Finch McCranie, LLP

New Product Safety Law

Last month, consumer, public interest and scientific groups applauded President Bush for signing product safety reform legislation into law that will overhaul the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, was passed overwhelmingly by Congress. The new law will make consumer products safer by requiring that toys and infant products be tested before they are sold, and by banning lead and other harmful chemicals in toys, by creating a comprehensive publicly accessible consumer complaint database, give the CPSC the
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FDA Discloses Drugs Under Investigation

Yesterday, the Food and Drug Administration began posting a list of prescription drugs under investigation for potential safety problems.The first list is a bare-bones compilation naming 20 medications and the potential issue for each. It provides no indication of how widespread or serious the problems might be, leading some consumer advocates to question its usefulness, and prompting industry worries that skittish patients might stop taking a useful medication if they see it listed.
Food and Drug Administration officials said they are trying to walk a
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Georgia Hospitals Perform Poorly

A new website, The Hospital Compare Web, run by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, shows 80 U.S. hospitals listed as top performers in the mortality rates for patients admitted with heart attack, heart failure or pneumonia. No Georgia hospitals were among the best performers. Nine Georgia hospitals rated worse than national norms on death rates for pneumonia or heart failure. The number of poorly performing hospitals in Georgia was higher than any state other than California.
Mortality rates for hospitals across the
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Drugmaker/Doctor Conflict of Interest

Last week, Stanford University announced that it will severely restrict industry financing of doctors’ continuing education at its medical school. The school’s new policy stems from concern about the influence drug companies may have on medical education.
Most doctors in the United States must take annual refresher courses that drug makers have long paid for. While the industry says its money is intended solely to keep doctors up to date, critics charge that companies agree to support only classes that promote their products.
Stanford will
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Byetta deaths

Four more patients have died of pancreatitis after taking the diabetes prescription medication Byetta. The deaths were announced by Eli Lilly & Co. and Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. the companies manufacturing the drug. Several weeks ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced two two additional deaths.
While no definite relationship between Byetta and the additional deaths has been proved, according to the companies, they may have to add tougher warnings to prescribing instructions.
Byetta, which has been available in the U.S. since June 2005, is
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Children Cough Medicines Subject To Review

The Food and Drug Administration has announced plans to revise standards for over-the-counter cough and cold medications for children. The FDA said it will change the criteria that have allowed the products to remain on drugstore shelves . This could result in removal of the products from the market.
The FDA action is in response to increasing concerns that the remedies are ineffective and could be unsafe. Specifically, the action is in response to a petition filed in March 2007 by a group of pediatricians
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Spanair JK5022: Abogados especializados en casos de Litigacion Internacional de choques aereosdente aereo

Para representar a las familias de las personas que perdieron la vida en el accidente aereo Spanair JK5022, nuestro bufete juridico esta trabajando con abogados especializados en casos de Litigacion Internacional de choques aereos, ya estan invesigando esta tragedia. Si perdimos familiars en este accidente, estos serian los abogados elegidos para representar a nuestras familias.
Para una consulta gratis, favor de enviar su correo electronico precionando aqui (haga clic aqui).
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Spanair Flight JK5022: To assist the families of persons who died in the airplane

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Preventable Medical Errors Cost $1.47 Billion

In the July 28 issue of Health Services Research, the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) reported that a recently completed study indicates that employers pay out $1.47 billion each year to cover costs for surgical patients incurred from preventable medical errors. The report analyzed data from a nationwide sample of more than 161,00 adult patients who underwent surgery in 2001 and 2002 and were insured by plans provided through their places of employment.
The study focused on 14 preventable errors which included
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Another High Speed Police Chase Case In Clayton County, Georgia:

It was reported by the news media on Friday, August 15, 2008 that an innocent motorist was killed on 8/14 when inadvertently caught up in a high speed police chase in Clayton County, Georgia. While the media reports are sketchy, it appears that the fleeing suspect was speeding and driving in an erratic manner. The police began to chase the driver and during the chase, the suspect struck an innocent motorist who was on a motorcycle. As a result, the motorcyclist was killed.
We do
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Loss Of Chance of Survival Recoveries

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court affirmed a $328,135 jury award to a widow and her son based on her husband’s lost chance of recovery resulting from a doctor’s negligence in not treating his stomach cancer. This ruling based upon the theory of “loss of chance” damages is being applauded by plaintiffs’lawyers.
The court held that the family could recover even though the victim had less than a 50-percent chance of survival when he first sought treatment. The “loss of chance” doctrine eases the burden for
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Consumer Bill In Trouble

