Personal Injury

Contaminated Peanut Salmonella Cases: A Georgia Scandal

The more one reads about the problems with the products distributed by the Peanut Corporation of America, the more one realizes that there were serious management problems with that Company’s plant in Blakely, Georgia. According to published reports, when federal and state inspectors went to the plant, they found evidence of mold, leaking roofs and other unsanitary conditions. According to an FDA report, not only was there mildew on the ceiling roof of the storage room, there was also evidence of infestation by cockroaches
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“How Much Is My Personal Injury Case Worth?”

The above questions are often asked by clients who have been seriously injured in an automobile case or a trucking collision. Regrettably, there are some attorneys out there who will give unrealistic “pie in the sky” answers to such questions, usually for the purpose of trying to convince a client to retain their services. A good lawyer, however, will usually not provide a response to these questions until he or she has fully investigated the case and has access to all of the
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Legionnaires Disease At Atlanta Hospital

An outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease has been confirmed at Atlanta, Georgia’s Grady Memorial Hospital. Water tests confirmed today that two units at Grady Memorial Hospital were the source of the bacteria that caused Legionnaires. Four patients have been sickened by the disease.
A Grady spokesman claimed this was the first time in Grady’s history that the Downtown Atlanta hospital has been the source for disease in patients. The two Grady patient units consisting of and 80 beds have been closed since last week. The Grady
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Georgia Parents and Children Affected By Vaccine Rulings

Many Georgia parents, and thousands of parents across the country who have children suffering from autism, received bad legal news today. They had claimed that childhood vaccines had caused their children to develop autism.
In a long awaited decision, a special court rejected their claims and ruled that they are not entitled to federal compensation. The decision in three test cases is a severe blow to a national movement that has argued that childhood vaccines have been responsible for the surge in autism diagnoses in
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Finding The Right Georgia Lawyer For Your Case

On the way to work today I saw an automobile accident that had just occurred. A lady had been rear-ended by an automobile on the interstate highway. The cars were very badly damaged and it was clear that one of the drivers was injured. The ambulances had not yet arrived.
As I drove by the accident scene, I thought to myself, “I wonder how this unfortunate lady will find a competent Georgia automobile accident attorney to represent her interests effectively, competently, honestly, ethically and
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Georgia Drivers Beware: Uninsured Drivers On The Increase

We heard a radio piece on National Public Radio the week before last about the rise in uninsured motorists nationwide. It is now estimated that as many as 16% of the motoring public are driving without insurance. In today’s tough economic times, people are failing to pay not only their house bills, which has lead to the mortgage crisis, but also their car insurance bills. This means that many motorists are endangering the lives of their fellow motorists as they drive. Obviously, they are hoping that they will not be involved in an accident. If they are, it is not the driver who causes the accident which is at risk, it is the innocent victim of their reckless conduct.

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Hospitalized Patients Cannot Identify Treating Doctors

Our Atlanta lawyers interview potential clients on a daily basis concerning their injuries and hospitalizations. Many times, potential clients, even those who have been hospitalized for long periods, cannot tell us the name or names of the doctors who treated them in the hospital. Now, a recent survey has shown that this is a common occurrence. According to the survey, hospital patients are rarely able to identify their doctors by name or to describe their roles in the patients’ care.
Researchers at the University of
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Atlanta, Georgia Lawyers Support MADD Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving–and the Injuries and Deaths It Causes

Our personal injury and wrongful death attorneys in Atlanta, Georgia support MADD’s Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving. If you have not done so, please go to Parade magazine’s website at www.parade.com/drunkdriving, and vote “YES” in the poll asking this question: “Should ignition interlocks be mandatory for drunk drivers nationwide?”

MADD’s National President Laura Dean-Mooney has asked that this message (below) be passed along, so we are using our blog to publicize it. Please pass this message along to your friends and family, to help eliminate drunk driving!

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New Swimming Pool Safety Requirements Help Prevent Drowning

Every spring and summer as swimming pools open for the season, we read about tragic drownings, often involving children. Statistics show that drowning and near drowning are a leading cause of death and brain injury. Many of these unfortunate incidents could be prevented if swimming pools had proper anti-drowning drain covers and suction cutoff devices installed. These covers and suction cutoff devices are designed to prevent children from being caught in the swimming pool drain as a result of strong suction. Under the new
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Bus Accident Near Hoover Dam Kills Seven–And Follows Atlanta, Georgia Bluffton University Crash As Another Example of Why Seat Belts on Motorcoaches Can Prevent Deaths and Serious Personal Injuries

Since our Atlanta, Georgia personal injury lawyers represent the most seriously injured survivor of the Bluffton University bus accident in March 2007, we have written previously why it is an outrage that seat belts are not required on buses in the United States.

