Case Results
Verdicts + Settlements
55-Year-Old Woman Waits 8 Months for Breast Cancer Diagnosis
In December 2019, our client, who was at high risk for breast cancer due to family history, had a mammogram and sonogram performed by the defendant radiologist (deceased before trial) because she felt a lump in her left breast. The studies showed a nodule in the same breast, but were interpreted as benign. The report advised the plaintiff to get a biopsy and follow-up in three months. However, this report was sent to a breast surgeon and not directly to our client. Our client received a layperson letter that said she should follow up with a surgeon and further studies in three months.
In January 2020, our client saw the breast surgeon. During that visit, after taking a family history and doing a breast exam, the surgeon also felt a nodule in the left breast. She told our client that she thought the findings were benign and gave her the option to either have a biopsy or follow up in three months, with no preference shown for either option.
The plaintiff chose to follow up. However, before the three-month follow-up could occur the country shut down due to COVID-19 restrictions so there was no three-month follow-up with either the radiologist or the breast surgeon. The earliest the plaintiff was able to get an appointment for a follow-up with the radiologist was eight months later in September 2020. The mammogram and sonogram performed at that time showed a suspicious finding in the same area of the left breast where the plaintiff complained about the lump eight months earlier. The plaintiff then saw the defendant in November 2020 for a biopsy and breast cancer was diagnosed.
Our client underwent a mastectomy of the left breast and a sentinel lymph node dissection. The lymph nodes were free from cancer and the cancer did not spread distantly. Pathological staging revealed that Mrs. Safir was in Stage 1B breast cancer. However, based upon the features of her cancer, she had bad prognostic indicators. In addition to the mastectomy, she underwent chemotherapy and continues to take daily medication to prevent the cancer from returning.
SPBMCC Member Eleni Coffinas Represents the Plaintiff
The defense argued that the plaintiff was offered a biopsy and instead chose to follow up in three months. They also argued that since the plaintiff was diagnosed in Stage 1B so her chances of survival were 97%.
SPBMCC Member Eleni Coffinas argued that our client should never have been given the option of following up and should have been told that biopsy was the only option. Furthermore, due to the poor prognostic indicators, had our client been diagnosed eight or nine months earlier she would have had less cancer and a much better overall chance of survival.
We asked the jury for $3 million for past pain and suffering and $6 million for future pain and suffering. The jury awarded those amounts with 30% fault on the radiologist and 70% fault on the breast surgeon.
Coffinas settled the case for $2.29 million in Nassau County Court to compensate for the delayed diagnosis.
Learn More About Eleni Coffinas
With abundant experience in medical malpractice law, Eleni Coffinas is a powerful advocate for individuals impacted by negligent healthcare providers and has helped her clients obtain multimillion-dollar settlements. In addition, Ms. Coffinas specializes in medical malpractice cases, including birth injuries, delayed diagnoses, and surgical and cardiac cases. To learn more about Eleni Coffinas, click here.
45-Year-Old Man’s Symptoms Ignored
SPBMCC was retained by the family of an active and healthy man who suffered severe medical complications because of the failure by Emergency Department physicians to timely diagnose a stroke cause by a blood clot that was preventing blood flow to the brain. Due to the defendants’ negligence, the decedent suffered an ischemic stroke which caused his untimely death.
In January 2015, the decedent presented to the hospital’s Emergency Department with complaints of dizziness and right arm numbness. He was examined by the defendant emergency medicine physician who ordered blood labs, documented the decedent’s vitals, and ordered a CT of the head. The decedent’s labs revealed extremely high glucose levels and low sodium levels. The decedent’s blood pressure was dangerously elevated as well. The CT Scan of the Head was completed and interpreted by the defendant radiologist who identified a “questionable hypodensity” in the left parietal lobe and recommended an MRI should be performed. Importantly, this particular hospital did not have an MRI machine and so the decedent needed to be transferred to a hospital that could perform an MRI.
The defendant emergency medicine doctor allegedly discussed the radiological findings with the radiologist and was told by the defendant radiologist that there were no findings. Instead of investigating the cause of the “questionable hypodensity” by ordering an MRI or transferring the decedent to a hospital capable of diagnosing his condition, the defendant emergency physician and the defendant internal medicine physician agreed to discharge the patient home with nausea medication. The decedent’s dizziness, right arm numbness, elevated glucose levels, elevated blood pressure, and low sodium levels were never treated, and the decedent’s “questionable hypodensity” in the brain was ignored.
Worsening Symptoms Left Untreated
The decedent returned to the same hospital three days later by ambulance, only this time, confused and unable to move half his body. Despite these obvious signs of stroke, yet again the defendant physicians delayed in ordering imaging of the brain. A subsequent CT Scan of the head was finally performed the following day which showed a large area of brain damage due to the complete blockage of blood flow to that part of the brain. The decedent became unresponsive and passed away within a short time.
SPBMCC On Behalf of the Patient’s Family
SPBMCC was retained by the family of the decedent. The law firm retained medical experts in the fields of neuroradiology, neurology, and emergency medicine who opined that the decedent required admission to the hospital, treatment for the abnormal glucose levels, sodium levels, and blood pressure, further radiological studies, including MRI/MRA studies, and a neurology consultation to determine the cause of the new hypodensity.
The plaintiff’s neuro-radiologist opined that the defendant radiologist misinterpreted the CT of the head as the hypodensity was not questionable at all, in fact, the hypodensity was visible and “the hallmark sign of ischemia,” meaning a disruption in blood flow to the brain. Had an MRI/MRA been ordered and performed, the size and location of the blood clot would have been determined, and treatment would have been possible. According to the plaintiff’s neurologist, depending on how early the blood clot was discovered, the treatment options would vary between Intravenous TPA otherwise referred to as a clot-busting agent, thrombectomy, and/or the need for stent placement. If the decedent’s blockage had been timely diagnosed and treated, the massive stroke that occurred several days later could have been prevented.
In the several days before jury selection was scheduled to begin, Ms. Turkovic negotiated a settlement with the attorneys for the doctors and the hospital in the total sum of $700,000. The settlement compensates the patient’s family for his pain, suffering, and untimely death.
Learn More About Associate Ana-Marija Turkovic
Ana-Marija Turkovic is an associate at the firm. She enjoys taking on litigation and medical malpractice cases. To learn more about firm Associate Ana-Marija Turkovic, click here.
53-Year-Old Mother Suffers Advanced Breast Cancer After Diagnosis Failure
In April 2019, our client was diagnosed with the earliest stage of breast cancer, Stage 1A. Testing at the time of her diagnosis showed that the tumor was adherent to the fibrinous scar tissue, known as the capsule, that surrounded a breast implant in her left breast. Our client was recommended by the defendant, a breast surgeon, to undergo a lumpectomy followed by radiation to treat the breast cancer.
Our client underwent a lumpectomy in May 2019. At the follow-up office visit, a few weeks later, her breast surgeon informed her that all the cancer was removed and she could proceed with radiation therapy. However, this advice was incorrect, as the surgical pathology report stated there was a positive margin of invasive breast cancer. A positive margin signifies that cancerous tumor cells extend to the edge of the tumor where it was cut from the breast. Surgical standards require at least 2 millimeters of non-cancerous tissue from the surgical margin when removing invasive cancer.
A positive surgical margin is a red flag to physicians that there are remaining cancer cells in the breast tissue. In our client’s case, the positive margin was at the site where the tumor was stuck and adherent to, which was the fibrinous scar tissue of the capsule of the breast implant. Under these circumstances, our client required immediate further surgery to remove the entire breast implant and the capsule of fibrinous scar tissue that surrounded the breast implant to completely remove all cancer cells from her body.
Unaware of the remaining cancer cells in her breast, our client completed radiation therapy to the chest area and continued to see her surgeon over the next year where she complained of breast pain and a developing hard lump in her breast at the same location where her breast cancer tumor was removed.
Same Breast Cancer Returns One Year Later
One year after her lumpectomy, our client was diagnosed with the same breast cancer in the very same location as the prior cancer diagnosis. The tumor was large and now the cancer was advanced, with multiple additional cancerous masses in the breast as well as cancer that had spread to three lymph nodes. Our client endured a mastectomy, chemotherapy, and proton radiation therapy, with many side effects and complications.
Montesano Secures $1.75 Million Settlement on the Eve of Trial
A lawsuit was started on our client’s behalf and the case was prosecuted against the defendant in the Supreme Court in the County of a New York City area suburb, through to the eve of trial, when a settlement was reached on behalf of the plaintiff by Elizabeth Montesano for $1.75 million.
The claims of medical malpractice were investigated and supported by expert physicians retained by SPBMCC. The experts advised that the recurrence of cancer one year later was entirely avoidable and our client was deprived of an earlier and curable breast cancer, by not removing all of the invasive breast cancer in 2019.
Learn More About Firm Member Elizabeth Montesano
Elizabeth Montesano, a firm member, is a vigorous advocate for people injured due to medical malpractice. Her legal skills and experience have helped her clients achieve many multimillion-dollar settlements. Ms. Montesano handles all types of medical malpractice cases, including birth injuries, delays in cancer diagnosis, and surgical and cardiac cases. To learn more about firm Member Elizabeth Montesano, click here.
77-Year-Old Woman Sent Home Twice From Emergency Department Following Severe Post-Operative Medical Complications
The decedent underwent an elective hysterectomy in January 2019 because she had recently been diagnosed with Stage 1A endometrial cancer. The surgeon encountered dense adhesions on the left side of her abdomen when removing the uterus and both ovaries. These specimens were sent for pathological evaluation.
Following surgery, she was discharged and sent home. However, she returned to the hospital three days later due to worsening pain and developing new symptoms of fever, rectal bleeding, and vaginal bleeding. At the Emergency Department, a gynecologic oncology consultation was requested, as this was the medical service that had performed her recent surgery. The patient was seen only by a junior resident and no evaluation or testing was performed. The patient’s surgeon was neither contacted about the decedent’s complaints nor notified that she was hospitalized. She was discharged home with a diagnosis of constipation.
Three more days later, the decedent’s pain worsened further, and again she returned to the same hospital’s emergency department. The patient’s medical records documented complaints of pain at a level of 10 out of 10, fever, chills, vomiting, rectal bleeding, vaginal bleeding, and abdominal distention. The physical examination findings included a firm, tense, and rigid abdomen. These symptoms and physical exam findings are consistent with serious post-operative complications.
The same gynecologic oncology junior resident evaluated the decedent, and once again, the patient’s surgeon was not contacted, nor aware that the decedent was now presenting to the hospital for a second time. Despite all of these signs and symptoms of postoperative complications, worrisome for infection, and bowel perforation, the patient was again discharged home with a diagnosis of constipation.
The decedent presented the following day to her regularly scheduled post-operative follow-up visit with her surgeon. The doctor described her condition as the “worst pain ever.” The office note further states that she was lethargic, somnolent, and moaning in pain. That night she was admitted to the hospital where she underwent a CT Scan of the abdomen and pelvis that identified a large, over eight-centimeter fluid and gas collection on the left pelvic side wall compatible with a bowel perforation and abscess.
