Georgia Injury Lawyer Blog

A couple of years ago the Georgia Injury Lawyers at Finch McCranie LLP, represented the family of a young boy who fell from a civic center stage to the concrete floor below. Within moments the boy had slipped into a coma. With limited resources, the parents cared for their son in the living room of their home, 24-hours a day. As time went one and the boy ended up back in the hospital, officials there put more and more pressure upon the parents to remove the boy from life support. The parents refused to do so and the young boy eventually died as a result of his brain injury.

The facts of every case are certainly different; however, recent news out of Brussels, Belgium give one pause when it comes to making such a decision now. Recently made public in various newspapers and on internet sites throughout the world is the story of Rom Houben, a 46-year old man who was involved in an automobile accident 26 years ago. Up until 3 years ago, this man was thought to be in a vegetative state, but thanks to new brain scanning technology, they discovered that not only was his brain functioning properly but it was almost operating normally. Doctors used a state-of-the-art scanning system which demonstrated the almost normal brain functioning. Houben said that even though his body was paralyzed and he was unable to communicate, he heard every word that was said in his presence. Dr. Steven Laureys, a neurologist at the University of Liege in Belgium has published a new study that states Mr. Houben could be one of many misdiagnosed coma cases in the world. With this new information, the decision to discontinue life support of an accident victim in a coma would be exceedingly difficult for a family.

According to the 2008 NAFTA Safety Statistics, 4,341 people were killed, and an additional 81,200 people were injured in connection with truck crashes involving a commercial vehicle. Unfortunately, many of these accidents were the result of driver fatigue which is wholly preventable. Truck drivers are at a significant risk of fatigue due to long, monotonous hours spent behind the wheel. Fatigue negatively impacts overall driving performance, slows reaction times, decreases situational awareness and impairs judgment. A study by the Adelaide Centre for Sleep Research found that drivers who had been awake for 24 straight hours have an equivalent driving performance to a person who has a blood alcohol level of 0.10, which would exceed the legal level of intoxication in most states. Commercial truck drivers and motor carriers are under a duty pursuant to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations to maintain various records associated with their operation, such as driver’s logs. Not surprisingly, these logs are often incomplete, inaccurate and sometimes completely fabricated. When representing clients who are injured as a result of tractor-trailer accidents, it is important for the victims attorney to obtain all documents that can be used to verify and/or challenge the accuracy of these logs. Trucking litigation presents a unique set of issues and it is the attorney’s obligation to work to both preserve and discover information about violations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.

If you have been injured or lost a loved one as a result of a truck accident, contact the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP, who have been representing victims of these accidents for over 40 years.

A few years ago, the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP represented an elderly woman who had beeen knocked down and seriously injured by malfunctioning electric doors at an Atlanta grocery store. We sued the store and the door company responsible for maintaing the doors. Recently, an 80-year old woman settled a very similar case for $7 million with Target and a mechanical door company. She had been knocked down by a faulty door in 2007. The woman sustained brain injuries which left her with significant cognitive deficits and required her to move into a nursing home.

If you or a loved one has been injured while shopping upon the property of a retail store or at a mall, call the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP who have been representing clients in premises liability litigation for over 40 years.

Recently, we represented a gymnastics instructor in a contested workers compensation claim. The client was expected to attend and supervise gymnastics meets around the city as a part of her job duties even though she was not paid to do so. One evening while on her way home from such an event, she was seriously injured in an automobile accident. The employer/insurer took the position that she was “off the clock” and not in the course and scope of her employment from the time she left the event. Fortunately, the State Board of Workers Compensation did not agree and she was awarded benefits. This case made us think about the changing employment landscape. In the past, employers whose employees clocked in and out at work could be assured that when the employees left the job site they would be free from any obligation to their employees until the start of the next work day. However, recent technological advances and the concept of “telecommuting” have expanded the workplace into the employee’s home and personal life. The development of PDA’s, cell phones and email allows employers to stay in contact with their employees after the work day is over. Accordingly, some employers now expect employees to perform work related tasks even when they are “off the clock”. Technology has effectively turned some employees into 24/7 workers. This could be potentially good evidence for Georgia injury lawyers to develop in future workers compensation cases with some workers.

