Personal Injury

Victims Rights, Statutes of Limitations and Serious Injury Claims

Our lawyers have previously written about procedural “Traps for the Unwary” which occur in the context of serious injury or wrongful death claims. We write again about this problem because we continue to see this issue in our practice.
To be victimized by a negligent act such as being seriously injured by a drunk truck driver is bad enough but to be further victimized by a statute of limitations would only compound the tragedy. Unfortunately, Georgia serious injury lawyers like ourselves often see cases
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Motorcycle Serious Injuries and Fatalities on the Rise

On this Georgia Injury Lawyer blog, our attorneys have previously written about motorcycle accidents involving serious injury or wrongful death. Based on the rise in the number of serious injury and death claims our firm is handling at present, our firm’s experience mirrors what the statistical evidence indicates: These tragic cases are on the rise.
The National Center for Statistics and Analysis, a division of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), keeps statistics for motorcycle accidents each year. NHTSA also uses a
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Dangerous Products In The Market – Yet Another Chinese Toy Recall

Our lawyers are constantly amazed at the number of Chinese made toys which enter the United States only to be recalled later as health hazards to children.
Last Thursday, Mattel Inc., the nation’s largest toy maker, recalled an additional 38,000 “Go Diego Go!” toys Thursday as part of a larger recall of 665,000 lead-contaminated children’s products.
The latest recall involves orange and yellow Go Diego Go! Animal Rescue Boats, manufactured in China and imported by Fisher-Price. Surface paint on the boats contains excessive levels of
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Premises Liability Issues — Heart Defibrillators Save Lives

Our attorneys have investigated wrongful death cases involving automatic external defibrillators (AEDS). An AED is a computerized medical device that checks a person’s heart rhythm, can recognize a rhythm that requires a shock, advises when the shock is needed, then prompts a rescuer to take the proper steps. An AED is a portable device, usually eight to ten inches square and weighs only one to two pounds.
Many businesses, churches, shopping malls, and other areas where large numbers of people congregate have begun to place
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Zelnorm® – A Dangerous Drug?

As a Georgia injury lawyer, I am always reading about dangerous drugs. One such drug is Zelnorm® , a drug used in the treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrom (“IBS”) and chronic constipation in individuals under 65 years of age.
On March 30, 2007, the FDA requested that Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (“Novartis”), the manufacturer of Zelnorm, voluntarily remove the drug from the market. The recall is based on findings of an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes associated with the drug from clinical
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Denying Justice to Innocent Victims of Police Chases: New Defense Strategies By The Government

Finch McCranie, LLP currently represents three individuals who have been tragically added to the ever growing and long list of innocent victims either killed or seriously injured in a police chase case. In two of the cases we filed on behalf of these victims, the police department involved is seeking to have the claims dismissed based on an argument that the Georgia Legislature has allegedly abolished the legal doctrine joint and several liability.

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Wrongful Death, Serious Injuries and Uninsured Drivers:

One of the most tragic circumstances we as lawyers face in our daily practice is representing clients who have suffered serious personal injury or the wrongful death of a loved one due to the negligence of an uninsured (or underinsured) driver. Regrettably, we have seen this far too many times. The results of being involved in a collision with an uninsured driver are particularly tragic because in such cases there simply are no available funds to compensate the innocent victims. This, of course, reminds us
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Medtronic Heart Device Recall

Yesterday, Medtronic, the world’s largest maker of implanted heart defibrillators, announced that it was urging doctors to stop using an electrical wire known as Sprint Fidelis, which connects the heart to a defibrillator. A defibrillator is a device which shocks the heart back into normal rhythm should it falter. The wire is prone to a defect that has resulted in malfunctions in hundreds of patients and may have contributed to five deaths.
There are an estimated 235,000 patients with the Fidelis. Such a malfunction can
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Dog Bite Injury – Georgia Injury Lawyer Blog

Dog bite injury cases are very prevalent in Atlanta and across the State of Georgia. Our Georgia Injury Lawyer Blog attorneys in Atlanta have handled many serious injury and wrongful death cases over the firms 40 plus years.
In our experience most serious dog bite injuries are inflicted by the following breeds: German Shepard, Rottweiler, Pit Bull, Chow-Husky and Doberman Pincher; however, other breeds have also been know to attack leaving the victim seriously injured. The injuries can leave serious physical and emotional scars
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New Prescription Drug Labeling Law Gives Warnings of Dangerous Side Effects of Prescription Drugs

