Verdicts & Settlements

To 20 injured workers and the families of four workers who were killed in the collapse of a parking garage at the Tropicana Casino Resort in 2003. The case involved multiple defendants, including Tropicana and a number of construction contractors. The parking garage collapsed while it was under construction because rebar was not properly installed, leaving the floors disconnected from the walls. As part of the trial team, Senior Partner and Founder Michael Maggiano was assigned to the engineers. Upon reviewing drawings of the structure, he discovered the glaringly obvious flaw that doomed the parking garage to failure. Maggiano developed a simple but powerful visual demonstration of how construction should have proceeded and the wrong way in which it actually did proceed. Ultimately, the case settled for $101 million.

To a 35 year old iron worker who fell from a steel frame building under construction due to the failure of the general contractor to provide a safe workplace which included supervision for the use of safety equipment and guide wires.

To widow and child of a deceased dock builder injured during a pile driving operation. Defendant Developer and General Contractor placed blame on employer of deceased worker who could not be sued because of the Worker Compensation Statute that says you can not sue your employer. We proved that even though the employer was negligence, the Developer and GC had to primary duty of safety on the job site to protect all workers from the cost cutting unsafe practices of their employers.

To an HVAC worker who fell through an opening in a roof. The defense argued the opening was obvious and he should have watched where he was going. We proved that the unprotected opening was an OSHA violation and the worker was entitled to a reasonable cover to protect him from an inadvertent slip and fall as required by Federal regulations.

Client 63 years old, was in the course of his employment as a driver for Benjamin Moore Paint and was doing his pre-drive inspection of his 18 wheel tractor trailer. It had snowed 8 inches about 3-4 days prior and the temperature had fluctuated above and below freezing, creating a melt, thaw and then refreeze in the parking lot where the tractor trailers were kept. It had rained/sleeted the night before the incident. My client had connected his tractor to the trailer and was in the process of walking back to make sure the trailer was secure. He walked over an area of hard packed snow when suddenly his feet slipped out from under him. He reached out to grab the handle on the trailer but still fell forward, landing hard on his knees, chest, shoulder and face. He received total disability from workers compensation and was also deemed totally disabled by Social Security. Due to the extent of his injuries he was awarded a work related disability pension that allowed him to receive full retirement benefits without penalty.

To an electrician who suffered flash burns when he plugged in a meter to read the electric usage of a shopping mall tenant.

Settlement under the New York Labor Law for a fall from a ladder by worker who suffered severe back injury.

Settlement was obtained for a 34 year old schoolteacher who claimed work related injury to her neck, back, shoulders, knees and head suffered during two separate work related accidents.

Settlement in the case of a 62 year old electrician’s helper who died after falling from loose planking at a height of 22 feet in a boiler room at an apartment complex.

A North Carolina hospital has paid $11.5 million to the two surviving minor children of a man who murdered his wife, stepdaughter and baby daughter then forced his two surviving kids to live in an apartment with the corpses before he finally killed himself.

To a middle aged widow suffering spastic quadriplegia, partial blindness and brain injury as a result of the failure to diagnose a pulmonary embolism following a knee replacement procedure.

To an automobile accident victim whose brain injury was undiagnosed by the emergency room physician. Subsequent emergency surgery failed to prevent significant brain damage which required prolonged rehabilitation and cognitive therapy, and requires the assistance of a walker.

To a diabetic male who suffered significant visual impairment following pancrease transplant surgery. Maggiano argued that the surgery carried substantial risks and was not necessary as the patient would have been served well with an insulin pump and avoided the risks and injury suffered.

To a young man who in his senior year of high school football, after undergoing a surgical rod repair of a displaced tibia/fibular fracture, was the victim of medical negligence by the late diagnosis of a known complication of the surgery known as compartment syndrome, resulting in the loss of all tendons and muscle of his calf as well as osteomyelitis.

To an 85 year old widower for the loss of his 65 year old wife due to severe injury of the popliteal artery and vein of the leg during left total knee replacement surgery causing massive loss of blood resulting in shock, liver and acute renal failure with resultant metabolic acidosis.

To a gastric bypass patient who suffered serious complications of a gastric leak which was not timely diagnosed.

To the three surviving adult children of a high school vice principal who suffered a late diagnosis of an Abdominal Aortic Dissection which caused the patient to code on administration of anesthesia during emergency surgery once the diagnosis was finally made, which left him with a severe anoxia causing substantial brain injury and eventual death.

