Personal Injury

Nursing Home Rating Scale – A Great Consumer Tool

In addition to representing victims of trucking accidents and automobile accidents, Finch McCranie, LLP also represents victims of nursing home abuse and nursing home neglect. including patients who have sustained decubitus ulcers (bed sores), falls and brutality in nursing homes.
In one case we handled, our client who suffered from Alzheimers Disease was actually struck in the face by one of the caseworkers. When struck the client fell, breaking her hip. She underwent surgery to repair the hip; however, the trauma of the
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Georgia Jury Awards $1.25 Million for Neglect by Nursing Home

The lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP have seen many different types of injuries result from being in various nursing homes. Some injuries are the result of being assaulted by nursing home staff or other patients and others are the result of nursing home neglect. Recently the family of a man who died four years ago at a Georgia nursing home was awarded $1.25 million after the jury found that the nursing home’s neglect was responsible for his wrongful death. Tucker Nursing Center allegedly
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Georgia Senator Introduces a Bill To Regulate Television Advertising By Lawyers

The personal injury law firm of Finch McCranie, LLP has been representing victims of truck accidents and automobile accidents for over 40 years. We do not advertise on television and have no intention of doing so. Unseemly television advertising has damaged the public image of the law profession. One Georgia senator is trying to do something about it; however, in its present form, it is not likely to pass.
Senator Seth Harp, a practicing Georgia attorney, has introduced a bill in Georgia Senate that proposes
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Uninsured Motorist Coverage And Georgia Drivers:

We have blogged before about the importance of uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. Because of the economic problems being currently experienced by our Country, such coverage is probably now more important than ever. Many people who are experiencing economic problems are cutting back on expenses. Some people are driving with no insurance. When insurance premiums and bills are received they are ignored. In short, people are taking their chances that they won’t be in an accident while driving without insurance. Those who are violating the
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Two Georgians Injured By Peanut Product Salmonella Food Poisoning

Our Georgia injury lawyers know that food poisoning cases can result in serious injury, and sometimes death. Just this week, federal officials announced that two Georgia citizens have been poisoned by salmonella found in peanut products and they warned consumers of dangers associated with more than 125 products recalled as part of a nationwide salmonella-and-peanuts Investigation. The Food and Drug Administration said products affected by the recall range from ice cream to pet foods. A list of recalled peanut products is available on
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Georgia’s Emergency Rooms-A Safe Haven For Medical Malpractice

Georgia injury lawyers are acutely aware of the so-called “tort reform” changes in the law which has limited and in some cases eliminated the rights of victims of medical malpractice. Unfortunately, most Georgia citizens are unaware that since 2005, emergency rooms have been a place where there is no liability for injuries caused by careless healthcare providers. Current Georgia law makes it virtually impossible for an injured patient to seek accountability in the Courts because it requires an injured victim to show by “clear
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Consumers of Dangerous Drugs Have Uphill Battle-Doctrine of Federal Preemption Protects Drug Companies

Like most Georgia injury lawyers, we are seeing more and more dangerous drug cases being dismissed because of the doctrine of federal preemption. An example of this came to our attention recently. A Kentucky man developed a drug-induced neurological disease after using a gastric reflex drug for years. He filed a lawsuit asserting state law products liability, negligence and breach of warranty claims against both the brand manufacturer and the generic manufacturers of the drug, claiming that it caused him to develop the disease.
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Atlanta Police Chase Results In Death

We read last week about another tragic ending to a police chase case in Atlanta on January 15, 2009. Unlike many other such matters where the death is not worth it from a societal standpoint, this case appears to be an example where the dangers to the public caused by the police chase were warranted under the unique circumstances involved.

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Bike-Car Accidents Often Result In Death Or Serious Injury

The injury lawyers in our firm have seen over the years that bicycle-car accidents can have serious consequences for the cyclist and often involve death or, at a minimum serious personal injury. A recent verdict demonstrates the kind of traumatic injuries that can occur in a bicycle-car collision. In that case, a jury returned a $1.8 million verdict in a personal injury case brought by a college student. She was seriously injured in 2005 when she was struck by 2 vehicles at an
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Drunk Driving Statistics Released

At least every week the Atlanta media carries a story concerning a wreck in which alcohol and drunk driving are a factor. The lawyers at Finch McCranie LLP see entirely too many cases in which alcohol or drunk driving cause serious injuries and death. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, recently released data concerning alcohol impaired driving for the year 2007. This is the latest year in which the data has been collected and analyzed. The figures are frightening.

