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As the price of gasoline hovers around the $4/gallon mark, more and more people across the country are turning to motorcycles as a more economical means of travel. According to the US Department of Transportation, the number of registered motorcycles has increased from just less than 4 million nationwide to almost 7 million in the last 10 years.

In the meantime, fewer and fewer states are retaining mandatory helmet laws for motorcycles. Only 20 states today (New York included) mandate the use of helmets, as compared to 47 states in 1975. For whatever reason, many people only use safety devices when they are mandated. In the case of motorcyclists, many refuse to wear helmets even when they are mandated, preferring instead to pay the fines rather than protect their brain. As a result, more and more motorcyclists are cruising the road with the protection of a helmet.

The result of all these unprotected brains cruising the highways at 60 mph+ is predictable. In the last 10 years, the number of fatal motorcycle accidents has tripled from approximately 2,000 per year to more than 6,000 per year.

The point of this article is not to blame motorcyclists for the problem. They have as much right to use the highways as anyone. On any given day of the week there are usually one or two motorcycles parked in our employee lot. I have to admit that riding a motorcycle back and forth to work sounds pretty appealing every time I fill my tank.

My point is that if you choose to operate a motorcycle, no matter how great an operator you may be, the chances of you avoiding a VERY serious injury are substantially increased if you wear a helmet. Here in the Twin Tiers, we represent motorcyclists from New York who are required to wear helmets, as well as our Pennsylvania neighbors who are not.

My personal observation from a very busy motorcycle practice is that helmets save lives. Isn’t that reason enough to wear one?

Thanks for reading,

Adam M. Gee, Esq.
New York and Pennsylvania Personal Injury and Malpractice Attorney
Ziff, Weiermiller, Hayden & Mustico, LLP
303 William Street
Elmira, NY 14901
Phone: (607)733-8866
Fax: (607)732-6062
Email: agee@zifflaw.com
www.zifflaw.com

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Medical Malpractice cases are hard enough. Between the fudging of charts (yes, it really does happen), the aggressive defense and the lobbying of government to severely limit a patient’s right to sue, it is already a stacked deck against plaintiffs. The doctors and their medical lobby aren’t leaving anything to chance, though. There are now services available to doctors that advertise they inoculate doctors from malpractice lawsuits.

These services supply the doctors with forms their patients must sign which promise not to sue, promise to sue the patient in the event the doctor is sued, and also promises to threaten, sue and seek disciplinary sanctions for any independent doctor that agrees to work with the injured plaintiff and their attorney.

What’s so bad about all that, you might ask? Let me explain. First, patients are entitled to reasonably competent medical treatment. Doctors have a duty to provide reasonably competent medical care. If the doctor can’t provide reasonably competent medical care, he has no business practicing medicine. When a doctor requires a patient to sign some agreement saying he won’t sue if the doctor screws up, the doctor has a license to commit malpractice, and loses any incentive he has to make sure he does the best work possible. Second, suing a patient who was the victim of malpractice as a form of intimidation is unethical and damn close to illegal. All they are trying to do is scare people from filing legitimate claims.

The third action promised by these services is the most troubling. They promise to sue and intimidate and report doctors to disciplinary boards who agree to help a plaintiff. In New York and Pennsylvania, as in many other states throughout the country, Plaintiff’s attorneys must have their case reviewed by a doctor who asserts malpractice occurred before suit can even be filed. At trial, Plaintiff’s attorneys must call a doctor to testify concerning what the defendant doctor did wrong. These services are attempting to cut off an injured patient’s right to sue by threatening doctors who agree to help the injured.

These services are like hiring a leg breaker to collect your debts instead of using a legitimate collection agency. Sure its effective, but at what cost? Maybe these doctors should spend more time on their patients. If they don’t make mistakes, they have nothing to worry about.

Thanks for reading,

Adam M. Gee, Esq.
New York and Pennsylvania Personal Injury and Malpractice Attorney
Ziff, Weiermiller, Hayden & Mustico, LLP
303 William Street
Elmira, NY 14901
Phone: (607)733-8866
Fax: (607)732-6062
Email: agee@zifflaw.com
www.zifflaw.com

The Elmira Housing Authority continues to refuse to allow a leading expert on Legionnaires’ disease onsite to assist in the investigation into the recent outbreak at Elmira’s Flannery Towers.