The decedent underwent extensive surgery to remove the infection, abscess, and feculent material from her abdomen. Unfortunately, the decedent’s condition remained severe and she was in septic shock. The decedent’s abdominal wound was left open following the operation to allow continued drainage. Unfortunately, her condition progressed to multi-organ failure and she died five days later.
Family Retains SPBMCC As Counsel
The family of the decedent retained SPBMCC after the loss of an active, and healthy woman who suffered severe medical conditions because doctors failed to diagnose post-operative complications following hysterectomy surgery promptly.
The firm retained medical experts in the fields of gynecology and surgery who opined that the decedent required a CT scan of the abdomen to rule out post-operative infection, abscess, and/or bowel perforation. The medical experts further explained that the decedent should have been admitted to the hospital at the first emergency department presentation. In addition, it became apparent that an abdominal X-ray that was performed during the second emergency presentation was misinterpreted as normal, when in fact it showed free air in the abdomen consistent with a bowel perforation.
Learn More About Firm Member Elizabeth Montesano
Elizabeth Montesano, a firm member, is a vigorous advocate for people injured due to medical malpractice. Her legal skills and experience have helped her clients achieve many multimillion-dollar settlements. Ms. Montesano handles all types of medical malpractice cases, including birth injuries, delays in cancer diagnosis, and surgical and cardiac cases. To learn more about firm Member Elizabeth Montesano, click here.
On May 23, 2023, SPBMCC Member John Nash successfully secured a $1.4 million settlement for a 65-year-old woman who was struck by a car.
65-Year-Old Woman Suffers Severe Injuries
In January 2023, a retired woman was out for an exercise walk when she was struck by a car while crossing an intersection in Manhasset. Despite crossing in a marked crosswalk with the signal in her favor, the driver of the car did not see her and proceeded to hit her. She suffered multiple fractures to her right arm and left shoulder and underwent two operations to correct the fractures. She also suffered fractures to her sternum and part of her spine that healed on their own.
Firm Member John F. Nash Represented the Plaintiff
Following the serious and life-changing injuries suffered by the plaintiff, she sought counsel through SPBMCC. Firm member John F. Nash obtained a $1.4 million settlement just before jury selection on the eve of trial to compensate for the prolonged home and office physical therapy that followed her injuries.
Learn More About SPBMCC Member John F. Nash
John F. Nash joined the firm in 1980 and became a member in 1985. Nash has recovered a series of substantial verdicts and settlements on behalf of his clients in the areas of product liability, premises, and motor vehicle negligence. To learn more about Firm Member John Nash, click here.
On Feb. 13, 2024, SPBMCC Partner Glenn W. Nick secured a $575,000 settlement for a firefighter who fell into an open and unguarded hole in the floor while responding to a job.
Fireman Falls Into Hole at Commercial Property
A New York City Fire Department (FDNY) lieutenant was responding to an emergency call at a commercial property when he fell into an open and unguarded hole in the floor which was obscured by heavy smoke conditions. His fall resulted in the need to be assisted out of this hole by several firefighters and, as a result, he sustained injuries to his hip and spine.
The injuries he sustained in the line of duty required surgery to his hip and injections to his spine, as well as continuous physical therapy for his spine. These ongoing conditions forced him to retire early from the FDNY.
Partner Glenn W. Nick Secures $575,000 Settlement for Plaintiff’s Injuries
SPBMCC Partner Glenn W. Nick successfully represented the plaintiff in this case against the commercial property owner and argued that it had a dangerous condition on its property in that there was an open and unguarded hole inside the premises. Following party depositions, we were able to negotiate this favorable settlement for the client. As general counsel for the Uniformed Firefighters Association, SPBMCC is proud to continue to represent New York City’s Bravest as we have done for many decades. The case was settled in Kings County Supreme Court.
Learn More About SPBMCC Member Glenn W. Nick
Glenn W. Nick joined the firm in 2011 and became a member in 2019. He has recovered a series of substantial verdicts and settlements on behalf of his clients in the areas of medical malpractice and personal injury. To learn more about Firm Member Glenn W. Nick, click here.
77-Year-Old Man Experiences 7-Month Cancer Diagnosis Delay
In January 2020, the plaintiff presented to his local hospital with a persistent cough. He was admitted and underwent two chest X-rays read by two radiologists. Both studies were improperly interpreted. The radiologists failed to report findings of a rounded mass with characteristics suspicious of cancer in the right lung. Instead, the radiologist reported findings that were consistent with pneumonia.
After a course of antibiotics, the plaintiff was discharged with instructions to follow up with his primary care provider.
The plaintiff followed the hospital’s instructions and received an extended course of antibiotics from his primary care physician. The plaintiff claimed that the primary care physician failed to order a follow-up chest X-ray, which is standard practice following a diagnosis of pneumonia. The plaintiff also claimed that had the follow-up chest X-ray been performed, the abnormal findings suspicious for cancer would have been apparent. Seven months later, when the plaintiff returned to the same hospital with the same cough, a chest X-ray revealed a mass in the right lung.
Condition Escalates to Stage IV Cancer
The plaintiff underwent an immediate biopsy that diagnosed non-small cell adenocarcinoma. Unfortunately, additional testing showed that the right lung mass had metastasized to nearby lymph nodes, adrenal glands, and a rib.
SPBMCC Member Robert G. Sullivan Successfully Represents the Plaintiff
As this case neared trial, SPBMCC Member Robert G. Sullivan successfully negotiated a $1.275 million settlement in Suffolk County Supreme Court.
Learn More About Firm Member Robert G. Sullivan
Robert G. Sullivan, the firm’s senior member, is one of America’s top trial lawyers and an advocate with an unparalleled reputation for defending the public interest and championing equal justice under the law. For more than 40 years, he has been trying cases that have had a substantial impact on clients and the law itself. He has been instrumental in developing and expanding the law of negligence. As the firm’s senior member, Mr. Sullivan continues to direct the firm’s growth and to be available to clients for the most sophisticated matters. To learn more about Firm Member Robert G. Sullivan, click here.
On Nov. 17, 2023, SPBMCC Member Elizabeth Montesano, Esq., successfully obtained a $2 million settlement for the family of a 39-year-old woman who died of complications following needless gastrointestinal procedures.
39-Year-Old Woman Presents to Local Hospital With Stomach Pain
On March 18, 2019, a 39-year-old woman presented to a local hospital complaining of several days of abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting after eating take-out food. Other than prior gallbladder removal surgery more than 10 years earlier, she had no medical conditions or other medical history.
The decedent was admitted and found to have elevated bilirubin levels as well as laboratory results indicating she was experiencing sepsis. Her diagnosis was cholangitis, which is an inflammation or infection of the bile duct system.
Additional Testing Leads to Risky Procedure
The patient underwent numerous tests to investigate the possibility of cholangitis due to bile duct system obstruction, such as a gallstone, even though she had not had a gallbladder for more than a decade. An abdominal sonogram and a specialized Magnetic Resonance test called an MRCP were negative for any gallstones or other conditions obstructing the bile ducts.
The physicians continued to proceed with a diagnosis of obstruction-causing cholangitis and scheduled an invasive and risky procedure called Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). ERCP is performed to treat problems of the bile and pancreatic ducts by placement of stents to open up areas that are narrowed or blocked, or using interventional techniques to remove any structures obstructing the bile duct system. However, even though the defendant’s physicians believed there was an obstruction, they failed to place a stent in the bile duct during the ERCP, which would have relieved any obstruction or inflammation.
As a result, the patient’s condition worsened in the several days that followed, necessitating a second ERCP for the placement of a bile duct stent that was not placed previously. Unfortunately, by this point, the patient developed signs of bacteremia and abscesses in the liver caused by the multiple ERCP interventions. She ultimately died due to these complications from the procedures, which led to a condition of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and ultimately a cardiopulmonary arrest.
Elizabeth Montesano Successfully Represents the Estate
SPBMCC attorney Elizabeth Montesano, Esq., represented the patient and successfully negotiated a $2 million settlement in Kings County Supreme Court at the completion of defendant depositions. The decedent left behind three children at the time of her death, ages 17, 14 and 9. The settlement will compensate the family for her pain, and suffering, as well as her three children for losing the support of their mother.
Learn More About Firm Member Elizabeth Montesano
Elizabeth Montesano, a firm member, is a vigorous advocate for people injured due to medical malpractice. Her legal skills and experience have helped her clients achieve many multimillion-dollar settlements. Ms. Montesano handles all types of medical malpractice cases, including birth injuries, delays in cancer diagnosis, and surgical and cardiac cases. To learn more about firm Member Elizabeth Montesano, click here.
On June 30, 2023, SPBMCC Partner Eleni Coffinas successfully recovered $3 million for a woman who received a nine-month delay in her breast cancer diagnosis.
50-Year-Old Woman Waits 18 Months for Breast Cancer Diagnosis
In December 2018, the plaintiff presented with a rash/mass complaint and had a mammogram interpreted as negative/consistent with cellulitis. She received instructions to return in six months or sooner if symptoms persist. After following up with her healthcare provider, she was given an ointment for her rash, but her condition did not improve, so in April 2019, she asked for the name of a breast surgeon. She was given one by the nurse practitioner but lost it and asked again in June 2019.
Delay in Diagnosis Leads to the Spread of Cancer
The plaintiff got an appointment for the following September when she was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer, spread to seven lymph nodes. She had a mastectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy.
Eleni Coffinas Represents the Plaintiff
As a result of her delayed diagnosis, the plaintiff sought representation at SPBMCC, where Eleni Coffinas was the trial attorney. Coffinas settled the case for $3 million in the Bronx to compensate for the delayed diagnosis.
Learn More About Eleni Coffinas
With abundant experience in medical malpractice law, Eleni Coffinas is a powerful advocate for individuals impacted by negligent healthcare providers and has helped her clients obtain multimillion-dollar settlements. In addition, Ms. Coffinas specializes in medical malpractice cases, including birth injuries, delayed diagnoses, and surgical and cardiac cases. To learn more about Eleni Coffinas, click here.
On Oct. 5, 2023, SPBMCC Member Eleni Coffinas, joined by Associate Marianne C. Burke, obtained a $1.2 million settlement for a 64-year-old woman whose delayed diagnosis of pancreatic cancer led to an escalation in her condition and an inability to treat.
Delay in Diagnosis Leads to Later Stages of Pancreatic Cancer
In 2017, our client was informed by her gastroenterologist that routine laboratory testing demonstrated a problem with her pancreas. Additional lab studies also showed an elevated pancreatic tumor marker, suggesting a possible malignancy. She was referred by her gastroenterologist for an MRI of the pancreas, which revealed a small mass in the pancreatic tail.
Later that year, she presented to the defendant’s hospital and received an ultrasound-guided endoscopic biopsy of her pancreas. Two cytopathologists reviewed the biopsy samples and incorrectly concluded that the slides were negative for pancreatic cancer.