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Pre-Suit Notice Requirements for Claims Against State and Local Government

Under Georgia law, a person injured by the act or omission of a state, local or county government agency must file a written pre-suit notification of intent to file a claim before a lawsuit can subsequently be filed. These are known as “Ante-Litem” provisions. Under the State Tort Claims Act, for example, an Ante-Litem Notice must be filed within twelve (12) months from the date the loss was discovered or should have been discovered. Any person with a claim against the county must present that
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Damage Caps and Medical Malpractice

Our Atlanta medical malpractice lawyers have written in the past about the unfairness of damage caps in medical malpractice cases and how they penalize the most severly injured innocent victims of medical malpractice.
Currently before the Georgia Supreme Court is the issue of the constitutionality of the $350,000.00 cap on non-economic damages enacted by the legislature in 2005. A decision is expected any day.
The attorneys who prosecuted that case have prepared a video which explains and details the terrible injuries suffered by their client.
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Defeating Defenses of Sovereign Immunity

Oftentimes we are asked by clients who have claims against government entities and/or employees to represent their interests in personal injury cases. Regrettably, due to the antiquated and harsh doctrine of sovereign immunity (for legal claims), this many times proves to be a difficult undertaking. Simply stated, sovereign immunity protects many government agencies and employees from lawsuits involving personal injuries. Thankfully, there are some exceptions to the rule, most notably when there is another statute that waives the immunity from suit.
With respect to county
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General Motors Recalls 1.3 Million Vehicles Over Steering Motor Problem

General Motors Co. Is recalling 1.3 million Chevrolet and Pontiac compacts cars to repair or replace steering motors which can fail causing the vehicle to be difficult to steer at lower speeds. While this may not be an insurmountable problem for some drivers, the Georgia injury lawyers recognize that it may be a serious problem for older or elderly drivers who may surprised by the loss of the power steering and be physically unable to steer the vehicle. Under those circumstances a power steering
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Bus Companies Owe Passengers Duty To Use Extraordinary Care In Georgia

Bus accidents on Georgia roads and highways many times result in serious injury and sometimes death for passengers. Many people do not realize that under Georgia law, common carriers such as bus companies and airlines owe their passengers the duty to exercise extraordinary care in the operation of the bus or airplane which is a higher legal duty than is normally owed. Specifically, the Official Code of Georgia Annotated §46-9-1 provides as follows:
“Carriers as such are bound to exercise ordinary diligence. Common

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Georgia Deck Collapse Cases Usually Result From Negligent Construction and Inspection

As a Georgia injury lawyer, I am always amazed at the number of deck collapse cases I read and hear about. Many of these decks are built high off the ground and do not meet any acceptable or recognized building code. Unfortunately the deficiencies of the construction do not become apparent until the decks are loaded up with people and the deck pulls away from the house and falls. In recent years there have been a number of death cases related to deck
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$9.45 Million Awarded in Prempro Dangerous Drug Case

Georgia injury lawyers are well aware that just because a prescription drug is an FDA approved drug is , does not mean that it is safe. There was a time when the American public believed that to be the case but we have come to the realization that money talks. Yes, “it is always all about the money” when it comes to business relationships and the drug business is BIG business. It is common knowledge that many former FDA employees end up being hired

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Some Chrysler Minivan’s May Have Defective Airbag Sensor

Chrysler Group LLC announced on yesterday it will replace a front airbag crash sensor in more than 355,000 minivans. Careful not to call it a “recall”, Chrysler says it’s “safety improvement campaign” covers its 2005 -2006 Chrysler Town and Country and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans sold in the United State and Canada.
Chrysler’s “safety improvement campaign” came about because they discovered that under certain environmental conditions one of the front airbag sensors could crack allowing water to enter the sensor potentially rendering it inoperable. In
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Yaz/Yasmin – Gall Bladder Damage

Recently, the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP got a call from a former client who advised us that her 21 year old daughter had been having gall bladder problems that led to her having her gall bladder removed. It turned out that she had been taking one of two related dangerous drugs that have become associated with such health problems, Yaz. Yasmin became a very popular seller for Bayer Corp. almost immediately upon release to the public in 2001
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Crib Safety Regulations Announced

Defective and dangerous infant cribs have become a major problem across the United States. Since September 2007 the Consumer Product Safety Commission, CPSC, has recalled more than 6 million cribs due to dangerous designs and defects. These problems include failures related to drop sides, hardware and wooden slats.
Consumer advocates and health professionals have long complained that federal safety requirements governing cribs do not address the durability of drop-sides on cribs and related hardware, as well as wood strength and quality and other issues.
Wednesday,
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