Results
$375,000 for a Nassau County woman who suffered a fractured arm in a single car rollover accident. The client required an open reduction internal fixation (implantation of metal plates and screws) surgery to repair her arm. Even though our client was a passenger in an uninsured vehicle, we were able to recover money for her from the New Jersey used car dealership that wrongly issued temporary license plates for the vehicle without first confirming insurance coverage.
$350,000 for a Bronx truck driver who suffered a herniated disc in his neck, carpal tunnel syndrome causing a trigger thumb and a bulging disk in his low back. Our client received conservative medical treatment and physical therapy but did not have any surgery. The accident was caused by another truck that struck our client's vehicle while making a left turn in an intersection.
$300,000 for a man who suffered traumatic amputation of three fingers while using a lawn mower. Our client was mowing across the side of a hill when he slipped and fell down the hill and the lawn mower landed on his hand. We used the lawn mower manufacturer for failing to design the mower with a "dead man switch" which would have automatically shut off the mower when our client let go of the handle as he fell. We proved that a patent existed for a mower "dead man switch," but the manufacturer chose not to use it. Today these switches are standard equipment on lawn mowers.
$300,000 for a New Jersey woman slipped and fell on ice on the premises of her office building in Manhattan. She injured her back and was taken to the emergency room. After consulting with doctors and undergoing an MRI she was diagnosed with a lumbar disc herniation. She had physical therapy and other conservative treatment without success. Ultimately she opted for back surgery, made a good recovery and went back to work at her office job. This settlement was an excellent result for her because she was quite obese and had a pre-existing back condition for which she had previously undergone surgery.
$300,000 for a New York City Police Officer who was injured while a passenger in a patrol car that collided with a delivery truck. The police officer suffered nerve entrapment at the right elbow and wrist requiring surgery to correct a resulting carpal and cubital tunnel syndrome. Even though the drivers of both vehicles blamed each other for the accident, we were able to collect damages from each.
$250,000 for a 50-year-old Bronx man riding in a taxi which was rear-ended, causing three disc herniations in the neck and back. Our client received physical therapy for 11 months and missed about 2 months from his job as a short-order cook. The defense argued that there was a minor impact with no damage to the cars. We were able to prove, however, that the impact was to the bumpers with severe force on our client, the backseat passenger. Jury also awarded $75,000 for his wife's loss of services.
$225,000 for a Bronx city worker who was rear-ended while driving a city-owned vehicle. The client sustained a closed-head injury, neck and back bulging discs which prevented her from attending her college classes. Since the auto accident occurred while she was on the job, she received workers' compensation but did not have a lien because she would have received no-fault insurance if she had been in a privately owned vehicle.
$225,000 for a Manhattan man who was struck by a "hit and run" vehicle while riding his bicycle on 9th Avenue. A traffic officer witnessed the accident and wrote the license plate number down. The man went to the hospital later that day complaining of right shoulder, right elbow and right knee pain. Despite his pain, he did not follow-up with a private doctor because he thought that he would not be covered by insurance because he did not know the identity of the owner nor the driver of the car. He came to our office six weeks later. He took our advice and consulted an orthopedist who drained the bursa on his right elbow and did arthroscopic surgery to repair his torn meniscus in the knee. We were able to trace the vehicle's ownership through the license plate number and brought a claim for his medical expenses and injuries.
$225,000 for a Bronx man in his mid-thirties was injured when the vehicle he drove was struck by another vehicle. He received conservative treatment (physical therapy) for his neck and back injuries while continuing to work as a Corrections Officer. However, because of ongoing neck pain, two years later he consulted an orthopedic surgeon who performed surgery for his cervical spine. The client made a good recovery from the surgery and was able to go back to his regular job duties. In our law practice we do not believe in rushing to a settlement before you have finished medical treatment. If we had settled this man's case earlier he would have received a far smaller amount.
$150,000 for a 15-year-old Bronx student who was receiving physical therapy at his public school for disabled students when his physical therapist failed to properly support him and allowed his legs to hit the floor, causing a fractured femur. His fractured thigh was treated by a cast. This case shows that, even when gentle physical therapy is being used, injuries can occur if a physical therapist is negligent.
