Finch McCranie, LLP

Atlanta Police Chase Results In Death

We read last week about another tragic ending to a police chase case in Atlanta on January 15, 2009. Unlike many other such matters where the death is not worth it from a societal standpoint, this case appears to be an example where the dangers to the public caused by the police chase were warranted under the unique circumstances involved.

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Bike-Car Accidents Often Result In Death Or Serious Injury

The injury lawyers in our firm have seen over the years that bicycle-car accidents can have serious consequences for the cyclist and often involve death or, at a minimum serious personal injury. A recent verdict demonstrates the kind of traumatic injuries that can occur in a bicycle-car collision. In that case, a jury returned a $1.8 million verdict in a personal injury case brought by a college student. She was seriously injured in 2005 when she was struck by 2 vehicles at an
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Drunk Driving Statistics Released

At least every week the Atlanta media carries a story concerning a wreck in which alcohol and drunk driving are a factor. The lawyers at Finch McCranie LLP see entirely too many cases in which alcohol or drunk driving cause serious injuries and death. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, recently released data concerning alcohol impaired driving for the year 2007. This is the latest year in which the data has been collected and analyzed. The figures are frightening.

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Brain Injuries and Death Often Result From Falls

As Georgia personal injury lawyers we have represented many people who have died or sustained serious injuries as a result of falling. Many of them are senior citizens and many of the accidents are a result of dangerous conditions caused by the negligence of stores, restaurants and other businesses. Although the elderly most fear breaking a hip when they fall, a government study indicates that hitting their head can also have deadly consequences. Brain injuries account for half of all deaths from falls.
The
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Atlanta Consumers Affected By Recall of Play Yards

The Atlanta based lawyers with Finch McCranie LLP frequently receive calls about children injured by products specifically designed for their use. Last Thursday, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, CPSC, recalled 200,000 potentially deadly Fisher-Price’s Rainforest play yards.

Approximately 1,350 people had complained to the CPSC that one or both sides of the Rainforest play yard had collapsed. There were numerous reported injuries that included a broken nose, a mild concussion and a broken wrist. The play yards are often used as portable cribs and have a bassinet attachment. When the rails collapse, babies can fall out, get trapped or gain access to unsafe areas.

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Georgia Connection To Salmonella Outbreak

The current salmonella outbreak has a Georgia connection. The Food and Drug Administration announced yesterday that peanut butter and peanut paste made from ground roasted peanuts, manufactured in Peanut Corp.’s Blakely, Georgia, plant were found to contain the bacteria.
The FDA is advising consumers to not eat foods that contain peanut butter until they can be they are sure they do not contain salmonella contaminated products manufactured by the Peanut Corp. of America.
To date six deaths may have been connected to this salmonella outbreak,
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Georgia Governor Proposal LInked To Medical Device Approval Which Was Slammed By GAO Report

The Governor of Georgia has proposed legislation endorsing a system that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) castigated in a report issued yesterday. The GAO concluded that almost twenty years after Congress directed that all high-tech medical devices be subjected to a thorough review by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), before being placed on the market, the FDA still approves most such devices after minimal testing.
This report is especially timely since the Bush administration has long argued that FDA testing and approval shields the
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Dangerous Cribs Sold in Georgia Recalled

The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that about 535,000 Stork Craft Baby Cribs have been recalled. These cribs pose an entrapment and suffocation risk. The CPSC has instructed customers to stop using the products immediately.

The cribs were made by Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc. and were manufactured and sold between May 2000 and November 2008. They came in a variety of styles and finishes.

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Drug Maker May Enter Record Settlement With Government

Eli Lilly, the drug company, according to a report in the New York times, is expected to agree as soon as Thursday to pay $1.4 billion to settle criminal and civil charges that it illegally marketed its antipsychotic drug Zyprexa for unauthorized use in patients particularly vulnerable to its risky side effects.
The company has been charged with scheming to concvince doctors to prescribe Zyprexa for patients, children and older persons, for whom the drug was not federally approved. Studies have shown that the drug
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Georgia Illnesses Linked To Salmonella in Peanut Butter

Our Atlanta lawyers have had experience in bringing actions based upon foodborne illnesses such a salmonella. The salmonella outbreak across the nation has been potentially traced to peanut butter. A recall has been issued for peanut butter distributed by King Nut Companies of Solon, Ohio. The peanut butter was supplied only through food service providers and was not sold directly to consumers. King Nut has challenged the recall contending it could not be the source of the nationwide outbreak since it distributes to only seven
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Jury Awards $114 Million In Nursing Home Abuse Case

