Syracuse Injury Lawyer Blog

Published on: April 3, 2011

Syracuse Traumatic Brain Injury Disabilities To Decrease After New York Concussion Bill

“Approximately 1.7 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury every year,” said Anthony S. Bottar, of Bottar Law, PLLC, a team of Syracuse personal injury attorneys representing individuals disabled by a concussion or post-concussion syndrome.

According to the CDC, 80% of people with a traumatic brain injury are treated and released by an emergency room. Concussions account for most of those TBIs (75%). “After a TBI, many people appear normal on the outside, yet some people never fully recover. And 3% of TBI victims die – as many as 50,000 people each year,” Bottar added.

Most TBIs are caused by falls, followed by car accidents, impacts/collisions (i.e., athletics), and assaults. With advancements in imaging technology, the medical community now acknowledges that a concussion, even a mild concussion, can harm the brain on a cellular level, with devastating consequences. In turn, a Concussion Bill has been introduced. It applies to all school age students, not just student athletes, and provides that “in the event that there is any doubt as to whether a pupil has sustained a concussion, it shall be presumed that he or she has been so injured until proven otherwise.” Pupils will be prohibited from participating in school athletic activity until they are concussion symptom-free for 24 hours. The Bill also requires that concussions be reported to the New York State Education Department

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Published on: March 30, 2011

New York Topamax Lawyers Report Cleft Palate Birth Defect Risk In Watertown, Utica, Oswego, Herkimer and Binghamton

By Bottar Law, PLLC

Topamax is a very popular antiseizure medication prescribed around the country to treat epilepsy and migraine headaches. Topamax also goes by the generic name, Topiramate.

On March 4, 2011, the Food and Drug Administration issued an official Safety Alert about Topamax. The Safety Alert entitled “Topamax (topiramate): Label Change – Risk For Development of Cleft Lip and/or Cleft Palate In Newborns,” provided that the FDA had changed Topamax from a Category “C” to a Category “D” pregnancy drug. Category “D” pregnancy drugs have the potential to harm a developing fetus.

Prior to March of 2011, the Topamax package insert did not expressly mention cleft palate in newborns as a potential side effect the drug. The newly revised package language provides that “TOPAMAX use during pregnancy can cause cleft lip and/or cleft palate,” “[p]regnancy: increases risk of cleft lip and/or palate,” and “[d]ata from pregnancy registries indicate that infants exposed to topiramate in utero have an increased risk for cleft lip and/or cleft palate (oral clefts).” Additional information can be found in our entry entitled “Syracuse New York Topamax Birth Defect Lawyers Report Risk of Cleft Palate.”

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Published on: March 29, 2011

Syracuse New York Topamax Birth Defect Lawyers Report Risk of Cleft Palate

By Bottar Law, PLLC

“Bottar Law, PLLC will be investigating Topamax birth defect cases,” said Anthony S. Bottar, Esq., a New York product liability lawyer.

On March 7, 2011, the Food and Drug Administration announced a change in the pregnancy class of Topamax (Topiramate) from a category “C” drug to a category “D” drug. Category “D” drugs may present a risk of harm to a human fetus. The “Safety Announcement,” entitled “FDA Drug Safety Communication: Risk of Oral Clefts In Children Born To Mothers Taking Topamax (Topiramate)” provided that “[i]f you take topiramate during pregnancy, there is a higher risk that your baby will develop a cleft lip and/or cleft palate. Oral clefts happen early in pregnancy, before many women even know they are pregnant. For this reason, women of childbearing age should talk to their healthcare professionals about other treatment options.”

The FDA press release was based upon data reported by the North American Antiepileptic Drug Pregnancy Registry. According to the NAAED data, 1.4% of children born to mothers taking Topamax developed a cleft palate, as compared to 0.38 to 0.55% of children born to mothers taking different antiepileptic drugs, and 0.07% of children born to mothers without epilepsy treatment. Based upon this data, the risk of a developing a cleft palate while on Topamax is 2-3 times higher than the risk associated with similar drugs, and roughly 20 times the risk faced by the general population.

In May of 2010, Ortho-MacNeil was fined for illegally promoting Topamax. Read more in our entry entitled “Topamax Manufacturer Fined $6M By FDA For Illegal Promotion of Topiramate.”
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Published on: March 24, 2011

New York Unsafe UPS Delivery Truck Claims Settled Before Accident or Personal Injury

By Bottar Law, PLLC

UPS has agreed to pay a $1,300,000.00 fine and will submit to independent New York State vehicle inspections for 5 years in order to settle allegations that it knowingly permitted unsafe delivery vehicles to operate within the State of New York. “The investigation, and settlement, should reduce the risk of UPS delivery truck accidents caused by equipment failure,” said Syracuse personal injury lawyer Michael A. Bottar, Esq. of Bottar Law, PLLC, an upstate New York law firm with nearly three decades of experience handling complex personal injury matters.

Bottar added, “sometimes, claims against couriers like FedEx, UPS or DHL are more complicated than truck driver negligence. In our practice, we are often asked to invest significant resources into determining whether it was vehicle failure, not driver inattention, that led to the accident. Certainly, businesses can be liable for allowing tires to wear, brakes to fade, and frames to crack.”