Our client continued to follow up with her gastroenterologist, who, in December 2017, repeated lab testing, again demonstrating an abnormally elevated pancreatic tumor marker. In February 2018, her gastroenterologist then referred her for a follow-up MRI of her pancreas, which again demonstrated the same abnormal pancreatic mass. However, no additional laboratory testing was then performed until May 2018, when the patient’s pancreatic tumor marker remained elevated. No additional imaging was obtained at that time in response to the same. The gastroenterologist continued to rely on a diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis, even though his patient remained asymptomatic, with no complaints nor risk factors consistent with the same diagnosis.
In August 2018, a third MRI of the pancreas again reported the same mass of the pancreatic body and tail, which the gastroenterologist believed to reflect an “ongoing benign process.”
In February 2019, the Plaintiff underwent laboratory testing, and her pancreatic tumor marker result was reported to be even more elevated, so a fourth follow-up MRI of the pancreas was performed and demonstrated a very large increase in the size of the pancreatic mass.
Finally, a second ultrasound-guided endoscopic biopsy of the pancreas confirmed a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.
Two-Year Delay in Diagnosis Leads to Removal of Pancreas and Spleen
Our client transferred her care to a cancer hospital where surgery was performed to remove a portion of the pancreas and spleen. Pathology confirmed a diagnosis of Stage 2B pancreatic cancer, with one lymph node positive for the spread of the cancer. The plaintiff then underwent targeted chemotherapy, which caused subsequent weight loss and chronic diarrhea.
Unfortunately, by November 2022, our client learned that the pancreatic cancer had metastasized to her right lung. She underwent the surgical removal of a portion of her right lung but has now been diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer. She received continued cancer treatment; however, by the time she received the correct diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, the cancer could not be cured.
SPBMCC Member Eleni Coffinas and Associate Marianne C. Burke Represent Plaintiff, Obtain $1.2 Million Settlement
SPBMCC Member Eleni Coffinas successfully settled the case against our client’s treating gastroenterologist, as well as the hospital in which she underwent a pancreatic biopsy, and two pathologists who reviewed her initial biopsy slides but failed to recognize and diagnose what had then been an early-stage pancreatic cancer. Fifteen months later, the plaintiff’s cancer could not be cured. The case was settled in Queens County Supreme Court. The settlement of this matter was successfully negotiated between all parties just days before the trial was scheduled to begin.
Learn More About Firm Member Eleni Coffinas
Eleni Coffinas, a member of the firm, is a vigorous advocate for people injured due to medical malpractice. Her legal skills and experience have helped her clients achieve many multimillion-dollar settlements. Ms. Coffinas handles all types of medical malpractice cases, including birth injuries, cancer diagnosis delay, and surgical and cardiac cases. To learn more about Firm Member Eleni Coffinas, click here.
The jurors — four women and two men — found that the Doctor departed “from good and accepted medical practice” when he botched the surgery and then failed to identify the problem and repair it, according to a jury verdict sheet.
In favor of our client, a pasta chef who got his hand caught in a pasta-making machine, which the Jury found to have been defective. Our client sustained a partial amputation of four fingers which had to be reattached by microsurgery.
For our client, a man who was left in a persistent vegetative state after electrocuting himself on a machine he had hot-wired to move under its own power, rather than push. We successfully argued that the machine had a defective safety switch which, if operating properly, would have prevented electrocution.
Reached during trial for our client, a wood finisher, who, we contended, was caused to suffer permanent disabling damage to his central nervous system as a result of his use of certain spray and padding lacquers. According to our expert, the labels on these wood finishing products did not properly warn him of the health hazards associated with exposure nor properly advise him of the need for proper ventilation and masks.
For our client, a woman who was rendered a paraplegic after falling from the upper deck to the lower deck of a cabin cruiser. We successfully argued that the hatch, like any opening in a well-traveled floor, should have a cover or guard around it if it is left open.
Our client, a 2-year-old girl, nearly drowned in an improperly installed above-ground pool. In addition to obtaining contributions from the pool owner, the pool seller, the pool installer and the filter manufacturer, we defeated a specific policy exclusion and recovered $1,000,000 from the insurance carrier for our client’s own parents.
36-year-old housewife sustained 3rd degree burns to 32% of her body as a result of a building fire where there were no self-closing doors.
4-year-old toddler sustained 3rd degree burns to 30% of her body as a result of a building fire where there were no self-closing doors.
3-year-old toddler sustained burns to 18% of her body as a result of a building fire where there were no self-closing doors.
7-year-old child sustained 3rd degree burns to 50% of her body as a result of a building fire where there were no self-closing doors.
27-year-old female pedestrian was in crosswalk when she was run over by a MTA bus that failed to yield right of way, resulting in crushing soft tissue injuries to legs that led to Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD).
57-year-old female pedestrian in crosswalk was run over by a NYCTA bus which failed to yield right of way, resulting in loss of both legs.
Against the Transit Authority and in favor of our clients, the family of a 56-year old man who died when he was struck by a train. He had been standing on a subway platform when he became dizzy, collapsed and fell on the subway tracks. We proved to the jury that the train operator was negligent in not noticing the plaintiff on the tracks in time to bring the train to a safe stop.
Against the City and in favor of our client, a 17-year old boy who was shot by a police officer, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. This was a re-trial of a case which had resulted in a jury verdict of $41 Million. The policeman alleged that our client pointed his gun at the officer and was about to shoot him. But the young man claimed that he had already dropped his gun and was on his knees. The jury unanimously held that the policeman’s shooting of the plaintiff was not legally justified.
In favor of our client, a young boy, who was playing in the street with his friends when he was struck by a stolen car that was being pursued by a police car. We proved that the police conducted a negligent chase at a dangerous rate of speed. Our client suffered from a head injury and a broken leg. The jury found the City of New York 100% liable.
In favor of our client, a police officer, who was injured in an intersection collision between two police cars that were each responding to emergency calls. Our client sustained a fractured jaw requiring open reduction and internal fixation and a fracture of the cervical spine.
Before reduction for comparative fault of our client, who was crossing the Cross-Bronx Expressway at night when he was struck by a New York City Department of Parks vehicle. He suffered permanent brain damage and had no recall of the incident. The jury found that the accident was caused, in part, by the negligence of the driver of the City vehicle even though our client was crossing a major highway in the dark.
Against the City Of New York for the negligent operation of a police car that struck down a pedestrian crossing in the middle of the block resulting in permanent and disabling brain damage. The Jury found the police officer to be 100% at fault.
Reached during trial for our client, who sustained serious head injuries when her vehicle left the road surface and struck a tree adjoining the road. It was successfully demonstrated that a guardrail should have been installed along the road surface to prevent vehicles from striking the trees, which were set too close to the road. We demonstrated that the placement of trees two feet from the side of a major cross street was an improper design and that it was the cause of our client’s injuries.
Premature baby boy suffered a burn to his hand due to an IV infiltrate at the hospital where he was born resulting in skin graft surgeries and therapy.
Negligent I.V. placement for surgery in a 2-week-old baby resulted in an I.V. infiltrate and loss of parts of her fingers of her right hand.
47-year-old, married and mother of two, suffered brain damage when a urinary tract infection was improperly treated causing her to have an extremely high fever and seizures that caused brain damage.
A 35-year-old married mother died 6 days after the birth of her second child because physicians failed to properly treat pre-eclampsia around the time of childbirth.
39-year-old mother of two died shortly after the birth of her baby because hospital doctors caring for her did not properly treat hypertension and pre-eclampsia.
A 53-year-old mother of three, caring for a son with multiple sclerosis died because of negligently performed gall bladder surgery.
43-year-old man, who had a laparoscopic banding procedure, suffered from an infection resulting in a massive hernia in his abdomen due to sepsis caused by bowel injuries during the procedure that were not diagnosed.
Diabetic woman in her mid 60’s suffered a below-the-knee amputation after a surgical incision in her lower leg became infected and was not treated properly.
A 27-year old man, single, who was born with his heart’s major vessels reversed suffered a respiratory and cardiac arrest during a routine cardiac catheterization due to the negligence of the attending physician who administered an excessive amount of anesthetic resulting in his death. He was survived by his parents.
A plastic surgeon, who was not board certified, performed liposuction on a 37-year-old patient’s thighs so incompetently that she was permanently scarred and almost died.
A 48-year-old married father of two died as a result of being prematurely extubated following surgery. In addition, the anesthesiologist was not equipped to re-intubate when the decedent suffered respiratory distress soon after the pre-mature removal of the ventilator.
During an unnecessary procedure to remove pelvic adhesions, a doctor carelessly perforated a 31-year-old patient’s colon causing her to need a colostomy.
42-year-old married mother of two had an unnecessary right breast mastectomy when her pathology after a biopsy was negligently read incorrectly.
56-year-old husband and father of three died after a benign polyp was removed from his colon because the hospital doctors failed to diagnose and treat his post-operative complications.
Death of a 37-year-old married father of three after spinal surgery resulting from the hospital staff’s failure to diagnose the signs and symptoms of pulmonary embolism.
In favor of our clients, the family of a patient who sustained a year of pain and suffering after severe loss of tissue following the improper administration of blood thinners. We demonstrated to the jury that the nursing staff administered the dosage inappropriately, which resulted in a condition known as skin necrosis. Our client ultimately died a year later of unrelated causes, but the jury nevertheless compensated him for the pain and suffering that he endured prior to his death.
A 27-year-old married mother bled to death shortly after the birth of her second child because the hospital doctors performed a hysterectomy causing a hemorrhage.
When performing an outpatient laparoscopic procedure, the surgeon negligently lacerated a young woman’s blood vessels resulting in injuries to internal organs and extended hospitalization.
For our clients, the family of a 38-year old woman who suffered brain damage and total disability after the surgical removal of her thyroid gland. We demonstrated that our client suffered brain damage after a cardiac arrest caused by the failure of hospital and medical personnel to anticipate, recognize and treat hypocalcemia, a known complication of thyroidectomy which can cause the muscles in the throat to constrict.
A 20-year-old woman undergoing a cesarean section delivery of her baby was negligently given anesthesia resulting in oxygen deprivation and permanent severe brain damage.
Hospital was negligent in failing to diagnose and treat post-operative complications of a 50-year-old patient’s thyroid removal causing her to lapse into a coma and suffer permanent brain damage.
Hospital’s failure to properly treat and diagnose complaints of a 30-year-old married patient and father of one, of difficulty breathing and chest pain, resulted in his arrest due to pulmonary embolism, minutes after discharged from hospital as “stable”.
49-year-old, married woman and mother of two, died as a result of the hospital’s failure to diagnose the signs and symptoms of a pulmonary embolism.
Death of a 42-year-old married father of one child due to his primary care physician’s failure to follow up on complaints of chest pain and signs of an impending heart attack.
Reached on the eve of trial for our client, a government-employed architect, and against the hospital where he was treated for injuries he suffered in a motor vehicle accident. We claimed that our client suffered permanent brain damage as a result of the delay in treatment.
