$5,935,000 Verdict for Cervical spine and wrist injuries

After a ten week trial in Bronx Supreme Court, we obtained a jury verdict in favor of our client, a 39 year old boiler engineer at Jacoby Medical Center. The accident occurred when extreme boiler pressure caused a three foot long, 3 pound piece of angle iron to fall from the boiler, striking plaintiff on the head and knocking him to the ground. As a result plaintiff claimed he sustained herniated discs at C4/C5 and C5/C6 necessitating a two level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion and bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome that required carpal tunnel release surgeries to both wrists. There was an extensive prior history of cervical conditions documented by X-ray and MRI film. There was also extensive video surveillance of the plaintiff taken several years post-accident and post-surgery that had to be overcome at trial. Two years after the accident, on the eve of his spinal fusion surgery, our client stopped working and was eventually awarded Social Security Disability. The jury returned a verdict holding three of the potential eight defendants responsible for the occurrence of the accident and made awards for past and future pain and suffering, loss of earnings and medical expenses.

$985,000.00 settlement for low back injury as the result of a hit in the rear car accident

This case, pending in Brooklyn, New York settled for $985,000.00 at the time of jury selection. Our client was a 42 year employed as a parking supervisor at JFK Airport. At the time of the accident he was the driver of a car that was struck from behind while stopped at a stop sign at the airport. There was minimal, visible damage to his car. The defendant was planning on calling a bio mechanical expert at trial to establish the minimal impact would not cause the injuries claimed by our client. Our office won a decision on liability establishing the defendant was at fault for the accident. As a result of the collision, our client sustained a disc herniation to his lower back that required two surgeries to his lumbar spine and extensive physical therapy. Our office was prepared to use a video of the client’s actual surgery at trial.

$1,000,000.00 Settlement on the eve of trial

Our client, 59 years of age was employed as a patient care technician at a Manhattan hospital. On the morning of the accident, she parked her car in the defendant’s parking lot and started to walk to work when she was struck by her own car, driven by a parking attendant. Before trial we argued and won a motion for summary judgment against the defendant on the issue of fault for the accident. As a result of being knocked to the ground by the car, our client sustained disc herniations at the C4/C5 and C5/C6 levels of her cervical spine that eventually required a two level discectomy and fusion surgery. Our client also had a prior medical history of neck and back pain with various hospital visits dating back to 1998. Ten months after the accident, our client stopped working due to her injuries. The defendant argued that her disability arose from medical conditions not related to accident.

$920,000.00 settlement during trial

This case settled during trial in Queens County Supreme Court. Our client, a 30 year old stay at home mom was driving her SUV when it was struck by the defendant who crossed two lanes and attempted to make right turn onto the LIE service road. Our motion for summary judgment on liability was granted before trial. As a result of this collision, our client suffered a disc herniation at the C5/C6 level requiring Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion surgery.

$3 Million in Fall from Ladder

$3,000,000 in Fall From Ladder in Westchester County: Plaintiff was an HVAC worker who fell from an interior, wall mounted ladder that lead to a roof hatch in a refrigerated warehouse. The ladder did not have a safety cage. As plaintiff climbed the ladder his hand struck an unknown object affixed to the wall next to the ladder causing him to lose his balance and fall 15 feet to the floor below. As a result of the fall, the HVAC worker suffered a complicated fracture of his right wrist that required multiple surgeries. He also sustained a knee injury that required two arthroscopic procedures and disc herniations in his neck and back that required surgery. The neck and back injuries were not diagnosed for nine months after the accident. As a result of this accident, plaintiff became disabled from his employment and underwent extensive medical care. Defendants argued that this case was not one contemplated by the Labor Law and that all of plaintiff’s injuries, with the exception of his wrist, were not related to the accident. Richard Noll was successful in obtaining summary judgment under Labor Law 240(1) that was affirmed on appeal where the court held that this accident occurred during the “repair” of a building rather than ordinary maintenance. This settlement was then negotiated on the eve of trial in Westchester County Supreme Court.

