Atlanta Injury Law Blog

Motorists in Georgia and around the country who cause fatal two-car accidents are almost twice as likely to test positive for prescription opioids as the other drivers involved. This was the conclusion reached by researchers after scrutinizing 18,321 crash reports from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System. However, medical studies suggest that traces of narcotics like oxycodone and hydrocodone in the blood are not necessarily a sign of impairment among chronic pain sufferers who have developed a tolerance for the drugs. The research was published on Feb. 15 in the open access medical journal JAMA Network Open.

The FARS data indicates that deadly two-car accidents are more likely to be caused by drivers under the influence of prescription drugs or alcohol. It also reveals that drivers are most often involved in such crashes after straying out of their lanes. This even goes for those who are not impaired. Worryingly, the rate of accidents caused by drivers with opioid indicators has risen by more than 5 percent to 7.1 percent since 1993.

Many truck drivers in Georgia routinely crank landing gears and perform similar strenuous tasks. Unfortunately, raising or lowering trailers is also a repetitious and physically stressful process that can lead to painful shoulder injuries. Results from a recent joint study show that strategic positioning may help drivers reduce their risks of sustaining shoulder injuries.

Given the demands of most jobs in the trucking profession, it's not unusual for truck drivers to file workers' compensation claims related to injuries sustained while performing job-related tasks. In order to determine the safest cranking technique, researchers observed a dozen male drivers as they performed cranking-related operations. Specifically, they looked at several muscles that are involved in shoulder movements and measured the drivers' scapular range of motion as they cranked.

All jobs in Georgia have the potential to expose workers to some type of workplace hazard. Risk factors vary among occupations, but the latest figures on workplace fatalities have shown some overall improvement. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2017 saw a slight reduction in the overall fatality rate from 3.6 percent in 2016 to 3.5 percent. The National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2017 prepared by the BLS concluded that 43 fewer people died on the job in 2017 compared to the previous year.

When focusing on specific industries, the BLS identified progress among crane operators, manufacturing and wholesale trades. These sectors achieved their lowest worker fatality rates since the government started collecting data in 1992.

Many people in Georgia are deeply troubled by the growing number of traffic fatalities found on the roads. This is far from a local concern, however; global health experts at the World Health Organization have identified traffic-related deaths as a major worldwide problem. Across the globe, motor vehicle collisions are the leading cause of death for people between the ages of 5 and 29. Across all age groups, crashes are the eighth most common cause of death, outstripping HIV and tuberculosis on the list of fatal global health concerns. In 2016 alone, 1.35 million people lost their lives in car crashes, a statistic cited by the WHO in its 2018 Global Status Report on Road Safety.

The WHO urged countries to beef up their programs to improve roadway safety, identifying traffic fatalities as a major concern. It noted that the United Nations' goal of reducing collision deaths by half between 2016 and 2020 is unlikely to be achieved. However, the WHO also said that while the number of fatalities is growing in the absolute, the death rate in terms of the world population has remained stable. For the past 15 years, that rate has hovered at around 18 traffic deaths per 100,000 people.