Tesla Faces Lawsuit in China After Autopilot Program Causes Fatal Crash

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Self-driving cars have been heralded as the biggest upcoming invention, and experts have claimed that they would be a normal part of our lives within a decade. However, the companies that are deeply involved with making these futuristic concepts a part of our reality have struggled to put together the pieces that are necessary to make self-driving cars safe enough for ordinary people to use on a regular basis.

Now, a lawsuit in China against self-driving car pioneer company Tesla may slow things down even more.

Tesla’s Autopilot Function at Issue in Car Accident

Tesla’s Autopilot feature, which was introduced into some of its cars back in October of 2015, was one of the features of the Tesla Model S sedan that 23-year-old Gao Yaning was driving in January, 2016. It was then that he rammed into the back of a street cleaning vehicle in the province of Hebei, in northeastern China. Yaning was killed in the car accident, and his father, Gao Jubin, filed suit against Tesla and the car dealership that sold his son the car that he was driving at the time.

Video shows that Yaning’s car careened into the back of the street cleaning vehicle without breaking.

Jubin’s lawsuit claims that the vehicle was in autopilot mode when the crash occurred, and that the autopilot program failed to take account of the road conditions. Tesla, however, disputes this claim, stating that there was no way of knowing whether the autopilot program was on, because the crash was so severe that “the car was physically incapable of transmitting log data to our servers.”

Tesla’s Autopilot System a Forerunner for Self-Driving Cars

Tesla’s autopilot system is not the self-driving car that we have heard so much about. Instead, it is a program that “sees” other cars and objects while driving on the highway, allowing the car to steer itself to maintain its lane, manage lane changes, and brake for upcoming obstacles. However, Tesla’s Autopilot program does not allow drivers to completely take their eyes off the road. Possibly because of this, numerous crashes and fatalities have been reported in which the driver of a Tesla vehicle completely relied on the program to drive the car, leading to an accident.

Cobb County Personal Injury Attorney Joel Williams

Tesla’s Autopilot program is a huge step towards self-driving cars. However, the Autopilot program should be thought of more as a halfway point between cars that need to be driven, and cars that can drive themselves. This has proven to be an awkward halfway point, because it requires drivers to remain attentive, with their eyes on the road and their hands on the wheel, while still assuring them that the car will do the work. These mixed messages are likely to blame for the wrecks that the device has created.

If you or someone you love has been involved in such a car accident, contact Williams Elleby Howard & Easter for legal representation.

Deadly Bicycle Accident Renews NTSB’s Interest in Biker Safety

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The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently surprised everyone by conducting an investigation into a summer bicycle accident that left five dead and four more seriously injured. The investigation shows that the NTSB has renewed its interest in cyclists after decades of focusing their attention elsewhere.

June Crash Leaves Five Dead

On Thursday, June 9, 2016, a group of nine cyclists left for their weekly 30-mile ride around the Kalamazoo area, in Michigan. The group had been riding together for years, and called themselves The Chain Gang. Five miles into this particular ride, however, as they were pedaling on the four-foot-wide shoulder at about 6:30 in the evening, a pickup truck plowed into them from the rear. All nine riders were hit. Five died from their injuries. The remaining four were seriously injured. The truck driver, 50-year-old Charles Pickett, Jr., tried to flee on foot, but police were able to apprehend him.

The driver of the truck had taken muscle relaxant pills just before getting behind the wheel, and police had received numerous calls of him driving erratically just before the accident. Unfortunately, they were unable to find the truck before he veered off the road and hit the bikers. He was charged with second degree murder for the deaths of the cyclists.

NTSB Renews Focus on Bicycling After Crash

The accident in western Michigan was serious enough, and egregious enough, that the NTSB has decided to renew its focus on keeping cyclists safe on the roads of America, starting by an investigation of this particular crash.

The attention could not come at a better time, with numerous people moving back into cities and exchanging their cars for bikes. The number of people who bike to work has increased 60 percent over the past decade, according to a 2014 survey by the Census Bureau. Unfortunately, with more bikers on the road, and without the proper infrastructure to keep them safe, like bike lanes, accidents, injuries, and fatalities have gone up, as well. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 900 bikers were killed in 2013, and another 494,000 were taken to emergency rooms that year.

The NTSB’s renewed focus on the issue will likely result in more studies and better statistics about the problem, which can give policymakers a better understanding of how best to tackle the situation and help keep cyclists safer on the roads.

