Construction Accident:  $6,000,000 Settlement During Trial

A union-affiliated engineer who operated tower cranes at construction sites in Manhattan slipped and fell while descending a ladder affixed to the side of a tower crane. He fell 14 feet to a steel platform, landing on his left side and shoulder. He had not been provided with safety devices to arrest his fall. A summary judgement motion was made pursuant to New York Labor Law 240(1), on the issue of liability, and that motion was granted. The trial was on the issue of damages only. The plaintiff sustained a massive tear to the rotator cuff of his left shoulder, which eventually caused him to be unable to work. Attempts at surgical repair were unsuccessful. Claim was made for past and future lost wages, and lost fringe benefits, as well as for pain and suffering and permanent restriction of the use of his left arm, shoulder, and hand.

$1,600,000 settlement in a medical malpractice action based upon the failure to diagnose severe heart disease in a 43 year old father of four, resulting in his wrongful death. The family physician did not take proper note of the results of a Holter monitor, which would have informed him that the patient was at risk for sudden cardiac death. Annuities were purcahsed as part of a structured settlement to provide for his children's college education. 

$1,100,000 settlement in a medical malpractice action for failure to timely diagnose colon cancer in a 53 year old woman. The failure to diagnose was related to the gastroenterologist not reviewing his own records with respect to prior incomplete tests performed. 

$1,000,025 settlement in a medical malpractice action due to operative negligence during a shoulder repair procedure of a 36 year old machinist. The brachial plexus of the patient was burned by an electrocautery device during the surgery. The injury was not reported in the operative record and was only discovered post-surgically.

$575,000 settlement to a female bus driver for injury to lumbar discs after benig struck in the rear. The injuries to the back prevented the bus driver from returning to work, and interfered with her care of a special needs child. 

$475,000 settlement for a 57 year old woman against a neurologist that failed to diagnose a cerebral aneurysm and recommend surgery. The aneurysm subsequently ruptured and casued disturbances in vision and neurological damage. 

$450,000 settlement during trial for a 55 year old clerical worker who suffered multiple herniated discs in her back and neck, as well as rib fractures and a collapsed lung in an intersection collision in Brooklyn in which she was a passenger. 

$415,000 settlement in a psychiatric malpractice suicide case.

$380,000 settlement in a medical malpractice action for failure to timely diagnose lung cancer, which made chemotherapy necessary during the delay. 

$300,000 verdict against a school in Nassau County for shoulder injuries of a student requiring surgery after a teacher drove a van off the pavement of a highway and caused it to flip over, injuring the student passenger. 

$140,000 verdict in a hit-in-the-rear automobile accident in which the plaintiff suffered herniated cerfical discs and lost two weeks from work. Allstate Insurance Company had offered $8,500 to settle this case during trial. 

Note:  The above resilts cannot and do not guarantee or predict similar results with respect to any future matters. All new matters must be evaluated on their own particular facts, and with respect to the law as it exists at the time the case is evaluated.