Personal Injury

South Carolina Teenager Seriously Injured After Being Thrown From ATV

Georgia and South Carolina injury lawyers are seeing ATV accidents involving serious injury and sometimes death are on the rise with the return of warm weather. Tragically many, if not most are preventable by using common sense and obeying ATV rules. Just this week, I read about a Summerville, South Carolina teenager who is fighting for her life as a result of being thrown from the back of a fast moving ATV. According to witnesses, neither the 32 year old ATV driver or the
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Brain Death

Our Atlanta based lawyers are constantly involved in cases involving brain injury and brain death. As tragic as these cases are, the families and loved ones are many times faced with the decision whether to cease life support after there has been a medical determination of brain death.
In general, brain death is considered to be the irreversible loss of brain function. The exact definition has changed throughout the years and is still subject to debate. The brainstem controls brain function and is responsible for
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Lawmakers Hold Hearing on Medical Device Safety Act

Defective medical devices can lead to the serious injury or death of innocent people. For this reason Georgia injury lawyers representing victims of defective and dangerous products were dismayed when the Supreme Court decision in Riegel v. Medtronic, held that consumers can’t sue medical device companies over medical devices that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Now, victims of these dangerous products who say they were injured by faulty medical devices want Congress to pass legislation called the Medical
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Workers Compensation Injuries – Is There A Premises Liability and Negligent Security Third Party Claims?

The Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP who handle workers compensation cases always investigate the possibility that there is a negligent third party who can be sued and held accountable for the client’s injuries and damages. As any injured worker knows, the income benefits available under the Georgia Workers Compensation Act are limited. A worker with serious injuries is never made whole with workers compensation benefits alone. Many serious on-the-job injuries or deaths are attributable to the negligence of someone other
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Congressman’s Death Highlights The Dangers of Operating An ATV

As the popularity of ATV’s (all-terrain vehicles) increases the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP see more ATV accidents resulting in death and serious injuries each year. Even experienced riders must be very careful when operating an ATV. On April 18th of this year, former Utah Congressman Bill Orton, age 60, died while operating his ATV. According to authorities, he was riding out on the sand and went off a very steep sand dune, and when he impacted the bottom, the front end
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Car Roof Crush Standards Increased

Many automobile crashes which our Georgia lawyers investigate involve serious injury and deaths which are caused by roof collapses in rollover situations. Tragically, many of these victims would have been less seriously injured or survived had the roof of the vehicle not collapsed. For many years, safety advocates have urged auto makers and the federal government to increase the minimal standards for vehicle roof strength.
Now, under pressure from Congress, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued increased roof-strength requirements. The long-awaited federal
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Limiting The Chance For Serious Injury Or Death From Grinding Wheel Explosions

The Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP have previously posted on the danger posed by defective grinding wheels that explode or disintegrate. When a grinding wheel comes apart, it can result in serious eye injury and even death. Although there are several reasons why these wheels fail, it is thought that many of these are inferior, imported products.
To prevent injuries, the following procedures are recommended when using grinding wheels:
* Check the wheel before each use for any cracks or chips. If
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Grinding Wheel Failures Can Lead To Serious Injury Or Death

Recently an Atlanta eye surgeon told one of the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP that his group sees at least two new patients a month with serious eye injuries caused by grinding wheel accidents. Often times , the hazards of using a grinding wheel are overlooked. When using a grinder there are several potential hazards to of which you should be aware. They include: cuts and amputations; eye injuries from flying particles; punctures from work piece or debris; hearing loss from noise; and
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Hydroxycut Recalled – May Be Linked To Liver Damage

The Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP have handled many products liability cases involving dangerous drugs and consumer products. Last week the FDA announced the recall of Hydroxycut. Government officials warned dieter and body builders to immediately stop using Hydroxycut, a supplement which has been linked to serious liver damage and at least one death. According to an FDA official, the agency has received 23 reports of liver problems, including the death of a nineteen year old. It has been
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Secretary of Transportation Pushes For Child Seat Testing

Many Georgia parents employ child safety seats to protect the lives of their children without any reliable data as to the safety of the particular seat model. Now, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has announced that he will urge carmakers to crash-test child safety seats in their vehicles and recommend which child restraints are the safest in each auto.
If adopted, this new system would be a victory for parents who struggle to find the best car seats for their children. While federal regulators rate
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Malfunctioning Products And Wrongful Deaths

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.

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Wrongful Death Of A Child Where The Parents Are Divorced Or Separated

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.

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Punitive Damages In Georgia Wrongful Death Actions

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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How Does A Jury Calculate The Full Value Of The Life Of The Decedent?

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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Road Debris On Georgia Highways Can Kill

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.

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Using Annuity Mortality Tables In Wrongful Death Actions

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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Proving Damages For The Wrongful Death Of A Child

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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Recreational Boating Accidents In Georgia

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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Wrongful Death Actions: Claims For Funeral, Medical And Other Expenses

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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Golf Cart Accidents Can Be Caused By Failure To Maintain Brake Systems

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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