The Ziff Law Firm has been retained by three families affected by the outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease at Elmira’s Flannery Towers. We have been pressing the Elmira Housing Authority for nearly a week to allow Matthew Freije, a nationally recognized expert from Carlsbad, California in the areas of legionella and waterborne illnesses, to assist Chemung County’s Health Department in its investigation.

Mr. Freije is one of the nation’s leading consultants in legionella investigations, teaches courses on legionella and other waterborne pathogens, is the editor of Legionella E-news, has led research field studies regarding the removal of legionella and other bacteria, and is the content manager for www.hcinfo.com, a website referenced and linked by government agencies, professional societies and news media throughout the world.

On Friday, August 22, 2008 the Chemung County Health Department confirmed another resident of the Flannery Towers had contracted Legionnaires’ disease – bring the total number of confirmed cases to 10. Interestingly, the Elmira Star Gazette reported today that the Health Department formally recommended the Elmira Housing Authority hire a legionella expert, exactly what our firm has been offering to do at no cost to the Housing Authority for nearly a week.

Specifically, as early as Tuesday, August 19, 2008 the Chemung County Health Department told Ziff Law it was not opposed to allowing Mr. Freije to conduct an independent investigation of the Edward Flannery Towers, but deferred to the Elmira Housing Authority for granting permission. However, the Housing Authority has steadfastly denied our request.

Obviously many residents at Flannery Towers are very concerned about this situation. This is not a time for gamesmanship. The residents and their families are trying to make important decisions – whether to stay at the Towers or try to find temporary housing elsewhere. To deny one of the nation’s leading legionella experts permission it be onsite at the most critical stage of the investigation – the beginning – is irresponsible. The Housing Authority ought to be willing to do whatever it can to prevent further illness and death. To that end we all should be working together to allow the most qualified and experienced people to help us solve this health emergency.

Thanks for reading,

Christina Bruner Sonsire, Esq.

csonsire@zifflaw.com

607.733.8866

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JP Morgan recently announced that it is the first major financial institution to enable insurance companies to use prepaid debit cards to deliver workers compensation benefits to injured workers.

The Chase Workers Compensation Card, issued by JP Morgan, provides insurance companies with an alternative method for paying injured workers and improves the benefits payment process by reducing the costs and time associated with paper-based check distribution.

Workers’ Compensation claimants benefit from efficient, economical and reliable access to insurance payments without having to wait for a check to arrive in the mail.

An Ohio insurance company is now offering the Chase Workers Compensation Card to claimants who receive repetitive payments. For more information please see go to JP Morgan’s press release “J.P. Morgan is First Major Bank to Offer Workers Compensation Debit Card.“

Hopefully we’ll see debit cards in this area soon.

Thanks for reading,
Eric

____________________________________________
Eric L. Johnson
Ziff, Weiermiller, Hayden & Mustico, LLP
303 William St., Elmira, NY 14902
Tel: (607) 733-8866
Fax: (607) 732-6062
Toll Free: 1-800-943-3529
Email: ejohnson@zifflaw.com
Web: http://www.zifflaw.com

According to the Elmira Star Gazette, health officials from Chemung County conferenced with New York State Health Department representatives this morning as they continue to test water at Elmira’s Edward Flannery Towers. In addition, Chemung County officials conformed two additional cases of Legionnaires’ disease, bringing the reported total number of cases to eight.

Ziff Law continues to be contacted by families affected by the outbreak. We have been working dilligently all weekend to launch an independent investigation, and are working hard to gather all of the facts about the cases. We will share more information with the public as soon as we are able to do so.

Thanks for reading,

Christina Bruner Sonsire, Esq. csonsire@zifflaw.com 607-733-8866

Elmira- At approximately 4:00 today [Friday, August 15, 2008], the Chemung County Health Department was notified by the NYS Dept. of Health Wadsworth Laboratory that preliminary results of recent testing of water samples from Flannery Towers indicate the presence of legionella bacteria in the hot water system. Final test results will not be available until next week.

Sadly, the outbreak has already led to one death.

Anna Marie Tongate

Anna Marie Tongate, a resident of Flannery Towers in Elmira, New York, died of complications from Legionnaires’ disease on Thursday, August 14, 2008. Tongate, 75, was a life-long resident of Chemung County and is the mother of three children, eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Anna Tongate moved to Flannery Towers from Big Flats, New York last March because she had been living alone and wanted Read the rest…

My recent post regarding injuries and lawsuits caused quinolone and fluoroquinolone antibiotics like Cipro, Levaquin and Floxin, provoked a number of great Comments and I thought it would be useful to offer some clarifying remarks regarding the injuries associated with these drugs.

