Personal Injury & Wrongful Death

Dangerous Levels of Cadmium in Chinese Products

Children are being exposed to dangerous chemicals in toys and items manufactured in China. In recent years there have been numerous recalls of goods manufactured in China due alarming safety concerns. However, it seems the Chinese are continuing to flood the US market with dangerous and even deadly products.
Lab testing organized by The Associated Press revealed that cadmium is present in children’s jewelry, sometimes at levels exceeding 90 percent of the item’s total weight. Cadmium is a soft, whitish metal that occurs naturally in
(more…)

Unnecessary Use Of Tasers Banned By Federal Court

The use of unnecessary force by law enforcement officers is a common and inexcusable problem. Many of the attorneys at Finch McCranie LLP have law enforcement backgrounds and recognize the inherent dangers of police work and the need at times to use force. However, this does not justify the use of unnecessary force.
The United States Court of Appeals for Ninth Circuit has recently issued an opinion addressing this issue in the context of Taser use. The Court, headquartered in California has sent a strong
(more…)

Polaris Recalls Potentially Dangerous ATV Model

The product liability lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP pay close attention to the recall of dangerous products that can lead to the wrongful death of innocent people. This week, in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Polaris Industries has issued a voluntary recall of approximately 8,500 all-terrain vehicles because of a potentially dangerous steering problem, caused by a defective and dangerous front-end component. The recall applies to 2009-2010 models of the Polaris Sportsman ATV. Although there have been no reported
(more…)

Vicious Dogs Can Be Serious Liability Risk

Georgia injury lawyers know that dog bite incidents often result in very serious injuries and in some cases, death. We have had a number of these cases over the years. The most recent case involved a real estate agent who was attacked by a large dog. Although the dog was tied up at its owners home, it was inadequately restrained by a collar which was itself a defective product. As a result, the dog got loose and literally bit off the entire calf
(more…)

Dangerous Dehumidifiers Recalled

The Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP handled a wrongful death case several years ago wherein we represented the family of a young boy who died in a house fire caused by a defective humidifier.
This week it was announced that Home Depot is recalling Chinese manufacture dehumidifiers because they pose a fire hazard according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The recall involves approximately 2,000 Hampton Bay model HB-50 dehumidifiers. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says that an
(more…)

Georgia Teenager Struck By Car

As Georgia injury lawyers we have represented many pedestrians who have been struck and seriously injured in automobiles accidents. Just this year we represented a young mother who was crossing a roadway with her two young children when they were struck by a motorist who admitted that she never saw them prior to impact. Unfortunately one of the children died and she sustained serious injuries.
Today it was reported that a car hit an 18-year old pregnant girl and her 4-year old brother
(more…)

Suing The Government: Pre-Suit Notice Requirements

It is a sad reality that innocent citizens are oftentimes injured by their own government. City and county employees and/or state employees operate vehicles on a day-to-day basis and like other drivers sometimes are guilty of negligence which cause considerable damage to innocent third parties. Because of the expansive conduct of governmental entities in virtually every aspect of our lives, there are many other real life scenarios whereby innocent third party citizens cam be and are injured by the acts of government employees. In such
(more…)

Important Victim’s Rights Statute Under Review

The Georgia Court of Appeals has recently accepted an Application for Interlocutory Review of a very important victim’s rights statute in this state. Here we refer to a case in which we represent the Plaintiff involving a tolling provision for the statute of limitations for victims of crime. O.C.G.A. § 9-3-99 was enacted as part of the Crime Victims Restitution Act of 2005 and will now be interpreted by the Court of Appals after a ruling in this appeal. Its tolling provision reads as follows:

(more…)

Two Infant Deaths Lead To Recall Of Amby Baby Motion Bed

The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that about 24,000 Amby Baby Motion Beds – hammocklike beds have been recalled. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission the side-to-side shifting or tilting of the hammock can cause an infant to roll and become trapped or wedged against the hammock’s fabric or mattress pad, posing a suffocation risk.. The CPSC has instructed customers to stop using the products immediately.
The beds, made by Amby Baby USA of Minneapolis, Minnesota, were sold online through Ambybaby.com and other retailers
(more…)

Georgia Bicycle And Pedestrian Accidents

Of all the possible traffic accidents in Atlanta, cases in which vehicles collide with a bicycle or a pedestrian can have the most tragic results. When walking or riding a bike, you do not have the same structural protection against impacts that you do while driving, so you are more likely to be the injured party, and you are more likely to be hurt badly.
If you are severely injured or if a loved one was killed in a bike or pedestrian accident due to
(more…)

