ATLANTA,GA
DULUTH, GA
Lately there has been a lot of publicity about the death of a 17-year old track star due to her use of the common muscle relaxant sports cream Bengay.
As I was reading these articles, it reminded me of case I handled several years ago involving a similar product called Icy Hot.
In that case, a diabetic client that I represented had used the product and apparently due to her diabetic condition, developed topical salicylate poisoning due to the main ingredient found in the Icy
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Lawyers in Georgia who handle serious injury and wrongful death cases are often confronted with situations where their clients are hospitalized and later acquire a Staph infection which greatly complicates their recovery. We also see cases where clients call complaining about the development of an infection while hospitalized for one condition where the infection becomes much more serious than the condition for which they were originally treated. Regrettably, many people die from these infections.
(more…)In the summer of 2006 MSNBC.com reported that each year as many as 1.5 million Americans suffer a serious injury or death because of errors made in the dispensing, prescribing or taking of prescription drugs. In an earlier report published by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, it was estimated that each year more than 7,000 people in the United States die from pharmacy related medication errors. Last year, in the nationally syndicated program 20/20, ABC News reported extensively on this problem. Regrettably,
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Just this past week, clients retained our firm’s services with respect to a serious motorcycle injury. As is often the case, because motorcycle riders are unprotected except for the helmet they wear, whenever an accident occurs involving a motorcycle, typically, serious injuries are involved.
The worst case we handled was about 3 years ago when one of our partners represented a motorcycle rider who was hit by a drunk driver and almost killed. This drunk driver not only ran over the motorcycle driver, the motorcycle
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A few days ago, we wrote an article about the importance of uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage in those situations where the at fault party has minimum limits of liability insurance coverage. Today we write about another reason why all Georgia motorists should consider carrying uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage in amounts at least as much as their liability insurance coverage and perhaps much more.
The distinction between liability coverage and uninsured motorist coverage is the fact that liability coverage protects the person you hit whereas uninsured motorist coverage
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Mesothelioma results from inhalation and exposure to asbestos. Mesothelioma is a specific form of lung cancer affecting the thin membrane linings of the abdomen and internal organs (cancer of the mesothelium). Because of exposure to asbestos, the cells of the mesothelium become abnormal and cancerous.
In Georgia and elsewhere, asbestos has been used in building materials, paper products and plastics. It is also found in textiles, packings and asbestos reinforced plastics. Nationwide, more than a quarter of a million people have been known to have
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Uninsured Employers is a growing problem for injured workers in Georgia. In our practice we have seen a growing number of employees who have been seriously injured only to discover that their employers have no workers’ compensation insurance coverage. Many of those employers have no real assets and they are therefore “judgment proof.”
I recently read that on November 9, 2006, the Governor of Pennsylvania signed into law a significant change in the Pennsylvania Workers Compensation Act. Like Georgia, the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act covers
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As I ride around the City, I am amazed at the number of billboard advertisements by attorneys. Occasionally, even though I am working all day long, I also get a chance while I am in a waiting room (usually awaiting a doctor’s deposition) to watch daytime TV. When I watch the TV, I am similarly amazed at the number of lawyer advertisements on daytime television. Obviously, this leads me to consider how the average person goes about finding a qualified personal injury attorney in a
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Many of the clients we represent are married individuals. When they are seriously injured, obviously, their spouses are adversely affected. The emotional toll of caring for an injured spouse, worrying about their health and financial issues and being overwhelmed by dealing with the totality of a serious injury case can be debilitating. The spouse of the actual client may be emotionally taxed and physically burdened by increased demands and therefore entitled to compensation for their damages. The question is whether a loss of consortium claim
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A typical case we see far too often is that where the motorist who caused the damage to our client had the minimum limits of Georgia law which provides only $25,000.00 in liability insurance coverage. Typically such a driver has little or no personal assets to satisfy an excess judgment against them. In those cases where our client’s damages (medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering) clearly exceed the $25,000.00 in available limits, the best chance for an excess recovery is to procure uninsured/underinsured motorist
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Rule No. 7 of 12: The successful cross-examiner listens to the witness’s direct testimony.
