Overview

When obtaining a large award for our clients one of the greatest concerns has been privacy and keeping whatever monies our clients received confidential.

Many attorneys publish their multi-million dollar results as well as other significant 6 figure results on their websites. As our clients are almost all personal referrals we have elected not to disclose the results for individual cases out of respect for their privacy. We have obtained uncounted millions for our clients since the early 90’s when our firm originated and have increased the amounts obtained for our clients every year since.

When creating our website we realized that our clients’ private information would be available to their friends and family if we posted their awards herein. Although it would possibly hurt the effectiveness of our website in increasing our client base, we determined that our loyalty to our clients was more important and we elected to discuss the cases but not the exact dollar figure outcomes.

Although many other attorney’s websites do contain such information it will not be found on our site, whether it be cases where the client was awarded $10 million or $10,000. The request we get most often when obtaining a significant result for our clients is who will know. We decided that we will not be the people to disclose this information to the visitors to our website who will likely know our clients as almost all of our clients come from client referrals.

   

Bus Accidents

 

A passenger on a bus stepped out of the bus onto a broken sidewalk. The City and the Transit Authority each paid 50% for the injuries suffered by plaintiff.

A bus was struck by a taxi. We represented the bus driver who had back surgery 5 years after the accident. The case was resolved successfully against the taxi company.

A bus stopped short. The Transit Authority claimed it was not the bus operator’s fault because a mechanical feature in the bus’ rear door known as the interlock mechanism engaged on the bus, causing the bus to stop. Roth & Roth won liability on behalf of Plaintiff Saundra Crane who was injured and were sustained at the appellate level. Crane v NYCTA. The Interlock defense is the subject of an article written by David Roth and published in the New York State Trial Lawyers quarterly magazine, Bill of Particulars.

 

SIDEWALK CASES

 

A 40 year old woman tripped and fell while walking on a sidewalk next to a school due to a 3-inch raised sidewalk. City denied knowledge or notice of the defect. The witness produced by the Board of Education testified that, despite being told by the City attorney to only look for records for a period of one week prior to the date of accident, he actually looked for records dating a year back and found that the school had provided written notice to the City that the sidewalk was in a dangerous condition. We subsequently moved to have the defense of notice stricken and won the case.

We have had several elderly people break their hips, requiring hip surgery and hip replacements after trips and falls on sidewalks. These cases were successfully resolved against both municipalities as well as private landowners.

An 11 year old boy riding his bicycle on a sidewalk was hurt when his bicycle went into a pothole. We got the City to agree that despite the rules stating that bicycles should be ridden on the roadway, for an 11 year old boy it was reasonable and safer for him to be riding on the sidewalk rather than on the streets of Brooklyn. We were able to recover a significant award for his broken arm sustained in that accident.

 

SUBWAY CASES

 

A woman in a wheelchair encountered a tremendous gap in Times Square Station and her wheelchair got stuck between the train and platform causing her wheelchair to tip over. Through motion practice the case was won. The Transit Authority (TA) appealed, but lost.  This win not only resulted in the resolution of the case but also signs being placed in the subway system to protect wheelchair bound passengers.

A woman tripped and fell due to vertical gap between the subway platform and the train. The Transit Authority claimed that they had a valid internal safety policy regarding the acceptable distance between a platform and a subway car. After due diligence we discovered that for years the Transit Authority has been hiding the fact that they failed to do any study whatsoever to determine what would be a safe distance between the edge of the platform and the subway door. These cases have been successfully defended by the Transit Authority for years until we discovered the secret that the Transit Authority has been hiding: that they relied upon just a 12 page memo without a single measurement to set the policy presiding over the safety requirements for over a billion subway passengers a year riding the subway. Since our discovery the landscape has been changed and plaintiffs not only in our case but other cases have had a greater chance to win.

A woman was caused to fall going down subway station stairs due to debris on subway steps. Defendant Transit Authority failed to clean the steps despite it being a busy subway station. Our injured client was able to recover due to the depositions taken by our office establishing that the TA failed to clean despite their own schedules in place resulting in an award that satisfied our client.