If you or someone you care about have sustained a work related injury, call the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP for a free consultation.

The Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP are well aware that there are many dangerous products that come to market. This week Federal Safety Regulators have announced the recall of more than 2.1 million drop-side cribs made by a Canadian manufacturer. It appears that part of the mechanism that allows the rail to slide up and down can break which can allow a child to get wedged between the bed and the rail, resulting in the child’s suffocation and death. The recall covers cribs manufactured and distributed between January of 1993 and October of 2009 and sold at major retailers. It has been reported that Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairman Inez Tenenbaum said that her agency likely had not acted fast enough in recalling cribs made by Stork Craft Manufacturing.

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured as a result of a dangerous product, call the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP for a free consultation.

The Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP are investigating injury claims associated with the popular birth control drugs Yaz, Yasmin, & Ocella. Last month, we received a call from a 21 year old former client who had undergone surgery to remove her gall bladder. As it turned out, she had been taking Yaz. Recent reports suggest that these prescription medications could be putting millions of young women at risk of serious side effects, including stroke, heart attack, blood clots, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and even death. A recent study published by the British Medial Journal demonstrated that birth control products containing the active ingredient contained in Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella - Drospirenone - carried a risk of blood clots nearly double that of other birth control medications. Other reports have associated Drospirenone with an increased risk of gallbladder disease, resulting in removal. Yaz and Yasmin are manufactured by Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Ocella is the generic equivalent of Yasmin, manufactured by Barr Laboratories. Bayer has previously received warnings from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for advertisements that overstated the benefits of Yaz and which minimized the potential safety risk associated with the drug. As a part of a subsequent agreement with the FDA and attorneys general in 27 states, Bayer began running a new ad campaign in February of 2009 to correct the information conveyed by deceptive Yaz commercials.

If you believe that you or a family member have been injured as a result of using the prescription contraceptives Yaz, Yasmin, or Ocella, contact the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP at 1 800-228-9159.

The dangerous uncontrolled acceleration in Toyota vehicles appears to be caused by more than improper fitting floor mats. Yesterday, Toyota said it will replace accelerator pedals on about 4 million recalled vehicles in the United States because the pedals can get stuck in the floor mats.

As a temporary step, Toyota will instruct dealers to shorten the length of the gas pedals beginning in January while the company develops replacement pedals for their vehicles. New pedals will be available beginning in April, and some vehicles will have brake override systems installed as a precaution.

The top selling car in America, the Toyota Camry, and the hybrid Prius are among those recalled. Also included is the Lexus ES350, the model in a fatal accident in California that killed a retired highway patrolman and his family when the vehicle began to accelerate in an uncontrolled manner.

In September, Toyota advised owners to remove the driver's side floor mats to prevent the gas pedal from potentially becoming jammed.

The latest recall includes 3.8 million vehicles, including the 2007-10 model year Camry, 2005-10 Toyota Avalon, 2004-09 Prius, 2005-10 Toyota Tacoma, 2007-10 Toyota Tundra, 2007-10 Lexus ES350 and 2006-10 Lexus IS250/350. Toyota officials said about 4 million vehicles would be covered, including new cars and trucks sold since September and others manufactured since the recall was announced.

On Tuesday, Toyota also announced a recall of 110,000 Tundra trucks from the 2000-03 model years to address rust on the vehicle's frame.

The United States government has attributed at least five deaths and two injuries to floor mat-related unintended acceleration in the Toyota vehicles and has received reports of more than 100 incidents in which the accelerator may have become stuck. A Massachusetts-based safety consultant who has investigated the Toyota cases, however, has found more than 2,000 incidents involving 16 deaths and 243 injuries potentially tied to the Toyota gas pedals.

If you are driving a vehicle and the accelerator pedal becomes stuck , Toyota advises drivers to press on the brake with both feet and then shift the vehicle into neutral, which will disengage the transmission. Toyota advises that drivers should continue braking until the vehicle comes to a stop.

A driver can also try shutting off the engine or turning the key to the "ACC" position on the ignition. Drivers will not lose control of the steering or the brakes. But once the vehicle is turned off the driver won't have the benefit of power brakes or power steering. For vehicles that have a start/stop button for the engine, drivers are advised to hold the button for three seconds to turn it off.