To two children of a 35 year old woman who suffered cardiac arrest under anesthesia due to failure to diagnose congestive heart failure by her treating physicians and the anesthesiologist, all of whom cleared her for gall stone surgery despite signs pointing to an underlying heart condition.

To a 54 year old salesman for foot disability due to unnecessary tarsal tunnel surgery by the podiatrist.

New York medical malpractice settlement of $700,000 plus an additional reduction of $80,000 in a worker’s compensation lien (total $780,000). Recovery was obtained for a 29 year old man who suffered a back injury and subsequent fusion surgery while engaging in a box lifting exercise undertaken as part of a work conditioning program at a New York physical therapy facility.

To middle aged single woman who suffered dislodgement of dentures into throat during an oral medical procedure where medical and nursing failed to remove partial removable denture and not releasing denture was dislodged during the procedure.

To a man suffering severe aggravation of Tourette’s syndrome and nerve damage when a nurse negligently injected demerol into his radial nerve rather than his deltoid muscle following surgery.

To young man who while unconscious following pilonidal cyst surgery was caused to fall from operating table while unconscious, suffering tears of his labrum resulting in termination of his high school sports.

To the mother and father of an adult female daughter who died following a plane flight of a pulmonary embolism from taking of birth control pills prescribed even though her chart was red flagged against birth control pills. We contended that this needless death, this loss of a young life was a family loss and the result of system errors brought about by failures in the system of the defendant medical practice due to simple management carelessness. This was a serious preventable adverse event.

To a government worker on assignment in South Africa who was thrown from the vehicle he was riding as a passenger and alleged to have not been wearing his seatbelt which resulted in severe brain injury causing significant disability in the use of his legs and hands as well as visual impairment.  We were able to argue that use of a seatbelt in the facts of this case would have resulted in similarly severe if not worse injuries and perhaps death.

To a 23 year old alleged to have been running across a four lane highway in the middle of a block and against a green light when struck by an oncoming motorist. She suffered brain injury resulting in severe cognitive and motor impairment and a speech defect, leaving her totally disabled and dependent on caregivers.

To a commercial truck driver who was struck by another truck driver while pulled off on the side of the road, resulting in disabling brain injury.

For a young boy left with traumatic brain injuries, including left arm and left leg partial paralysis, after a drunk driver struck the minivan in which he was a passenger. This verdict was listed as one of New Jersey’s Top 20 Personal Injury Awards in 2020.

To a young woman who in 2000 suffered severe burn injuries when the car she was riding in ignited in flames following a rear end impact caused by a drunk driver.

To a driver who crashed into the side of a truck that had pulled into his path, resulting in multiple surgeries to his right knee including total knee replacement.

To a middle-aged tax preparer injured when a New Jersey Transit Bus struck his car in the rear after exiting the Lincoln Tunnel requiring two back surgeries following diagnose of aggravation of pre-existing stenosis and a herniated disc leaving him permanently disabled from his career and in need of Life Care Plan.

For a 23-year old waitress who was when riding as a back seat passenger of a drunken driver. She suffered injuries when her host driver crashed into the rear of a stopped tractor trailer parked on an approach ramp to a bridge due to a flat tire.

To a Union Electrician injured when he was hit on the Garden State Parkway north causing him to spin and hit the median barrier. The injuries sustained required two back surgeries following the aggravation of pre-existing stenosis leaving him unable to work.

To a 50-year old housewife injured when her car was hit in the rear while stopped a traffic light.

For 76 year old man that was struck by a vehicle that was traveling in reverse and ran over his leg.   He required multiple surgeries and ultimately was forced to have an above knee amputation.

Recovered from the State of New York for a seriously injured passenger in a car that left the roadway and plunged down a 200 foot embankment.

For an elderly couple suffering multiple injuries in an auto accident and aggravated by injuries suffered a few months later in a subsequent auto accident.

To the estate of 26 year old Chinese exchange student in country for 4 years struck while crossing street in front of college while in crosswalk. Argument was that decedent suffered pre impact terror and likely realized she was about to be struck and killed.

Driver was hit during an attempted lane change on the approach to the George Washington bridge. She required multiple surgeries. She was out of work for 9 months.

To a self-employed bagel store owner who suffered an aggravation of low back injury requiring surgery, urinary incontinence and post traumatic stress disorder.

