Georgia Injury Lawyer Blog

Georgia injury lawyers have seen many serious automobile accidents, tractor-trailer accidents and motorcycle accidents caused by foreign objects and road debris on Georgia highways. Just a few weeks ago a 19 year old girl was killed in Tifton, Georgia when she collided with a tractor-trailer. Both vehicles were heading south on Interstate 75 when the girl swerved to avoid a piece of retread rubber in the roadway. After running off the roadway, she apparently over-corrected, came back onto the roadway and struck the tractor-trailer rig. This death should not have happened. Recently I got a call from the mother of the girl and we discussed the growing problem of road debris and in particular, large pieces of tractor trailer truck tire tread littering our highways. There are ever increasing numbers of these accidents which are claiming the lives of many motorists.

The National Transportation Highway Safety Administration commissioned a study entitled “Commercial Medium Tire Debris Study”. The study objectives were to:

1. Investigate the underlying causes of tire failures in heavy- and medium-duty trucks through an analysis of tire debris samples collected on interstate highways in five regions of the United States;

2. Determine the extent of truck tire failures for retread tires; and

3. Determine the crash safety problem associated with tire failures for large trucks.

At the end of the study the “Overall Study Conclusions” were as follows:

"The analysis of tire fragments and casings collected in this study has found that the proportion of tire debris from retread tires and OE tires is similar to the estimated proportion of retread and OE tires in service. Indeed, the OE versus retread proportions of the collected tire debris broadly correlated with accepted industry expectations. Additionally, there was no evidence to suggest that the proportion of tire fragments/shreds from retread tires was over-represented in the debris items collected. Examination of tire fragments and tire casings (where the OE or retread status was known) found that road hazard was the most common cause of tire failure, at 38 percent and 36 percent respectively. The analysis of tire casings found maintenance and operational issues accounted for 32 percent of the failures while over-defection accounted for 16 percent. Analysis of tire fragments found that excessive heat was evident in 30 percent of the samples examined. These results suggest that the majority of tire debris found on the Nation’s highways is not a result of manufacturing/process deficiencies. Similar findings are corroborated in earlier studies of tire debris. The evaluation of available crash data shows that vehicle crashes related to truck tire failure and truck tire debris are very rare events that account for less than 1 percent of traffic crash involvements."

Whether recapped or retreaded truck tires are safe is debatable; however, it is an undeniable fact that tractor-trailer tire debris on or nation’s highway is increasing and it poses a very significant risk to motorists. Whether truck tire failure is caused by manufacturing defects or simply a drivers failure to keep the tires properly inflated, the negligent parties need to be held accountable, if they can be identified.

Continue reading "Tractor-Trailer Truck Tire Tread On Georgia Highways Is A Growing Problem" »

In Georgia there is a bad law on the books that was passed by the Republican dominated Legislature as part of its so-called effort at “tort reform.” We refer here to the provisions of O.C.G.A. § 9-11-68, the Georgia Offer Of Judgment statute. This statute provides that a party may make an offer of judgment to another party in a pending case in which the offering party agrees to settle the case for a specified sum. Thereafter, if the party to whom the offer is made fails to settle for the offer and later fails to obtain an award of at least seventy-five percent (75%) of the amount of the offer, then the party making the offer of judgment may petition the court for payment of its attorney’s fees from the date the offer was made until the less favorable award or loss.

A hypothetical might provide a good example of why this is such a bad law. Suppose a middle class person files a lawsuit against a rich corporate defendant with silk stocking lawyers paid by an insurance company our through other corporate monies. An offer of judgment is made by the wealthy defendant against the middle class person. If the middle class person does not obtain a verdict in excess of seventy-five percent (75%) of the amount of the offer, that middle class person may be on the hook under this new law for the payment of the attorney’s fees of the silk stocking lawyers - even if they win their case (but especially if they lose the case).