Many of the serious injuries and deaths in the Bluffton rollover crash occurred because the bus had no seat belts–and thus passengers were ejected onto the roadway.

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Boat Accidents: Propellor/Engine Safety Defects

If a person is injured or killed as a result of the negligent operation of a boat or as a result of a boat engine manufacturing or design defect, under Georgia law, the injured person or the family of those killed, may have the right to seek compensation and other forms of redress in a suit against the operator, seller or manufacturer of the boat.

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Wrongful Death Damages in Georgia

In Georgia, under the provisions of O.C.G.A. § 51-4-1 and 2, the measure of damages in a wrongful death action is “full value of the life of the decedent as shown by the evidence, without deducting for any of the necessary or personal expenses of the decedent had he lived.” The full value of the life of the decedent includes not only all economic damages sustained by the decedent such as lost wages, but also non-economic damages such as the enjoyment of life. Peculiar
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Brake Failure Blamed For Georgia Golf Cart Crash

A woman was reportedly seriously injured in Gainesville, Georgia on Friday evening when the brakes on a golf cart failed while going down a hill at a private political fund-raising event. WSBTV.com reported that the golf cart was shuttling people to a home in the Harbour Point subdivision when it’s brakes failed and the cart overturned.
Although no details about the failure have been reported, a thorough inspection of the golf cart is in order to determine why the accident occurred. Had the cart been properly maintained? Was there a defective part involved or was there a design defect?
Having litigated numerous serious injury and wrongful death cases over the years, the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP know that in any case where there has been a mechanical failure, it is absolutely crucial that the evidence be preserved and that the evidence be inspected as soon as possible by an engineer or any other expert qualified to document and evaluate such a failure.

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Wrongful Death Actions In Georgia: Who Has The Right To Sue?

The status of the decedent by in large determines who has the right to sue in a wrongful death case. Where someone is killed through the negligent acts of a third party, such as a truck driver or product manufacturer, Georgia law proscribes who has the right to sue such a cause of action. If the person is married at the time of his or her death, the surviving spouse has the right to bring a cause of action for the wrongful death of
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Using Demonstrative Exhibits At Trial

It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words. If there is a picture of an injured individual in a hospital having recently undergone major trauma, such photographic evidence truly can be worth a thousand words in demonstrating to the jury the nature and extent of the client’s injury. As an example, if someone had a serious burn injury, one can imagine the impact of such photographic evidence. Words simply cannot describe such injuries. The same is often true of
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Offers Of Judgment In Georgia: A Bad Example Of Tort Reform

Most members of the public do not know how so-called “tort reform” serves to undermine basic liberties when it comes to our civil judicial system. One of the best examples of this is a little known law which serves to impede access to our courts. This is the “Offer of Judgment” statute which was passed by the Republican controlled Georgia Legislature, codified at O.C.G.A. § 9-11-68. Simply stated, if you are a middle class person and you wish to litigate a civil case, if you
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Using Life Care Plans In Serious Injury Cases

Our firm is currently handling several serious automobile collision cases in which our innocent clients were severely and permanently injured by negligent corporations. In the accident cases I am referring to, both of our clients sustained very serious neck and back injuries resulting in numerous surgeries. Medical expenses and lost wages to date have already been substantial. However, because both of our clients are relatively young adults, the big fear is that as the clients grow older, their medical expenses and lost wages will
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Jury Awards $114 Million In Nursing Home Abuse Case

Almost every week the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP hear about horrific treatment of elderly patients in nursing homes or other long-term facilities. Occasionally they are held accountable for their negligent treatment.
Last month, the family of a 76 year old Florida woman was awarded $114 million in a nursing home abuse case. The woman died in 2003 after having been a patient at the nursing home. The lawsuit alleged that the elderly woman was injured after falling, had developed pressure
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Bench Trials Under The Federal Tort Claims Act

Under the unique provisions of the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), there is no right to a jury trial. What this means is obvious: once an FTCA lawsuit is filed and the United States of America is named as the defendant, if the case cannot be resolved thereafter and a trial is required, the trial will be before a United States District Court judge which will sit, not only as the finder of fact, but also as the Judge of the law. In short,
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Who And Where To Sue Under The Federal Tort Claims Act

We have blogged in the past about some of the unique provisions of the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) and how they pertain to tort claims against the United States government. As an example, one unique provision is that no claim can be sued against the federal agency per se but instead only against the United States. In any lawsuit against the federal government in which a tort has occurred, the named defendant must be the United States of America. Thus, in a case
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