Finch McCranie, LLP

Riding Mower Defects Endanger Children

Each spring and summer our attorneys see an increasing number of injuries to children caused by lawnmowers. An estimated 9,400 children are injured each year. Many of the accidents result in amputations of legs, hands, fingers, feet, and toes. Experts say that the most serious accidents occur when operators back up rider mowers with the mower blades engaged and run over small children they can’t see.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, back over accidents alone account for 560 injuries to children each year.
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Nursing Negligence

In the not too distant past, our lawyers’ experience had been that medical malpractice encompassed almost exclusively the negligent wrongs of physicians. However, as nursing has evolved into a sophisticated, technical, and specialized profession, nurses regularly assume roles previously in the exclusive domain of physicians. These include examinations, diagnosis, post-surgical monitoring, and treatments of patients. Sometimes this is done without any direct supervision from physicians. The nurse’s expanded role in patient care, the continual development of specialized and sophisticated medical technology, and the heightened emphasis
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Heat Related Sports Deaths: A Preventable Tragedy

This is the time of year where it seems that everyone who rides in an automobiles passes a high school football practice. The sweltering sun and heat of this summer, which is particularly hot, is obviously a danger to those practicing. If those responsible for the players are not careful, deaths can ensue. Indeed, it has almost become commonplace every summer to read about the death of a high school or college football player due to extreme heat conditions.
Our firm, regrettably, has been involved
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Legal Status Of Injured Person Determines Duty Owed By Premises Owner

In Georgia, owners and occupiers of land or buildings owe certain duties to those who come on the premises. The duties vary according to the relationship between the owner and the person coming onto the premises. The mere fact that one owns or occupies land or a building does not make one liable for injuries sustained by persons who have entered onto the land or the premises. It is a commonly accepted in Georgia law that the owner of a building or land is not
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Dangerous Toys Recalled

Toy maker Mattel, Inc. issued recalls yesterday for about 9 million Chinese made toys that could be potentially dangerous for children. The recalls were negotiated by the Consumer Products Safety Commission. The majority of the toys subject to the recall contain magnets that can be swallowed by children and the rest have lead paint. The recall includes play sets, including the Polly Pocket dolls and Batman action figures as well as almost a quarter of a million die cast cars that contains lead paint.
This
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Cell Phone Battery Danger Warning

Nokia Corp. warned Tuesday that up to 46 million batteries used in some of its cell phones could pose a serious risk of overheating. The batteries subject to the warning were manufactured by Matsushita from December 2005 to November 2006. Matsushita Battery Industrial Co. Ltd. of Japan is one of several suppliers that have together made some 300 million BL-5C batteries.
Nokia is the world’s largest mobile phone maker. The lithium-ion battery is one of 14 different types of battery used in Nokia phones.
Nokia
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Health Court Bills In Congress

Legislation is being considered in both houses of Congress to fund pilot projects in 10 states that would create administrative panels known as “health courts.” This legislation is being strongly supported the medical and insurance lobby. The legislation is based on systems in Scandinavia and New Zealand. The state of Florida also has an existing administrative procedure for dealing with birth-related neurological injuries.
The legislation, if passed in its current form, would eliminate jury trials in medical negligence cases. The standard by which the actions
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Criminal Charges In Big Dig Tunnel Collapse

Powers Fasteners Inc., the company that provided the epoxy adhesive blamed in the fatal Boston Big Dig tunnel collapse was indicted this week in the death of a woman killed on July 10, 2006, when tons of falling concrete crushed her automobile. Milena Del Valle, 39, was killed when as she and her husband drove through the Big Dig tunnel. Her husband escaped with only minor injuries.
An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board concluded the collapse could have been avoided if designers and
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Mediation of Tort Claims

Our lawyers have successfully represented many clients at mediations, covering a wide range of actions such as truck accidents, medical malpractice, auto collisions, and premises liability. Our experiences have led us to conclude that, under the right circumstances, mediation can be of great benefit to plaintiffs. It generally allows the matter to be concluded long before a trial can be scheduled, removes the risks associated with the trial of some cases, and allows the client to control the result, as opposed to a jury, judge,
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Sovereign Immunity Precludes Many Valid Lawsuits

Many state, county, and local governments are protected from lawsuits even though their employees may have been extremely negligent in causing severe injuries to innocent citizens. In most instances, the doctrine of sovereign immunity precludes a lawsuit against these entities, unless the governing body, such as the legislature, has waived the protection of sovereign immunity. Even when there has been a waiver, it is generally restricted to a maximun amount of recovery.
For example, in a ruling involving last summers deadly Comair plane crash at
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Defective Dehumidifiers Recalled

http://www.serious-injury-litigation.com/lawyer-attorney-1259787.htmlGeorgia injury lawyers know that dangerous products can cause serious injury or death to innocent consumers. For example, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the voluntary recall of Gold Star and Comfort-Aire portable dehumidifiers due to a fire hazard. The Commission said the recall involved 98,000 dehumidifiers exported from China by LG Electronics Tianjin Appliance Co. Of China. According to the Commission, the dehumidifiers have power connectors that can short circuit, posing a fire risk. The company has received four reports of fires involving dehumidifiers including Gold Star model # GHD30Y7, which were sold at Home Depot outlets, model # DH305Y7, sold at Walmart stores, and Comfort-Aire model # BHD-301-C dehumidifiers, sold at Heat Controller.
Defective and dangerous products coming into the United States from China are increasing at an alarming rate. In 2008, 80% of all product recalls in the U.S. involved imported products from China. Other dangerous recalled products include dog food, toys with lead paint, drywall and even pharmaceuticals.

