Personal Injury

Federal Pleading Standards Receiving Congressional Scrutiny

Pleading standards in Federal Courts have been dramatically impacted by two recent United States Supreme Court decisions. These decisions, Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly and Ashcroft v. Iqbal, raised the standard that parties bringing a lawsuit must meet to avoid having their cases dismissed.
At issue is how specific a pleading must be under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 8 requires that a complaint include “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Rule 12
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Serious Injury Or Death Often Results From Electrocution Injury

As Georgia injury lawyers, we have seen a number of electrocution cases over the years. Some of the electrocutions result in serious injury and many result in death. Electrocution injury can cause many problems which include, tingling, pain, tetany, palpitations, chest pain, respiratory arrest, amnesia, seizures, altered mental state, coma, blistering and wounds. This week we had occasion to investigate the electrocution of a client who is a lineman for an electric utility company. He was seriously injured when he came into contact
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Nine Deaths Linked To Highly Flammable Women’s Robes

The product liability injury lawyers at Finch McCranie,LLP have handled many wrongful death cases stemming from dangerous products. These products take many different forms. The Associated Press reported this week that full-lenght women’s chenille robes made in Pakistan are being recalled because they are highly flammable and are now linked to nine deaths of women, most of whom were in their 70’s and 80’s. Most of the incidents occurred while the victims were cooking.
Our firm has seen many wrongful death cases
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Doctors Convicted Of Felonies Still Paid By Taxpayers

Doctors who have committed crimes are still being paid by taxpayers for doing work for the Food and Drug Administration according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. This work ranges from conducting research for the agency or overseeing the safety of patients in clinical trials. The report takes the FDA to task for slowness in debarring ,( disqualifying ), health professionals who have been convicted of crimes.
The FDA has the authority to debar doctors from overseeing the safety of patients in clinical
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Ford Recall:Cruise Controls Malfunction

Recently our firm posted a blog about a tragic accident in Georgia where an 11-year old girl lost her life due to an apparent malfunctioning cruise control switch on a Ford Econoline Van. Last week, we noted with great interest that shortly after this tragic event occurred, the Ford Motor Company recalled 4.5 million vehicles over “faulty cruise control switches.” According to the recall, the faulty cruise control switches being recalled could cause a fire in the vehicle which was the stated reason for the
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Defective Cruise Control Suspected In Wrongful Death

We read today about a tragic case in which an 11-year old girl was killed in an accident that may have resulted from a defective product. According to news accounts, a 1997 Ford Econoline Van lost control near the intersection of U.S. 441 and Interstate 16 while the van was being operated by the child’s grandfather. The grandfather reported to the Georgia State Patrol that the cruise control had gotten stuck and that he could not cut it off. As the driver took the exit
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Recreational Off-Road Vehicle Rules Proposed

Our Atlanta attorneys frequently review cases involving recreational off-road vehicles which involve death and serious injury. The Consumer Product Safety Commission staff has recommended that the agency set mandatory rules to regulate recreational off-road vehicles.
The CPSC’s five commissioners received the written recommendation this week, and must propose a rulemaking before any rules could be implemented. An agency spokesman said the commissioners could vote on whether to proceed with the rulemaking as early as Wednesday of this week.
The off-road vehicles, also known as ROVs,
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Consumer Bill In Trouble

Consumers have been battered by the fall of the economy, and a great deal of the blame for the collapse can be laid squarely on banks and other large financial institutions. Having been saved by the federal government bailout, many are now opposing reforms which would protect consumers and help prevent these disasters from happening again.
Tomorrow, the House Financial Services Committee will take up a number of reforms proposed by the Obama administration. Among the proposals the committee will tackle is the establishment of
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In Tribute To A Fine Man And Lawyer

Today I attended the funeral of Thomas E. Magill, a well respected insurance defense attorney in Atlanta. Tom was a absolute pleasure to work with as a defense attorney. Even though his clients were always large insurance companies, Tom dedicated himself to the administration of justice. He was always fair minded, hard working, competent and professional in every sense of the word. I told his wife at his funeral today that working with Tom made me proud to be a lawyer. There were many lawyers
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Medical Malpractice and Servicemembers

Medical malpractice has long been condoned if perpetrated against a service member. Now, in an effort to rectify this grossly unfair situation involving those serving their country, members of the House Judiciary Committee forwarded a bill to the full House of Representatives which would permit servicemembers to sue the military in certain cases of medical malpractice.
While this is a step in the right direction, it appears doubtful the full House and Senate (a companion bill, sponsored by Sen. Charles Schumer, is working through the
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Employer Liability for Employee Acts: Who Decides?

In a case where an injured party brings a claim against a person who caused them injury and that person’s employer, a jury question is often present as to whether the negligent employee was acting within the scope of his or her employment at the time they inflicted the injury upon the innocent third party victim. As long as a disputed issue of material fact exists, only juries can determine whether an employee was acting within the scope of their employment and/or acting solely for
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Tire Failures Are The Cause Of Many Of Georgia’s Automobile and Truck Accidents

Georgia injury lawyers often see car accidents and truck accidents caused by tire failure. A tire failure can also be the precipitating event in a vehicle rollover case. The causes of these tire failures vary but include manufacturing defects, road hazards and failure to keep the tire properly inflated.

