Insurer State Farm has revealed that it notified NHTSA in late 2007 that it was seeing an increase in sudden acceleration trends with other Toyota and Lexus automobiles. State Farm said it received numerous inquiries about alleged unwanted acceleration problems in Toyota and Lexus vehicles in recent years.

Toyota has undergone several investigations about such concerns starting in 2004, when complaints were lodged about sudden acceleration in the 2002 and 2003 Toyota Camry and Lexus ES models. NHTSA opened a file on Toyota in 2007 to look into acceleration issues on Lexus models, but closed it seven months later.

It wasn't until after the death of a California state policeman and his family in a Lexus incident that that Toyota issued recalls. The incident was recorded on a very disturbing 911 tape. If you have not heard the call, it can be located by Googling.

Since the incident, Toyota has recalled 5.2 million Toyota and Lexus models in the U.S. for floor mat issues, and 2.5 million in January over sticky gas pedals.

Congress is also studying Toyota's and NHTSA's reactions. On Wednesday, the House committee on Oversight and Government Reform is holding a hearing on the gas pedal issues. On Feb. 25, a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee is holding a hearing on whether Toyota and NHTSA acted swiftly enough.

Japanese newspapers reported Sunday that Toyota would soon announce a recall to deal with Prius brake problems. In a letter to U.S. dealers over the weekend, Toyota said it will inform them of the fix to the Prius problem this week.

Many people have pointed out that this is inherently unfair, especially since the most grievously injured victims are penalized to a greater extent. In effect, the legislature, with help of the governor, decreed that if you, or a loved one is retired or too young to have an earning capacity, the value of your life or that of a loved one, is $350,000.00. Of course thiose who are high wage earners, such as many doctors, would be entitled to a higher recovery in the form of lost income.

This grossly unfair law is currently before the Georgia Supreme Court awaiting an opinion. Yesterday, the Illinois Supreme Court struck down a similar law passed by the Illinois legislature 4 years ago.

The court ruled that the caps on pain and suffering and other non-economic damages, $500,000 per case for doctors and $1 million for hospitals are unconstitutional.

The Illinois Supreme Court’s opinion upheld a 2007 ruling by lower court determining that the law violated the Illinois Constitution’s “separation of powers” clause, essentially finding that lawmakers interfered with the right of juries to determine fair damages.

This ruling was the third time the Illinois Supreme Court has quashed limits on medical malpractice awards, having tossed out similar laws in 1976 and 1997.

The case arose from a malpractice lawsuit filed in 2006 by the family of a girl who suffered brain damage during her delivery at an Illinois hospital.

The collision between the two vehicles occurred on U.S. Highway 29 at about 7:15 a.m. According to Palmetto police, the driver of the Dodge truck, crossed over the centerline of the highway into the northbound lane and collided head-on with the Ford Mustang. Because the Dodge truck was jacked up so high, it literally rode over the Mustang and came to rest on top of it. Fortunately, neither driver had any life-threatening injuries.

The Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP have been representing the victims of serious injury accidents for over 45 years. We have also represented families of victims involved in motor vehicle collisions which have resulted in the death of their loved ones. If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of the negligence of others, call us today to discuss your rights.

Texting while driving is a rising problem among teenagers and adults and is a leading cause of traffic accidents. When someone texts while driving, they are endangering their own lives as well as other drivers and pedestrians they may pass. Last week two members of the Georgia House of Representatives introduced Bills that would ban the practice of texting. If a Bill passes, Georgia would be the 20th state in the nation including North Carolina and Tennessee, to ban texting while driving. Just today I read that similar legislation is being proposed in South Carolina and it is expected to pass.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a motor vehicle accident as a result of the negligence of a driver who was texting or operating other communication devices, call the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP who have been representing injury victims for over 45 years.

Toyota is working with CTS Corp., which manufactures gas pedals for Toyota, to redesign the pedals and to find a remedy for what is believed to be a condensation problem which can cause the pedal to move slowly or in some cases get stuck.

In the meantime, there are thousands of potentially dangerous vehicles of the road which could suddenly accelerate and cause serious injuries to the occupants and others or even cause the wrongful death of innocent people.

If you or a loved one is injured as a result of the sudden acceleration of a Toyota product, call one of the Georgia injury lawyers immediately for a free consultation. In all of these cases, it is crucial that the automobile be preserved so that it can be inspected by experts.

