Finch McCranie, LLP

Bicycle Accidents and Road Hazards

Earlier this year our Atlanta attorneys settled a wrongful death case involving a bicycle accident which occurred inside the city limits. In that particular case, the bicycle rider, who lost his life, became entangled with loose utility wires hanging from a utility pole near a busy intersection on Peachtree Street. The evidence established that the utility wires had been in a state of disarray for several months but had not been repaired. Unfortunately, this wrongful death case is not an isolated incident.
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Georgia Courts Do Not Favor Consumers

Georgia Court Watch is a project of Georgia Watch, a nonprofit and nonpartisan group committed to strengthening the rights of consumers in Georgia. It has recently issued its annual report on Georgia appellate courts. The reports shows that, contrary to the statements of many politicians, the Georgia Appellate judges are not activists and not overly consumer friendly.
The report analyzed the activity on payday loan, insurance coverage, medical misdiagnosis, and other significant consumer issues. The “2007 Annual Report” identifies and profiles the most noteworthy consumer-related
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The Importance of Uninsured Motorist Coverage

In our personal injury practice we are oftentimes astounded at the lack of understanding by the public of the important nature of uninsured motorist coverage. Many people do not know what uninsured motorist coverage is. Regrettably, many people learn what it is too late to benefit from such important insurance coverage.
In order to get license tags to lawfully operate a vehicle in Georgia, the motorist must have a minimum of $25,000.00 in liability insurance coverage per person, $50,000.00 per accident. What this means is
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Closed Head Injuries: More Serious Than Skull Fractures

Our personal injury lawyers have seen closed head injuries in every locale surrounding metropolitan Atlanta whether it be Austell, Snellville, Roswell, Alpharetta, Jonesboro, Sandy Springs or the other numerous locales near the city. Victims of closed head injuries oftentimes have the most serious injuries we confront due to swelling of the brain caused by the trauma. What we have learned from taking numerous medical depositions and researching these claims is that a serious head injury can have profound consequences for the victim in situation
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Pedestrian Personal Injury Cases On The Rise

In metropolitan Atlanta, our lawyers are seeing more and more pedestrian personal injury cases. Due to congested conditions caused by increasing population and more motorists on the road, as might be expected, there are more incidents involving pedestrians. Many cases involve situations where pedestrians are not in walking in crosswalks and are struck while crossing a road, sometimes in broad daylight. Other cases involve pedestrians crossing the road at night when they are difficult to see. Other cases involve joggers and people on sidewalks
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Police Chases: Why Do The Police Always Deny Their Mistakes?

Having handled police chase cases for over a decade, I have yet to see a case in which the police admitted wrongdoing when a high speed pursuit turned out badly. Obviously, when a high speed pursuit ends in tragedy and someone is killed or seriously injured, the police know that immediately. In cases where the pursuit should not have been initiated and/or continued, the wagons are then circled and numerous explanations and rationalizations are provided as to why the police were merely “doing their
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Amputations and Infections

Our personal injury lawyers unfortunately have seen far too many cases involving traumatic amputations. In many of these cases, the tragedy is compounded by infection that sets in shortly after the original trauma. If one loses a leg below the knee, for example, and there is an immediate amputation after the traumatic event, it is not uncommon to see subsequent amputations due to the development of infection. In some cases we have handled, there have been problems with gangrene, which required multiple amputations. The

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Car Accident Injury Study Shows Inadequate Seat Belt Use

Our Atlanta, Georgia car accident lawyers frequently review cases in which the occupants of cars have suffered severe injuries or death while not wearing seat belts. In many of these cases the injuries could have been prevented had seat belts been in use.
Fatality figures released Monday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reveal that more than two-thirds of young drivers and passengers killed in nighttime car crashes aren’t wearing seat belts.
According to the report, seat belt use actually is rising slightly nationwide.
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Traumatic Electrical Injuries

Traumatically induced electrical injuries are not only a common form of trauma but also complex and potentially devastating to the victim. The physical and emotional manifestations and severity of electrical trauma encompass a wide spectrum of symptoms ranging from a brief unpleasant sensation due to contact with a low intensity household current to instant death and/or massive injury from high voltage electrocution. Unlike a thermal burn, electrical injuries commonly involve multiple body systems and organs which are very difficult to manage and treat. In our
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Glass Injuries from Unsafe Glass That Is Not “Safety Glass”: How Dangerous Glass Causing Personal Injury and Death Continues to Endanger Unsuspecting Children and Adults

We are continually disturbed when we hear reports of persons injured by unsafe glass–decades after the need for “safety glazing” material (safety glass) was recognized. Our serious personal injury lawyers have delved deeply into the history of glass injuries in representing clients who have suffered what can be life-threatening injuries from unsafe glass, in premises liability cases tried successfully. We hope to share what we have learned about these dangerous products so that future injuries from dangerous glass can be prevented.

