Finch McCranie, LLP

Consumer Interests Boosted By Decision

Consumer protection got an unexpected boost this week when the United States Supreme announced its decision in Altria Group v. Good. In a surprising decision that could have wide-ranging impact, the Supreme Court held that federal law neither expressly or impliedly preempts a lawsuit filed under the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act by Maine smokers. The underlying lawsuit claims that smokers of Marlboro Lights and Cambridge Lights cigarettes were misled by deceptive labels touting the cigarettes as “light” and “low tar” when the manufacturer knew
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Dangerous Drug Warning

Dangerous drugs have been placed into the stream of commerce by manufacturers for years without warnings. Recently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ordered the manufacturer of two drugs commonly used before colonoscopies to add warnings to the products. These are commonly referred to as “black box” warnings.
Visicol and OsmoPrep are oral sodium phosphate medicines used for bowel cleansing before colonoscopies. There have been reports of serious kidney injuries linked to their use. The FDA has received reports of 20 cases of kidney injury
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Accutane Drug Trial Results in A Thirteen Million Dollar Verdict

A New Jersey jury recently awarded nearly $13 million to three acne drug users who developed severe inflammatory bowel disease after taking the medication. The drug, Accutane, is manufactured by Hoffman-La Roche.
The three plaintiffs are Florida residents who used the drug to treat adolescent acne. All three developed bowel disorders including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s Disease. The jury found that the drug manufacturer should have issued better warnings that the drug could cause bowel problems and that their failure to do so resulted in

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Escalator Injuries Increase

Escalator injuries are increasing at an alarming rate. Our Georgia injury lawyers frequently review cases in which persons have been injured by malfunctioning or improperly designed escalators. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported Sunday concerning this increase in injuries, especially among children.
Among the mechanisms of injuries reported to the state were the following:
A 17-year-old boy’s right hand was bleeding after it got stuck in an escalator at MARTA’s Lenox station in February. He had reached down to pick up a fare card that fell
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Dangerous Toys Remain In Market

Dangerous toys containing harmful chemicals have long been a problem in the United States. The United States Congress recently passed a law banning the use of a plastic softening chemical known as phthalates in certain consumer products, including toys. The chemical is used to soften plastic – making it popular for rubber ducks, teething toys, and anything else that young children love to chew on. Exposure to phthalates has been shown to harm the development of reproductive organs and have been linked to cancer
The
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Fatal Motorcycle Wreck Involving Georgia State Trooper Under Investigation

Our attorneys sometimes represent people who have been injured by employees of the State of Georgia in automobile accidents or truck accidents. Cases against the State of Georgia or its employees are governed by the Georgia Tort Claims Act. For instance we recently learned that a state accident reconstruction unit is investigating a wreck, involving a Georgia State Patrol trooper, that killed a motorcyclist in Lumpkin County last month. According to the motor vehicle accident report the state trooper executed a U-turn in
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Patient Abuse in Healthcare Facilities

Abuse of patients in medical or mental facilities is a major problem in the United States. Our attorneys frequently handle cases in which patients have suffered physical or sexual abuse at the hands of facility staff or other patients. These cases are extremely disturbing as the victims are usually some of the most vulnerable and helpless members of society.
A recent article in the Los Angeles times focused upon this issue. According to the article, Psychiatric Solutions Inc. was on its way to becoming the
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Motorcycle Passenger Death Results In Operator Being Charged

Our Georgia attorneys often represent the drivers of motor vehicles who have been injured in collsions but sometimes the passengers are injured as a result of the negligence of the host driver. Just this week, we read that a Georgia man was arrested and charged in a September motorcycle crash that left a Panama City Beach woman dead. According to authorities, Storm P. Wood and a female passenger, Robin Arnett, were ejected from the motorcycle when Wood lost control of it. Arnett died
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Physician Payments From Drug Manufacturers

Another prominent psychiatrist has been exposed for taking payments from drug manufacturers. According to the New York Times, Dr. Frederick K. Goodwin who served as the host of public radio’s popular “The Infinite Mind” program earned at least $1.3 million between 2000 and 2007 giving marketing lectures for drug makers.
Dr. Goodwin is the latest in a series of doctors and researchers whose ties to drug makers have been exposed by Senator Charles Grassley a Republican from Iowa. Senator Grassley has been asking some of
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Police Officer Injured In Motorcycle Accident Awarded $750,000 in Damages

A Cobb County, Georgia policeman who was struck by another officer’s motorcycle has been awarded $750, 000 by a Fulton County Superior Court jury for head injuries that only emerged several months after the motorcycle accident. The winning patrolman was among several motorcycle officers from various agencies who were riding in “tight formation” in August 2005,when a MARTA officer hit him from behind. Apparently the plaintiff almost immediately returned to work following the accident; however, he began to have seizures approximately six months after
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E-coli Tainted Lettuce Recalled