We read last week that a Detroit lawyer has been ordered to pay $5,000.00 to settle a Complaint against him filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Michigan concerning a violation of this Act. Allegedly, the lawyer sent a solicitation lawyer from his Detroit office directly to a victim’s family within twelve (12) days of a tragic crash. The case apparently was investigated by the Inspector General’s Office for the United States Department of Transportation and resulted in the civil fine imposed on the attorney.

Unfortunately, lawyers oftentimes approach victims in hospitals right after tragedies and in other contexts where it is inappropriate to do so. Yes, clients need to be advised of their rights and yes, clients need legal advice when dealing with tragedies affecting their loved ones. But, clients do not need to be solicited directly by attorneys when they are grieving or dealing with the results of a tragic event. Clients should reach out to attorneys when they are ready to do so and they should not be besieged and bombarded by those seeking to profit from their misfortune.

The experts will tell you that a rear-end crash can cause the occupants in the vehicle that is struck to propel their heads forward at a speed that is 10 times or greater than the force of gravity. Rear-end crashes can cause back injuries, neck injuries, shoulder injuries, whiplash, cervical spine injuries, disk injuries, nerve injuries, joint injuries, ligament injuries, and other serious injuries. Anyone who has had one of the injuries, knows that they are very painful and debilitating. A rear-end car crash victim may have to undergo surgery, take pain medication, and spend months in physical therapy.

If you or a loved one have been injured as a result of being rear-ended in a motor vehicle collision, call the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP who have been represent victims of these crashes for over 45 years.

The FDA warned consumers this week that fake versions of the over-the-counter drug are being sold, mainly online
.
According to the FDA the counterfeit pills contain excessive amounts of sibutramine, a prescription drug and controlled substance that can place people with cardiovascular disease at risk for higher blood pressure, heart attack or stroke. The fake pills contain at least twice as much sibutramine as would normally be recommended.

Symptoms of excess sibutramine can include heart palpitations, sleeplessness, anxiety, dry mouth, nausea and shakiness.

The FDA further cautioned that analysis shows that the counterfeit pills lack the active ingredient orlistat found in the authentic Alli product. This ingredient prevents a portion of the fat eaten from being absorbed.

According to the manufacturer of Alli, consumers should watch for these signs in determining whether the product they are buying is fake:

• LOT code information is missing from the top of the box.

• The expiration date includes month, day and year (example: 06162010), instead of only the month and year (example: 05/12).

• The seal on the bottle should read "SEALED FOR YOUR PROTECTION" in white ink on the real Alli bottle; this statement is not present on the fake product.

• The counterfeit capsule is slightly larger, and its content is powdery; the genuine capsule is shaped more like a pellet.

Recently, I went to the Georgia DOT website to locate some recent statistics on motorcycle crashes. For reasons unknown to me, the latest posted data was from 2003. According to their study:

. There were 2,851 total motorcycle crashes, 2123 involving injury crashes, and 101 fatal crashes.
. Motorcycle crashes accounted for 7% of traffic fatalities, but only about 1% of the crashes.
. Of all motorcycle riders in crashes, 56% had at least visible or more severe injuries compared to only 4% of passenger cars occupants involved in a crash.
. Males represented 87% of the injuries and fatalities in motorcycle crashes.
. Motorcycles made up 2% of all registered vehicles.
. Half of the motorcycle operators (50%) involved in fatal crashes did not have a valid Class M license or permit.
.
Because of the seriousness of the injuries sustained in motorcycle accidents and because many of the motorist who cause these accident are under-insured, Georgia injury lawyers need to be creative when representing riders. It is imperative that the victim’s attorney examine all potential avenues of recovery so that the client can be fully compensated. Other areas to review include failure of the motorcycle’s mechanical systems, failure of other motorcyclists to observe the motorcyclist, failure maintain the roadway and debris on the roadway from trucks, including tire tread separation.

If you or a loved one have been injured in an automobile accident, truck accident or motorcycle accident, consult the Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP. Our firm has been representing personal injury victims for over 45 years.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2008, there were a total of 34,017 fatal crashes in which 37,261 individuals died. Sixteen percent (16%) of the total fatalities were due to driver distraction. The proportion of drivers reportedly distracted at the time of the fatal crashes increased from eight percent (8%) in 2004 to eleven percent (11%) in 2008. This is hardly surprising because more and more drivers are using their cell phones and are texting while driving. Drivers under the age of 20 had the highest proportion of distracted drivers involved in fatal crashes according to NHTSA sixteen percent (16%). Again, this statistic is hardly surprising because those who seem to use their cell phones the most and/or text while driving are the younger drivers on the road.

