Finch McCranie, LLP

Dangers From MS Drug Tysabri

Many drugs which offer promising cures when first introduced later prove to be ineffective or even dangerous. One that falls in the dangerous category is Tysabri, manufactured by Biogen, Inc. Tysarbi is a prescription medicine approved for patients with relapsing forms of MS. It has been shown to slow the worsening of disability that is common in patients with MS and decrease the number of flare-ups or relapses of the disease.
However, Biogen recently reported the ninth confirmed case of progressive multifocal leukoencphalopathy (PML)
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ATV Liability – Do You Have Insurance Coverage Under Your Homeowners Policy?

The Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP have written before about the potential liability one may have for ATV accidents, especially if it involves riding passengers. Not only does the owner of the ATV risk being sued for injuries or death caused by their use of the ATV, but they may also find that there is no liability coverage available to them when they are sued. Last week, the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the grant of summary judgment to Allstate

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Medical Errors At VA Hospital Concealed

Our Atlanta medical malpractice attorneys frequently see cases in which the practices engaged in by physicians are questionable. Yet in many instances the practices are so egregious that one has to wonder how the medical establishment could allow them to occur or continue. Yesterday, the New York Times reported just such a situation at a VA Hospital in Philadelphia.
In a common treatment for prostate cancer, doctors implant dozens of radioactive seeds in the prostate to attack the cancerous cells. But, according to reports,
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Representing Children in Serious Injury Cases

Over the years, our lawyers have handled many different cases involving serious injuries to children. These injuries arise in a myriad of contexts and are oftentimes heartbreaking. Over the years, we have had serious burn injury cases, dog bite cases,unsafe premises, sexual abuse cases, car accidents, medical malpractice cases, drowning accidents, playground injuries,unsafe consumer products, school injuries and the like, all involving young children. Some of these cases have resulted in wrongful deaths, comas, paralysis, burns and amputations. Presently, we are handling injuries to children
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Zicam Recalled for Dangerous Effects

Yesterday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned consumers to stop using Zicam, a popular homeopathic cold remedy, because it could damage or destroy their sense of smell, a condition called anosmia.
The Food and Drug Administration received 130 reports from consumers and doctors of people losing their sense of smell after using one of the Zicam nasal products, which include Zicam Cold Remedy and Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs. The reports date to 1999, when Matrixx Initiatives of Scottsdale, Ariz., first introduced the products.
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ATV Accident Results in Serious Injury and Criminal Charge

The Georgia injury lawyers have written before that with the growing popularity of ATV’s or All-Terrain Vehicles, serious injury and death cases are on the increase in Georgia, especially among children. Today I read about a tragic case that occurred on May 16th in South Carolina. In that case, a 15- year-old girl was riding on the seat behind her 32 year old neighbor when the neighbor lost control of the vehicle and the two were ejected. As a result, the teen sustained

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Medical Malpractice Awards Decrease

Medical malpractice claims in Georgia are constantly coming under fire from insurance companies and doctors who allege they raise the costs of medical care through increased insurance costs to doctors. For many years our Atlanta based attorneys have watched as these large insurance companies and medical groups spend massive sums to influence politicians to enact legislation eroding the rights of innocent victims of medical negligence.
A recent study in New York has exposed these false arguments.Data from the National Practitioner Data Bank show 1,882
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Police Chase For Non-Violent Crime Turns Deadly

We read yesterday in the paper about a tragic case in Charlotte, N.C. involving a police chase which resulted in the death of an innocent 84-year old woman who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and got caught up in the chase, resulting in her death. According to the news reports of the incident, the police were chasing a suspected shoplifter who had committed a petty offense at a local shopping mall. Although the news reports are sketchy, it appears that the merchant called the police and shortly thereafter the police spotted the vehicle being operated by the suspected thief. A three mile chase ensued at high speeds and during the chase, the suspect lost control of his vehicle and struck the vehicle being operated by the innocent victim. Her death resulted. The petty thief has now been charged with murder.

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Georgia Wrongful Death Actions:Who Has The Right To Sue? (Part IV)

In a wrongful death case where the deceased individual is survived neither by a spouse, child or parent, under Georgia law such a cause of action would vest in the Executor or Administrator of the Estate. In short, there will always be someone able to proceed on behalf of the “heirs-at-law” and such an individual, once duly appointed, will proceed in a fiduciary capacity to protect the rights of the heirs-at-law relative to the wrongful death action. Thus, if an individual dies and is neither
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Georgia Wrongful Death Actions:Who Has The Right To Sue? (Part III)

In Georgia, if an individual loses her or her life due to the negligence of a third party and is not survived either by a spouse or children, the cause of action for the wrongful death of such an individual vests in the surviving parents. If both parents are alive, the cause of action is vested jointly in the parents if they are living together. If one parent is deceased, the right is in the surviving parent. If both parents are living, but are
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Evaluating Wrongful Death Cases Involving Children

One of the most tragic kinds of case that we encounter is that involving the death of a child. Oftentimes it is in the context of a serious automobile collision but obviously death due to negligent behavior comes in a variety of forms. It is particularly difficult to deal with the death of a innocent child. It is also difficult to evaluate such a claim because of the emotions involved. Nonetheless, there are criteria that can be used in evaluating such claims even though financial “compensation” for such a loss is essentially an oxymoron when it comes to the death of a child.

