Verdicts + Settlements
The Duffy Firm recovered a confidential settlement of $4,625,000 for a young lady who lost three fingers on her non-dominant hand when it was pulled into a machine which the plaintiff contended lacked proper guards and/or warnings. Complicating factors with this matter included the fact that the machine was 25 years old at the time of the incident without evidence of prior incident, and the plaintiff had an unfortunate arrest record both before and after the incident.
A confidential settlement of $4,500,000 was obtained from a teaching hospital and attending physician who failed to recognize that an expectant mother had had a recent outbreak of herpes. The doctor permitted the mother to deliver the child vaginally, exposing the child to the herpes virus, which caused severe cerebral palsy. The child was 15 when the mother first approached The Duffy Firm, after another attorney had reviewed the case and turned it down.
A confidential settlement in the amount of $4,500,000 was obtained for a school bus driver whose arm got stuck in a wheelchair lift when the lift malfunctioned and failed to stop upon reaching the floor of the school bus.
In Smith, The Duffy Firm won a $4,500,000 verdict against Misericordia Hospital, finding the hospital negligent in the testing and treatment of David Smith, ultimately resulting in his death. Mr. Smith was taken by his mother to Misericordia, and ultimately died of an aortic dissection after the hospital staff failed to properly
treat or diagnose his condition. The jury returned its verdict after a two-week-long trial. The verdict was reported as one of the largest verdicts in Pennsylvania that year.
In Zarzecki, The Duffy Firm represented the family of a cellular infrastructure technician who died after falling 10 stories from a Philadelphia rooftop. The defendants argued that Mr. Zarzecki, the job foreman, was responsible for failing to wear the provided fall protection. The Duffy Firm argued that the focus should be on the poor planning and design of the project on behalf of the building's owners, property managers and general contractor, not the workers trying to get the job done. . The firm successfully negotiated a $4,450,000 settlement from multiple defendants.
A confidential settlement of $4,215,000 was obtained for a man who lost control of a motorcycle purchased just an hour before the accident, resulting in significant injuries. The Duffy Firm was able to obtain a favorable settlement concerning the motorcycle and tire design with product liability theories even though the operator did not have a motorcycle license and had been in prison for 17 years preceding the incident.
The firm obtained a settlement in the amount of $4,000,000 in product liability matter involving a medical device, specifically a pain pump used to control post-surgical pain. The Duffy Firm was able to establish that the product was being marketed and used beyond FDA clearance and that it caused the loss of shoulder cartilage to our client, ending his career as a union glazier.
In a $4,000,000 confidential settlement,we prevailed on behalf of a client against an international hotel company following a slip and fall in Mexico. Our client slipped on water tracked onto a tile floor from a pool area and struck his head on the person in front of him, breaking his neck and resulting in quadriplegia injuries. We were able to establish that the parent hotel, despite its efforts to layer many subsidiaries for insulation, would “push down” policies to its sub-subsidiaries’ hotels, resulting, among other things, in the use of the wrong type of outdoor floor mats. The backing material used on those mats resulted in the mats themselves capturing water, which then caused individuals with dry shoes or feet to track that water onto a previously dry tile surface. Despite defense efforts to remove the case to federal court and then transfer it to Mexico, The Duffy Firm fought successfully to institute and keep the matter in Philadelphia.
A confidential settlement of $4,000,000 was secured for a nurse who suffered an elbow injury, resulting in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS/RSD) as a result of her vehicle being struck by a bus making an improper lane change.
A confidential settlement of $3,800,000 was attained for a boy who, 28 hours after birth, developed necrotizing endocolitis (NEC). Failure to properly diagnose the NEC resulted in a decrease in oxygen saturation that ultimately caused an anoxic injury and cerebral palsy to the boy.
In Sawyer, The Duffy Firm secured a $3,750,000 settlement for client Susan Sawyer, a former security guard at a port in Delaware County, who was the victim of devastating injuries when a tractor trailer ran over her leg and foot.
The Duffy Firm recovered $3,750,000 for the family of a woman who drowned after the small pleasure vessel she occupied went over a poorly marked waterfall. The family argued it was all the fault of the uninsured boat operator.
A $3,750,000 settlement in Mathis was obtained during the fourth day of trial for a 44-year-old man who was injured in a low speed, low impact crash. There was only $750 in property damage, and no traumatic injury was established on any x-ray, MRI or other study. However, during trial, The Duffy Firm, through expert research and testimony, established that the minor accident triggered a genetic response in Mr. Mathis known as Ankylosing Spondylitis, a condition of which even he was unaware. By the time of trial, Mr. Mathis walked with a cane as this genetic condition had caused a progressive fusing of his spine.
In a confidential settlement, The Duffy Firm recovered $3,700,000 for a construction worker who was injured in a motor vehicle accident on a job site. His vehicle flipped over, causing fractures to his pelvis and requiring surgeries. The defense contended that the plaintiff was responsible for his incident and was driving too fast for the conditions of the project.
The Duffy Firm secured a $3,500,000 settlement in a case where a 39-year-old man in good health was brought to the emergency room with complaints of a headache so severe that he could not stand or function at work. After about an hour in the ER, he felt better. Without ordering a CAT scan or neurological consultation, the ER discharged the man. Weeks later, he collapsed on the street and was rushed to the hospital, where imaging showed a brain lesion responsible for his headaches had ruptured, leaving him with irreversible and permanent brain damage. He never fully regained consciousness and died 3 years later.