According to a March 1, 2011 press release entitled “A.G. Schneiderman Announces Crackdown on Dangerous UPS Trucks, Secures $1.3 Million In Settlement,” an OAG investigation dating back to 2004 began when a UPS mechanic advised the OAG that UPS was allowing UPS delivery trucks to be driven, despite cracked frames. Apparently, potentially dangerous trucks were identified through an “Annual Vehicle Retirement Process” but were kept in operation despite “cracked” or “rotted” frames.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman was quoted in the North Country Gazette as stating “UPS knowingly endangered not only the lives of their own employees but the lives of the driving public.” Further, “[b]y keeping these rotting and decaying trucks on the roadways, UPS was an accident waiting to happen.” According to UPS, it “neither admits nor denies the allegations that formed the basis of the investigation.”
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Published on: March 20, 2011

Injured Potsdam Woman Stable Following New York Front Loader Accident

By Bottar Law, PLLC

“For nearly three decades, Bottar Law, PLLC has represented people throughout the State, like 27 year old Erin Freitag, who have been injured by a municipal employee,” said Syracuse personal injury lawyer Michael A. Bottar, Esq. “Sometimes municipal employees are negligent, usually by failing to properly maintain a roadway (leading to an accident), or for failing to timely remove snow/ice accumulation but, from time-to-time, we are asked to represent people involved in an incident with a municipal dump truck, garbage truck, plow or piece of heavy equipment.”

According to the Watertown Daily Times, Ms. Freitag was walking through an Elm Street parking lot on March 18, 2011 when she was run over by the back tires of a Potsdam Department of Public Works front loader. Whether the Village DPW is liable for Ms. Freitag’s injuries will depend on how the accident occurred. Even if media reports suggesting that Ms. Freitag was distracted are true, that does not mean that the Village does not owe her a duty of care.

“Anyone can make a mistake at any time,” Bottar added. “Even an employee with a perfect safety record. Years ago, we represented a woman who was run over by a street sweeper. She was, literally, sucked-up into the machine. True story! When municipal employees finally found her inside the street sweeper bin, she was badly injured. That employee had a good safety record, but the woman should not have been run-over.”
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Published on: March 12, 2011

Watertown Car Accident Lawyer Files New York Wrongful Death Lawsuit

By Bottar Law, PLLC

Anthony S. Bottar, Esq., of Bottar Law, PLLC, a team of Syracuse personal injury lawyers handling complex New York car accident lawsuits throughout Upstate, has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Tammy and Zackary Burkard, and the Estate of Robert Burkard, deceased.

The lawsuit against Leo R. Coleman, 29, arises out of a collision that occurred in June of 2009 at the intersection of County Route 54 and Morris Tract Road, in the Town of Clayton. A pickup truck being driven by Coleman broadsided the Burkard’s Jeep. Robert Burkard was killed in the collision. Tammy Burkard and her son suffered serious injuries. According to the Watertown Daily Times, Coleman was charged with first degree vehicular assault, driving while intoxicated and seventh degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, cocaine. According to WWNY, Coleman told the Court “I operated my car and was intoxicated and drove at a high rate of speed and the way I drove caused the death of Mr. Burkard and injured Mrs. Burkard.” Coleman is presently incarcerated at Wyoming Correctional Facility.

The Coleman family owns a number of north country restaurants, including the Fairground Inn, Barracks Inn, Sboro’s, Cavallario’s Cucina, Shorty’s, Art’s Jug and Atilio’s in Watertown, Foxy’s Restaurant in Fisher’s Landing, The Stone Jug in Sackett’s Harbor, and Cavallario’s Bayside Pizza and Steak and Seafood House in Alexandria Bay.
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Published on: March 8, 2011

New York Train Crash Claims Life of Tractor Trailer Driver

By Bottar Law, PLLC

Your News Now reports that an Amtrak passenger train traveling from Cleveland, Ohio to Albany, New York collided with a tractor trailer in Dunkirk last week. The driver of the semi-truck was killed in the accident, though neither the train’s crew members nor any of its 236 passengers were injured in the crash.

Police reported that the driver of the truck attempted to drive around a lowered track crossing gate when the cab of his truck was struck by the train that was traveling over sixty miles per hour. Passengers said they felt the impact of the collision, but were otherwise unaware of what had occurred until several hours later.

Trains are a part of every day life here in central New York, and while they are a necessary and useful part of our transportation infrastructure, they also pose a threat to passengers, pedestrians, and motor vehicles. Because trains are heavy and travel at high speeds, when railway accidents occur, they usually have devastating consequences.

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Published on: February 18, 2011

Topamax Manufacturer Fined $6M By FDA For Illegal Promotion of Topriamate

By Bottar Law, PLLC

Topamax is an antiseizure medication manufactured by Ortho-MacNeil Pharmaceutical, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary. Recently, Ortho-MacNeil pleaded guilty to misdemeanor violation of the Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act, and was fined more than $6,000,000.00 for its misconduct. An Ortho-MacNeil affiliate, Ortho-MacNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., will also pay more than $75,000,000.00 to resolve civil allegations under the False Claims Act for improper Topamax promotion.

According to an FDA press release entitled “Ortho-MacNeil Pharmaceutical LLC Pleads Guilty To Illegal Promotion of Topamax and Is Sentenced To Criminal Fine of $6.14 Million,” Ortho-MacNeil marketed Topamax for psychiatric uses for which it was not FDA-approved.

Published on: January 30, 2011

Onondaga Lake Parkway Railroad Bridge Involved In Another Accident, No Injuries Reported

By Bottar Law, PLLC

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.
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Published on: January 21, 2011

Palermo New York School Bus Accident Impacts Nineteen Student Passengers

By Bottar Law, PLLC

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 Law, 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 Law, PLLC at (315) 422-3466, (833) 268-8277, or by e-mail at info@bottarleone.com. We would be happy to put our experience to work for you.