Personal Injury

Falls In Skilled Nursing Facilities

Our lawyers are frequently asked to review cases involving patient falls in skilled nursing home facilities. Due to the physical and mental conditions of many infirm and elderly patients, it is impossible to prevent all falls. However, in many instances falls can be prevented or greatly reduced by the implementation of proper procedures.
Patients who are long term residents in skilled nursing homes are by definition in a compromised state of health, usually from multiple chronic medical problems. These patients are often weak, are subject
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Another Chinese Made Toy Recall

Mattel issued another major recall today involving Chinese-made toys which contain excessive amounts of lead. These include locomotive toys and accessories for the Barbie brand dolls.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission reported that Mattel is recalling almost 800,000 toys. Mattel reported that it discovered the use of lead-based paint as part of an ongoing investigation of toys it imports from China. The Company is recalling 675,000 Barbie accessories, 8,900 Big World 6 in-1 Bongo brand toys and about 90,000 Geo Trax locomotive toys. These products
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Dishwashers Recalled Due To Fire Hazard

Our lawyers have successfully litigated many cases involving defective household products which have caused fires and serious personal injury or death. Recently, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with GE Consumer & Industrial has announced a voluntary recall of 2.5 million GE Dishwashers. The recall advises consumers to stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.
A defect in the dishwashers has the potential to allow liquid rinse-aid to leak from the dispenser onto the dishwasher’s internal wiring which can cause an electrical
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Automobile Crash Tests

There are two major organizations which crash test automobiles and report the results to the public. One is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, (NHTSA), an agency of the United States government. The other is the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, (IIHS), a non-profit organization funded by auto insurers.
Both work to reduce the number of motor vehicle crashes, and the rate of injuries and amount of property damage in the crashes that still occur. They each conduct basic research and produce ratings for each
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Surgeon Operates on Wrong Side of Brain

The Associated Press has reported that an 86-year-old Providence Rhode Island man died three weeks after a neurosurgeon operated on the wrong side of his head. The patient, whose name wasn’t released, died Saturday, and the state medical examiner was determining the cause of death.The man underwent emergency surgery at Rhode Island Hospital on July 30 to treat bleeding in his brain A nurse practitioner for Dr. Frederick Harrington didn’t record which side of the man’s brain required surgery. When another nurse pointed out the
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Side Crash Tests of Large Cars Reveal Interesting Results

Last week, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released test results for side impact ratings of large cars. Three of six large car models tested earned the top rating of good, but one was rated marginal in the side impact crash tests. The Institute ratings of good, acceptable, marginal, or poor are based on a crash test in which a barrier designed to replicate the front end of a typical SUV or pickup truck strikes the tested vehicle in the side at 31 mph.
The
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Medicare To Withhold Payments To Hospitals For Failing To Keep Patients Safe

Our lawyers frequently review cases involving hospital acquired infections, many of which are fatal. New Medicare regulations have been enacted in an effort to prevent these all too frequent tragedies. Under new Medicare regulations, which will become effective in October 2008, hospitals will no longer receive higher payments for the additional costs associated with treating patients for certain hospital-acquired infections and medical errors. The new rules will give hospitals a powerful new incentive to improve patient care, according to Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of
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Riding Mower Defects Endanger Children

Each spring and summer our attorneys see an increasing number of injuries to children caused by lawnmowers. An estimated 9,400 children are injured each year. Many of the accidents result in amputations of legs, hands, fingers, feet, and toes. Experts say that the most serious accidents occur when operators back up rider mowers with the mower blades engaged and run over small children they can’t see.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, back over accidents alone account for 560 injuries to children each year.
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Nursing Negligence

In the not too distant past, our lawyers’ experience had been that medical malpractice encompassed almost exclusively the negligent wrongs of physicians. However, as nursing has evolved into a sophisticated, technical, and specialized profession, nurses regularly assume roles previously in the exclusive domain of physicians. These include examinations, diagnosis, post-surgical monitoring, and treatments of patients. Sometimes this is done without any direct supervision from physicians. The nurse’s expanded role in patient care, the continual development of specialized and sophisticated medical technology, and the heightened emphasis
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Heat Related Sports Deaths: A Preventable Tragedy

This is the time of year where it seems that everyone who rides in an automobiles passes a high school football practice. The sweltering sun and heat of this summer, which is particularly hot, is obviously a danger to those practicing. If those responsible for the players are not careful, deaths can ensue. Indeed, it has almost become commonplace every summer to read about the death of a high school or college football player due to extreme heat conditions.
Our firm, regrettably, has been involved
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Contact Lens and Medical Device Injuries In Children

Injuries caused by contact lens are a serious problem in Georgia and elsewhere. The consequences of injuries from these seemingly harmless devices can be life changing, including blindness. Our lawyers have just recently concluded several cases involving injuries sustained by contact lens wearers.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has just released a report which reveals that more than 70,000 children and teens go to the emergency room each year for injuries and complications from medical devices. Contact lenses are the leading cause of these
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Georgia Motorcycle Accident Injures Two