The Georgia injuries lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP have been representing victims of dangerous products for over 40 years. Some of those victims died as a result of injuries they sustained in automobile accidents from defective seat belt designs. Remember the cars with the separate shoulder strap that automatically came across as soon as the car was started. It was a novel, but dangerous design. Recently the Commercial Appeal reported that a 14-year old boy, who was left paralyzed below the waste from a 2002 automobile wreck, has been awarded $6.5 million by a Memphis jury. The boy, who was 6-years old at the time of the accident, was in the backseat of his grandfather’s 1995 Mercury retrained by an adult seatbelt. The shoulder strap was behind the boy because it did not fit. When his car was struck head-on by the second car, the boy was seriously injured. The accident resulted in the wrongful death of the boy’s father, grandfather and driver of the other car. Ford Motor Company was found to be 15% liable for the total $43.8 million judgment for an adult seatbelt that was defective and not suitable for a child.

If you have been injured in an automobile accident , tractor trailer accident or been seriously injured as a result of using a dangerous or defective product, contact the experienced Georgia injury attorneys at Finch McCranie, LLP. For a free evaluation of your case, call us at 1-800-228-9159.

Medical malpractice is a serious problem in Georgia and the United States. While limits on recoveries for innocent victims is being pushed by large insurance companies, there are many issues that are being ignored. One is the lack of information available to the public about incompetent doctors and hospitals.

More than 20 years ago, Congress created a federal database to track incompetent and unprofessional health-care practitioners. The database, compiled by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, includes some 460,000 records of malpractice lawsuits whose judgments total $69.7 billion. It includes information on 23,788 patient deaths, 8,100 major permanent injuries and 3,896 cases that resulted in quadriplegics, brain damage or lifelong care.

This is information that is critical to patients selecting doctors and hospitals. However, much of the data is closed to the public. Although the full database is open to hospitals, managed care organizations and state licensing agencies, the public can view only limited information, such as the lawsuit's allegation and the patient's health. The doctors' names remain hidden.

For years, the American Medical Association, an organization supposedly having patient welfare as one of its purposes, has argued that the data bank should remain closed to the public.

Dr. Sidney Wolfe, is a physician and director of the Health Research Group for Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization. He argues that this information is crucial for the public and that efforts to suppress it are merely intended to protect doctors.

He points out that in the state of Oklahoma alone, the data contains among other things, 28 lawsuits concerning a procedure on a wrong body part with a total of $2.9 million in payments, nine suits concerning sexual misconduct for a total of $166,000 in payments, and three suits concerned assault and battery.

This is information that the public needs to have. Without it, you or a loved one may be unknowingly treated by a doctor who is incompetent or has criminally assaulted a patient.

Our Atlanta product liability attorneys have learned that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in cooperation with Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc., today announced the voluntary recall of more than 2.1 million Stork Craft drop-side cribs. Included in the recall are 147,000 Stork Craft drop-side cribs with the Fisher-Price logo. The recall involves approximately 1,213,000 units distributed in the United States and 968,000 units distributed in Canada.

The CPSC is urging parents to immediately stop using the recalled cribs, wait for the free repair kit, and do not attempt to fix the cribs without the kit. Consumers are advised to contact Stork Craft to receive a free repair kit that converts the drop-side on these cribs to a fixed side.

The cribs’ drop-side plastic hardware can break, deform, or parts can become missing. In addition, the drop-side can be installed upside-down, which can result in broken or disengaged plastic parts. All of these problems can cause the drop-side to detach in one or more corners. When the drop-side detaches, it creates space between the drop-side and the crib mattress. The bodies of infants and toddlers can become entrapped in the space which can lead to suffocation. Complete detachment of drop-sides can lead to falls from the crib.

The company has been notified of 110 incidents of drop-side detachment; 67 incidents occurred in the United States and 43 in Canada. The incidents include 15 entrapments; 12 in the U.S. and three in Canada. Four of the entrapments resulted in suffocation:deaths.

This recall involves Stork Craft drop-side cribs and Stork Craft drop-side cribs with the Fisher-Price logo. This recall does not involve any cribs that do not have a drop-side. This recall does not involve any cribs with metal rod drop-side hardware. It involves only those cribs with plastic trigger and one-hand-system drop-side hardware.