In any motor vehicle crash where a tire failure is suspected, it is crucial to preserve the vehicle and especially the tires and rims so that they can be inspected by experts. Georgia injury lawyers know experts who can timely inspect and evaluate the evidence and who can testify at trial, if necessary.

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Tractor-Trailer Truck Tire Tread On Georgia Highways Is A Growing Problem

Georgia injury lawyers have seen many serious automobile accidents, tractor-trailer accidents and motorcycle accidents caused by foreign objects and road debris on Georgia highways. Just a few weeks ago a 19 year old girl was killed in Tifton, Georgia when she collided with a tractor-trailer. Both vehicles were heading south on Interstate 75 when the girl swerved to avoid a piece of retread rubber in the roadway. After running off the roadway, she apparently over-corrected, came back onto the roadway and struck the tractor-trailer rig. This death should not have happened. Recently I got a call from the mother of the girl and we discussed the growing problem of road debris and in particular, large pieces of tractor trailer truck tire tread littering our highways.

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Offers Of Judgment: An Assault On The Civil Justice System

In Georgia there is a bad law on the books that was passed by the Republican dominated Legislature as part of its so-called effort at “tort reform.” We refer here to the provisions of O.C.G.A. § 9-11-68, the Georgia Offer Of Judgment statute. This statute provides that a party may make an offer of judgment to another party in a pending case in which the offering party agrees to settle the case for a specified sum. Thereafter, if the party to whom the offer is made fails to settle for the offer and later fails to obtain an award of at least seventy-five percent (75%) of the amount of the offer, then the party making the offer of judgment may petition the court for payment of its attorney’s fees from the date the offer was made until the less favorable award or loss.

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Georgia Couple Injured In Motorcycle Accident When Rear Tire Blew

Motorcycle riders are especially vulnerable to serious injury or death when involved in an accident with a careless driver. While many drivers fault the motorcyclist, we at the Finch McCranie firm know that most motorcycle operators are responsible, cautious individuals. Defective tires, or design problems with the motorcycle itself, can also cause a motorcyclist to crash. In such cases, the victims may have a viable products liabilty case against the manufacturer of the product.

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Cords On Window Blinds Continue To Kill

Cords on window blinds continue to kill an average of one child a month, despite a 16-year federal push to make them safer.
According to safety groups, a new voluntary industry rule on window blind cords does not address all strangulation risks to children and ignores input from consumer advocates.
The voluntary standard just published by the Window Covering Manufacturers Association (WCMA) prohibits accessible inner cords on Roman shades but still allows long draw cords. Inner cords weave between the slats of horizontal blinds or
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Premises Liability Cases In Georgia

Recently, the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP successfully represented an elderly woman who was injured while shopping in a large, nationwide department store. While walking towards a clothing display that caught her attention, she tripped and fell over an empty wooden shipping pallet which had been left in a main aisle. As a result of her fall, she sustained a serious back injury. When questioned under oath, the manager could not say how long the pallet had been there or even who placed it there. He conceded that the empty pallet was serving no purpose (having been emptied) and that it presented a potential danger to customers. He also conceded that warning cones should have been placed to warn customers of the potential danger.

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Defective Dehumidifiers Recalled

http://www.serious-injury-litigation.com/lawyer-attorney-1259787.htmlGeorgia injury lawyers know that dangerous products can cause serious injury or death to innocent consumers. For example, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the voluntary recall of Gold Star and Comfort-Aire portable dehumidifiers due to a fire hazard. The Commission said the recall involved 98,000 dehumidifiers exported from China by LG Electronics Tianjin Appliance Co. Of China. According to the Commission, the dehumidifiers have power connectors that can short circuit, posing a fire risk. The company has received four reports of fires involving dehumidifiers including Gold Star model # GHD30Y7, which were sold at Home Depot outlets, model # DH305Y7, sold at Walmart stores, and Comfort-Aire model # BHD-301-C dehumidifiers, sold at Heat Controller.
Defective and dangerous products coming into the United States from China are increasing at an alarming rate. In 2008, 80% of all product recalls in the U.S. involved imported products from China. Other dangerous recalled products include dog food, toys with lead paint, drywall and even pharmaceuticals.

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Carbon Monoxide Leaks Often Result In Wrongful Death

Every year Georgia citizens die needlessly as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning. According to Journal of the American Medical Association, carbon monoxide is the leading cause of accidental poisoning deaths in America, yet many people do not know when they are being affected by it since its symptoms appear flu-like. Exposure to high levels of carbon monoxide can result in death.

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Medical Malpractice Realities

Medical malpractice lawsuits in Georgia have long been the target of doctors’ groups and big insurance companies. Using advertising, political contributions, and misinformation, they have been successful in fostering the notion that these lawsuits are frivolous. Many people have bought into this misconception, that is, until it happens to them or a loved one.
A recent story in the Miami newspaper illustrates this well. A Belle Glade, Florida judge plans to sue two radiologists and a surgeon after a foot long by foot wide
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