Trial Attorney Blog

The United States Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday in a very interesting case. The question before the Court in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, v. McGhee and Harrington is : Do citizens who have been framed by unscrupulous prosecutors for crimes they did not commit have a right to sue the prosecutors when the fraud is finally exposed?

Most public officials have qualified immunity, which means that they can’t be sued personally for actions taken in the course of their public duties unless it can be shown that they willfully violated clearly established statutory or constitutional rights. In almost all cases qualified immunity is enough to prevent suits against public officials.

The position taken by the federal government and being joined in by many state’s attorney generals is not that prosecutors should only be held accountable for wrongful convictions if it can be proven that they proactively and intentionally created false evidence or violated the clear legal and ethical requirements of their position.

Our Georgia product liability lawyers have been monitoring the Toyota recall due to uncontrolled rapid acceleration. Several weeks ago, Toyota announced the biggest recall in its history. The Japanese automaker issued a safety advisory urging Toyota owners of over 3.8 million cars and trucks to remove driver side mats from their vehicles.

It initially was announced that the floor mats were the sole cause of these sudden acceleration incidents. Now, ABC news is reporting that the cause may be something much more complicated than the floor mat design. According to ABC there have been several reports of sudden uncontrolled acceleration in Toyota vehicles in which the driver’s side floor mats had been removed. This has caused investigators to question whether there is a design defect in the electronics controlling acceleration. Toyota has denied that any such defect exists.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, issued a statement yesterday

It seems that everyday when our personal injury lawyers open the paper, we read about another wrongful death in the context of a high speed police chase. Today, we read about another tragic police chase, this one in Montana. The Billings Gazette reported that the family of a Billings nurse killed by a drunken teenager who was fleeing from police has filed a wrongful death and negligence lawsuit, claiming city officers and county deputies violated their own pursuit policies. Stahl died shortly before 7 a.m. on April 18, 2008, when her car was hit broadside by a GMC Jimmy driven by 17-year-old Brian Houston. Stahl was on her way to work as an operating-room nurse at Billings Clinic. The collision happened when the Jimmy went through a stop sign and hit Stahl’s car.The lawsuit also claims that after the crash that killed 27-year-old Lillian Stahl, city and county law enforcement agencies lied to the public by stating that the sheriff’s deputy leading the pursuit called off the chase several blocks before the fatal collision. According to the article, allegations against the law enforcement agencies in the lawsuit include: the first city officer involved in the incident was driving an unmarked police car; the chase was unwarranted because the driver was suspected of committing only misdemeanor offenses and had been partially identified; that numerous patrol cars from both agencies converged on the area and joined in the chase; and that a city officer’s written report and patrol car video “don’t match up.” The teenager was charged as an adult with negligent vehicular homicide and other felonies. He eventually plead guilty and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. The full article in the Billings Gazette can be found at http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_8b672cea-bf8d-11de-b6fa-001cc4c002e0.html. A photograph of the innocent victim should remind readers that all citizens are vulnerable to being killed by these senseless and reckless chases. Once again, a high speed police chase occurred involving a non-violent felony and an innocent person paid the price for this reckless disregard of proper police procedure with their life. What the public does not realize is that the number of victims nationwide in high speed pursuits is greater than the number of victims killed in the 911 destruction of the World Trade Towers. Indeed, the number of those killed and maimed in high speed pursuits are similar to the number of those killed and maimed in the Iraq war. This is a nationwide problem which is particularly acute here in Georgia. And yet, the chases (for non-violent offenders) continue and the innocent die. All of these cases read the same – only the names change. As of the writing of this entry to our blog, our lawyers have filed 6 different lawsuits involving 8 deaths in Georgia, all arising in the context of high speed police pursuits.
Our attorneys at Finch McCranie, LLP will continue to represent the interests of innocent victims. Hopefully, litigation will curb these unwarranted and dangerous police chases. The goal is to get the police community to recognize that they should only chase for violent offenders and should not chase when the danger to the public caused by the chase outweighs the danger presented by the suspect. If enough Georgia juries intervene and condemn these chases with their verdicts, hopefully, lives in Georgia will be saved.

As Georgia injury lawyers, we are well aware that citizens can no longer rely on the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) to be the guardian of public safety when it comes to new drugs that come to market. Every year, the cash rich pharmaceutical companies, with their high powered lobbyist market and sell dangerous drugs and medical devices to the public. The Coalition Against Bayer Dangers, a consumer watchdog group, has demanded an ban of “third generation” contraceptive pills with increased rates of side effects. Studies recently published in the British Medical Journal found that pills which contained the hormones Drospirenone or Desogestrel carry twice the risk of potentially fatal injuries than the second generation medication first used in the 1970’s. The study showed that contraceptive pills such as Yaz and Yasmin, manufactured by Bayer, caused a 6-fold increase in the risk of blood clots, which cause serious injuries such as Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) and Pulmonary Embolism (PE). These pills may also cause gallbladder disease requiring surgical removal. Bayer is the world market leader in hormonal contraceptives. Sales of Yaz and Yasmin were more than one billion dollars last year.
If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of taking Yaz or Yasmin, manufactured by Bayer, contact the Georgia Injury Lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP for a free consultation.