Many Washington, D.C., New York law firms and firms in Atlanta charge anywhere between six to eight hundred dollars an hour ($600. - $800.) for their “silk stocking services.” While such fees are outrageous from the standpoint of any middle class person, corporations routinely pay these fees because corporations have the funds to do so. Thus a middle class person who is trying to assert their legal rights in any litigation runs the risk of having all their assets seized by these silk stocking corporation lawyers if they do not prevail in civil litigation. Thus, the middle class person is being forced to settle the case rather than run the risk of presenting his or her case to a trial by jury.

Continue reading "Offers Of Judgment: An Assault On The Civil Justice System" »

Motorcycle riders are especially vulnerable to serious injury or death when involved in an accident with a careless driver. While many drivers fault the motorcyclist, we at the Finch McCranie firm know that most motorcycle operators are responsible, cautious individuals. Defective tires, or design problems with the motorcycle itself, can also cause a motorcyclist to crash. In such cases, the victims may have a viable products liabilty case against the manufacturer of the product.

Just last week a Georgia couple was injured in Tennessee when the rear tire of their motorcycle blew. Stephanie Rasmussen of Hoschton, Georgia, a passenger on the motorcycle was flown to Vanderbilt Medical Center and her husband, Kevin Rasmussen, was transported to Harton Regional Medical Center.

Whether the rear tire of the motorcycle was defective is unknown; however, given the injuries, an inspection of the tire by an expert may be warranted. In our experience, a qualified tire expert can determine the cause of the tire failure. For this reason, in all cases of suspected tire failure, the tire and rim assebly should be preserved.

Continue reading "Georgia Couple Injured In Motorcycle Accident When Rear Tire Blew" »

Cords on window blinds continue to kill an average of one child a month, despite a 16-year federal push to make them safer.

According to safety groups, a new voluntary industry rule on window blind cords does not address all strangulation risks to children and ignores input from consumer advocates.

The voluntary standard just published by the Window Covering Manufacturers Association (WCMA) prohibits accessible inner cords on Roman shades but still allows long draw cords. Inner cords weave between the slats of horizontal blinds or attach to the back of Roman shades. Roman shades weren't covered by voluntary rules for vertical and horizontal blinds enacted in the 1990s.

In December, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, CPSC, recalled about 50 million Roman shades and roll-up blinds after eight deaths and 16 near-strangulations were caused by the inner cords or loops during the 2000s. Roman shades, a popular replacement for Venetian blinds that have slats, are flat when lowered and create horizontal folds when raised.

CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum insisted consumer advocates be included on the committee updating the standard. But the advocacy groups, including representatives of Consumers Union, Consumer Federation of America and Parents for Window Blind Safety, say the rule was already written by the time they got involved and their votes to reject the rule had no effect.

The WCMA said it plans to review the consumer groups' comments in a meeting and will decide whether to incorporate any changes when the standard is revised again within two years. The group does urge consumers to use cordless products in homes with young children. But in a written response, the association said there are 1 billion blinds with cords that can't function without them.

Linda Kaiser, who discovered in 2002 that her 1-year-old daughter, Cheyenne, had strangled on the inner cord of horizontal blinds, pushed for the inclusion of Roman shades in safety standards in 2003. The CPSC and consumer groups have long urged makers of blinds to eliminate cords altogether, cover them or reduce them to 7.25 inches, which is too short to strangle a child. The new rule stopped short of those recommendations.

Some manufacturers have eliminated cords.

Alan Schoem, of Marsh Risk Consulting and a former CPSC compliance chief, says it has taken too long for the industry to remove exposed, accessible cords from blinds.

Recently, the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP successfully represented an elderly woman who was injured while shopping in a large, nationwide department store. While walking towards a clothing display that caught her attention, she tripped and fell over an empty wooden shipping pallet which had been left in a main aisle. As a result of her fall, she sustained a serious back injury. When questioned under oath, the manager could not say how long the pallet had been there or even who placed it there. He conceded that the empty pallet was serving no purpose (having been emptied) and that it presented a potential danger to customers. He also conceded that warning cones should have been placed to warn customers of the potential danger.