Bicyclist hit and thrown by driver failing to yield right of way. He suffered injuries to his low back, right hip and, ultimately, a left toe injury requiring a fusion of the big toe joint. He also had not complained about his foot until nearly a year after the accident. Resulted in a verdict after trial of $700,000 plus pre-judgment interest of in excess of $42K.  Policy limit was $250k yet the insurance company paid us the entire amount.

To 84 year old man that was sideswiped by moving car as he entered street to open his car door.  He initially had no complaint of pain and refused emergency room 2 weeks later while visiting his family doctor an X-ray was done as a precaution and found a vertebral fracture and he had emergency surgery $250,000 was maximum available coverage.

To a forty five year old motorcyclist who was struck by a rented box truck making a left turn against traffic. Client sustained multiple leg fractures and ruptured Aorta and had multiple leg surgeries.

To a nursing home resident who developed a Stage IV ulcer requiring surgery where the nursing home alleged the resident was non-compliant with recommendations to reduce pressure from excessive wheelchair use.

To a young single woman who was abducted and raped in a dimly lit, insecure hotel parking lot in 1994 and suffered severe and disabling post traumatic stress disorder.

September 11, 2010, our client was in a deli waiting at the counter. A refrigerator was being moved on a portable dolly and the refrigerator fell off and pinned him between the counter and the refrigerator. He suffered disc injury to his cervical and lumbar spine as well as a fractured rib. It caused him to become disabled from his work as a replacement window salesman which required considerable traveling and personal contact.

To a married couple, tenants of high rise condominium against a parking garage maintenance company for 1994 sexual assault upon the wife by a trespassing assailant while the plaintiff was walking to her car to go to work.

Settlement in the case of a 46-year-old man who hurt his right elbow while lifting barbells on the gym club’s incline bench when the bench suddenly and unexpectedly went from a 45 degree angle to zero degrees. The individual went on to have an ulnar transposition surgery to his right arm seven months after the incident and lost several months of work following the surgery.

Against a wood chipper manufacturer for a defective safety mechanism resulting in loss of a foot to landscape employee in 1994 who used his foot to kick in branches into the mouth of the chipping blades.

In 2003 to a truck driver suffering injuries when he lost his footing climbing from a truck ladder which was defectively designed resulting in multiple injuries precluding him from working as a trucker and suffering life time wage impairment.

For a 47-year-old woman who slipped on a quarter-size droplet of chicken grease in the aisle of a supermarket. Our client suffered injury to her knee and ankle. Ultimately, over the course of 4 years, she required surgery to her ankle, lower back, and neck. The grocery store contested both liability for and causation of our client’s injuries. Our attorneys argued that the store should have known it was a potential risk of the display to have chicken grease spill out while customers handled the plastic chicken containers. Through mediation, we achieved a favorable result on behalf of our client.

Permanent total disability award for 64 year old truck driver with a 20 year history of leg and back injury who slipped getting out of truck and twisted his knee and low back Got client lifetime award payments and medical benefits.

To a 66 year old individual “visiting” the college to attend a course on job interviewing skills and resume building, who was injured when he was caused to trip and fall on an exterior walkway outside the school building where he was attending the “meet and greet” session.

A commercial truck driver disabled after a crash which resulted in a traumatic brain injury.

Recovery to a husband, wife and four children as a result of a tractor trailer making an improper turn into the right of way of the family SUV in which the husband was operating with wife in the front passenger seat and four children secured in the rear seat compartment area.

A man who suffered serious knee injuries when a truck pulled out in front of him

To a 41 year old police officer injured off duty in his own parked car when a tractor trailer hit the officer’s open driver’s side door, forcing the car up onto the sidewalk.

To a female truck driver who suffered fibromyalgia following a multi-vehicle accident.

To a 42-year old truck operator and auto mechanic who suffered ulnar neuropathy, bulging lumbar disc, torn meniscus right knee and post traumatic stress disorder when he was struck by a tow truck backing up during a job thereby ending his two occupational careers.

A mother and her 3 sons traveling to NY with a car rental from Hertz, the car began to act up and loose power. The mother called Hertz for help and was told they didn’t provide road side assistance but that she should head to their nearest location for further help, that was about 25 miles from her location. She couldn’t go more than 25-30 miles per hour, the car was not allowing it, when out of no where she is truck from behind by a tractor-trailer, sending the vehicle over a guardrail, down an embankment, and flipping it over into a ravine. The mother and her son’s all suffered severe injuries.

For the wrongful death of car accident victim who died while being prepared for emergency surgery.