Cobb County Attorney Joel Williams Fights for Cyclists

Attorney Williams Elleby Howard & Easter is a staunch supporter of bicyclists in Marietta, Cobb County, and throughout the state of Georgia. Unfortunately, the interests and safety of cyclists are often overlooked by our state, which focuses more on the interests of car and truck drivers. However, that does not mean that no one is fighting for bikers. If you have been injured in a crash and you were on a bike, you have the option of seeking compensation for your injuries from the person who hurt you. Contact Williams Elleby Howard & Easter for legal representation.

Traffic Related Fatalities on the Rise

Wrongful Death Attorney for Traffic Fatalities Increase in Georgia

Over the Labor Day weekend, while everyone else was grilling, watching a parade, or relaxing in the knowledge that fall is on its way, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released its data on traffic fatalities for the year 2015. The final death toll: 35,092.

What This Data Tells Us About Car Crashes

Saying that 35,092 people died in traffic related accidents during 2015 does not communicate much, however, without more information to put it into context. To put this number into perspective and provide some sort of context to this figure: The final death toll for traffic related accidents in 2015 was a 7.2 percent increase over the number of traffic related fatalities for 2014, and is the largest year to year increase in traffic deaths since 1966. Additionally, the sudden jump breaks a recent trend that had seen these types of fatalities decrease on a year to year basis.

Another number that helps to put this annual death toll in context: 35,092 people dying every year from traffic related accidents means that, every day, nearly 100 people are killed. That is more than four per hour, and one every fifteen minutes.

NHTSA is not the only source for these statistics. The National Safety Council also publishes figures on death tolls from traffic accidents and other similar events. According to the National Safety Council’s numbers for the months of January through June in 2016, this year will almost definitely outpace the traffic related fatalities numbers for 2015. According to the National Safety Council, in 2015, 17,530 people had died in traffic related accidents before the start of July. In 2016, that number was already at 19,100, a nine percent increase from the year 2015.

This trend is especially worrying in light of the increase that 2015 had brought about. While the fatalities during the first six months of 2016 were nine percent higher than 2015, they were 18 percent higher than 2014’s numbers for the first six months. The rise is expected to bring the number of traffic fatalities to over 40,000 in 2016, the first time it has reached such heights in over nine years.

Car Crashes are Costly

Anyone who has been in a car crash knows how devastating they can be. Even if no one is hurt, the property damage that occurs can quickly run into the thousands of dollars. If someone gets hurt, though, the dollar amount does not even begin to tell the tale of pain and suffering that a victim is forced to go through.

Cobb County Personal Injury Attorney Joel Williams

If you have been injured or suffered property damage in a car wreck, you need an attorney on your side who will make sure you get the compensation that you deserve. Whether this comes from your insurance company or the person who hit you, personal injury attorney Joel Williams will make sure that it happens, and will represent you both in and out of court to ensure that you get what you need.

Drone Aircraft Evidence in Car Accident Reconstruction

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Cobb County Police Use Drones to Clear Accident on East-West Connector

Cobb County police are using drone aircraft to help clear car accidents from roads more quickly, according to WSB-TV 2 Atlanta. They used the drone helicopter this week to fly over the scene of an accident on the East-West Connector. The accident required police officers to close both eastbound lanes of the Connector while they processed the accident. The officers were able to clear the accident and allow traffic to recommence in the eastbound direction.

Cops Use Drones to Record Accident Sites

The police department only recently acquired FAA approval to fly the drone, a process which took over six months. The process of using the drone requires two police officers: one to operate the remote controlled vehicle, and one to monitor the surroundings of the drone to make sure it doesn’t strike any surrounding obstacles, such as trees or power lines. The police say that it allows them to clear accident sites more quickly by accelerating the process of taking photographs that can later be available for accident reconstruction. The drone allows officers to quickly capture an aerial view of the entire crash site, which can then provide updated information to add to existing photographs of the area. As ABC Action News Tampa reports, police departments across the country are training their officers to use drone aircraft in accident reconstruction.

Drone Photos Help Lawsuit Accident Reconstruction

A car accident can give rise to criminal or civil proceedings in court. If one of the drivers involved was at fault for the accident, then others who sustained injuries may sue the at-fault driver for negligence.