Let me address some of the comments head on.

First, David Fuller, Director of the Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Research Foundation, commented: “I would hope that the legal community would not stop at litigation involving just the tendon injuries. This class is associated with far more serious and permanent damage than just that.” David is entirely right and my discuss of tendon injuries was not intended to imply that tendon ruptures were the only injuries linked to these medications. As noted by David, other associated injuries include: “irreversible peripheral neuropathy, fatal liver and kidney damage, fatal hypo and hyperglycemia, SJS and TEN [Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis], toxic psychosis, spontaneous ruptures not only of the tendons but also muscles, ligaments and cartilage”.

Second, Connie commented: “Ruptures & tendinitis aren’t the only adverse reactions that occur after taking these medicines. There are far worse ones that aren’t being mentioned.” Like I said above, I agree, my list wasn’t intended to be exhaustive. Connie mentions a quadriceps muscle rupture suffered by her husband, a 40 year old previously healthy guy, shortly after he took Cipro XR 1000.

Third, Shells commented: “The Black-box warning for tendon damage is just the tip of the iceberg!! The ADVERSE-REACTIONS caused by these drugs are NOT mere “side-effects”, but the result of damage to DNA, due to the TOXICITY of this class of drug. These severe reactions are often permanent and disabling.”

I wholeheartedly agree that the FDA has totally missed the boat on these drugs. Sad to say but the FDA, originally established as a watchdog to protect the public from dangerous drugs, has become a tired, old, toothless dog…..Even worse, we find over and over again in investigating these cases that the FDA has been subject to incredible influence by the big drug companies regarding the very drugs that the FDA was supposed to be carefully scrutinizing. So not only is the watchdog old, tired and toothless but now he’s being fed luscious treats by the very folks he’s supposed to be watching out for…. Yeeesshh, no wonder it’s becoming commonplace that the FDA does nothing until months or years after people are getting hurt or killed by bad drugs.

Hope this helps clarify. Many thanks to all for the Comments and keep them coming!

Jim
___________________________________
James B. Reed
NY & PA Injury & Malpractice Attorney
Ziff Law Firm
303 William Street
Elmira, NY 14902
(607)733-8866
mailto:jreed@zifflaw.com
http://www. zifflaw.com

Here are some recent articles on this subject:

• Tendon Rupture: Signs and Symptoms
• FDA Warns Of Tendon Risk For Antibiotics

Shortly after I joined Ziff Law, Jim Reed, the firm’s managing partner (and frequent poster on this blog,) told me to sign myself up for the two-week National Session on Building Trial Skills offered by the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA). “And by the way,” he remarked, “the program is located just outside Boulder, Colorado.”

‘Nuff said. As a former resident of Denver and Missoula, Montana, I am a true lover of the mountains and was ecstatic about the chance to spend some time savoring mountain life. Oh, NITA looked pretty cool as well.

I had no idea at the time that I was about to embark upon a career changing — if not life changing — voyage. Seriously. Two weeks at NITA equaled, for me and I suspect most of my classmates, at least five years of real world trial experience. Unfortunately, as most practitioners recognize, cases are not tried nearly as often today as they were fifty years ago. Increased pressures to settle matters quickly or engage in Alternative Dispute Resolution — such as mediation or arbitration — has created a professional atmosphere in which young attorneys wait years or even decades before ever getting a chance to see a case through to verdict. (The one notable exception is in the area of criminal law, where cases are tried on a somewhat more frequent basis.) (Watch an interview with The Honorable Jim R. Carrigan, one if NITA’s founders.)

I was fortunate to have tried a number of cases as a prosecutor before participating in NITA’s National Session. However, the skills and confidence I gained from NITA are unparalleled. I had an opportunity to test myself against some of the best up-and-coming attorneys in the country — and even the world! The faculty was comprised of seasoned practioners with practical, focused advice on how to become the very best trial lawyer possible, and the lecturers offered insight into cutting edge legal trends and technology emerging from all ends of the globe. (Read NITA’s Blog.) Read the rest…

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Let’s face it, Plaintiff’s attorney’s don’t much care for insurance companies. We fight with them all day, every day in order to try to get them to honor their responsibilities to our clients. The insurance companies fight us tooth and nail every step of the way by denying and delaying legitimate claims in the hope that we will accept less compensation than our clients are entitled to. When you deal with these tactics every day like we do, you grow so used to them that it almost seems normal. Every once in a while, though, new information comes to light that reminds us just how abusive and deceptive insurance companies really are.