An outbreak of 19 E-coli related illnesses in Michigan, Ohio and New York may be linked to shredded romaine lettuce sold to grocery stores for use in salad bars and delis, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Yesterday, the FDA announced a recall of the potentially dangerous produce.
Escherichia coli (abbreviated as E. coli) are a large and diverse group of bacteria. Although most strains of E. coli are harmless, others can be extremely harmful. Strains of E. coli can cause diarrhea, urinary
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Death Linked to Defective Cribs

Yesterday, the Associated Press reported that on Thursday of this week the government recalled thousands of baby cribs manufactured by Simplicity and Graco, after warning that babies could suffocate or strangle in them. Apparently the problem with both types of cribs relates to faulty or defective hardware. According to the article, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said the Simplicity crib recall was linked to at least one death and it involved thousands of cribs. The recall involving Simplicity products is for all full-sized cribs

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Clients Deserve Better And So Do Lawyers

Last night after a long day at work I went home and decided to browse local television shows. In so doing, I came across a program entitled “American Greed.” The topic of the program I was watching was extremely disappointing to me but regrettably a symptom of modern day society. The program dealt with greedy lawyers who were stealing from their clients. I watched the program in amazement because the greed of these lawyers was utterly fantastic and extremely disappointing to me as a plaintiff’s
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Health Insurer Targets Women With Breast Cancer For Denial Of Coverage

Our Atlanta lawyers constantly receive calls from consumers who have had their health insurance companies refuse to pay for necessary treatment or have had their insurance cancelled after they become sick. A recent report has reveled that WellPoint, the nation’s largest health insurer, has aggressively targeted women with breast cancer with the intent of canceling their health insurance policies.
Reuters news service cited federal investigators and regulators as a source of this information. According to the report, WellPoint has used a computer program to automatically
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Suing Government Officials In Georgia

Most members of the public do not realize that it is very difficult to sue a government official. As long as government officials are acting within the scope of their discretionary authority, they are typically immunized by law from legal liability for mistakes they make, even including claims involving negligence, gross negligence and/or recklessness. The main exception to this rule typically involves the operation of automobiles for which there has been a statutory waiver of sovereign immunity in Georgia. There are, however, other limited exceptions
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How To Reduce Medical Malpractice Claims

Medical malpractice became a hot button issue in the recent healthcare debate. Many politicians, healthcare workers, and large insurers argued that medical malpractice cases are a large contributor to the rising cost of healthcare in the United States. Even though this line of argument has been consistently proven to be false, it was constantly brought up buy opponents of healthcare reform.
There is a better way to reduce the number of medical malpractice cases without sacrificing innocent victims who have been maimed due to
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Food Safety

The safety of the United States food supply is a vital interest of all citizens. The recent deadly outbreaks of salmonella poisoning in peanuts, spinach, and other foods has brought the lack of safeguards in the food supply chain to the forefront.
A new report by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s inspector general, released last week, documents an outdated and ineffective federal food safety program with too few inspectors, too skimpy legal authority and too little funding.
Faced with the reality of overseas food-processing
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Police Pursuit Policies Changed: More Changes Needed

Finch McCranie has been representing innocent victims caught up in police chases for over a decade. While the police should chase violent felons who are endangering the public, many of these cases involve chases where the police are pursuing non-violent or mere traffic offenders at high speeds with the end result being a third party killed or injured, caught up by happenstance in the dangerous pursuit. We have long advocated that the police should pursue violent offenders where the risk of the chase to
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High Chair Recall

Our Atlanta product liability lawyers see many cases involving defective products which cause injury. None are more disturbing than those involving children. There have been 24 reported injuries of children involving Graco Harmony highchairs. In an effort to avoid further injuries Graco Children’s Products announced Thursday that it is recalling 1.2 million Harmony highchairs because of stability issues.
The company makes car seats, strollers, swings and other products for kids. It reported that that its Harmony highchairs can be unstable and tip over. The highchair
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PEDS Wire Hunt to Continue

In February of 2006, John Lamb was killed when a bicycle he was riding became entangled with hazardous utility wires which draped across a city sidewalk. Mr. Lamb did not see the wires that were still attached to the utility pole until it was too late. Unfortunately, he was thrown from his bicycle, landed on his head, broke his neck and was killed.
This spring, PEDS, a pedestrian safety advocacy group located in Atlanta, will be conducting the Second Annual John Lamb Hazardous Wire Hunt.
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