Recent Wins for Clients

Significant recovery for the widow and family of a man who died in a single car accident as a passenger in his friend’s vehicle. The driver of the car was intoxicated at the time of the accident, and had been drinking at a bar near the accident site. SUGARMAN attorneys brought claims on behalf of the widow and family against the driver and the establishment, under Massachusetts’ liquor liability law, alleging that the driver was negligent and that the bar had over-served him.

Settlement for the daughter of a construction worker who was struck by an excavator’s boom on a large development project in Everett. The excavator operator knew that the worker was in the area, but failed to look and make sure that the worker was a safe distance away before the operator moved the boom and violently struck him. The worker suffered catastrophic injuries that eventually caused his death 3 months later. In addition to a host of safety violations and unsafe practices, SUGARMAN attorneys were able to establish that the excavator operator had been previously fired for unsafe operation by the same company that later hired him to work on the development project. The case resolved shortly before trial.

Wrongful death settlement for the death of baby shortly following birth. The OB/GYN doctor negligently used Pitocin during labor and left the mother in the care of a midwife.

Settlement against a Springfield company and a chemical manufacturer following a resin-powder explosion that caused the death of three foundry workers and seriously burned and maimed nine others. In reviewing tens-of-thousands of documents and conducting scores of depositions, SUGARMAN lawyers uncovered the defendant company’s corporate orders to reduce and eliminate safety programs at the foundry in order to increase production and profits.

Settlement for a 26-year-old man who underwent surgery to treat a shoulder dislocation and suffered a brachial plexus injury as a result of the surgery that caused arm paralysis.

Settlement in a negligence and product liability case against a transportation company and bus manufacturer following the deaths of four middle school students on a school trip in Canada. Through the use of accident reconstructions, SUGARMAN attorneys established that bus driver error was the cause of the deadly crash, and not a roadway design defect as the defendants maintained. SUGARMAN lawyers also prosecuted product liability claims against the foreign bus manufacturer, relying upon biomechanical engineering evidence to show that an improper window design resulted in passengers being ejected from the bus during the crash sequence.

Recovery for the family of a 47 year-old man who died from pulmonary emboli following hip replacement surgery at a northeastern Massachusetts hospital. The patient’s family brought suit against multiple defendants responsible for the patient’s care during his recovery from surgery, including a nurse who failed to properly administer one of his medications. The case settled following extensive discovery, including multiple depositions of medical personnel who did not examine the patient, but were noted in audit logs to have accessed the patient’s electronic medical records shortly before his death and thus were aware of his condition.

Settlement in medical malpractice case on behalf of client injured when a Cambridge, MA doctor negligently removed an arm-implanted birth control device without confirming its anatomic location prior to removal. The client suffered significant deficits in the use of her arm and hand in the months that followed.

Pre-trial settlement of medical malpractice case for widow against radiologist and his medical practice. The client’s fifty-seven year-old husband had undergone an abdominal CT scan relative to gastrointestinal issues. The CT scan incidentally revealed a suspicious mass in the patient’s lung which was missed by the radiologist and never reported to the patient until it was found on a subsequent scan, resulting in a delay in diagnosis of lung cancer for nearly a year and a half. He underwent a resection, but the cancer returned months later. The patient was subsequently diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer and died the following year.

Settlement for client and wife against urologist for failure to properly monitor for urinary retention due to enlarged prostate over the course of several years, resulting in kidney failure.

Settlement against power plant and safety contractor for twenty-six-year-old boilermaker apprentice who was severely injured when he was violently sucked into a boiler drum which had not been properly de-energized for contractor work during an annual shutdown.

Settlement in a negligence and product liability case against a Newton chemical company for eleven firefighters injured as a result of a sodium explosion at the company.

Medical malpractice settlement against orthopedic surgeon and his practice group for the inappropriate surgical removal of a 50-year-old man’s left kneecap in treatment of multi-compartmental knee arthritis.

Pre-lawsuit settlement for family of a 73-year-old widow who died from metastatic lung cancer after cardiothoracic surgeon failed to inform her of a mass in her lung visible on CT Scan three years earlier.

Settlement in nuisance and negligent trespass case for plaintiffs who sustained significant property damage and resulting loss of business income when a massive earthen slope broke free during an extensive rain storm. The slope failure occurred due to a neighboring landowner’s failure to properly maintain its land, which led to the formation of unnatural depressions on the land that pooled water and over-saturated the adjacent slope during the rain storm.

Recovery in personal injury lawsuit against driver and bar in which he was served. In this wrongful death case, the driver became intoxicated before driving a corporate-owned exotic sports car off the road and into a tree at a high rate of speed, resulting in the death of both himself and his passenger. SUGARMAN attorneys represented the family of the passenger in their claims against the driver and the bar.

Pre-suit settlement on behalf of young woman who was struck by a drunk driver while she was a pedestrian. Plaintiff sustained severe injuries, including a permanent foot long scar down the center of her face.

Settlement in personal injury case for 39-year-old construction worker, who fell 15 feet to the ground in Norwell, Massachusetts while working on the roof of the defendant general contractor’s property. The construction worker sustained bilateral wrist fractures requiring multiple surgeries, and facial lacerations.

Settlement reached for family of 34-year-old man with cerebral palsy who died after accidentally asphyxiating himself between metal railings and the base of his bed after his caretakers left him in his bed awake and unattended for three hours.

Settlement of medical malpractice case for parents of newborn who died several hours after her birth due to the mismanagement of her labor and delivery, resulting in severe anoxic injury.

Gynecological malpractice verdict against OB/GYN for negligence in improperly positioning patient during surgery resulting in neuropathy, and injury to her ureter. The verdict is the largest ever recorded in the District Courts of Massachusetts.

Settlement for bilateral hearing loss in newborn where lab test showed elevated levels, but lab and physicians failed to act.

Settlement in medical malpractice wrongful death case for family of a 47-year-old man who was improperly discharged from the hospital following failure to diagnose and treat an evolving heart attack, resulting in his death several hours after discharge. This was the second largest medical malpractice settlement reported in Massachusetts in 2017.

Substantial recovery for family of man in his fifties who was sent home from a walk-in clinic and died shortly thereafter from cardiac arrest.

A physician’s failure to perform emergency CT scan to diagnose spinal cord compression resulted in paraplegia for patient at Boston hospital. The medical malpractice  lawsuit settled before trial.