 

CAR ACCIDENTS

 

Municipal – A 50 year old foreman at a manufacturing plant was struck when a police officer ran a stop sign, allegedly skidded on wet leaves, and struck the client’s vehicle causing tremendous damage to the client’s car. Deposition of police officer revealed he had virtually no sleep in the 36 hour period prior to the accident. Client underwent many surgeries following the accident. The case was resolved favorably after the deposition of the police officer.

A 36 year old woman suffered a herniated disc in her lower back when her vehicle was struck by another car. Although she did not have surgery, we were able to subpoena work records and employment information along with a careful and comprehensive medical work up regarding her injuries, which allowed us to obtain an excellent result, despite the lack of surgery.

Two Girl Scout moms visiting from Missouri were involved in a bone crushing accident on the Major Deegan Expressway when their limousine struck the rear of an electric supply truck. Our firm was able to coordinate the doctors in Missouri while prosecuting the case here in NY. The injuries sustained were severe with broken bones piercing skin, ripped connective tissues, and dislocated joints and bones.

 

TRUCK ACCIDENTS

 

35 year old man injured in an accident when a box truck made a right turn from the left lane killing the car’s passenger. The injured driver switched to our firm after being with another firm for 4 years. Within 1 year of our representation, due to careful documentation of the medical and employment records, we obtained a settlement more than 27 times the last offer to the prior firm that was tendered only a month before the prior firm was scheduled for trial.

A 50 year old truck loader was caused to sustain injuries resulting in multiple back surgeries when his co-employee made an illegal left turn and was struck by a speeding SUV. Although the speeding SUV’s policy was inadequate to fairly compensate our client for his injuries and resulting back surgery with spinal fusion, thorough investigation again was rewarded. A careful inspection of the truck and interviewing other co-employees revealed that the seatbelt in the truck had been broken for a long time. Since the client’s lawsuit against his co-employee was barred by worker’s compensation the broken seatbelt was the only theory under which he could have recovered. Due to our hard work and perseverance he was tremendously compensated in Court.

A 45 year old home health attendant had her car sideswiped by a tractor trailer truck. The turning radius of the truck and the inability to turn from the right lane onto a side street were analyzed using satellite imaging as well as precise measurements. The resultant settlement was far greater than it otherwise would have been without using cutting edge technology, which proved the truck driver’s testimony was impossible.

 

HIGHWAY DESIGN ACCIDENTS

 

A 16 year old girl was being taught to drive by a family friend. This was a horrific accident that occurred in 2001 as a result of the negligence of the municipal and designing defendants, who owned, operated and designed an outdoor parking lot that accommodated hundreds of motor vehicles. The parking lot was 2/10 of a mile long, had two driving lanes and was surrounded by deep water on three sides as it was sitting on top of a pier. In the design and installation process we uncovered that no consideration for the safety of motorists that were to use the parking lot, nor any concern for any protection to prevent vehicles from plunging into the bay. Due to the negligence of defendants in failing to erect barriers capable of retaining a motor vehicle within the confines of the parking lot, the infant’s van plunged into the deep water causing her to sustain devastating injuries that have left her totally and completely incapacitated.       

Roth & Roth’s team proceeding on a second-impact theory of liability, argued that while the defendants may not have caused the initial accident, they were nevertheless liable for aggravating or exacerbating the infant’s injuries after her vehicle was permitted to go through the ornamental fence surrounding the parking lot into the water when she stayed submerged underwater until being rescued by emergency divers.

Tragically, the defendants’ failure to install guide rails or barriers capable of restraining a vehicle at a point of particular danger, which barriers had been recommended by their  own engineering consultant, was the sole proximate cause of the infant’s catastrophic, water-submersion and oxygen-deprivation injuries.  Had adequate barriers been installed around the perimeter of the parking lot on the pier, the plaintiff would not have sustained serious injuries, let alone the injuries resulting from underwater submersion and oxygen deprivation, which have left her totally incapacitated.

We alleged that the parking lot in question was woefully defective in several respects: 1) the pier, being surrounded by deep water on three sides was a point of particular danger; 2) in violation of good and accepted engineering practices as well as the New York State Department of Transportation Design Manual,  AASHTO Guidelines and the New York City Administrative Code, the parking lot, which was surrounded by water on three sides, did not have guide rails or barriers around its perimeter capable of  containing  a vehicle; 3)  the parking lot had only decorative fencing around its perimeter thereby creating a false sense of security for drivers of vehicles traveling there; 4) the pier lacked any type of warning with respect to the inability of the fences present there  to contain errant vehicles. We were able to recover 9.5 million dollars for the plaintiff and her family.

