Finch McCranie, LLP

Nursing Home and Insurance Company Abuse of Elderly and Disabled

Our Atlanta based attorneys have and are litigating cases against nursing homes involving almost unspeakable abuses of elderly and vulnerable patients. These civil suits help uncover abuses by nursing home and insurance companies, according to a new report by the American Association for Justice.

“Where regulatory and legislative bodies have been unable to cope with this distressing rise of neglect and abuse of our elderly, the civil justice system has stepped into the breach,” said the AAJ President, in a statement accompanying the release of the report, “Standing Up For Seniors: How the Civil Justice System Protects Elderly Americans.”

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On-The-Job Accident Results In Death Of Georgia Worker

The Associated Press reported this week that 37 year old Jimmy Roubles of Augusta died in a construction accident when a trench caved in on him while he and a co-worker were installing pipes six feet underground. The article did not indicate whether this man was married or whether he had children. If he left dependants, they will be entitled to Georgia “death benefits” under the Georgia Workers’ Compensation Act; although the benefits are pitiful and limited.

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Motorcycle Accident In Henry County Involves Hit-And-Run Driver

Georgia injury lawyers know that motorcycle accidents often result in serious injuries and even death for the biker. Today WSBTV reported that a motorcyclist was severely injured as a result of a hit-and-run crash in Henry County. Justin Haynes, age 34, was struck at Fairview and East Atlanta Rd in Ellenwood by a female driving a black Toyota Highlander. According to police, the women stopped but then drove off.
Hit-and-run accidents are becoming more common in Atlanta. There is a 24 year old woman on trial this week who is accused of causing a collision which took the lives of several innocent people. In that case, the woman left the scene and was then assisted by her mother in attempting to cover it up.
Georgia law provides that if someone negligently injures or kills someone and there are aggravating circumstances involved, such as being intoxicated of leaving the scene and failing to render aid, the offending party may be liable for punitive damages.

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Inexcusable Surgical Mistakes Continue

Outrageous surgical “errors” continue to maim and kill patients throughout Georgia and the United states despite requirements that hospitals and doctors abide by a standard set of procedures to prevent surgical mistakes.
These errors include operating on the wrong patient or the wrong body part.
This inexcusable problem is highlighted in a new study in the Archives of Surgery. The data was drawn from an insurance database in Colorado that included 27,370 self-reported incidents from 6,000 physicians from 2002 to mid-2008. Doctors in the
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Remington Rifles Have Serious Defect

According to a recent CNBC report, Remington Model 700 rifles have a serious and deadly defect, that can cause the rifles to fire without pulling the trigger.
The danger is caused by a defective component in the trigger mechanism called the trigger connector. The system is known as the Walker Fire Control System and Remington is the only gun manufacturer which incorporates it in firearms.
The report revealed that the defect with the trigger connector is that is not bound to the actual trigger. As
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Burn Injuries

The Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP have seen some horrible burn injuries over the years which have resulted from automobile accidents, truck accidents, use of dangerous products and on-the-job accidents. There are few injuries more serious than burns. Burns can all too often be fatal. Even for those who survive, the degree of pain that accompanies a burn is hard to imagine. The debridement of the dead skin, necessary to prevent infection, is one of the most painful treatments in all of medicine. On top of that, burns leave serious scars that last a lifetime and often cause physical restrictions which affect the quality of life.

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Graco Stroller Recall-Four Deaths Reported

The Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP have seen many serious injuries and wrongful death caused by dangerous products. Last week the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in Washington, announced that Graco, a company that specializes in making baby related merchandise, is recalling about 2 million strollers after receiving reports that four infants died in the strollers. They said the four infants became trapped inside the strollers and were strangled. The deaths occurred between 2003 and 2005. According to the announcement, the strollers being recalled are older versions of the Graco Quattro Tour and MetroLite strollers and travel systems, all made before 2007 and distributed by Graco Children’s Products Inc. of Atlanta.

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Workers’ Compensation Claims And Third Party Liability

When someone is injured on-the-job under Georgia law they are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. These benefits will provide minimal payments for lost wages as well as reimbursement of any medical expenses arising out of the on-the-job injury. In exchange for these statutory benefits the employee may never sue the employer responsible for the on-the-job injury. In short, even if an employer is negligent and/or creates an unsafe situation for an employee, the employer cannot be sued, instead as a tradeoff for not being sued,
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Police Chase Cases And Sovereign Immunity

As we have blogged about on many occasions in the past, there are many unfortunate situations where third party innocent victims become involved in reckless and dangerous police chases. If the police are chasing a juvenile, a traffic offender or some other non-violent offender and while traveling at high speeds continues to chase the suspect under such dangerous conditions that they crash into an innocent third party, there should be legal liability for a reckless disregard of proper police procedure in this context. Indeed, under Georgia law, O.C.G.A. § 40-6-6 specifies that where there is evidence of a reckless disregard of proper police procedure in the decision to either initiate or continue a high speed pursuit, such reckless disregard can be the basis of liability against the police if an innocent third party is injured due to such recklessness. Notwithstanding the statute, it is commonplace in any case brought by an innocent victim against the police for the government entity involved to assert sovereign immunity as a defense.

