False Imprisonment
The Charges
We represented a young man who played football at a local high school. During the Christmas holidays, he and a few friends went along with some chaperones to a department store. The young man looked at several earrings and put them back on the rack. After the family completed their shopping and paid for their merchandise, the young man was apprehended by two security guards and escorted to the security office. He was searched, but no stolen merchandise was found. He was then handcuffed and badgered for a confession for over an hour. He cried, but never confessed as he had not stolen anything.
The Result
We brought suit in federal court for false imprisonment and civil rights violations. The store settled for a confidential amount. That young man finished high school and is doing fine.
Fired After On-The-Job Injury
The Case
We represented a martial arts master who injured his arm and neck on the job moving equipment. He underwent surgery and returned to the job. After months back on the job, the company came up with a bogus excuse to fire him and did so. Word on the street was that the company wanted to fire the martial arts master because he was injured on the job and would be a future liability.
The Result
We filed suit for workers’ compensation and retaliatory discharge. We settled the workers’ compensation portion of the claim; however, the retaliation claim went to trial. The company argued that they fired the martial arts master because he was lazy and had poor performance. However, we proved, among other things, that he always received good reviews, raises and there was no evidence of any right ups in his employment file. The jury awarded $125,000.00.
The Nurse’s Long-Term Disability Fight
The Case
We represented a very nice lady who had been a nurse for a very long time. Unfortunately, she developed a very bad latex allergy. In fact, it was so bad that her doctor stated that if she were exposed to latex in the future, she could have a reaction which could kill her. This is a big problem for a nurse because latex is used in everything in the hospital environment, i.e. latex gloves. Her hospital terminated her due to her risk.
The Result
The nurse had a long-term disability policy with her job. She applied, but the insurer denied her claim arguing that there were many jobs she could still perform in the medical profession. We appealed the denial and associated a LTD specialist. We resolved the claim for a confidential six figure amount.
Sheltered Employment
The Case
We represented an older man who worked in a manufacturing plant for over 20 years. His job required him to perform repetitive job duties. As a result, he injured both wrists. He underwent numerous surgeries. We filed suit on the basis that the worker was permanently totally disabled. The company disagreed and argued that he could not be disabled because he was still working at the company.
The Result
We were able to establish that the worker was still, in fact, employed with the defendant, but simply sat in a room all day or walked around the plant talking with other workers. The employer had created a sheltered work environment which did not reflect what a worker would be required to do in the real world. We settled the case for a six figure sum and the worker retired, collected his pension and was approved for social security disability.
Railcars Have Big Knuckles
The Case
We represented a young man who worked for a major company who moved material around its facility mainly on railcars. As he was switching cars, he realized that he had made an error. He jumped on the car to apply its brakes before it crashed into another car. However, the car did not stop in time as it was fully loaded and very heavy. His foot was caught between the knuckles of the two cars.
The Result
The employer tried to label the claim as a workers’ compensation claim; however we filed the case as FELA (railroad negligence case) under the theory that the brake was defective because it did not stop the car. We settled the case for a confidential six figure amount.
High Heels and Water
The Case
Our client worked for a luxury hotel at the front desk. She was required to be a snappy dresser. As a part of her dress, she wore high heels. One night, she got off work very late. She rode the elevator to the bottom floor. As she exited the elevator, she slipped on a soapy floor. The night crew was cleaning the floor, but there were no wet floor signs down. The worker injured her back and was off work for a year. She could not return to work and eventually was approved for social security disability.
The Result
We filed suit against the hotel for workers’ compensation benefits and against the separate company that cleaned the floors. We settled the cases for a confidential six figure amount.
Grandma’s Double Shoulder Injury
The Case
We represented a very lively 82 year old, great, great grandma. She loved to work in her garden. She tore her rotator cuff working in the garden. She underwent surgery to fix it. One week later, as she was returning to the doctor for her shoulder check up following her surgery, the car in which she was a passenger was struck by a negligent driver who had minimum insurance. Grandma’s shoulder was re-torn as a result of the wreck before it ever healed from the garden injury.
The Result
We obtained policy limits from the negligent driver and policy limits of Grandma’s uninsured motorist coverage. Grandma still works in her garden and makes us sweet potato pies occasionally.
Wrongful Death Drug-Related Trucking Accident
The Case
We represented the family of a young man who was tragically killed as he was inspecting his 18 wheeler before beginning a trip to deliver some goods. As he was inspecting the back of his truck, another 18 wheeler waiting in line, lunged forward and crushed him in between the trucks. He was married with several children.
The Result
We obtained a workers’ compensation policy limits settlement for the family as against the company for whom the young man worked as he inspected his vehicle. Further, following an intense discovery process, we discovered that the driver of the lunging 18 wheeler had drugs in his system at the time of the accident. The trucking company then settled the case for a confidential multi-million dollar amount. We brought in an investment specialist to structure the funds so that the family would be protected financially over the long term.
Double Neck Injury
The Case
We represented a very nice lady who worked as a dental hygienist. Her job required her to bend over constantly looking into the mouths of patients. She developed neck pain as a result. We filed a claim for workers’ compensation. She obtained treatment and returned to work. We obtained a confidential settlement on her behalf.
The Result
About a year later, our hygienist was involved in an auto accident, re-injuring her neck. She underwent a fusion surgery as a result. The insurer argued that her neck injury was old and degenerative, but we resisted the argument by showing that her auto accident aggravated her underlying condition necessitating surgery. We settled the case for six figures.
Double Back Injury
The Case
We had the pleasure of representing an older man who worked in a plant for 30 years. He hurt his back working on a machine and underwent a fusion surgery. He was able to recover and returned to work, earning slightly less than he earned before. We filed a workers’ compensation claim and obtained a five figure settlement for him.
The Result
After he returned to work, he suffered another injury to his back within a few years of the first. He underwent another fusion surgery. However, he was not able to return to work this time. We negotiated an additional six figure settlement for this man. He paid off his house and retired. He also obtained social security disability. Now, he does a lot of fishing and watching his grandkids.