 

PEDESTRIAN KNOCKDOWN 

 

A 50-year-old order manager at a jewelry company was on her way to work crossing a street in a crosswalk when a school bus driver made right turn striking her. The plaintiff had no recollection of the accident due to the brain injury she sustained. Yet despite her amnesia,  we were able to win summary judgment on both liability and serious injury threshold. The workup of this case consisted of an accident reconstruction to show that she was midway in the crosswalk when she’d been struck, as the defendants were trying to claim that she’d stepped off the curb into the bus. In this case we put together an elaborate interactive computer animation of the plaintiff to show each of her numerous injuries. The work we did on this case resulted in a $4 million settlement.

A sixty year-old attorney crossing the street in the crosswalk was struck b y a vehicle turning left. The plaintiff never saw the vehicle making a left turn yet we recovered almost the entire one hundred thousand dollar policy for him at trial. The plaintiff in this case sustained a torn meniscus with no surgery.

A 30-year-old undocumented worker was crossing Bell Blvd. at midnight when he was struck by a livery cab. He was killed and there were no witnesses, yet we were able to obtain the full underlying insurance policy and appoint the proper administrator so that the funds could be paid out to the family.

We represented a 40-year-old woman from Mali who was walking on a sidewalk when a truck backed into a traffic light pole that snapped in half and hit her. The defendants in this case attempted to argue that she should have gotten out of the way of the pole. The plaintiff sustained a mild traumatic brain injury for which we recovered $2.2 million.  

 

PREMISES CASES

 

A 3 year old girl in a carpet store was struck on the leg when an unsecured 15 foot roll of carpet fell over and snapped one of her legs. Thorough depositions of the Carpet store’s employees elicited a ridiculous story that the carpet did not actually strike the child, but they admitted she was complaining of pain immediately after the carpet fell. Our expert orthopedist took measurements of the bones at the fracture site and although to the naked eye the leg looked straight, the measurements off the x-rays showed the bones healing at an angle called a valgus. In this instance with careful documentation of both injury and liability a substantial award was obtained for the child and approved by the Court.

Numerous Ceiling falls injuring clients.

Landlord rented apartment to family with young child who got lead poisoning from ingesting lead paint and suffered cognitive impairments.

Building allows drain to run off onto sidewalk creating an ice slick causing a man to fall and sustain multiple fractures.

A data entry clerk was playing in the snow with her children. Con Ed and the building owner failed to properly connect electric service to the building causing electricity to be conducted through the melting snow and up into the area in front of the building. This was an extremely dangerous and hazardous condition that caused multiple people to sustain an electric shock. After many years of hard fought litigation against Con Ed and the building owner, we were able to make the case based upon our electrical engineer as well as canvassing the neighborhood for witnesses to the condition. The plaintiff recovered a very favorable result.

 

SLIPS, TRIPS. and FALLS

 

A 45-year-old female clerk working for Social Security was caused to slip and fall due to water leaking in one of the aisles from an improperly maintained refrigerator in a supermarket.  Despite having a prior series of similar injuries, we were able to obtain a significant recovery from the supermarket for the aggravation of her pre-existing injuries.

A 50-year-old nurse was walking on Lydig Avenue in the Bronx where there are bodegas with fruit stands that take over the sidewalk. She was caused to slip and fall on debris because the bodega’s owner failed to properly maintain the area on the public sidewalk, which they had taken over. This was incredibly difficult case as she slipped on a plastic bag with no markings. Yet we were able to show that the bag came from that particular fruit stand and that the fruit stand had made special use of the sidewalk. The fruit stands attorneys made a motion to dismiss the case based on the allegation that there was no proof regarding where the plastic bag had come from. We successfully opposed the motion and we were able to obtain a significant recovery for our client.

A 65-year-old man who was adjudicated to be incompetent to was caused to trip and fall down steps. The cause of the fall was that his walker was caught on peeling linoleum that the landlord had improperly installed on the stairs.  The client sustained severe injuries to his lower leg, which resulted in over a year stay in various hospitals. Despite client being declared incompetent and being unable to testify, we were able to prove the case using eyewitness testimony.

