On September 16, 2017, Carol Lewis was driving his car on Bell Avenue in the Bronx when a car unexpectedly crashed into his vehicle, causing him to collide with a parked car. Mr. Lewis, then 62 years old, sued the other driver (and owner) claiming he sustained significant shoulder and spinal injuries in the
Herniated Discs
Pain and Suffering Awards Affirmed for Knee, Hip and Spine Injuries in Motor Vehicle Accident Case
On March 13, 2017, Carlos Fuentes, then 35 years old, was injured when the car he was driving was struck by a vehicle driven by an officer with the Nassau County Police Department. The car Mr. Fuentes was in flipped over three times; the other car burst into flames.

After a trial on liability…
Construction Worker’s Claims Upheld at Trial and Substantial Damages Awarded but Retrial Ordered on Collateral Issues
On August 1, 2012, Besnik Malecaj was working for an excavation company renovating a townhouse at 45 West 70th Street in Manhattan to convert it from a multi-unit cooperative to a single family residence with an indoor swimming pool. Mr. Malecaj, then 40 years old, injured his neck, back, head and a shoulder when he…
Significant Award in Trip and Fall Case with Injuries to Knees and Spine but No Surgery
On June 1, 2012, Deborah Ormond was injured when she tripped over a raised and uneven piece of sidewalk next to a metal subway grate in front of 390 Lafayette Avenue in Brooklyn.
Ms. Ormond successfully sued the city transit authority claiming that defendant was negligent in the maintenance of the sidewalk. The jury awarded…
Minimal Award for Motorcyclist’s Pain and Suffering Increased
On August 26, 2016, Vincent Madia was injured in a collision between his motorcycle and a taxi at the intersection of Fish and Waring Avenues in the Bronx.
In the ensuing trial, the jury awarded pain and suffering damages in the sum of $5,000 (past only – three years). In her post-trial decision on plaintiff’s…
New Trial on Damages Ordered in Case of Bicyclist Struck by Bus
Huge Pain and Suffering Award Slashed in Car Crash Case
On February 23, 2017, Diego Nieva-Silvera was stopped in his car on the Long Island Expressway in Queens when it was struck in the rear by another vehicle.
Claiming substantial injuries, Mr. Nieva-Silvera, then 42 years old, sued the driver and owner of the other vehicle. After a judge granted plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment…
Significant Pain and Suffering Award in Non-Surgical Herniated Discs Case
On October 5, 2013, Christine O’Connell was sitting in her car stopped at a red light in Hamburg (a Buffalo suburb) when another driver drove through the light causing a crash. Christine, then a 24 year old student, declined medical treatment at the scene but called her doctor that night complaining of low back…
Defendant’s Challenges to Large Pain and Suffering Damages Award Upheld on Appeal in Motor Vehicle Accident Case
On January 6, 2015, Kenia Cabrera had just finished work at a Dunkin Donuts shop located at LaGuardia Airport and had returned to the employee parking lot to retrieve her car and go home. As she was exiting the lot, a Mack truck spreading salt to keep the lot free of ice struck her car…
Appellate Court Affirms Denial of Motion to Set Aside Plaintiff’s Verdict in Construction Worker’s Spinal Injury Case
On April 3, 2007, Cleofoster Baptiste was working as a carpenter at a construction site at 1330 First Avenue in Manhattan when a plank of wood fell from the floor above and struck the back of his neck.
In his ensuing lawsuit against the site’s owner and general contractor, the jury (a) determined that the…




