Verdicts and Settlements

Kwaagoe - $700,000 Verdict

George Kwaagoe had been an auto mechanic in Newark, NJ for 20 years when he was involved in an accident where a car rolled forward striking his knee. The accident itself did not seem serious, however, George had a previous injury to that same knee. Mr Kwaagoe could no longer stand long enough to repair cars. X-rays showed a fracture of his patella (knee cap.) The defense argued that George had already fractured that same bone. Mr. Greenberg tried the case in front of a jury in Essex County. Mr. Greenberg used a simple demonstration to show the jury that a knee cap could be fractured then heal and then fracture again. The jury found that the defendant's argument was medically unfounded and awarded Mr. Kwaagoe $700,000.00 before interest.

Dacosta - $575,000 Settlement

In 1993, Angela DaCosta was injured in an auto accident where she was a passenger in her fiance's car. The other driver, in a rental car and apparently lost, attempted an illegal u-turn in front of her fiance's car. At first Angela did not seem to be seriously injured. However, as the months followed, Angela's neck pain got worse instead of better. Angela hired William Greenberg who put her in touch with the head of neurosurgery at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston. Dr. Hubschmann diagnosed Angela with a herniated disk in her neck and a hole in her spinal cord. Angela underwent a successful surgery and now lives a normal life with her husband.

Mr. Greenberg brought claims against the rental car company, the driver of the rental car and his excess insurance carrier. At a settlement conference with the trial Judge, Mr. Greenberg was able to persuade everyone of the uniqueness of the syrinx. Angela received a net offer of $575,000.00 which was structured with an annuity that resulted in a gross settlement in excess of $1,000,000.00. Under the agreement Angela still receives payments today.

Estate of Flora v. Arco Trading Co. - $525,000.00 Settlement

Teresa Flora, an elderly woman, was crossing a busy intersection in Bayonne, New Jersey when she was hit by a truck. The truck driver stated that he was stopped at a red light, and as the light turned green, he stepped on the gas. He alleged that Ms. Flora must have stepped into the intersection at that moment. The truck driver alleged that since she had the red light at the time of the accident, and it was her negligence which caused her injuries.

Ms. Flora was taken to the hospital via ambulance. She was in a coma for several days due to a blow she sustained to the head. She subsequently passed away in the hospital two weeks later. Although she was unable to testify, Mr. Minasian was able to establish through independent eyewitness testimony that Ms. Flora must have had the green light when she began to cross the street, since she was found in the middle of the road immediately after the collision. Since Ms. Flora was in the middle of the intersection when the truck drivers light turned green, he was require to wait until the intersection was clear before proceeding.

Mr. Minasian was able to establish that the truck driver did not see Ms. Flora, a short woman, as he was seated in a large truck and was concentrating on the traffic light rather than pedestrian traffic.

Defendant argued that there was no conscious pain and suffering as she was immediately in a coma after the fall. Since consciousness is a requirement to receive pain and suffering in the State of New Jersey, the defendants insurance company initially felt the case had very little value. Mr. Minasian was also able to establish through a review of the treatment records that while in the hospital, Ms. Flora had moments of consciousness, giving rise to a claim for conscious pain and suffering. Mr. Minasian was able to settle this case for $525,000.00.

St. Surin - $450,000 Settlement

Megan St. Surin was a nurses assistant who took a ride share carpool van to work every day. One foggy morning in West Orange, the van was on its way towards the highway on-ramp. Visibility was terribly poor. As the van passed the nearby country club, a garbage truck pulled out of the driveway nearly crushing the van.

Megan suffered a closed head injury as well as injuries to her hand and face. After a painful recovery Megan was unable to return to work. Mr. Greenberg obtained settlements from both the garbage company and the carpool driver totaling $450,000.000.

Cherry v. Cherry - $450,000.00 Settlement t

Plaintiff, Doris Cherry, lived in the upstairs apartment of her fathers home and was seriously burned by a radiator that did not have radiator covers. Doris sued her father under her fathers homeowner insurance policy. The Defendant insurance carrier denied coverage on the basis that the daughter was not a tenant, and therefore was not entitled to coverage under the policy. Defendant delved into the fathers tax returns and other financial documents which failed to clearly establish that Ms. Cherry, and unemployed adult receiving Social Security Disability, paid any rent.

