Piles of urine-stained clothes on the floor. A bed stripped of sheets and bowed and broken in the middle. A cup of liquid filled with dead ants. That was the condition of Wally Lassiter’s bedroom at a Schenectady group home in 2017. On July 4, as the region was in the midst of a heat wave, the 26-year-old developmentally disabled man was found dead in his bed while wearing multiple layers of shirts. A former employee who provided photographs to the Times Union that showed the condition of Lassiter’s room last year said the man’s untimely death was horrifying but not surprising. What Legal Issues Can Arise in Group Home Neglect Cases? Cases involving group homes and facilities caring for vulnerable individuals may involve: Negligence Wrongful death Failure to supervise Medical neglect Abuse of developmentally disabled adults Violations of state regulations Families deserve answers when a loved one suffers serious injury or death due to inadequate care. About Scott E. Charnas Scott E. Charnas is a New York trial attorney with decades of experience representing victims and families in serious injury and wrongful death cases. Read the full story at Times Union: https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/a-death-at-schenectady-group-raises-questions-13179533.php

For years, patients have assumed that if a medical device reaches the market, it has been properly vetted, tested, and cleared for use. The reality is far more complicated. The recent FDA Class I recall involving certain Stryker temporomandibular joint (“TMJ”) implants used to reconstruct or replace the jaw joint connecting the lower jaw to the skull, underscores a larger concern in medical device safety: even highly specialized implants can reach patients before critical design issues are fully discovered. According to the FDA, the recall involved a discrepancy between the screw-hole position listed in the design specifications and the actual fossa design, creating a risk that screws could penetrate the cranial vault and lead to dural tissue damage, bleeding, cerebrospinal fluid leak, meningitis, or other serious injury. As someone who has spent years representing victims injured by defective medical and dental devices, I can tell you this is not an isolated event. “What’s alarming is not simply that recalls happen,” said Scott E. Charnas, Esq., founder of Charnas Law Firm, P.C. “It’s the frequency with which we continue to see patients suffer life-altering injuries tied to products they were told were safe. In many of these cases, patients are only discovering the true source of their injuries years later.” The numbers surrounding medical device recalls continue to raise serious questions across the healthcare and legal industries. According to FDA data, thousands of medical device recalls have been issued over the past decade, including Class I recalls reserved for situations involving a reasonable probability of serious injury or death. The medical device industry itself exceeds $500 billion globally, with manufacturers often operating under aggressive timelines to bring products to market. For patients, the consequences are not abstract; they are physical, financial, and permanent. Many individuals impacted by defective implants face: • multiple revision surgeries • chronic nerve pain • infection risks • bone loss and structural damage • long-term disability • substantial medical costs and lost income “We continue seeing cases where patients trusted the system, trusted their doctors, and trusted the manufacturers behind these devices,” Charnas added. “When those systems fail, the impact follows people for the rest of their lives.” The broader issue extends beyond a single manufacturer or product category. Litigation involving dental devices, orthopedic implants, surgical mesh, joint replacements, and other implanted products continues to grow nationwide as more patients come forward alleging inadequate warnings, flawed design, and insufficient long-term testing. Regulatory clearance does not always equal long-term safety, and that distinction matters. As scrutiny surrounding medical device oversight intensifies, accountability will continue becoming a central issue for manufacturers, regulators, and healthcare providers alike. Patients deserve transparency before products enter the market — not years after injuries have already occurred.

Scott Charnas was featured in The New York Times for his work advocating for cyclists’ rights in New York City, highlighting his role in bringing complex bike-law issues from the streets into the courtroom. The article examined his legal challenges to enforcement practices involving so-called “phantom violations,” as well as broader questions surrounding cyclist safety, roadway design, and fair application of the law. The coverage underscored Scott’s early and sustained involvement in this area of the law, positioning his work within a growing movement to protect vulnerable road users through litigation and policy accountability. See the full story at The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/21/nyregion/a-new-breed-of-lawyers-focuses-on-bicyclists-rights.html

Jurors in the first military earplug lawsuit returned a $7 million verdict that included more than $6 million in punitive damages against 3M for selling the military faulty earplugs. Hundreds of military veterans are expected to file lawsuits against the manufacturing company 3M, claiming it knowingly sold defective earplugs. These complaints come after the Justice Department settled a lawsuit with the company in July over allegations the company defrauded the government by selling earplugs with "dangerous design defects" to the military for "more than a decade." 3M agreed to pay $9.1 million to the government, but admitted no liability. CBS News' Dr. Jon LaPook spoke with servicemen who deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq, where they were in close proximity to small arms, heavy artillery and rockets. Until that 3M settlement, they believed their hearing loss was par for the course. As Seen on CBS: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/military-veterans-claim-defective-3m-earplugs-caused-hearing-loss/