Premises liability law compensates those whose injuries occurred on someone else’s property because the property owner negligently created or failed to correct an unsafe condition. Premises law or landlord liability law requires landowners to protect people who lawfully enter their land or property. In Georgia, one who owns or occupies property and by express or implied invitation, induces or leads others to come upon his premise for any lawful purpose, is liable in damages to such persons for injuries caused by his failure to exercise ordinary care in keeping the premises and approaches safe. Although a property owner is not an insurer of the customer’s safety, the owner/occupier is required to exercise ordinary care to protect the customers and others invited upon the property from unreasonable risks of harm of which the owner/occupier has superior knowledge.

Landowners can be liable when their negligence results in falls, slips, trips and other accidents. Property owners can be liable when a child is injured while using playground equipment or for injuries suffered by a customer when the property owner fails to provide adequate security or otherwise fix or warn of hazardous conditions on the property. We represent individuals who have been seriously injured on someone else’s property.

Continue reading "Premises Liability Cases In Georgia" »

Actos, the blockbuster diabetes drug, manufactured by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company is under review by the US Food and Drug Administration due to fears of a link to bladder cancer. Sales of the drug are estimated to be 4 billion dollars a year.

The FDA is reviewing Actos (pioglitazone), after receiving preliminary results from a long-term observational study designed to evaluate the risk of bladder cancer associated with use of the drug. Those findings are based on five-year data from an ongoing, 10-year observational study being carried out by the Japanese firm's North American division.

The FDA noted that while early results showed no overall association, there was an increased risk of bladder cancer in patients with the longest exposure to Actos and in those with the highest cumulative dose of the drug.

In studies of the drug conducted before it was approved for clinical use, bladder tumors were observed in male rats receiving Actos that produced blood drug levels equivalent to those resulting from a clinical dose. Results from two, three-year controlled trials demonstrated a higher percentage of bladder cancer cases in patients receiving Actos versus others.

The FDA also noted that GlaxoSmithKline's Avandia, which like Actos belongs to the thiazolidinedione class of drugs, has not been associated with bladder cancer. The latter disease occurs in an estimated 20 per 100,000 people per year in the United States and is thought to be higher in diabetics, the agency added.

The agency stresses that patients should not stop taking the drug unless told to do so by their doctors.

http://www.serious-injury-litigation.com/lawyer-attorney-1259787.htmlGeorgia injury lawyers know that dangerous products can cause serious injury or death to innocent consumers. For example, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the voluntary recall of Gold Star and Comfort-Aire portable dehumidifiers due to a fire hazard. The Commission said the recall involved 98,000 dehumidifiers exported from China by LG Electronics Tianjin Appliance Co. Of China. According to the Commission, the dehumidifiers have power connectors that can short circuit, posing a fire risk. The company has received four reports of fires involving dehumidifiers including Gold Star model # GHD30Y7, which were sold at Home Depot outlets, model # DH305Y7, sold at Walmart stores, and Comfort-Aire model # BHD-301-C dehumidifiers, sold at Heat Controller.

Defective and dangerous products coming into the United States from China are increasing at an alarming rate. In 2008, 80% of all product recalls in the U.S. involved imported products from China. Other dangerous recalled products include dog food, toys with lead paint, drywall and even pharmaceuticals.

Continue reading "Defective Dehumidifiers Recalled " »

The question of whether corporations can be held liable in the United States under the Alien Tort Statute for violations of international law in foreign countries has been answered in the negative in a decision by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

In the opinion issued last Friday, in Kiobel v Royal Dutch Shell, the Court rejected a lawsuit against The Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. and others for allegedly aiding and abetting human rights violations during oil exploration in Nigeria. The court held that "corporate liability is not a discernible -- much less universally recognized -- norm of customary international law that we may apply pursuant to ATS (Alien Tort Statute)."

