ZiffLaw Lawyers In The News

JIM REED SELECTED TO TEACH INJURY LAW AT SOLO PRACTICE UNIVERSITY

Congratulations to Zifflaw Attorney Jim Reed who was selected to join the Faculty of Solo Practice University (SPU). SPU is a ground-breaking, international virtual university dedicated to teaching lawyers everything that law schools do not– how to handle a REAL case from beginning to end.

Given his broad experience as an injury attorney for more than 20 years, Jim was selected to teach: Injury Law 101– The Nuts and Bolts of Handling an Injury Case. Why is this a big deal? Because the SPU Faculty Members have been selected from among the very best lawyers in the country and a faculty member must be formally invited to join the SPU faculty. Congratulations to Jim on this great appointment.

Click here to read the Faculty Announcement.

BANKRUPTCIES ARE UP

ZiffLaw Bankruptcy Attorney Mark Weiermiller was interviewed by WETM-TV for the story below:

With the weak economy and woes on Wall Street, more people in Chemung County are filing for bankruptcy.

There are more than 25% in Chemung County.

These numbers are from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Rochester.

They include people and businesses.

In September 2007 there were 12 bankruptcies.

This September, there were 15.

Mark Weiermiller with the Ziff Law Firm says he’s seeing a lot more people having trouble making their mortgage payments.

He says people should be contacting their bank as soon as possible.

“Don’t let it fester and become a 3,4,5 month problem. At that point it may be too late and the bank may not be willing to work with you at that point and may decide to go forward with a foreclosure.” Says Mark Weiermiller, Ziff Law Firm

Weiermiller has 3 tips for you to follow:

Don’t wait until you are months behind in payments to do something.

Contact the bank as early as you can and see if there’s a payment plan that can be set up for you.

The last thing a bank wants to do is own another home.

He also says you should contact a credit counselor for assistance.

ZIFFLAW LAWYERS FEATURED ON

LOCAL NEWS PROGRAMS

We are proud that our attorneys are regularly asked by local news agencies to comment about legal issues in the news.

For example, Jim Reed is featured on the WETM (Channel 18) Noon News every Wednesday.  You can see video from the shows on the WETM site here.   Jim responds to legal questions emailed to WETM or to him directly at jreed@zifflaw.com .  If you have a legal question, feel free to E-mail it to us on our Quick Contact form to the left and we will be happy to address your question.

Also, Adam Gee is featured on a lively radio show for Wingz FM 104.9.  Catch Adam on Thursdays from about 4:00 to 5:30

Click here to go to our LawTalk Video page.

JIM REED IN THE NEWS WITH HIS

MULTI-MILLION

DOLLAR

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE SETTLEMENT

AGAINST CORNING HOSPITAL

Both WETM-TV and WENY-TV gave extensive coverage to Jim’s recent settlement on behalf of an Addison family whose little girl suffered brain damage due to a delay in delivery at birth.  You can read about the case here.  Below are links to the TV coverage:

  • WENY video coverage.
  • Here’s what WENY had to say about the case:Family Receives Multimillion-Dollar Settlement After Decade, Ted Fioraliso, ELMIRA –What would you do with $2.4 million?  Well for one family, it’s going to help a girl with a lot of medical bills.
    Kelly Hunt-Force was born at corning hospital in 1998 with cerebral palsy.  Her family says it’s a result of nurses who neglected to monitor her mother.
    Kelly will never walk or talk because she has severe brain damage.  She’s now 9-years-old and goes to school, but she needs 24-7 care.
    Her grandparents, who are her primary care givers, also work full time, so their lawyer Jim Reed has been fighting for six years to get them money.
    He says it’s one of the largest medical malpractice settlements in Steuben County history.
    “It’s a nice thing for nice people who truly deserve it.  A lot of people hear these kind of numbers — $2.4 million – and say, ‘Wow that’s so much money.’  But anybody who’s gone through any sort of medical care — the costs are so phenomenal!” said Reed.
    The family recently got their settlement money, and Reed says Kelly now has a wheelchair and a handicapped accessible van — things she didn’t have for eight years of her life.
  • Here’s what WETM had to say about the case:Malpractice Suit An Addison family sued Corning Hospital for malpractice and won a settlement of almost two and a half million dollars.Nine year old Kelly Hunt will now be able to get the medical care her family said she needs. Kelly suffers from severe brain damage and cerebral palsy. Her family said is a result of hospital neglect.Back in 1998, Kelly’s’ mother was admitted to Corning Hospital and placed on a fetal monitor. The family’s lawyer said nurses are required to check on that monitor every 20 minutes. But he said the pregnant woman was not seen by a nurse for over 40 minutes. During that time, Jim Reed said the baby went into distress. He said the delayed delivery resulted in severe brain damage and cerebral palsy.Kelly now lives with her grandparents. Reed said it’s has not been easy for them when it come to caring for her. Reed said the hospital settled out of court with the Hunt family this past December for $2.4 million dollars. The money was put in a trust fund for Kelly to help pay for physical therapy and medical needs in the years to come.

    In a statement: Corning Hospital officials say quote “this was an unfortunate situation and we are pleased to have reached resolution.”

CARL HAYDEN IN THE NEWS WITH THE CASE

OF THE TRACTOR TRAILER THAT FELL FROM THE

I-86 PAINTED POST OVERPASS

Several articles have recently run in the Elmira Star-Gazette and Corning Leader newspapers regarding this tragic case where a tractor trailer careened over a very low guardrail on an elevated overpass for Route 15/Interstate 86 in Painted Post, NY.  The truck plummeted more than 80′ crashing onto Interstate 86 colliding with a van operated by our clients.  Many possible factors played a role in this horrific crash:  speed/inattentiveness of the tractor trailer driver, design of the overpass, the insufficiency of the guardrails on the elevated overpass, etc.  Carl Hayden will be pursuing all avenues of possible recovery for our clients including legal actions against the driver, his trucking company and New York State Department of Transportation.  Click here to read some of the articles.

MAPLE LAWN DAIRY HEPATITIS

OUTBREAK SETTLEMENT

Attorney Jim Reed was recently featured in the Elmira Star-Gazette newspaper regarding his handling of the Hepatitis outbreak case at the Maple Lawn Dairy.  Jim was happy to report that the insurance carrier for the restaurant had finally done the right thing and settled the claims Jim brought on behalf of four local residents who contracted Hepatitis after eating contaminated food at the restaurant.

OUR NEW LAW PARTNERS MAKE THE NEWS

The Star-Gazette ran a nice article regarding our two newest partners– Adam Gee (handling Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice cases) and Matt Hughson (handling Bankruptcy and Real Estate cases).  It’s really nice to have such talented, young attorneys joining our firm.