Hospital doctors failed to properly investigate symptoms of a newborn baby including rapid breathing and fevers resulting in a delay in diagnosing meningitis and permanent brain damage.
In favor of our client, a young girl, and against the hospital, which failed to promptly diagnose and treat the effects of head trauma that she suffered after she was hit by a car while crossing the street. As a result, the child lost all vision and remains permanently blind. We proved that the emergency room should have taken cat scans which would have revealed that there was pressure on the child’s brain, requiring emergency surgery. Had the surgery, (placement of a shunt) been performed, the child’s vision would have been spared.
Physicians failed to perform an emergency cesarean section delivery of a baby girl, resulting in brain damage.
Newborn with permanent and devastating brain damage because his mom did not receive appropriate pre-natal care and he was not delivered timely via emergency cesarean section.
Brain damage suffered by a newborn baby because the hospital doctors who delivered him did not perform an emergency cesarean section despite warning signs.
Hospital’s failure to perform emergency c-section delivery resulted in permanent neurological injury to newborn.
Physician delivering twins failed to recognize that the second baby was in fetal distress resulting in oxygen deprivation and permanent brain damage.
Obstetrician’s failure to diagnose pre-term labor in woman who presented to hospital with complaints of contractions and abnormal findings on sonogram showing signs of cervical shortening, resulted in baby’s premature birth and an intracranial hemorrhage requiring surgical shunt placement with numerous revisions, hydrocephalus and cerebral palsy.
Emergency cesarean section performed on a woman who was discharged from the hospital one day earlier with vaginal bleeding, resulting in brain damage to her newborn son.
Cerebral Palsy and brain damage suffered by a twin boy at birth because the doctors delivering him did not perform a cesarean section when they became aware of fetal distress.
Hospital’s failure to react to signs of fetal distress resulted in baby suffering permanent brain damage.
Brain damage in a newborn baby boy due to the negligence of hospital physicians during his delivery.
Hospital employees and obstetrician failed to promptly deliver a baby causing the baby to become oxygen deprived resulting in permanent brain damage.
Hospital employees and obstetrician failed to deliver a baby after there were signs of distress resulting in oxygen deprivation and permanent brain damage.
Baby boy was born with brain damage due to negligence by the hospital physicians in failing to perform an emergency cesarean section when there were signs of fetal distress.
Physicians failed to recognize fetal distress resulting in brain damage at birth.
Hospital’s failure to properly treat pre-eclampsia in pregnant woman resulting in seizure causing loss of oxygen to baby in utero. As a result the baby was born with severe brain damage.
An infant was injured at birth when a hospital doctor carelessly damaged some of her nerves causing the baby to have Erb’s Palsy.
Reached during trial for our client, a newborn. Approximately 45 minutes prior to delivery, a hospital resident determined that the delivery should be performed via cesarean section and called the attending physician (since the resident was not allowed to perform a cesarean section). The attending physician denied ever receiving the call. The infant was delivered vaginally and during the delivery, the baby’s shoulder became stuck. We claimed that excessive traction (pulling) was used to deliver the infant, resulting in an injury to her brachial plexus. She now suffers from Erb’s Palsy and has limited use of her arm.
Physicians at a hospital negligently delivered a baby boy resulting in injury to the brachial plexus, Erb’s Palsy and permanent damage to the arm.
A 38 year old painter died as a result of a scaffold collapse. He was survived by a wife and three children.
17-year-old high school student was at a beach party when one of the attendees threw a gas canister into a bonfire which exploded and cut the left side of her head. Injuries included a skull fracture with open reduction and internal fixation.
For our client, a man who was left in a persistent vegetative state after electrocuting himself on a machine he had hot-wired to move under its own power, rather than push. We successfully argued that the machine had a defective safety switch which, if operating properly, would have prevented electrocution.
In favor of our client, a pasta chef who got his hand caught in a pasta-making machine, which the Jury found to have been defective. Our client sustained a partial amputation of four fingers which had to be reattached by microsurgery.
Reached during trial for our client, a wood finisher, who, we contended, was caused to suffer permanent disabling damage to his central nervous system as a result of his use of certain spray and padding lacquers. According to our expert, the labels on these wood finishing products did not properly warn him of the health hazards associated with exposure nor properly advise him of the need for proper ventilation and masks.
Reached against auto manufacturer and driver during Trial in which we were lead plaintiffs’ trial counsel for over 20 victims struck down, some fatally, by an out-of-control car. We claimed that the operator had inadvertently pressed down on the accelerator, instead of the brake, as she shifted from “park” into “drive”, causing the car to suddenly accelerate, which in turn caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle. We contended that the vehicle was defectively designed for not having a brake shift interlock to prevent the operator from shifting into gear unless the operator’s foot was on the brake pedal.
Reached shortly before trial against the automobile manufacturer and offending driver, and for our client, a driver who suffered paralyzing neck injuries when his stopped car was rear-ended by another. The claim was that, due to its defective design, the driver’s seat-back collapsed rearward in this low-speed impact causing our client’s neck to hyperextend and for his head to strike the rear seat seat-back thereby causing his injuries.
Our client’s wife was killed when she was ejected from the motor vehicle she was operating went off the road and subsequently crashed. We claimed that she was wearing her seatbelt but because the belt was attached to the door, and not the door frame, when the door opened it extended the belt so that she was, in effect, no longer restrained by it. We argued that to have the belt attached to the door was a defective design because of the risk of ejection even when belted once the door opened.
In this case, a young girl was severely burned while reaching across her kitchen stove to turn off one of the burner controls located in the back of the stove. Her shirt caught on fire when it came in contact with one of the burners. The action was brought against the manufacturer of the stove for the improper placement of the controls, and against the manufacturer of the shirt which we claim was highly flammable. The case resulted in a confidential settlement.
48-year-old laborer suffered 3rd and 4th degree burns over 50% of his body when a defectively designed dump truck tailgate opened and buried him up to his waist in hot asphalt.
A 46-year-old metal worker lost non-dominant arm while using buffing lathe designed and manufactured, sixty years earlier, without guards.
Our client, a 38-year-old banker had his left leg amputated as a result of a shark attack. An action was brought against the resort because it allowed swimming at its beach despite its proximity to a shark feeding area.
15-year-old female shot in the eye with a BB gun by another teenager, resulting in a ruptured globe and scleral lacerations requiring multiple surgeries and residual limited vision.
Against Foster Care Placement agency and in favor of our client, a 10-year old child, who was repeatedly molested by her foster father during a four-month foster care placement. The jury found the placement agency liable for their failure to provide warranted therapeutic care which would have disclosed the ongoing abuse.
For our client, a third grade student on a school trip, who was struck by a taxi. The student’s shoelace became untied and when she reported it to the school aide, she was not permitted to stop and tie it. Rather, she was told to keep moving so that they would not lose the rest of the group. When she got to the intersection, someone stepped on her untied shoelace, causing her to fall and roll on the street where she was hit by a taxi. The student suffered from multiple fractures to her right leg. The jury found the Board of Education 85% liable and the taxi 15% liable.
In favor of our client, a truck driver, who was beaten by police and who sustained a fracture of the skull and a hearing loss in one ear. The jury found, unanimously, that the police officers used excessive force and then tried to cover up what they had done.
In favor of our client, a police officer, who was injured in an intersection collision between two police cars that were each responding to emergency calls. Our client sustained a fractured jaw requiring open reduction and internal fixation and a fracture of the cervical spine.
Before reduction for comparative fault of our client, who was crossing the Cross-Bronx Expressway at night when he was struck by a New York City Department of Parks vehicle. He suffered permanent brain damage and had no recall of the incident. The jury found that the accident was caused, in part, by the negligence of the driver of the City vehicle even though our client was crossing a major highway in the dark.
In favor of our client, a young boy, who was playing in the street with his friends when he was struck by a stolen car that was being pursued by a police car. We proved that the police conducted a negligent chase at a dangerous rate of speed. Our client suffered from a head injury and a broken leg. The jury found the City of New York 100% liable.
Our client suffered a badly fractured elbow, requiring surgery, when he was walking down the street and tripped on a raised portion of the subway grating on the sidewalk. We demonstrated that the Transit Authority failed to inspect and repair the subject area and that Transit Authority personnel were supposed to check each subway grating on a monthly basis. The jury agreed that the failure by the Transit Authority to correct the defect resulted in our client’s fall.
For our client, a City Sanitation Worker, who suffered a crushed pelvis when a garbage truck he had brought to a stop and just exited suddenly began to roll down a hill and ran over him as he attempted to jump back into the cab. We demonstrated that the truck’s transmission shifter was defective and our expert asserted that this defect caused the truck to go out of neutral and into drive thereby causing the accident. *Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Against the New York State Thruway Authority and in favor of our clients, a passenger and family of a driver of a car struck by a boulder during the course of a rock slide on the State Thruway. The driver was killed and the passenger sustained post-traumatic stress disorder. We discovered documents from 1957 which revealed that the State’s own engineer recommended, on the basis of a recent rockslide, that the face of the mountain bordering the Thruway be removed to avoid future rockslides. Ignoring it’s own engineers’ recommendation, the State instead merely “bolted and strapped” boulders in the area of the rock slide.
51-year-old pedestrian and father of two was struck by a bicycle going the wrong way on a one-way street, causing him to sustain a head injury which ultimately resulted in his death.
Our client, a pedestrian on a park pathway, was struck down by a very large dead tree limb that fell some 35 feet resulting in severe brain injury and spinal cord damage with incomplete paraplegia (ASIA-C classification) along with multiple fractures of the spine and skull which required numerous surgical procedures, extensive hospitalization and ongoing rehabilitation. It was claimed that the tree branch, which was approximately 20 feet in length, should have been removed long before the accident because of its dead and hazardous condition, which was well known to park personnel responsible for the tree’s maintenance.
Tree planted too close to road was struck by vehicle operated by 30-year-old doctor causing permanent brain damage.
Reached during trial for our client, who sustained serious head injuries when her vehicle left the road surface and struck a tree adjoining the road. It was successfully demonstrated that a guardrail should have been installed along the road surface to prevent vehicles from striking the trees, which were set too close to the road. We demonstrated that the placement of trees two feet from the side of a major cross street was an improper design and that it was the cause of our client’s injuries.
Our client was injured when she walked into a pothole that had been created as a result of defective roadway repairs. She severely injured her shoulder which required surgery. The jury agreed that the defective repairs had been negligently made.
Against the Transit Authority and in favor of our clients, the family of a 56-year old man who died when he was struck by a train. He had been standing on a subway platform when he became dizzy, collapsed and fell on the subway tracks. We proved to the jury that the train operator was negligent in not noticing the plaintiff on the tracks in time to bring the train to a safe stop.
Hospital’s negligent assembly of a heart lung bypass machine resulted in a 3-year-old boy suffering a stroke while undergoing surgery. As a result, the child suffered left sided paralysis, seizures, gross developmental delays and cognitive and perceptual disability.