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Carbon Monoxide Leaks Often Result In Wrongful Death

Every year Georgia citizens die needlessly as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning. According to Journal of the American Medical Association, carbon monoxide is the leading cause of accidental poisoning deaths in America, yet many people do not know when they are being affected by it since its symptoms appear flu-like. Exposure to high levels of carbon monoxide can result in death.

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Medical Malpractice Realities

Medical malpractice lawsuits in Georgia have long been the target of doctors’ groups and big insurance companies. Using advertising, political contributions, and misinformation, they have been successful in fostering the notion that these lawsuits are frivolous. Many people have bought into this misconception, that is, until it happens to them or a loved one.
A recent story in the Miami newspaper illustrates this well. A Belle Glade, Florida judge plans to sue two radiologists and a surgeon after a foot long by foot wide
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Medical Error Costs Quantified

Preventable medical errors add extremely high costs to the healthcare provided in Georgia and across the United States. The Society of Actuaries, the largest professional organization dedicated to supporting 21,000 members in the United States and Canada, recently commissioned a study to assign a cost to these medical errors.
The study defined measureable costs of medical errors to include increased medical costs, costs related to an increased mortality rate, and costs related to lost productivity after the occurrence of an error. Most other costs of
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Hit-and-Run Crash Results In Death Of Georgia Motorcyclist

Inattentive drivers are responsible for many Georgia motorcycle accidents every year. Sadly the negligence of these inattentive drivers often results in the serious injury or wrongful death of the motorcyclist. Such may have been the case yesterday in Macon, Georgia when a woman driving a 1999 Chevrolet Impala ran a stop sign at the intersection of Peeble Street and Second Avenue and struck a motorcycle. According to witnesses, the woman struck 59-year old James Collins of Danville and then left the scene of the accident. The victim was pronounced dead shortly after the crash.
Hopefully authorities will be able to apprehend the driver and prosecute her for her callous, criminal conduct and hopefully for the family of the victim, there will be insurance coverage to compensate them for their loss.

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Dog Bites and Dog Attacks Are Serious Business – Georgia’s Homeowners Should Beware!

Georgia injury lawyers know that dog bites can result in serious and disfiguring injuries and sometimes the wrongful death. Because of the population of Atlanta area, it is not uncommon to hear about these cases on a weekly basis. It is estimated that almost 5 million Americans each year are dog bite victims. About 800,000 of these are serious enough to seek medical treatment for their injuries. Sadly, about half the victims are children and most of them are between the ages of 5 and 9 years old.

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Reporting Reduces Medical Errors

Acts of medical malpractice are often hidden by the secrecy afforded hospitals and health care providers by various state laws which make these matters confidential and immune from discovery by the public.
In an effort to reduce these sometimes deadly errors, the state of Indiana initiated a method of publicly tracking preventable medical errors. In just the fourth year of reporting, Indiana hospitals and surgery centers reported more than a 10 percent decrease in errors between 2008 and 2009.
Indiana’s Medical Error Reporting System requires
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Depuy Orthopedics Hip Implant Product Recalled

On August 4, 2010, DePuy Orthopedics recalled its ASR XL Acetabular System (hip implant) and ASR Hip Resurfacing System. Recent data from the National Joint Registry of England and Wales indicated a higher than expected revision rate at five years. Specifically, the data showed that the five-year revision rate for ASR XL Acetabular System was approximately 12% and for ASR Hip Resurfacing System was approximately 13%.
The revision rate was highest with ASR head sizes below 50mm in diameter and among female patients.
DePuy is
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Road Debris Can Kill

Not a week goes by that we do not see a significant number of road debris items laying in the middle of Georgia highways. Whether it is an old mattress, furniture, tools, chain, truck tie-down straps or whatever, these items on the highway often result serious injury or death to innocent motorists who encounter and try to avoid them.
In October of 2008, a woman, trying to avoid road debris, died instantly in a single car crash. The accident happened at about 7:30 a.m.
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Traffic Fatalities Show Significant Decrease

Traffic fatalities in Georgia and across the United States have shown a significant decline between 2008 and 2009, according to a report released on Thursday by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Georgia’s number of traffic fatalities in the period fell by 14 percent for a total of 1,495 in 2009. Florida led the nation with 422 fewer traffic fatalities in 2009, followed by Texas (405 fewer), California (353), Pennsylvania (212) and Georgia (211 fewer).
Increased seatbelt use and campaigns against drunk driving are being credited
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