When the injured party brings a negligence lawsuit, they have to prove that the at-fault driver failed to take reasonable care to prevent injury to others around them. This usually means that they failed to follow one or more of the rules of the road, and that this failure lead to the accident and injuries. Accident reconstruction is the process by which experts attempt to prove to a jury how and why an accident occurred. Although various pieces of evidence can appear as part of an accident reconstruction, including analysis of the impact damage to the car or black box data from one of the vehicles, photographic evidence is always important. In addition to surveillance cameras or dashcam footage, photographs of the accident site can help measure angles and distances which demonstrate the likely cause of the accident.

Cobb County Drone Photos Could Help Accident Victims

In the case of the accident that occurred this past week, it seems unlikely that any negligence lawsuit will arise. The driver of the vehicle appears to have veered off the road into the woods and crashed their car into a tree. While reports do not indicate that any other vehicle sustained damage during the accident, it’s possible that there was another passenger in the car with the driver. If that passenger sustained injuries, they could sue the driver for negligence and attempt to recover for their losses. The photographs from the drone could provide evidence for that passenger to prove that the driver must have violated the rules of the road (for example, by speeding or failing to maintain a lane.) This could help them succeed in a negligence lawsuit.

Find an Accident Lawyer

Car accidents happen every day, but if it happens to you, it may be the worst day of your life. If you have suffered an injury in an auto accident, the first thing you need to do is talk to a lawyer who understands your situation and can help you get compensation. Call a car accident lawyer at Williams Elleby Howard & Easter in Cobb County today.

Negligence or Necessity: When Rules Are Made to Be Broken

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Former Falcon Dee Dowis Dies in Gwinnett County Accident

Air Force Academy football legend Dee Dowis died in a car accident in Georgia on Tuesday, August 29, according to The Colorado Springs Gazette. The one-time Heisman Trophy finalist and Falcons quarterback died when he pulled his car over while traveling south on I-85 and a northbound driver struck his car. Air Force Academy football fans and former players commiserated over the loss of Dowis this week. The driver who struck his car, Jeremy Weiss of Raleigh, appears to be in stable condition.

Dowis Was Backing Up Along Median When Driver Struck Him

According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Dee Dowis was driving through Gwinnett County on I-85 when he pulled over onto the median. Dowis, who Falcon football coaches and players remember as the greatest Air Force quarterback of all time and perhaps their most valuable player ever, began backing his car up along the median. At this point, Weiss struck the driver side of Dowis’ car, killing the charismatic college football great and pharmaceutical representative. Dowis was not wearing a seatbelt and first responders declared him dead at the scene of the car accident.

Not All Moving Violations are Negligence

When someone suffers an injury in a car accident, they can sue the party at fault for negligence. Usually the victim will need to prove that the other driver failed to take reasonable care to avoid injury to others, which usually means failing to follow the rules of the road. But are there times when breaking the rules of the road is reasonable? There may be times when you have to break the rules of the road to avoid some serious consequence. For example, the sudden appearance of an obstacle might cause a driver to veer into another lane to avoid it. Here, the driver may have violated the rules of the road, but may not be guilty of negligence. The idea here is that no reasonable measure by the driver would have allowed them to avoid breaking the law. If this leads to an accident, the driver who found it necessary to break the rules of the road may not be liable.

Dowis Estate May Not Be Liable for Negligence

Would the driver who struck Dee Dowis be able to sue Dowis’ estate for the injuries he suffered? It seems possible that Dowis was breaking the law when he began backing up along the side of I-85, especially if his vehicle was protruding onto the freeway enough for a vehicle in a lane to strike him. But it’s also possible that Dowis had a reason for pulling over and backing up. If Dowis was experiencing some kind of mechanical failure, he may have pulled over to avoid traffic. It’s also possible that his car was rolling backward without his control. If none of these were the consequences of Dowis failing to take reasonable care, but rather the result of a mechanical problem that Dowis could not have prevented, he may not be negligent.

You Need Legal Representation

Car accidents can lead to major medical problems, expenses, and anxieties. The best way to move forward is to hire an experienced car accident lawyer who can help you straighten out your life. Make a call to Williams Elleby Howard & Easter in Cobb County today to get some serious compensation.

Intersection Cameras Can Prove Accident Lawsuits

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Multiple Car Accident on Woodland Parkway Leaves Roswell Woman Dead

A car accident in Cobb County left a Roswell woman dead Sunday, according to Patch.com. The crash, which involved four vehicles, happened when a woman driving an SUV drove into an intersection against the red light and collided with several other vehicles. Emergency medical responders transported the driver of one of the vehicles to nearby Wellstar Kennestone Hospital, where doctors pronounced her dead. None of the other victims of the accident appear to have suffered life-threatening injuries.

