Personal Injury

Bus Accidents Provoke DOT to Review Bus and Motorcoach Safety

Bus accidents (or motorcoach accidents) can multiply the loss of life and life-changing injuries. Our Bluffton University baseball team client will never be the same as a result of the bus accident in 2007 that left him permanently injured, and several of his teammates dead.
A bus accident in Utah in January 2008 that left nine dead likewise shows how bus safety has been a neglected issue. Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation finally took the step of ordering a “full review” of bus safety.
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Profiles In Courage: Innocent Personal Injury Victims

In today’s economic times, we hear a lot of discussion about the problems that people are having financially. While many people are emotionally suffering due to rising unemployment and adverse economic conditions, those who suffer perhaps the most during these troubling times are innocent victims in personal injury cases. Our office just settled the case of one young lady, which is a classic example of what we address in this article. Simply stated, this young lady is a living profile in courage.
On the date
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Trial Techniques – The Art of Cross-Examination – Part XVI

Rule No. 12 of 12: The successful cross-examiner understands the risks of cross-examination.
As set forth above, if an attorney asks a question that he does not know the answer to or asks one question too many, he is inviting disaster. Cross-examination is risky, particularly if a witness is hostile and adverse. If leading questions that are designed to make the witness answer with either a yes or no are not asked or if counsel begins sparring with the witness, counsel has lost control of
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Electronic Medical Records Can Reduce Errors

Over the years our Georgia medical malpractice lawyers have been involved in medical negligence lawsuits involving missing or improperly documented medical records. In an effort to avoid such problems the federal government is pressuring medical professionals and facilities to adopt electronic record keeping. While this has the potential to eliminate life threatening record keeping errors, there are also potential dangers associated with this system.
Electronic medical records allow healthcare professionals to easily document medical findings. With just a few keystrokes, a physician or PA can
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Trial Techniques – The Art of Cross-Examination – Part XV

Rule No. 11 of 12: The successful cross-examiner has the ability to make what appears to be complex become simple.
In order to adhere to this rule, experienced trial counsel knows that they must use language that layman can understand. Using lawyerly language or expansive vocabulary is not the way to go. Counsel must boil down the issues to as few as are possible so that the jury can understand what the issues are and follow the testimony and the relevance of the examination. If
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Trial Techniques – The Art of Cross-Examination – Part XIV

Rule No. 10 of 12: The successful cross-examiner knows how to force an evasive witness to give a responsive answer.
When a hostile or evasive witness refuses to answer a question, counsel must be firm and persistent in getting the answer desired. The first thing to do is to repeat the question. If the witness continues to evade, ask the witness what it is about the question that he or she does not understand. If necessary, have the court reporter read the question back to
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Trial Techniques – The Art of Cross-Examination – Part XIII

Rule No. 9 of 12: The successful cross-examiner has a good beginning and good ending to the cross-examination of the witness.
If counsel is prepared through proper investigation and discovery, counsel can start off strong and end strong. A good beginning gets the cross-examination rolling and prepared ending gets counsel down if he needs to get down without being too badly damaged by the opponent’s witness. Again, this all goes back to another rule, which is to prepare cross-examination in advance of trial.
When one
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Bus Accidents Continue to Kill and Injure

Bus accidents were the subject of action taken by The National Transportation Safety Board this week. The NTSB is the federal agency charged with investigating major transportation accidents. On Tuesday, it strongly criticized regulators at the Department of Transportation for lax oversight of the commercial bus industry.
The NTSB voted to cite the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for failing to implement recommendations that could lead to new safety equipment on buses, including seatbelts and stronger roofs and windows. They have been urging NHTSA to
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Trial Techniques – The Art of Cross-Examination – Part XII

Rule No. 8 of 12: The successful cross-examiner listens carefully to what the witness says in response to his questions on cross-examination.
As set forth above, counsel should know what a witness will say in response to each question posed. No question should be asked that the answer is not known in advance. Nonetheless, sometimes, an answer more favorable than anticipated may be given by the witness or impeaching or contradicting of yet another witness. By listening closely to what the witness says on cross-examination,
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Caps on Damages For Nursing Home Abuse – What Are They Thinking?

