Personal Injury

Georgia Should Ban Cell Phone Use While Driving

On July 1 of this year the state of California provided a great example for the state of Georgia in prohibiting by law drivers in California from holding a phone and talking while driving. Under the new law, a driver is prohibited from talking on a hand held cell phone while driving. Blue tooth handless cell use is permitted. There is also an exception for emergencies under this new law, however, obviously, the law is intended to promote safety awareness by drivers who are oftentimes
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Deaths Linked to Contaminated Heparin

According to an Article in The Chicago Tribune, the Food and Drug Administration conclusively has linked 3 patient deaths to a foreign substance found in specific lots of Heparin, a drug manufactured by Baxter International. According to the news report, the FDA completed its review of 93 reports of deaths related to Heparin that were received from January through the end of March, a period when there was a huge spike in the potentially deadly allergic reactions from patients who had been injected with this
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Allstate Bad Faith

Allstate Insurance Company is known by plaintiff’s attorneys for engaging in bad faith tactics. Last week, the Missouri Court of Appeals upheld a jury verdict that hit Allstate with more than $16 million in damages for bad faith tactics.
On March 24, 2000, Wayne Davis Jr., while drunk, drove his truck across the center line of a roadway and hit a compact car head-on. The force of the collision pushed the car back more than 100 feet. The driver and the passenger survived but suffered
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Dangerous Tires Threaten The Public

According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, last summer, more than 380,000 defective tires were recalled from the market. What is more troubling than this number is the fact that experts agree that less than 20% of the public was aware of the recalls involved. Accordingly, 80% of the defective tires are still being used and are probably on the roads today. In short, recall notices are rarely received and thus the entire public remains at risk as a result of the continued
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The Wreckage Of A Wrongful Death Case: More Than Meets The Eye

On April 30 of this year on a busy interstate here in Atlanta, a Ms. Katherine Armstrong was killed when involved in a collision with an armored truck on a busy interstate highway in Atlanta. The driver of the truck was later charged with vehicular homicide. Ms. Armstrong was cleared of any wrongdoing. Based on what we have learned about this tragic incident, however, the emotional, psychological, physical and monetary damage caused by this wrongful death incident does not stop with the death itself but
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Accident Data To Be Released To The Public

In a major victory for consumers, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled last week that information that automobile and tire manufacturers submit to the government about crashes resulting in death, injury and property damage is subject to release to the public under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
The case was brought by the public interest consumer group Public Citizen. In its ruling the Court rejected the argument of the Rubber Manufacturers Association that it is exempt from FOIA’s disclosure
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Trasylol Removed From The Market:Suspected in Hundreds of Deaths

On May 14, 2008, the manufacturer of Trasylol officially pulled all remaining supplies of the blood clotting drug from the market. This drug, manufactured by Bayer (AG) is typically used by surgeons to control bleeding during heart surgery. Unfortunately, in a major study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, it was reported that the use of this drug significantly raised the risk of death for patients who used this product as opposed to other similar products on the market. A study conducted by
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The Complications Of A Serious Personal Injury Claim

Every serious injury claim our firm handles has its own set of complications, but one of the most complicating facts we are often confronted with is the case where someone is seriously injured in an automobile or tractor-trailer collision and they have no health insurance. Indeed, regardless of the type of claim, whether it be a slip and fall, a products liability claim, medical malpractice or any other tort case, the lack of available health insurance oftentimes severely compromises our ability to obtain justice for our clients. This also severely compromises the ability of the injured individual to obtain the necessary care to improve their health. While we often read in the paper about the crisis of our healthcare delivery system when it comes to poor and the indigent, we see this crises every day in our practice when innocent victim/clients who are suffering are unable to afford needed healthcare.

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Georgia Bicycling Laws

In addition to the bicycle laws already covered in past blogs, there are a few others with which all bike riders should be familiar.
One makes it unlawful for any person to sell a new bicycle or pedal unless the pedals on the bike or the pedal is equipped with a reflector of a type approved by the Department of Public Safety. The reflector must be situated so as to be visible from the front and rear of the bike during darkness from a distance
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Beware Medical Credit Cards

Many doctors and dentists are marketing medical credit cards to their patients. Doctors like the cards because they get paid immediately from the credit card companies rather than spending time collecting medical bills. Doctors and other health care providers are pushing the cards even in cases where the patient needs emergency care and may not be in a position to refuse the card or to intelligently make a proper financial decision.
Consumer lawyers report they are seeing a growing number of cases where patients say
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Defective Fans Subject of Fine By USCPSC

Portable fans have been overheating and causing fires. Now, a company which manufactures these dangerous products will pay a $500,000 fine for not quickly reporting these problems.
Lasko Products received 42 related complaints involving nine injuries and property damage from 2002 through 2005 as a result of malfunctions in portable fans it manufactures.
Federal law requires that companies such as Lasko report potential hazards to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission within 24 hours. The company did not fully report the problems until September of
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Georgia and National Car Wreck Fatalities Involving Alcohol Impaired Young Drivers

It seems that almost everyday there is a news story in the Atlanta and Georgia media involving the tragic death of a young person in a traffic accident. Many times alcohol is involved.