Washbourne Was Under the Influence at the Time of the Accident

The intersection where the crash occurred is at Johnson Ferry Road and Woodland Parkway. Investigators from the Cobb County Police Department say that around 6:45pm, the driver of the SUV, 38-year-old Courtney Washbourne, was driving down the southbound lane of Johnson Ferry Road. When she reached the intersection with Woodland Parkway, the traffic signal was red, but she continued into the intersection. She collided with two vehicles in the northbound lane of Johnson Ferry Road, both of which were turning left onto Woodland Parkway, then entered the northbound lane and struck a third car. Emergency response personnel transported Washbourne to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital for injuries that were non-life-threatening. Police charged Washbourne with violation of a traffic control device, driving under the influence and felony homicide by vehicle.

More Traffic Cameras Means More Accident Evidence

In accidents like this one, you might ask yourself, “How did the police know that the driver entered the intersection against the red light?” Of course, they could have proved this the old-fashioned way: by questioning witnesses. But nowadays, that isn’t always necessary, because of the growth in the use of cameras at intersections. As Atlanta upgrades its traffic signals, new systems will make increased use of cameras, metal detectors and other sensors to help regulate traffic more efficiently, WABE Atlanta reports. Some of these cameras can also be used to document the events surrounding an accident. An attorney for a victim in a traffic accident can subpoena evidence from traffic cameras. Some of this evidence may appear in a police report, if there is one. If it’s not in a police report, then there’s a risk it will disappear, since many traffic cameras cycle through storage and delete old footage after a certain period of time elapses. This means that you need to move quickly to protect your rights.

Victims of Parkway Accident May Use Camera Footage in Lawsuits

So would the victims of the accident on Woodland Parkway or their survivors be able to use traffic camera evidence in a lawsuit against Ms. Washbourne? Possibly, but it depends on the situation. If we assume that there was a camera at the intersection, then there was probably footage at one time of the accident, since the camera would be angled to capture cars entering the intersection. Since the police filed charges against Ms. Washbourne, they might have included photos from the camera in their police report or saved footage from the camera for the prosecutor. If so, the attorneys for the victims of the accident may be able to subpoena this footage. If the police did not save any of the footage from the camera, then plaintiffs may need to file quickly to make sure to save the footage from the cameras before it disappears.

Reach Out to Us Today

If you or someone you know has been involved in a car accident, you need legal help. Get in touch with an experienced car accident lawyer at Williams Elleby Howard & Easter in Cobb County today to get the compensation you deserve.

Can a Mother Who Loses an Unborn Child in an Accident Sue for Wrongful Death?

Georgia Wrongful Death Case of Fetus Car Accident Lawsuit

Pre-K Teacher Loses Fetus, Suffers Massive Trauma in Cobb County Accident

A pre-kindergarten teacher is in intensive care in Cobb County after a car crash in Powder Springs killed her unborn son, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  The woman, Karlissa Darby, 22, of Dallas, Texas, sustained serious injuries after a couple driving the wrong way down a freeway collided with her car. Officials who investigated the accident indicated that the couple in the other car were at fault for the accident. Her mother, who is staying with Darby at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital, says that if Darby survives her injuries, her recovery will take a very long time.

Elderly Couple Drove Wrong Way on Street, Struck Darby

Police sources say that a couple in a Crown Victoria were driving eastbound on the westbound side of Macland Road when they hit Darby’s Plymouth Voyager.  Darby suffered a broken leg, broken ankles, broken wrists, serious head trauma, and a stroke. The crash also resulted in the death of her unborn child. 11 Alive Atlanta reports that the elderly couple who crashed into Darby’s car both died in the car accident. Doctors are uncertain whether Darby will ever regain the ability to walk.

In Georgia, Pregnant Women Who Lose a Fetus Can Sue for Wrongful Death

In a car accident where the other party is at fault, the surviving victim can sue the party at fault for negligence and seek damages to compensate them for the injuries they have sustained. If one of the accident victims died from their injuries, then that victim’s survivors can sue the at-fault party for wrongful death. But what about if the victim who died was an unborn child? In Georgia, surviving mothers can sue at-fault drivers for wrongful death if a car accident leads to the death of their unborn fetus. However, the fetus must have reached the stage in development at which they are “quick,” which means that the mother can feel the fetus moving. Quickening can occur as early as 13-16 weeks from the mother’s last period. But the general rule is that fetuses quicken between 18 and 24 weeks of gestation.