Hospital and its medical personnel were negligent in failing to properly monitor a newborn infant who suffered a cardio respiratory arrest and did not receive timely intervention resulting in severe neurological injuries.
Hospital emergency department’s delay in treating 58-year old patient’s head injury resulted in her death.
Failure to diagnose and treat kidney disease in 30-year-old man resulted in need for kidney transplant and a shortened life expectancy.
A 44 year old woman acquired an infection in her jaw from an injection used to help open her mouth in order to fit a prosthetic device used to treat TMJ. Her dentist failed to appreciate her complaints over the next few days leading to the spread of the infection and permanent jaw damage.
Failure to properly treat and administer emergency care resulted in death of 38-year-old mother of four.
Loss of three fingers on the right hand of a pre-mature baby because physicians in the hospital negligently inserted an IV, causing an IV infiltrate.
Obtained for our client only a few months after a lawsuit was filed against a doctor who carved his initials on the patient’s lower abdomen following a Cesarean Section, leaving her with a permanent scar.
A 35-year-old patient who was blind in one eye had his functioning eye examined by a hospital doctor who carelessly put his contact lens into the wrong solution, blinding his sighted eye.
Against the City and in favor of our client, a 17-year old boy who was shot by a police officer, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. (more…)
Against the City Of New York for the negligent operation of a police car that struck down a pedestrian crossing in the middle of the block resulting in permanent and disabling brain damage. The Jury found the police officer to be 100% at fault.
Against the Transit Authority and in favor of our client, a 36-year old woman, who lost part of her hand and received serious skull fractures when she was hit while on the subway tracks. We proved that the train operator had been warned of her presence but he nevertheless failed to bring the train to a safe stop.
Our client was injured when she walked into a pothole that had been created as a result of defective roadway repairs. She severely injured her shoulder which required surgery. The jury agreed that the defective repairs had been negligently made.
50-year-old firefighter died when hospital doctors who knew that he had been bleeding internally failed to give him a transfusion and when his surgeon who was five minutes away didn’t come to the hospital. He was survived by his wife, two adult children and a 17-year-old son.
51-year-old housewife sustained 3rd degree burns to 70% of her body as a result of a building fire where there were no self-closing doors.
Our client, a telephone lineman, was rendered a paraplegic when the telephone pole he had climbed fell over. The pole had previously been cut by his employer. We proved that the Utility Company was negligent in failing to maintain the pole or in not warning our client of the danger.
Our client, a 2-year-old girl, nearly drowned in an improperly installed above-ground pool. In addition to obtaining contributions from the pool owner, the pool seller, the pool installer and the filter manufacturer, we defeated a specific policy exclusion and recovered $1,000,000 from the insurance carrier for our client’s own parents.
Reached during trial for our client, a deliveryman, shot by two unknown assailants who were able to gain entry through the unattended front door of an apartment building. Our client was left paralyzed below the waist. We claimed that the building’s security was inadequate in not having a guard posted at the entrance at all times in light of the history of crime in the building area, according to records we obtained.
35-year-old motorist was impaled by a rotted tree limb that broke off a diseased tree during a storm causing fractured pelvis and internal injuries requiring multiple surgical procedures.
Death of 66-year-old father and of a 68-year-old mother of three adult children, with two of the adult children, ages 42 and 45, sustaining 16% and 25% total surface body burns when their building caught fire because of the improper discarding of paint supplies which acted as an accelerant when negligently placed together with the daily garbage.
48-year-old building porter fell down stairs due to defective handrail resulting in permanently disabling back, neck and shoulder injuries, with multiple surgeries.
13 Year old girl prevented safe entry into building and sexually assaulted by an intruder who entered into building due to long broken front door intercom buzzer system.
Demolition caused building facade to collapse on top of 50-year-old grandmother walking on sidewalk resulting in bilateral leg fractures requiring surgery which left terrible scarring.
For our client, a third grade student on a school trip, who was struck by a taxicab. The student’s shoelace became untied and when she reported it to the school aide, she was not permitted to stop and tie it. Rather, she was told to keep moving so that they would not lose the rest of the group. When she got to the intersection, someone stepped on her untied shoelace, causing her to fall and roll on the street where she was hit by a taxicab. The student suffered from multiple fractures to her right leg. The jury found the Board of Education 85% liable and the taxicab 15% liable.
Malfunctioning elevator caused a 39-year-old tenant to fall two stories, resulting in hip and pelvic fractures requiring surgery.
31-year-old restaurant worker sustained 3rd degree burns to 50% of his body as a result of a building fire where there were no self-closing doors. He died 13 days after the incident.
33-year-old intoxicated tenant tripped on a defective metal door sill as he was leaving his building, causing him to fall over parapet wall and down cellar steps, rendering him a paraplegic.
In favor of our client, whose 4-year old daughter died in an apartment fire but only after she frantically tried to save her. The verdict was against the building owner which improperly installed the wrong circuit breakers in the apartment building. As a result, heat which was generated from an overloaded circuit caused a fire in the apartment. Expert testimony demonstrated that the fire would have been prevented had the appropriate circuit breakers been installed to shut down the electrical source of the heat, which ultimately resulted in the fire. Jury unanimously held that the owner was negligent in failing to have adequate circuit breakers and rendered one of the largest awards ever for the death of an infant.
Against the New York State Thruway Authority and in favor of our clients, a passenger and family of a driver of a car struck by a boulder during the course of a rock slide on the State Thruway. The driver was killed and the passenger sustained post-traumatic stress disorder. We discovered documents from 1957 which revealed that the State’s own engineer recommended, on the basis of a recent rockslide, that the face of the mountain bordering the Thruway be removed to avoid future rockslides. Ignoring it’s own engineers’ recommendation, the State instead merely “bolted and strapped” boulders in the area of the rock slide.
Our client, a plumber’s assistant, was punched in the face by a police officer. He fell backward and sustained a fracture of the skull. He was then arrested and handcuffed, which is a gross violation of police conduct. Hospital doctors later induced our client into a coma due to the severity of his injuries, but he unfortunately died eight days later. Ten days into trial, we negotiated a settlement behalf of the client’s widow for wrongful death, economic loss, and pain and suffering.
In favor of our client, a truck driver, who was beaten by police and who sustained a fracture of the skull and a hearing loss in one ear. The jury found, unanimously, that the police officers used excessive force and then tried to cover up what they had done.
An 18-year-old student while leaving the subway dropped her Bible and when she leaned over to pick it up she was caught by the subway door which dragged her and badly damaged her left leg. She fractured her pelvis and leg in multiple places and severed a main artery. Much of the skin of her leg was torn off. She required multiple surgeries to insert hardware in her leg and hip, and to graft the skin that she had lost.
A 39-year-old female pedestrian in a cross-walk was struck by a bus making a right turn. She sustained crushing injuries to her right leg which may ultimately result in the loss of her leg.
A 12-year-old pedestrian was struck down by a New York City Transit Authority bus. He suffered crushing injuries to his left foot and a closed head injury which resulted in mental deficits including impairments to his ability to concentrate, memory, and verbal skills.
A 27-year-old bicyclist suffered severe damage to her left arm when she was dragged and run over by a NYCTA bus whose driver carelessly failed to see her. She suffered degloving injuries and multiple fractures to her left arm, which required several surgeries including the insertion of hardware and skin grafting.
55-year old female pedestrian in crosswalk run over by NYCTA bus which failed to yield right of way, resulting in below-the-knee amputation.
A 43-year-old man and his two-year-old daughter suffered 70% and 50% total body surface burns, respectively, when a gas explosion occurred in their apartment. The father died from his burns and was survived by his wife and three children.
72-year-old male pedestrian in crosswalk was struck down by a NYCTA bus which failed to yield right of way, resulting in head injury with cognitive deficits, and injuries to his back, left shoulder and wrist requiring surgery.
56-year-old husband and father of one fell on the subway tracks and was killed when the subway operator failed to properly react and stop his train in time.
Our client, a deliveryman, tripped and fell over a concrete footing that was being constructed. The major injury claimed was exacerbation of underlying multiple sclerosis. Defendant argued that such a condition could not be aggravated by trauma. We successfully proved to the Jury otherwise.
A 89-year-old pedestrian was crossing 1st Avenue at its intersection with East 23rd Street in Manhattan when he was struck down by a NYCTA bus making a right turn. Plaintiff sustained severe crush injuries to his left foot and lower portion of his left leg, resulting in a below-the-knee amputation. He also sustained a fractured right hip and suffered aggravation of a pre-existing mild cognitive impairment.
Physician negligently delivered a baby girl resulting in Erbs Palsy and a permanent limited use of her left arm.
In favor of our client, who sustained a simple fracture of his elbow following a fall. He sought treatment from the defendant orthopedist who, rather than cast the arm, simply splinted the plaintiff’s elbow. As a result, there was a non-union of the elbow, which resulted in a disfiguring mal-alignment. The jury agreed that the doctor’s failure to follow up closely with the client resulted in the deformity and it unanimously found in his favor.
Obtained immediately before trial in the Court of Claims for our client, an infant, who lost her foot as a result of repeated IV infiltrations from the placement of IVs in her ankle.
In favor of our clients, the family of a patient who sustained a year of pain and suffering after severe loss of tissue following the improper administration of blood thinners. We demonstrated to the jury that the nursing staff administered the dosage inappropriately, which resulted in a condition known as skin necrosis. Our client ultimately died a year later of unrelated causes, but the jury nevertheless compensated him for the pain and suffering that he endured prior to his death.
Obtained for our client only a few months after a lawsuit was filed against a doctor who carved his initials on the patient’s lower abdomen following a Cesarean Section, leaving her with a permanent scar.
Reached on the eve of trial for our client, a government-employed architect, and against the hospital where he was treated for injuries he suffered in a motor vehicle accident. We claimed that our client suffered permanent brain damage as a result of the delay in treatment.
Obtained for our client, whose treating pulmonologist we claimed failed to properly diagnose her lung cancer. The patient had complained of the recent onset of asthma during pregnancy. Over the course of approximately one year, the doctor failed to diagnose the fact that she had a cancerous tumor in her lungs. The doctor claimed that the patient simply had asthma and that there were no signs of lung cancer.
Gynecologist failed to refer a 58 year old Brooklyn woman for cancer treatment after hysterectomy where the pathology showed a finding of an early stage of uterine cancer. As a result of the 10 month delay, our client’s cancer advanced to Stage 4 disease.
Doctor failed to address symptoms that suggested that clients bladder cancer had not been eradicated.
Hospital physicians failed to properly deliver a baby boy resulting in birth asphyxia and permanent brain damage.
In favor of our client, an infant, and against an obstetrician for failing to anticipate or recognize shoulder dystocia during delivery, and then applying excessive force on the baby’s head, causing an injury to the nerves in the baby’s arm.
Reached during trial for our clients, the family of a 43 year-old homemaker with Stage I Breast Cancer who died suddenly after being administered Chemotherapy drug. We contended that, based upon her prior adverse reactions to Chemotherapy, the treating doctor should have known that the patient had developed a potentially fatal hypersensitivity to the drug and thus should have discontinued the Chemotherapy.