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Assessing Damages In A Burn Injury Case

In those serious injury cases where the damage is a burn injury and significant scarring or disfigurement is present, it sometimes is difficult to estimate the settlement value of such a claim. Even if the plastic surgeon is able to give a reliable figure of future medical expenses, assuming more surgery is needed to address the problem, nonetheless, these cases are difficult to evaluate because most of the damages are intangible. The disfigurement of the scar, where the scar is located, whether it can
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Boating Under The Influence: A Deadly Combination

We read in the paper this week about a tragedy which occurred on Lake Lanier outside of Atlanta. A ski boat being operated by an individual under the influence of alcohol crashed head-on into a pontoon boat occupied by 13 people. Many of the people on the pontoon boat were seriously injured and apparently two young boys killed. As of the date of this blog, the authorities were still searching for a missing 9-year old boy. The driver of the ski boat was under the
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Punitive Damages In A Wrongful Death Context

Because damages in a wrongful death context are measured from the standpoint of the decedent and are considered under Georgia case authority to be somewhat punitive since the damages include compensation for the full value of the life of the decedent, in a wrongful death case, per se, punitive damages cannot be sought. However, in a case where there has been pre-impact fright and terror, pain and suffering associated with injuries prior to death and/or property damages sustained by the estate, the estate can
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Estate Claims In A Wrongful Death Context

As we have posted before, in a wrongful death context, the heirs-at-law have a claim for damages for the full value of the life of the decedent whereas the Administrator of the estate has a claim for pre-death damages. In some cases involving serious injury, the injured individual may live for a time prior to death. If, in such a hypothetical case, the individual incurs substantial medical expenses and experiences significant pain and suffering prior to death, the estate of such a decedent is
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Voices Insisting On Pursuit Safety: Heroes At Work

This entry is written in tribute to a little known non-profit association called Voices Insisting On Pursuit Safety. http://www.pursuitsafety.org/ VIPS is a group of dedicated volunteers who are trying to save lives through their work. Each of the members of this group unfortunately have experienced tragedies in their own lives typically as a result of a police pursuit gone bad. The board members of Voices Insisting On Pursuit Safety are those who have lost loved ones in tragic police pursuits where there was a reckless disregard of proper police procedure in the decision to either initiate the pursuit and/or recklessly continue the same in the face of dangerous circumstances, resulting in the death of an innocent family member caught up by happenstance in the chase.

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Another Police Chase: More Deaths

Another Police Chase: More Deaths
We read last week on the internet of a tragic story out of Parsons, Kansas. Unfortunately, the Kansas story is all too familiar and occurs each and every day in this country. What we refer to are dangerous and reckless police chase cases which regrettably and tragically all too often result in the deaths of innocent members of the public, unconnected to the chase, who just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The report we read out of Parsons, Kansas was one such occurrence.

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Non-Economic Damages In A Georgia Wrongful Death Case

As we have posted before, in Georgia the measure of damages is the full value of the life of the decedent. The full value of the life of the decedent is comprised of the economic value of the deceased’s normal life expectancy and the non-economic loss sustained at the time of the wrongful death. As to the non-economic component, this includes the joy of living itself, the loss of society, affection and companionship of a wife, children and other family members and generally what the
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Determining Economic Damages In A Wrongful Death Claim

In determining the economic value of a deceased’s life in Georgia, a jury is not bound by any fixed criteria in reaching its verdict. A Georgia jury may take into consideration the decedent’s age at the time of his/her death, heredity, health, physical condition, habits, character, education, prior earning capacity, the amount of money he or she was earning at the time of his death, any reasonable probability of increase or decrease or reduction in wages or salary, loss of employment, the probability of the
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Wrongful Death Damages: The Economic Component

The economic value of a wrongful death claim in Georgia is typically based upon lifetime earnings or the economic value of lifetime services. In a wrongful death case, a plaintiff must prove by a preponderance of the evidence the age of the decedent when he/she died, probable life expectance and yearly income or the value of such services. From such evidence a jury can compute the gross cash value of the deceased’s economic losses based on remaining life expectancy.
In a hypothetical case where
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