Verdicts + Settlements

In Pakuris, The Duffy Firm obtained a $1,550,000 verdict for a veteran Philadelphia attorney who suffered a torn rotator cuff following a motor vehicle accident. The attorney sought the assistance of the firm for the handling of his claim against the defense driver, who contended that the insignificant impact could not have caused the total disruption of Mr. Pakuris’ rotator cuff. The Duffy Firm was successful in having the defendant’s biomechanical engineer precluded from testifying based upon research against the defense expert obtained from other states.

The Duffy Firm secured a confidential settlement of $1,510,000 for a union ironworker who suffered a knee injury after stepping into a small hole on a construction site. Evidence showed that the defendants failed to establish safety protocols to ensure that all contractors on site were OSHA compliant.

In Kee, The Duffy Firm obtained a $1,500,000 settlement for a union plumber who fell through a rotted floor during a commercial construction project. While Mr. Kee fell only 2 feet, he suffered bilateral shoulder injuries resulting in his inability to continue work as a union plumber.

In Koppel-Klein, The Duffy Firm obtained a $1,500,000 settlement for a woman who was struck by an ambulance that ran a red light. The ambulance did not have its lights or sirens activated when it sped through the steady red light. While the plaintiff, self-employed, did not have a wage loss claim, and despite significant surveillance evidence against the plaintiff, The Duffy Firm was able to obtain a favorable settlement through discovery and trial techniques, including calling the defense expert in its case-in-chief, and establishing evidence that called into question the integrity of the surveillance footage.

The Duffy Firm won a $1,500,000 settlement for a boy with Erb's Palsy caused by an attending doctor's negligent delivery after a shoulder dystocia was encountered. The doctor failed to perform the necessary maneuvers to avoid an injury.

In Zook, The Duffy Firm secured a $1,311,900 settlement for a man who was rear-ended while stopped at a red light, but whose car sustained little property damage. He claimed multiple injuries, including a herniated disc. Defense experts suggested that the driver who rear-ended the client was going too slow to cause such injuries and that the client’s golf game did more to hurt his back than the accident did. He suffers from ongoing pain and limitations.

When a young man in his 30’s with a history of alcohol abuse was found unconscious at the apartment of a friend, he was brought to an area emergency room for treatment. While still in the ER, he had a series of seizures, and his condition deteriorated to the point where he was brought to the ICU and placed on a ventilator. Though he became well enough to be discharged to a rehabilitation facility, the damage had been done. His brain was injured to the point of having to re-learn basically every functional task and he now requires 24/7 supervision. Though the defendants claimed that the brain damage was from alcohol poisoning, The Duffy Firm brought in experts who testified that the brain damage was from hypoglycemia, which could have been easily treated and prevented brain injury. The case settled for
$1,250,000.

In a confidential settlement, The Duffy Firm recovered $1,250,000 for a volunteer firefighter who sustained injuries while responding to an emergency situation. The defense contended her damages were limited and she had fully recovered.

In, Milner, The Duffy Firm represented a man who, while on a riding lawnmower as part of his job, was struck by a vehicle that came off the roadway into the shoulder. The defense claimed that our client was the one who rode into the lane of traffic, and that his traumatic injuries were a progression of pre-existing conditions. Just two days before trial, the defense settled for $1,250,000, the insurer’s full policy limit and umbrella coverage for the incident.

In Rivera, The Duffy Firm secured a settlement, of which $1,175,000 million was not confidential, for a client who suffered a workplace injury due to a product malfunction. The plaintiff, a supervisor at a business that assembled chassis for a trucking company, was assisting a coworker adjusting an arm on a driveshaft manipulator when the arm collapsed, inflicting crushing injuries on his dominant hand. The injuries necessitated four surgeries and forever altered his ability to work and live. Despite the presence of warning language in an operational manual, the firm argued that the manipulator was defective based on its design, manufacture and lack of posted warnings regarding use.

A policy limits settlement of $1,160,000 was obtained for a contractor who was visiting a construction project and fell from steps that collapsed beneath his weight. While the plaintiff was self-employed and his income increased after the accident, The Duffy Firm was able to obtain full policy limits from the contractor, as well as a recovery from the out-of-possession homeowners.

In Staton, The Duffy Firm settled client Stacy Staton’s suit for $1,100,000 against a company who improperly loaded items onto a tractor trailer he was driving, which caused the truck to tip over during a turn and which resulted in his suffering multiple injuries, surgery and ongoing physical limitations and pain.

In Gregory, a 28-year-old father went to the hospital after waking up disoriented in the middle of the night. During three successive hospital stays, he continued to have impairment. The Duffy Firm established that physicians missed symptoms indicating a nervous system infection and obtained a jury award of $1.1 million.

In Eshleman, a power plant security guard was shocked by stray static electricity after operating a keypad to open a sliding gate. The defense claimed the shock was negligible and that the cause of the woman’s pain was a prior injury, but The Duffy Firm worked to obtain a settlement for her in the amount of $1,065,000.

In Britt, The Duffy Firm obtained a policy limits settlement of $1,000,000 in Lehigh County for an Upper Darby police officer who suffered a back injury following an accident with a lumber truck. While the defense disputed liability, causation and damages and conducted countless hours of surveillance of Mr. Britt, an inflexible policy limit demand was made, and a tender ultimately came shortly before trial.