$1.04 Million for Wrist Fracture

$1,040,000 for wrist fracture in car accident in Richmond County: Plaintiff was a young teacher in her early twenties when her car was struck by defendant’s car. As a result of the collision, plaintiff’s radius and ulna (bones in the forearm) were fractured after becoming caught in the steering wheel. She developed compartment syndrome in her forearm that required emergency fasciotomy surgery and an eventual skin graft. Defendants refused to settle her claim prior to trial for a fair and just amount of money since the case was pending in “conservative Richmond County”. Our tenacious trial preparation finally pushed defendant’s insurance carrier to tender $1,040,000 out of their $1,050,000 in coverage.

$1.02 Million for Internal Injuries

$1,020,000 for internal injuries from car accident in Queens County: Our client was an unemployed young woman passenger in a car involved in an intersection accident. As the result of the negligence of both cars she sustained multiple internal injuries including a rupture of her aorta. Thanks to the quick actions of emergency personnel and hospital staff, her life threatening injuries were resolved and after a short hospital stay, had no further limitations. However, she was left with surgical scars to her abdomen and back. Both defendants initially argued that her injuries did not rise to the level of “serious injury” and that she made an excellent recovery. After jury selection, the insurance carriers tendered all but $5,000 of the available insurance coverage.

$1 Million for Fractured Vertebrae

$1,000,000 for fractured vertebrae in Kings County: Our 21 year old, unemployed client who had just moved to the United States, was the front seat passenger in a car being operated by a young man she just met that evening. As the defendant rounded a curve on the Grand Central Parkway he veered off the road and struck a tree. The defendant driver claimed that his young passenger had grabbed the steering wheel of his car, causing the crash. As a result of this collision, our client suffered a fracture of her T12 vertebrae that required the surgical insertion of a “Harrington Rod” and left her with a permanent scar to her back. Defendants also claimed that our client failed to use an available seat belt. Richard Noll persuaded the jury to hold the defendant completely at fault for causing the accident and to award her one million dollars for her pain and suffering.

$925K for Intoxicated Pedestrian

$925,000 for intoxicated pedestrian in Suffolk County: Our client was a 30 year old, unemployed mother of five children with a documented history of drug and alcohol addiction. Just before midnight, she was crossing Bellport Road in Suffolk County with a family member. They had just left a party where she admitted to consuming five alcoholic drinks. As she crossed into the lane of traffic, she was struck by one car and knocked into the oncoming lane of travel. After some time, her motionless body was run over a second time by the second defendant. As a result of these two impacts, our client suffered multiple fractures of her legs and pelvis that required several surgeries. The hospital records listed her blood alcohol content as three times the legal limit. Defendants claimed plaintiff’s intoxication was an absolute defense to the accident. Richard Noll crafted an argument that the lapse in time between the first impact and the second impact, as plaintiff lay unconscious on the ground, made her intoxication irrelevant to any claim for her comparative fault. After five days of jury selection and pre-trial arguments, this settlement was achieved with gratitude from our client.

$531K for Pain & Suffering

531,000 verdict against the State of New York in the Court of Claims, Westchester County: Our client was no angel. He grew up on the streets of upstate Beacon and had been in serious trouble with the law on several occasions, even serving several years in prison. Then in 1984 he was arrested, tried and convicted of rape and sodomy in the First Degree in Orange County, New York. In 1995, with the use of DNA evidence he was exonerated of all charges and set free. He then retained Richard Noll to prosecute his claim against the State of New York under the “Unjust Conviction Act”. We had to affirmatively prove our client’s innocence and establish that he did not contribute to his arrest or conviction in any way. With the use of DNA evidence and the testimony of forensic scientists retained from the New York City Medical Examiner’s office we were successful in establishing the State’s liability. Richard Noll then took a second verdict in the Court of Claims where our client was awarded $530,000.00 for his pain and suffering.

