Syracuse Injury Lawyer Blog

In what has become an unsettling trend, WSYR reports that another traffic accident has occurred on the Onondaga Lake Parkway where the CSX railroad bridge crosses over the roadway. Over the weekend, a rental truck struck the railroad bridge, which in turn ripped the roof off the truck and scattered debris onto the roadway. The incident occurred at the same location as the Megabus accident that claimed four lives last fall, though no injuries were reported from this latest occurrence. The bridge is adorned with blinking lights and signs to warn drivers of the low clearance, but accidents continue to plague the area.

In response to this latest accident, New York transportation officials have reiterated their intent to investigate any and all possible solutions to the problem. Hopefully the transit authorities will find a solution that will prevent future accidents and keep drivers on the Onondaga Lake Parkway safe.

The railway bridge and underlying roadway may present an unavoidable danger to those who drive on the Parkway. While, undoubtedly, the incidents that have occurred were the result of many factors, the accidents may have been caused in part by road and bridge design, as opposed to simple driver negligence. When crashes happen under these conditions, it is extremely important for crash victims to contact a Syracuse, New York injury attorney as soon as possible to ensure that rights to recovery are protected. A lawyer can evaluate the circumstances that led to your injuries and help you pursue all the parties at fault. With an attorney's help, you are better able to pursue your legal interests and make decisions that are ultimately right for you.

Continue reading "Onondaga Lake Parkway Railroad Bridge Involved In Another Accident, No Injuries Reported" »

A school bus carrying nineteen student passengers was involved in a traffic accident last week according to a Post-Standard story on Syracuse.com. A local woman lost control of her pick-up truck and collided with the bus on Route 264 in Palermo, New York. According to the Oswego County Sheriff's department, the bus driver attempted to steer around the pick-up but was unable to completely avoid contact with the truck. The truck struck the bus twice before coming to a stop. Fortunately, neither the students nor the two drivers were seriously injured in the crash. Sheriff's deputies issued no tickets, as the cause of the accident was determined to be a combination of inclement weather conditions and unsafe speed, among other factors.

Traffic accidents are far more likely to occur when the weather turns cold and drivers have to deal with ice and snow covered roads, and the news report above serves as a reminder how easily accidents can occur during the winter, particularly those that involve larger vehicles like school and commercial buses. Bottar Leone, PLLC has decades of experience helping the victims of bus accidents and, while thankfully, no one was severely injured in this latest bus crash, those involved were lucky to escape the incident unharmed. School bus accidents, like those involving other forms of mass transportation, are particularly serious due to the large number of passengers and the lack of safety belts for those passengers. Therefore, when such a wreck does occur, the damage and injuries can be catastrophic. If you or a loved have been injured in a school or charter bus accident, you should contact a Syracuse New York bus accident attorney to learn your rights.

If you need to speak with an experienced personal injury attorney, contact Bottar Leone, PLLC at (315) 422-3466, (800) 336-5297, or by e-mail at info@bottarleone.com. We would be happy to put our experience to work for you.

"One of the nation's premier DePuy ASR hip recall conferences was held yesterday in Florida," said Syracuse New York hip recall lawyer Michael A. Bottar, Esq., of Bottar Leone, PLLC. "I flew down to attend the confernce," Bottar said, "and there were no Upstate New York product liability lawyers in attendance. Not one. How can they advertise on Central New York television that they are competent to prosecute DePuy hip cases and not attend the pre-MDL conference put on by the nation's most experienced defective product lawyers and with input from the nation's top experts!?"

Many topics were discussed at the plaintiff-lawyer-only conference, including strategy for the law firms that plan to steer the mass tort litigation. The specifics of the conference are confidential and cannot be discussed here. In general, the conference addressed the recall which we reported in blog posts entitled "DePuy Hip Recall Impacts Syracuse, Utica, and Binghamton New York Hip Implant Patients" and "Syracuse DePuy ASR Hip Recall Lawyers Encourage New York Hip Implant Recipients Not To Sign Medical Release."