This recall includes Stork Craft cribs with manufacturing and distribution dates between January 1993 and October 2009. This recall also includes Stork Craft cribs with the Fisher-Price logo that have manufacturing dates between October 1997 and December 2004. The Stork Craft cribs with the Fisher-Price logo were first sold in the U.S. in July 1998 and in Canada in September 1998. The cribs were sold in various styles and finishes. The manufacture date, model number, crib name, country of origin, and the firm’s name, address, and contact information are located on the assembly instruction sheet attached to the mattress support board. The firm’s insignia “storkcraft baby” or “storkling” is inscribed on the drop-side teething rail of some cribs. In Stork Craft cribs that contain the “Fisher-Price” logo, this logo can be found on the crib’s teething rail, in the manufacturer’s instructions, on the assembly instruction sheet attached to the mattress support board, and on the end panels of the Twinkle-Twinkle and Crystal crib models.

Major retailers in the United States and Canada sold the recalled cribs including BJ’s Wholesale Club, J.C. Penney, Kmart, Meijer, Sears, USA Baby, and Wal-Mart stores and online at Amazon.com, Babiesrus.com, Costco.com, Target.com, and Walmart.com from January 1993 through October 2009 for between $100 and $400.
The cribs were manufactured in Canada, China and Indonesia.

Georgia injury lawyers are very much aware of the number of dangerous drugs that make it to the market. Lobbying efforts by the powerful drug companies and the FDA’s failure in recent years to police the pharmaceutical industry has resulted in more than a few dangerous drugs coming on the market. We read last week that a Philadelphia jury recently awarded $75 million in punitive damages to an Illinois woman who developed cancer after taking one of Pfizer’s menopause drugs. The jury awarded $3.7 million awarded in actual damages. More than 6 million women have taken Prempro, a hormone replacement drug, used to treat symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats and mood swings during menopause. A study in 2002 by the Women’s Health Initiative suggested women who used hormone replacement drugs are at higher risk for developing breast cancer. According to news reports, the Illinois woman took Prempro for 5 years before she developed breast cancer in 2002. So far, Pfizer’s Wyeth unit has lost 5 of the 8 cases tried with 33 more scheduled for trial.

As we have all seen, prescription drugs can have serious side effects. Other drugs which are thought to cause health problems include birth control drugs, Yaz and Yasmin which were manufactured by Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The Georgia Injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLPhttp://www.georgiainjurylawyers.net/Dangerous-Drugs.cfm have pursued prescription drug injury cases and other personal injury lawsuits in Georgia for over 40 years. If you are somebody you care about has been injured or killed by an unsafe prescription drug, call us today at 1-800-228-9159 for a free evaluation of your case.

The United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit has issued an important opinion in an ERISA case. In Longaberger Co. v. Kolt, No. 08-4432 Nov. 16, 2009. the court held an ERISA plan could enforce its reimbursement rights against an attorney who obtained a personal injury settlement on behalf of an insured.

The attorney negotiated a $135,000 settlement on behalf of a client who was involved in an automobile accident. Only $1,000 remained in his lawyer’s trust account after disbursing $86,000 to the client, and then taking $45,000 as an attorney fee and paying other lawyers involved in the case.

The client was an insured of the plaintiff, an employee welfare benefit plan. The plaintiff sued the attorney under ERISA, seeking reimbursement for $114,000 in medical bills paid on behalf of the client.

The court held that the plan was entitled to equitable restitution pursuant to §502(a)(3) of ERISA as construed by the U.S. Supreme Court in Sereboff v. Mid Atlantic Medical Services Inc.

The court held that the fact that the attorney disregard the plans first lien and commingled the settlement funds did not defeat the claim for equitable relief, because under Sereboff, the plan was free to follow a portion of the settlement funds into the attorney’s hands.

Any attorney handling a claim in which there is or may be a claim for reimbursement from a health insurance carrier must carefully examine the plan to determine if the reimbursement language is proper and if the plan is self-insured. Failure to do so can have serious financial and legal consequences.

