Georgia Personal Injury Law Blog : Atlanta Georgia Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Jason R. Schultz Law Firm : Wrongful Death, Malpractice, Car Accidents : Georgia

An Atlanta resident was killed in a hit and run car accident over the weekend. While his family mourns the death of Howard DePass, police are continuing their search for the two men in the SUV that struck him.  On Saturday night, DePass was driving home when he was struck head-on by a Ford Expedition. The two occupants of the Expedition got out of the SUV and fled on foot.

Police have determined that the Expedition was stolen. They are investigating leads, but so far, no one has been arrested. According to his family, DePass was a hardworking man who was looking forward to seeing his daughter graduate in May.

Every year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration releases statistics regarding traffic fatalities from the previous year. It includes details of people killed in drunk driving accidents, speeding-related car accidents, motorcycle crashes and pedestrian accidents. These statistics help law enforcement agencies understand how successful their accident prevention efforts have been, and what they need to focus on to prevent accidents in the future. In Georgia last year, there were a total of 1,493 deaths in traffic accidents. Behind each of those 1,493 fatalities is a shattered family, for whom the loss doesn’t end with a new year and a new set of statistics. The emotional loss for these husbands, wives, and children, is incalculable. Although Georgia's wrongful death laws can help these people hold the responsible party accountable for his/her negligence, there is no law that can help these families feel whole again or bring back a loved one lost due to carelessness.

Jason Schultz is a Georgia wrongful death attorney, helping families of victims of others' negligence recover their full and rightful compensation under Georgia law.

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Three members of a single family were killed last week in a truck accident in Walker County, Georgia. According to news reports, a tree trimming truck traveling on Highway 136, struck and car and a pickup truck. The truck driver Charles Keen, seems to have crossed the centerline, and collided with the two vehicles. One passenger in the car was injured, while all the three occupants of the pickup truck were killed. The dead included a minor female. Keen was employed by a tree service company in Walker County.

Last year, 180 people were killed in truck accidents in Georgia. Any time a large truck is involved in an accident with smaller passenger cars or light trucks, the consequences for the occupants of the smaller vehicles can be deadly. Victims in smaller vehicles may also suffer severe injuries, including multiple body trauma injuries, and catastrophic injuries like spinal cord fractures and brain injuries. That's why drivers of large trucks need to be especially careful and vigilant while on the roads.

Driving errors like allowing the vehicle to drift out of its travel lane and crossing the center line are often the result of distracted driving. A driver who is distracted because he is snacking, reaching for an object or any other activity that requires him to take his eyes off the road, is at a higher risk for an accident. Cell phone use can also cause a driver to lose focus and make driving errors. Mistakes can also occur when a truck driver is fatigued or tired. Whatever the cause, the consequences of a trucker’s error is highly likely to result in death for those sharing the roads.

Jason Schultz is an experienced Georgia truck accident lawyer and represents victims of serious injury and wrongful death arsing from truck, tractor trailer and 18 wheeler accidents across Georgia.

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Two women were killed in an accident yesterday after their car was struck by a pickup truck fleeing Clayton County police.  According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Clayton County police saw the driver of the pick up truck, Christian Harris, slow to talk to a woman beside the road in an area known for prostituion.  As police walked up beside the truck, it sped off 'recklessly" and they gave pursuit when the men fled the scene.  Within a brief time, the pick up truck  struck a Saturn.  The impact of the accident sent the Saturn airborne. The woman inside were killed.  After the accident, Harris fled the scene, but Harris was later arrested.

The Clayton County Police Department is considering a meeting to review the chase, and the Georgia State Patrol will also conduct its own review. This accident is bound to trigger off debate about high speed police chases, and if one was necessary in this case. The number of police pursuits increases every year, even in the face of statistics showing ever increasing deaths in these pursuits. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Fatality Analysis Reporting System reflects that from 1998-2007, crashes involving police pursuits resulted in an average of over 350 deaths per year, and these statistics do not include the thousands of serious injuries resulting from these pursuits. Studies also show that a lack of training increases the risk of pursuit related injuries, not only because the officers do not have proper training as to how to engage in a pursuit, but also because they do not have proper training as to when to initiate or discontinue a pursuit.

My heart goes out to the families of the two women who were in the Saturn. They were doing nothing wrong, and had to pay the ultimate price for what may turn out to be an unnecessary high speed pursuit.

Wrongful Death Laws in Georgia

Georgia law allows the families of victims killed due to another's negligence or recklessness, to recover for the wrongful death of a loved one. Families can recover both the economic losses and the non-economic (value of life to oneself) damages as well as for funeral, burial expenses and medical expenses. If there was any conscious suffering, that is compensable as well.

Jason Schultz is a Fulton, Clayton and Fayette County wrongful death attorney who represents survivors of victims killed because of other's negligent actions.

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