What is Stackable Uninsured/Underinsured Insurance Coverage

When one purchases an automobile insurance policy from their insurance agent, the real reason that the policy is being purchased is to comply with Georgia law, which requires that all automobile drivers have minimum limits of liability insurance in the amount of $25,000.00 per person, $50,000.00 per accident. What this means is that if a driver is to drive lawfully under our laws, one must be financially responsible. If one runs a stop sign and injures another individual and breaks their leg, as an example,
(more…)

Most Dangerous Intersections For Motorcycles

Our Atlanta attorneys frequently litigate motorcycle accident cases. Our experience over many years shows that in almost all cases the motorcyclist was not at fault.
Recently, the Atlanta media reported a case in which a young man was fatally injured in the Little Five Points district when the scooter he was driving was hit from behind by a vehicle.
Allstate insurance company has conducted a study of the most dangerous intersections in Atlanta for motorcycle riders.
The data indicates that the intersection of 14th Street
(more…)

Deadliest Months For Teen Drivers Begin

As teens begin summer vacations, a disturbing warning has been issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The latest data from U.S. Department of Transportation’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System show that the deadliest days of the year for teens ages 15-19 are in the months of May, June, July and August. During these four months, nearly twice as many teens died on the roads each day as compared to the rest of the year – for an average of nearly 16 deaths per day (15.9)
(more…)

Pedestrian Accidents

We read in the paper this week news articles about various traffic incidents involving pedestrians. In one case a drunk driver hit a pedestrian who was walking in a crosswalk at an intersection. The drunk driver apparently ran the stop sign running over and killing the pedestrian. In another case, again, a pedestrian was in a crosswalk and a driver simply failed to pay attention to the situation and ran over the pedestrian, seriously injuring the victim.
Big cities are dangerous because there are many
(more…)

Motorcycles and Drunk Drivers: A Deadly Combination

We read in the paper this week about a tragedy involving a motorcyclist who was struck and killed by a drunk driver. According to news accounts, the drunk driver was completely at fault in the incident and struck the innocent motorcycle rider from the rear. Regrettably, this case is indicative of the dangers to which all motorcycle riders are exposed. Such dangers are exponentially increased, obviously, when a drunk driver is involved.
We read in the paper this week about a tragedy involving a motorcyclist
(more…)

Dangerous Glass Products and Preventable Injuries

Approximately 2 years ago we published an article on the dangers of unsafe and dangeous glass products. We re-print this article because of the tragic death of a young woman who fell to her death this week after falling through a window at a hotel in downtown Atlanta. This accident was preventable but occurred because safety glass was apparently not properly used. In today’s modern age, with the known dangers involved, this is inexcusable. Our earlier blog entry is posted again in view of this
(more…)

Unit Measurement Approach When Discussing Wrongful Death Damages

If a 28 year old male is killed and hypothetically he should have a 48 year life expectancy, when killed at age 28, the decedent has lost 46 years of his life according to the Annuity Mortality Tables of most states. Forty-eight years translates into 46 years times 365 days a year times 16 hours a day of consciousness (46x365x16=268,640 hours). Because we sleep for 8 hours a day, if one argues before a jury that the decedent would have consciously enjoyed life for 46
(more…)

Measuring Damages In Wrongful Death Cases

As every individual is unique, so is the challenge faced by a trial attorney in trying to address a jury on the issue of the proper measurement of damages in the wrongful death case of any individual. All individuals are different. They come from different backgrounds and they are different ages, sexes, races, nationalities and religious beliefs. Whoever the unfortunate victim in a wrongful death case may be, the challenge is coming up with the best assessment of addressing damages when trying to obtain
(more…)

The Centers For Disease Control Releases Wrongful Death Statistics

According to a recently released report authored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, car accident cases and wrongful deaths cost the State of Georgia approximately $1.5 billion in the calendar year 2005. Regrettably, this is the most recent data which as been collated and studied. Nationwide, car accident related deaths cost approximately $41 billion. Georgia ranked number 4 among 10 other states with the highest medical and work lost costs associated with preventable deaths caused by motor vehicle collisions.
Obviously, much can
(more…)

New Georgia Law Designed To Prevent Injury To Children

Georgia Governor Nathan Deal has signed a new law requiring all children under the age of 7 to be placed in booster seats unless they are over 40 pounds in weight and/or stand more than 4 feet 9 inches tall. The new law will go into effect this coming January to give parents time to purchase booster seats if needed. The reason for the new law: Protection of our children. Authorities have tracked injuries to children over the last five years and have determined that
(more…)

Secret Link