Ms. Cherry hired Lawrence Minasian to represent her in this matter. Through the deposition testimony of numerous fact witnesses, including the Defendants accountant, Mr. Minasian was able to establish that Doris was in fact a tenant of her father, and therefore the father insurance policy would provide her coverage for her significant injuries. After arbitration and prior to trial, Lawrence Minasian was able to obtain settlement in the amount of $450,000.00 for Doris Cherrys injuries.

Coleman v. Summit Plaza Associates - $320,000 Settlement

Carol Coleman walked into her office building one morning when she slipped immediately outside her office door. The cause of her fall was water on the ground, which was caused by a nearby leaking water fountain. Carol retained Lawrence Minasian to represent her in her Workers' Compensation claim against her employer and her lawsuit against the building owner and their cleaning company.

As a result of the fall, Carol required surgery to her shoulder and lower back. The Workers' Compensation carrier refused to honor the claim. They alleged that the accident was not work related as she had not yet reported to work and the fall happened outside of the workplace.

Mr. Minasian was successful in arguing that the area of her fall, which was immediately outside the office door, was part of the extended workplace, as it was an area she needed to traverse in order to report to work. Mr. Minasian obtained a Workers Compensation Award for Carol which including monetary compensation for her partial total permanent disability, plus payment of all surgical and medical bills, and payment of all lost wages.

In her lawsuit against the owner of the building and the cleaning company, the Defendants also denied liability. There was much debate over who was responsible for maintaining the area and whether there was notice of the leaking water fountain. The building owner was able to produce maintenance records and security logs which demonstrated no prior problem with the water fountain. The cleaning company denied that they were responsible for cleaning that particular building. However,

Mr. Minasian's investigation revealed several eyewitnesses who did recall prior leaks from that water\fountain, establishing the owner's notice of this problem. Deposition testimony also placed the cleaning company at the scene one hour prior to the fall. Mr. Minasian was able to argue that the owner was aware of the problem and therefore should have repair the water fountain, and that the cleaning company should have cleaned this wet floor within the hour prior to the fall. Through his relentless efforts, Mr. Minasian obtained a settlement in the amount of $320,000.00 for a case in which liability was initially denied by all Defendants.

Degen - $300,000 Settlement

On his way home from the bus stop Reinhard Degen, a 60 year old man, stopped at the local pub for a drink just a short walk from his home. After leaving the pub, he made his way towards the corner across the street from his house. As he neared the opposite curb a vehicle struck Mr. Degen on his right side vaulting him 20 -30 feet from the corner. Mr. Degen was fatally injured.

After consulting with other attorneys and family friends, his wife and adult son were recommended to Mr. Greenberg.

The driver's insurance company argued that Mr. Degen was intoxicated and contributed to his own death. Mr. Greenberg dismissed that argument and pointed out that the driver admitted never seeing Mr. Degen even though he passed through her headlights as he crossed almost all the way to the curb. Mr. Greenberg submitted an expert economist's report to document the loss of income and services and obtained $300,000.00 for his widow.

Jones - $300,000 Settlement

Derrick Jones was a ten year old boy riding in the back seat of his parent's car when another vehicle ran a red light striking Darryl's side of the car. Unfortunately, Darryl's face was pressed against the window, frozen in fear, as he watched the other car come straight towards him. The window shattered severely cutting Derrick's face.

Derrick's mother hired William Greenberg. After meeting with the family it was clear that Derrick needed to see a child psychologist to treat him for his emotional problems from his embarrassment over his scars. Mr. Greenberg then negotiated a $300,000.00 settlement which was structured to provide for Derrick's college education and more. The structured settlement would ultimately provide Derrick with over $1,000,000.00.

Swoope v. Guarini - $225,000.00 Settlement t

Alma Swoope was a home health aide who fell while working at the home of her patient. She sustained a fractured toe, which required her to wear a cast on her left leg. Wearing this cast forced to favor her right leg when walking. She later developed a right knee injury which required surgery eighteen months after the fall. After this surgery, she later developed problems with the right knee. Defendant argued that the toe fracture was the sole injury caused by the accident, and that the knee injuries were caused by unrelated issues, such as her age, weight, etc.

Ms. Swoope hired Lawrence Minasian to represent her in her workers compensation claim against her employer and her third party claim against the patient. Mr. Minasian successfully argued that the knee injuries developed as a result of overuse of the right leg, and later the overuse of the left leg. Mr. Minasian established that this overuse resulted from the casting of the left foot due to the toe fracture sustained in the fall, and therefore the knee injuries directly flowed from the defendants negligence. After arbitration and prior to trial, Mr. Minasian obtained a settlement from Defendant totaling $225,000.00.

