New Jersey Injury Lawyer Blog

A school custodian injured when a ladder collapsed received $735,000 in settlement of his Mercer County product liability suit. George Tobey suffered arm fractures when he fell about 15 feet from a ladder while setting up for a play in the auditorium at Lawrence High School in Lawrenceville in December 1998. Tobey, who was awarded permanent disability, sued ladder manufacturer Up-Right Inc of Madera, California claiming that improper design and insufficient labeling rendered it unsafe.

Though Up-Right is in Chapter 11, Tobey obtained an order from the US bankruptcy court for the Northern District of California, allowing him to proceed with his case if he agreed to limit his recover to the defendant's $1 million policy with Lexington Insurance Co. of Boston. The Aug 24 settlement was placed in a structure and will pay out a total of $921,395 over 25 years. It was reached during mediation in June with former Superior Court Judge Doulgas Wolfson.
- Charles Toutant, New Jersey Law Journal

(In the extended entry you will find an example of interrogatory questions and answers for the plaintiff when a claim is filed. Please contact our office at 1-866-778-5500 if you have any questions)

Continue reading "$735,000 for Fall from Ladder" »

Posted by Richard Console | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Slips and Falls

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Two roofers who suffered head and wrist injuries in a 25 foot fall from the roof of a building are splitting a $950,000 settlement, paid on Aug 30, in a suit against a contractor. While at a job site in Jersey City on Sept 20, 2003, Michael Weglarski slipped on a slippery polyvinylchloride roof, colliding with Jerzy Janowski, and causing both to fall. Weglarski injured his wrists, left wrist and lumbar vertebrae, and underwent brain and wrist surgeries.

Both men were employed by subcontractor Palariz of Springfield and general contractor Badger Roofing of Middlesex Township. The suit charged that the fall could have been prevented had Badger instructed the men to connect their harnesses. The settlement pays $700,000 to Janowski, and $220,000 to Weglarski.
- Lisa Brennan, New Jersey Law Journal

(In the extended entry you will find an example of interrogatory questions and answers for the plaintiff when a claim is filed. Please contact our office at 1-866-778-5500 if you have any questions)

Continue reading "$920,000 for Work Injury, Fall from Roof" »

Posted by Richard Console | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Slips and Falls

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A Mercer County Judge on Sept 7 awarded $800,000 to a motorcyclist and his passenger wife on their underinsured motorist claims. Michael Pizzullo and his wife Dorothea were riding on Nottingham Way in Hamilton on May 16, 1998, when they were struck by an oncoming auto turning left and thrown from the motorcycle.

Michael required arthroscopic knee surgery and dorothea required an anterior cervical disc fusion and neither has been able to return to their jobs. The other driver, Anthony Mason, was indicted on two counts of assault by auto, but he died before trial of causes unrelated to the accident. The Pizzullos received $200,000 from Mason's policy.

The Pizzullos own insurance company, New Jersey Manufacturers, offered $500,000 in underinsured motorist coverage minus the $200,000 from Mason's policy. The Pizzullos said an agent wrongly told them they would receive the same coverage by keeping Dorothea's car under her husband's policy.
- Charles Toutant, New Jersey Law Journal

(In the extended entry you will find an example of interrogatory questions and answers for the plaintiff when a claim is filed. Please contact our office at 1-866-778-5500 if you have any questions)

Continue reading "$800,000 for Traffic Injuries" »

Posted by Richard Console | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Motorcycle Accidents

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A Morris County jury on Aug 4 found a nurse and aide at an alcohol rehabilitation clinic liable for $1.5 million in damages to the estate of a patient who died after leaving the facility. Dennis O'Loughlin checked into Sunrise House in Lafayette on May 15, 2002 for alcohol detoxification. Despite medical advice, he left on May 17 and his body was found four weeks later in a wooded area 300 yards from the clinic.

Teri Nofer, O'Loughlin's widow, presented evidence that nurse Caroline Schmidt and aide Terry Poyer violated clinic procedures to prevent patients from leaving against their interests. O'Loughlin might have collapsed and died of exposure, but no precise cause of death has been determined. The jury assessed 80 percent of the damages to the nurse and 20 percent to the aide.

