Syracuse Injury Lawyer Blog

DePuy (pronounced "DePew") Orthopedics is the manufacturer of several medical devices, including the ASR XL Acetabular System and the DePuy ASR Hip Resurfacing System, which were sold in the United States beginning in 2005. Between 2005 and August 24, 2010 - when DePuy publicly recalled approximately 93,000 devices - the Company and the FDA received numerous complaints about device failures, including dislocation and fracture.

According to Syracuse DePuy hip recall lawyer Michael A. Bottar, Esq., an attorney with Bottar Leone, PLLC, a team of trial lawyers handling several New York DePuy defective hip lawsuits, "DePuy has reported that as many as 1 in 8 people (12-13%) who received a DePuy hip replacement device will need a "revision" within five (5) years. A "revision" is a second surgery to remove the DePuy device and replace it with a different product." According to reports, this revision rate is higher than in similar implants manufactured by DePuy's competitors.

Bottar added, "[w]e are concerned about the timing of the recall. Apparently, DePuy stopped selling these products in Australia long before the U.S. recall in August of 2010." We need to know why DePuy thought it prudent to continue implant sales in the United States after it terminated sales elsewhere in the world.

"DePuy will have to answer tough questions in Court." Our New York product liability lawyers want to know why DePuy did not do more, sooner, especially where its failing metal-on-metal products may lead to metallosis or cobaltism. DePuy hip implant recipients diagnosed with metallosis, or those with a DePuy hip who have been diagnosed with cobaltism may be at risk for health problems.

Continue reading "Syracuse DePuy ASR Hip Implant Lawyers Review Timing of Recall In New York" »

According to the upstate New York defective hip lawyers at Bottar Leone, PLLC, DePuy Orthopaedic, Inc.'s ASR XL Acetabular and Hip Resurfacing Systems have been recalled due to high revision rates. DePuy announced on August 24, 2010, that it would no longer sell the products in the United States. Patients were encouraged to speak with their surgeons to determine if they need to have the hip removed or "revised."

We are concerned about patients with a DePuy hip who have been diagnosed with metallosis or cobalt poisoning known as cobaltism. "Prolonged exposure to cobalt may be dangerous," said Michael A. Bottar, Esq., a Syracuse attorney investigating several New York DePuy hip lawsuits. "We will be filing claims on behalf of patients around New York state who have suffered for years with a painful DePuy hip, and who have had or will need a second surgery to remove the product."

Amidst the recall, DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., posted third quarter 2010 sales of $15,000,000,000.00. DePuy is a Johnson & Johnson company. For the same quarter, Johnson & Johnson posted a profit of $3,420,000,000.00. According to reports, implants account for more than 30% of Johnson & Johnson's total sales.

Continue reading "DePuy Hip Recall Impacts Watertown, Utica and Binghamton New York Implant Patients" »

According to a recent report issued by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), teen car accident deaths nationwide, including in New York, have declined over the past 5 years by nearly 40%. This is great news for parents around the country, as well as those who have been injured in a car accident with a teen driver. Education aimed at safe teen driving is starting to work.

"The statistics are reassuring," said Michael A. Bottar, Esq., a Syracuse personal injury lawyer with Bottar Leone, PLLC, "but nearly 10,000 teens were killed in car accidents between 2004 and 2008. This is far too many. We need to do more, as a New York wrongful death lawsuit cannot not bring back a lost child."

The CDC study revealed that 50% of teen car accidents involved only one car. 42% involved two cars and 8% involved three or more cars. 87% of the crashes resulted in one fatality. 65% of the teen drivers were male. Teen car accidents in New York and New Jersey were among the lowest in the nation. New York and New Jersey have restrictive licensing laws which include limitations on passengers and teen driving at night.

"When we accept a case that involves a motorist badly injured in a car accident in Syracuse, one of the first things we do is investigate the driver of the car. Teenagers have very little experience driving, and are frequently distracted by music, passengers, cellphones and text messaging. Sometimes alcohol and rugs are also an issue."

If you have been injured in a New York car accident, who you hire to represent you is critical. When you select a lawyer, make sure s/he is properly qualified, with a history of results. To contact the Bottar Leone, PLLC legal team call 1-800-336-5297, or email us at info@bottarleone.com.

New York State Route 81 is a 183 mile highway that runs from the Pennsylvania State line to the Canadian border at the 1000 Islands, through Broome, Cortland, Onondaga, Oswego and Jefferson counties.

The heavily traveled highway, with more than 150 exits, is a main thoroughfare for tractor trailers traveling north and south across New York. According to New York tractor trailer accident lawyer Michael A. Bottar, an attorney with Bottar Leone, PLLC, a law firm handling claims for those injured in a car accident on Route 81, "tired tractor trailer drivers are having a difficult time finding open resting places. The I-81 Corridor Coalition was formed, in part, to address the lack of a system to inform drowsy truckers where they can stop to rest or sleep."

Statistically, commercial truck drivers drive for longer periods of time and for greater distances than most motorists. When tractor trailer drivers are tired behind the wheel, the risk of a crash that can result in a wrongful death or serious injury increases. "For this reason, state and federal authorities have regulations that limit the number of hours that a trucker can drive without taking a break," said Anthony S. Bottar, Esq., a New York truck crash attorney with decades of experience representing New York tractor-trailer accident victims and their families in personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits throughout the Northeast. Bottar added that "a system that notifies truckers where they can rest should help direct tired truckers off of the road where they can present a danger to passing motorists."

Continue reading "New York Tractor Trailer Accidents Should Decrease With I-81 Corridor Coalition" »