The court affirmed the dismissal of several claims by Southern District of New York Judge Kimba Wood but also said that the remaining claims, including aiding and abetting crimes against humanity, should be thrown out as well.

The Plaintiffs were Nigerian citizens who claimed that Dutch, British and Nigerian corporations should be held liable for human rights violations committed by the Nigerian military with the companies' assistance.

The lawsuit alleged that the companies assisted in attacks by government troops on the plaintiffs by providing transportation to the troops, allowing company property to be used as staging areas for attacks and providing food and payments to the soldiers. The plaintiffs sued for torture, extrajudicial killing and other violations under the Alien Tort Statute, 28 U.S.C. §1350, which imposes liability for a violation of the law of nations.

The U.S. Supreme Court has not ruled on the issue of corporate liability under the statute, which was passed in 1789 to allow non-U.S. citizens to seek redress in American courts for violations of the law of nations such as piracy, attacks on ambassadors and violations of the rights of safe passage.

Many lower courts have assumed that corporate liability exists under the statute. But, that will change as a result of Friday’s ruling, unless the U.S. Supreme Court holds otherwise.

Every year Georgia citizens die needlessly as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning. According to Journal of the American Medical Association, carbon monoxide is the leading cause of accidental poisoning deaths in America, yet many people do not know when they are being affected by it since its symptoms appear flu-like. Exposure to high levels of carbon monoxide can result in death.

Most of the time this poisoning occurs as a result of defectively installed or maintained gas furnaces or gas hot water heaters, although there are many sources of carbon monoxide which include house fires, faulty furnaces, heaters, wood-burning stoves, internal combustion vehicle exhaust, electrical generators, propane-fueled equipment such as portable stoves, and gasoline-powered tools such as leaf blowers, lawn mowers, high-pressure washers, concrete cutting saws, power trowels, and welders. Exposure typically occurs when equipment is used in buildings or semi-enclosed spaces. Poisoning may also occur following the use of a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCUBA) due to faulty diving air compressors. Riding in the bed of pickup trucks has even led to poisoning in children. Idling automobiles with the exhaust pipe blocked by snow has led to the poisoning of car occupants. Generators and propulsion engines on boats, especially houseboats, has resulted in fatal carbon monoxide exposures.

Many of the deaths that occur as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning could have been avoided had the owner of the property, whether it be a hotel, apartment of single family dwelling, conducted reasonable maintenance inspections and installed carbon monoxide detectors. Many times local governments require such things when it comes to hotels and apartments. Failure to abide by building codes in the installation, replacement and servicing of furnaces and hot water heaters often results in carbon monoxide leaks and either chronic or acute poisoning.

Continue reading "Carbon Monoxide Leaks Often Result In Wrongful Death" »

Medical malpractice lawsuits in Georgia have long been the target of doctors’ groups and big insurance companies. Using advertising, political contributions, and misinformation, they have been successful in fostering the notion that these lawsuits are frivolous. Many people have bought into this misconception, that is, until it happens to them or a loved one.

A recent story in the Miami newspaper illustrates this well. A Belle Glade, Florida judge plans to sue two radiologists and a surgeon after a foot long by foot wide sponge was left in him after surgery and went undiagnosed for five months, even as he developed serious health issues from it.

Late last year 67-year old Nelson Bailey checked into Good Samaritan Medical Center for surgery to treat his diverticulitis which was causing him abdominal pain. After the surgery the pain not only continued, but got worse.

When the judge complained to his doctor, he was sent for a CT scan but the metal marker on the sponge was reportedly misidentified in the test results. The judge was subjected to even more CT scans, and again the marker was misidentified.

Finally doctors identified the sponge and in March he underwent another surgery during which doctors removed the foot long by foot wide sponge which had begun to fester and was full of pus. Doctors also had to remove a part of Bailey's intestine which had been severely damaged by the sponge.

As part of the settlement he reached with hospital and its owner, Tenet Healthcare System, the judge is allowed to talk publicly about his experience in hopes that hospitals will make changes so something like this never happens again.

