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Primary Injury
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Injury Summary
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Type of Case
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Case Summary
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Result
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Death
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Death as the result of loss of blood
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Product Liability
Design Defect
Commercial grade Zero Turn Riding Mower
Lack of Roll-Over Protection on Zero Turn Riding Mower
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19 year old male was operating a Zero Turn Riding Mower as part of his job. Plaintiff was thrown from the mower when it "slid, tripped and rolled over" as he was cutting grass on a slope. As the mower rolled over 360 and landed on top of him one of the mower's blades struck his right knee. Plaintiff was trapped under the deck of the mower and bled to death before he was discovered.
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$1,400,000 recovery.
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Death
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Death from multiple internal injuries.
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Auto accident
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18 year old male died from injuries sustained when a car in which he was rear seat passenger was hit by a speeding motorcycle. Accident also resulted in the deaths of the motorcycle operator and two (2) other individuals. Decedent had just completed high school and was enrolled to attend college. Economist retained to evaluate decedent's future wage loss.
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$814,000 recovery.
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Death
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Death from multiple injuries.
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Auto accident
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24 year old male was killed while riding as a passenger in a single car accident. The decedent's father's automobile insurance company argued that the decedent did not reside with his father at the time of the accident and, therefore, wasn't entitled to underinsured motorist coverage. This issue was decided in favor of the decedent and resulted in six (6) times additional insurance coverage.
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$700,000 recovery.
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Death, Scarring and Multiple Injuries
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Death from multiple internal injuries;
Facial scarring to six (6) year old girl;
Internal injuries to ten (10) year old boy;
facial injuries to eight (8) year old boy;
orthopedic injuries to fifty-six (56) year old woman
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Auto accident
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Eight (8) family members and friends were in a van on their way home from the shore on the Fourth of July. A SUV operated by a young driver crossed the center line and struck the van head-on resulting in the death of three (3) of the occupants and serious injuries to the remaining occupants. Representation was undertaken of five (5) of the occupants (consisting of one family unit).
The 28 year old mother of three (3) minor children died in the accident. Her fifty-six (56) year old mother suffered multiple injuries including, left arm, multiple left ribs and left hip fractures. Her three (3) children were also injured in the accident.
Her ten (10) year old son suffered internal injuries including a tear of the small bowel; her eight (8) year old son suffered head injuries and facial fractures; her six (6) year old daughter suffered serious lacerations to her face resulting in over two hundred (200) sutures and permanent scarring.
The defense contended that the driver of the SUV was not authorized to drive the SUV and, therefore, the insurance carrier was not obligated to pay for the loss. After resolving this issue in favor of the occupants of the van, the case settled.
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$1,800,000 in total recovery.
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Death and Leg and Knee Injury
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Death from major internal injuries for 11-year old and significant leg and knee injuries to 14-year old.
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Auto accident and insurance coverage dispute
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A 11 year old boy died in a head-on collision caused by his father's negligence. His 14 year old brother sustained significant leg and knee injuries.
The father was driving a company car. The company's insurance carrier disputed the amount of coverage. This office filed a separate law suit to determine the amount of coverage and contended that the coverage was fifty (50) times what the insurance company said it was.
The trial and appeals courts agreed with our interpretation of the insurance contract.
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$1,300,000 in total recovery.
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Death due to Traumatic Brain Injury
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Death from severe head injury.
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Auto accident and Product Liability
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A 12 year old girl was a passenger in the third row seat of an SUV. The SUV was hit by a drunk driver. The impact caused the SUV to roll and eject the girl through the rear window. The girl died from head injuries suffered in the accident.
Claims were brought against the drunk driver and various insurance companies for "underinsured motorist" benefits. Additionally, a products liability claim was brought against the SUV manufacturer based upon its seat belt design for passengers in the third road seat.
Various and complicated legal issues arose in each asserted claim. A hearing was held to determine the amount of underinsured motorist coverage available to the multiple passengers in the SUV.
Ultimately, the SUV manufacturer changed the design of its third row seat seatbelts in the SUV.
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$1,800,000 recovery.
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Primary Injury
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Injury Summary
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Type of Case
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Case Summary
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Result
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Amputation
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Long, ring and little fingers on dominant hand were completely amputated. Index finger was nearly completely amputated and was reattached but could not be bent.
