ATLANTA,GA
DULUTH, GA
A couple of years ago the Georgia Injury Lawyers at Finch McCranie LLP, represented the family of a young boy who fell from a civic center stage to the concrete floor below. Within moments the boy had slipped into a coma. With limited resources, the parents cared for their son in the living room of their home, 24-hours a day. As time went one and the boy ended up back in the hospital, officials there put more and more pressure upon the parents to
A few years ago, the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP represented an elderly woman who had beeen knocked down and seriously injured by malfunctioning electric doors at an Atlanta grocery store. We sued the store and the door company responsible for maintaing the doors. Recently, an 80-year old woman settled a very similar case for $7 million with Target and a mechanical door company. She had been knocked down by a faulty door in 2007. The woman sustained brain injuries which left her
Recently, we represented a gymnastics instructor in a contested workers compensation claim. The client was expected to attend and supervise gymnastics meets around the city as a part of her job duties even though she was not paid to do so. One evening while on her way home from such an event, she was seriously injured in an automobile accident. The employer/insurer took the position that she was “off the clock” and not in the course and scope of her employment from the
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The Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP are well aware that there are many dangerous products that come to market. This week Federal Safety Regulators have announced the recall of more than 2.1 million drop-side cribs made by a Canadian manufacturer. It appears that part of the mechanism that allows the rail to slide up and down can break which can allow a child to get wedged between the bed and the rail, resulting in the child’s suffocation and death.
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The Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP are investigating injury claims associated with the popular birth control drugs Yaz, Yasmin, & Ocella. Last month, we received a call from a 21 year old former client who had undergone surgery to remove her gall bladder. As it turned out, she had been taking Yaz. Recent reports suggest that these prescription medications could be putting millions of young women at risk of serious side effects, including stroke, heart attack, blood clots, deep vein thrombosis,
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Medical malpractice is a serious problem in Georgia and the United States. While limits on recoveries for innocent victims is being pushed by large insurance companies, there are many issues that are being ignored. One is the lack of information available to the public about incompetent doctors and hospitals.
More than 20 years ago, Congress created a federal database to track incompetent and unprofessional health-care practitioners. The database, compiled by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, includes some 460,000 records of malpractice lawsuits
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Georgia injury lawyers are very much aware of the number of dangerous drugs that make it to the market. Lobbying efforts by the powerful drug companies and the FDA’s failure in recent years to police the pharmaceutical industry has resulted in more than a few dangerous drugs coming on the market. We read last week that a Philadelphia jury recently awarded $75 million in punitive damages to an Illinois woman who developed cancer after taking one of Pfizer’s menopause drugs. The jury
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The United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit has issued an important opinion in an ERISA case. In Longaberger Co. v. Kolt, No. 08-4432 Nov. 16, 2009. the court held an ERISA plan could enforce its reimbursement rights against an attorney who obtained a personal injury settlement on behalf of an insured.
The attorney negotiated a $135,000 settlement on behalf of a client who was involved in an automobile accident. Only $1,000 remained in his lawyer’s trust account after disbursing $86,000 to the
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Our Atlanta automobile product defect attorneys have written many blogs critical of automobile manufacturers for delaying or resisting recalls of dangerous products. Now Volvo deserves credit for quickly and voluntarily issuing a recall due to a dangerous defect. Volvo is recalling 9,667 of its 2010 XC60s, most of them in the United States and Canada, because in a crash test the driver’s seat belt came undone.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety conducted a side-impact test on the XC60 in early October of this
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We just read of another incident in which an Atlanta area young man died as a result of an “overdose” of acetaminophen, the aspirin-free pain reliever found in Tylenol. Many people believe acetaminophen is one of the safest painkillers on the market. If used properly it is safe, but, it is also the leading cause of acute liver failure in the United States.
Taking just slightly more than the maximum recommended dose for a few days can be toxic, even deadly.
We have previously blogged
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We have read in the Atlanta newspapers this week about the tragic death of three people who died in a house fire in Palmetto, Georgia, which according to news reports was started by “an oxygen generating device that malfunctioned.” Although the news articles do not provide sufficient information to determine how this was concluded, the spokesperson quoted was from the State Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner’s Office. It appears, therefore, that the tragic fire which resulted in the three wrongful deaths was caused by a malfunctioning product, which shorted out somehow and caused the blaze resulting in these three tragic deaths.
(more…)Georgia has an “equitable apportionment” statute which essentially states that either parent of a deceased child, when divorced, separated or living apart, may file a lawsuit for the wrongful death of their child, notwithstanding the divorce or separation. In such a case, the parent that brings the wrongful death case does so in a fiduciary capacity proceeding not only on their on behalf but also on behalf of the divorced/separated spouse who obviously also has a legal interest in the death of their child.
(more…)In Georgia, as a general rule, punitive damages are not allowed in a wrongful death action. Commentary in various legal decisions have indicated that because damages in a wrongful death are somewhat punitive by nature that an award of additional punitive damages would be inappropriate. While punitive damages may not be collected in a wrongful death action per se, nonetheless, because of the unique provisions of Georgia law which confer upon the personal representative the right to bring a claim for property damage and/or
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In a wrongful death action, as indicated in other entries, juries in Georgia are permitted to award both economic and non-economic damages for the “full value of the life of the decedent.” We have written before about the intangible elements of the non-economic damages and the calculations that one would argue to a jury that would be appropriate in establishing lost wages over the earning lifetime of the decedent.
In calculating damages for the full value of the life of the decedent, obviously, every
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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. Not a week goes by that we do not see a significant amount of road debris laying in the middle of Atlanta highways. Just last week 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 rubber in the roadway. After running off the roadway, she apparently over-corrected, came back onto the roadway and struck the tractor-trailer rig.
(more…)Under Georgia law, there is a statutory Annuity Mortality Table which was passed into law in 1949. This table is commonly referred to by Georgia lawyers as “The Annuity Mortality Table 1949 Ultimate.” The figures in this table have been used for years in wrongful death actions and are still relied upon by juries today in assessing damages. Essentially, the Mortality Table shows that if a person has lived to a certain age that it is likely they will live a certain additional number
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Obviously, the heartache, trauma and tragedy of losing a child is unspeakable. And yet, as set forth in prior entries, the measure of damages under Georgia law is not from the standpoint of the parents who sustained the loss of a child but rather from the standpoint of the child who lost their life. This can be difficult for any lawyer to prove because a child does not have proven earning’s records nor is the child’s future easily predicted. Typically, because parents who lose children
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Whether on a pontoon boat, bass boat, ski boat or jet ski, recreational boating is a popular activity enjoyed by millions of Georgians. However, according to the United States Coast Guard, boat accidents and boating related injuries are on the rise in lakes, rivers, and coastal waterways with over 5,000 accidents occurring each year, nationwide. The U. S. Coast Guard keeps and publishes statistics on the various causes of boating accidents. Tracking data from 2006 – 2007, the Coast Guard reported in the 2007 Recreational
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One would think that under Georgia law, the same person or persons who has the right to bring a wrongful death case would also have a right to seek compensation for funeral, medical and other expenses pertaining to the wrongful death. And yet, under the unique provisions of Georgia law, this is not the case. Under O.C.G.A. § 51-4-5, it is the personal representative of the decedent who has the right to recover medical and funeral expenses. Typically, therefore, it is necessary to have
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Brake system care of golf carts is very important. Golf carts can be just as lethal as automobiles if not operated and maintained properly. When used carelessly, a golf cart can kill or severely injure the driver and passengers, innocent bystanders, or it can cause significant property damage. There are a number of things that can be wrong with golf cart brakes to create these types of situations.
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