Current Investigations

Sexual abuse of a 77 year-old female nursing home resident who suffers from dementia by a nursing home staff member.   We currently are investigating all aspects of the nursing home's hiring practices, particularly as they relate to screening of potential employees, as well as the training and supervision that the nursing home provides after an employee is hired.

Death of a young woman from an ectopic pregnancy.  Our client was taken by ambulance to an emergency room with severe pain, bleeding, a positive pregnancy test, and near shock.  We are investigating why it required over a four-hour wait in the emergency room.  She coded on the way to surgery and died from extensive blood loss.

A head-on collision involving an SUV that crossed into our client’s lane of traffic.  The collision occurred at a high rate of speed.  The driver of the SUV is believed to have been under the influence of prescription pain medication that she illegally obtained from friends and acquaintances.  Our client suffered life-threatening fractures and is confined to the Erie County Medical Center.  The accident occurred on Walden Avenue in the Village of Depew.

We are currently investigating the drowning death of a young woman at the State University of New York at Buffalo Alumni Arena.  The woman, age 27, was found unresponsive at the bottom of the pool during an “open swim.”  We currently are investigating the actual events of that evening, as well the swimming pool’s operational procedures, and any patterns of faulty supervision in the past.

Case of a rape of an 11-year-old girl in July 2010 at a Buffalo, New York YMCA.  A lawsuit has been filed in Erie County Supreme Court.  The victim was impregnated by an employee of the YMCA and delivered a child as a result.

A 4-year-old was using a token machine for a carousel ride at a local mall when the token machine fell on top of him, resulting in a severe femur fracture to his left leg. The child was required to wear a cast on both legs up to his pelvis and will undergo extensive therapy. After the accident, the wheels on the bottom of the token machine were removed. We will investigate the purpose of said wheels, why they were removed, and whether they caused the machine to fall on the child.

…a 48-year-old woman was undergoing a minor surgical procedure under general anesthesia and was prepped with a product named as ChloroPrep.  The product leaked into her eyes, resulting in severe burns to both of her corneas.  Both the product and the method by which it was applied are under investigation.

…a local farmer was driving a Allis-Chalmers tractor/combine when he was rear-ended by a manure truck.  The circumstances surrounding this accident are being investigated with regard to the experience of the driver of the manure truck, the hours of his employment, and his competency to operate a large farm vehicle.

…we are investigating the cause of a wrongful death and personal injury case that involves an 18-wheel tractor-trailer that occurred at a rural intersection, causing the death of the driver of the automobile and injuries to the infant occupants.  The operator of the tractor-trailer failed to take any evasive action to avoid the collision and his insurance company has deleted information contained in the “black box” of the tractor-trailer’s computer.  Our investigation includes an analysis of the speed of the tractor-trailer, the driver’s apparent failure to promptly apply his brakes, and failure to take any action to avoid the collision.  We are also evaluating the number of hours that the driver had been working and time pressures under which he was operating the tractor-trailer, as well as his competency to operate the tractor-trailer under the conditions that were presented.  We also are evaluating a report from the New York State Department of Transportation indicating numerous violations related to the truck being operated.

…a 63-year-old man was killed when he was run over by his own vehicle, a Chrysler-manufactured Dodge Ram pick-up truck.  Our client exited his truck believing that it was in the park position, when in fact it was in what is known to be a “false park” position, whereby the transmission is hung up between reverse and park.  This is a longstanding problem with Chrysler products.  The problem was not known to our client and was not brought to his attention.  Chrysler has failed to remedy this problem in its vehicles and continues to use a gear mechanism that creates an enhanced risk of a “false park” position for the transmission.

…Brown Chiari LLP currently is investigating the practices of a radiology group that failed to notify its patient of suspicious lesions following a mammography.  The suspicious lesions were noted by the radiologist who failed to bring them to the attention of the patient.  The radiologist’s staff also failed to contact the patient to advise her of the findings on the mammography films.  The next year, the patient went in for another mammography, which was her practice.  At that time, it was brought to her attention that the earlier film had been diagnostic of possible cancer and that she should have been notified, but was not.  Unfortunately, her most recent film showed an enlargement and spread of the cancer.

