Finch McCranie, LLP

Consumers May Be Without Remedies Against Auto Manufacturers

The Atlanta consumer and product liability lawyers of Finch McCranie LLP have successfully litigated cases against auto manufacturers for serious injury and death caused by defects in their products. Now, as a result of the bankruptcy of GM and Chrysler, many deserving victims of these defective products may be left without recourse.
The bankruptcy proceedings currently underway will leave consumers currently bringing personal-injury and product-liability lawsuits against Chrysler LLC and General Motors unable to continue their actions and receive compensation for their injuries. In
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Georgia Wrongful Death Actions:Who Has The Right To Sue? (Part II)

In Part I of this series, we set forth the provisions of Georgia law for wrongful death actions where surviving spouses were involved. In this article, we shall address actions by surviving children under Georgia’s wrongful death statute where a spouse does not survive to bring such a case.
If a parent is killed due to the negligence of a third party and is not survived by a spouse but is survived by children, the cause of action for the wrongful death vests with
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Georgia Health Insurer Accused Of Unfair Practices

A lawsuit has been filed by Georgia surgery centers against Blue Cross Blue Shield Healthcare Plan of Georgia Inc. and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia, seeking class action. The lawsuit, like many others around the country attacks the insurer’s practice of discouraging visits to out-of-network providers by reimbursing procedures at a tiny fraction of “usual and customary” charges.
The suit is similar to one filed earlier this year by a dialysis provider against Blue Cross. That suit was dismissed. The new suit alleges
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Georgia Wrongful Death Actions:Who Has The Right To Sue? (Part I)

One of area of confusion to the public is determining who has the right to bring a wrongful death action in Georgia. Because our firm handles many such cases in Atlanta and throughout the State, we have decided to blog on this area of the law so that the public will better understand the provisions of Georgia law which control wrongful death actions.
In this article we shall focus on the rights of a spouse who is married to an individual killed by the
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FDA To Reconsider BPA Decision

We receive many inquiries from Atlanta consumers regarding the safety of products apporved by the federal regulatory agencies. During the Bush administration many consumers here in Georgia and elsewhere have expressed concern and bewilderment that certain drugs and products banned in other countries were “approved” by federal agencies for distribution in the United States.
Now, the Food and Drug Administration, FDA, has announced it is reviewing a controversial decision it made last year — the conclusion that BPA, a chemical used in baby bottles
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Forklift Accidents: Usually Serious And Oftentimes Deadly

When I was in high school, I was hired as a forklift driver at a textile plant. I was given no training whatsoever, had never operated a forklift and within hours was lifting huge pallets of heavy materials high into the air for placement on warehouse shelving. Fortunately, I did not injury anyone or kill myself, but I easily could have. Indeed, that same summer a high school friend of mine lost his life when he accidently drove a forklift backwards off of a loading
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Bus Accident Recommendations By NTSB

Bus accidents have been a problem in Atlanta and Georgia for many years. Recently, the lawyers of Finch McCranie LLP were able to secure a very favorable settlement for the most seriously injured survivor in the Bluffton Bus crash which occurred here some years ago.
Now, in an encouraging move, the National Transportation Safety Board is recommending charter bus companies come up with better plans to deal with crashes in remote areas. Last Friday, the NTSB sent recommendations to the American Bus Association and
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Trampolines Recalled

Potentially dangerous trampolines which have been sold in the Georgia and Atlanta areas are the subject of a recall. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in cooperaation with Skywalker Holdings announced a voluntary recall of about 60,000 trampolines manufactured in China and distributed by Skywalker Holdings LLC, of Brigham City, Utah.

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Georgia ATV Safety Tips

As a Georgia injury lawyer, I read almost everyday about a death or serious personal injuries sustained as a result of an All Terrain Vehicle ATV accident. With the increasing popularity of ATVs it is inevitable that there will be more accidents and injuries; however, most are preventable. Without exception, most ATV accidents can be traced back to a rider who broke at least one of the ATV Safety Institute’s Golden Rules. Whether you’re riding in a public park or on private land, keep these

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Treadmill Accidents Can Cause Serious Injury or Death

The Atlanta lawyers of Finch McCranie LLP often see cases in which children are injured on exercise equipment such as treadmills and weight machines. The tragic death of boxer Mike Tyson’s 4-year-old daughter may seem like a freak occurrence, but the Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that treadmills injure more children than any other type of exercise equipment.
According to CPSC figures, almost 5,500 children under age 5 were treated in emergency rooms in 2006 and 2007 for treadmill-related injuries.
While most had cuts, bruises
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In An Accident While Traveling Out Of Town: What Law Controls?

