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Breaking News

“ This week Dervishi Law Group, PC & Morgan Levine Dolan partner Glenn Dolan completed a unified jury trial in the Bronx County Supreme Court, securing a $4,741,015 verdict against a single-family homeowner, a general contractor and an excavation company, on behalf of a 50-year-old construction worker who fell 11 feet into a pool excavation in the basement of a Manhattan brownstone. The evidence demonstrated the excavation partially collapsed, causing a plank that had been placed over a corner of the hole, and the worker who was standing on the plank, to fall. At the conclusion of the four-week trial, the jury determined the homeowner (who denied being present) directed and controlled the work, and the construction manager (who claimed to have quit the job two weeks before) was a “general contractor” on the date of this incident. The jury also determined the homeowner, general contractor and employer violated Sections 240, 241(6) and 200 of the New York State Labor Law, in instructing the worker to stand on the plank, and in failing to provide the requisite sheeting, shoring, bracing, safety lines and safety nets at the job site. The jury found the homeowner 10% at fault; the general contractor 50% at fault; the employer 40% at fault, and attributed no fault against the worker. Amongst other claims, defendants argued the worker delayed reporting his injuries; the CT scans, MRIs and other diagnostic studies showed negative findings; the worker’s neck, back and shoulder injuries were degenerative, and the worker exaggerated his symptoms and made a full recovery. The jury did not find defendants’ claims to be credible. Instead, the jury awarded the now permanently disabled, non-union worker a total of $4,741,015 in damages, finding he sustained numerous causally-related injuries, including a traumatic brain injury, a herniated cervical disc that necessitated fusion surgery, a herniated lumbar disc that was treated with epidural steroid injections, and a torn labrum of the right shoulder that necessitated arthroscopic surgery. While the compensation designated by the jury will not eliminate the worker’s pain and suffering, it will allow the worker the financial security necessary to continue to provide for his three children and to get the medical attention he needs. The firms of Morgan Levine Dolan & Dervishi Law Group, PC are proud to have played a role in helping to make this happen. ”

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“Mitch Kahn, Noah Katz, and Fatos Dervishi settled this matter for $5.3M. This case involved a 28-year-old non-union construction worker who sustained a deep wound to his left hand/thumb while using a table saw which lacked a safety guard. While in the process of cutting wood with the saw, the wood kicked out and he lost grip resulting in the saw blade lacerating his hand/thumb. Over time, he developed Complex Regional Pain Syndrome and/or severe muscle atrophy compromising the use of his left hand and arm. In addition, he sustained an injury to his lower back resulting in single level fusion.

Defendants contentions were that plaintiff was not permitted to use the table saw and was instructed not to use it before the date of his accident. Mitch was able to show through witness statements, photographic evidence, and deposition testimony that plaintiff was permitted to use all types of hand-held power tools in the course of his work including saws. Any instruction not to use the saw pre-dated the accident by several months, such that on the jobsite where his accident occurred, plaintiff was directed to and did use saws in his work.

Defendants also countered plaintiff’s damages claims by contending that plaintiff’s claim of CRPS was unfounded and that plaintiff was malingering with respect to the extent and severity of his lack of hand and arm function. Mitch showed through medical proofs that plaintiff’s injuries were longstanding and a direct result of the accident and that he developed CRPS and/or severe muscle atrophy which impacted the use and functionality of his hand and arm given the nature and type of wound sustained.

Ultimately, the case settled at private mediation with the defendants’ insurers including available 1B coverage via plaintiff’s employer due to the severity of plaintiff’s injury and factual and legal proofs established by our law firm.”

“ We are proud to have represented a Local 3 Electrician in a motor vehicle accident that settled before trial this month. The Plaintiff suffered an exacerbation of a prior injury to his lower back that required surgery. As a result of the accident he was unable to return to his job as an electrician. The defendant’s insurance company claimed the injuries were not from the accident but instead from his years of heavy construction work. As a result, the initial settlement offer was $0. After two 4 hour mediations we were able to convince the mediator and the insurance company to offer $2.5M to settle the case before trial. We feel privileged to have represented another injured New York City construction worker and get his family the money they need to cope with his devastating injuries. “

“1.4 million dollar settlement for a non-union scaffold worker who injured his head, neck, back, shoulder and both knees when a scaffold partially collapsed, leaving him dangling from a lanyard ten stories above.

A tower frame alongside a building on the Dumbo waterfront broke and swung outward, causing the scaffold worker to fall nearly ten feet over the edge, where he was found dangling from a lanyard approximately ten stories above the ground.  Our investigation, including interviews with witnesses and our engineer’s subsequent inspection of the scaffold tower, revealed the couplers that secured the frames together failed, bending, breaking and causing the collapse.

The building owner and general contractor, who were responsible for furnishing safe and adequate scaffolding so as to give proper protection to the worker, were held responsible accordingly.   This settlement will provide this then 37-year-old father of four with compensation for the pain, suffering and medical expenses caused by this incident, easing the financial burden he and his family has faced for the past three years.

ADDITIONAL CASE SETTLEMENT!

“New Jersey Superior Court, Union County – Client was a 46 year old Albanian construction worker who was driving in New Jersey and was rear ended by a rack truck.  He sustained neck and lower back injuries to the extent he had a one level cervical spine fusion surgery, several epidural injections, and physical therapy. He could not return to employment because of his injuries.

The case was settled for $1,315,000.00. “

Results

$13.2M: A jury returned a verdict for an injured construction worker who fell four feet from a crane on the 2nd Avenue Subway project. The worker suffered torn ligaments in his shoulder that required surgery and post-concussion symptoms including short term memory loss and difficulty with his executive functioning.

$4,500,000.00 – A settlement for a Union Carpenter who permanently injured his back, lifting a steel beam into a service elevator.

$4,000,000.00: A settlement from an insurance company, after it was determined that a construction worker needed surgery and would not be able to return to construction work.

$3,295,000.00: A verdict against the New York City Transit Authority for a janitor who slipped and fell down an outdoor subway staircase during a rainstorm.

$3,250,000.00: A settlement for a scaffold worker who injured his neck and back after being struck by a falling scaffold pipe.

$2,250,000.00: A settlement on behalf of a non-union laborer who sustained permanent injuries to his neck, back and knees at a Jamaica Avenue construction site in Queens.

$2,000,000.00: A settlement for a construction worker who fell from an unsecured ladder while installing sheetrock, resulting in a mild traumatic brain injury and herniation’s to his neck requiring cervical fusion surgery.

$1,525,000.00: A settlement from the City of New York and another defendant for a laborer who sustained back injuries at a Bronx construction site.

$1,500,000.00: A settlement for a woman walking on the sidewalk, who injured her neck and back after being struck by a fork-lift.

$1,250,000.00: A settlement for a plumber who tripped over pieces of debris at a construction site, injuring different areas of his lower back.

$700,000.00: A settlement at mediation for a construction worker who fell through an open elevator shaft during construction of a Manhattan high-rise sustaining injuries to his shoulder and knee, requiring arthroscopic surgeries.

$600,000.00: A settlement for a worker who fell off a scaffold, injuring his knee and shoulder.

$387,500.00: A settlement for a construction worker who fell off a roof, injuring his leg and foot.

$240,000.00: A settlement for a construction worker who fell into an open hole at a construction site, injuring his shoulder and neck.

$200,000.00: A settlement for a construction worker who was cutting metal and sustained lacerations to his arm.

$165,000.00: A settlement for a construction worker who fell from a ladder, sustaining injuries to his neck.

$160,000.00: A settlement for a construction worker who sustained an injury when a cellar door closed on his foot.

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