Now the judge would also like damage award caps placed on medical malpractice lawsuits brought in Florida repealed. Recently, the Georgia Supreme Court declared similar caps enacted by the legislature in Georgia unconstitutional.

The judge was quoted as saying , “But what I would like to see is when you have malpractice per se, something this egregious, the damages should be between the parties, a judge and jury without the state legislature dictating limits."

Preventable medical errors add extremely high costs to the healthcare provided in Georgia and across the United States. The Society of Actuaries, the largest professional organization dedicated to supporting 21,000 members in the United States and Canada, recently commissioned a study to assign a cost to these medical errors.

The study defined measureable costs of medical errors to include increased medical costs, costs related to an increased mortality rate, and costs related to lost productivity after the occurrence of an error. Most other costs of medical errors, such as pain and suffering, which are not measureable from medical claim databases, were not included. Neither were malpractice costs or insurance payments.

An error was defined as a preventable adverse outcome of medical care that is a result of improper medical management (a mistake of commission) rather than a progression of an illness due to lack of care (a mistake of omission).

Using medical claim data, the study identified costs of medical errors in the United States of $19.5 billion during the year 2008. Of this amount, the vast majority identified (about 87% or $17 billion) was a direct increase in the medical costs of providing inpatient, outpatient, and prescription drug services to individuals who are affected by medical errors.

The study also identified increases in indirect costs of approximately $1.4 billion related to increased mortality rates among individuals who experience medical errors and approximately $1.1 billion related to lost productivity due to related short-term disability claims.

Using medical claim data the study estimated that 6.3 million measurable medical injuries occurred in the United States in 2008. In an inpatient setting, seven percent of the admissions in the claim database resulted in some type of medical injury. Of the 6.3 million injuries, it was estimated that 1.5 million were associated with a medical error.

Measuring the total cost per error as approximately $13,000, the resulting total cost to the United States economy was $19.5 billion. Additionally, these errors resulted in over 2,500 excess deaths and over 10 million excess days missed from work due to short-term disability.

The estimates of mortality costs and lost productivity were based on limited data and the authors of the study stressed that they were likely underestimated. Both were limited to a one-year period following an error, and deaths are further limited to those which occurred in the hospital.

Not only is this data stunning in the total dollar figures, but it becomes even more so when it is remembered that these errors were all defined as preventable.

Inattentive drivers are responsible for many Georgia motorcycle accidents every year. Sadly the negligence of these inattentive drivers often results in the serious injury or wrongful death of the motorcyclist. Such may have been the case yesterday in Macon, Georgia when a woman driving a 1999 Chevrolet Impala ran a stop sign at the intersection of Peeble Street and Second Avenue and struck a motorcycle. According to witnesses, the woman struck 59-year old James Collins of Danville and then left the scene of the accident. The victim was pronounced dead shortly after the crash.

Hopefully authorities will be able to apprehend the driver and prosecute her for her callous, criminal conduct and hopefully for the family of the victim, there will be insurance coverage to compensate them for their loss.

Continue reading "Hit-and-Run Crash Results In Death Of Georgia Motorcyclist" »

Georgia injury lawyers know that dog bites can result in serious and disfiguring injuries and sometimes the wrongful death. Because of the population of Atlanta area, it is not uncommon to hear about these cases on a weekly basis. It is estimated that almost 5 million Americans each year are dog bite victims. About 800,000 of these are serious enough to seek medical treatment for their injuries. Sadly, about half the victims are children and most of them are between the ages of 5 and 9 years old.

According to the law, dog owners are responsible for their dog’s actions and homeowner’s insurance will pay for the damages. Owning a dog know to have dangerous propensities or failing to abide by leash laws will subject the owner to liability if the dog bites someone. It is estimated that dog bites account for roughly one-third of homeowners’ insurance claims. For that reason, many insurance companies that sell homeowner’s insurance coverage will now inquire about the types of pets the prospective insured may have living in the home and factor that into the underwriting process when determining a fair premium.