In favor of our client, a newborn, and against the hospital which failed to render treatment to the infant who was having breathing difficulties. The infant had a normal delivery but developed problems breathing in the nursery despite observations by the nurse which indicated respiratory problems. No doctor arrived to assist the child, resulting in a mild case of cerebral palsy. The jury held that the child’s brain damage was a result of medical malpractice.
For our clients, the family of a 38-year old woman who suffered brain damage and total disability after the surgical removal of her thyroid gland. We demonstrated that our client suffered brain damage after a cardiac arrest caused by the failure of hospital and medical personnel to anticipate, recognize and treat hypocalcemia, a known complication of thyroidectomy which can cause the muscles in the throat to constrict.
Reached at trial for our client, the plaintiff was five months pregnant with twins when a sonogram showed signs of an increased risk for pre-term labor. The doctor did not recommend treatment and the next day, the plaintiff went into pre-term labor and delivered the twins, who could not survive.
Obtained on eve of trial for our client, an infant, who suffered permanent brain damage as a result of deprivation of oxygen, which, we asserted, was caused by the failure of the medical providers to recognize the need for a Cesarean Section in lieu of a natural delivery.
Reached at trial for our client, a one-month old baby, who was operated on for heart surgery. We claimed that during the surgery the hospital physicians negligently impaired the circulation in the infant’s leg and thereby caused it to be amputated.
Plaintiff was a 30 year old single mom with two children who presented to the Emergency Room at Bronx Lebanon Hospital Center in January of 2014 and diagnosed with symptoms consistent with asthma exacerbation including wheezing and coughing (plaintiff had prior hospitalizations for asthma). Plaintiff was admitted into the hospital from the ER and when her symptoms were not getting better, defendants failed to appreciate that she did not only have asthma, but had an infectious process going on, did not get the proper treatment or consultations (including pulmonary – although one was ordered and infectious disease), was allowed to become septic and died in February of 2014.
Obtained on eve of trial for our client, a 16-year old infant, with a below the knee amputation. The client sustained a broken ankle while playing football. The hospital failed to recognize the symptoms of vascular compromise and perform a prompt surgical procedure, resulting in the loss of the infant’s leg.
Reached at trial for our client, an infant twin, who suffered brain damage. We claimed that a hospital and the infant’s doctor were negligent in not properly diagnosing a baby’s meningitis. Had it been promptly diagnosed and treated, we alleged that brain damage would not have occurred.
Sullivan Papain Block McManus Coffinas & Cannavo & Cannavo represented a patient in a medical malpractice case whose proactive steps helped saved her life at a time when her radiologist acted negligently.
Delay in diagnosing breast cancer for one year (missed on mammogram studies), 64 year old retired school teacher with one adult daughter resulting in Stage 2A when diagnosed (spread to one lymph node) Plaintiff underwent bilateral mastectomies, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, reconstruction with complications of infections requiring removal of implants, failed implants and disfigurement.
A delay in delivering infant plaintiff and inadequate monitoring of fetal monitoring strips resulted in an emergency C-section the infant having substantial neurological problems, including the inability to walk and talk.
Medical providers failed to properly perform a timely c-section.
Obtained on eve of trial for our client, an infant, who suffered permanent brain damage as a result of deprivation of oxygen, which, we asserted, was caused by the failure of the medical providers to recognize the need for a Cesarean Section in lieu of a natural delivery.
Reached at trial for our client, a one-month old baby, who was operated on for heart surgery. We claimed that during the surgery the hospital physicians negligently impaired the circulation in the infant’s leg and thereby caused it to be amputated.
An orthopedic surgeon failed to properly treat a labral tear and biceps tendon tear resulting in shoulder damage.
When physicians punctured the mother’s uterus and failed to timely deliver the baby.
A 38 year old man suffered a perforated stomach when his surgeon negligently performed a laparoscopic banding operation and installed the wrong sized banding device.
Hospital’s failure to properly treat pre-eclampsia in pregnant woman resulting in seizure causing loss of oxygen to baby in utero. As a result the baby was born with severe brain damage.
A 70-year-old man became a paraplegic when his surgeon injured the patient’s pancreas during the surgery and didn’t diagnose and treat the complications but instead went on a vacation.
Newborn baby fell in the delivery room floor as a result of physician’s failure to pay appropriate attention during the delivery. As a result of the fall, the newborn suffered extensive neurological injuries for which she would require life-long care.
A 31-year-old woman suffered the amputation of one of her arms and a stroke affecting the other arm due to the negligence of the hospital staff in failing to provide appropriate thrombolytic and anticoagulation therapy.
Death of a 27-year-old woman as a result of the failure on the part of her doctors to treat deep vein thrombosis and a pulmonary embolism.
A 51 year old woman suffered sepsis and the loss of a significant portion of her large and small intestines due to surgical errors that took place during surgery for an intestinal obstruction. She now suffers from small bowel syndrome.
64-year-old man suffered irreversible and extensive brain damage as a result of a delay in responding to cardio respiratory arrest following surgery for a bilateral knee replacement.
A 38-year-old firefighter died from a ruptured aorta after he was improperly released from a hospital even though he had continuous chest pains.
Brain damage suffered by a 3-day-old baby when physicians and hospital staff did not properly treat symptoms including a distended stomach.
Reached at trial for our client, an infant twin, who suffered brain damage. We claimed that a hospital and the infant’s doctor were negligent in not properly diagnosing a baby’s meningitis. Had it been promptly diagnosed and treated, we alleged that brain damage would not have occurred.
Death of a 26-year-old married father of two because his condition of diabetes was not recognized or investigated by the doctors treating him.
Death of a 48-year-old man, married with one child, when his primary care physician failed to follow up and refer the patient to a cardiologist even though several prior EKGs showed that he had suffered a silent heart attack.
A 44-year-old, married and father of four, died after his primary care physician failed to work up the signs and symptoms of deep vein thrombosis after he suffered an ankle injury resulting in the development of a pulmonary embolism causing his death.
A 59 year old man’s primary care physician failed to recognize the signs of an impending hemorrhagic stroke leading to a debilitating brain bleed. The decedent then died of sepsis through the negligence of a rehabilitation facility to which he was subsequently admitted.
Physicians at an ophthalmology clinic were negligent in failing to timely diagnose and properly treat an eye infection resulting in the loss of a 40-year-old man’s eye. The delayed diagnosis and treatment allowed the infection to spread to such extent that the affected eye could not be saved.
Since January 2013, when the first VCF awards were issued under the Zadroga Act, through March 31, 2017:
- SPBMC obtained 1,166 awards totaling $560 Million.
- SPBMC achieved the highest award to date –$4.133 Million – for a client whose cancer was linked to his exposure to toxins at the WTC Disaster Site.
- SPBMC’s average award was 280% greater than the average of all other VCF awards.
SPBMCC’s success does not stop there. The firm has also been very successful in obtaining supplemental awards for its clients who, after receiving an award, were diagnosed with a new 9/11 illness or were subsequently found to be disabled by reason of their 9/11 illness.
In favor of our client, a Director of Nursing, who had a mammogram/sonogram of her left breast. The sonogram revealed three small cysts. Our proof was that the Doctor did not follow up on that finding over the next two years and that he was obligated to make sure the patient had additional mammograms and sonograms. When the patient felt a lump in that same breast, for the first time, (about two years after her last visit with the Doctor), she went for another mammogram and cancer was discovered shortly thereafter. The Doctor’s negligence caused the cancer to spread to the bones and then to the lungs, making the disease terminal and depriving the patient of any chance of cure or recovery.
In favor of our client, a young girl, and against the hospital, which failed to promptly diagnose and treat the effects of head trauma that she suffered after she was hit by a car while crossing the street. As a result, the child lost all vision and remains permanently blind. We proved that the emergency room should have taken cat scans which would have revealed that there was pressure on the child’s brain, requiring emergency surgery. Had the surgery, (placement of a shunt) been performed, the child’s vision would have been spared.
The jury deliberated for eight hours and returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff, awarding more than $26 million for the child’s past and future pain and suffering. The jury also awarded $500,000 for the wrongful death of her twin sister, who died 28 days after birth.
In favor of our client, a laborer, and against the building owner and contractors involved in a construction project. Our client was in the process of assisting in the dismantling of a scaffold when the scaffold began to collapse causing him to jump and to suffer serious head injuries. We proved that our client was supplied with an unsafe scaffold and that he was improperly instructed as to how to dismantle it.
For our client, who lost one leg below the knee and the other above the knee. Our client was involved in a fender-bender on a highway and was standing in front of her car when, we claimed, a tractor-trailer came to a sudden stop causing another car to swerve out from behind the jackknifed tractor-trailer and to strike our client’s car which in turn struck her. The key to our case was persuading the Jury that the tractor-trailer operator was at fault, which we successfully accomplished. The Jury also found our client to be free of any fault.
$24 Million Settlement – for construction worker run over by reverse-moving excavator resulting in the loss of one leg and multiple internal injuries. The operator could not see behind the machine and there was no spotter in position to guide the operator rearward or to ensure that no one was in its path of travel. Further, the machine was not equipped with a rearward visual aid, such as a rear-mounted mirror or camera, to provide the operator with a view behind the machine.
Two construction workers, ages 38 and 40, were killed, and a third worker, age 43, was seriously injured when a crane they were on collapsed.
In favor of our client, one of nine passengers in a rental car that was only equipped with enough seatbelts for six passengers. Our client was one of the unbelted passengers seated in the cargo area of the car when it struck a disabled tractor-trailer on the roadway on a rainy night. Our client broke her neck as a result of the impact and wore a halo brace for several months and developed traumatic arthritis in the area of her neck. The jury found the rental car company 45% responsible (for not having seatbelts for all of the passengers), the tractor-trailer 45% responsible (for failing to properly warn oncoming vehicles that it was disabled on the roadway) and the driver of the rental car 10% responsible.
In favor of our client, who suffered multiple bilateral leg fractures, requiring extensive hospitalization and surgery, when she was struck down by a car as she was crossing the street at the corner with a green light. The injuries left her with a one-inch shortening of the right leg.
50-year-old corporate recruiter was in his car when it was rear-ended by a box truck resulting in herniated discs to his lumbar and cervical spine that required multiple surgical procedures.
Our client was a passenger in an automobile that was rear ended when a motorcycle stopped suddenly in front of her car. She sustained fractured ribs, facial lacerations, two fractured vertebrae and internal bleeding.
27-year-old female pedestrian was in crosswalk when she was run over by a MTA bus that failed to yield right of way, resulting in crushing soft tissue injuries to legs that led to Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD).
20-year-old passenger in a vehicle struck in the rear by another vehicle which caused the passenger to be ejected from the car and thrown 40 feet. Injuries included open depressed skull fracture, right frontal with dural laceration, degloving of the right hand , cervical and thoracic fractures of the spine.
