules of the road, the amount of automobile liability insurance she carried will be the first source of recovery of damages. Hopefully, this is more than the Georgia minimums of $25,000 per person and $50,000 total in any one incident. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for motorists in Georgia to have bare minimum coverage.
A second source of potential recovery, and a major reason why a Georgia personal injury and wrongful death lawyer should be retained promptly, is uninsured motorist coverage on any auto policy in the household of the mother or child. It is important to protect your household to have this coverage on all of your auto policies. The reason is because this coverage can be a source of recovery in any accident involving a motor vehicle, including when a member of your household is struck as a pedestrian. This coverage can cover any loss should the driver of the car not have insurance or any amount of loss that can be proven as greater than the other driver's policy limit. Uninsured motorist coverage typically has strict time limitations and requirements for how your insurance company must be notified in the event of an injury. Failure to comply with your policy can result in a denial of coverage and a personal injury lawyer can ensure this is done correctly.
Again, car accidents and pedestrian accidents such as the one today are tragic and heartbreaking. One family will never be the same. Our thoughts in prayers are with the girl and her family.
If a loved one of yours has been injured lost in a car accident, pedestrian accident, or any other type of personal injury or wrongful death incident in Georgia, please contact Gwinnett County based personal injury lawyer Richard Armond at (678) 661-9585 for a free consultation.
A sad incident occurred yesterday on Georgia 316 in Gwinnett County according to a report from the Gwinnett Daily Post (click here for the story). A man who apparently had a brain injury was a pedestrian and darted in front of a vehicle. He was struck and killed. There will be no charges filed against the driver as it appears the deceased individual was at fault.
Anyone who has driven Highway 316 in Gwinnett, Barrow, Oconee, and Clarke counties knows that it is a very dangerous road. With a speed limit of 65 mph in most areas, but without controlled access on much of the highway, it is not uncommon to turn on the news and hear of yet another fatality on this Georgia highway. While the incident yesterday was not one of the typical collisions that local residents are familiar with, we all know to use extra caution while traveling on 316.
If you or a loved one have suffered an injury or loss in a pedestrian or motor vehicle accident, please contact Gwinnett County based injury lawyer Richard Armond at (678) 661-9585 for a free consultation.

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