The plaintiff sought damages for pain and suffering, and lost income by O'Loughlin and Nofer, who now has to care full time for two young children. The defense argued that O'Loughlin had the right to leave and that the defendants did not deviate from standards of care.
- Henry Gottlieb, New Jersey Law Journal

(In the extended entry you will find an example of interrogatory questions and answers for the plaintiff when a claim is filed. Please contact our office at 1-866-778-5500 if you have any questions)

Continue reading "$1.5 for Nursing Negligence" »

Posted by Richard Console | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Nursing Abuse

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A factory worker who lost an eye and suffered other injuries in an accident settled his Passaic County product liability suit last Monday for $4 million. Hector Valentin was operating a lathe at EC Electroplating in Garfield on Nov 17 2000 when his shirt got caught in the mechanism and he was dragged into contact with its moving parts. He claimed that the machine should have had a safety guard over its spinning face plate.

Valentin lost his left eye and suffered broken facial bones and cognitive impairment and was left with permanent scars on his face and torso. He has not worked since the accident and his broken facial bones preclude implantation of a prosthetic eye.

The settlement will be paid by S&S Machinery of Brooklyn, which imported the lathe from Italy.
- Charles Toutant, New Jersey Law Journal

(In the extended entry you will find an example of interrogatory questions and answers for the plaintiff when a claim is filed. Please contact our office at 1-866-778-5500 if you have any questions)

Continue reading "$4M for Workplace Accident, Eye Loss" »

Posted by Richard Console | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Work Injury

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An Andover woman who claimed that a delayed Caesarean birth caused her daughter's physical impairments agreed to a $1.5 million settlement on Aug 15. Jane O'Gorman gave birth to Patricia shortly after midnight on Oct 13, 2000 about seven hours after being admitted to St Clare's Hospital in Denville. Fetal monitoring began at about 3 pm.

Her obstetrician/gynecologist, Joseph Maugeri, began administering Pitocin after several hours because her cervix was not dilating as expected. Maugeri continued with the medication for several hours until fetal monitors showed signs of distress. Maugeri took O'Gorman to an operating room at about 12:15am but an anesthesiologist was not available so Maugeri applied a local anesthetic and completed the C-section.

A day after birth, Patricia began having seizures and was diagnosed as having undergone perinatal asphyxia. She suffers from partial paralysis on her right side and loss of fine motor skills and may need a brace on her right leg. O'Gorman sued Maugeri, the hospital and the nurse, Mary Healy, who should have pressed earlier for a C-section.
- Michael Booth, New Jersey Law Journal

(In the extended entry you will find an example of interrogatory questions and answers for the plaintiff when a claim is filed. Please contact our office at 1-866-778-5500 if you have any questions)

Continue reading "$1.5M for Birth-Related Impairment" »

Posted by Richard Console | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Medical Malpractice

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A Fort Lee man on Sept 2 agreed to a $1.52 million settlement of his claim that injuries suffered in an elevator accident led to amputation of his lower leg. Stephen Roth was a principal in Fabric Warehouse 1 Inc, which rented space in Linden from Trademark Plastics Inc. A lift-type device was used to move fabrics between floors, and though a sign said "No Riders," Roth and building owner Melvyn Schaffer routinely rode the lift, and on Sept 30, 2002 the cable snapped and the lift fell while Roth was standing on it.

Roth suffered compound fractures in his ankles and lower legs, requiring surgeries, and though he began to walk on crutches, a wound became infected, requiring a below-the-knee amputation of his right leg in June 2003. Roth, now 65 and retired, sued Trademark Plastics and Schaffer in Bergen County, contending they should have provided a back-up cable, braking device or other safety features or prevented people from riding the lift. Roth also sued Fabric Warehouse, which had maintained the lift.

The parties settled during voluntary private mediation before retired Judge Mark Epstein. Trademark Plastics' carrier Kemper Insurance will pay $1.075 million, Fabric Warehouse's carrier St. Paul Travelers' Insurance $450,000.
- Mary P Gallagher, New Jersey Law Journal

(In the extended entry you will find an example of interrogatory questions and answers for the plaintiff when a claim is filed. Please contact our office at 1-866-778-5500 if you have any questions)

Continue reading "$1.52M for Elevator Accident" »

Posted by Richard Console | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Product Injuries

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