Personal Injury

Atlanta Man Electrocuted: Serious Injury and Wrongful Death

We read in the newspaper this week about the death of a maintenance man at a local school system when he was electrocuted while trying to change a fixture at the elementary school. While the newspaper article did not provide many details, it was curious to us that a maintenance man would be killed while simply trying to change out a light fixture. This raises the obvious issue of whether there is third party negligence because the electrical system obviously had some problems within it,
(more…)

Georgia Serious Injury Cases: Frequently Asked Question Number 3

This blog will continue in our series of providing our readers with answers to frequently asked questions in the context of a serious injury case. This blog will address FAQ number 3:
3. If a client settles his or her personal injury claim against an at fault defendant, will they have to repay their own insurance carrier under current subrogation provisions of the law?
Answer: This question often comes up in the context of serious injury cases where the injured individual has incurred substantial medical
(more…)

Ortho Evra Contraceptive Patch is Dangerous to Use

The Ortho Evra contraceptive patch has been used by many young women who unfortunately have developed clot related injuries. Some users have had strokes, heart attacks, pulmonary embolisms or deep vein thrombosis as a result of using this product. This past week, the Food and Drug Administration announced a significant update to the manufacturer’s warning on the contraceptive patch. The label now warns users of the patch that they are at a significantly higher risk of developing clot related injuries than other women who use
(more…)

Georgia Serious Injury Cases: Frequently Asked Question Number 2

This continues in our series of providing our readers with answers to frequently asked questions in the context of a serious injury case. This blog will address FAQ number 2:
2. Who will bear responsibility for my future medical expenses if I settle my serious injury case today?
Answer: Anytime a serious injury case is settled, there has to be an evaluation of future medical expenses. Has the injured individual recovered completely from their injuries? Are future medical expenses likely? If future medical expenses are
(more…)

Medication Errors In Atlanta Hospitals

We have previously written about the dangers of medication errors in hospitals. Recently another incident made the news because a celebrity was involved. Actor Dennis Quaid’s newborn twins and another child were put in serious danger when they were administered overdoses of a blood thinner. The California Department of Public Health said the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center gave the newborns 1,000 times the intended dosage of heparin. Fortunately, all three children recovered, but two needed a drug that reverses the effects of heparin.
The authorities said
(more…)

Emergency Care Lacking in Hospitals

Our attorneys are increasingly reviewing cases where major surgical procedures are being performed at small physician-owned hospitals and surgical centers.
On January 10, 2008, the Washington Post revealed that the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, had issued a report concerning physician-owned specialty hospitals. The report concluded that most physician-owned speciality hospitals are poorly equipped to handle medical emergencies.
The report revealed that only 55% of the 109 physician-owned hospitals studied had emergency departments, and of those, the majority had only
(more…)

Atlanta/Georgia Medical Malpractice Limits on Recoveries

Our medical malpractice attorneys are frequently forced to decline cases which have merit from a liability standpoint, but due to caps on the amount of recovery cannot be justified in economic terms.
Last week, the Los Angeles Times ran a story concerning a 72 year old woman who entered Stanford University Medical Center for double knee replacement surgery in April. Four days later, she was dead. Her son, an anesthesiologist, felt that the case was a classic case of medical malpractice. After the operation, his
(more…)

Having Full Insurance Coverage Does Not Mean You Have Good Coverage

Serious injury lawyers like ourselves often hear clients involved in serious accidents tell us that they had “full coverage” at the time of the accident and that they therefore have “excellent” insurance protection. The vast majority of the time, this is not the case at all. This is because the term “full coverage” means that one has the coverage one is minimally required by law to possess. Full coverage does not mean adequate coverage nor does it mean excellent coverage. It means minimally required coverage
(more…)

Medical Malpractice Bill Seeks To Correct Injustice

Our medical malpractice attorneys are many times forced to turn away cases against emergency rooms where the patient is injured by clear negligence. This is caused by the gross negligence standard for emergency departments adopted by the Legislature in 2005.
With the Georgia Legislature meeting this week, Senators from both sides of the aisle, Democrats and Republicans, have joined to co-sponsor Senate Bill No. 286. This bill is designed to amend the provision of the so-called Tort Reform Bill initially passed in 2005, which essentially
(more…)

Police Chase Cases Do Not Always Protect the Public

Our firm is working on a police chase metro Atlanta case involving an officer who has been in two separate high speed pursuit cases resulting in two deaths. We have learned in this case that another officer in the same department has also been involved in two other accidents that have resulted in four deaths. Thus, between these two officers within the same police department there have been 4 high speed pursuit cases we know of involving six deaths. Is the public being protected when
(more…)

