Personal Injury & Wrongful Death

Jury Awards $114 Million In Nursing Home Abuse Case

Almost every week the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP hear about horrific treatment of elderly patients in nursing homes or other long-term facilities. Occasionally they are held accountable for their negligent treatment.
Last month, the family of a 76 year old Florida woman was awarded $114 million in a nursing home abuse case. The woman died in 2003 after having been a patient at the nursing home. The lawsuit alleged that the elderly woman was injured after falling, had developed pressure
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Bench Trials Under The Federal Tort Claims Act

Under the unique provisions of the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), there is no right to a jury trial. What this means is obvious: once an FTCA lawsuit is filed and the United States of America is named as the defendant, if the case cannot be resolved thereafter and a trial is required, the trial will be before a United States District Court judge which will sit, not only as the finder of fact, but also as the Judge of the law. In short,
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Who And Where To Sue Under The Federal Tort Claims Act

We have blogged in the past about some of the unique provisions of the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) and how they pertain to tort claims against the United States government. As an example, one unique provision is that no claim can be sued against the federal agency per se but instead only against the United States. In any lawsuit against the federal government in which a tort has occurred, the named defendant must be the United States of America. Thus, in a case
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Contact Lens and Medical Device Injuries In Children

Injuries caused by contact lens are a serious problem in Georgia and elsewhere. The consequences of injuries from these seemingly harmless devices can be life changing, including blindness. Our lawyers have just recently concluded several cases involving injuries sustained by contact lens wearers.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has just released a report which reveals that more than 70,000 children and teens go to the emergency room each year for injuries and complications from medical devices. Contact lenses are the leading cause of these
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Georgia Motorcycle Accident Injures Two

Friday evening, a motorcycle accident in north Georgia injured two people. The wreck occurred before 8:00 p.m. on U.S. Hwy 41 in Tunnel Hill, Georgia.. Although details of the wreck have not been released and the accident is still under investigation, the motorcycle and a pickup truck collided. It has been reported that charges are pending against the driver of the truck. The driver of the motorcycle was flown to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga and the passenger was taken to Hamilton Medical Center in
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Defective Heart Defibrillators

Defective implanted heart defibrillators have been the subjects of many recalls over the last several years. This week, Boston Scientific Inc., advised doctors that a part in certain models of its implanted heart defibrillators made in 2006 and 2007 has a “somewhat higher’’ failure rate, requiring units to be reprogrammed. The company reported a failure rate of one in 670 devices. No deaths or injuries have been reported.
Boston Scientific estimates that about 34,000 patients still have the defibrillators implanted, even though they are
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False Arrest Claims in Georgia

Over the years the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP have represented clients who have been “falsely arrested”. In one memorable case, our client was accosted in the Lenox Mall parking lot by three store security officers who forcibly carried her back into the store where she was accused of shoplifting and strip searched. Eventually, the store realized they had made a mistake and told our client that she was “free to go”. She remained in the store and called the Atlanta
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Georgia Woman Drowns At Lake Lanier – Boat Operator Charged With Boating Under The Influence

This week, The Associated Press reported that last Sunday evening a 26 year old Georgia woman drowned at Lake Lanier, just north of Atlanta. Although the boat, upon which the woman had been a passenger, had not been involved in a crash. the owner/operator of the boat was charged with boating under the influence.
Our Georgia injury lawyers have represented clients who have suffered injuries or lost loved ones in boating accidents. Some of the causes include boater error, boater inexperience, boating under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol, equipment failure, and operating in adverse weather and/or water conditions.
Georgia law states, in part, “No person shall operate, navigate, steer, or drive any moving vessel, or be in actual physical control of any moving vessel, nor shall any person manipulate any moving water skis, moving aquaplane, moving surfboard, or similar moving device while under the influence of alcohol to the extent that it is less safe for the person to operate, navigate, steer, drive, manipulate, or be in actual physical control of a moving vessel, moving water skis, moving aquaplane, moving surfboard, or similar moving device”.
A boat operator and the boats owner must exercise the highest degree of care to prevent injuries to passengers, swimmers and others in the nearby water and those in any boats around them. Failure to exercise the required care can result in serious injury or the wrongful death of innocent victims. In addition to the Atlantic Ocean, Georgia has numerous recreational bodies of water. In addition to the Chattahoochee and many other Georgia rivers, there are numerous lakes where boaters congregate: Lake Lanier, Lake Sinclair, Lake Oconee, West Point Lake and others. Our main office is located in Atlanta which is not far from any of these lakes. As a result, we have seen more than our share of boating accidents and fatalities.

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Two Georgia Power Men Burned in On-The-Job Accident

http://www.serious-injury-litigation.com/As Georgia injury lawyers who have handled thousands of workers compensation claims, few on-the-job injuries are as horrifying to us as burn injuries.
Today 11 Alive News and WSB News reported that two Georgia Power employees suffered burns today as they were replacing a utility pole in Milton, Georgia. It is thought that as the crew was drilling a new hole for the pole, they hit a natural gas line which sparked an explosion. One of the injured Georgia Power workers, who was about 35 feet up in a bucket lift at the top of the pole, jumped to try to escape the flames. He was reportedly burned over 80% of his body and was airlifted to Grady Memorial Hospital’s burn unit.

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Georgia Motorcycle Accident Results In Death

When most people hear about a motorcycle accident they envision a collision with a car or a truck; however, motorcycle accidents also occasionally occur as a result of debris and foreign objects on the roadway.
The Savannah Morning News reported today that on Sunday, a 23 foot trailer came loose from a Ford F-150 truck being operated by 66 year old Gerald Adams. The trailer crossed over the median on Interstate 16 where it collided with 26 year old Carroll Girtman, who was riding his Yamaha motorcycle in the westbound lanes.
Adams has been charged with second-degree vehicular homicide and operating an unsafe vehicle, both misdemeanors.
As a Georgia injury lawyer who often pulls a long, heavy boat trailer, I am always aware of the my responsibility to make sure that the boat is secured to the trailer, that the trailer is properly secured to the truck with safety chains, that the tires are in good shape and that all of the lights are operational. As the Savannah motorcycle case illustrates, when a trailer comes loose from a motor vehicle, it will almost certainly result in the serious injury, if not the wrongful death of an innocent person.
Although no additional details about why or how the trailer came loose were reported, there are alot of questions to be answered. Was the hitch properly secured to the vehicle? Were safety chains being used? If there was an equipment failure, is there a products liabilty case against the manufacturer of the hitch, ball or trailer manufacturer? If properly secured, trailers do not usually come loose from motor vehicles.

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