Recent Wins for Clients

Settlement for plaintiff against owner of loading dock for failure to properly remove ice from walking surfaces, causing fall and neck injury requiring cervical fusion surgery.

Settlement for a town building inspector who slipped on an icy unpaved driveway while performing an inspection of the defendant’s property, resulting in severe and permanent leg injuries that rendered him totally disabled from performing his job as a building inspector.

Pre-trial settlement on behalf of a woman who suffered a significant ankle fracture when she fell after missing a step while walking down a dark pathway at a beach cottage. The cottage, located in Bourne on Cape Cod, was part of a large condominium association which failed to install lighting on the common pathways that weaved among the cottages, despite recommendations to do so years prior. In addition to the condo association, the plaintiff brought claims against the cottage tenants, as they knew of the poor lighting conditions and knew people would be on the pathway that night, but failed to turn on the exterior lighting for the cottage. The plaintiff underwent four surgeries on her ankle and has residual pain and stiffness nearly four years later.

Settlement for a woman after she slipped and fell on ice which had accumulated on the walkway of her condominium in a 55+ community northeast of Boston. SUGARMAN’s attorneys established that the condo association failed to take proper precautions to salt and sand the areas where residents would walk. The case settled at mediation.

A nursing home resident at high risk for falls sustained a hip fracture when she fell as a result of the nursing home medical staff failing to follow the appropriate fall prevention measures when assisting the patient to the bathroom. Rather than reporting the incident, the medical staff placed the patient back in her bed with a fractured right hip. The patient subsequently suffered a heart attack due to the trauma and died.

Pre-discovery settlement in wrongful death medical malpractice case for family of a 91 year old man who died in a Boston-area hospital as a result of the medical staff giving him a high dose of a psychiatric medication intended for another patient. Soon after filing suit, SUGARMAN’s attorneys served a demand letter on the hospital’s insurer for its failure to make a settlement offer when liability was clear. The case settled soon after.

A patient at very high risk for pressure sores developed several pressure sores just days after being admitted to a nursing home. The nursing home’s medical staff failed to properly implement and follow the patient’s careplan for preventing pressure sores. The patient developed numerous complications as a result of the pressure sores, requiring a below knee amputation of his left leg, and eventually died. The case was settled before trial.

Nursing home staff allowed an elderly patient with a history of swallowing difficulties to eat a sandwich while unsupervised. The patient subsequently choked while eating the sandwich and was found unresponsive. SUGARMAN attorneys obtained a settlement on behalf of the nursing home resident’s family.

Wrongful death settlement against a nursing home for the family of an Alzheimer’s patient who was allowed to wander outside at night and died as a result.

Settlement against a nursing home for fracturing the resident’s femur during a catheter replacement in violation of the established Plan of Care. The resident required orthopedic surgery and suffered post-surgical decompensation and death.

In 2017, the plaintiff underwent surgery at a Boston-area hospital to correct a herniated disc in his back. SUGARMAN’s attorneys demonstrated that the neurosurgeon performed the procedure with improper technique, resulting in permanent paralysis which could not be reversed with additional surgeries. The surgeon’s operative note was written and signed weeks after the initial surgery and the neuromonitoring records conflicted with the surgeon’s version of events. The case settled on behalf of the plaintiff and his minor son after discovery was nearly complete.

Settlement for family of elderly patient whose C. Difficile illness went untreated for several days when the staff at her nursing home in Boston failed to review critical laboratory results and failed to transfer the patient to a hospital for immediate care. By the time the patient was transferred to a hospital, four days after her symptoms began, she was septic and she passed away shortly thereafter.

In a medical malpractice case, SUGARMAN attorneys obtained a pre-discovery settlement on behalf of a patient who was admitted to a Worcester-area hospital with classic symptoms of an impending stroke. The emergency room physician failed to review the results of the patient’s carotid artery ultrasound, which showed severe blockage, and discharged the patient. The patient unfortunately suffered a massive stroke two days later.

Just before the start of a scheduled trial and after significant discovery, SUGARMAN’s attorneys were able to obtain a settlement for the Estate of a twenty-one year-old man who died after the emergency room physician in a hospital outside of Boston failed to intubate the man for over an hour. The man had arrived at the emergency room barely able to breath due to an allergic reaction. Instead of performing a surgical airway, the physician attempted multiple incorrect methods of airway management, causing the patient’s death.

SUGARMAN Principal Marianne LeBlanc obtained a jury verdict in a medical malpractice claim against a Boston-area transplant surgeon for wrongful death as a result of negligent liver transplant surgery.

Settlement reached for worker’s multiple injuries from burns and a fall from roof height.

Two railroad workers were severely injured while working in a tunnel when they were struck by a moving MBTA train as a result of improper monitoring of their work.

Settlement in product liability suit where the plaintiff suffered a workplace hand injury caused by roll-stand. The manufacturer of the machine had failed to properly guard a nip point with a barrier guard, light curtain, electric eye, trip wire, or presence-sensing device to prevent workers from coming into contact with nip rolls.

Settlement against contractor for physical and psychological injuries to a 19-year-old man following a gas explosion at a residential home.

SUGARMAN’s attorneys were able to obtain a settlement just before trial on behalf of a worker who fell over 6 feet from scaffolding at a construction site and suffered a severe ankle fracture. The case was brought against the contractor who constructed and supplied the scaffolding, but failed to attach the safety railings and failed to provide the worker with required fall protection. In addition to the settlement of the personal injury claim, SUGARMAN’s attorneys were also able to negotiate a favorable resolution of the client’s workers’ compensation lien in order to maximize the client’s recovery.

Settlement prior to trial on behalf of a painter who fell from a ladder at a construction site in Massachusetts and suffered multiple fractures. SUGARMAN brought claims in Middlesex Superior Court against the general contractor on the project alleging that unsafe work practices and violation of construction standards caused the plaintiff’s fall and injuries.

Settlement received for multiple fractures to ironworker who fell while erecting the steel frame at construction site of a new Boston high-rise. General contractor failed to require 100% fall protection.

Settlement for a plaintiff who sustained a traumatic brain injury as a pedestrian. The pedestrian was holding onto the window frame of the defendant’s car when the defendant accelerated forward, causing the pedestrian to fall to the roadway, forcefully striking his head.

Settlement reached for 45-year-old motorcyclist who suffered a below-the-knee amputation in a collision with a left-turning vehicle. While the plaintiff was able to return to work as a carpenter, the settlement reflected the life-altering nature of his injuries, and included contributions from the primary and excess insurance policies of the other driver’s employer.

Police officer received personal injury settlement after a motor vehicle crash with a tractor-trailer, forcing his leg to be amputated above the knee.