In addition to representing victims of trucking accidents and automobile accidents, the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP also represent victims of nursing home abuse and nursing home neglect. including patients who have sustained decubitus ulcers (bed sores), falls and brutality in nursing homes. Consequently we have seen, first-hand, how victims of nursing home abuse or neglect suffer when those facilities don’t adequately take care of the people for which they are paid to care. It has been our experience that the owners
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Representing Children in Serious Injury Cases

Over the years, our lawyers have handled many different cases involving serious injuries to children. These injuries arise in a myriad of contexts and are oftentimes heartbreaking. Over the years, we have had serious burn injury cases, dog bite cases,unsafe premises, sexual abuse cases, car accidents, medical malpractice cases, drowning accidents, playground injuries,unsafe consumer products, school injuries and the like, all involving young children. Some of these cases have resulted in wrongful deaths, comas, paralysis, burns and amputations. Presently, we are handling injuries to children
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Zicam Recalled for Dangerous Effects

Yesterday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned consumers to stop using Zicam, a popular homeopathic cold remedy, because it could damage or destroy their sense of smell, a condition called anosmia.
The Food and Drug Administration received 130 reports from consumers and doctors of people losing their sense of smell after using one of the Zicam nasal products, which include Zicam Cold Remedy and Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs. The reports date to 1999, when Matrixx Initiatives of Scottsdale, Ariz., first introduced the products.
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ATV Accident Results in Serious Injury and Criminal Charge

The Georgia injury lawyers have written before that with the growing popularity of ATV’s or All-Terrain Vehicles, serious injury and death cases are on the increase in Georgia, especially among children. Today I read about a tragic case that occurred on May 16th in South Carolina. In that case, a 15- year-old girl was riding on the seat behind her 32 year old neighbor when the neighbor lost control of the vehicle and the two were ejected. As a result, the teen sustained

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Medical Malpractice Awards Decrease

Medical malpractice claims in Georgia are constantly coming under fire from insurance companies and doctors who allege they raise the costs of medical care through increased insurance costs to doctors. For many years our Atlanta based attorneys have watched as these large insurance companies and medical groups spend massive sums to influence politicians to enact legislation eroding the rights of innocent victims of medical negligence.
A recent study in New York has exposed these false arguments.Data from the National Practitioner Data Bank show 1,882
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Police Chase For Non-Violent Crime Turns Deadly

We read yesterday in the paper about a tragic case in Charlotte, N.C. involving a police chase which resulted in the death of an innocent 84-year old woman who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and got caught up in the chase, resulting in her death. According to the news reports of the incident, the police were chasing a suspected shoplifter who had committed a petty offense at a local shopping mall. Although the news reports are sketchy, it appears that the merchant called the police and shortly thereafter the police spotted the vehicle being operated by the suspected thief. A three mile chase ensued at high speeds and during the chase, the suspect lost control of his vehicle and struck the vehicle being operated by the innocent victim. Her death resulted. The petty thief has now been charged with murder.

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Georgia Wrongful Death Actions:Who Has The Right To Sue? (Part IV)

In a wrongful death case where the deceased individual is survived neither by a spouse, child or parent, under Georgia law such a cause of action would vest in the Executor or Administrator of the Estate. In short, there will always be someone able to proceed on behalf of the “heirs-at-law” and such an individual, once duly appointed, will proceed in a fiduciary capacity to protect the rights of the heirs-at-law relative to the wrongful death action. Thus, if an individual dies and is neither
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Georgia Wrongful Death Actions:Who Has The Right To Sue? (Part III)

In Georgia, if an individual loses her or her life due to the negligence of a third party and is not survived either by a spouse or children, the cause of action for the wrongful death of such an individual vests in the surviving parents. If both parents are alive, the cause of action is vested jointly in the parents if they are living together. If one parent is deceased, the right is in the surviving parent. If both parents are living, but are
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Consumers May Be Without Remedies Against Auto Manufacturers

The Atlanta consumer and product liability lawyers of Finch McCranie LLP have successfully litigated cases against auto manufacturers for serious injury and death caused by defects in their products. Now, as a result of the bankruptcy of GM and Chrysler, many deserving victims of these defective products may be left without recourse.
The bankruptcy proceedings currently underway will leave consumers currently bringing personal-injury and product-liability lawsuits against Chrysler LLC and General Motors unable to continue their actions and receive compensation for their injuries. In
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Georgia Wrongful Death Actions:Who Has The Right To Sue? (Part II)

In Part I of this series, we set forth the provisions of Georgia law for wrongful death actions where surviving spouses were involved. In this article, we shall address actions by surviving children under Georgia’s wrongful death statute where a spouse does not survive to bring such a case.
If a parent is killed due to the negligence of a third party and is not survived by a spouse but is survived by children, the cause of action for the wrongful death vests with
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Georgia Health Insurer Accused Of Unfair Practices

A lawsuit has been filed by Georgia surgery centers against Blue Cross Blue Shield Healthcare Plan of Georgia Inc. and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia, seeking class action. The lawsuit, like many others around the country attacks the insurer’s practice of discouraging visits to out-of-network providers by reimbursing procedures at a tiny fraction of “usual and customary” charges.
The suit is similar to one filed earlier this year by a dialysis provider against Blue Cross. That suit was dismissed. The new suit alleges
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