George v. City of Newark - $211,000 Verdict

George is a police Sergeant with the Newark Police department. During 2001, a random drug test returned a positive result from the State Toxicology Lab. Sgt. George vehemently denied use of any illegal drugs but was nevertheless, dismissed from the force. George initially hired an attorney referred by his Union Representative, who recommended that he voluntarily retire. Instead George hired William S. Greenberg of Greenberg Minasian, LLC.

Mr. Greenberg hired a several toxicological experts and contested the accuracy of the results of the drug screening before the Administrative Law Judge at the OAL. Although the initial recommendation was not favorable, Mr. Greenberg cited his objections to the Merit Board which agreed and overruled the Judge's findings. George was reinstated with an award of back pay and attorneys fees totaling over $211,000.00.

The City of Newark, stunned by this defeat, appealed on two occasions. The first was denied in its entirety and the second resulted in a rehearing on certain issues not addressed by the ALJ. Despite the City's strong objections, George remains on the job to this day. During the next round of hearings Mr. Greenberg discovered that the City had withheld documents from George that tended to prove his innocence. The second trial has just been completed with a Board Certified Toxicologist and a Professor of Toxicology from Duke University both testifying on behalf of George. Mr Greenberg expects George to be fully vindicated by the upcoming decision.

Bassoff - $200,000 Settlement

Leonard Bassoff suffered from a debilitating disease which forced him to walk with Canadian Crutches. Mr Bassoff and his wife had lived at the same apartment building for 20 years. Leonard was able to drive but needed a handicap parking spot. The spot assigned by the landlord was at the end of the lot against the curb where all the garbage would accumulate when the winds would blow. Mr. Bassoff complained on many occasions but the superintendent didn't keep the area clean. One morning, on his way to the doctor, Leonard slipped on the garbage piled in from of his car door injuring his legs and arm. He was forced to use a wheel chair during his long recovery.

The landlord denied that he had a responsibility to keep the area clean because he hired a maintenance company. The maintenance company denied that garbage removal was part of the contract. During discovery Mr. Greenberg uncovered a document which clearly set forth the requirement to clean the garbage from the parking lot. Mr. Greenberg was able to settle the case after arbitration for $200,000.00.

Gomez - $200,000 Settlement

Rudolpho Gomez went to Dr. Madan for what was supposed to be a routine laproscopic gall bladder removal. Dr. Madan assured Rudolpho that the surgery would require only three small incisions which would ensure a quick and easy recovery. During the surgery it became obvious that Mr. Gomez had an altered anatomy. Dr. Madan continued with the laproscope and in doing so cut Rudolpho's bile duct. Immediately, deadly, poisonous bile began leaking into his abdomen. He had to be rushed into another emergency surgery to save his life.

Mr. Gomez was left with a horrendous scar across his entire abdomen. He continues to suffer from stomach and bowel pain. Mr Greenberg hired an expert surgeon who stated that under the circumstances the doctor should have converted to an open procedure to avoid the possibility of mistake such as this. Mr. Greenberg was able to secure a $200,000.00 settlement even after the doctor's malpractice insurance company went out of business.

Pace - $200,000 Settlement

Benedict Pace, the owner of a small New York aeronautics parts manufacturer, was sued over an unpaid invoice from a supplier in New Jersey. Mr. Pace hired a New Jersey law firm to represent him in the case because he had a strong defense to the lawsuit. Mr. Pace was assured by the law firm that the case was going fine. One day, without any warning, Mr Pace received a notice from his bank that almost a half million dollars of his assets had been frozen based on a judgment from New Jersey. He was stunned to learn that not only had his law firm failed to defend him and failed to answer any of the plaintiff's requests for information and documentation, but they let a judgment be entered against Mr. Pace's company. The plaintiff then converted the judgment to New York and had Mr. Pace's bank account frozen for double the amount of the unpaid bill.

Mr. Pace hired William Greenberg to sue the New Jersey law firm for malpractice. Mr. Pace's bank account was immediately released for half of the money. Mr Greenberg then pursued the malpractice action against the law firm and, after mediation, received a $200,000.00 settlement for Mr. Pace.