Syracuse Personal Injury Law Blog

Proper car seat installation is important

Published on: March 10, 2016 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

In this post we continue our discussion about the importance of child safety seats. The state of New York has specific laws that must be followed by anyone who is transporting a child in his or her vehicle. If an individual fails to follow these laws, they may be held liable if the child is injured in an accident.

In our last post we discussed the different types of seats that are available. When choosing a brand and type of seat, it’s also important to make sure that brand will actually work in your vehicle. Every car has backseats that are a bit different and may have different angles, so it’s important to make sure the car seat actually fits properly.

On top of that, it’s important to make sure the car seat is installed properly. The first step to take is to read the instruction manual that comes with the car seat and to read the car owner’s manual. These manuals will help you identify the proper way to install the car seat. Some car seats may use a tether anchor that is located in the car, while other car seats may have to use the vehicle’s seat belt in order to properly secure it into the car.

What are the different types of child safety seats?

Published on: March 9, 2016 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

This week we are discussing the use of child safety seats in New York. In our last post we discussed the specific laws that our state has when it comes to using restraint systems and booster seats. While these systems do a great job at protecting our children, many parents do not really understand the different types of systems that are available.

There are basically four different types of restraints for children. The first kind is usually used for infants and newborns. These are known as rear-facing car seats. These seats face to the rear of the car and the seat cradles the child’s spine and neck during a crash. It also has a harness that keeps the child secure. Within this type of car seat there are different choices. You can get a seat that is only rear-facing. Your child will eventually outgrow this type of seat. These are often the types of seats that can be clicked out of a base and carried. You can also get a convertible seat that can change to forward-facing, or an all-in-one seat that can become forward-facing and later be used as a booster seat.

The next type of seat is called a forward-facing car seat. This has a harness and tether that keeps your child from moving forward during a crash. These car seats come in the all-in-one or convertible, as we discussed above, and also in a combination seat which can later turn the forward-facing seat into a booster.

Family of injured child reach $30 million settlement

Published on: March 8, 2016 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

We hear about a lot of different types of medical malpractice cases but the stories that are often the hardest to hear about are those involving children. As parents, we will often trust medical professionals in terms of their treatment recommendations when our children are facing serious medical problems. We want what is best for our children and hope experienced medical professionals can help our family.

A case involving a toddler has recently reached a settlement of $30 million to be paid to the family. The toddler apparently suffered a catastrophic brain injury due to surgical complications. The child reportedly underwent around 25 experimental surgeries after he was born with a leak in his esophagus in 2009.

The last surgery performed on the child was in 2011 and involved using a suturing device. That device severed the child’s pulmonary artery. The child currently deals with cerebral palsy and an irreversible brain injury. Other surgeries performed involved the use of a stent to fix the leak. The family’s attorney says the doctor who performed the surgeries deviated from the acceptable standard of care and was medically careless.

Child seat safety laws in New York

Published on: March 8, 2016 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

New York, like every state across our country, has specific car seat laws. These laws are put in place in order to protect children who are traveling in vehicles. Children have fragile necks and spinal cords and need extra support and protection in the case of an accident. Just a seatbelt alone is not adequate enough to keep a child safe.

In New York, the laws are very specific:

-Children who are under 4 years old and weigh less than 40lbs must be buckled into a restraint system.

Self-driving cars: where does the liability lie?

Published on: March 7, 2016 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

Here’s an interesting topic to consider: self-driving cars. It may seem like a concept out of a futuristic movie, but as many of us know, it’s something that is quickly becoming a reality. It may not be commonplace to see a self-driving car right now, but they are out there.

These types of cars definitely change the liability playing field a bit. Once these types of cars become more common, who would be liable for an accident? Would it be more difficult to find fault or perhaps a lot easier since the cars’ movements are determined by sensors and a computer? If a self-driving car causes an accident, can we sue the driver or the maker of the car?

Google is at the forefront of these types of cars. They have quite a few cars out on the streets being tested. Currently there are two dozen Lexus SUVs out on the roads that have cameras and sensors on them. Although these cars have been involved in a handful of accidents, most of them involved the Google car being rear-ended. And it doesn’t appear that any serious injuries were involved.