Fatal car wrecks involving alcohol impaired young drivers are a major concern, especially around the Christmas and New Years holidays. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), recently released a study involving alcohol related deaths from crashes involving 21-24 year old drivers. The findings are disturbing.

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Credit Card Rules Protect Consumers

Consumers have received long overdue protections from abusive practices by credit card issuers . In enacting the most sweeping changes to credit cards in decades, federal regulators on Thursday approved new rules to crack down on unfair and deceptive practices by card issuers.
The rules were issued by the Office of Thrift Supervision and approved later Thursday by the Federal Reserve and the National Credit Union Administration.
The rules, which take effect in July 2010, will let credit card companies raise interest rates only on
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Construction Accident Lawyer’s Approach to Atlanta Botanical Garden’s Bridge Collapse

The tragedy of preventable construction accidents was repeated last week at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, a beautiful area near my home enjoyed by young and old alike. News reports have described the horror of one dead, and eighteen injured, many of them critically.
In our experience from having handled contruction accidents–including a much larger structure’s construction collapse during the building of Philips Arena that killed ironworkers erecting a section of precast concrete–the injured workers and their families are in a state of shock and confusion.
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Nursing Home Quality Ratings

Abuse of elderly and disabled persons is one of the most disturbing matters our Atlanta based attorneys see. A report issued last Thursday by the Centers for Medicare and Services has revealed that almost 22 percent of the nation’s nearly 16,000 nursing homes received the federal government’s lowest rating in a new five-star system, while 12 percent received the highest ranking possible.
The new star ranking system has not been well received by the nursing home industry. It has been criticized for being too simplistic
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Desplome del Puente en los Jardines Botánicos de Atlanta (Botanical Garden Bridge)

Un desplome de construcción que implica un puente fue informado esta mañana en los Jardines Botánicos de Atlanta. Desafortunadamente, parece que había una muerte y muchas heridas graves. Nuestros abogados han investigado y han archivado pleitos en numerosos casos de desplome de construcción. El más notable fue el desplome durante la construcción de la Arena de Phillips (Phillips Arena) en Atlanta.
Mientras los informes no indican la causa del desplome, habrá indudablemente una investigación por “OSHA” (the Occupational and Safety Health Administration) la Administración Profesional
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Botanical Garden Bridge Collapse–Another Dangerous Contruction Accident

A construction collapse involving a bridge was reported this morning at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. Unfortunately, there appears to be one death and many serious injuries. Our lawyers have investigated and filed lawsuits in numerous construction collapse cases. The most notable was the collapse during the building of Phillips Arena in Atlanta.
While the reports do not indicate the cause of the collapse, there will undoubtedly be an investigation by OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Many times attorneys mistakingly believe that any recovery
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Consumer Interests Boosted By Decision

Consumer protection got an unexpected boost this week when the United States Supreme announced its decision in Altria Group v. Good. In a surprising decision that could have wide-ranging impact, the Supreme Court held that federal law neither expressly or impliedly preempts a lawsuit filed under the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act by Maine smokers. The underlying lawsuit claims that smokers of Marlboro Lights and Cambridge Lights cigarettes were misled by deceptive labels touting the cigarettes as “light” and “low tar” when the manufacturer knew
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Dangerous Drug Warning

Dangerous drugs have been placed into the stream of commerce by manufacturers for years without warnings. Recently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ordered the manufacturer of two drugs commonly used before colonoscopies to add warnings to the products. These are commonly referred to as “black box” warnings.
Visicol and OsmoPrep are oral sodium phosphate medicines used for bowel cleansing before colonoscopies. There have been reports of serious kidney injuries linked to their use. The FDA has received reports of 20 cases of kidney injury
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Accutane Drug Trial Results in A Thirteen Million Dollar Verdict

A New Jersey jury recently awarded nearly $13 million to three acne drug users who developed severe inflammatory bowel disease after taking the medication. The drug, Accutane, is manufactured by Hoffman-La Roche.
The three plaintiffs are Florida residents who used the drug to treat adolescent acne. All three developed bowel disorders including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s Disease. The jury found that the drug manufacturer should have issued better warnings that the drug could cause bowel problems and that their failure to do so resulted in

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