MARTA Is Making Changes to Help with the Corona Virus
The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) announced on March 25th that it would be making some operational changes to help combat the spread of COVID-19. Most notably, some low-traffic routes and stations have been closed or given reduced schedules, while more buses have been diverted to high-traffic routes to prevent crowding and give passengers more space to distance from each other. Except for passengers who need to use the access ramp at the front door, MARTA passengers must now enter and exit buses through the rear doors, minimizing contact with the driver. They will not be required to pay at the farebox, although bus fares will still be charged at the train stations for those passengers who are transferring. Earlier in the pandemic, MARTA…
MARTA Police Fail to Catch an Armed Assailant
On January 12th, a man was assaulted while riding a MARTA train, just before it arrived at the East Point station. Another passenger captured video footage of the attack, in which the assailant holds the victim at gunpoint while repeatedly hitting and kicking him. The victim’s sister, who spoke to the press, only found out about the attack when someone tagged her on the video, which had been posted to Instagram. Although shaken up by what she saw, she says her brother is going to be okay, and that she’s grateful to MARTA police for responding quickly to the East Point station. However, the MARTA police don’t seem to have played any actual role in ensuring that her brother will be okay. They failed to…
New Truck Lanes for the I-75 Could Improve Both Traffic and Safety
A construction project intended to ease congestion on I-75 is currently gaining momentum with the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT). The idea has been in the works for over a year already, but after recently moving it up the priority list, GDOT now estimates that construction will be completed by 2028. As it currently stands, the plan is to add two northbound truck lanes, separated by a concrete divider, running from Macon to McDonough. Commercial trucks would be required to use these lanes instead of regular commuter lanes, except when making a stop within the I-75 corridor. Atlanta is a major commercial hub, and as a result, commercial big rigs currently make up 35% of traffic along the proposed route, a ratio that’s expected to…
Amazon’s New Warehouses Mean More Deaths on Georgia’s Roads
Right on the heels of announcing a new warehouse to be constructed in Gwinnett County, Amazon is also planning to build one in Newman, promising to create 1,500 new jobs across both facilities. What Amazon, Governor Kemp, and other proponents of the warehouses aren’t talking about is the impact they will have on local traffic and the safety of Georgia’s drivers. The proposed Newman warehouse is expected be 1 million square feet in size and used for packing and shipping out individual Amazon customer orders. That means these orders will be driven from this warehouse to customers’ homes, or to the next step on their shipping journey, aboard Amazon vehicles that often do not stick to established shipping routes. Even if it were not for…
Pepsi Truck Crash in Cobb County Backs up Traffic Across Three Interstates
Only a week after ringing in the new year, Cobb County has already seen its first major Pepsi truck crash of the decade. In the early hours of the morning on January 7th, the truck in question collided with the guardrail on the I-285 and spilled its cargo of Dr. Pepper cans across the highway. Cleanup took almost 10 hours, during which time traffic backed up along not only the I-285 but the I-75 and I-575 as well. Slick roads from light rain may have contributed to the accident, though the exact cause and fault involved have not been reported. The Pepsi driver was taken to a nearby hospital for immediate examination. Thankfully, no one else appears to have been injured in this particular incident,…
Apartment Complexes in Georgia Need to Improve Fire Safety
It’s been a rough winter for fire safety in Georgia, full of injuries and loss. Spring is almost here, but that will come as little comfort to the many residents who’ve already been affected by fires in their apartment complexes over the past few months. Two days after Christmas in Smyrna, nine people lost their homes to an apartment complex blaze. One of the survivors escaped with burns, and another was injured while jumping from her balcony. Three days later in Duluth, a fire engulfed the top floor of an apartment complex and caused it to collapse. Again there were fall injuries as residents jumped to escape, and a total of 29 people were displaced. Just two more days after that, on New Year’s Day,…
A Worker at Hartsfield-Jackson Has Been Killed in a Loading Ramp Accident
Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport has long had a tenuous relationship with safety, seeming to prefer putting its money and energy into remaining the busiest airport in the world. On September 25th, 2019, one employee lost his life amid the bustle of this air traffic hub. The worker, an employee of the luggage transport company G2 Secure Staff, was helping to guide a luggage vehicle toward the loading ramp of a United Airlines jet, when he was crushed between the vehicle and the ramp. A crew member reportedly shouted for the driver to stop when it became clear what was happening, and the victim was rushed to a nearby hospital, but he did not survive. OSHA and United Airlines are both still investigating, but based on the…
Can You Sue a Hospital for Wrongful Death?
Families are horrified when a loved one goes into the hospital for surgery or illness but never comes out and instead dies in the hospital. Matters are made even worse if you suspect the hospital was negligent or careless and caused the death. If your family is asking itself, “Can you sue a hospital for wrongful death?” – the answer is “yes.” A wrongful death case is a lawsuit brought by the surviving spouse or family of a person who died as the result of negligence. A family member suing for medical malpractice can name individual doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, aides or other healthcare professionals employed by the hospital. The hospital itself can also be named as a defendant. If you believe your loved one died in a hospital because of the hospital’s negligence, contact an…
What is Negligent Security?
Negligent security is a part of the law that falls under the category of premises liability. Premises liability covers harm that a person could experience on a business’s property as a result of negligence on the part of the business. This could include things like slip and fall injuries where there is no “wet floor” sign, injuries or deaths incurred by poorly maintained elevators or escalators, and any number of other potential harms. So, what is negligent security? Negligent security is the area of premises liability law that covers types of harms that people experience on a property owner’s property specifically due to a lack of proper security measures. Most of the time, this means the victim of negligent security has also been the victim…
Bright from the Start Is Not Enough to Protect Georgia’s Children from Daycare Negligence
Ever since 2004, Bright from the Start has been the agency in charge of quality control for Georgia’s daycare and early education facilities. Among its other duties, Bright from the Start is responsible for approving licenses for Georgia’s daycare centers. Unfortunately, while the agency provides valuable support at times, it falls far short of guaranteeing Georgia’s children a safe environment, let alone a nurturing one. Finding Quality Child Care in Georgia Has Always Been Difficult For the average Georgia family, child care costs more than either housing or college tuition. Yet most of these exorbitant fees go toward care that Bright from the Start itself recognizes as “deficient” and “inadequate.” In 2009, a national study ranked Georgia’s quality of child care 49th out of all…