Darby Could Sue Estate for Wrongful Death

In a case like Karlissa Darby’s, could the mother sue the drivers for wrongful death? First, the drivers at fault in the accident are deceased, so Darby would have to sue the estate for wrongful death. Second, Darby has a lot of other serious injuries that she should get compensation for. She will likely have extensive medical bills and a long, painful recovery. Next, it’s clear that the other party was at fault. Driving the wrong way on a busy street is a blatant violation of the rules of the road, and law enforcement officers who investigated the crash have found that the other drivers were at fault. But in addition, she has lost her unborn child due to the negligence of the other drivers. In Georgia, this is the basis for a wrongful death claim. It’s necessary, though, that Darby’s pregnancy had advanced to the quickening stage for the wrongful death claim to succeed. 

Our Attorneys Can Help You

If you or someone you know has suffered injuries from a car accident, it is imperative that you speak with an attorney today. Contact an experienced car accident lawyer at Williams Elleby Howard & Easter in Cobb County today for more information on whether or not you have a case.

Road Rage Drivers Risk Negligence Lawsuits

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Marietta Court Sentences Road Rage Driver to 15 Years

A court in Marietta recently convicted a Kennesaw man of aggravated assault for pulling a gun in traffic, The Savannah Morning News reports. The court sentenced the man to 15 years in prison on Friday for an incident that occurred in November of 2014. The convicted man, James Matthew Colomb, was angry because another driver had cut him off in traffic. Colomb followed the other vehicle to a store, where he pointed his gun at the driver and his family and threatened them verbally before driving away.

Colomb Aimed Gun at Driver and Family

According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the driver who changed lanes in front of Colomb did so “inadvertently” and did not realize he would be the victim of road rage. The driver of the other vehicle was traveling with his wife and three children. When they stopped at an eyeglasses store, Colomb aimed the gun at them and told the driver he could “wipe the smile off [his] face.” Colomb never fired the weapon, but prosecutors argued that anyone willing to pull out a gun because of an “innocent traffic maneuver” was a danger to society.

Road Rage Causes More Car Accidents Each Year

Road rage is causing more and more car accidents each year, as a report from The Washington Post explains. As of 2015, there were more than ten times as many fatal accidents due to road rage annually as there were in 2004. Commuters are the most likely drivers to report feeling uncontrollable rage toward other drivers on the road. What driving behavior is most likely to cause road rage in other drivers? Weaving between lanes and cutting people off. Other behaviors that tend to make drivers angry are speeding, tailgating and behaving in a hostile manner.

Road Rage Can Lead to Lawsuits

Road rage incidents involve drivers who react with anger toward other drivers. Often, the very behaviors they are angry about are the same kind of behaviors they themselves react with: aggressive driving behaviors like tailgating or expressions of hostility. Many of these behaviors are more likely to cause accidents and can lead to liability in a lawsuit. For example, drivers are expected to maintain a minimum distance between their own vehicle and the one in front of them, dependent on speed and road conditions. If a driver fails to maintain that minimum distance and this leads to an accident, the tailgating driver can be liable for negligence in a lawsuit.

Get Legal Help

If you or someone you know has been involved in a car accident, you need legal assistance. Reach out to a car accident lawyer at Williams Elleby Howard & Easter in Marietta to get the compensation you deserve.

Can Accident Victims Recover for Lost Income?

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Atlanta Rapper OG Maco Loses Eye in Wreck

Atlanta rapper OG Maco has lost the use of his eye after a car accident, according to Rolling Stone. He first garnered widespread attention for his 2014 hit single “U Guessed It.” The nationally famous performer has kept fans in the loop on his medical recovery since an accident last month. He has reported having surgeries for a broken vertebra, multiple skull fractures, a broken orbital, and plastic surgery to reconstruct his face.

Maco Plans to Recovery, Record New Album

Losing vision and undergoing plastic surgery would be a difficult ordeal for anyone. For a celebrity, it might have special problems attached. If an accident deforms a well-known entertainer’s face, it might have implications for their career. Likewise, anyone who loses an eye may no longer be able to perform important daily tasks that require depth perception, including ones they need to perform for their job. Nonetheless, Billboard reports that OG Maco intends to record and release a new album about a month after his car accident.