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On-The-Job Deaths Decreased 47% In 2009

In the late 70’s and early 80’s while I was employed in the Georgia claims department of a major insurance company, we had a very significant number of workers compensation death cases. Part of the reason was that the company wrote alot of assigned risk business but another reason was that the economy was doing well. Construction was booming and there were lots of jobs, especially construction jobs. Recently released statistics demonstrate that this is not the case now..

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The Impact Of Pre-Existing Injuries On Personal Injury Cases

All experienced attorneys that practice in the personal injury field are familiar with insurance companies attempting to exploit prior injuries sustained by clients. The argument often used is that the injury caused in the car wreck, tractor-trailer accident, slip and fall incident, or other personal injury case was not caused by the negligence of the person being sued, but rather, that the victim of the negligence is simply malingering and/or claiming damages for a pre-existing injury. Insurance companies subpoena health records as far back as
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Five Hour Energy Drinks: A Potential Killer

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it has received reports of 13 deaths associated with the use of the popular “Five Hour Energy” drink. Because the FDA’s investigation is ongoing, currently it is not known what has caused these reported deaths. Is it because the product has too much caffeine that results in heart attacks? Or is it because of other ingredients in the drink which are not subject to FDA regulations (because it is considered a dietary supplement)? The Five Hour Energy
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Using The Glasgow Coma Scale To Determine The Severity Of Brain Injury

In many of our serious automobile collision cases we unfortunately find ourselves representing victims of a traumatically induced brain injury. During any serious car accident, unfortunately victims oftentimes strike their heads either on the seat or some other interior portion of the car. This can sometimes result in a loss of consciousness, confusion, dizziness or otherwise. When emergency personnel arrive at the scene of a serious wreck and diagnose those who appear to be confused or dazed, they typically use an assessment tool called
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Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: A Serious Problem

The term “mild” traumatic brain injury is very misleading. While the descriptor “mild” typically refers to the severity of the trauma that resulted in the injury, oftentimes in a personal injury context it does not come close to describing the severity of the consequences of the injury. Even though the trauma may be mild, the long term consequences of the injury may be anything other than mild and oftentimes are quite serious.
The vast majority of people who experience a mild traumatic brain injury
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What Is A Traumatic Brain Injury?

Traumatic brain injuries typically involve transient periods of some type of neurological dysfunction which can range from brief periods of confusion or dizziness to headaches and/or seizures, sometimes involving nausea. The term concussion is oftentimes used interchangeably with the term “mild traumatic brain injury” or MTBI. The Quality Standards Subcommittee of The American Academy of Neurology has recognized that concussions may occur without the loss of consciousness. There are three grades of concussions according The Academy of Neurology. A Grade 1 concussion involves transient
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Aggravation Of Pre-Existing Injuries

In our trial practice we are often presented with cases where the client had a pre-existing medical condition which was aggravated by an accident. As an example, someone can have asymptomatic degenerative disk disease, be involved in an automobile collision and thereafter begin to experience symptoms of pain because of the injury to their neck or back. Someone can have any asymptomatic pre-existing condition, which is aggravated by the trauma from an accident, which causes the pre-existing condition to become asymptomatic. Obviously, the issue in
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Saying No To Clients: The Requirements Of Professionalism

There is one duty that a lawyer owes to his client and that is to be truthful with them. In many cases clients need counseling and need it badly. Sometimes clients do not want to hear the truth and take pains to avoid it. Oftentimes clients will turn on their attorneys when the attorney tries to tell them the truth of their situation. In such circumstances the client will accuse the lawyer of not being zealous in his or her representation or not believing in
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High Speed Pursuits For Stolen Vehicles: Are They Justified?

When the police encounter a stolen vehicle and attempt to stop it with their blue lights and the driver takes off, the question is whether the public is well served when the police engage in a high speed pursuit thereafter. Clearly the suspect wishes to escape apprehension and is willing to travel at high speeds endangering the lives of the public. The only way they will be apprehended is if the police are successful during their pursuit in running them off the road, using stop sticks or otherwise blockading them. During the pursuit, however, the entire public is endangered and it is quite likely that as the speeds get higher and higher and the offender becomes more and more desperate at escaping apprehension the dangers will increase and tragedy to innocent third parties may result.

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Settling Serious Injury Cases Out Of Court

In many car accident and personal injury cases, clients often wish to “settle out of course” so as to avoid the stress, anxiety and uncertainty of a jury trial. In many cases this is entirely possible and the client can still achieve a settlement that approximates the fair value of their case. However, in a certain number of cases, settlement offers pre-trial may not constitute adequate compensation for the damage inflicted and thus a jury trial may be a necessity. Sometimes, despite the
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Structured Settlements For Minors

With today’s low interest rates, sometimes it makes little or no sense to structure a portion of a personal injury settlement. If a case settles for a particular amount, it is always advisable to consider whether structuring a portion of the settlement money into an annuity by way of a tax free investment might be in the best interest of the client. When minor children are involved, sometimes investing in a long term annuity can not only protect the corpus of the funds but
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