Settlements & Verdicts

Young Mother Killed in Collision with Cement Truck

Young mother of several children was killed when a vehicle, which had been incapacitated on the side of the highway, was struck by a cement truck that was traveling in the same direction.  The initial police investigation blamed the young  mother, stating that she had simply pulled from the shoulder into oncoming traffic.  Several firms turned down her case.  We were able to prove through accident reconstruction that the impact actually took place on the shoulder of the road, but it was actually the truck driver who had left his lane of travel, causing the accident.  The settlement was in excess of $1 Million.

Certainteed Construction – Roofing Shingles Litigation

Our law firm, working with several other law firms around the country, presented a thousand home owners that had allegedly received defective roofing shingles when their homes were built.  Defendants initially denied any negligence and attempted to blame others and other factors on the fact that the shingles did not hold up as expected.  Experts were able to prove that the product was designed and constructed in a negligent manner.  The case was eventually settled in a multi-million dollar class action venue.

Real Estate Fraudulent Transaction

A young and inexperienced business woman was part owner of a building with another person.  She was not involved, on a day-to-day basis, in any of the real estate transactions and noticed that her real estate tax statements had stopped coming to her address.  When she went to investigate, she was told that the property was no longer in her name.  Our investigation determined that her share of the property was wrongfully, and without her knowledge, transferred through what appeared to be fraudulent endorsements.  The case was settled for several hundred thousand dollars.

Man Burned Using Propane Torch

A young man had rented a propane torch and was underneath a truck cutting a hinge to detach an old trailer when there was an explosion.  He was burned extensively and went through several surgeries.  The case was very difficult to prove with respect to negligence and product liability.  The plaintiff also had a history of working in the field and therefore the issue of comparative fault was extremely important.  The case settled for several hundred thousand dollars.

Man in Wheel Chair Hit by Car

The client, a young man in his twenties who had cerebral palsy, was crossing a street in the crosswalk in his wheelchair when he was hit by a vehicle.  He was knocked out of his chair, but did not appear to have significant injuries.  He was in the process of heading to one of his standard medical appointments.  While he did suffer cervical, lumbar and hip injuries in this collision, the insurance company attempted, before our involvement, to tell him that it appears that his condition was no different than it had been before, and further, that the collision was partially his fault.  Once we entered the picture, the investigation determined that our client was not at fault in any way for this situation.  After discussing his case with the medical experts, they determined that he did indeed have additional injuries, above and beyond his prior problems, and they were willing to document that information.  This is a typical story where the insurance company had hoped that our client would simply forget about his case and go away after their initial determination.  He did not do that.  With persistence , we were able to secure a significant settlement for him.

Police Officer’s Knee Buckles at Work and State Denies Claim

A 38 year old police officer with 12 years on the force was walking up steps at the police station when his knee buckled, resulting in time off of work, surgery and a permanent injury.  His employer, the State, denied him workers’ compensation benefits, claiming that simply walking up steps at his place of employment did not qualify as a “covered event” for purposes of workers’ compensation.  The case was tried and the Judge held that the event was in fact covered and awarded benefits, including future medical.

Rube Goldberg Workers’ Compensation Scenario

A 27 year old client, while working at a part-time reception job, developed a headache and walked over to the office’s water fountain in order to take an aspirin.  She placed the aspirin in her mouth, bent over to take a drink from the water fountain, at which time the aspirin lodged in her throat and she began to choke.  This caused her to momentarily black out, resulting in her sitting hard on the floor whereby she broke her right ankle.  The workers’ compensation carrier picked up her claim for the broken ankle, but unfortunately, while she was walking on her crutches, she developed low back pain.  The low back pain was treated by a reputable orthopedic physician, who after months of pharmaceuticals and physical therapy, decided to send his patient to a pain clinic.  While at the pain clinic, the Employee participated in group sessions and  discovered that she was extremely unhappy with her life and that was the reason she was working not only the part-time job, but a full-time job as well, and attending classes as a full-time student.  This resulted in her becoming psychologically decompensated and doctors at the pain clinic sought to have her institutionalized under Court order.  The judge in Probate Court, being familiar with our firm’s work, placed a phone call requesting that we consider representation of this young woman.  Eventually the case was tried and the Workers’ Compensation Court found that all of her injuries, including her psychological injury, was covered under the Workers’ Compensation Law and she was awarded benefits in an amount in excess of six figures.

Man Loses Part of Buttocks as a Result of Sitting on the Wrong Part of a Riding Lawn Mower

The client, who had owned this particular riding lawn mower for several years, fell into the motor when it lurched forward during an attempt to start it.  The manufacturer’s interlock device had failed and there was not sufficient guarding to prevent serious injury to our client’s buttocks when he wound up twisting and falling into the riding lawn mower upon its failure.  The case was settled for $120,000.00 and a new riding lawn mower.