Every case has a story:

• A construction worker suffered a burst fracture of a spine vertebra when an unstable staircase at a worksite collapsed. The worker, a rehabilitated drug addict, relapsed into abusing prescription opiates and then street drugs because of chronic, crippling pain. We proved during litigation that contractors, architects and engineers each could have each prevented the accident but instead ignored the instability, and helped the client and his wife present sympathetically at their depositions to discourage the lawyers from relying on his illegal drug use. The result – a $4.1 million  dollar settlement.

• A 12 year old boy was severely burned in a fire while helping his father remove glue under a removed floor in a basement. The fire was caused by a glue remover chemical they were using to remove the glue. We were able to prove that the chemical manufacturer encouraged spreading the remover over a large area by selling it in a large pour container with a pour handle, even though they knew (and warned) that the remover could catch fire if it were spread for more than a foot . We also established that the manufacturer had concealed evidence during discovery. After we filed a motion for sanctions the case settled for $3.8 million.

• A factory worker suffered a crushed arm when his arm became caught in a machine. The plant he worked at claimed our client removed a machine guard and endangered himself based on his supervisor’s (unsigned) statement. Under cross examination, the supervisor admitted that he could not have observed the accident and never wrote the statement. Depositions also disclosed that the plant frequently left the guards off because the guards caused the machine to constantly jam because of its manufacturer’s poor machine design.   The manufacturer settled after depositions for nearly $2 million.

• A construction worker fell into a hole covered by a loose piece of plywood on a construction site. The worker was already treating regularly for an injured back, and this injury finally disabled him from work. The general contractor blamed the worker for stepping on a loose board and that the hole did not require filling, claimed that the worker’s injury was overstated, and their lawyers constantly tried to delay trial. We obtained the site owner’s file which revealed that the contractor sought a change order to fill the hole the day after our client’s accident; we prevented further delay of the trial; and we were able to discredit the general contractor’s medical expert in cross examination. The result – a $1.2 million dollar jury verdict.

• A maintenance worker lost his arm while clearing an industrial shredder when attempting to reinstall the door leading to the shredding blades. We proved that the manufacturer had stolen the design from a competitor but failed to incorporate the competitor’s safety device that would have turned the shredder off when its access door was open. Although the manufacturer had previously avoided liability in lawsuits brought across the company, the case settled for over $1.5 million.

• An elderly non-English speaking man’s physical at a hospital clinic showed that he potentially could develop lung cancer because of nodes in his lungs. Although the doctor ordered regular follow up lung scans the hospital failed to schedule them.  Two years later the man developed Stage IV lung cancer. Our investigation showed that the hospital had participated in a study  which showed the need for improvement of their patient follow up system. The case settled before litigation for $1 million.