Personal Injury & Wrongful Death

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 has urged parents to make sure that children are not playing with or using any of the recalled toys.
(more…)

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. (more…)

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 in their adherence to three measures of practice quality. The three infection control measures are:
(more…)

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.
(more…)

Avandia was approved by the FDA in May 1999 for use in improving control of blood sugar levels in Type 2 diabetics. Since its approval, Avandia, which is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, has been used by more than seven million people worldwide and is, today, being used by over one million Americans.

According to a study on Avandia conducted by the Cleveland Clinic which was published on May 21, 2007, by the New England Journal of Medicine, the popular drug is linked to a greater risk of heart attack and, in some cases, death. The study, which compiled data from 42 studies involving 15,560 patients who took the drug and 12,283 patients given other medications or a placebo, showed a 43 percent higher risk of heart attack and other heart-related adverse events while taking Avandia.
(more…)

The Composix^® Kugel Mesh Patch is used to repair inguinal, ventral and laparoscopic hernias. The purpose of the patch is to keep the intestines in the abdominal cavity. The patch is typically placed behind the hernia defect by means of an incision. The patch is then held open by a memory recoil ring.

The Composix^® Kugel Mesh Patch was recently recalled by its manufacturer, Davol, Inc., a subsidiary of C.R. Bard, Inc., after it was discovered that the memory recoil ring can break under stress and perforate internal organs. Patients who have had a hernia repair using the patch have been urged by the FDA to contact their hernia surgeons to determine if the recalled Composix^® Kugel Mesh Patch was used in their hernia repair.
(more…)

Many people we have represented in serious personal injury cases whether they workplace accidents, trucking accidents, automobile accidents or dangerous products have asked whether settlement proceeds or payments made to an injured party as aresult of a jury verdict are taxable. The general rule is that those payments are not taxable.

The Internal Revenue Code provides, “Except as otherwise provided”, gross income for the purpose of calculating Federal income tax includes “all income from whatever source derived”. Sec. 61(a). This definition is sweeping in scope, and exclusions from income are to be narrowly construed. However, Section 104 provides for an exclusion from gross income for certain payments received as compensation for injuries or sickness. Specifically, section 104(a)2 provides in part:
(more…)

In Georgia, the driver of a vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury to or death of any person or property damage to an apparent extent of $500.00 or more shall immediately, by the quickest means of communication, give notice of such accident to the local police department if such accident occurs within a municipality. If such accident occurs outside a municipality, such notice shall be given to the office of the county sheriff or to the nearest office of the state patrol.
(more…)

A recent study reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine has concluded that reports to the Food and Drug Administration of dangerous side effects and deaths from widely used medicines almost tripled between 1998 and 2005. The number of deaths and serious injuries from prescription and over-the-counter drugs climbed from 34,966 to 89,842 during the time period.

Powerful narcotic painkillers such as Oxycontin, were among 15 drugs most often linked with deaths in the study. Other drugs such as insulin, the arthritis drugs Vioxx and Remicade, and the antidepressant Paxil were frequently linked to serious nonfatal complications.
(more…)

Any trial lawyer who has ever handled a closed head injury case knows that brain damage can occur even if there is no direct blow to the head. Quite literally, the brain is like a bowl of Jell-O. If the head is shaken, the brain moves within the skull and due to acceleration and rotational forces, not necessarily direct blows, the brain can be damaged. Nor does an injury have to be severe to cause lasting brain injury. In short, a closed head injury without any skull fracture can result in more serious injuries than can an injury where a skull fracture has occurred.
(more…)