South Carolina Teenager Seriously Injured After Being Thrown From ATV

Georgia and South Carolina injury lawyers are seeing ATV accidents involving serious injury and sometimes death are on the rise with the return of warm weather. Tragically many, if not most are preventable by using common sense and obeying ATV rules. Just this week, I read about a Summerville, South Carolina teenager who is fighting for her life as a result of being thrown from the back of a fast moving ATV. According to witnesses, neither the 32 year old ATV driver or the
(more…)

Brain Death

Our Atlanta based lawyers are constantly involved in cases involving brain injury and brain death. As tragic as these cases are, the families and loved ones are many times faced with the decision whether to cease life support after there has been a medical determination of brain death.
In general, brain death is considered to be the irreversible loss of brain function. The exact definition has changed throughout the years and is still subject to debate. The brainstem controls brain function and is responsible for
(more…)

Lawmakers Hold Hearing on Medical Device Safety Act

Defective medical devices can lead to the serious injury or death of innocent people. For this reason Georgia injury lawyers representing victims of defective and dangerous products were dismayed when the Supreme Court decision in Riegel v. Medtronic, held that consumers can’t sue medical device companies over medical devices that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Now, victims of these dangerous products who say they were injured by faulty medical devices want Congress to pass legislation called the Medical
(more…)

Workers Compensation Injuries – Is There A Premises Liability and Negligent Security Third Party Claims?

The Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP who handle workers compensation cases always investigate the possibility that there is a negligent third party who can be sued and held accountable for the client’s injuries and damages. As any injured worker knows, the income benefits available under the Georgia Workers Compensation Act are limited. A worker with serious injuries is never made whole with workers compensation benefits alone. Many serious on-the-job injuries or deaths are attributable to the negligence of someone other
(more…)

Congressman’s Death Highlights The Dangers of Operating An ATV

As the popularity of ATV’s (all-terrain vehicles) increases the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP see more ATV accidents resulting in death and serious injuries each year. Even experienced riders must be very careful when operating an ATV. On April 18th of this year, former Utah Congressman Bill Orton, age 60, died while operating his ATV. According to authorities, he was riding out on the sand and went off a very steep sand dune, and when he impacted the bottom, the front end
(more…)

Car Roof Crush Standards Increased

Many automobile crashes which our Georgia lawyers investigate involve serious injury and deaths which are caused by roof collapses in rollover situations. Tragically, many of these victims would have been less seriously injured or survived had the roof of the vehicle not collapsed. For many years, safety advocates have urged auto makers and the federal government to increase the minimal standards for vehicle roof strength.
Now, under pressure from Congress, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued increased roof-strength requirements. The long-awaited federal
(more…)

Limiting The Chance For Serious Injury Or Death From Grinding Wheel Explosions

The Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP have previously posted on the danger posed by defective grinding wheels that explode or disintegrate. When a grinding wheel comes apart, it can result in serious eye injury and even death. Although there are several reasons why these wheels fail, it is thought that many of these are inferior, imported products.
To prevent injuries, the following procedures are recommended when using grinding wheels:
* Check the wheel before each use for any cracks or chips. If
(more…)

Grinding Wheel Failures Can Lead To Serious Injury Or Death

Recently an Atlanta eye surgeon told one of the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP that his group sees at least two new patients a month with serious eye injuries caused by grinding wheel accidents. Often times , the hazards of using a grinding wheel are overlooked. When using a grinder there are several potential hazards to of which you should be aware. They include: cuts and amputations; eye injuries from flying particles; punctures from work piece or debris; hearing loss from noise; and
(more…)

Hydroxycut Recalled – May Be Linked To Liver Damage

The Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP have handled many products liability cases involving dangerous drugs and consumer products. Last week the FDA announced the recall of Hydroxycut. Government officials warned dieter and body builders to immediately stop using Hydroxycut, a supplement which has been linked to serious liver damage and at least one death. According to an FDA official, the agency has received 23 reports of liver problems, including the death of a nineteen year old. It has been
(more…)

Secretary of Transportation Pushes For Child Seat Testing

Many Georgia parents employ child safety seats to protect the lives of their children without any reliable data as to the safety of the particular seat model. Now, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has announced that he will urge carmakers to crash-test child safety seats in their vehicles and recommend which child restraints are the safest in each auto.
If adopted, this new system would be a victory for parents who struggle to find the best car seats for their children. While federal regulators rate
(more…)

Secret Link