Our firm's notable verdicts* and settlements* include:

• $1.25 million Settlement - Motor Vehicle Accident
  Lisa Puglia Collects $1.25 Million After Box Truck Sideswipe.  Eye and ear disorders lead to problems with balance, focus.  

• $825,000 - Verdict - Motor Vehicle Accident
  

  Congratulations to our partner, Donn Swift, for his recent jury verdict.

  Donn Swift recently concluded a trial in the Stamford Superior Court before Judge Frank D’Andrea and a jury of six. The case involved a motor vehicle accident whereby our client, Mrs. Nance Hutter, was hit from behind by a large beer truck owned by DiChello Distributors. As a result of the collision, Mrs. Hutter sustained a number of serious injuries including injuries to her head and neck. Mrs. Hutter also sustained a mild traumatic brain injury.

  Donn tried the case for over three weeks and presented a substantial number of witnesses to establish the significance of the impact and the extent of the injuries. The experts included an accident reconstruction expert from Maryland, a bio-mechanical expert from Virginia, a neurologist, a psychiatrist and a neuro-psychologist.

  In addition to the various expert witnesses, Donn also presented testimony from friends of Mrs. Hutter who knew her before the time of the accident and were able to explain to the jury the significant change in Mrs. Hutter that occurred as a result of the incident.

  After three weeks of evidence, the jury deliberated for two and one-half days and then rendered a verdict in favor of Mrs. Hutter in the amount of $825,000 including over $500,000 for compensation for her pain and suffering.

  The defendant made a final offer just before the case was given to the jury in the amount of $450,000.

• Verdict
  Attorneys Nicole Fournier-Gelston and Nancy Fitzpatrick Myers secured a plaintiff's verdict on behalf of their client, Edible Arrangements International, Inc., in a hotly contested case following a jury trial in the United States District Court in Bridgeport.

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  Edible Arrangements brought suit against a former employee and a competitor, Incredible Franchise Corporation (IFC), after the former employee absconded with confidential business information of Edible Arrangements which he turned over to IFC. IFC denied that it knowingly received or used information that was confidential to EAI. The jury found that Edible Arrangements proved that IFC engaged in an unfair and deceptive trade practice and that IFC was unjustly enriched. The jury awarded both compensatory and punitive damages to Edible Arrangements.
• $250,000 - Settlement - Falldown - Premises Liability
  48 year old man sustained an injury to his right hip when he tripped and fell as a result of an elevator that was misleveling in the apartment building where he resided. Plaintiff alleges that the elevator continuously mis-leveled creating a 3” lip which caused him to lose his balance after the toe of his shoe hit it.
• $150,000 - Settlement - Motor Vehicle Accident
  46 year old woman was traveling on Route 118 in Harwinton, Connecticut at which time she struck a motor vehicle that was coming to a stop directly in front of her vehicle. As a result of striking the vehicle directly in front of her vehicle, her vehicle was subsequently struck by the motor vehicle directly behind hers causing a second collision. The plaintiff alleged that the injury to her shoulder was a result of the collision when her vehicle was struck from behind and not as a result of the collision that she caused when she struck the vehicle directly in front of hers. The defendants tried to argue that there was no way for the plaintiff nor her doctors to prove which collision caused the injury to her shoulder. The plaintiff was able to successfully convince a judge that the impact when her vehicle was struck from behind was the cause of her injury and not the first impact with the vehicle directly in front of her which she was responsible for causing. Furthermore, the defendants were arguing that the plaintiff was a mail carrier who worked for the U.S. Post Office for the last 22 years and her should problems were directly caused by her repetitive use of her shoulder during the scope of her employment and not the motor vehicle accidents in question.
• $200,000 - Settlement - Motor Vehicle Accident
  45 year old woman claimed personal injuries to her right shoulder when she was struck by a motor vehicle from behind on Route 80 in Waterford, Connecticut. As a result of the collision, the plaintiff underwent arthoscopic surgery to her shoulder. The plaintiff testified that the shoulder surgery considerably reduced her pain to the point where she was close to 100% healed. The plaintiff was able to show that the defendant was traveling too fast for roadway conditions and that he failed to keep a reasonable and proper look out. The plaintiff owned her own paving company. The defendants tried to argue that her shoulder injury was a result of arthritic conditions that pre-existed the accident in question.
• $3.9 million jury verdict - airplane crash
  an action for aviation negligence and wrongful death against the pilot of a small aircraft who failed to follow proper piloting procedures. The airplane crashed, killing a young female passenger.
• $3.5 million settlement - motor vehicle accident
  an action for negligence against the driver of an automobile for crossing a double yellow line on a highway - colliding with and killing the driver of an oncoming vehicle.
• $3.25 million settlement - railroad electrical accident
  an action for negligence against a large commuter railroad company for the failure of its employees to properly supervise and protect a subcontractor's employee who was working on railroad property from energized overhead power lines. The victim was electrocuted twice and sustained serious burns over much of his body.
• $3 million settlement - negligent hiring
  an action for negligence against an employment agency for failing to properly screen and background check a new employee who had dangerous propensities and subsequently attacked a co-worker, resulting in multiple stab wounds and other serious personal injuries.
• $1.3 million jury verdict - medical malpractice
  an action for professional negligence (medical malpractice) against a hospital radiologist who failed to properly diagnose a young boy's clogged Ventricular Peritoneal Shunt, resulting in his death.
• $1.3 million settlement - medical malpractice
  an action for professional negligence (medical malpractice) against physicians who failed to properly manage a mother's pregnancy and delivery, resulting in the birth of a child with cerebral palsy.
• $1 million jury verdict - medical malpractice
  an action for professional negligence (medical malpractice) against physicians who failed to properly read a biopsy slide, resulting in unnecessary surgery and other personal injuries.

Our experience in handling complex cases includes:

• Tanker explosion. We successfully litigated a negligence action against a chemical waste and disposal company after its employees failed to properly drain and clean a tanker truck, resulting in a violent combustion explosion that killed the young man who was assigned to perform routine maintenance on the tanker.
• Misread pathology slide. We successfully litigated a medical malpractice action against a pathologist who failed to properly read a pathology slide and timely diagnose a patient's stomach cancer.
• Defective bicycle. We successfully litigated a product liability action against a prominent bicycle manufacturer after a defective stem weld broke during an international triathlon event, seriously injuring the rider.
• Birth injury. We successfully litigated a medical malpractice action against obstetricians after they failed to properly deliver a baby boy during vaginal delivery, resulting in permanent nerve damage and other associated physical deficits and impairments.
• Defective machinery. We successfully litigated a product liability action against the manufacturer of a commercial wood chipper after its defective design and lack of proper safety guards dismembered, and ultimately killed, a user.
• Failure to diagnose. We successfully litigated a medical malpractice action against a physician who failed to properly interpret an EKG study, which prevented diagnosis of his patient's cardiac problems. Shortly thereafter, the patient died from a fatal arrhythmia stemming from his undiagnosed cardiac problem.
• Defective premises. We successfully litigated a negligence action against the owner and operator of a vocational school for persons with acquired brain injuries after a defective hot water distribution system scalded and killed a young resident student.
• High-risk pregnancy. We successfully litigated a malpractice action against obstetricians and hospital personnel after they failed to recognize and address sever intra-uterine growth retardation in twin fetuses, resulting in the death of one of the twins.
• Accounting malpractice. We successfully litigated a professional malpractice action against an accounting firm after it failed to properly complete certain accounting transactions and make certain filings for a prominent business client.

* Results depend upon the unique facts of each case.  We cannot guarantee results such as these in your case.