In honor of Emma Falk (Mercy 2013)

On July 11, 2011 Emma was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). It was likely a side effect of the chemotherapy she received in 2007 to eliminate Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Her sister Aidan was a donor match and in September, Emma underwent a bone marrow transplant at Boston’s Children’s Hospital. Together with her family, Emma spent over two months recovering at the Ronald McDonald House bone marrow transplant annex in Boston.

Come cheer on two-time cancer survivor and Mercy softball player Emma Falk as her team battles Pittsford Mendon High School in the 2nd annual Mercy Strike Out Cancer Softball Game.  All proceeds will be donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the Rochester Ronald McDonald House.

• Date:  Monday, May 14, 2012
• Time:  4:30 p.m.
• Location:  Mercy HS Softball Field, 1437 Blossom Rd, Rochester, NY 14610

This event is sponsored by Faraci Lange, DeJoy, Knauf & Blood and many other corporate sponsors.  Go support Emma and the cause!

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The case involves the alleged contamination of the plaintiffs’ drinking water by General Electric, which was discovered in 2000. The non-jury trial will begin on Monday, April 23, 2012 in New York State Supreme Court, Monroe County, before the Hon. Ann Marie Taddeo.

Eighty-eight people from 35 families who live or lived in the towns of Aurelius and Fleming began this case in June 2001, alleging negligence due to their well water being contaminated with trichloroethylene (TCE) — associated with kidney, liver and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and other cancers — and vinyl chloride, a cause of liver cancer. Plaintiffs are claiming damages in excess of $10 million, including expenses associated with replacing their water supply and future expenses associated with a medical monitoring and surveillance program to provide screening and early detection of the cancers and other illnesses associated with TCE and vinyl chloride exposure.

A punitive damages claim was based on documents showing that GE decided against conducting a survey of nearby drinking water wells once the contamination at the Powerex plant was first discovered, in an attempt to avoid adverse publicity. Residents claimed that this caused them needless exposure for an additional 10 to 12 years and showed reckless disregard for their health and safety. In July 2011, the New York State Appellate Division, Fourth Department in Rochester affirmed an earlier ruling denying GE’s motion to dismiss the case, allowing Baity, et al., v. General Electric Company to proceed to trial.

“It has been a long battle, but the 35 families affected by GE’s negligence are gratified that their day in court is finally here,” said Stephen G. Schwarz, the residents’ lead attorney and managing partner at the Rochester, N.Y. law firm of Faraci Lange LLP. “These strong, determined residents deserve enormous credit for both taking on one of the world’s most powerful corporations and enduring more than ten years of litigation in order to seek justice from the court for what GE’s toxic contamination has done to their homes and families.”

GE Powerex Facility

General Electric’s Powerex facility, located in the town of Aurelius, manufactured silicone semi-conductors, radar equipment and printed circuit boards beginning in 1951. GE used hundreds of thousands of gallons of solvents, including TCE, perchloroethylene (PCE) and acetone, at the facility and disposed of waste containing these solvents in on-site, unlined evaporation pits until approximately 1967.

•In 1979, GE sampled the soil near one of its unlined pits and found chemicals in the soil. In 1985, additional sampling was conducted and confirmed the presence of high concentrations of TCE in the soil. GE hired Dunn Geoscience in 1985 to conduct further testing, and Dunn discovered TCE at levels exceeding 180,000 ppb in the soil under the unlined pit.
• In 1986, Dunn found that the shallow bedrock aquifer was contaminated with TCE and other chemicals used at the facility that had been dumped over the years into these unlined pits and also found other areas where solvents and other chemicals had leaked out of waste holding tanks. In addition to TCE, high levels of PCE and the degradation products dichloroethene and vinyl chloride were found in this aquifer, with acetone.
• By mid-1988, Dunn identified TCE and its degradation products in the shallow bedrock aquifer at levels greater than the solubility of these chemicals in water indicating the existence of a pure solvent layer or NAPL (non-aqueous phase liquid) at the bottom of this aquifer. Concentrations of TCE were found under the former unlined pit and in the area of a solvent waste tank that are hundreds of thousands of times higher than New York state drinking water standards.
• That same year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported to GE that groundwater was used as drinking water by 60 people within a three mile radius of the facility. In spite of this knowledge, no testing was ever done of the drinking water wells in the area and residents were never told of the potential that their wells were contaminated.

Many of the plaintiffs, including children, moved into existing homes or built new homes in the area south and southwest of the facility between the mid-1980s and late 1990s. All of these homes had wells that drew water from the deep bedrock aquifer. The remaining plaintiffs lived in homes that had wells that drew from the deep bedrock aquifer at the time that GE discovered contamination below its facility. All of these plaintiffs used their well water for drinking, cooking and bathing.

The plaintiffs are represented by Faraci Lange LLP. Stephen Schwarz is the lead attorney, and he will be assisted by associate attorney Hadley Matarazzo. The trial is expected to take four to five weeks to complete.

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The New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers is committed to protecting, preserving and enhancing the civil justice system. The Academy’s leadership includes some of the state’s top trial attorneys. Its membership of nearly 2,000 consists of plaintiff and defense attorneys, members of the judiciary, non-judicial government employees, law professors, law clerks, law secretaries, paralegals and law students.

Hadley Matarazzo focuses her practice on toxic torts, environmental law, medical malpractice and product liability. A city of Rochester, N.Y. resident, she earned her law degree from the Rutgers University School of Law Newark and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont.

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Zorn was named the 2010 AALNC Member of the Year, she serves on the board of directors, and she has been a member of the organization for more than 15 years. In 2006, Zorn started the LNCExchange, a Yahoo Group for legal nurse consultants and other professionals who work in medical legal litigation. Today, the LNCExchange has more than 1,450 members nationwide and generates about 450 posts per month – serving as a unique networking and educational resource for legal nurse consultants across the country.

A legal nurse consultant at Faraci Lange and a registered nurse, Zorn is a recognized authority in her field. She wrote a chapter about a legal nurse consultant’s role in a law firm for the AALNC core textbook, “Legal Nurse Consulting: Principles and Practice.” She also has contributed two modules to the organization’s online LNC course and has published an article about the LNCExchange in the Journal of Legal Nurse Consulting.

Elizabeth Zorn resides in the town of Victor, N.Y.

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With the new office, Faraci Lange is extending its leadership in personal injury and business litigation into the Buffalo area. The office will be managed by new firm partner Frank J. Frascogna, a civil litigator in Buffalo for more than 25 years. Frascogna offers a wealth of experience in representing victims of professional malpractice and general negligence cases.

Faraci Lange attorneys are recognized routinely by their peers as among the nation’s best, with annual recognition in Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers. The firm’s Business division (www.faracibusiness.com) gives corporate clients fee flexibility and the ability to resolve business disputes more cost-effectively.

“Personal injury victims and corporate clients in western New York have a choice when it comes to finding experienced, nationally recognized trial attorneys,” said Stephen G. Schwarz, managing partner, Faraci Lange LLP. “Faraci Lange has frequently represented victims in Erie and Niagara counties during our more-than-45-year history. Now, with the opening of our Buffalo office, we will be able to serve western New York clients more efficiently and more effectively.”

Faraci Lange’s Buffalo office is located at 298 Main Street, Suite 302, and the telephone number is (716) 248-3000.

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