Nursing home neglect and nursing home negligence leading to the wrongful death or serious injury of the elderly is a growing problem. With the number of aging baby boomers steadily increasing, it is likely to continue to be a problem. Neglect takes many forms. Recently, we read that an Illinois woman involved in a lawsuit over the alleged wrongful death of an 89-year old Alzheimer patient has pleaded guilty to criminal neglect, according to the Chicago Tribune. Sara Wentworth died of hypothermia earlier this year after wandering out of the Arbor Of Itasca Nursing Home in freezing temperatures. Heidi Leon, the nursing assistant on duty at the time, failed to respond when Wentworth triggered an alarm, prosecutors said. A wrongful death lawsuit is currently pending against the facility.
For 45 years, the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP have represented victims of nursing home negligence in personal injury cases and wrongful death actions. If your loved one has been injured as a result of the negligence of a nursing home, call us to discuss your rights at 800 228-9159.
Chicago Tribune

Pleading standards in Federal Courts have been dramatically impacted by two recent United States Supreme Court decisions. These decisions, Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly and Ashcroft v. Iqbal, raised the standard that parties bringing a lawsuit must meet to avoid having their cases dismissed.

At issue is how specific a pleading must be under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 8 requires that a complaint include “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Rule 12 allows for the dismissal of complaints that are vague or that fail to state a claim. Under Iqbal, a 5-4 decision written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, many courts are now requiring an almost impossible to meet standard demanding specific facts that aren’t often available until the discovery phase.

Congress is now preparing to become involved in this controversy over the pleading standard for civil lawsuits. Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., filed legislation Wednesday designed to return the standard to what it was prior to 2007.

As Georgia injury lawyers, we have seen a number of electrocution cases over the years. Some of the electrocutions result in serious injury and many result in death. Electrocution injury can cause many problems which include, tingling, pain, tetany, palpitations, chest pain, respiratory arrest, amnesia, seizures, altered mental state, coma, blistering and wounds. This week we had occasion to investigate the electrocution of a client who is a lineman for an electric utility company. He was seriously injured when he came into contact with a “hot” wire while climbing a pole. Fortunately, he survived; however, he has been seriously and permanently injured. In his case he not only sustained serious burns, but the incident resulted in the amputation of a leg. When electricity passes from any source and into the body it can result in damage including burns. The amount of damage is determined by the strength of the current and the length of exposure. Death from electric currents passing through the body can result from fatal effects on the heart, severe external and/or internal burns or from other organ damage.
Many electrocution cases result from work-related accidents in which case the victim would have a workers compensation claim. Unfortunately, the benefits available under most workers compensation laws are woefully inadequate to compensate an injured person for all of his or her damages. Accordingly, it is important to investigate the circumstances of the incident thoroughly to determine whether the electrocution was caused by the negligence of a third-party.
The Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP have, over our 45 years, represented victims of electrocution or their families when the accident result in wrongful death. We have a proven track record of success. If you or a loved one are injured or suffer a wrongful death as a result of an electrocution, you may have a legal claim against the manufacturer of a product or a negligent third-party. Call us for a free consultation at 800 228-9159.

The product liability injury lawyers at Finch McCranie,LLP have handled many wrongful death cases stemming from dangerous products. These products take many different forms. The Associated Press reported this week that full-lenght women’s chenille robes made in Pakistan are being recalled because they are highly flammable and are now linked to nine deaths of women, most of whom were in their 70’s and 80’s. Most of the incidents occurred while the victims were cooking.
Our firm has seen many wrongful death cases resulting from a variety of defective products. Sometimes seatbelts do not function, airbags do not deploy and products which normally are safe become deadly. We have seen product liability cases in a variety of contexts, including not only motor vehicle accidents, but also defective space heaters, defective liftgates on trucks, dangerous drugs, defective humidifiers and the like. If you or a loved one are injured or suffer a wrongful death as a result of a defective product, you may have a legal claim against the manufacturer of the product. Georgia law has long held that where a defective product results in serious injury or wrongful death, the manufacturer of the product may be liable for damages caused by a defect in the product.

Doctors who have committed crimes are still being paid by taxpayers for doing work for the Food and Drug Administration according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. This work ranges from conducting research for the agency or overseeing the safety of patients in clinical trials. The report takes the FDA to task for slowness in debarring ,( disqualifying ), health professionals who have been convicted of crimes.

The FDA has the authority to debar doctors from overseeing the safety of patients in clinical trials if those health professional flout federal regulations. It is required to disqualify doctors who are convicted of fraud or other crimes. However, it takes the agency an average of four years to disqualify a doctor according to a report issued by the independent Government Accountability Office.

In one instance, according to the article, it took the FDA 11 years to debar a doctor who had been convicted of 53 counts of criminal offenses including bribing an employee to conceal information about the attempted suicide of a clinical-trial patient and prescribing a drug without a license.

Recently our firm posted a blog about a tragic accident in Georgia where an 11-year old girl lost her life due to an apparent malfunctioning cruise control switch on a Ford Econoline Van. Last week, we noted with great interest that shortly after this tragic event occurred, the Ford Motor Company recalled 4.5 million vehicles over “faulty cruise control switches.” According to the recall, the faulty cruise control switches being recalled could cause a fire in the vehicle which was the stated reason for the recall. Apparently, the cruise control switch is made by Texas Instruments, Inc. and can allegedly cause hydraulic fluid to overheat, smoke and then burn. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has advised Ford drivers to look for possible warning signs of fires including “malfunctioning cruise control systems.” In the tragic case we blogged about, it appears that a cruise control switch may have been malfunctioning prior to catching fire which may have resulted in the wrongful death of a child.
In addition to 1992 through 2003 Econoline Vans, the recall includes Explorers, Ranger Pickups, Winstar Mini-Vans, Mercury Mountaineers and Excursion Sport Utility Vehicles. Any person owning such a vehicle should check with the Ford Motor Company or NITSA’s Vehicle Safety Hot Line at 1-888-327-4236. The public may also visit http://www.safercar.gov for further information concerning the recall.