Our Atlanta automobile product defect attorneys have written many blogs critical of automobile manufacturers for delaying or resisting recalls of dangerous products. Now Volvo deserves credit for quickly and voluntarily issuing a recall due to a dangerous defect. Volvo is recalling 9,667 of its 2010 XC60s, most of them in the United States and Canada, because in a crash test the driver’s seat belt came undone.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety conducted a side-impact test on the XC60 in early October of this year as part of routine testing to select its Top Safety Pick awards. The test involves a barrier striking the driver’s side at 31 miles an hour. The barrier is supposed to represent the front end of an S.U.V. or pickup truck.

During that test, the driver’s seat belt in the XC60 detached from the point to the left of the driver’s hip at which the belt is anchored to the vehicle.

Volvo said the problem was caused by ribs inside the housing that cover the anchoring point. The belt was not cut, but the impact caused the ribs to put pressure against the permanent mount and the seat belt popped loose.

Volvo said there were no reports that this had happened before and it never happened in any of the about 50 side-impact tests conducted by Volvo.

Despite this being the only reported instance of this happening, Volvo quickly announced the recall and reported the problem to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Volvo announced it will begin to notify owners in two to three weeks. The company said repairs involve modifying the housing of the seat-belt attachment and should take about 30 minutes. The repairs will be made at no charge to the owner.

Volvo deserves credit for this quick action which may save lives.

Georgia injury lawyers are well aware of how often preventable truck accidents occur because trucking companies are negligent in either the hiring or retention of dangerous drivers. Recently, we took the deposition of the owner of a trucking company who testified that he had never run a motor vehicle report on one of his drivers because he had known him for such a long time, that it was "not necessary". Had he done so, he would have discovered that the driver had more than 20 traffic citations which included speeding and racing. Incredibly, the owner of the trucking business promoted the driver to a position in charge of safety. His duties include making sure that the company is in compliance with the regulations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration!

The Charlottesville Daily Progress recently reported on the trial of a wrongful death case involving negligent supervision of a truck driver. They reported that a Virginia jury has ordered the owners and driver of a tractor-trailer to pay more than $5 million to the family of a 16-year old girl who was killed in a 2008 trucking accident. Following a two-day trial, jurors found that Don Swisher Trucking Corp. and McCann Delivery Service were negligent for failing to supervise the driver and allowing him to drive a truck with defective parts.

If you or a loved on have been injured as a result of a trucking accident, call the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP who have been representing the victims of truck accidents in serious injury and wrongful death cases for over 40 years.

We just read of another incident in which an Atlanta area young man died as a result of an “overdose” of acetaminophen, the aspirin-free pain reliever found in Tylenol. Many people believe acetaminophen is one of the safest painkillers on the market. If used properly it is safe, but, it is also the leading cause of acute liver failure in the United States.

Taking just slightly more than the maximum recommended dose for a few days can be toxic, even deadly.

We have previously blogged on these dangers, but feel the warnings are worth repeating.
Overdoses are common because people mistakenly feel they can disregard the dosage recommendation; and, acetaminophen is included as an ingredient in many other products. Many people unknowingly ingest large doses when they treat multiple health problems with several products, each of which contains acetaminophen.

In June of this year, realizing the increasing dangers posed by this drug, the Food and Drug Administration advisory committee proposed lowering the maximum single adult dose for over-the-counter products from 1,000 to 650 milligrams and the maximum daily dose to less than 4,000 milligrams. The committee also recommended either eliminating prescription acetaminophen combination products that contain prescription acetaminophen or labeling them with a black-box warning about the risk of liver damage.

Several other products under the Tylenol brand name contain acetaminophen. These include:

Backaid Maximum Strength Back Relief
Benadryl Severe Allergy Plus Headache Caplets
Benadryl Allergy Plus Cold Kapgels
Benadryl Allergy Plus Sinus Headache Kapgels
Contac Cold & Flu Day & Night Dual Formula Pack Caplets
DayQuil Cold & Flu Relief LiquiCaps
Excedrin (all products)
Midol Menstrual Complete and Midol Teen Formula
NyQuil Cold & Flu Relief and NyQuil Sinus
Pamprin Multi-Symptom and Pamprin Max
Sudafed (assorted products)
Theraflu Nighttime Severe Cold & Cough Packets
Theraflu Daytime Severe Cold & Cough Packets
Triaminic Multi-Symptom Fever
Triaminic Cough & Sore Throat

We urge you to carefully read the ingredients list of all over-the-counter drug products to see if they contain acetaminophen. If they do, restrict intake to the recommended doses. Avoid acetaminophen if you have liver disease or drink alcohol heavily. If you regularly take the drug, watch for signs of liver damage: dark urine, pale stool, right-upper abdominal pain and a yellowish tinge in the whites of eyes.

