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Practice Areas
Tractor Trailer/ Truck Accidents
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Overweight Trucks
Sep 12, 2007By April Castro ASSOCIATED PRESS Tuesday, September 11, 2007 More than a half-million overweight trucks are allowed onto the nation's roads and bridges, an increasingly routine practice that some officials say is putting dangerous wear and tear on an already groaning infrastructure. Some experts warned that the practice of issuing state permits that allow trucks to exceed the usual weight limits can weaken steel and concrete, something that investigators say might have contributed to the Minneapolis bridge collapse Aug. 1 that killed 13 people. "We talk about this all the time, and the fear that we have is that we're going to have the same sort of disaster here that happened in Minnesota," said Don Lee, executive director of the Texas Conference of Urban Counties. The weight limit for nearly all interstate highways is 40 tons. According to a government study, one 40-ton truck does as much damage to the road as 9,600 cars. But permits frequently allow vehicles to exceed that amount by 2 tons in Texas and sometimes by as much as 85 tons in Nevada. Some states grant one-time permits that allow trucks to be considerably heavier. Around the country, many transportation officials dismiss such fears as overblown and say roads and bridges are safe, though some express concern that not enough money is being spent to repair the damage done by the extra-heavy trucks. As for why they issue overweight-load permits, many state officials said they have no choice because they are simply carrying out the laws passed by their legislatures. Critics of those laws say they are often written to benefit powerful local industries, such as logging in the West or oil and gas in Texas. In the vast majority of cases, a single truck can safely pass over a sound bridge, even if the rig is way over the posted weight limit. But the cumulative effect of stress on the steel and concrete can eventually prove deadly. In 2000, Milwaukee's Hoan Bridge collapsed when steel girders cracked. Several factors were blamed for the collapse, including a significant number of heavy trucks, some over the normal weight limit, that routinely traveled over the bridge. Many states charge fees ranging from $12 to $1,000 for overweight-load permits, depending on the weight of the load. Those fees are supposed to offset the damage done to the highways. Texas granted nearly 39,000 such permits in the past year, generating $7.5 million, most of which was divided among the state's 254 counties for road maintenance. "That in no way even comes close to covering the wear and tear on our roads and bridges in this state," said Chris Lippincott, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Transportation. Darrin Roth, director of highway operations at the American Trucking Association, said it is not fair to put all the blame on trucks because permit loads are a tiny proportion of total traffic. - 11 - 20
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Newnan Personal Injury Lawyer - Lawsuit Settles for $7 Million
Mar 09, 2010The city of Los Angeles paid $7 million to settle the case of a volunteer for the Los Angeles Triathlon, who suffered verebral fractures and was left a paraplegic from the crash. The volunteeer was on his motorcycle helping to officiate the bicycle portion of the triathlon. Unfortunately, a city police officer motioned for a vehicle to enter an intersection into his path, which caused the tragic and life altering collision. The intial police report blamed the volunteer for speeding and causing the wreck. - 12 - 20
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Atlanta Accident Attorney
Feb 16, 2010Contact between vehicles on an interstate resulted in a fractured pelvis for plaintiff. Defendants asserted contributory negligence and sudden emergency defenses, but a Hall County, Georgia jury returned a verdict for plaintiff in the amount of $52,716. Plaintiff was operating her vehicle southbound on an interstate. Defendant was operating a vehicle owned by co-defendants behind Plaintiff's vehicle, but in a separate lane of travel. Defendant allegedly struck plaintiff's vehicle, causing it to spin off the roadway, strike a tree and overturn. As a result, plaintiff was trapped upside down in the vehicle and had to be rescued by emergency personnel. Plaintiff alleged negligent and reckless driving by Defendant and alleged Co-Defendants were liable for allowing permissive use of their vehicle by Defendant. Plaintiff further asserted that she suffered a fractured pelvis and injuries to her back, leg and knee as a direct result of the accident. Defendants denied plaintiff's allegations. Defendants claimed plaintiff failed to exercise ordinary care. They also argued that plaintiff's negligence was equal to or greater than their alleged negligence in that she encroached on defendant's lane of travel, resulting in contact between the vehicles. Defendants also asserted a sudden emergency defense on the basis that other traffic contributed to the accident.