Friday evening, a motorcycle accident in north Georgia injured two people. The wreck occurred before 8:00 p.m. on U.S. Hwy 41 in Tunnel Hill, Georgia.. Although details of the wreck have not been released and the accident is still under investigation, the motorcycle and a pickup truck collided. It has been reported that charges are pending against the driver of the truck. The driver of the motorcycle was flown to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga and the passenger was taken to Hamilton Medical Center in
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Defective Heart Defibrillators

Defective implanted heart defibrillators have been the subjects of many recalls over the last several years. This week, Boston Scientific Inc., advised doctors that a part in certain models of its implanted heart defibrillators made in 2006 and 2007 has a “somewhat higher’’ failure rate, requiring units to be reprogrammed. The company reported a failure rate of one in 670 devices. No deaths or injuries have been reported.
Boston Scientific estimates that about 34,000 patients still have the defibrillators implanted, even though they are
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False Arrest Claims in Georgia

Over the years the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP have represented clients who have been “falsely arrested”. In one memorable case, our client was accosted in the Lenox Mall parking lot by three store security officers who forcibly carried her back into the store where she was accused of shoplifting and strip searched. Eventually, the store realized they had made a mistake and told our client that she was “free to go”. She remained in the store and called the Atlanta
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Georgia Woman Drowns At Lake Lanier – Boat Operator Charged With Boating Under The Influence

This week, The Associated Press reported that last Sunday evening a 26 year old Georgia woman drowned at Lake Lanier, just north of Atlanta. Although the boat, upon which the woman had been a passenger, had not been involved in a crash. the owner/operator of the boat was charged with boating under the influence.

Our Georgia injury lawyers have represented clients who have suffered injuries or lost loved ones in boating accidents. Some of the causes include boater error, boater inexperience, boating under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol, equipment failure, and operating in adverse weather and/or water conditions.

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Two Georgia Power Men Burned in On-The-Job Accident

http://www.serious-injury-litigation.com/As Georgia injury lawyers who have handled thousands of workers compensation claims, few on-the-job injuries are as horrifying to us as burn injuries.
Today 11 Alive News and WSB News reported that two Georgia Power employees suffered burns today as they were replacing a utility pole in Milton, Georgia. It is thought that as the crew was drilling a new hole for the pole, they hit a natural gas line which sparked an explosion. One of the injured Georgia Power workers, who was about 35 feet up in a bucket lift at the top of the pole, jumped to try to escape the flames. He was reportedly burned over 80% of his body and was airlifted to Grady Memorial Hospital’s burn unit.

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Georgia Motorcycle Accident Results In Death

When most people hear about a motorcycle accident they envision a collision with a car or a truck; however, motorcycle accidents also occasionally occur as a result of debris and foreign objects on the roadway.

The Savannah Morning News reported today that on Sunday, a 23 foot trailer came loose from a Ford F-150 truck being operated by 66 year old Gerald Adams. The trailer crossed over the median on Interstate 16 where it collided with 26 year old Carroll Girtman, who was riding his Yamaha motorcycle in the westbound lanes.

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Georgia Motorcycle Accident Claims Life

The Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP know that most motorcycle riders are good drivers and that many accidents are caused by other careless drivers. Such may have been the case yesterday in South Fulton County. WSBTV and The Associated Press have reported that a motorcycle accident has resulted in the death of a Jonesboro, Georgia man. The victim, Albert Davis, age 32, was riding the motorcycle at 2:20 a.m. on Old National Highway when the collison occurred. To date no
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EMPLOYER FRAUD IN THE GEORGIA WORKERS’ COMPENSATION SYSTEM

Whenever uninformed members of the public hear the words “workers compensation” “on-the-job injury” and “fraud” they almost always associate those words with an injured worker; however, most Georgia injury lawyers know that employers and insurers are sometimes guilty of fraud when it comes to workers compensation claims. In all of our years of representing Georgia’s injured workers, one case of employer fraud stands out above all others. Several years ago we represented a young lady who worked for a large architectural aluminum building products corporation who provided systems for the commercial construction industry. Our client, who had been employed in their plant for many years, injured her back and requested authorization to see a doctor. After weeks of being ignored, the client finally called her boss and advised him that she was going to go see her own doctor.

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Seeking Attorney’s Fees In A Personal Injury Case

In the typical case in civil litigation, the winning and losing sides are responsible for their own attorney’s fees. There is an exception to this rule under Georgia law. If a party acts in bad faith in the underlying transaction (committing acts of fraud and/or attempting to damage the Plaintiff, as an example) or is guilty of stubborn litigiousness (pursuing claims or defenses based on frivolous legal and factual defenses) then in that event, attorney’s fees can be awarded. The Code Section in this regard
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