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Product Liability
Design Defect
Panel saw
Use as a safety device of a type of pressure tape that was not intended for that purpose because it lacked existing (slightly more expensive) fail-safe technology
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39 year old temporary employee was being trained as a "saw technician" on a panel saw. His right, dominant hand was trapped by a hold down bar when pressure tape failed to sense his hand. The manufacturer used a type of pressure tape that was not intended to be used as a safety device because it lacked "fail-safe" technology.
The manufacturer contended that the machine had been modified by a co-worker. However, if existing "fail-safe" technology had been used the saw would not have been operable with the alleged modifications.
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$510,000 recovery.
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Amputation
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Above knee amputation
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Motorcycle
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Orchard sprayer pulled from parking lot in front of 26 year old man driving a motorcycle. Police and defendant contended that the motorcycle was speeding. Plaintiff proved that the orchard sprayer pulled out immediately in front of the motorcycle.
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$650,000 recovery.
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Amputation
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Bi-lateral below knee amputations
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Auto accident crash-
worthiness
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20 year old front seat passenger in van lost both legs below the knee in head on collision with bumper override. In direct auto case, striking vehicle contended that the van the plaintiff was riding in crossed the centerline. Plaintiff proved the striking vehicle crossed the center line. In the crashworthi-
ness claim the Plaintiff proved the van lacked an adequate frontal crush zone. The manufacturer had contended that the crush zone was adequate as designed but had been compromised by a prior accident.
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$1,500,000 - limited because of Maryland limits on damages for pain and suffering. Trial against auto manufacturer settled the day before closing arguments after three weeks of trial.
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Amputation
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Above knee
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Auto accident and claim against bar
for serving a customer who was visibly intoxicated
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Drunk bar patron intentionally ran down 28 year old Plaintiff in the parking lot of a bar based on the mistaken belief that he was one of a group of other bar customers who had vandalized his car.
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$1,300,000 - policy limits for auto accident, under-insured motorist and dram shop. Jury returned a verdict in favor of the Plaintiff on liability after two weeks of trial.
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Amputation
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Below knee
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Product Liability: industrial printing press accident
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4000 pound roll of paper fell out of a roll tender and crushed the 26 year old Plaintiff's leg. The roll tender’s locking mechanism was defectively designed.
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$750,000 recovery.
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Amputation
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Above knee
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Auto accident and highway design
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Two car collision at city intersection due to a combination of driver error and traffic signal timing design. One of the cars entered the sidewalk and pinned and dragged the 61 year old Plaintiff against a wall causing an above knee amputation of her leg. Both drivers, the city and PennDOT contributed to a settlement on the morning of trial.
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$400,000 recovery.
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Amputation
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Below knee
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Tractor-trailer/ pedestrian
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Tractor-trailer struck pedestrian at city intersection. Pedestrian was 58 yr old woman. Her recollection of how the accident happened was impossible. However, Plaintiff proved that her recollection was based on her having seen the truck start to turn left before it suddenly straightened out and hit her.
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$525,000 verdict. Defendants pretrial offer was $0.
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Amputation
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Hand and part
of forearm
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Product Liability: entrapment in auger on seed blender
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The 49 year old Plaintiff lost his hand when a co-worker turned on auger for seed blender while the Plaintiff was cleaning seed out of the auger. Design of blender required hand cleaning, lacked an interlock and placed on/off switch out of sight of cleanout.
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$700,000 recovery.
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Amputation
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Three fingers on dominate hand
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Product Liability: entrapment
in food processing equipment
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19 year old Plaintiff was blow drying food processing equipment when the air hose and her hand were pulled into the equipment. The equipment lacked a guard at the point where the Plaintiff's hand was pulled into the machine.
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$310,000 recovery.
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Primary Injury
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Injury Summary
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Type of Case
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Case Summary
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Result
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Traumatic Brain Injury
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Traumatic Brain Injury, dental injury and facial scaring
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Construction accident
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A pipe end cap hit the 43 year old Plaintiff in the face when it blew off a water pipe that had been left pressurized at a construction site after a pressure test.
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$562,500. recovery.
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Traumatic Brain Injury
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Traumatic Brain Injury caused impaired development of both cognitive and motor skills
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Home construction defect
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Two year-old boy fell off the side of basement stairs in townhouse development. Stairs had only one hand rail and lacked balusters or side rails. Plaintiff brought claim against the developer and contractor for the townhouse complex.
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$2,500,000 recovery.
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Primary Injury
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Injury Summary
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Type of Case
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Case Summary
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Result
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Spinal Cord Injury
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Lumbar discectomy and fusion and persistent left sacroiliac dysfunction and pain with severe functional impairments.