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Fayetteville & Peachtree City, Georgia Bicyclist Lawyer
Feb 07, 2010A bicyclist sought damages from a motorist following an accident in which the biker was injured. Plaintiff was not wearing a helmet. The bicycle had some reflectors on the pedals. Defendant moved her vehicle into the turn lane and came to a complete stop and proceeded with a left turn. At the same time, plaintiff was attempting to cross over the highway via the center lane to access a bike path. Plaintiff collided with the defendant's vehicle traveling 15/25 mph, cracking the passenger side of the side-view mirror. Plaintiff flipped over the bike sustaining deep puncture wound to the left chest and shoulder near plaintiff's collarbone, along with other lacerations and contusions. Plaintiff alleged defendant was negligent in failing to yield to opposing traffic and not using her turn signal. The jury found in favor of the defendant after 15 minutes of deliberation in DeKalb County, Georgia.
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Fayette County, Fayetteville, Georgia Auto Accidents Lawyer
Feb 07, 2010Plaintiff and Defendant were operating their vehicles in the same direction. Plaintiff came to a stop and was rear-ended by defendant, who pled guilty to following too close. Plaintiff alleged that defendant was drinking and threw away a beer can before the police arrived. Defendant refused a breathalyzer test at the scene due to a pulmonary condition. Plaintiff claimed he suffered an aggravation of preexisting cervical and lumbar degenerative disc disease. Plaintiff claimed $10,394 in past medicals. Case settled for $25,000 in Fayette County State Court.
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Atlanta RSD Accident Attorney - RSD Claim Rejected by Jury
Feb 03, 2010Suit for personal injuries was brought in Cobb County, Georgia after a rear-end collision. Plaintiff alleged defendant was responsible for injuries to her left foot and ankle. Plaintiff alleged she developed reflex sympathetic dystrophy ("RSD"), a/k/a complex regional pain syndrome ("CRPS"). Defendant denied the accident caused plaintiff's injuries. Plaintiff received treatment from a pain management physician, including seven nerve blocks and multiple physical therapy sessions. She claimed $46,721 in past medicals. Cobb County, Georgia jury rejected the RSD claims and returned a verdict for the defense on 1/8/2009.
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Atlanta Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer
Jan 21, 2010A head-on accident with an alcohol-impaired driver caused serious injury to plaintiff driver. A Bibb County State court jury returned a verdict of $175,000 in 40 minutes on 12/10/2008. Defendant crossed the center line and struck plaintiff's vehicle head-on. Defendant was driving under the influence of alcohol. Plaintiff sustained a fractured patella in the accident, which required emergency orthopedic surgery and three months of physical therapy. Plaintiff claimed residual knee weakness and an inability to run as she did before the injury. Plaintiff sought Defendant's policy limits of $100,000, plus underinsured benefits from her carrier. Plaintiff sought medicals of $27,021, as well as damages for pain and suffering.
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Clayton County Injury Lawyer
Oct 28, 2009A rear end collision in Clayton County was settled out of court for $250,000.00 on January 15, 2009. The victim was stopped in his 4 door sedan at a red light and was rear-ended by a tractor trailer truck (semi truck) driven by an employee of U.S. Foodservice, Inc. The injury victim suffered a cervical disc herniation at C5-C6 which required neck surgery, and a soft tissue lumbar (low back) injury. He sought $69,883 in past medical expenses and $484,000 in future lost income for diminution of his earning capacity. He was also assigned a 31% permanent partial disability rating by his orthopedic surgeon.
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Bibb County DUI Injury
Oct 27, 2009A Bibb County jury returned a verdict for $175,000 against a drunk driver involved in a head on car crash on December 10, 2008. Plaintiff sustained a fractured patella which required emergency orthopedic treatment, orthopedic surgery and physical therapy. She sought past medical expenses of $27,021, as well as damages for pain and suffering for the residual knee weakness and her inability to run as she did before the injury. At trial, it was proved that the defendant was driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) when he crossed the center line of the road. Plaintiff was a 27-year old married female working as an office manager at the time. She sought defendant's policy limits of $100,000 plus her own underinsured benefits (UIM) from Progressive Max Insurance Company.
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Car Accident Risks Rise as Uninsured Motorist Rolls Increase
Dec 19, 2008More drivers are letting their car insurance lapse due to the down turn in the economy, putting themselves and others at risk. Several hundred thousand drivers dropped their insurance in the past year as the jobless rate climbed, estimates a study to be released next month by the Insurance Research Council, an industry-funded group. There is evidence of more uninsured motorists and many as 40% of callers following up on online applications had let their previous policies lapse, up from less than 10% a couple years ago.
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Agents say a growing number of customers are stripping down their auto-insurance policies, taking the absolute minimum level of liability coverage legally required to drive in their state. There is an inordinate proportion of people on the road who are either completely uninsured or underinsured (state minimum which is $25,000 in Georgia) and so you have to protect yourself by purchasing higher limits of insurance, both liability and uninsured motorists (UM).
Car Accidents / Automobile Accidents