When a witness is called by the other side to testify against one’s client, one must be very careful to listen to that witness. Even if counsel has had the benefit of taking the deposition of the witness and has a beautiful outline to be used for anticipated cross of the witness, counsel must nonetheless listen very closely to the actual testimony given before the jury. It may be that the
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Rule No. 6 of 12: The successful cross-examiner stays calm and collected whatever happens.
During the testimony of a witness, particularly where the witness is providing very damaging testimony, counsel cannot flinch or otherwise demonstrate through body language that his client’s case has been hurt. Counsel must always stay calm and collected because body language many times can betray counsel’s representation of their client.
When a witness is being evasive or refuses to answer questions or asks counsel questions from the witness stand, counsel must
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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. Yesterday, we read about a 12-year-old Alto, Georgia girl who was killed last Friday night about 8:30 p.m. in an accident involving an all-terrain vehicle in Banks County. According to the Georgia State Patrol the girl was driving the vehicle when it overturned on private property. A 15-year-old passenger, who was not identified, was
Rule No. 5 of 12: The successful cross-examiner never asks an open-ended question such as “why” unless it does not care what the answer is.
In discussing rule 4 above, we gave a good example of why you do not ask open-ended questions. If you ask a witness “why?” they will tell you. In other words, they will give a speech, which usually will hurt your client. If you are cross-examining a witness, by definition, that means that the witness has been called by the
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We have previously written about dangerous toys containing magnets which can be swallowed by small children. Last week, toy manufacturer Mega Brands America Inc. consented to pay a $1.1 million civil penalty for failing to promptly report promptly dangerous magnetic building sets which it manufactured. The sets have been blamed in the death of a child.
As we reported, tiny magnets can fall out of toys and be swallowed or inhaled by children. If more than one magnet is swallowed, they can attach to each
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Rule No. 4 of 12: The successful cross-examiner never asks a question unless he knows what the answer will be or doesn’t care what it is.
Unless counsel is fully prepared, has fully investigated the case and has conducted necessary discovery, this rule is difficult to follow. On the other hand, if counsel knows everything about the case then there is no reason why this rule cannot be followed and, in fact, it should be followed in all cases. Otherwise, disaster can strike.
There is
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Rule No. 3 of 12: The successful cross-examiner avoids the appearance of pettiness, nit-picking or unfairness to the witness.
Even though we practice in an adversarial system, there is no necessity to be adversarial with the cross-examination of each and every witness. Righteous indignation needs to be saved for appropriate occasions where the witness is clearly lying or needs to be exposed for some form of aggravated misconduct. Counsel must reserve outrage and indignation for the proper case.
If trial counsel is unfair to any
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Raptiva, a drug manufactured by Roche HoldingAG’s Genentech Inc. and marketed for the treatment of psoriasis has been linked to a rare but often fatal brain disorder. As a result of these findings, Genentech has issued a voluntary recall of the drug.
Genentech previously disclosed that three cases of the disorder, called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, had turned up in patients taking Raptiva since October of last year. Two of these cases were fatal. A fourth patient died of unknown cause after developing neurologic symptoms. All
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The Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP have represented, and continue to represent, victims of day care child abuse. The statistics on physical child abuse are alarming. It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of children are physically abused each year by a parent or close relative; however, abusers include daycare workers, healthcare providers, mental healthcare workers and others who care for children on a daily basis.
(more…)Many Georgia residents may be driving General Motors cars which have a dangerous propensity to ignite in flames. General Motors and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced yesterday that the possibility of engine fires has prompted General Motors to recall nearly 1.5 million passenger sedans manufactured between 1997 and 2003.
The recall covers certain mid- and full-size passenger sedans under GM’s Chevrolet, Buick, Oldsmobile and Pontiac brands.
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