Recent Wins for Clients

Significant pre-trial settlement for truck driver who slipped on a patch of ice at a property in Lynn, Massachusetts while she was making a delivery. Suit was brought against the property owner and the snow and ice contractor who had been hired to perform work during the winter.

SUGARMAN attorneys were able to reached a settlement during trial of a medical malpractice case on behalf of a now young girl and her parents.  Weeks after her birth, the infant presented to a Boston-area hospital with respiratory distress. Despite showing signs of continued problems with breathing, the hospital staff discharged the infant home with her parents. Within 10 hours, the infant was found not breathing and suffered a severe brain injury due to lack of oxygen. SUGARMAN alleged through expert testimony that the infant’s brain injury would have been prevented or severely lessened had she been in the hospital when her respiratory condition became critical.

Post-discovery settlement for a runner who was struck by a work truck on the side of the road in Cape Cod. The runner suffered a severe ankle fracture requiring surgical repair and a lengthy rehabilitation.

Soon after initiation of a lawsuit bringing negligence claims under general maritime law as well as the Jones Act, SUGARMAN attorneys were able to settle the claim of a long-time marine vessel steward who suffered a severe patellar fracture requiring surgical repair followed by a total knee replacement. The steward had slipped on untreated ice on the deck of a vessel after arriving at work early in the morning.

Settlement of product liability lawsuit for the family of a young boy who was catastrophically injured when an aerial lift truck he was riding in tipped over due to a defect in its design. The young boy suffered severe brain damage that left him paralyzed and unable to speak or care for himself.

Settlement reached on behalf of a worker who fell 20 feet after being electrocuted, and needed partial amputation of his left arm and leg.

Settlement against hospital workers for a 12-year-old girl who suffered psychiatric injuries after she was coerced into unwanted sexual behavior with two female roommates in a locked child psychiatric unit at a Boston-area hospital.

Settlement from a school van driver’s employer after a 13-year-old special-needs student was sexually assaulted by her driver.

Settlement for client whose attorney failed to file the client’s medical malpractice lawsuit within the applicable statute of limitations, resulting in the court dismissing the client’s claim. In accordance with Massachusetts law, SUGARMAN attorneys not only proved the attorney’s negligence, but also proved the negligence of the client’s doctor in the underlying medical malpractice case.

Settlement arising out of a workplace accident in which the plaintiff suffered crush injuries to his foot after being run over by a forklift. The plaintiff’s original attorneys failed to file suit within the statute of limitations, resulting in the dismissal of the plaintiff’s lawsuit against the forklift operator.

Settlement reached against a transportation company which dropped a disabled 77-year-old plaintiff off at base of driveway instead of escorting him to his door. Patient fell while walking to door.

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.