Georgia law provides two ways that an animal owner or handler may be found liable for injuries inflicted by the animal. The first requires that the victim prove: (1) that the animal is dangerous or vicious; (2) that the owner or handler had knowledge of the dog’s viciousness or tendency to attack humans; and, (3) that the owner or handler either carelessly managed the animal or allowed it to go at liberty. The second basis upon which an owner or handler may be found liable for injuries inflicted by an animal requires that the victim prove that the animal; (1) was not at heel or on a leash as required by a local ordinance; and, (2) that the owner or handler either carelessly managed the animal or allowed it to go at liberty. The second ground does not require knowledge of dangerousness or viciousness of the animal. To successfully prove liability under the Georgia statute, the claim can be based on either a violation of a leash law or the owner’s or handler’s knowledge that the dog had the temperament or propensity to bite people.

Continue reading "Dog Bites and Dog Attacks Are Serious Business - Georgia's Homeowners Should Beware!" »

Acts of medical malpractice are often hidden by the secrecy afforded hospitals and health care providers by various state laws which make these matters confidential and immune from discovery by the public.

In an effort to reduce these sometimes deadly errors, the state of Indiana initiated a method of publicly tracking preventable medical errors. In just the fourth year of reporting, Indiana hospitals and surgery centers reported more than a 10 percent decrease in errors between 2008 and 2009.

Indiana’s Medical Error Reporting System requires hospitals, surgery centers, abortion clinics and birthing centers to report “never events.” These are medical errors that should never occur. The errors cover 28 serious events, from surgery performed on the wrong patient to an infant discharged to the wrong person to patient suicide.
Indiana was just the second state after Minnesota to require reporting of the errors, which are defined by the National Quality Forum, a nonprofit group seeking improvements in health-care quality. Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana issued an executive order in 2005 requiring the Indiana State Department of Health to implement the system.

According to press reports, some goals of the program already have been met. The reporting system has made citizens more aware of the incidence of medical errors.

The goal of analyzing data to learn where errors are being made was realized in the health department’s new initiative to reduce pressure ulcers, also known as bedsores. The state sought to improve systems for assessing risk factors for patients and in training hospital personnel. Just 22 bedsores were reported in Indiana in 2009. That is an amazingly small number.

Of the 94 preventable errors reported in Indiana in 2009, one health system, by far the state’s largest reported 18, the highest reported. That health system had 56,022 inpatient discharges and 168,689 outpatient visits during 2009.

Tracking and preventing errors is a key to reining in health-care costs. The Society of Actuaries reported this month that medical errors cost hospitals $19.5 billion in 2008.

Medicare is currently refusing to reimburse providers for treatment caused by preventable errors. The federal health-care reform lawincludes measures to cut these costs by requiring Medicare to track a hospital’s error rates. In 2014, the federal government will cut payment by 1 percent to hospitals with the highest rates of patient safety issues.

These measures reduce medical costs, and more importantly, save lives.

On August 4, 2010, DePuy Orthopedics recalled its ASR XL Acetabular System (hip implant) and ASR Hip Resurfacing System. Recent data from the National Joint Registry of England and Wales indicated a higher than expected revision rate at five years. Specifically, the data showed that the five-year revision rate for ASR XL Acetabular System was approximately 12% and for ASR Hip Resurfacing System was approximately 13%.
The revision rate was highest with ASR head sizes below 50mm in diameter and among female patients.

DePuy is a unit of Johnson & Johnson. ASR XL Acetabular System has been
used in the U.S. and worldwide since 2004. The recall means that patients who received an ASR XL Acetabular System hip implant will need additional testing, monitoring and potentially additional surgeries. The data showed that 1 in 8 would need a revision.

Persons who have had this hip implant surgery in the past may need legal counsel concerning their rights if they need revisions due to the problems associated with this product. As is true of any potential products liablity claim, it is advisable to consult with counsel at the earliest opportunity should damges be incurred from the product.

