Finch McCranie, LLP

Georgia Serious Injury Cases: Frequently Asked Question Number 6

This blog will continue in our series of providing our readers with answers to frequently asked questions in the context of a serious injury case. This blog will address FAQ number 6:
6. Can my spouse recover damages if I am seriously injured and he/she misses time from work caring for me?
Answer: A spouse does not have a legal claim for their own lost wages while they miss work caring for their injured spouse. However, under Georgia law, a spouse does have a claim
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Georgia Serious Injury Cases: Frequently Asked Question Number 5

This blog will continue in our series of providing our readers with answers to frequently asked questions in the context of a serious injury case. This blog will address FAQ number 5:
5. Who will pay my lost wages while I am recovering from my injuries?
Answer: In Georgia, there is no “Pay as You Go” rule so unfortunately the answer to this question is that you may receive no lost wages at all unless your employer continues to pay you and/or you have disability
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Another Atlanta Area Police Chase Case and More Avoidable Deaths

We have written previously about the dangers of police chase cases. This week we read in the paper about a chase that occurred on January 24 involving a man fleeing the police in a stolen vehicle. As he was fleeing, allegedly with a police officer in pursuit, the suspect in the stolen vehicle engaged in increasingly dangerous behavior. Ultimately, he collided head-on with another innocent motorist, killing that motorist and decapitating a female passenger in his car. According to the news accounts, the deceased
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Atlanta Man Electrocuted: Serious Injury and Wrongful Death

We read in the newspaper this week about the death of a maintenance man at a local school system when he was electrocuted while trying to change a fixture at the elementary school. While the newspaper article did not provide many details, it was curious to us that a maintenance man would be killed while simply trying to change out a light fixture. This raises the obvious issue of whether there is third party negligence because the electrical system obviously had some problems within it,
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Georgia Serious Injury Cases: Frequently Asked Question Number 3

This blog will continue in our series of providing our readers with answers to frequently asked questions in the context of a serious injury case. This blog will address FAQ number 3:
3. If a client settles his or her personal injury claim against an at fault defendant, will they have to repay their own insurance carrier under current subrogation provisions of the law?
Answer: This question often comes up in the context of serious injury cases where the injured individual has incurred substantial medical
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Ortho Evra Contraceptive Patch is Dangerous to Use

The Ortho Evra contraceptive patch has been used by many young women who unfortunately have developed clot related injuries. Some users have had strokes, heart attacks, pulmonary embolisms or deep vein thrombosis as a result of using this product. This past week, the Food and Drug Administration announced a significant update to the manufacturer’s warning on the contraceptive patch. The label now warns users of the patch that they are at a significantly higher risk of developing clot related injuries than other women who use
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Georgia Serious Injury Cases: Frequently Asked Question Number 2

This continues in our series of providing our readers with answers to frequently asked questions in the context of a serious injury case. This blog will address FAQ number 2:
2. Who will bear responsibility for my future medical expenses if I settle my serious injury case today?
Answer: Anytime a serious injury case is settled, there has to be an evaluation of future medical expenses. Has the injured individual recovered completely from their injuries? Are future medical expenses likely? If future medical expenses are
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Medication Errors In Atlanta Hospitals

We have previously written about the dangers of medication errors in hospitals. Recently another incident made the news because a celebrity was involved. Actor Dennis Quaid’s newborn twins and another child were put in serious danger when they were administered overdoses of a blood thinner. The California Department of Public Health said the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center gave the newborns 1,000 times the intended dosage of heparin. Fortunately, all three children recovered, but two needed a drug that reverses the effects of heparin.
The authorities said
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Emergency Care Lacking in Hospitals

Our attorneys are increasingly reviewing cases where major surgical procedures are being performed at small physician-owned hospitals and surgical centers.
On January 10, 2008, the Washington Post revealed that the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, had issued a report concerning physician-owned specialty hospitals. The report concluded that most physician-owned speciality hospitals are poorly equipped to handle medical emergencies.
The report revealed that only 55% of the 109 physician-owned hospitals studied had emergency departments, and of those, the majority had only
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Atlanta/Georgia Medical Malpractice Limits on Recoveries

