Finch McCranie, LLP

Drug Liability Issues Raised By Questionable Relationships Between Doctors and Drug Companies

In many of the medical negligence and pharmaceutical liability cases our lawyers handle, we find numerous perks being provided to prescribing physicians by drug companies.
The New England Journal of Medicine, the most prestigious medical journal in the country, has published an article concerning the relationship between doctors and drug companies. The article reports that several United States Senators have introduced a bill in the United States Congress that would require manufacturers of drugs and medical devices with annual revenues of more than $100 million
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Pharmacy Error Kills Small Child

On June 15 of this year, we wrote an article on this blog about how pharmacy errors were causing serious injuries and wrongful deaths at an alarming rate on a nationwide basis. The problem about which we wrote unfortunately was the topic of a headline article in the news today concerning the death of a 3-year old child in Gainesville, Florida. This child died from a medication overdose. Instead of receiving the prescribed dose of a medication ordered by the doctor, the pharmacy gave him
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Dangerous Products Litigation – Trouble at the CPSC

Every year our lawyers handle many cases involving unsafe products which are subject to recalls issued by the The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Tragically, many of these cases involve the deaths of young children and infants.
The CPSC is the federal agency which is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries and property damage due to consumer product incidents cost the nation more than
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Victims Rights, Statutes of Limitations and Serious Injury Claims

Our lawyers have previously written about procedural “Traps for the Unwary” which occur in the context of serious injury or wrongful death claims. We write again about this problem because we continue to see this issue in our practice.
To be victimized by a negligent act such as being seriously injured by a drunk truck driver is bad enough but to be further victimized by a statute of limitations would only compound the tragedy. Unfortunately, Georgia serious injury lawyers like ourselves often see cases
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Motorcycle Serious Injuries and Fatalities on the Rise

On this Georgia Injury Lawyer blog, our attorneys have previously written about motorcycle accidents involving serious injury or wrongful death. Based on the rise in the number of serious injury and death claims our firm is handling at present, our firm’s experience mirrors what the statistical evidence indicates: These tragic cases are on the rise.
The National Center for Statistics and Analysis, a division of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), keeps statistics for motorcycle accidents each year. NHTSA also uses a
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Dangerous Products In The Market – Yet Another Chinese Toy Recall

Our lawyers are constantly amazed at the number of Chinese made toys which enter the United States only to be recalled later as health hazards to children.
Last Thursday, Mattel Inc., the nation’s largest toy maker, recalled an additional 38,000 “Go Diego Go!” toys Thursday as part of a larger recall of 665,000 lead-contaminated children’s products.
The latest recall involves orange and yellow Go Diego Go! Animal Rescue Boats, manufactured in China and imported by Fisher-Price. Surface paint on the boats contains excessive levels of
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Premises Liability Issues — Heart Defibrillators Save Lives

Our attorneys have investigated wrongful death cases involving automatic external defibrillators (AEDS). An AED is a computerized medical device that checks a person’s heart rhythm, can recognize a rhythm that requires a shock, advises when the shock is needed, then prompts a rescuer to take the proper steps. An AED is a portable device, usually eight to ten inches square and weighs only one to two pounds.
Many businesses, churches, shopping malls, and other areas where large numbers of people congregate have begun to place
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Zelnorm® – A Dangerous Drug?

As a Georgia injury lawyer, I am always reading about dangerous drugs. One such drug is Zelnorm® , a drug used in the treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrom (“IBS”) and chronic constipation in individuals under 65 years of age.
On March 30, 2007, the FDA requested that Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (“Novartis”), the manufacturer of Zelnorm, voluntarily remove the drug from the market. The recall is based on findings of an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes associated with the drug from clinical
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Denying Justice to Innocent Victims of Police Chases: New Defense Strategies By The Government

Finch McCranie, LLP currently represents three individuals who have been tragically added to the ever growing and long list of innocent victims either killed or seriously injured in a police chase case. In two of the cases we filed on behalf of these victims, the police department involved is seeking to have the claims dismissed based on an argument that the Georgia Legislature has allegedly abolished the legal doctrine joint and several liability.

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Wrongful Death, Serious Injuries and Uninsured Drivers:

One of the most tragic circumstances we as lawyers face in our daily practice is representing clients who have suffered serious personal injury or the wrongful death of a loved one due to the negligence of an uninsured (or underinsured) driver. Regrettably, we have seen this far too many times. The results of being involved in a collision with an uninsured driver are particularly tragic because in such cases there simply are no available funds to compensate the innocent victims. This, of course, reminds us
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When a Privileged Conversation Isn’t: The Crime-Fraud Exception to Attorney-Client Privilege

a binder of files chained with a padlock

When the government investigates or prosecutes alleged corporate crime, a key question commonly emerges: Will the accused client waive attorney-client privilege and disclose relevant communications to the government?