We are often called by clients who have traveled through the Atlanta area only to be the unfortunate victim of a third party’s negligence. Calls usually come from those in car accidents or tractor-trailer collisions. Sometimes a slip and fall is involved or a defective product. These innocent persons sometimes are hospitalized following the incident in Georgia and then sent back to their home states for follow up treatment. When they reach out to an attorney the usually are being overwhelmed with medical
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Wrongful Death Cases: Who Has The Claim?

It is not unusual for our firm to be contacted by family members who are bereaved over the death of a close family relative. Oftentimes the individual is killed through the negligence of a third party and the family member simply wants to understand the law that pertains to the claim. Sometimes, however, family members can get in an argument among themselves as to who has the right to pursue the claim for the wrongful death. While Georgia, like many states, has a statutory scheme
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Structured Settlements In Serious Injury Cases

In any serious injury case involving permanent or lifetime injuries, careful consideration should be given to whether a structured settlement should be part of any settlement of such a case. A structured settlement agreement is a device whereby if the overall lump sum amount can be agreed upon, a certain percentage of it can be set aside and invested in an annuity that will pay benefits over the victim’s lifetime, usually on a monthly basis. Such benefits are extremely important for people who are disabled because it provides them a safety net and allows them to pay rent and other necessary living expenses as they grow older. Particularly in those cases where a victim is incapacitated and unable to work, a structured settlement agreement can provide a lifetime of revenue for necessary living expenses.

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Hospital And Medical Liens: What Should A Victim Do?

In a serious injury case the victim is usually overwhelmed with medical expenses, lost wages, terrible pain and suffering, and a total disruption in their personal, family and home life. If they are fortunate enough to have good counsel and they are fortunate enough to get a good settlement from the third party responsible for inflicting the injuries upon them, it will not be uncommon for such a victim to have to deal with a host of medical lien issues. The most common medical liens
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Implantable Defibrillators Frequently Used In Inappropriate Cases

More than 20% of patients who received an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator — a high-tech device that produces electrical impulses to regulate heartbeats and prevent life-threatening arrhythmias — in recent years were not good candidates to receive the device, a new study suggests.
Researchers at Duke University looked at more than 111,000 patients who received ICD implants between 2006 and 2009. More than 25,000 of those patients did not meet evidence-based criteria for receiving the device, according to the study.
The risk of dying in the hospital
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Inhalers Recalled Due To Mislabeling

The Food and Drug Administration is also concerned that hospital, med-center and emergency patients may be given the higher dose, as correctly labeled outer packaging is generally discarded.
Health care providers seeing only the mislabeled bottle would be very likely to give the wrong dose, especially since the two solution strengths are distilled in equal sized bottles. The .05 mg/3 ml bottles look just like the 2.5 mg./ 3 ml bottles. Only the strength differs.
Albuterol Sulfate Inhalation is sold in single use dosage bottles,
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Subrogation Claims In Personal Injury Cases

In car accidents, tractor-trailer accidents, medical malpractice or other serious injury cases, in the event a settlement is reached, there is always the possibility of a subrogation claim being asserted by a third party against the settlement proceeds. Subrogation claims are usually claims held by insurance carriers that have paid medical benefits. The victim who was injured by the negligent truck driver, for example, may have incurred hundreds of thousands in medical bills for expensive surgery. If a third party health insurance carrier pays these
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Food-Borne Safety Bill Signed But in Trouble

Each year, according to the most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates, 48 million people, that is one in six Americans, are sickened by food-borne illnesses. Of those, 180,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die.
The first major overhaul of the nation’s food-safety infrastructure since 1938 was signed into law yesterday by President Obama.
The Food Safety Modernization Act moves the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) away from its early-20th-century role of responding to adulterated food to a more modern one of requiring companies
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Electric Adjustable Beds Singled Out For Dangers

Electric adjustable beds have been singled out for causing serious injuries and death. Yesterday, the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning to Invacare Corp. for failing to report and address malfunctions with its electric beds, including electronics that allegedly caught on fire causing injury and death.
The FDA posted a warning letter to the Ohio-based company Tuesday morning. Invacare makes a variety of medical equipment, including wheelchairs, oxygen tanks and electric beds.
In its Dec. 15 warning letter, the FDA said the company
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Settlement Releases In Personal Injury Cases

Anytime a serious injury case is settled for a particular amount of money, the insurance company for the at fault third party involved will insist on a Release of all claims, not only against their insured responsible for the damages but also for the insurance company issuing the check on their behalf. This is standard as part of any serious injury or personal injury case whereby monies are paid as consideration for a settlement. In all such cases, counsel should be conferred with because the
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