Commercial and Residential Property

Pre-suit settlement for vacationer who suffered a significant cut to his leg requiring surgery and an Achilles tendon tear when a piece of the stone slab broke away from the kitchen island in the beach house he had rented on Martha’s Vineyard.

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.

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 worker who fractured his ankle when walking on a dike that collapsed. SUGARMAN’s attorneys were able to demonstrate that the property owner had failed to perform needed maintenance and repairs to the dike.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial court affirmed the Appellate Court’s decision to reverse the trial court’s entry of summary judgment. SUGARMAN attorneys represented a woman who was caused to slip and fall on a stone that had been kicked loose from the defendant store’s self-service display area, a hazard that the store was well aware of for several years. The Supreme Judicial Court agreed with SUGARMAN’s attorneys that the “mode of operation” analysis applied to the facts of the case, vacated the judgment in favor of the defendant and remanded the case back to the Superior Court for further proceedings.

Settlement reached with owner of parking lot on behalf of an 85-year-old women who suffered a left femur fracture. The injury occurred when the woman tripped on an uneven surface in the parking lot.

Settlement of personal injury lawsuit against the manufacturer and seller of the defective screen, and the landlord. A toddler fell out of a third-floor apartment window due to dangerous design, installation, and maintenance of the window screen, resulting in severe brain and orthopedic injuries to the child.