A 65-year-old school administrator was caused to trip and fall outside of a restaurant on the Upper East Side. The restaurant and the building owner adjacent to the sidewalk claimed that they were not responsible for the maintenance of sidewalk, and that because they painted the abrupt raised edge yellow that the defect was open and obvious and therefore the plaintiff should not recover. The plaintiff sustained a fractured wrist that required surgery. We made a motion for summary judgment on the issue that the building adjacent to the defect was responsible for the maintenance of that sidewalk under the law. Our motion was granted in the case settled for a significant amount.

A Landlord put linoleum on stairs causing man to trip and fall down the flight of stairs and sustain severe injuries to his lower leg, which caused him to be hospitalized for over a year total stay in various hospitals. Despite the plaintiff being declared incompetent and being unable to testify, we were able to prove the case using eyewitness testimony and obtain and extremely favorable recovery.

 

CONSTRUCTION ACCIDENTS

 

An asbestos worker fell in a basement due to the building owner’s failure to provide adequate scaffolding to stand on, violating the Scaffold law. Severe injuries were sustained to his back resulting in surgery and the removal of bone and disc material. What made this particularly interesting was that it was a fall from a height triggering Labor Law §240 but it was underground.

A construction worker fell out of dumpster fracturing both legs. Roth & Roth’s team took the on the case in a matter of first impression and the issue was won at the Appellate level making new law regarding dumpsters. This case was the first reported case in New York State where a worker who fell out of a dumpster was found to be covered under the Labor Law.

A laborer fell off an A-frame ladder injuring multiple parts of his body requiring surgery on his spine. The A-frame ladder fell, which alone we established was proof of liability under the Labor Law and his case was resolved for a substantial sum.

Construction workers are hard working people and often face very dangerous work conditions. The level of risk is why New York State has such strong laws to protect workers. Contact our team of attorneys if you require representation for a construction related injury.

 

BURN INJURIES

 

2 year old boy is scalded through his jeans on 12 percent of his body due to extraordinarily hot water from kitchen sink. Careful investigation determined that the tenants on the upper floors were complaining the water was too cold. Instead of investing in new equipment to replace the old, worn out boiler, the Landlord just turned up the hot water heater, causing scalding hot water to come out of the tap in the 1st floor apartment where the boy lived.

1 year old girl scalded over 32% of her body when the building management removes radiator and improperly capped the pipe. This case was handled by another law firm and was wallowing for 14 years until we took over case and settled it to her mothers’ relief and satisfaction after only a year and a half.

Man goes into hospital and due to the hospital’s negligence catches on fire and sustains third degree burns over 50% of his body.

Father and son asphyxiate and mother suffers brain injuries due to lack of oxygen as a result of smoke inhalation from a fire in their apartment building that was due to improper security in the building as well as a lack of smoke detectors and improperly functioning fire escape.

 

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE

 

A 45 year old woman went to private doctor for routine liposuction. After 5 hours in the recovery room it was discovered that she had had a stroke and suffered a heart attack. Numerous depositions of the doctors determined there was an incredible deviation from the reasonable standard of care and many improper business relationships with non-medical employees were uncovered. Additionally, the failed liposuction left the client disfigured. Her case was resolved for an amount even higher than what would be expected due to the discovery of these improper relationships.

A middle age woman went in for eye surgery. The doctor cut away too much of her eyelid and failed to take into consideration her underlying Graves disease prior to doing the surgery. The operation resulted in terribly dry eyes, deformity of the eye and 14 subsequent operations to correct the damage done from the surgical malpractice. A thorough and careful deposition of the doctor revealed that there were departures from the proper standards of care and that the doctor, although permitted, was in fact not qualified to do the surgery.

After sustaining an open fractured leg our 20 year old client went to a municipal hospital for treatment. The hospital failed to properly diagnose an infection in the patient resulting in multiple surgeries and partial loss of use of the leg. His case was resolved successfully despite the defense that the injury was caused by the initial fall and not by the hospital. A careful comparison of the hospital’s own radiological records established the hospital’s position was inconsistent with their alleged diagnosis resulting in significant settlement for our client.