Direct vs. Consequential Damages

If different injuries can be more harmful to one person than another, how does this affect car accident lawsuits? That is, how does a court decide how much to award the victim of a car accident when their injury may have been more or less important to another victim? The answer is that the jury can consider the specific situation of the victim and award them damages based on how much their injuries are actually worth.

Georgia law distinguishes between direct damages and consequential damages. Direct damages are the damages that anyone would get for a particular injury. For example, if you had to pay medical bills for an injury that you suffered in a car accident, the cost of these bills would be considered part of your direct damages, since they are an immediate result of the car accident. Consequential damages are the result of the special circumstances of the victim. The consequential damages may not be foreseeable by the person responsible for the injury, but that person can still be liable for these damages. If the injury makes the victim unable to perform their usual work, resulting in a loss of pay, this is a consequential damage.

OG Maco Could Sue for Lost Income

In the case of OG Maco, there could be both direct and consequential damages. Considering the list of surgeries that Maco has publicized, it stands to reason that the cost of his medical bills will be very high. If he were to sue the person responsible, this kind of cost would be part of the direct damages of the injury. On the other hand, it’s also possible that his injury might keep him from going on a lucrative national tour to promote his next album. If Maco could prove that this is the case, he could argue to the jury in a lawsuit how much money the tour would have made him, and ask that they add this amount to the damages. This would be an example of consequential damages.

Get Legal Help

If you or someone you know has been injured in a car accident, you need legal assistance. Get in touch with an experienced car accident attorney at Williams Elleby Howard & Easter in Cobb County today to get the compensation you deserve.

Does Seat Belt Use Change Accident Liability?

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Two Dead, Two Injured in Jackson County Rollover

Two people died and two more suffered injuries when an SUV rolled over in Jackson County on Wednesday, August 10 in a deadly car accident, according to NBC 11 Alive Atlanta. The three passengers were not wearing seatbelts at the time of the accident. It appears that the vehicle veered off the road, then overcorrected to stay on the road. This resulted in a sharp turn that overturned the vehicle. After the SUV rolled over, it hit a tree and came to a rest.

Young Drivers Neglect to Wear Seat Belts, Causing Injuries

Seat belt use can make a big difference to survival chances in a car accident. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report that most of the Americans under 44 years of age who die each year in car accidents were not wearing seat belts at the time of the accident. Young drivers (ages 18-24) also have the highest rate of hospitalization from car accidents. It’s these same drivers who are least likely to wear seat belts. Men who live outside of big cities are the group of people least likely to wear a seat belt.  Passengers are also less likely to wear a seat belt if they are riding in the back seat. But seat belts are important: they reduce the risk of serious injury or death in a car accident by about half.

Buckling Up is the Law, but It Doesn’t Change Liability

If seat belts are so important for keeping drivers and passengers safe in the event of an accident, then does that make passengers partly responsible for injuries they suffer if they don’t buckle up? In Georgia, courts follow a rule called comparative negligence, in which parties to a lawsuit are financially responsible for injuries in proportion to the extent that they are responsible for them, even if only partly. In general, a negligence lawsuit holds people responsible for taking reasonable care not to injure others when their failure leads to injuries.

But if someone else isn’t taking reasonable care and this contributes to the injury, then the two parties may share responsibility. Taking reasonable care includes following laws that try to keep people safe. According to section 40-8-76.1 of the Georgia Code, anyone sitting in the front seat of a vehicle must wear a seatbelt or face a fine. However, the law also states that failing to wear a seat belt doesn’t affect your liability in the case of a car accident. In other words, even if the passenger might have avoided their injury by wearing a seat belt, the person who caused the accident still has to pay the same damages in a lawsuit.

Jackson County Accident Passengers Broke Law, but Driver is Still Liable

In the case of the accident in Jackson County, the front seat passenger who wasn’t wearing his or her seatbelt was in violation of state vehicle safety laws. The two backseat passengers in the vehicle were not in violation of the seat belt law. However, this would not affect whether the driver or any other person would be liable for negligence in a lawsuit, or how much they would have to pay.

Get Legal Help

If you or someone you know has been injured in a car accident, you need legal assistance. Get in touch with an experienced car accident attorney at Williams Elleby Howard & Easter in Cobb County today to get the compensation you deserve.