…a 38-year-old male was hunting and attempting to climb into his tree stand when a ladder-like device known as a Bass Pro Strongbuilt that he had purchased from Bass Pro broke, causing him to fall and fracture his spine.  Our investigation to date has revealed an improperly designed product without a locking mechanism to prevent the ladder-like device from collapsing.

…Brown Chiari LLP is engaged in the investigation of multiple prosthetic hips and hip replacement systems, which have been manufactured by DePuy Orthopedics and sold through Johnson & Johnson, the owner of DePuy Orthopedics.  These devices have been the subject of a recall.

…we are also investigating prosthetic hips manufactured by Zimmer.  A number of these replacement hips have been recalled due to extensive and life-threatening complications that have arisen.  We have filed a number of lawsuits to date with regard to these products and our investigation is continuing.

…while unloading a rail car at Sonwill Distribution, our 51-year-old client was crushed and the load contained within the car collapsed on him after the car had been improperly loaded by General Mills.  The rail car was owned by Union Pacific Railroad Company.

…an ironworker was crushed beneath a steel plate that he was attempting to weld, which unbeknownst to him, had not been secured or braced in an adequate fashion.  When the plate broke free, it knocked him to the ground and pinned him beneath it.  He suffered extensive and career-changing injuries from the collapse.

…a local pharmacy provided our client, a 62-year-old man, with the wrong medication and failed to notify him that they had done so.  While under the improperly prescribed medication, our client began to suffer personality changes, disorientation, dizziness, and frequent falls, requiring multiple hospitalizations.  During his third hospitalization, it finally was discovered that the pharmacy had given him Amitryptyline, which is a powerful anti-depressant.  The personality changes have continued and he is now being medicated and treated by his primary care physician.  The pharmacy has continued to deny responsibility for this matter and we are asking that a local jury be empanelled to set the responsibility of the pharmacy for the experience, damages, and permanent injuries suffered by our client.

…we have recently been retained to investigate injuries suffered by a 32 year old construction worker who was seriously injured when a mortar boom fell at his work site during the construction of a brick wall, causing him to fall into an uncovered elevator shaft.  We are investigating the circumstances of the accident and the application of the New York State Labor Law as it applies to construction workers for their protection.

…a house fire resulted in the death of the two elderly occupants.  We are investigating the cause of the fire, including the failure of a chimney cleaning and repair company to seal off the fireplace so as not to allow fire to escape from the firebox.

…an elderly female was sexually abused by a maintenance worker at a senior citizen apartment complex.  Our investigation has revealed and uncovered the fact that the maintenance worker was continuously improperly entering the apartment, where he abused the elderly woman who was suffering from some dementia.  Our investigation reveals that the maintenance worker was not properly evaluated before he was hired and was thereafter not properly supervised.  He ultimately was charged under the New York State Penal Law and has been imprisoned.  We currently are seeking a trial to recover damages for the sexual assault and abuse that this woman suffered, as well as the deprivation of her rights of dignity and privacy and the emotional and psychological trauma that she has suffered.

…a 17-year-old high school student was severely and permanently injured, including suffering a fractured skull, while participating in baseball practice in a high school gymnasium.  The method and manner by which the practice was being organized and directed by the gym teacher created a high risk of serious injury, which ultimately occurred.  The school essentially placed the students directly in the danger zone of being struck by the metal bats that were being used while the teacher was well protected and some distance from the area where the danger was most prevalent.

…surgical clamps were left in our client’s abdomen following a surgical procedure in an area hospital.  Our client suffered persistent pain and bladder problems over the next two years, which went undiagnosed until it was finally discovered that the clamps had been negligently left behind upon the conclusion of the original surgery.