Finch McCranie, LLP

Medical Malpractice Awards At Record Lows

A study released by Public Citizen found that medical malpractice payments were at or near record lows in 2008, but suggests the decline almost certainly indicates that a lower percentage of injured patients received compensation, not that health safety has improved.
Medical malpractice is so common, and litigation over it so rare, that between three and seven Americans die from medical errors for every one who receives a payment for any malpractice claim, according to Public Citizen’s analysis of medical malpractice payment data and
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One Million Dangerous Playpens Recalled

Many Atlanta residents trust the safety of their young children to playpens. However, the Consumer Product Safety Commission is expected today to announce a recall of one million Kolcraft play yards.
The recall of the portable playpens, some of which include changing tables or bassinets, follows hundreds of complaints of collapsing sides and reports of 21 injured children. The playpens were made in China and distributed by Kolcraft Enterprises Inc. of Chicago.
According to press reports, a Kolcraft spokeswoman, confirmed the recall.
Since September 2007,
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Bone Fusion Agent May Be Dangerous

A bone growth agent used in thousands of spinal fusion surgeries for neck pain has been linked to complications and higher cost, according to the first nationwide study of the product. Spinal fusion is one option for people with back and neck pain, although some researchers have questioned how well it works.
In a spinal fusion, a surgeon removes the disc between two vertebrae and replaces it with the patient’s own bone, BMP or another product. If successful, new bone grows and fuses the vertebrae
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Tylenol and acetaminophen dangers

Adverse prescription drug reactions are more common than most consumer are aware, and can have serious consequences, including death. Seeking to address these problems, a Food and Drug Administration panel has recommended new limits on acetaminophen, the main ingredient in Tylenol. Acetaminophen is the most commonly prescribed drug in the U.S., and commonly used in other drugs and remedies such as cough and cold medicines.
Acetaminophen overdoses are the main cause of liver failure in the U.S. Accidental acetaminophen overdoses kill about 100 people
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No Injuries or Deaths Reported Following Georgia Parking Deck Collapse

Miraculously, there have been no reported injuries or deaths following an accident in Atlanta, Georgia. Yesterday a portion of a concrete parking deck in downtown Atlanta collapsed near the intersection of Spring and 5th Streets, damaging or destroying 38 vehicles. The deck is a pre-fabricated, pre-cast concrete structure that was built eight years ago. The cause of the “pancake collapse,” where a section of the fourth floor fell onto the third, second and first floors, is still under investigation. Although the pre-cast concrete components
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Parking Deck Collapse

Atlanta is the scene of another structural collapse. It has just been reported that a parking deck collapsed in the area of Spring and 5th Streets in the midtown area of Atlanta. At this time there are no reports of injuries or deaths, but the efforts of firefighters and rescue personnel to access the collapsed areas have just begun.
Our Atlanta, Georgia, lawyers have investigated and filed lawsuits in numerous construction and structural collapse cases. The most notable was the collapse during the building of
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MIxed News For Victims Of GM Product Liability Cases

Product liability suits, especially those involving autos and trucks, generally involve life altering injuries and death. As a result of the recent bankruptcy of General Motors Corp., many of the pending and future claims involving GM products stood to be wiped out, leaving the victims with no recourse against the manufacturer. As part of its government-backed restructuring plan, GM wants to sell the bulk of its assets to a new company and leave behind unprofitable assets and other liabilities such as product-related lawsuits.
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Zicam Products Alleged To Be Dangerous Products

Federal officials are warning consumers to stop using Zicam, a popular cold remedy because they say that it could damage or destroy the users’ sense of smell. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has received 130 reports of people who lost their sense of smell after using Zicam nasal products, which include Zicam Cold Remedy and Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs.
The products were introduced by Matrixx Initiatives of Scottsdale, Arizona in 1999. In 2006, Matrixx paid $12 million to settle 340 lawsuits from Zicam users
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Judge Rules Grout Cleaner Liability Suits Can Go Forward On Negligence Claims

Georgia injury lawyers see people seriously injured by dangerous products of all types. Many dangerous products result in the wrongful death of their users. A grout cleaner which was once sold by Home Depot is one product alleged to have been dangerous. Dozens of product liability lawsuits over injuries allegedly caused by the tile grout cleaning product will go forward as general negligence claims, a federal judge has decided. However, in ruling on the multi-district litigation, U.S. District Judge Thomas W.
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Dangerous Products Can Cause Serious Injuries or Death

The Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP have represented many victims of dangerous products. The type and nature of these dangerous products runs the gambit. Products liability in Georgia has arisen primarily as a negligence concept and even today remains the most viable theory of products liability in terms of jury comprehension. It was announced this week that a federal judge in Atlanta is permitting dozens of product liability suits against Home Depot and the makers of a tile