Almost every week the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP hear about horrific treatment of elderly patients in nursing homes or other long-term facilities. Occasionally they are held accountable for their negligent treatment.
Last month, the family of a 76 year old Florida woman was awarded $114 million in a nursing home abuse case. The woman died in 2003 after having been a patient at the nursing home. The lawsuit alleged that the elderly woman was injured after falling, had developed pressure
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Bench Trials Under The Federal Tort Claims Act

Under the unique provisions of the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), there is no right to a jury trial. What this means is obvious: once an FTCA lawsuit is filed and the United States of America is named as the defendant, if the case cannot be resolved thereafter and a trial is required, the trial will be before a United States District Court judge which will sit, not only as the finder of fact, but also as the Judge of the law. In short,
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Who And Where To Sue Under The Federal Tort Claims Act

We have blogged in the past about some of the unique provisions of the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) and how they pertain to tort claims against the United States government. As an example, one unique provision is that no claim can be sued against the federal agency per se but instead only against the United States. In any lawsuit against the federal government in which a tort has occurred, the named defendant must be the United States of America. Thus, in a case
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Contact Lens and Medical Device Injuries In Children

Injuries caused by contact lens are a serious problem in Georgia and elsewhere. The consequences of injuries from these seemingly harmless devices can be life changing, including blindness. Our lawyers have just recently concluded several cases involving injuries sustained by contact lens wearers.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has just released a report which reveals that more than 70,000 children and teens go to the emergency room each year for injuries and complications from medical devices. Contact lenses are the leading cause of these
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Georgia Motorcycle Accident Injures Two

Friday evening, a motorcycle accident in north Georgia injured two people. The wreck occurred before 8:00 p.m. on U.S. Hwy 41 in Tunnel Hill, Georgia.. Although details of the wreck have not been released and the accident is still under investigation, the motorcycle and a pickup truck collided. It has been reported that charges are pending against the driver of the truck. The driver of the motorcycle was flown to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga and the passenger was taken to Hamilton Medical Center in
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Defective Heart Defibrillators

Defective implanted heart defibrillators have been the subjects of many recalls over the last several years. This week, Boston Scientific Inc., advised doctors that a part in certain models of its implanted heart defibrillators made in 2006 and 2007 has a “somewhat higher’’ failure rate, requiring units to be reprogrammed. The company reported a failure rate of one in 670 devices. No deaths or injuries have been reported.
Boston Scientific estimates that about 34,000 patients still have the defibrillators implanted, even though they are
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False Arrest Claims in Georgia

Over the years the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP have represented clients who have been “falsely arrested”. In one memorable case, our client was accosted in the Lenox Mall parking lot by three store security officers who forcibly carried her back into the store where she was accused of shoplifting and strip searched. Eventually, the store realized they had made a mistake and told our client that she was “free to go”. She remained in the store and called the Atlanta
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Georgia Woman Drowns At Lake Lanier – Boat Operator Charged With Boating Under The Influence

This week, The Associated Press reported that last Sunday evening a 26 year old Georgia woman drowned at Lake Lanier, just north of Atlanta. Although the boat, upon which the woman had been a passenger, had not been involved in a crash. the owner/operator of the boat was charged with boating under the influence.

Our Georgia injury lawyers have represented clients who have suffered injuries or lost loved ones in boating accidents. Some of the causes include boater error, boater inexperience, boating under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol, equipment failure, and operating in adverse weather and/or water conditions.

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Two Georgia Power Men Burned in On-The-Job Accident

http://www.serious-injury-litigation.com/As Georgia injury lawyers who have handled thousands of workers compensation claims, few on-the-job injuries are as horrifying to us as burn injuries.
Today 11 Alive News and WSB News reported that two Georgia Power employees suffered burns today as they were replacing a utility pole in Milton, Georgia. It is thought that as the crew was drilling a new hole for the pole, they hit a natural gas line which sparked an explosion. One of the injured Georgia Power workers, who was about 35 feet up in a bucket lift at the top of the pole, jumped to try to escape the flames. He was reportedly burned over 80% of his body and was airlifted to Grady Memorial Hospital’s burn unit.

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Georgia Motorcycle Accident Results In Death

When most people hear about a motorcycle accident they envision a collision with a car or a truck; however, motorcycle accidents also occasionally occur as a result of debris and foreign objects on the roadway.

The Savannah Morning News reported today that on Sunday, a 23 foot trailer came loose from a Ford F-150 truck being operated by 66 year old Gerald Adams. The trailer crossed over the median on Interstate 16 where it collided with 26 year old Carroll Girtman, who was riding his Yamaha motorcycle in the westbound lanes.

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