Personal Injury & Wrongful Death

Many Atlanta residents trust the safety of their young children to playpens. However, the Consumer Product Safety Commission is expected today to announce a recall of one million Kolcraft play yards.

The recall of the portable playpens, some of which include changing tables or bassinets, follows hundreds of complaints of collapsing sides and reports of 21 injured children. The playpens were made in China and distributed by Kolcraft Enterprises Inc. of Chicago.

According to press reports, a Kolcraft spokeswoman, confirmed the recall.

A bone growth agent used in thousands of spinal fusion surgeries for neck pain has been linked to complications and higher cost, according to the first nationwide study of the product. Spinal fusion is one option for people with back and neck pain, although some researchers have questioned how well it works.

In a spinal fusion, a surgeon removes the disc between two vertebrae and replaces it with the patient’s own bone, BMP or another product. If successful, new bone grows and fuses the vertebrae into one piece, stabilizing the spine.

Safety questions arose last year about the protein product, BMP, when used in fusion surgeries in the neck region, a use not approved by federal regulators. Doctors are allowed to use products such as this for purposes for which they have not been approved. The lead author of the study which appears in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that some of these complications are life-threatening because the neck is such a sensitive area.

Adverse prescription drug reactions are more common than most consumer are aware, and can have serious consequences, including death. Seeking to address these problems, a Food and Drug Administration panel has recommended new limits on acetaminophen, the main ingredient in Tylenol. Acetaminophen is the most commonly prescribed drug in the U.S., and commonly used in other drugs and remedies such as cough and cold medicines.

Acetaminophen overdoses are the main cause of liver failure in the U.S. Accidental acetaminophen overdoses kill about 100 people and send some 56,000 people to emergency rooms annually. The FDA said that while the drug is safe if taken at recommended levels, its prevalence in a variety of pain relievers, fever reducers and cough medicines means patients don’t realize they are ingesting far more than they should. One study found that 19% of adults in the U.S. take the drug in a given week.

The FDA advisory panel consisting of 37 doctors, pharmacists and researchers voted on the recommendations yesterday after spending two days discussing steps the FDA should take to reduce the number of acetaminophen overdoses.

Miraculously, there have been no reported injuries or deaths following an accident in Atlanta, Georgia. Yesterday a portion of a concrete parking deck in downtown Atlanta collapsed near the intersection of Spring and 5th Streets, damaging or destroying 38 vehicles. The deck is a pre-fabricated, pre-cast concrete structure that was built eight years ago. The cause of the “pancake collapse,” where a section of the fourth floor fell onto the third, second and first floors, is still under investigation. Although the pre-cast concrete components of the structure were reportedly designed and manufactured by Greenville, S.C.-based Metromont Corp., Hardin Construction Company was the general contractor. Hardin Construction was also the general contractor in charge of building a bridge in Piedmont Park that collapsed earlier this year resulting in the on-the-job death of one worker.
Georgia residents may recall a somewhat similar accident a few years ago when the Phillips Arena was being constructed. Unfortunately two workers were crushed to death when some of the huge pre-fabricated, pre-cast concrete bleacher sections collapsed on top of one another after being welded into position. In a professional negligence case, the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP represented the widow of an ironworker who was killed. By working with experts who had been involved in large construction projects such as the Georgia Dome and Turner Field, we uncovered the reasons for the collapse. In litigation against eleven participants in the Arena construction, we obtained a very favorable settlement for our client.
The Georgia Injury Lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP have over 40 years of experience pursuing wrongful death lawsuits, some of which have involved highway and road defects. If you have lost a loved one and feel you have a wrongful death claim, call our experienced attorneys at 1-800-228-9159 for a free consultation.

Atlanta is the scene of another structural collapse. It has just been reported that a parking deck collapsed in the area of Spring and 5th Streets in the midtown area of Atlanta. At this time there are no reports of injuries or deaths, but the efforts of firefighters and rescue personnel to access the collapsed areas have just begun.

Our Atlanta, Georgia, lawyers have investigated and filed lawsuits in numerous construction and structural collapse cases. The most notable was the collapse during the building of Phillips Arena in Atlanta.

