Personal Injury

Family Purpose Liability: Alive and Well in Georgia

In our serious injury practice we are often times confronted with cases involving the Family Purpose Doctrine. It is not unusual for one of our clients to be injured by the acts of a teenage driver. More often than not, the teenage driver is operating the automobile with the express permission of the owner of the car which are usually the parents. Under Georgia law, when a family purpose car that is furnished by the owner to a member of the family for their convenience
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Insurance Coverage for Intentional Torts

Our lawyers are often times confronted with cases where the clients complain of intentional torts committed against them. For example, we have had clients that have come in swearing that the driver that hit them did so on purpose because of some longstanding feud or vendetta. Unfortunately, if someone acts intentionally to cause harm, their insurance policy will typically provide no coverage for them. Insurance coverage is purchased to protect against negligent acts and omissions which give rise to liability to third parties. If someone
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Suing Uncle Sam Under the Federal Tort Claims Act

The Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) waives sovereign immunity only for the acts or omissions of an “employee of the government while acting within the scope of his office or employment. . .” 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b). Because it is a limited waiver of sovereign immunity, the provisions of the Federal Tort Claims Act are strictly construed and must be followed if a valid claim against the government is to be asserted under its provisions.

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LAKE ACCIDENTS IN GEORGIA

On May 12, 2007, we wrote here about an increase in boating accidents in Georgia. We handled several such cases in 2006 and based on our experience were very aware of the peculiar dangers affiliated with recreational boating activity. Unfortunately, in yesterday’s paper, we read about 4 separate deaths which occurred in Georgia lakes over the Memorial Day weekend. Thus, even before the summer has officially begun, we have already seen tragic evidence of the dangers associated with boating.
We cannot tell from the news
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ALL TERRAIN VEHICLE (ATV) ACCIDENTS OFTEN RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH

We recently filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the owners of an ATV who failed to supervise the use of their ATV. The owner’s minor daughter and our client, a seventeen year old girl, were riding the ATV at night. Our client, the passenger, was thrown from the ATV which resulted in her sustaining internal injuries which lead to her death.
With the growing popularity of ATV’s serious injury and death cases are on the increase, especially among children. Believe it or not, the ONLY
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Wrongful Death of a Child: Apportionment of Proceeds Between Divorced Parents

Anyone who has practiced law for any period of time in the area of Serious Injury Litigation unfortunately comes across cases where a child has been killed as a result of the negligent act of a third party and the cause of action resides in divorced or separated parents. These cases not only are tragic, they can be very sad and/or messy.
The law has long been in Georgia that where parents are divorced and their unmarried child dies as a result of a negligent
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More Traps for the Unwary: Problems Under the Federal Tort Claims Act

We have previously written about procedural problems that clients may face when dealing with claims against governmental entities. Specifically, if an individual has a claim against a city or county government, there are certain pre-suit, ante litem requirements that must be observed before suit can be filed. We have written about this in earlier articles and would refer the reader to the same. We have also written these procedural problems under Georgia’s State Tort Claims Act. Here, we write briefly to discuss some unique issues
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BOATING ACCIDENTS ON THE RISE

Just this past year, our firm handled several boating accident cases which illustrate the dangerous nature of this recreational activity. In one case, a female skier was pulled into a small cove by the operator of the ski boat with such speed and force that she was pulled onto the shore and thrown into some trees with resulting and very serious personal injuries. In another case, a child being pulled on a tube was pulled in front of another boat and the child was killed.
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MUNICIPAL TORT LIABILITY IN GEORGIA

For years, cities enjoyed sovereign immunity under the law and could not be sued if negligent. This has been relaxed under recent statutory provisions with respect to city motor vehicles. For most motor vehicles operated by and on behalf of city employees, municipalities are now required to carry liability insurance in the amount of $250,000 because of bodily injury or death to any one person and $450,000 for any one occurrence. While this amount is woefully inadequate for true serious injury cases or cases involving
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ANTE LITEM REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE STATE TORT CLAIMS ACT

The State Tort Claims Act waives the state of Georgia’s immunity from suit in the courts of this state. See O.C.G.A. § 50-21-23. This is a limited waiver of sovereign immunity and the most that any single claimant can recover against the State is $1 million. See O.C.G.A. § 50-21-29. By the terms of the State Tort Claims Act, the limited waiver of immunity only applies to the State and its agencies and departments. O.C.G.A. § 50-21-22(5). The State Tort Claims Act expressly includes claims
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Victims Rights, Statutes of Limitations and Serious Injury Claims

