Personal Injury

NEW DRUG LABELING LAW

As the Georgia Injury Lawyer Blog 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, President Bush signed into law the Prescription Drug User Fee Reauthorization Act, PDUFA. This Act creates new federal safety requirements for drug companies, and
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Spoliation or Destruction Of Evidence

Spoliation is defined as the destruction or a significant or meaningful alteration of evidence. For many years, in Georgia, spoliation of evidence has given rise to a presumption against the spoliator which has resulted in discovery sanctions in appropriate cases. Many states actually recognize a separate tort of spoliation. However, Georgia courts have not yet embraced that concept.
Spoliation of evidence is actually a type of fraud which interferes with the plaintiff’s opportunity to win a lawsuit. In some cases, it can logically be expanded
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Medical Malpractice or Frivolous Litigation?

It seems that all the time we read articles about the need for reform in the medical malpractice area because of so-called frivolous litigation. The argument always seems to be that claims are being brought which are frivolous and that medical malpractice rarely occurs. The truth is that, like any other human undertaking, malpractice does occur in the field of medicine. Sometimes, the malpractice can be egregious and the mistakes life altering.
Just today we read a story about a lady who had a double
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FORMER CHIEF JUDGE OF CLAYTON COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT JOINS FIRM

Stephen E. Boswell, former Chief Judge of Clayton County Superior Court, has joined one of the Atlanta area’s longest established law firms, Finch McCranie, LLP., according to Richard W. Hendrix, partner in the firm.
Judge Boswell recently retired from the Superior Court bench after serving 13 years as a Superior Court Judge, over two periods of service since 1982. Previously, he was in private practice in the Atlanta area for 16 years, with a variety of experience in civil and criminal jury trials.
As of
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Georgia Motorcycle Accident Kills One, Injures Another

We read in yesterday’s paper where one motorcyclist was killed and another seriously injured after their bikes were involved in a multi-vehicle wreck just outside of Atlanta in Cherokee County. According to the news accounts, the bikers were among a group of 40 to 50 taking part in a charity bike ride when the crash occurred. The news report indicates that a teenage driver struck a lady who was sitting stopped at a stop sign waiting for the motorcyclists to pass her when, after being
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Civil Restitution For Crime Victims In Federal Court

In 1996 the United States Congress enacted the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act of 1996, which makes restitution mandatory upon a defendant’s conviction for a federal violent or property crime in which there is an identifiable victim who has directly and proximately suffered physical injury or monetary loss. Upon conviction for other federal crimes, including drug offenses, the imposition of restitution is in the discretion of the sentencing court. In instances in which restitution is imposed, the court “shall order restitution to each victim in the
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Another Chinese Toy Recall

The Associated Press is reporting that yet another massive recall of Chinese-made toys has been issued. Toys and child necklaces made in China were recalled Wednesday because they contain dangerous levels of lead. The recalled toys contained high levels of lead on their surface paint and the necklaces and jewelry sets contain excessive lead in some of their metal parts.
Under current regulations, children’s products which contain more than .06% of lead accessible to users are subject to a recall. The Consumer Product Safety Commission
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Food Poisoning Danger – Recall Due To E. coli

Our firm was recently retained to represent a gentleman who almost died after he consumed a meal at a restaurant in south Georgia. It seems like our food supply is not as safe as it used to be. Time and time again we hear and read about horrific food poisoning injury cases, some resulting in death.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported this week that a New Jersey-based meat processor has voluntarily recalled 331,582 pounds of frozen ground beef products that may be contaminated with
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Effort to Control Hospital Infections

In an analysis made public this week, Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports Magazine, compared data compiled by the Federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services showing compliance with infection control measures for hospitals in Maryland and Virginia.
Consumers Union is advocating a bill before Congress that will require hospitals to publish their infection rates. The analysis determined that the hospitals in both states generally performed about as well as hospitals nationwide. But, according to the study, the hospitals in each state varied greatly
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Gadolinium Contrast Agent – A Dangerous Drug Under Investigation

Many of us who have handled serious personal injury cases, including those involving brain injury have seen MRI’s performed using various contrast agents for years. One of those agents does not appear to be as safe as once thought. Gadolinium, or gadodiamide, is a contrast agent which allows an MRI to define normal tissue from abnormal tissue in the brain and body. The FDA declared Gadolinium safe for use in contrast MRI’s in 1988.
In June 2006, the FDA first notified health care professionals and
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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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