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Assessing Damages In Serious Burn Injury Cases

Unfortunately, in the normal course of our law practice, we have encountered clients who have sustained serious burn injuries. These cases are always extremely painful for clients and oftentimes results in permanent disfigurement. Indeed, a burn injury is one of the most painful injuries anyone can sustain and unfortunately we have seen them arise in a variety of contexts, whether it be gasoline fires after automobile accidents, accidents within the home due to defective products and/or chemical burns sustained on the job.
One of
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Fatal Police Chase Results In Dismissal Of State Trooper

We read in this weekend’s news accounts that a Georgia State Patrol Trooper had been fired for failing to exercise “due regard” for the safety of the public while he was allegedly responding and on his way to aid another trooper involved in a high speed police chase on Interstate I-20. On New Years Eve, an innocent motorist was killed when this Georgia State Patrol Officer allegedly ran a red light and struck the vehicle occupied by the decedent.

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Another Police Chase Kills Another Innocent Person–the Wife of Atlanta Braves Trainer Jeff Porter

Too familiar is this week’s tragic story of how a police cruiser struck an innocent motorist and caused the death of Kathy Porter, wife of Atlanta Braves Head Athletic Trainer Jeff Porter.
Late Saturday afternoon, the Porters were among many fans driving to the Chick-fil-A bowl in downtown Atlanta–a short distance from the Braves’ home at Turner Field. A Georgia State Patrol cruiser–reportedly speeding on city streets to join a chase of a motorcyclist on I-20– crashed into the Porters’ Ford Expedition on the passenger
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The Importance of Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage

We have written prior entries in our blog about the importance of uninsured/ underinsured motorist coverage. The importance of such coverage was underscored this week when we were contacted by clients who had been hit by driver of a stolen vehicle. This is a classic case where the at fault driver will not have insurance coverage. In this particular case the innocent victim caught up in this collision did not have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. Obviously, the stolen vehicle had no insurance coverage which provided coverage
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How Do I know That I Have Received A Fair Settlement Offer In My Case

Defense attorneys and plaintiffs attorneys, alike, both have resources available to determine the fair value of a particular personal injury claim. Jury verdict research services exists which track jury verdicts throughout metropolitan Atlanta and indeed the entire state of Georgia. By tracking jury verdicts, one can determine what juries are giving for particular types of cases. Juries award so much for a broken leg, a broken back, a neck injury, a back sprain, a neck sprain, an amputation, etc. In short, there are a lot
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How Do I Choose a Personal Injury Attorney?

Many clients choose their personal injury attorneys by watching the television or looking at billboards. Unfortunately, this does not always result in a client choosing the right attorney for his or her case. The best way to choose an attorney for a personal injury case is to make sure that the attorney selected is competent, professional and experienced. It is also important that the client determine that the lawyer being chosen has the ability to present the case to a jury if the case cannot
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Quantifying Pain And Suffering In Personal Injury Cases

It is extremely difficult to quantify damages in a personal injury case. While medical bills can be totalled and lost wages calculated, trying to calculate damages for pain and suffering is a different matter. When one is out of work for months at a time suffering from back pain, as an example, the question is: how does one go about trying to determine what would constitute fair and reasonable compensation for the pain and suffering attendant to the injury? The longer one suffers, the
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Representing Crime Victims in Personal Injury Cases

Most of our clients are innocent victims of negligent acts. A person is sitting still at a stop sign and a driver negligently fails to stop in time rear-ending them and causing serious injuries. Another driver fails to yield right-of-way and crashes into the side of their vehicle. In both cases, a negligent act caused the injury to the innocent victim. In other cases, however, intentional torts are involved. A step-father molests a child. A man rapes a woman. A man kills someone else. In
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Atlanta Police Chase Ends In Crashes With Innocent Persons

This morning we were disturbed to hear of a police chase on Atlanta’s major street that ended in crashes with two innocent motorists.
In the Buckhead neighborhood this morning, a police pursuit of a reportedly stolen vehicle ended with a violent crash with two innocent drivers on Peachtree Road, near Peachtree Battle Ave. (near several elementary schools).
Witness accounts report that at least one innocent driver’s vehicle was propelled a long way after the impact, and we pray that the innocent motorists survived without serious
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Wrongful Death Cases Caused By Fire

Our office has been contacted on numerous occasions by individuals seeking restitution for the loss of a life of a loved one due to a house fire. In some cases the house fire may be caused by a malfunctioning device. In other cases the fire’s consequences may have been escaped had a smoke detector been functioning properly. In other cases, an electrical water heater may explode or there may be problems with a gas line or some other component of the house itself which causes
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