Our lawyers have previously written about procedural “Traps for the Unwary” which occur in the context of serious injury or wrongful death claims. We write again about this problem because we continue to see this issue in our practice.
To be victimized by a negligent act such as being seriously injured by a drunk truck driver is bad enough but to be further victimized by a statute of limitations would only compound the tragedy. Unfortunately, Georgia serious injury lawyers like ourselves often see cases
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Motorcycle Serious Injuries and Fatalities on the Rise

On this Georgia Injury Lawyer blog, our attorneys have previously written about motorcycle accidents involving serious injury or wrongful death. Based on the rise in the number of serious injury and death claims our firm is handling at present, our firm’s experience mirrors what the statistical evidence indicates: These tragic cases are on the rise.
The National Center for Statistics and Analysis, a division of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), keeps statistics for motorcycle accidents each year. NHTSA also uses a
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Dangerous Products In The Market – Yet Another Chinese Toy Recall

Our lawyers are constantly amazed at the number of Chinese made toys which enter the United States only to be recalled later as health hazards to children.
Last Thursday, Mattel Inc., the nation’s largest toy maker, recalled an additional 38,000 “Go Diego Go!” toys Thursday as part of a larger recall of 665,000 lead-contaminated children’s products.
The latest recall involves orange and yellow Go Diego Go! Animal Rescue Boats, manufactured in China and imported by Fisher-Price. Surface paint on the boats contains excessive levels of
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Premises Liability Issues — Heart Defibrillators Save Lives

Our attorneys have investigated wrongful death cases involving automatic external defibrillators (AEDS). An AED is a computerized medical device that checks a person’s heart rhythm, can recognize a rhythm that requires a shock, advises when the shock is needed, then prompts a rescuer to take the proper steps. An AED is a portable device, usually eight to ten inches square and weighs only one to two pounds.
Many businesses, churches, shopping malls, and other areas where large numbers of people congregate have begun to place
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Zelnorm® – A Dangerous Drug?

As a Georgia injury lawyer, I am always reading about dangerous drugs. One such drug is Zelnorm® , a drug used in the treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrom (“IBS”) and chronic constipation in individuals under 65 years of age.
On March 30, 2007, the FDA requested that Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (“Novartis”), the manufacturer of Zelnorm, voluntarily remove the drug from the market. The recall is based on findings of an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes associated with the drug from clinical
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Denying Justice to Innocent Victims of Police Chases: New Defense Strategies By The Government

Finch McCranie, LLP currently represents three individuals who have been tragically added to the ever growing and long list of innocent victims either killed or seriously injured in a police chase case. In two of the cases we filed on behalf of these victims, the police department involved is seeking to have the claims dismissed based on an argument that the Georgia Legislature has allegedly abolished the legal doctrine joint and several liability.

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Wrongful Death, Serious Injuries and Uninsured Drivers:

One of the most tragic circumstances we as lawyers face in our daily practice is representing clients who have suffered serious personal injury or the wrongful death of a loved one due to the negligence of an uninsured (or underinsured) driver. Regrettably, we have seen this far too many times. The results of being involved in a collision with an uninsured driver are particularly tragic because in such cases there simply are no available funds to compensate the innocent victims. This, of course, reminds us
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Medtronic Heart Device Recall

Yesterday, Medtronic, the world’s largest maker of implanted heart defibrillators, announced that it was urging doctors to stop using an electrical wire known as Sprint Fidelis, which connects the heart to a defibrillator. A defibrillator is a device which shocks the heart back into normal rhythm should it falter. The wire is prone to a defect that has resulted in malfunctions in hundreds of patients and may have contributed to five deaths.
There are an estimated 235,000 patients with the Fidelis. Such a malfunction can
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Dog Bite Injury – Georgia Injury Lawyer Blog

Dog bite injury cases are very prevalent in Atlanta and across the State of Georgia. Our Georgia Injury Lawyer Blog attorneys in Atlanta have handled many serious injury and wrongful death cases over the firms 40 plus years.
In our experience most serious dog bite injuries are inflicted by the following breeds: German Shepard, Rottweiler, Pit Bull, Chow-Husky and Doberman Pincher; however, other breeds have also been know to attack leaving the victim seriously injured. The injuries can leave serious physical and emotional scars
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New Prescription Drug Labeling Law Gives Warnings of Dangerous Side Effects of Prescription Drugs

As the Georgia Injury Lawyer Blog’s Atlanta 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, 2007, President Bush signed into law the Prescription Drug User Fee Reauthorization Act, “PDUFA.” This Act creates new federal safety requirements for drug
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