These simple precautions may save your life or the life of a loved one.

Atlanta pedestrians are subject to many dangers. Transportation For America, a consumer advocacy group has ranked the metro area as the 10th most-dangerous city for pedestrians in 2007-2008. The group said there are 5,000 preventable pedestrian deaths in the U.S. every year.

The group assessed 52 metropolitan areas on how dangerous they are for pedestrians. The 10 worst for pedestrians in 2007-2008 were: Orlando, Fla.; Tampa, Fla.; Miami; Jacksonville, Fla.; Memphis; Raleigh, N.C.; Louisville, Ky.; Houston; Birmingham, Ala.; and Atlanta.
According to the study, Atlanta had a 1.37 annual pedestrian deaths per 100,000 residents and 1.3 percent of the city’s workers walked to work in 2007-2008.

The study found the safest metropolitan areas tend to be older northeastern or northern areas with generally compact development patterns. The top ten most dangerous areas were located in the south, with the first four being in Florida. The study attributed this high danger rate to the areas being characterized by low density rates and automobile oriented development patterns.

The study did point out that many cities have low danger rates due to a concerted effort to make streets safer for pedestrians. Notable among these cities were Portland, OR, Seattle, WA, and Minneapolis, MN.

Atlanta has an advocacy group dedicated to improving sidewalks and streets. You can learn more about this group, PEDS, at peds.org. The attorneys at Finch McCranie LLP, actively support the efforts of PEDS and urge all citizens to do the same.

The Women’s Health Initiative has issued warnings in the past that certain hormone replacement medications have the ability to harm many women. For example, Prempro is a drug that has been taken by as many as 6 million women in just one year. Statistically, it did not seem that the increased risk of developing breast cancer from using this hormone replacement therapy was all that great. Statisticians stated that there would be a .08% additional case of breast cancer for every 10,000 women that did take Prempro as opposed to those that did not. Another .07% of women that take Prempro would have a heart attack. 0.8% additional women taking Prempro would have a stroke. Apparently, these numbers were based on a research into the number of additional cases reported and extrapolations therefrom.

Statistics do not sound all that harmful when taken in the abstract. .08% does not sound like a great risk. However, if 6 million women took Prempro in any one calendar year, that .08% would mean an additional 4,800 additional breast cancer cases. 4,200 more heart attacks and 4,800 more strokes. Moreover, there are many other side effects which are related to the use of hormone replacement therapy.

Despite the life threatening and significant health risks associated with hormone replacement therapy such as Prempro, countless women continue to use hormone replacement therapy. After all, it has been around for many years and has almost become accepted, some calling it a rite of menopause passage. Some women look to drugs now to deal with menopause as opposed to more healthy means of reducing the menopause symptoms without deadly side effects of some of the hormone replacement medications. While synthetic hormone replacement therapy such as Prempro may provide some relief from menopausal symptoms, based on research done to date, it does not appear that some of the synthetic replacement therapy is not worth the risk, particularly when safe alternatives exist for use by women.

We have noted recently in following the litigation associated with Prempro that some of these cases are now going to trial. Recently there was a huge verdict up in Philadelphia where a jury found that the manufacturer had failed to disclose its knowledge of the increased risks associated with the use of Prempro returning a large punitive damage award. While some medications might be more harmful than others, obviously, all women deserve the right to know the truth and particularly deserve the right to know what risks are

Continue reading "Hormone Replacement Therapy and Breast Cancer: " »

Treestand accidents injure and kill many hunters every year. Some of the product liability lawyers at Finch McCranie are avid hunters and we have successfully pursued legal actions against companies which manufactured dangerously defective treestands. We recently received word that one of our clients who was paralyzed after his climbing treestand fell passed away from complications of his injuries.

Today, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Gander Mountain Company, of St. Paul, Minn announced a voluntary recall of treestands. Hunters should stop using the recalled stands immediately.