A newly released report compiled after reviewing thousands of pages of documents, complaints, testimony and financial records of insurance companies from across the nation provided us with a refresher on just how bad insurance companies treat people. The abuses it reveals are enough to turn your stomach, and the common tactic of “delay, deny, defend” rings true to those of us battling in the trenches with these insurance giants every day. This is certainly not the first such report that identifies the tactics used by insurance companies to defraud their policy holders and lawful claimants. What is new, though, is that they name the 10 worst insurance companies in the country. While we have our own opinions formed over decades of dealing with insurance companies, it is nice to finally have some empirical evidence to rely on when we tell our friends, family and clients who the worst companies really are. Without further adieu, the worst insurance companies in America are:

1. Allstate Insurance Company. Is this really a surprise? The supposed good hands people have had the boxing gloves on for years, no matter what some actor who played a president on the show 24 may tell us.

2. UNUM Insurance. One of the largest disability insurance carriers, has been mistreating their insureds longer than anyone in this office can remember.

3. AIG. The largest insurance company in the world, AIG has been referred to as the new Enron because multi billion dollar corporate fraud.

4. State Farm. Another shocker here. The Company has gone to great lengths to avoid paying claims, including forging signatures on earthquake waivers after the deadly Northridge earthquakes, and altering engineering reports regarding damage after Hurricane Katrina.

5. Conseco. This company sells long term care policies, typically to the elderly. Unfortunately, Conseco uses the deteriorating health of its policyholders to its advantage because the company knows if it waits long enough to pay out claims, its customers will die.

6. Wellpoint. A health insurer, Wellpoint routinely cancels the policies of pregnant women and chronically ill patients.

7. Farmers Insurance Group. Consistently ranks at or near the bottom of homeowner satisfaction surveys. The company offers pizza parties to adjusters who meet low payment goals.

8. United Health. Physicians report that reimbursement rates are so low and payment is delayed so long that patient health is compromised. Money that should have been spent on medical treatment for policyholders has instead gone to the company’s former CEO, who faced criminal and civil charges for back dating stock options.

9. Torchmark. Founded by its own admission as little more than a scam, Torchmark has preyed on low-income Southerners for over 100 years. The company has come under fire for a variety of transgressions, including charging minority policyholders more than whites.

10. Liberty Mutual. Like Allstate and State Farm, Liberty Mutual has adopted “deny, delay and defend” tactics. The company has also gone one step further than simple claims-handling abuses by indulging in what regulators describe as systematic bid rigging.

You can read the full report here.

While these are the ten worst insurance companies nationwide, I could add a few companies to the list who operate in Elmira, the Southern Tier of New York, and the Northern Tier of Pennsylvania. The companies I am thinking of may be too small to make a national list, but any Twin Tier resident who has ever dealt with them could tell you a story or two. I won’t list them here, but if you ask me privately, I will be more than happy to give you my own top ten list of the worst insurance companies.

Thanks for reading,

_______________________________
Adam M. Gee, Esq.
New York and Pennsylvania Personal Injury and Malpractice Attorney
Ziff, Weiermiller, Hayden & Mustico, LLP
303 William Street
Elmira, NY 14901
Phone: (607)733-8866
Fax: (607)732-6062
Email: agee@zifflaw.com
www.zifflaw.com

Legionnaires' Outbreak at the Flannery Towers

The Elmira Star Gazette is reporting a possible outbreak of Legionnaires Disease at the Ed Flannery Towers senior housing complex in the City of Elmira. Legionnaires’ Disease is a type of pneumonia caused by Legionella, a bacterium found primarily in warm water environments. The United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention descibes the symptoms of Legionnaires’ Disease — such as high fever, chills, coughing, muscle aches and headaches — as being similar to many other forms of pneumonia, making it difficult to diagnose at first. The CDC states Legionnaires’ Disease is a very serious illness and causes death in up to 30% of cases. The good news is many cases of Legionnaires’ Disease can be treated successfully — if diagnosed early and properly treated.

According to the Star Gazette, the Chemung County and New York State Health Departments are investigating the outbreak, but have not yet determined the number of people potentially affected by the disease.

Thanks for reading,

Christina Bruner Sonsire, Esq.