Finch McCranie, LLP

Georgia Nursing Home Abuse & Negligence Cases

For Georgia lawyers handling nursing home abuse and negligence cases, we are seeing new litigation hurdles to overcome. Nursing home owners are creating new corporate structures to disguise the actual ownership of the nursing homes. It is a “corporate shell game” where the actual owners set up holding corporations to avoid responsibility. If you look at the way the facility is established, there will be a contractual relationship between a management company and a nursing home, where the same human being is on both
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81% of Georgia Nursing Homes are Deficient in Quality of Care and Other Services

You don’t have to be an Atlanta injury attorney to know that nursing home abuse and negligence is alive and well in Georgia and across the country. For most elder people, their greatest fear is being put in the dreaded nursing home and for good reason. In our practice, we have noted that more often than not these homes are understaffed by unqualified employees.
The Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services recently completed a study and issued

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Off Road Recreational Vehicles Probed

Our serious injury lawyers have investigated cases involving off-road recreational vehicles. Now, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, CPSC, is probing the design of these so-called recreational off- highway vehicles after reports of fatal accidents involving new products which are currently unregulated.
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The investigation involves several brands and more than 30 daeths. The Wall Street Journal has reported that the Yamaha Motor Rhino was a focus of the inquiry, with at least 30 deaths.
The investigation has brought attention to gaps in oversight of
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Defective Airbags Can Result In Serious Injury Or Death

As Georgia injury lawyers who have handled many automobile and truck accident cases, we sometimes see defective products that lead to injury and death in collisions. One such defect involves airbags. Although airbag failures are not common, there are many reasons for there failure. Many fail because of design defects or defects in components.
Just last month, Nissan Motor Co Ltd announced plans to recall 204,361 vehicles from its 2007 and 2008 model years in the United States due to the possibility that a passenger
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Dangerous Crib Lawsuit

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has filed a lawsuit against a crib distributor for allegedly ignoring a nationwide recall of bassinets that can cause babies to suffocate. Madigan criticized federal regulators Wednesday for failing to take aggressive action against SFCA Inc., the owner of the Simplicity brand.
Madigan’s lawsuit seeks a recall that SFCA would publicize in newspapers statewide. It also seeks a refund for retailers. “Our investigation revealed that SFCA continued to distribute recalled products that posed serious risks to children,” Madigan said in
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High Speed Chase Ends In Two Deaths: Was It Worth It?

According to news reports, Atlanta Police Officer Sgt. Darrell Johnson was killed on Friday morning, October 24 when his vehicle was struck head-on by a fleeing suspect during a high speed police chase. Not only was the police officer killed, the fleeing suspect was killed as well.

The newspaper reports are sketchy, however, it appears that the high speed chase began when authorities received a 911 call from a member of the public who had spotted the suspect’s car while weaving. The officers apparently attempted to make a traffic stop of the suspect. When the suspect refused to stop for the suspected traffic violation, he took off, thus initiating a “high speed” chase. During the chase, the suspect lost control, crossed the center line and hit Sgt. Johnson’s vehicle head-on.

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Drug Manufacturer False Advertising

The Food and Drug Administration has taken issue with drug manufacturer Bayer over advertising claims for two aspirin medicines manufactured by the company. Bayer promotes the medicines as leading to healthy hearts and stronger bones.
The FDA sent two warning letters to Bayer for never submitting proof that its pills are effective in battling heart disease and osteoporosis as claimed by Bayer. The two drugs are Bayer Women’s Low Dose Aspirin + Calcium and Bayer Aspirin With Health Advantage.
Treatments for those diseases must be
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Accident Reconstruction Experts and Serious Car Accidents and Collisions

In our serious injury practice, we are often encountered by cases where there is a dispute concerning liability for a particular collision. The tractor-trailer driver contends that he was forced off the road by an unknown John Doe motorist. The at fault driver who ran over the pedestrian claims that he or she could not see the pedestrian due to lighting conditions. The driver who is speeding denies that, in fact, he was speeding, and on and on. In cases involving serious or catastrophic injuries
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Settling a Personal Injury Law Suit

Needless to say, our attorneys are often asked by our clients when they should settle their personal injury lawsuit and in what amount. These question, many times, presuppose that both liability and damages are clear enough to warrant a settlement in a particular case. Oftentimes, liability is hotly contested as are damages and a case is therefore made more difficult from the settlement standpoint. However, in a case where the liability of the person causing the injury is rather clear and the damages are well documented, a fair settlement should be achieved. It is with respect to this type of case that we attempt in this blog to answer the question posed.

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Car Crashes, Car Collisions and Automobile Insurance

Our attorneys routinely handle serious injuries arising out of car collision and crashes. We are always amazed to learn just how little the public knows about automobile insurance coverages and generally how they work. The purpose of this blog is simply to set forth some of the basic principles so that the public can be educated about how automobile insurance coverage works in the typical case.

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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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