A 38-year-old husband and father of three was killed when he was cleaning the back of his truck at a landfill and was buried alive by hot compost which was dumped on him by a careless town employee.
37 year-old crane operator was dismantling a construction bridge 25 feet above sidewalk when it collapsed causing him to fall to street, resulting in disabling fractures of L1 vertebrae, left elbow, left ankle, left wrist and of the right ankle, requiring surgery.
24-year-old construction laborer was seriously injured when a scaffold collapsed on him resulting in vision and hearing loss.
57 year-old was injured during demolition work when a beam fell on both his legs resulting in an above-the-knee amputation of the right leg and a below-the-knee amputation of the left leg.
A 26 year old truck driver sustained numerous fractures when he fell from his truck because construction site personnel negligently misdirected him.
A 42-year-old construction worker was walking along a 2-foot wide foundation wall carrying materials to the back of a construction site when he lost his balance and fell through an unguarded opening. He fell approximately 15 feet striking his head. The case settled at a mediation for $3,800,000.00.
38 year-old bridge painter fell 25 feet from man-lift when it rolled into an unguarded trench causing it to tip over, resulting in permanently disabling bilateral leg fractures, wrist fracture and herniated lumbar disc, requiring multiple surgeries.
Reached during trial for our client, a steamfitter who was rendered a paraplegic when he fell through a hole at a construction site which, we contended, was neither properly covered nor barricaded.
In favor of our client, a maintenance worker, who suffered brain damage and a badly fractured elbow when he fell some 20 feet off the roof of a supermarket. At the time, he was trying to replace a large piece of roofing that had been blown off by the wind when he himself was blown off the roof by a gust of wind. We proved that the building owner’s failure to furnish a safety harness to our client was in violation of New York’s Labor Law.
A freight elevator carrying construction workers malfunctioned and plummeted five stories before crashing into the sub-basement of a building under renovation – The impact caused severe back and neck injuries to our client.
We took the case to trial and secured a jury verdict of $3.475 million dollars for our client.
48 year-old truck driver sustained fatal crush injuries at construction site when the operator of an excavator attempted to use excavator to loosen material on his truck causing the truck to topple over on to him. He was survived by his wife and daughter.
24-year-old handicapped pedestrian crossing the street in her wheelchair when she was struck by a truck making a right turn. Injuries included amputated of three fingers of right hand, comminuted fracture of the right hip and leg with surgery.
51-year-old was passenger in a motor vehicle hit by a tractor-trailer that ran a red light. Her injuries included closed head injury, fractures to her skull, jaw, both shoulders, nose and her right leg and hand.
66-year-old motorist, and father of two, was struck by another motor vehicle which ran a stop sign forcing his vehicle into oncoming traffic, causing him to suffer a lacerated thoracic aorta, acute subarachnoid hemorrhage, blunt force trauma to the head and multiple fractures, which led to his death.
30-year-old expectant father driving home from gym was struck by a city ambulance that failed to slow down at intersection, resulting in paraplegia.
28-year-old accountant was assisting his father with car repair in his parent’s garage when the father inadvertently caused car to accelerate pinning son between the car and garage wall. Injuries included fractures to both legs.
Our client, a 79 year old man, was struck and killed when the driver of a van that was backing up and didn’t see him. His wife also received compensation as she was in the zone of danger when her husband was hit by the van.
A 27-year-old bicyclist suffered severe damage to her left arm when she was dragged and run over by a NYCTA bus whose driver carelessly failed to see her. She suffered degloving injuries and multiple fractures to her left arm, which required several surgeries including the insertion of hardware and skin grafting.
The firm represented a 51-year-old day laborer who was jack-hammering near a corroded structural column that sheared from its base causing part of the second floor to collapse and the laborer to fall more than eight feet to the cellar level, causing fatal injuries. The worker left behind a wife and four children. Claims were brought against multiple defendants under New York’s Labor Law for the lack of inspections and failing to protect against a foreseeable building collapse.
57-year-old female pedestrian in crosswalk was run over by a NYCTA bus which failed to yield right of way, resulting in loss of both legs.
Reached at trial for our client, a child, who ran into the side of a moving Transit Authority bus and sustained brain damage. Our claim was that the bus driver could have avoided the accident had he operated his vehicle in a more careful manner.
45-year-old motorcyclist hit and dragged by truck resulting in traumatic crush injuries to both legs and eventual amputation of one leg above the knee.
Our client was driving his vehicle in the left lane of traffic when he suddenly encountered a roadway maintenance vehicle stopped in front of his vehicle. There were no lane warnings or flagmen to indicate that roadwork was being performed. When he attempted to move around the maintenance truck his vehicle was struck by a tanker truck crushing his vehicle. He suffered an above the knee amputation and serious pelvic fractures that required multiple surgical procedures.
65-year-old female passenger in multiple vehicle accident suffered severe head injuries resulting in her death 18 months later. She was survived by 3 adult children.
38-year-old man on a bicycle going to work was struck by a bus that crossed over three lanes of traffic. Injuries included multiple fractures of legs, pelvis, shoulder, ruptured spleen and crushed reproductive organs, resulting in multiple surgeries.
NYCTA bus failed to stop after 26-year-old bicyclist went through a red light and hit the side of a bus, causing the bus’s rear wheel to run over his leg, resulting in a below-the-knee amputation.
A metal portion of a passing truck became unsecured and hit a 45-year-old motorist, causing several herniated discs in his neck which required multiple surgical procedures.
The defendant knowingly operated a sanitation truck with defective brakes that caused the truck to flip onto the decedent’s car, killing her. The victim was a married, 57 year old mother of two.
A 38-year-old married passenger in a taxi cab, which was struck by another vehicle, suffered a traumatic brain injury and internal injuries, requiring multiple surgeries.
In favor of our clients, the family of a pedestrian who was struck down by an SUV that ran a red light, which then crashed into a newsstand. A City Transit Bus operator, after seeing the SUV crash, proceeded into the intersection and ran over the victim. We proved that the Bus Operator was negligent in not stopping the bus and that our client’s husband was still alive when the bus ran him over. The Jury found both operators to be liable for his death, attributing the majority of the fault to the Bus Operator.
38-year-old Nassau County Police Officer was jogging and crossing the street when he was struck by a motor vehicle making a left turn, causing him to sustain an open, depressed comminuted skull fractures, epidural hematoma, subdural hematoma, requiring a right craniotomy.
16-year-old bicyclist struck by car sustaining head injuries. Emergency room discharged him without proper treatment for head injury, resulting in brain damage.
A 61-year-old retired Fire chief while driving was struck by city owned van that ran red light causing brain trauma, coma and multiple neurological injuries.
55-year old female pedestrian in crosswalk run over by NYCTA bus which failed to yield right of way, resulting in below-the-knee amputation.
37 year-old landscaper, husband and father of a 6-year-old, was at landfill construction site when he was struck by a pay loader that backed up into him crushing him in between two trucks causing his death.
When an industrial roll of cable struck our client causing shoulder and brain injuries.
In favor of our client, an injured twin (Twin “B”), who was delivered 42 minutes after his brother, (Twin “A”) without being continually monitored for fetal distress. Twin “B” suffered asphyxia shortly prior to birth. We proved to the Jury that proper monitoring would have revealed signs of oxygen deprivation, which would have warranted an earlier delivery via cesarean section. Twin “B”, now age 6 is intelligent, but requires the assistance of a walker or wheelchair and has difficulty with his speech. His brother, Twin “A”, is fine.
For our clients, the family of a New York City Fire Department Lieutenant, who died when he was misintubated by ambulance personnel after he collapsed at the scene of a fire.
Fire engine backed up over a 41-year-old firefighter resulting in several serious fractures to his left leg and foot which required multiple surgeries.
41-year-old firefighter was standing behind his double-parked fire truck when a taxi cab crashed into it, causing him to sustained permanently disabling fractures of the right tibia and fibula requiring multiple surgeries.
Reached during trial for our clients, the family of a New York City Fire Department Lieutenant, who became lost and disoriented in a smoke-filled 2nd-floor storage room causing him to fall out a vented large floor-to-ceiling window to his death. We offered proof that the landlord had illegally converted the room into a storage room, which did not have the legally required 2nd means of egress or proper fire stopping material.
43-year-old firefighter, while responding to a fire at a construction site, fell on debris herniating 2 discs which required surgery to fuse the discs.
Fire Engine runs over the foot of a 42-year old Fire Lieutenant, resulting in crush injuries to the foot requiring 8 surgeries.
We successfully represented the widows of firefighters killed and several firefighters who were seriously injured in the Father’s Day Fire.
For our client, a firefighter, who suffered a serious shoulder injury while fighting a fire. We successfully demonstrated to the jury that the vacant building was not properly secured, which allowed vandals to remove the doors, piping and structural components and which created an increased risk of harm to our firefighter.
For the family of a New York City Fire Department Lieutenant, who was killed when the floor collapsed as he was investigating the progress of a fire in a vacant dwelling.
On September 30, 2004, Merck withdrew the painkiller Vioxx from the market. The drug has been found to have cardiovascular side-effects which can include heart attacks and strokes. The Firm is currently handling cases in the State and Federal Courts for some 165 clients who sustained injuries or died as a result of its use.
We represented 14 victims, whose mothers took this pregnancy drug which caused infertility and cancer in their offspring.
We represented the families of several victims of the October 2001 airplane crash of an American Airlines plane that had just taken off from JFK International Airport en route to the Dominican Republic.
The Firm represented a number of Queens, New York families whose homes were severely damaged when a water main broke and flooded their houses. The case was settled 13 weeks into trial for $4,075.000.
For our clients, the families of several patrons of a social club who were killed in a fire that was intentionally started. The action was against, among others, the owners of the building, for various fire code violations which we claimed contributed to the spread of the fire and the inability of the victims to escape from the raging fire. We were also appointed to the plaintiffs’ committee, which acted as counsel for all of the plaintiffs, including the family members of 87 patrons who died in the fire.
The Firm served as lead trial counsel in the 1993 WTC bombing case, representing all victims of the attack. A Manhattan jury found the Port Authority negligent for not taking adequate security measures in the underground garage, a finding that the appellate division has affirmed on appeal. Reports dating as far back as 1985 predicted bombing via car bombs, cited the World Trade Center as a highly attractive target, and warned the Port Authority to take action – specifically in the parking garage.
Following the conclusion of the VCF litigation, firefighters sickened by exposures at the World Trade Center continued to seek our help. We filed the first lawsuits against the City of New York and its contractors for their failure to provide respirators to rescue and recovery workers. Appointed co-liaison counsel, our firm assumed a leading role in a long, difficult fight to secure compensation for all of these brave individuals.
We have represented over 100 victims who received breast implants claimed to have caused various injuries and illnesses in a class action against the various manufacturers.
We represented over 25 hemophiliacs (or their family members) who we claimed received HIV-contaminated blood clotting factor causing them to become infected with the deadly virus, in actions against the companies who were responsible for processing the contaminated blood products
66-year-old retired man died of kidney failure as a result of taking prescription drug that was later recalled. He was survived by his wife and three adult children.
