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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Dangers From MS Drug Tysabri

Many drugs which offer promising cures when first introduced later prove to be ineffective or even dangerous. One that falls in the dangerous category is Tysabri, manufactured by Biogen, Inc. Tysarbi is a prescription medicine approved for patients with relapsing forms of MS. It has been shown to slow the worsening of disability that is common in patients with MS and decrease the number of flare-ups or relapses of the disease.
However, Biogen recently reported the ninth confirmed case of progressive multifocal leukoencphalopathy (PML)
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ATV Liability – Do You Have Insurance Coverage Under Your Homeowners Policy?

The Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP have written before about the potential liability one may have for ATV accidents, especially if it involves riding passengers. Not only does the owner of the ATV risk being sued for injuries or death caused by their use of the ATV, but they may also find that there is no liability coverage available to them when they are sued. Last week, the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the grant of summary judgment to Allstate

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Medical Errors At VA Hospital Concealed

Our Atlanta medical malpractice attorneys frequently see cases in which the practices engaged in by physicians are questionable. Yet in many instances the practices are so egregious that one has to wonder how the medical establishment could allow them to occur or continue. Yesterday, the New York Times reported just such a situation at a VA Hospital in Philadelphia.
In a common treatment for prostate cancer, doctors implant dozens of radioactive seeds in the prostate to attack the cancerous cells. But, according to reports,
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Representing Children in Serious Injury Cases

Over the years, our lawyers have handled many different cases involving serious injuries to children. These injuries arise in a myriad of contexts and are oftentimes heartbreaking. Over the years, we have had serious burn injury cases, dog bite cases,unsafe premises, sexual abuse cases, car accidents, medical malpractice cases, drowning accidents, playground injuries,unsafe consumer products, school injuries and the like, all involving young children. Some of these cases have resulted in wrongful deaths, comas, paralysis, burns and amputations. Presently, we are handling injuries to children
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Zicam Recalled for Dangerous Effects

Yesterday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned consumers to stop using Zicam, a popular homeopathic cold remedy, because it could damage or destroy their sense of smell, a condition called anosmia.
The Food and Drug Administration received 130 reports from consumers and doctors of people losing their sense of smell after using one of the Zicam nasal products, which include Zicam Cold Remedy and Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs. The reports date to 1999, when Matrixx Initiatives of Scottsdale, Ariz., first introduced the products.
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ATV Accident Results in Serious Injury and Criminal Charge

The Georgia injury lawyers have written before that with the growing popularity of ATV’s or All-Terrain Vehicles, serious injury and death cases are on the increase in Georgia, especially among children. Today I read about a tragic case that occurred on May 16th in South Carolina. In that case, a 15- year-old girl was riding on the seat behind her 32 year old neighbor when the neighbor lost control of the vehicle and the two were ejected. As a result, the teen sustained

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Medical Malpractice Awards Decrease

Medical malpractice claims in Georgia are constantly coming under fire from insurance companies and doctors who allege they raise the costs of medical care through increased insurance costs to doctors. For many years our Atlanta based attorneys have watched as these large insurance companies and medical groups spend massive sums to influence politicians to enact legislation eroding the rights of innocent victims of medical negligence.
A recent study in New York has exposed these false arguments.Data from the National Practitioner Data Bank show 1,882
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Police Chase For Non-Violent Crime Turns Deadly

We read yesterday in the paper about a tragic case in Charlotte, N.C. involving a police chase which resulted in the death of an innocent 84-year old woman who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and got caught up in the chase, resulting in her death. According to the news reports of the incident, the police were chasing a suspected shoplifter who had committed a petty offense at a local shopping mall. Although the news reports are sketchy, it appears that the merchant called the police and shortly thereafter the police spotted the vehicle being operated by the suspected thief. A three mile chase ensued at high speeds and during the chase, the suspect lost control of his vehicle and struck the vehicle being operated by the innocent victim. Her death resulted. The petty thief has now been charged with murder.

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Georgia Wrongful Death Actions:Who Has The Right To Sue? (Part IV)

In a wrongful death case where the deceased individual is survived neither by a spouse, child or parent, under Georgia law such a cause of action would vest in the Executor or Administrator of the Estate. In short, there will always be someone able to proceed on behalf of the “heirs-at-law” and such an individual, once duly appointed, will proceed in a fiduciary capacity to protect the rights of the heirs-at-law relative to the wrongful death action. Thus, if an individual dies and is neither
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Georgia Wrongful Death Actions:Who Has The Right To Sue? (Part III)

In Georgia, if an individual loses her or her life due to the negligence of a third party and is not survived either by a spouse or children, the cause of action for the wrongful death of such an individual vests in the surviving parents. If both parents are alive, the cause of action is vested jointly in the parents if they are living together. If one parent is deceased, the right is in the surviving parent. If both parents are living, but are
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