460K for Eye Injury

Kings County: After one week of trial against the City of New York, Richard Noll was able to settle this action on behalf of his client, a 42 year old taxi cab driver. The plaintiff’s taxi cab was struck by a marked police radio car as it was responding to a “10-13” radio call – “officer in need of assistance”. As a result of the collision, the plaintiff suffered a detached retina of his left eye that resulted in blindness to the eye. Thankfully he was still able to make a living as a livery driver. The City of New York initially denied liability claiming that its police car had the right to operate at an increased speed and to disobey red traffic lights since it was in an emergency operation. The law required plaintiff to prove the police violated the elevated standard of care of “recklessness” rather than ordinary negligence. Just prior to the cross examination of the defendant police officer the City of New York relented and agreed to pay $460,000 to our client.

$458K for Laborer Electrical Arc Event

$458,000 laborer electrical arc event in New York County: This Labor Law 241(6) claim was prosecuted based upon a violation of the Industrial Code that mandated that electrical power be turned off before any construction or demolition work. Our client was one of the electricians hired to turn off the power during the renovation of a commercial building in lower Manhattan. Our client’s supervisor went into the building of the basement to turn off the power. The plaintiff, knowing the power was still live, started to remove breakers from a live electrical panel. The panel exploded in an arc event causing third degree burns to his forearm requiring a skin graft surgery. Defendants all moved to dismiss the case arguing that a specific provision of the Industrial Code was not violated. They also argued plaintiff was the sole proximate cause of the accident. After defeating the summary judgment motions this case was settled on the eve of trial.

$400K for Science Experiment Gone Bad

$400,000 for science experiment gone bad against NYC in Queens County: The plaintiff was a fifth grade student at a NYC public school. His science teacher asked all students to prepare projects for the school science fair. This student asked the teacher for an idea for his project. After speaking to the teacher, our client left school, went home in the company of his parents and mixed vinegar and chloride bleach. The “science project” caused a cloud of noxious gas that when inhaled by the student resulted in respiratory distress and ARDS. After two months of hospitalization and one month of rehabilitation, the student returned to school and led an otherwise normal life. The case was prosecuted on the theory that the NYC school teacher directed the student to perform a dangerous experiment, not appropriate for his age and that it was liable even though the incident occurred after school hours, off of the school property while the student was under the care of his parents. One the eve of jury selection we secured the $400,000 in compensation for the student who was now sixteen years old.

$300K for Trip & Fall on Sidewalk

$300,000 settlement for trip and fall on sidewalk in New York County: Our client was a 79 year old resident of the upper west side walking to church when she tripped and fell on a crack in the sidewalk. The height differential was just less than one inch. There were no witnesses to the actual fall but she did report it to the members of her church immediately afterwards. She was taken to the emergency room where she was diagnosed with a four part humeral fracture (upper arm). She was admitted to the hospital and underwent a hemiarthroplasty (partial shoulder replacement surgery). Defendants argued that the accident was not witnessed; the defect was minimal and it was on a sidewalk that the plaintiff walked across many times before the date of accident so she should have been able to avoid the crack. We successfully argued that the defendant building owner was liable for the sidewalk condition under the New York City Administrative Code as the owner of a multiple dwelling and that the defect was in excess of one half inch – therefore a dangerous condition as defined by the Code. On the eve of jury selection, the client accepted $300,000 in settlement of her claim.

$200K for Trip & Fall

$200,000 settlement after liability verdict against Keyspan in Queens County: Plaintiff, 63 years of age, tripped and fell on a depressed gas main valve box cover in a crosswalk causing a three part fracture of the humerus of her non-dominant arm. The case was presented to a Queens County jury arguing that Keyspan made a special use of the roadway by its ownership and use of the utility cover installed in the roadway. We also argued that Keyspan created the dangerous condition when it installed the gas main pipes four years earlier but then failed to properly back fill, compact and repave the roadway. Defendant argued that plaintiff never actually saw what caused her to fall and that she caused her own accident. It also tried to shift the blame for the dangerous roadway condition to another utility company that excavated a trench next to the gas line installation. The jury returned a verdict after only fifty minutes of deliberation finding Keyspan negligent and that its negligence was a substantial factor in causing the accident. The jury also determined that plaintiff was not negligent. The case was then settled for $200,000 compensating plaintiff for her pain and suffering.