In the mid-1960’s, Ford Motor Corporation dumped paint sludge and other waste materials from its assembly plant in Mahwah, NJ on a 900-acre site. The site was designated a Superfund site in the 1980s. In 2005 public agencies advised homeowners of the area that properties were contaminated. Currently, the firm is co-lead counsel in a mass-claim suit against the auto manufacturer, representing over 600 members of a New Jersey Native American Indian Tribe for exposure to toxic chemicals and property damage.
For a firefighter who was struck by a car while he was jumping off his fire truck. He was assisting in guiding the truck safely into the firehouse, when a car disregarded the lights on the truck and attempted to drive by the truck. The firefighter fractured his ankle, which resulted in surgery and an inability to continue his duties as a firefighter. The jury found the driver of the car to be 100% at fault.
A 27-year-old firefighter, married and soon-to-be father, succumbed to smoke in building when fire spread due to the improper removal of self-closing door mechanisms and because the standpipe had been turned off.
48 year-old construction worker fell 35 feet into an excavation pit at a construction site and was then crushed by a boulder, leading to his immediate death. He was survived by his wife and two children.
27-year-old laborer jumped off an excavating machine into a pit when he thought it was going to tip over, causing him to suffer disabling back and left leg injuries with multiple fractures, requiring multiple surgeries.
33-year-old carpenter fell from an unsafe ladder at construction site resulting disabling injuries, including torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) of the right knee, wrist fracture and herniated discs requiring surgery.
The decedent was pinned under a boiler door that collapsed.
A wall at a construction site fell and crushed the decedent
After a Verdict on Liability in favor of the estate of our client’s husband who was electrocuted by a third rail while painting a viaduct. The proof showed that the victim had not been provided with the proper protection required for the work he was performing.
After a Liability Verdict in favor of our client, a laborer, and against the owner of a shopping center in Suffolk County. Our client fell twenty feet to the ground from the roof of a shopping center sustaining serious head and elbow injuries. We proved that he had not been provided with a required tending line and harness which would have prevented his fall.
41-year-old female sheet metal worker fell eight feet from an unsafe ladder sustaining a disabling radial head fracture of the right arm and injury to the radial nerve, requiring surgery.
41-year-old carpenter fell through hole in platform he was standing on during building renovation resulting disabling neck, back, shoulder and hip injuries, with multiple surgeries.
A 46-year-old truck driver fell from the top of a cement truck at a construction site. He sustained a fractured ankle, which required surgery, and injured both knees resulting in multiple arthroscopic procedures and the possible need for future bilateral knee replacement surgery.
For our client, a 50-year-old carpenter, who slipped and fell on plastic sheathing that was used to cover a recently poured concrete floor at a construction site. The fall exacerbated a pre-existing asymptomatic spinal condition which required that he undergo surgery to his cervical and lumbar spine. Our client has not been able to return to work. The case was settled while on the trial calendar in State Supreme Court in Nassau County.
For our client, a laborer, who sustained a severe amputation injury to his foot when a roadway plate was dropped from a hoist on a construction site. We claimed that the owner of the hoist failed to have required safety devices attached to the plate and the hoist to prevent the plate from falling.
41-year-old fire department captain, while working at scene of a fire, fell through an improperly supported floor resulting in burns over 75% of body and ultimately in his death.
Reached at trial for our clients, the widows of six firefighters killed, and several firefighters injured, at a supermarket fire when the roof from which they were fighting the fire suddenly and unexpectedly collapsed. We claimed that the building did not contain the proper fire-stopping walls in violation of the building code, causing the fire to spread much more rapidly and, in turn, for the roof to collapse prematurely.
A 30-year old firefighter was killed in a building fire due to the lack of a sprinkler system and other unsafe conditions.
For three Firefighters who were injured, and the families of two Firefighters who died, as a result of an apartment building fire in the Bronx. We brought suit against the building owner for building code violations, including the illegal partitioning of the fire apartment, and the City of New York for failing to provide its firefighters with personal safety ropes. After a six month trial, SPBMC won a $183 Million Verdict against both the City and the Landlord. It is the largest verdict ever obtained against the City of New York in a personal injury action.
UFA General Counsel and leading personal injury firm Sullivan Papain Block McManus Coffinas & Cannavo P.C. commend the passage of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act. The Act extends the World Trade Center Health Program to the year 2090 with $3.5 billion in additional funding, which guarantees health care for first responders with chronic illnesses and extends the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) 5 years to Dec. 17, 2020, with $4.6 billion in additional funding.
On March 13, 2017, the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) issued its Fifth Annual Status Report and its findings confirm the great success Sullivan Papain Block McManus Coffinas & Cannavo P.C. (SPBMC) has achieved in maximizing awards for its clients.
Our firm offered free legal services to the families of the firefighters killed, and those injured, at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. We represented 65 families of firefighters/fire officers who lost their lives and 297 firefighters who were injured and applied to the Victim Compensation Fund. While many lawyers requested fees to perform similar services, we always believed that it was appropriate for our firm to perform these services on a pro-bono basis. After two years of working on these claims, we were able to recover $260 million for our clients.
Following the conclusion of the VCF litigation, firefighters sickened by exposures at the World Trade Center continued to seek our help. We filed the first lawsuits against the City of New York and its contractors for their failure to provide respirators to rescue and recovery workers. Appointed co-liaison counsel, our firm assumed a leading role in a long, difficult fight to secure compensation for all of these brave individuals.
Defective hi-lo supplied to 47 year-old construction worker caused him to fall and suffer multiple fractures to wrist and elbow and ulnar nerve damage, requiring multiple surgical procedures.
The Stouffer’s Inn was a luxury hotel and conference center located in Westchester, Connecticut. At about 10:20 a.m. on December 4, 1980, a flash fire quickly spread through the conference center’s top floor where several corporations were holding a meeting. A total of 26 people attending the breakfast meeting died, including 13 top executives of Arrow and and 11 employees of Nestle within minutes of the outbreak.
The family of the dead executives won $ 48.5 million from Stouffers and other corporations in the civil suit.
The Happy Land Fire was an act of arson that killed 87 people trapped in the unlicensed Happy Land social club at 1959 Southern Boulevard in the West Farms section of the Bronx in New York City on March 25, 1990. Most of the victims were young Hondurans celebrating Carnival. The unemployed Cuban refugee Julio Gonzalez, whose former girlfriend was employed at the club, was arrested soon afterward and ultimately convicted of arson and murder.
Aftermath
Sullivan Papain Block McManus Coffinas & Cannavo P.C. represented the families of several patrons who were killed in the fire. The action was brought against, among others, the owners of the building for various fire code violations which we claimed contributed to the spread of the fire and the inability of the victims to escape from the raging fire. We were also appointed to the plaintiffs’ committee which acted as counsel for all of the plaintiffs, including the family members of 87 patrons who died in the fire. Gonzalez was later charged with 174 counts of murder and was found guilty on 87 counts of arson and 87 counts of murder on August 19, 1991.
The MGM Grand Fire occurred on November 21, 1980 at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Paradise, Nevada. The fire killed 85 people, mostly through smoke inhalation. The tragedy remains the worst disaster in Nevada history, and the third-worst hotel fire in modern U.S. history.
At the time of the fire, approximately 5,000 people were in the hotel and casino. In the early morning of the November 21, 1980, a fire broke out in a restaurant known as The Deli. It spread across the area of the casino in which no sprinklers were installed. A total of 85 people killed. Another 650 people were injured, including guests, employees and 14 firefighters. The fire was later found to be caused an electrical ground fault inside a wall socket.
MGM agreed to settle $ 75 million in damages for more than 1,300 victims and their families.
Against the City and in favor of our client, a 17-year old boy who was shot by a police officer, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. This was a re-trial of a case which had resulted in a jury verdict of $41 Million. The policeman alleged that our client pointed his gun at the officer and was about to shoot him. But the young man claimed that he had already dropped his gun and was on his knees. The jury unanimously held that the policeman’s shooting of the plaintiff was not legally justified.
The families of the deceased firefighters and the surviving firefighters brought lawsuits against the owner of a building for allowing the construction of illegal partition walls in the apartment, which blocked access to the fire escape. (more…)
Over $1 billion recovered in VCF awards for our clients, from both the first VCF (2002-2004) and since the VCF reopened in 2011.
SPBMC was one of the firms chosen by the state of New York in the fight against big tobacco companies.
More than 10,000 workers who sued New York City over health damages they claimed after the 9/11 recovery efforts have approved a settlement, clearing the way for payouts totaling $700 million – of which our clients received about $105 million
Our client, a 34-year-old previously disabled man, suffered further disabling injuries after a fall in a nursing home facility. We argued that the rehabilitation facility did not do enough to prevent a fall in an individual who was at an extremely elevated risk of falling, and the defendant settled for $1.5 million.
We obtained a verdict in favor of our client, a pregnant woman whose labor was determined to be mismanaged, causing her daughter to suffer severe physical and intellectual impairments. The parties had entered into a “high-low” agreement of $1.5 million to $8 million and the plaintiff was ultimately awarded $8 million.
We obtained a $1.75 million settlement for a United States Post Office letter carrier who sustained a significant ankle injury after he fell on ice on a homeowner’s driveway.
Our client, a pedestrian on a park pathway, was struck down by a very large dead tree limb that fell some 35 feet resulting in severe brain injury and spinal cord damage with incomplete paraplegia (ASIA-C classification) along with multiple fractures of the spine and skull which required numerous surgical procedures, extensive hospitalization and ongoing rehabilitation. It was claimed that the tree branch, which was approximately 20 feet in length, should have been removed long before the accident because of its dead and hazardous condition, which was well known to park personnel responsible for the tree’s maintenance.
The firm represented a worker at JFK airport that was struck by a speeding port authority police vehicle the victim suffered catastrophic injuries including but not limited to traumatic brain injury, numerous fractures and internal injuries that required 16 surgeries.
The Gulliver’s nightclub fire occurred on the early morning of June 30, 1974 on the border of Port Chester, New York and Greenwich, Connecticut. The fire killed 24 patrons and injured 32, including 19 patrons and 13 fireman. The fire was caused by arson in an adjacent bowling alley that had been set to cover up a minor burglary close by.
For our client who was injured in a motor vehicle accident where the defendant had failed to cooperate with his insurance carrier. After an inquest, a settlement was reached with the defendant’s insurance company for more than the actual policy limits using a novel application of the bad faith doctrine against the insurance company.
Was reached just prior to trial for our client, who sustained a serious back injury when a rented vehicle mounted the sidewalk and struck her. She required extensive hospitalization and rehabilitation and is now limited in the daily activities that she could perform.
23-year-old female teacher passenger in a two-car collision resulting in complete paraplegia.
37-year-old married father of two was a passenger in back seat of his own car that went off the road and hit a pole which went through the front windshield of the car and fatally struck him