While we certainly hope that there are no injuries invoolved in this most recent collapse, there are many potential avenues by which a recovery for fatalities and serious injuries which can occur in such events.

Product liability suits, especially those involving autos and trucks, generally involve life altering injuries and death. As a result of the recent bankruptcy of General Motors Corp., many of the pending and future claims involving GM products stood to be wiped out, leaving the victims with no recourse against the manufacturer. As part of its government-backed restructuring plan, GM wants to sell the bulk of its assets to a new company and leave behind unprofitable assets and other liabilities such as product-related lawsuits.

Many of these victims would have to turn to public assistance for needed medical services. The taxpayer would be left to fund these items.

Consumer groups, several state’s attorney generals, and several individuals with pending claims against objected. Now, as part of a deal brokered by the current Administration, GM has agreed to take on responsibility for future product liability claims. In a concession to the consumer groups and state officials who had threatened to block the sale because of product liability concerns, the new company will now assume responsibility for future claims involving vehicles made by the old company, according to documents filed in federal bankruptcy court in last Friday. A hearing on the proposed sale of assets is scheduled for tomorrow.

Federal officials are warning consumers to stop using Zicam, a popular cold remedy because they say that it could damage or destroy the users’ sense of smell. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has received 130 reports of people who lost their sense of smell after using Zicam nasal products, which include Zicam Cold Remedy and Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs.
The products were introduced by Matrixx Initiatives of Scottsdale, Arizona in 1999. In 2006, Matrixx paid $12 million to settle 340 lawsuits from Zicam users who claimed that the product destroyed their sense of smell. Hundreds of other lawsuits have been filed. The Georgia Injury Lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP have served injured Georgians since 1965. We have won millions for our clients and are committed to protecting consumers from dangerous products. If you have been injured by Zicam or any other dangerous products, call us for a free consultation.

Georgia injury lawyers see people seriously injured by dangerous products of all types. Many dangerous products result in the wrongful death of their users. A grout cleaner which was once sold by Home Depot is one product alleged to have been dangerous. Dozens of product liability lawsuits over injuries allegedly caused by the tile grout cleaning product will go forward as general negligence claims, a federal judge has decided. However, in ruling on the multi-district litigation, U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr. granted summary judgment in favor of Home Depot and five companies tied to the manufacturer and distribution of Stand ‘N Seal regarding consumer product safety claims. Although Home Depot didn’t manufacture the grout sealer, it is alleged that they did not remove the product from store shelves and continued to sell it to the public after they knew or should have know it was dangerous. The case is In re: Stand ‘N Seal Products liability litigation.
If you are a loved one has been injured as a result of using a dangerous product, contact the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP for a free consultation.

The Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP have represented many victims of dangerous products. The type and nature of these dangerous products runs the gambit. Products liability in Georgia has arisen primarily as a negligence concept and even today remains the most viable theory of products liability in terms of jury comprehension. It was announced this week that a federal judge in Atlanta is permitting dozens of product liability suits against Home Depot and the makers of a tile grout cleaner to proceed to trial on negligence claims; however, he has dismissed other claims that sought damages for violating federal consumer product safety laws. The product at issue, Stand ‘N Seal Spray-On Grout Cleaner, was produced exclusively for Home Depot according to court filings in the case. It is alleged in the case before the Court that the manufacturer of the grout sealer had been on notice, for more than a month before the victim purchased the product, about the potentially devastating health problems associated with its use. It was also alleged that the manufacturer delayed notification to the Product Safety Commission of the growing health complaints associated with the product’s use and that they withheld critical information that delayed a mandatory recall of the product. According to documents filed in the case, at least 2 people died and dozens were hospitalized after breathing vapors from the aerosol chemical spray product.
If you are a loved one has been injured as a result of using a dangerous product, contact the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP for a free consultation.

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) in a patient taking Tysabri. PML is a rare and often fatal viral disease that is characterized by progressive damage or inflammation of the white matter of the brain at multiple locations.

According to reports, the patient with the latest confirmed PML case took 35 doses of the monthly medication. Only two of the nine cases since last July were located in the U.S.