"At this juncture, we are focused on evidence preservation. As clients throughout New York request that Bottar Leone, PLLC represent them, we are taking steps to protect explanted devices (i.e., devices that have been removed) and to ensure that records are preserved," Bottar added. "For sure, these claims should not be 'quick buck' cases for the TV personal injury lawyers. There is a very real risk of long-term health consequences from exposure to cobalt and chromium and the research is not there yet on, e.g., cancer, chromosomal damage and immune modulation. We are also concerned about metallosis, aspetic lymphocytic vasculitis associated lesions (ALVAL), and pseudotumors. We need some time to develop the medicine."

Before you hire an attorney to investigate the merits of a DePuy hip recall lawsuit, be sure that s/he has the necessary qualifications to prosecute a complex product liability lawsuit. With decades of experience handling defective product cases, and at the cutting edge of DePuy litigation, the Bottar Leone, PLLC legal team stands ready to serve the community.

The Post-Standard via Syracuse.com reports that a construction worker fell from a steel beam six stories above the ground while working on renovations of the Landmark Theatre last weeek. Fortunately, the man's fall was arrested by his safety equipment, but he was forced to dangle at the end of an 8 foot harness for over an hour while waiting to be rescued. The accident occurred during the demolition portion of the renovation, when a large piece of concrete pinned the worker's safety line to the beam. During the rescue effort, a co-worker first attached a second safety line, then he and local firefighters were able to lower the worker to the ground with a cherry-picker. The man was eventually taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

Construction accidents like these happen far more often than you would think, and while the worker in this case escaped unharmed, in many other instances the victims are not nearly so lucky. Such mishaps can result in serious injuries, including chronic pains, loss of a limb, paraplegia, and even death. Safety harnesses, hard hats, and other safety protocols are put in place to prevent such injuries at construction sites, but accidents still inevitably occur. If you were injured on the job, it is in your best interest to speak with a Syracuse New York construction accident attorney immediately. A trained lawyer can apprise you of your rights and help you pursue a course of action in your best interests.

If you need to speak with an experienced personal injury attorney, contact Bottar Leone, PLLC at (315) 422-3466, (800) 336-LAWS, or by e-mail at info@bottarleone.com. Our lawyers have successfully represented many clients who were involved in all manner of workplace accidents.

Michael A. Bottar, Esq., a Syracuse personal injury attorney with Bottar Leone, PLLC, was named to the adjunct legal faculty at Syracuse University College of Law. As an adjunct professor, Mr. Bottar teaches an upper-level legal skills course on law practice management.

Mr. Bottar is a summa cum laude graduate of the College of Law where, prior to graduating, he was a member and executive editor of the Syracuse Law Review, a member and competition co-director of the Moot Court Honor Society, and was inducted into the Order if the Coif, Order of Barristers and Justinian Honorary Law Society. He also received the law school's Robert W. Miller Award (for trial advocacy), the Robert M. Anderson Award (for scholarly publication) and the Moot Court Team Award.

Mr. Bottar is a life member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and is AVVO rated "Superb." He is the author of "Robbing Peter To Pay Paul: Medicaid Liens, Supplemental Needs Trusts and Personal Injury Recoveries on Behalf of Infants In New York State Following the Gold Decision," and is the co-author of the Civil Practice chapter of the 2009-10 Syracuse Law Review Survey on New York Law.

A recent Associated Press news story on CNYcentral.com reports that Boncheff Greenhouses Inc. sold several batches of herbs that may have been contaminated by salmonella. The Canadian company, based in Toronto, may have distributed tainted cilantro, curly parsley, and flat leaf Italian parsley through multiple grocery market chains in several New York municipalities, as well as Erie, Pennsylvania. The herbs were sold during the last two weeks in December of 2010, and Boncheff has offered refunds for customers who return any of the affected packages to their place of purchase. Thankfully, there have been no reported cases of salmonella linked to the herbs.

The threat of salmonella is very real, and while the illness is hazardous to adults, it can be fatal both for children and those with depleted immune systems. Unfortunately, the presence of salmonella has not been removed from all the food we buy from our local grocer, and this news story serves as a reminder that contaminated food makes its way onto store shelves despite the best efforts of companies and regulatory agencies. While you cannot control whether or not you get sick from a defective or contaminated product, you can control what you do if you are sickened or injured. A skilled Syracuse product liability attorney can assess the merits of your foodborne illness case and determine the best course of action. Not every case is compensable under the law, but speaking with a lawyer is the only way to find out if you have any legal recourse.

Continue reading "Recall for Cilantro and Parsley Sold in New York With Salmonella" »