$250,000.00 Mediated Settlement

On April 19th our office settled an automobile accident for a 60 year old man during a Court Mediated Session.   The accident took place at an intersection controlled by a traffic light.   The defendant claimed his light was yellow and the plaintiff contended his light was green.  There was an independent witness who would havecorroborated the defendants version of the story.   The plaintiff fractured his left  pelvis, requiring internal fixation.   As a result of the accident the plaintiff missed six months of work and continues to experience pain in the are of the surgical repair.  Thomas Reilly handled this matter f

Is your Dentist a Dental Society Member

All Counties have what is called a Dental Society.  The purpose of the dental society for patients is to allow for dispute resolution.  Many case of dental malpractice  result in damages that are too small for attorney’s to pursue.  In those cases the patient can contact the dental society for the County where the dentists office is located and file a complaint.  The case will go to what is called Peer Review.  Peer Review is a board of dentist that examine and review the defendants records and the records of subsequent treaters to determine if the work provided by the dentist met the standard of care required of dentists.  If the board does find that the dentists work was below the standard of care they will require the dentist to return the fee he or she received fro the work that was performed.  The catch to this is that the dentist must be a member of the Dental Society.  So prior to treating with a dentist find out if they are a member of a dental society.  The following is a list of links to the local dental societies:

   http://www.nassaudental.org/       Nassau County

   http://www.suffolkdental.org/        Suffolk County

   http://www.qcds.org/index.aspx    Queens County

  http://www.nycdentalsociety.org/index.html    New York County

  http://www.sddsny.org/about           Brooklyn and Richmond County

  http://www.bronxcountydentalsociety.org/ Bronx County

 http://www.nysdental.org/index.cfm   New York State

Settlement After Jury Selection

In December 2010 our office settled a case in the amount of $170,00.00  for a Brooklyn woman who, as the result of a dentist treatment, was required to undergo  $90,000.00 in restorative treatment, including implants, crowns and bridgework.  This matter was referred to our office after the completion of discovery to act as trial attorneys, as the case could not be settled.  After jury selection and prior to opening statements the defendant requested that the case be negotiated for a settlement.  Prior to this request the defendant had never made an offer to settlethe matter and insisted on a trial.   With the assistance of the trial judge a settlement of $170,000.00 was agreed upon by the parties.

$310,000.00 Jury Verdict

Today a Manhattan Jury awarded an 18 year old woman $310,000.00 for damages caused by an orthodontist.  At the age of 10 the plaintiff presented to the defendant orthodontist for braces.   At that time it was evident that her right cuspid and bi-cuspid were transposed, left cuspid and bi-cuspid were transposed and that her mouth had overcrowding.  The doctor  told the family that he would bring the teeth down in the transposed position and straighten her teeth with braces.  He never discussed any alternative treatment.  There existed other forms of treatment, one of which was to extract the four bi-cuspids to alleviate the overcrowding problem and the issue with the transposed teeth.  The plaintiff will require restorative treatment to make her teeth appear normal. After a week long trial the Jury awarded the plaintiff $200,000.00 for future dental treatment, $15,000.00 for past pain and suffering and $95,000.00 for future pain and suffering.   Albert W. Chianese was the trial attorney for the plaintiff.

Slip and Fall Mediated Settlement

Recently, our office mediated a $450,000 settlement for a 40 year old man who fractured his left leg as the result of slipping in oil on a commercial property.  As a result of a leaking oil tank that was mounted on the ceiling of the property the plaintiff slipped and fell fracturing his left leg.   The plaintiff was confined to the hospital for a month.   Prior to trial the parties reached a mediated settlement in the amount of $450,000.00

Premises liability

If you are injured on another’s property in New York, there are certain things that you must prove in order to recover for your injuries.  First, you must prove that what caused your injury was a defective or dangerous condition. Second, that the property owner had or should have had knowledge of the condition.  This can be shown in a couple of ways: either by a prior incident involving the same problem, by a written complaint about the condition, if the condition is a violation of building code, or if the owner created the condition with a poor repair or construction.  You must also prove that the condition existed for a long enough time to allow the owner to make repairs or remedy the situation.   If you bring a lawsuit and can not prove these elements the Courts will dismiss your case upon a motion by the defense counsel.