Our medical malpractice attorneys are frequently forced to decline cases which have merit from a liability standpoint, but due to caps on the amount of recovery cannot be justified in economic terms.
Last week, the Los Angeles Times ran a story concerning a 72 year old woman who entered Stanford University Medical Center for double knee replacement surgery in April. Four days later, she was dead. Her son, an anesthesiologist, felt that the case was a classic case of medical malpractice. After the operation, his
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Nursing Home Infection Rates Increase

Infections are now the number one cause of deaths in nursing homes, causing nearly 400,000 deaths annually.
A study published in the May issue of The America Journal of Infection Control reports that 15% of American nursing homes each year receive deficiency citations for infection control.
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public Health, looked at deficiency data collected from about 16,000 nursing homes per year between 2000 to 2007 as part of Medicare/Medicaid certification.
The researchers reported
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Medical Errors Can Be Reduced

Preventable medical errors kill thousands of Americans every year.
A recent study found that nearly one out of three hospital patients is harmed by the care they receive. The Institute of Medicine, an independent nonprofit organization within the National Academy of Sciences which works to provide unbiased advice to decision makers within the medical community, estimates that as many as 100,000 Americans die each year from preventable medical errors in hospitals. This is approximately the same number of annual deaths caused by auto accidents, AIDS,
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Construction Accidents And Third Party Claims

When an employee is injured on a job site, particularly on a construction job site, unfortunately the injuries sustained can be serious. Heavy equipment is typically involved on large commercial construction projects and it is not unusual for construction workers on large construction projects to be exposed to a variety of different dangers during the work day. If an employee is injured on the job, under our Workers’ Compensation laws, the claim will primarily have to be brought against the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance
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Sex Abuse in Child Care and Day Care Centers: Obtaining Justice for Victims of Sexual Molestation

Two years ago at our law firm, I received a phone call I could not believe–another episode of sexual abuse of a a young child, entrusted to the care of a prominent day care center.

The child’s mother said her lawyer did not know what to do to help her. She was told to call our law firm because we had successfully helped other families whose children had been molested in child care or after school programs.

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Closing Arguments: Be An Ambassador

As we all know, trial lawyers are under assault by the business community. We are accused of being sleazy, money hungry ambulance chasers. I need not further discuss this nationwide propaganda campaign, but suffice it to say, our public image has been and continues to be at risk. Accordingly, it is imperative that as trial attorneys we conduct ourselves as ambassadors for justice when we appear in a courtroom.
The best way to get a favorable result in any case is to exude confidence and
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“Jackpot Justice”

It is amazing to watch television commercials advertising lawyer services for personal injury cases. One often sees a client holding a fist full of cash praising their lawyer for securing a large cash settlement. The client is typically shown smiling and happily talking about how much money they received from their personal injury claim. These ads have often surprised me because it is typically only in the very serious case that clients receive large settlement amounts and in those cases, they usually deserve the
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Asserting Claims Against the Government

Any lawyer who has a client with a claim against any branch of government knows full well that there needs to be investigation of that claim in order to be successful in prosecuting it. One of the first steps in the process is to serve a timely ante-litem notice claim within six months of the claims against a municipality or within twelve months if it involves a claim against the State or a county government agency. We have previously blogged about these requirements in
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Closing Arguments: When Appropriate,Remind Jurors Of Their Oaths

In the typical negligence case, it is not necessary that a jury be reminded that they have taken an oath to set aside any prejudice or biases they have and to render a verdict solely on the evidence and the law presented to them. However, there are cases of a more controversial nature where it might be necessary for counsel to consider reminding the jury of its oath. Examples would include medical malpractice cases and other controversial cases such as high speed police pursuits.
We
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Closing Arguments: Follow the Fundamental Rules

As discussed above, counsel should utilize the structure in delivering his/her summation. If counsel is disorganized in his approach, the jurors will not follow the arguments made and subliminally will believe that counsel is not entitled to a verdict. Again this is a fundamental rule of a winning summation.
Although the fundamental dos are sometimes easy to recognize, there are some fundamental don’ts as well. For example, do not select an issue that an intelligent juror will recognize as being disingenuous or phoney. Never misstate
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Closing Arguments: Remember Why You Are There

In a hotly contested liability case, it is often easy for counsel to forget that the reason they are there is to achieve a favorable monetary verdict for their client. It is tempting sometimes to spend far too much time discussing liability thereby leaving counsel with little or no time to discuss damages. The reason we are in Court is to try to get a verdict to compensate our client for the damages they have sustained. Obviously, we have to discuss liability. However, we should
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