This issue often arises because lawyers are routinely involved in corporate actions and decisions later subject to government scrutiny.  “The extensiveness and complexity

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“Extra Icing on a Cake Already Frosted”: The Supreme Court’s Continuing Concern with Overcriminalization

Extra Icing on a Cake Already Frosted

You know the Supreme Court of the United States feels strongly about an issue when, in the Court’s parlance, it adds “extra icing on a cake already frosted.”

That is, in effect, what the Court did in Van Buren v. United States (No.19-783), an opinion issued last Thursday in which the Court reversed the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in a prosecution arising under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).  After considering “the text, context, and structure” of the CFAA, the Court resolved the issue in dispute—i.e., the cake was “frosted.”  But the Court then added “extra icing” and emphasized—again—its profound concerns with federal prosecutors using broad federal criminal laws to target ordinary, seemingly innocent conduct.[1]

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Punitive Damages in Atlanta, Georgia Wrongful Death Cases

Punitive DamagesAs mentioned in Part I, punitive damages are not available as part of the wrongful death claim. They are, however, available in connection with the estate’s claims for the decedent’s predeath injuries and pain and suffering. Donson Nursing Facilities v. Dixon, 176 Ga. App. 700, 701 (1985).

Like with the wrongful death claim itself, punitive damages were not allowed under common law.

They are statutory in nature, and consequently, they are strictly construed.

The relevant statute
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What damages are available in an Atlanta, GA wrongful death case?

Punitive Damages LawyerThis is Part I of a discussion concerning what damages are available in Georgia wrongful death cases.  Part II will be published next week.

Wrongful death claims in Georgia are typically divided into two separate claims: (1) the wrongful death per se as measured by the “full value of the life of the decedent” without deducting for any of the necessary or personal expenses of the decedent had he or she lived;
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Predictions For Future PPP Fraud Prosecution By DOJ

PPP Fraud Prosecution

[Law360 published the below article by Finch McCranie partner, David Bouchard, on January 25, 2021.  The article concerns PPP fraud and enforcement.  Our white collar criminal defense team is deeply experienced in helping individuals and businesses navigate government investigations, enforcement actions, and prosecutions.  If you are contacted by a law enforcement or regulatory authority regarding a PPP loan or other business transaction, do not hesitate to contact our capable team.]

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What is the “trial penalty” in federal criminal cases and does it mean I shouldn’t take my case to trial?

trial penalty

Nobody accused of a federal crime should be penalized for exercising their Sixth Amendment right to trial.  And yet, because of the trial penalty, that happens all too often.[1]

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Trucking Accidents and Commercial Vehicle Accidents in Georgia

Georgia trucking accidents and commercial vehicle accidents are significantly different than typical motor vehicle collisions that involve two individuals driving privately in vehicles and are not working on behalf of their employer at the time of the wreck.  The primary reason for this is that tractor-trailers and other commercial vehicles are governed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, which have also been adopted by the State of Georgia.  A “commercial vehicle” is defined as any vehicle used on the highway or interstate
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The Right to Confrontation in an Era of Videoconferences

Videoconferencing has skyrocketed in popularity because of the pandemic.  Just check Zoom’s stock.  Seemingly overnight, what used to be an irregular method of business communication has become commonplace.

Courts have embraced the craze, frequently holding hearings and other meetings by video.  But there are limits to what a court can permissibly accomplish by video.  While some observers have suggested videoconferencing is a potential solution to the problem of requiring live, in-person testimony during a pandemic spread by airborne particles, the Supreme Court of Michigan held in a recent criminal appeal that “two-way, interactive video testimony violated the defendant’s Confrontation Clause rights.”[1]

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Georgia Medical Malpractice Cases in the Time of COVID-19

Prior the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to successfully bring a medical malpractice claim in Georgia, a plaintiff was required to offer expert medical testimony to the effect that the defendant physician or healthcare provider failed to exercise that degree of care and skill which would ordinarily have been employed by the medical profession generally under the circumstances.  See Boling v. Foster, 254 Ga. App. 374 (2002).  The legal duty owed by medical professionals was to exercise “a reasonable degree of care and skill.”
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DOJ’s Focus on PPP Fraud and Some Investigative Considerations in Evaluating a Client’s Exposure to Prosecution

In the early days of the Coronavirus pandemic, Congress passed relief legislation authorizing unprecedented federal aid to states, businesses, and individuals.  In short order, a torrent of federal spending flowed.  While those days may seem long gone as initial relief dollars have dried up and Congress is now debating additional relief programs, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) remains focused on investigating and prosecuting fraud schemes arising from relief programs rolled out at the beginning of the pandemic.[1]

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