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Trial Techniques – The Art of Cross-Examination Part II

In our first article on the art of cross-examination, we addressed the first objective of cross-examination, that being an effort to obtain evidence which is favorable to one’s case without attacking the witness. The second alternative purpose of cross-examination, which we address in this article, however, is to impeach or corroborate the testimony of another witness in the case. Here, we do not speak of impeaching the witness offering the testimony or otherwise attacking their credibility, but rather impeaching or corroborating the testimony of another
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Trial Techniques: The Art of Cross-Examination – Part I

This entry will be the beginning of a series of blogs on trial techniques used by successful trial attorneys in the representation of their clients. The art of cross-examination is just that, an art, not a science. To be a successful trial lawyer, one has to be successful at cross-examination. This requires some natural ability to think logically in the heat of battle a fundamental understanding of what makes for successful cross-examination and actual trial experience.
As successful trial lawyer does not become a successful
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Dangerous “UTV” Recall Following 46 Deaths

Yamaha Motor Corporation, the manufacturer of Rhino off road vehicles, has recalled the same because of safety issues associated with its Rhino 450, 660 and 700 models. Owners of these Utility Terrain Vehicles (UTVs) are being warned not to use them until certain repairs are made. The repairs that will be made to the vehicles include the installation of a spacebar on the rear wheels as well as the removal of an anti-sway bar which repairs are supposed to reduce the chances of rollovers.
According
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Home Propane Gas Explosions Can Cause Injuries and Death

One of the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP recently got a case involving a propane explosion which completely burned and destroyed the client’s home. The explosion could easily have resulted in the death or serious injury of the clients entire family, including their new baby. Fortunately the injuries were not life threatening; however, they lost everything they owned and have no insurance to replace the home.
Propane is a highly combustible hydro-carbon gas, similar to ethane and butane. Propane gas is compressed
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Charter Bus Accident in Atlanta Repeats Bluffton University Bus Accident on Interstate 75

As the lawyers who represented the most seriously injured survivor of the March 2007 Bluffton University bus accident on I-75 in Atlanta, we were greatly disturbed today to hear that two charter buses from Detroit reportedly have crashed at exactly the same location on I-75 in Atlanta.
WSB-TV reports that the two buses mistakenly took an “HOV-only” left exit ramp from I-75 southbound in Atlanta at Northside Drive, instead of staying on I-75’s regular HOV lane. The buses were carrying a high school band. The
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Drug or Prescription Errors Can Cause Death and Serious Injury

As Georgia injury lawyers, we often get calls about pharmacy mistakes and prescription errors being committed by medical providers, including drug stores. Many times, the mistakes are caught before any damage is done; however, sometimes serious injury or death occurs. Recently, we read about a case where a pharmacist at a Wal-Mart store allegedly mislabeled a pill bottle, resulting in a woman in her 70’s taking twice the recommended and prescribed dose of a blood pressure medication. As a result, she has suffered serious
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Medical Device Dangers Are Avoidable

Our attorneys have seen many cases in which patients are injured, sometimes severely, by healthcare professional in Georgia hospitals committing careless and preventable errors or by medical device defects.
The ECRI Institute recently released its annual list of top hospital medical device hazards for last year. The ECRI Institute, a nonprofit organization, dedicated to bringing the discipline of applied scientific research to discover which medical procedures, devices, drugs, and processes are best, in an effort to improve patient care. It is one of only a
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LIABILITY FOR ATV DEATHS AND SERIOUS INJURIES-ARE YOU AT RISK?

As a Georgia injury lawyer I read more and more about ATV accidents involving serious injuries and deaths, especially among children. Although there have been dozens of tragic deaths, I recall that in 2003 five Georgia children died after a car struck their ATV. The children, ranging in age from 11 to 14, had piled into the ATV and were going for a ride on a winding road during a birthday party when the collision occurred.
Two years ago, we represented the estate of
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ATV DEATHS AND INJURIES ARE ON THE RISE

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. Believe it or not, the only legal requirements governing ATV operation in Georgia are that they have brakes and a muffler, and that the operators do not ride on private property without permission. Because of the ever increasing number of fatalities and serious injuries to ATV operators, especially children, the Georgia legislature decided it was necessary to study this problem to determine

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Worker’s Compensation Claims Overview

In Georgia, worker’s compensation is essentially an insurance program regulated by the state and required of most employers. Worker’s compensation pays medical bills and lost wages for employees who have had work related accidents resulting in illness or injury.
Employees with work-related conditions or injuries are entitled, but not limited, to:
• Reimbursement of travel expenses, including mileage to and from medical appointments
• Prescription reimbursements
• Two-thirds of your weekly wage while you are unable to work and are off work up
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