Not a week goes by that we do not see a significant number of road debris items laying in the middle of Georgia highways. Whether it is an old mattress, furniture, tools, chain, truck tie-down straps or whatever, these items on the highway often result serious injury or death to innocent motorists who encounter and try to avoid them.

In October of 2008, a woman, trying to avoid road debris, died instantly in a single car crash. The accident happened at about 7:30 a.m. in the westbound lane of Interstate 285 in north Atlanta, Georgia. The victim tried to avoid a truck bed liner in the highway when she hit a median wall.

In July of 2010, a Canadian woman died when a brake drum broke free from a large commercial truck was struck by the wheel of a tractor trailer and thrown into the air and through the woman’s windshield, striking her in the head.

Motorists are responsible for securing whatever cargo they are transporting on or with a vehicle. A motorist’s failure to do so will result in their being held liable for all damages that result from an automobile accident, motorcycle accident or any other motor vehicle accident caused by the debris being in the roadway. Although sometimes it is difficult to identify the owner of the debris or the person responsible for it being on the roadway, it may not be impossible. Most of the time, law enforcement officials will use all of the resources available to them to determine the responsible party.

If you or a loved one have been seriously injured as a result of being involved in a motor vehicle accident which was caused by someone’s negligent failure to secure a load, call the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP. We have been representing the injury victims for over 40 years.

Traffic fatalities in Georgia and across the United States have shown a significant decline between 2008 and 2009, according to a report released on Thursday by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Georgia’s number of traffic fatalities in the period fell by 14 percent for a total of 1,495 in 2009. Florida led the nation with 422 fewer traffic fatalities in 2009, followed by Texas (405 fewer), California (353), Pennsylvania (212) and Georgia (211 fewer).

Increased seatbelt use and campaigns against drunk driving are being credited with the drop.

Nationwide, the number of deaths on America’s roads fell to 33,808 in 2009, the lowest number since 1950. The reduction comes even as the number of miles people are driving rose 0.2 percent over 2008 levels.

Fatalities fell in all categories of including motorcycles, which dropped by 850 from 2008, breaking an 11-year cycle of annual increases.

There also were fewer people injured in vehicle crashes last year, down 5.5 percent from 2008. According to the report, alcohol impaired driving fatalities declined by 7.4 percent in 2009 to 10,839 from 11,711 reported in 2008. Overall, 33 states and Puerto Rico experienced a decline in the number of alcohol-impaired driving fatalities year over year.

All crashes (fatal, injury and property damage only) were down by 5.3 percent in 2009 from a year ago.

All manufacturers have a duty to warn consumers of dangers associated with the use of their products. An example of this would be drug manufacturers who dispense and promote the sale of prescription medication with known side effects. Warnings of these side effects must be provided to consumers so that they can make informed choices before they use such products. However, many different products in the marketplace have risks attendant with their use and consequently it is incumbent upon the manufacturer to warn the public and consumers of the products of dangers specifically known to be associated with such use.

We recently blogged about a case where a house fire was caused by a defective oxygen generating device which resulted in the death of three people. If the manufacturer of this product was aware of dangers associated with its use and/or if there had been other fires caused by the product, it may very well be that the product should have been recalled by the manufacturer. This is an example of where a manufacturer who is responsible not only gives warnings to the public but also takes prophylactic steps to remove a dangerous product from the marketplace. In cases where there have not been a sufficient number of incidents to result in a recall of a product, nonetheless, if a manufacturer is aware of dangers associated with its use, warnings should be given to the users to notify them of foreseeable dangers connected with the use of the product.

Many court opinions have held that the failure to warn by a manufacturer of known dangers associated with the use of the product can make the product in and of itself defective. Lack of warnings provided to a consumer deprives the consumer of intelligent choices particularly where the dangers are known to the manufacturer. A failure to warn in this context can render the product defective because a dangerous product which distributed to the public should contain warnings about know dangers associated with its use. A failure to do so can be a basis of strict liability under the law.