Boja Kragulj, an accomplished clarinetist who once performed with orchestras in New York, Philadelphia, and Jacksonville, Florida, has already lost four teeth. And she expects to lose at least a dozen more. Five years ago, seeking to correct her bite and improve her breathing, Kragulj tried a dental device that she was told would put pressure on her upper palate, lengthening her jawbone to fix her issues without surgery, according to an ongoing lawsuit she has filed in federal court. Kragulj said she discovered the device through Facebook, and it sounded "miraculous." See the full story on CBS: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/agga-dental-device-lawsuits-teeth-damage/v

A young mother who was the victim of a widely publicized gang-rape on a tavern pool table in New Bedford, Mass., died in a car accident in Miami, the Florida Highway Patrol reported today. Cheryl Araujo, 25, living in Miami since the 1984 rape trial, died Sunday night after losing control of her car and smashing into a light pole, Florida Highway Patrol officials said. Her two children, ages 4 and 6, were injured in the crash, but were released from Miami Children’s Hospital on Tuesday, officials said. Full story Seen on LA Times: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-12-17-mn-3351-story.html

A pretend pirate-ship captain with hearing damage from a dummy rifle fired next to his head is suing the Johnny Depp look-alike buccaneer who broadsided him at a beloved annual Milford, Conn., event.Walter Micks, 61, was playing his part at Pirate Day when volunteer swashbuckler Tucker Reynolds, 52, “walked over . . .  and shot off a black powder rifle directly next to the plaintiff’s ear,” injuring him with an “excessively explosive sound,” according to the lawsuit filed in Connecticut Superior Court.  Two years later, Micks still has hearing loss and tinnitus — ringing in the ears. “Everybody thinks it’s a joke — it’s not a joke,” said Micks’ lawyer, Edmund Collier.  The dummy weapon “looks like a musket,” he said. Read the full story at The New York Post: https://nypost.com/2023/06/18/pirates-day-volunteer-sues-over-lost-hearing-from-rifle-blast/

Scott Charnas was interviewed by CBS News in a national television segment examining the use of a dental appliance linked to severe oral and auditory injuries. The report focused on claims by patients—including musicians—who alleged lasting damage, and featured Scott’s legal perspective on accountability, patient safety, and emerging litigation surrounding the device. Watch here: https://www.cbsnews.com/video/a-dental-device-was-sold-to-fix-jaws-but-some-patients-claim-it-wrecked-their-teeth/

Scott Charnas’s work on the “Big Dan’s” case was later examined in Trial by Media, a Netflix documentary series exploring the intersection of high-profile litigation and public perception. Episode 5 revisits the case through archival footage and contemporary analysis, including multiple appearances by Scott discussing the legal issues and broader implications surrounding victim advocacy and media ethics. Watch here: https://www.netflix.com/title/80198329#episodes

Seven months after her son died suddenly inside a group home in Rochester, the mother of Luis Minllety still can't get anyone to tell her how and why he died. She and her new lawyer reached out to Messenger Post's news partner, News10NBC's Chief Investigative Reporter Berkeley Brean for help. Luis Minllety was the second person to die in a state-regulated group home in Monroe County last year. Luis died just before Christmas. After News10NBC started digging into this case last week, the Monroe County Medical Examiner finally delivered the official cause of death report to Rochester police Monday. As seen on The Bulletin: https://www.norwichbulletin.com/story/news/2018/06/26/7-months-later-why-can/11882518007/

A Queens home belonging to a Little League coach who sexually abused young boys will go up for auction this week, with the proceeds benefiting his victims. “There is some psychic satisfaction in selling the only asset that this man has,’’ the boys’ lawyer, Scott Charnas, said of convicted pedophile David Hartshorn. “The boys will never get enough money, but maybe this will help give them a little bit of a start in life.” Hartshorn, 59, who was once named Coach of the Year at the Rochdale Village Little League, pleaded guilty in 2012 to having sex with three boys inside the home at 170-10 144th St. and filming the horrific acts. He is now serving 18 years behind bars. Full Story on New York Post Here: https://nypost.com/2017/12/10/pedophiles-home-to-be-auctioned-off-to-benefit-his-victims/