Car Accidents

Seatbelt Safety is a Key to Reducing Injuries for Children

Published on: May 16, 2012 | By Van Sant Law

The end of the school year means the beginning of summer activity season. Parents trying to maximize time and save gas often work together to get kids where they’re going. Even if you’re in a hurry, making sure the kids who are riding in your vehicle are safe is a key to reducing the potential for auto accident inuries.

According to the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, booster seats are required for most elementary school children until they are at least 4’9″ tall. This means that some children need safety seats even after they reach eight years of age.

Even with the aid of a booster seat, seat belts are designed to fit adult males. So it is very important to make sure the driver of any vehicle your child is riding in takes the time to adjust the seat belts for children.

Seek Medical Treatment After an Accident

Published on: May 5, 2012 | By Van Sant Law

If you’re injured in an automobile or truck accident, it is important to have yourself treated by medical professionals, and yet so many people do not seek the treatment they need.

As an attorney, I deal with clients who have been injured in accidents. Sometimes they have great medical insurance, other times they do not. The important thing, however, is that they get the medical treatment they need – fast!

Law Encourages Accident Victims to Seek Medical Attention Quickly

“Sharing Economy” Raises New Liability Questions

Published on: April 26, 2012 | By Van Sant Law

The New York Times is following a story that involves liability issues in a fatal car crash that was caused by a driver who was using a car from a “car sharing” service known as RelayRides.

RelayRides is one of dozens of businesses that are popping up to help out in this economy. The business serves as an online matching service that allows individuals to rent their cars by the hour to other people who need one. Most renters have lost their cars to the bank or simply can’t afford to own one due to high gas or insurance costs. The concept is to make transportation available to everyone, but when you put cars on the road, there is liability involved.

Ride Share Companies Insurance Policies May Not Have Enough Coverage

Awareness Can Help You Avoid an Accident

Published on: March 2, 2012 | By Van Sant Law

When it comes to avoiding accidents, much depends on the roads themselves. Winters can be rough on Georgia roads and highways, and that can be tough on your car or truck. Just as the ground hog comes out in early February to determine how much longer the winter will be, pot holes seem to come out in March, followed closely by the road crews.

Spring Weather Means Pot Holes and Road Work

Road work also can mean traffic snarls, and while every driver wonders at one time or another why the road crews chose “right now” to fix the particular road they are on, the reason is probably, “It’s been on the list for a while, and today is the day.”

Texting and Driving is No LOL Matter

Published on: February 28, 2012 | By Van Sant Law

I was driving to work yesterday and became a little aggravated at the person in front of me. I’ve written before in this blog about distracted drivers. Yesterday, the woman in front of me kept tapping her breaks at the oddest times. We were moving along at a pretty steady clip, and then “tap,” her break lights would come on. After this happened a couple times, I decided it was time to pass this lady before she caused a car accident.

As I passed by her on the left, I looked over, and dare I say I was not surprised to see that she was texting. I made a few glances as I passed, and from what I could tell, she was not watching the road at all. That certainly explained her constant “brake tapping,” but when are drivers going to learn you cannot text and drive at the same time?

In my line of work I’ve seen the disaster that texting while driving can cause. I know of teenagers who never made it home from school one day because they were texting while driving. I know of children who are without their mother because a distracted texter slammed her car into a bridge. I know how painful it is for a father to realize that his daughter will not be graduating because she texted herself into an early grave.

Shared Liability Can Confuse Motorists

Published on: February 13, 2012 | By Van Sant Law

Fender bender in busy Atlanta parking lot can lead to shared liability cases As a personal injury attorney, it’s my responsibility to know the law and to represent my clients to the best of my ability. There are times when automobile accidents occur where the liability for the accident must be shared among the parties involved.

The simplest explanation of this sort of situation would be in a parking lot. If two people are backing up at exactly the same time and slam into each other in the middle of the parking lane, chances are the insurance adjusters will rule that there is shared liability in the case.

Shared Liability Car Accidents Explained

Drug & Alcohol Screens Required for Truck Drivers After Accidents

Published on: January 27, 2012 | By Van Sant Law

When you’re involved in a car accident that involves a professional truck driver, there are numerous additional factors that need to be considered. While it is always wise to contact an attorney if you have a car accident, if you have a car accident with a truck, and with a professional truck driver driving that truck, it’s even more important to contact a competent truck accident lawyer.

David Van Sant – Georgia Truck Accident Lawyer

David Van Sant says that professional truck drivers are regulated both by federal laws and individual states. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration determines who is classified as a commercial driver and sets standards that must be followed.

Vehicle Accident Reconstruction is Valuable Tool

Published on: January 26, 2012 | By Van Sant Law

When an accident victim comes to our law firm, the facts of the case are not often cut and dried. It is not uncommon when we work with accident victims to find that there are more than two sides to a story and more than two ways to look at the accident. It is also important to speak with a lawyer quickly due to the statue of limitations.

Insurance companies employ adjusters who work on behalf of the insurance company to determine if their insured motorist was at fault. There are cases where the actual “fault” for the accident is in question.

Vehicle accident reconstruction is the process used to investigate and analyze the facts of an accident in order to determine the cause and series of events in a crash. This collision analysis helps determine the cause and contributing factors in a collision. Accident reconstruction will look at not only the role of the drivers, but also the operational condition of the vehicles, road condition, weather, and other extenuating circumstances.

Deadly Holiday Weekend – Georgia Car Accidents Over 2010 Levels

Published on: November 30, 2011 | By Van Sant Law

In Georgia, the Thanksgiving holiday weekend turned out to be deadlier this year than last, as 15 people were killed in vehicle crashes across the state. In 2010, 13 people perished in automobile or truck accidents on Georgia roadways.

While the numbers sound high, and the deaths are certainly tragic, there are hundreds of others who can be thankful they came out of their accidents safely. From Wednesday, Nov. 23 through Sunday, Nov. 27, there were 434 crashes reportedly handled by the Georgia State Patrol, resulting in 247 injuries. That doesn’t count wrecks that were not reported or that were handled by other authorities.

Everyone who drives or is a passenger in a vehicle needs to be exceedingly careful during holiday periods. With more traffic on the road, more drunk drivers on the road, and people hurrying to get where they think they need to be, accidents can happen.

Blind Spots Can Cause Accidents

Published on: November 18, 2011 | By Van Sant Law

Blind spots. We’ve all heard the term, and depending on what type of vehicle you drive, you may have some of your own when you are driving down the road. It’s blind spots that are often “at fault” in car accidents. Unfortunately it’s the driver that usually pays.

Why Blind Spots Are So Dangerous

Many truck accidents are caused when a driver who is tailgating a big rig, merges quickly into the lane to their left or right. Truck drivers have blind spots, specifically the space directly behind the rig if extra mirrors have not been installed on the trailer.