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Auto accident
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38 year old male was driving a car when he was struck from behind by a large SUV. At the trial of his case a surveillance videotape that had not been disclosed to this office was excluded by the judge. The jury returned a verdict of $751,898.87. The case was appealed by the defendant and a new trial was ordered for a reason that was unrelated to the surveillance videotape issue.
The surveillance videotape was to be shown to the jury at the 2nd trial. After this office had the opportunity to review the surveillance videotape with the Plaintiff's treating physician (who would have testified that the tape confirmed the nature of the Plaintiff's injuries and that the injections he received provided some, temporary relief of pain) the case settled for approximately $75,000 more than the first jury originally awarded.
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$825,000 recovery.
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Spinal Cord Injury
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Herniated lumbar discs.
Multiple surgeries.
Development of post-surgery scar tissue.
Implantation of two (2) permanent spinal cord stimulators for pain control.
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Product Liability
Design Defect
Oil filter strap wrench
Inadequate stitching on strap
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41 year old truck mechanic suffered herniated lumbar discs when the strap on an oil filter wrench failed due to inadequate stitch design. Plaintiff brought claim against the manufacturer of the wrench for design defect.
The design flaw has subsequently been corrected.
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$2,160,000 recovery.
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Spinal Cord Injury
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Incomplete quadriplegia
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Truck accident
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22 year old suffered incomplete quadriplegia when a delivery truck struck the back of a pickup truck plaintiff was riding in as a passenger.
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$6,000,000 recovery.
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Spinal Cord Injury
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Paraplegia & upper body orthopedic injuries
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Construction accident
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37 year old plumber’s helper suffered paraplegia and upper body orthopedic injuries when
a construction supply vendor negligently caused a skid of shingles to fall
on him.
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$6,175,000 recovery.
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Spinal Cord Injury
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Paraplegia
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Auto accident
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33 year old Plaintiff was passenger in a one car accident. Car was a loaner car from an auto dealer and was driven by his brother. Primary disputes involved the amount of insurance coverage available on the rental car and whether the accident happened because of driver error of sudden emergency.
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$2,000,000 recovery from auto dealer's insurance company even though it contended that there was only $15,000 of coverage for the accident.
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Spinal Cord Injury
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Herniated lumbar disc with poor surgical result
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Truck accident
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Two tractor trailers collided. 47 year old male Plaintiff had chronic pain and instability after discectomy and failed back fusion. Disputed liability. Dispute as to amount of insurance coverage.
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$1,800,000 recovery.
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Spinal Cord Injury
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Herniated lumbar disc and unstable sacroiliac joint
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Auto accident
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Plaintiff's car struck from behind by SUV driven by 16 year old girl. Causation of his injuries was vigorously disputed. 38 year old Plaintiff had surgery on his back and needed surgery to fuse his left SI joint and to re-fuse his lower back.
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$761,000 verdict. Defendants only offer to settle was $5,000.
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Primary Injury
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Injury Summary
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Type of Case
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Case Summary
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Result
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Soft Tissue and Nerve Injury
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Reflex sympathetic dystrophy [RSD] (also known as. complex regional pain syndrome)
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Auto accident
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47 year old woman driver suffered RSD in auto accident.
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$700,000 recovery.
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Soft Tissue and Nerve Injury
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Piriformas Syndrome
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Product Liability: forklift accident
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34 year old was ejected from a standup forklift as it turned. She received Pelvic fractures; lumbar sacral strain; myofascial pain syndrome involving gluteus medius, gluteus minimis and piriformis muscle groups when she struck her hip on a metal post.
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$525,000 settlement after jury found in favor of the Plaintiff following a two week trial on liability. Pre-trial offer was $0.
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Primary Injury
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Injury Summary
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Type of Case
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Case Summary
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Result
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Blindness
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Loss of sight in one eye
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Product Liability: defective design of circular saw blade
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36 year old male lost sight in his right eye when a carbide tip flew off the saw blade.
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$450,000 recovery.
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Blindness
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Lost most vision in one eye, additional orthopedic injuries
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Auto accident
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Car collided with horse and buggy. Recoveries made from driver of the car, driver of the horse and buggy and from the 30 year-old male Plaintiff’s underinsured motorist coverage.
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$400,000 recovery.