As the Georgia Injury Lawyer Blog’s Atlanta attorneys have writtten about before, prescription drug manufacturers can cause serious personal injuries and death by failure to warn of a prescription drug’s hazardous side effects. A new law requires prescription drug companies to take steps to ensure drug safety and eliminate the risks of needless serious personal injury or death.
In late September, 2007, President Bush signed into law the Prescription Drug User Fee Reauthorization Act, “PDUFA.” This Act creates new federal safety requirements for drug
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Perfecting Claims Against Sheriffs And Their Deputies In Georgia

Under Georgia law, a sheriff and only a sheriff is vicariously liable for the negligent acts of his or her deputies. A county sheriff employs the deputy and the deputy reports to the sheriff. Thus, if a deputy sheriff is negligent, the sheriff is liable not the County. Notwithstanding this legal liability, however, there is a confusing element of Georgia law when it comes to perfecting claims against sheriffs and their deputies.
While the law is somewhat ambiguous in this regard and in many ways
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Using a Functional Capacity Evaluation In A Serious Injury Case

In a case involving serious injuries which threaten to impair or impede altogether one’s ability to be gainfully employed, a Functional Capacity Evaluation can be critical in helping to establish the extent of the disability. Functional Capacity Evaluations are performed according to objective criteria which have been proven to be reliable in determining the extent of job related restrictions and limitations. If a client submits to a Functional Capacity Evaluation and is proven by such objective criteria to have limited abilities, such evidence can
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Asthma Medications And Potential Safety Risks

There are several popular medications used by those who suffer from asthma which have an increased market share presence. These include Serevent, Advair and Foradel. All these medications use inhalation powders containing long acting beta agonists, commonly known as “LABA.” Beginning as early as November of 2005, the Food and Drug Administration issued a public health advisory concerning these three drugs informing doctors and patients that the use of these products could increase one’s risk of developing severe asthma and/or possibly having a fatal reaction.
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Vicarious Liability In Serious Injury Cases

A very common issue is a serious injury case is whether there exists any vicarious liability of a third party. If a truck driver runs into a motorist stopped at a stop sign and seriously injures them the question is whether the truck driver alone can be sued and/or their employer. Under longstanding legal principles, an employer is vicariously liable for the acts of the employee. As long as the employee was acting within the scope of his employment at the time of the
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Evaluating Pain and Suffering: A Difficult Task

In a personal injury lawsuit, it is always difficult for the trial lawyer representing the injured victim to talk about money in the context of pain and suffering. How does one fairly compensate an individual who is suffering as a result of the acts of a third party? Someone who is sitting still at a stop sign and who is rear-ended by a commercial truck, for example, and who sustains a broken neck or back is going to be faced with a lifetime of
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Deadly Police Chases Still In The News

As our firm handles police chases for innocent victims tragically caught up in these dangerous pursuits through no fault of their own, and as we have witnessed many different tragedies in this context, we obviously pay close attention to other similar cases throughout the country. Just this past week we read three different articles about three different pursuits in three different states in which innocent bystanders were killed during these dangerous pursuits. In none of the pursuits that we read about were any
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Military Members Have No Recourse For Medical Malpractice

Our military service members stand ready to put their lives on the line to protect the freedoms upon which our country is based. Yet, they are not provided the basic remedies available to other citizens who are victims of medical malpractice.
Under a 60-year-old Supreme Court ruling known as the Feres doctrine, service members are banned from suing the federal government for even the most egregious medical errors.
Pending before Congress is a bill that would remove that inequity. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., is the
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E-coli Tainted Lettuce Recalled

An outbreak of 19 E-coli related illnesses in Michigan, Ohio and New York may be linked to shredded romaine lettuce sold to grocery stores for use in salad bars and delis, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Yesterday, the FDA announced a recall of the potentially dangerous produce.
Escherichia coli (abbreviated as E. coli) are a large and diverse group of bacteria. Although most strains of E. coli are harmless, others can be extremely harmful. Strains of E. coli can cause diarrhea, urinary
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Death Linked to Defective Cribs

Yesterday, the Associated Press reported that on Thursday of this week the government recalled thousands of baby cribs manufactured by Simplicity and Graco, after warning that babies could suffocate or strangle in them. Apparently the problem with both types of cribs relates to faulty or defective hardware. According to the article, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said the Simplicity crib recall was linked to at least one death and it involved thousands of cribs. The recall involving Simplicity products is for all full-sized cribs

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Clients Deserve Better And So Do Lawyers

Last night after a long day at work I went home and decided to browse local television shows. In so doing, I came across a program entitled “American Greed.” The topic of the program I was watching was extremely disappointing to me but regrettably a symptom of modern day society. The program dealt with greedy lawyers who were stealing from their clients. I watched the program in amazement because the greed of these lawyers was utterly fantastic and extremely disappointing to me as a plaintiff’s
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