The recalled stands are the Gander Mountain 2008 model GMT101 and 2008 model GMT103 Hang-On Fixed Position Treestands. The recalled treestands have wire mesh on the base of the platform to the top of the footrest and a Gander Mountain logo on the front of the seat. In addition, the seat has a camouflage pattern that is branded “AP” and “REALTREE”. Model GMT101 has “Steel Hang-On With Foot Rest” printed in large bold print on the exterior of the box and the GMT103 has “Large Steel Hang-On With Foot Rest” printed on the exterior of the box. This recall does not affect the 2009 year models GMT101 and GMT103 Hang-On Fixed Position Treestands manufactured by Rivers Edge.

The clasp on the stands may open unexpectedly if the strap is fastened incorrectly, causing the treestand and user to fall to the ground. Gander Mountain has received two reports of consumers falling while using the treestands: one sustained unspecified injuries and a second person sustained a broken pelvis and broken arm.

About 13,000 stands were sold. They were sold only at Gander Mountain stores from July 2008 until July 2009. The GMT101 was sold for about $60 and the GMT103 was sold for about $80.

Anyone with one of the stands should immediately stop using it and return it to Gander Mountain for a refund, exchange for a 2009 model or a store credit.

As Congress debates providing and paying for health care, another huge "cost" must not be forgotten: the cost of medical errors and medical negligence.

According to conservative estimates, 98,000 Americans annually die because of preventable medical negligence. Many more suffer life-changing injuries.

A terrific website, 98,000 Reasons, describes many of these stories of preventable injuries and deaths. Please visit it, as reducing medical errors saves innocent lives, and reduces costs of health care.

Our Atlanta product liability lawyers attempt to notify the public to the best of our abilities when there is a safety recall for a defective product. Yesterday, a baby stroller company voluntarily recalled about one million strollers after reports that children had had their fingertips cut off by a hinge.

The company, Maclaren Strollers, has received 15 reports of children placing their fingers in the hinge mechanism, resulting in 12 reports of fingertip amputation, according to the Consumer Prodcut Safety Commission.

The danger occurs when a child places a finger on the hinge while the stroller is being unfolded. As the hinge locks in place it can amputate a child’s finger.

The CPSC advised that consumers immediately stop using these strollers. A free repair kit to cover the hinge can be obtained by contacting the company.

The recall includes all Maclaren single- and double-umbrella strollers. The models are Volo, Triumph, Quest Sport, Quest Mod, Techno XT, TechnoXLR, Twin Triumph, Twin Techno and Easy Traveller.

These strollers were sold at Babies “R” Us, Target and other retailers in the United States from 1999 to November 2009. The strollers were distributed by Maclaren USA, Inc., of South Norwalk, Conn., and were manufactured in China.

If you or someone you know has or is using one of these strollers please cease use immediately and contact the company at: http://recall.maclarenbaby.com/order.php

Our Georgia product liability lawyers have filed many lawsuits against foreign manufacturers for dangerous products introduced into commerce in the United States. In these actions it is sometimes very difficult to find and serve the manufacturer in a foreign country.

This problem has now come into the spotlight as the result of the Chinese wallboard epidemic facing many unsuspecting consumers across the United States. The problem is enormous. By some accounts as many as 100,000 homes across the United States, built between 2004 and 2008, may contain defective and potentially dangerous Chinese drywall.

The wallboard has been determined to contain excessively high levels of sulfur. Homeowners have reported that the fumes from the wallboard cause illness and corrode the copper in home wiring, fixtures and appliances.

Until several years ago, most drywall used in the United States was made in this country. But when the housing boom increased demand, many sellers turned to China to meet the demand and due to lower costs.

Many insurance companies are refusing claims from homeowners to remediate the wallboard problem. While some owners have been forced to move from their toxic homes, many simply cannot afford to do so and the houses are not saleable.

While many lawsuits have been filed and undoubtedly many more are to come, it will be very difficult and expensive to identify the Chinese manufacturers and serve them with legal papers in China. Some attorneys are reporting that it is costing approximately $25,000 per case just to serve legal papers on one company. In many cases more than one Chinese manufacturer may be involved.