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Primary Injury
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Injury Summary
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Type of Case
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Case Summary
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Result
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Burns
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2nd and 3rd degree burns to 11 month old boy
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Product Liability: consumer deep fryer
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11 month old boy was severely burned when he pulled on the power cord of a consumer deep fryer causing oil heated to 300 degrees to pour onto him. The deep fryer did not have a magnetically detachable power cord. Such a cord would have prevented the incident and had been available commercially for at least ten years.
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$1,100,000 recovery.
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Primary Injury
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Injury Summary
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Type of Case
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Case Summary
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Result
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Facial Scarring
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Facial scars
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Dog bite
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11 year old girl was attacked by two pit bulls that had escaped from a neighbor’s yard.
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$300,000 settlement - policy limits.
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Facial Scarring
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Facial scars
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Dog bite
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7 year old girl was attacked by a German shepherd that had escaped from a neighboring farm.
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$95,000 recovery.
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Primary Injury
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Injury Summary
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Type of Case
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Case Summary
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Result
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Miscellaneous
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Foot Injury
Left comminuted calcaneus (heel) fracture.
Multiple surgeries.
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Premises Liability
Defective handrail on porch.
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40 year old U.S. Postal carrier was injured while working when she fell from a porch because of a defective porch railing. Client suffered a serious fracture to her left heel requiring three (3) surgeries, leaving her with permanent limitations. Liability was established by failure of the property owner to maintain the property pursuant to the BOCA National Property Maintenance Code.
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$450,000 recovery.
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Miscellaneous
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Hip Injury
Multiple injuries, including dislocation and fracture of left hip; fractured right arm, fractured right calcaneus (heel).
Multiple surgeries.
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Auto Accident
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58 year old man hit head-on in automobile accident causing multiple injuries resulting in (17) day hospitalization. Client underwent four (4) surgeries for various injuries and will require future hip replacement.
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$550,000 recovery.
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Miscellaneous
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Nerve Injury
Sheared left pelvic artery causing left gluteal compartment syndrome requiring emergency surgery.
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Jet Ski Accident
Passenger on jet ski hit in low back and left gluteus by front tip of another jet ski
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16 year old boy was the passenger on a jet ski. He was struck in the low back and left gluteus by the front tip of another jet ski.
The impact sheared the left pelvic artery resulting in a left gluteal compartment syndrome requiring life-saving, emergency surgery. The injury resulted in left sciatic neuropathy with denervation of left lower leg.
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$350,000 recovery.
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Miscellaneous
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Legs crushed
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Auto accident & negligent control of commercial vehicle
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38 year old man suffered severe crush injuries to both legs when he was hit by a stolen beer delivery van that had been left parked, unlocked and with the engine running, in front of a bar while a delivery was being made.
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$1,600,000 recovery from beer distributor.
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Miscellaneous
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Shoulder injury – rotator cuff tear
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Auto accident & negligent control of commercial vehicle
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Tractor trailer collided with a trailer that had been abandoned on the side of an interstate highway. 56 year old truck driver suffered a rotator cuff tear.
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$823,860 Verdict after two week trial. Defendants highest offer was $65,000.
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Miscellaneous
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Severe respiratory impairment
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Product Liability: defective respirator
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37 year old man suffered severe respiratory impairment when exposed to trace amounts of paint hardener in a commercial automobile paint. The respirator failed to warn that it permitted exposure to trace amounts of paint hardener and failed to advise that there was no safe level of exposure if you were already sensitized to paint hardeners through prior exposure.
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$688,708 jury verdict. $750,000 total recovery negotiated during pendency of post-trial motions.
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Miscellaneous
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Crushed to death
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Construction accident
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35 year old man was crushed to death when an auger that was being dragged by a backhoe at a commercial construction site rolled into a ditch where the decedent was working.
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$1,000,000 recovery.
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Miscellaneous
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Severed aorta
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Auto accident
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20 year old man died from a severed aorta as the result of being hit broadside by an uninsured drunk driver. Principal dispute concerned the amount of uninsured motorist coverage that was available on a commercial fleet policy issued to a company owned by the decedent’s mother.
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$1,050,000 recovery. Insurance company initially claimed that the policy provided only $30,000 of coverage.
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Miscellaneous
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Lead poisoning
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Product Liability: lead stabilizer used in making PVC plastic
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52 year old man suffered acute lead poisoning while hand mixing lead stabilizer at work. The manufacturer of the lead stabilizer knew that, during start up of its customer’s plant, the stabilizer would be mixed by hand. Nevertheless the manufacturer sold its dustier automated mixing stabilizer rather than its dust reduced hand mixing stabilizer.
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$750,000 recovery.
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