Of the 1,630 injury crashes reported throughout the United States, NHTSA estimates that an astounding twenty-one percent (21%) involved distracted driving.

Many states have banned the use of handheld devices while driving. These include California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Washington and the Virgin Islands. A texting ban exists Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Guam. Notably, no such ban for either form of distracted driving exists in Georgia.

Based on the statistical evidence released by NHTSA, it is clear that the Georgia Legislature should enact laws to protect innocent members of the motoring public from distracted drivers. Until and unless such legislation is enacted, this problem will likely continue to mount and more and more innocent third parties will either be killed or seriously injured by such conduct. Stop if you are doing either!

In one tragic occurrence outside of Dallas, Texas, four people were killed when a Toyota sped off the road through a fence and landed upside down in a pond. Even though Toyota has long blamed maladjusted floormats for the unintended acceleration problem, however, in this particular accident, the floormats were found in the car’s trunk where the owners had been advised to put them as part of the earlier recall. Thus, the evidence continues to mount that this problem with Toyotas is not caused by floormats but rather by onboard computer glitches and other engineering issues.

While we are pleased that Toyota has finally recalled its dangerous products, obviously, it is disturbing that Toyota refused to do so earlier for all affected vehicles. From the reported news coverage, had it done so, it may be that an additional 60 cases involving injuries and/or fatalities may have been avoided.

A new product recall involving baby strollers was reported just this week. After the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission got reports of children's fingertips being amputated, Graco Children's Products, Inc. a division of Newell Rubbermaid, recalled a million and a half strollers. The recall applies to Graco's Passage, Alano and Spree Strollers and Travel Systems, which were sold at various retailers, including Walmart, Target, Toys "R" Us from October 2004 to December 2009. The CPSC has received reports of 5 fingertip amputations and 2 fingertip lacerations.

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

It is not always easy to predict what a fair and impartial jury would do with a particular case. The nuances and unique facts of any case obviously influence claim evaluation. If liability is strong and if damages are good and the client otherwise makes a favorable impression, such a case has a greater settlement value than does a case where there are liability issues, damage issues and/or client problems. As always, the facts are key but sometimes the law as it pertains to the unique facts involved will dictate as well the outcome of the case and/or the evaluation of a particular claim.

Sometimes the law is not favorable to a particular position that a party has in litigation. The less favorable the law to their position, the less valuable the claim from a claim evaluation standpoint. In those cases where a client has been victimized by the negligence of a third party, they are truly innocent in the premises and their damages are clear and easily proven, such a case has greater settlement value than does one where the damages may be attributable to acts other than the negligence, there is contested liability based on the facts and circumstances of the case and/or the client’s expectations are unreasonable or they do not make a very positive impression and thus a jury may not like them.

What we try to do in representing our clients is to make sure that their cases are presented in the best light possible so that we can get the best possible result for them. If an offer is made that is equal to what we believe a fair and impartial jury would award, we always recommend that such a client consider such a settlement proposal assuming it is made. Of course, it is the client’s ultimate decision whether they wish to settle or rely upon fair and impartial jurors to resolve their case. Going to trial can be a gamble because oftentimes one can get a lesser verdict than they would have obtained via settlement. If the client is fully informed of these risks and nonetheless wishes to go to trial, sometimes the award obtained is higher than one might otherwise obtain through settlement. As long as the client is fully informed of their options and counsel is fully prepared to present the strongest case possible to the jury, the client should be advised that a jury trial is an option that they should consider, however, in weighing their options, if the offer made is reasonable and is likely to approximate what a fair and impartial jury might award, then in that event, we always recommend that our clients consider such a settlement offer while deferring to their discretion whether they wish nonetheless to accept the risk of going forward to a jury trial.

The Georgia injury lawyers at Finch McCranie, LLP have represented the families of victims of automobile accidents, trucking accidents , motorcycle and and bicycle accidents and pedestrian accidents who have died as a result of the negligence of others for over 45 years. If you have lost a loved one as a result of the negligence or carelessness of someone, call us today for a free consultation.