A bill now before Congress would place these foreign manufacturers in the same position as domestic companies. The Foreign Manufacturers Legal Accountability Act now before the United States Senate would require foreign manufacturers that export to the U.S. to agree to abide by U.S. law and be held accountable in state and federal courts; and, to appoint an agent in at least one state where the company does business to accept the service of legal papers for any lawsuits or regulatory claims.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) points out that the list of recent examples of Americans injured by defective foreign products is shocking.

That list includes deadly blood thinner, children’s jewelry made from lead, a variety of food products contaminated with dangerous chemicals, 60 million packages of contaminated pet food and substandard tires that failed and killed people.

Two major consumer groups, Consumers Union and the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) support the proposed legislation.

Our Atlanta consumer lawyers often have to inform wronged consumers that they have no remedy under the law. We see this very often in the investment, credit, and banking areas. Legislation that, if enacted, will provide greater protection to investors was approved by a committee of the U.S. House of Representatives last week.

At the same time, the full House approved a bill to accelerate restrictions on abusive practices by credit card companies that had been signed into law last May. That law was scheduled to take effect in February, but many banks and credit card companies are taking advantage of the delay by raising rates and fees before the practices are unlawful. The House voted to make the new law effective next month, but Senate approval is not certain.

The bill is part of an effort to overhaul the financial regulatory system in response to the crisis in the financial markets. It would provide new powers and increased resources to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Importantly, it would give the SEC authority to end mandatory arbitration agreements that investors must sign with their brokers and financial advisers. It would establish a whistle-blower program for Wall Street employees designed to ferret out corruption in the financial sector. Similar provisions have been very successful in other areas such as health care and government contracting fraud.

However, the House committee also approved a very controversial measure which would permanently exempt companies worth less than $75 million from the auditing provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. This provision had been actively supported by the White House. Supporters have argued that the stringent auditing provisions were overly burdensome for small companies.

Consumer groups were obviously upset that this controversial provision had been added to legislation that is designed to help protect investors.

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.

But, the government is taking the position that all prosecutors enjoy absolute immunity from lawsuits for actions they take even when they send innocent people to prison for life by fabricating evidence and hiding exculpatory evidence.

Under this argument no prosecutor could ever be sued under any circumstances even if it can be proven conclusively that they intentionally faked evidence and lied to the court, destroying the life of an innocent person.

According to briefs filed in the case, prosecutors in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, solicited false testimony implicating two innocent African-American teens in the murder of a retired police officer in 1977. At trial, the false testimony led to their convictions and they were sentenced to life in prison.

After the false testimony and other exculpatory evidence was discovered, the two men, Curtis McGhee and Terry Harrington, were released after 25 years in prison. They then filed a lawsuit against the prosecutors.

Lawyers for Mr. McGhee and Mr. Harrington argued that police officers who fabricate evidence do not enjoy such absolute protection from a civil lawsuit. They say prosecutors who actively participate in the pre-trial investigation of a case must be held to the same standard as police officers, detectives, and agents, who can be sued if they violate clearly-established constitutional rights.

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
which could lead a reader to believe that the problem goes beyond floor mats. The statement was a follows:

"Toyota has announced a safety recall involving 3.8 million vehicles in which the accelerator pedal may become stuck at high vehicle speeds due to interference by the driver's side floor mat, which is obviously a very dangerous situation. Toyota has written to vehicle owners stating that it has decided that a safety defect exists in their vehicles and asking owners to remove all floor mats while the company is developing a remedy. We believe consumers should follow Toyota's recommendation to address the most immediate safety risk. However, removal of the mats is simply an interim measure, not a remedy of the underlying defect in the vehicles. NHTSA is discussing with Toyota what the appropriate vehicle remedy or remedies will be. This matter is not closed until Toyota has effectively addressed the vehicle defect by providing a suitable remedy."

Toyota’s warning affects various models from 2006 to 2010. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received reports of 102 incidents in which the accelerator may have become stuck on Toyota manufactured vehicles. This sudden acceleration problem has resulted in 13 crashes, 17 injuries and at least 5 fatalities.

If you drive one of these vehicles you absolutely need to be able to stop the vehicle should this situation occur. Experts advise that the engine can be stopped by pressing the Start/Stop button for several seconds or the car can be placed into neutral. Our attorneys urge you to share this advice with anyone driving one of these vehicles.