Consumers have been battered by the fall of the economy, and a great deal of the blame for the collapse can be laid squarely on banks and other large financial institutions. Having been saved by the federal government bailout, many are now opposing reforms which would protect consumers and help prevent these disasters from happening again.
Tomorrow, the House Financial Services Committee will take up a number of reforms proposed by the Obama administration. Among the proposals the committee will tackle is the establishment of
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In Tribute To A Fine Man And Lawyer

Today I attended the funeral of Thomas E. Magill, a well respected insurance defense attorney in Atlanta. Tom was a absolute pleasure to work with as a defense attorney. Even though his clients were always large insurance companies, Tom dedicated himself to the administration of justice. He was always fair minded, hard working, competent and professional in every sense of the word. I told his wife at his funeral today that working with Tom made me proud to be a lawyer. There were many lawyers
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Medical Malpractice and Servicemembers

Medical malpractice has long been condoned if perpetrated against a service member. Now, in an effort to rectify this grossly unfair situation involving those serving their country, members of the House Judiciary Committee forwarded a bill to the full House of Representatives which would permit servicemembers to sue the military in certain cases of medical malpractice.
While this is a step in the right direction, it appears doubtful the full House and Senate (a companion bill, sponsored by Sen. Charles Schumer, is working through the
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Georgia Supreme Court Issues Ruling Favorable to Victims of Crime

This past week, the Georgia Supreme Court issued a ruling that was favorable to victims of crime who have civil tort claims arising out of the criminal acts perpetrated against them. The Supreme Court held that the statute of limitations is tolled for victims of crime for any claims arising out of the criminal acts perpetrated against them until such time as the criminal prosecution of the perpetrator is terminated. See Beneke v. Parker, ___ Ga. ___ No. S08G2078, (2009).

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Fatal Toyota Sudden Acceleration Cases Raise National Concerns

In early September, a veteran of the California Highway Patrol was provided a loaner vehicle from a Lexus dealer while his car was being serviced. After leaving the dealership, this 19-year law enforcement officer, whose job included safety inspections, was faced with a tragic situation. The vehicle he was driving suddenly and unexpectedly began to accelerate out of control. It appears from the investigation conducted to date that the officer was unable to stop the vehicle. Witnesses stated that the car was traveling in excess
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Falls In Nursing Homes, Hospitals and Skilled Nursing Facilities

The Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP have represented many clients who have sustained serious injuries as a result of falling in hospitals, nursing homes and extended care facilities. Patients who are long term residents in skilled nursing facilities are by definition in a compromised state of health, usually from multiple chronic medical problems. These patients are often weak, are subject to lightheaded spells, become confused and have significant deficiencies of mobility and balance. Falling, sometimes frequent falling is thus a
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Nursing Home Falls

Everyday patients fall in Georgia nursing homes. Our Atlanta attorneys have successfully tried cases against nursing homes and other skilled care facilities in which patients have suffered severe injuries due to preventable falls.
Patients who are in long term nursing homes are by definition in a compromised state of health, usually from multiple chronic medical problems. These patients are often weak, are subject to lightheaded spells, become confused and have significant deficiencies of mobility and balance. Falling is a common occurrence for these patients. The
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High Court Upholds Vioxx Award in Wrongful Death Case

Every year Georgia citizens purchase and take millions of dollars worth of prescription medication, thinking that it is safe to do so. Georgia injury lawyers know that unfortunately, many of these medications are dangerous drugs, notwithstanding the fact that the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has “approved” them. As we have seen, many of these dangerous drugs cause serious injuries and sometimes result in the wrongful death of the consumer. An example of such a drug is Vioxx. Fortunately, some victims and
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Report: FDA Approved Medical Device Under Political Pressure

Georgia injury lawyers know that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is hardly the consumer safety “watchdog” that it was in prior years. In fact, just because a product has been approved by the FDA does not mean that it is a safe product! The influence drug manufacturers have over regulators, politicians and Congress is enormous. The Washington Post recently reported in an article (The Washington Post) that the FDA approved a controversial knee-surgery device after receiving pressure from lawmakers and lobbyists. According to
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Medical Errors Abound

Amid the debate over so called medical malpractice reform, the rights of patients seem to be getting sacrificed for the profit of large insurance companies. A recent report from California demonstrates why the right of patients to redress in courts cannot be curtailed.
According to published reports the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) recently issued administrative penalties to 11 California hospitals, each of which has been “fined $25,000 for alleged regulation violations that caused injury or death to patients. The violations included failures
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