Pistachios recalled due to possible salmonella contamination

Published on: February 26, 2016 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

In our last post of the week concentrating on the topic of recalls, we discuss the very dangerous threat of food contamination. When we think about food recalls we often think about foods that are easily contaminated such as raw meats or products that need to be refrigerated. The scary thing is that just about any food that is distributed nationally or even locally carries a risk for some sort of contamination. While some contaminations may be low-risk, others can have deadly effects. For this reason, the Food and Drug Administration does not mess around, and as soon as they learn about a possible contamination, they do their best to alert the public in an urgent fashion.

Recently, the FDA announced a voluntary recall of raw pistachios from a specific company. The recall was issued by International Foodsource, LLC on four separate products that all contain pistachios. Thankfully no illnesses have been reported due to the contamination as of the second week of February but as we all know, sometimes it takes quite a bit of time for an illness to be linked to a specific food contamination.

The product apparently poses a possible salmonella risk. Laboratory analysis found the presence of salmonella in a five-ounce bag of one of the four products being recalled. While healthy adults may be able to get through salmonella poisoning with just stomach pains and diarrhea, this type of poisoning poses a great threat to children, the elderly and anyone who is frail or has a weak immune system. That covers a very large percentage of our population.

Hoverboard drama continues: may be seized or recalled

Published on: February 24, 2016 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

In our last post we started a discussion on recalls. The www.recalls.gov website is a great place to start if you are curious about what recalls are out there. Although the site exists, the big problem is that consumers can’t constantly be hovering on the site waiting for the next dangerous product to pop up on the screen. If you think about it, we buy tons of new products every week, from grocery items to articles of clothing to gasoline. Any product that a consumer can buy has a potential of being dangerous. There’s no way for consumers to constantly know if one of the products they bought over the last decade may eventually harm them.

Recently a huge issue has come up in regards to hoverboards. These boards, which are self-balancing scooters, were really popular over Christmas. They made it under the tree in many homes in New York and across the nation.

Unfortunately, as reported by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, these hoverboards have been linked to as many as 52 fires so far. The boards have caused more than $2 million in property damage. They have even destroyed two homes.

Where can I find information about recalls?

Published on: February 23, 2016 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

This week we will be taking a deeper look at defective products and how the government issues recalls. We often hear about products being recalled from news reports either online or during a television broadcast. Some of our readers may wonder if there is one place they can go to find out about all possible recalls that could affect them.

There actually is a convenient place to find out what products are considered hazardous, unsafe or defective. The site is called www.recalls.gov. The site came to be as a group effort between six different agencies: the United States Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, the United States Coast Guard, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The site lists recalls in various categories including cosmetics, environmental products, food, medicine, motor vehicles, boats and consumer products. The site will help you figure out what the most recent recalls are and who to contact regarding the recall.

What does a misdiagnosis look like?

Published on: February 19, 2016 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

We often talk about cases where someone was misdiagnosed by a medical professional. These cases can be extremely stressful because the victim may not be able to treat a condition properly if they do not know the facts. This situation can happen in many different ways.

For some people, it may be that the medical professional diagnosed them with the wrong ailment, causing them to put money and energy into treating the wrong condition. For others, the main issue may be that the doctor dismissed the patient’s concerns and told them there was no ailment in the first place. This can often happen if the proper medical tests are not ordered and the patient is not properly examined.

Finally, an individual may actually be diagnosed with a very serious condition that they do not actually have. Imagine being told that you have cancer and then later getting a second opinion just to find out that you are actually cancer-free. It seems unlikely, but it has happened before.

Woman misdiagnosed with MS filed negligence claim

Published on: February 19, 2016 | By Jeff DeFrancisco

In our last post we started a discussion on the different types of cases that may involve misdiagnosis. While a small misdiagnosis may be temporarily inconvenient and may cause some serious frustration, if an individual lives out their life not treating the proper condition, it can be devastating.

As an example we can discuss a story that comes from abroad. Back in 1972 a woman was pregnant and started feeling weakness down her left side. The following year the woman was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

According to the Mayo Clinic website, multiple sclerosis (or MS) is a disease that affects the spinal cord and brain. Basically a person’s own immune system attacks a protective sheath in the body that causes communication issues between the brain and the body. Over time the condition can cause nerves to deteriorate and they may become permanently damaged. There is no cure for the condition, although there are some treatments that may help manage the symptoms.