Levin, Rojas, Camassar & Reck LLC

$3.6M

Product Liability

Department of Transportation worker who lost part of her leg in the back of a dump truck while getting it ready for winter snow operations received a 3.6 million dollar verdict in Waterbury Superior Court on November 1, 2011. Her boot was entrained in the moving conveyor chain during a maintenance operation. The case was brought under Connecticut’s Product Liability Act and was pleaded under legal theories including Strict liability for Defective design, Breach of the Statutory Duty to provide warnings and instructions, Breach of warranty, and negligence. The manufacturer of the Dump bed had settled with the Plaintiff weeks before the Trial and was a settled and released party whose fault was considered by the jury for purposes of allocating fault between the Plaintiff, the manufacturer, and the remaining Defendant which was the dealer who sold the dump beds to the State under a procurement contract. The Jury allocated slightly less fault to the Manufacturer than to the Dealer who had the contract and primary relationship with the DOT and assigned 38% fault to the injured DOT worker as well resulting in a net verdict of slightly more than 1.3 million dollars to the worker in addition to a confidential sum obtained from the manufacturer shortly before Trial.

$2M

Medical Malpractice

Malpractice settlements against several of the six named defendants arose out of a delay in diagnosis and treatment of a benign condition which resulted in legal blindness. Defense claims varied but a common theme was that Ms. Proctor would likely have lost her sight regardless of the claimed departures from the standard of care due to the rapidity of the onset of this illness.

$1.6M

Personal Injury

A construction site injury involving the improper use of a ladder and failure to monitor the construction site. The defendant was the general contractor who claimed no knowledge or legal responsibility for the dangerous work site conditions which contributed to Mr. Occonor’s fall through an open hole in the floor while tumbling off a ladder suffering serious and permanent injuries. Plaintiff was able to demonstrate that the close relationship between the general and subcontractor for which Mr. Occonor worked suggested that the general both knew and had an opportunity to intervene yet failed to do so.

$875,000

Personal Injury

Settlement shortly before trial arising out of a motor vehicle collision. It was learned that the defendant motor vehicle operator had a depth perception impairment and her Ophthalmologists’s testimony was preserved for use at trial.

$800,000

Medical Malpractice

A medical malpractice settlement arising from wrist surgery in which the patient’s ulnar nerve was inadvertently lacerated. The surgeon initially claimed aberrant anatomy as the reason that the nerve was injured. It was also maintained that this type of injury was a known complication and not necessarily an indication of negligence. Following grueling deposition and disclosure of expert opinions settlement was achieved at approximately $800,000.

$700,000

Personal Injury

This case involved suing the State of Connecticut for placing and maintaining foster children in an environment where they were subject to physical and sexual abuse. The extent of such abuse was hotly contested, and governmental immunity issues were challenging to overcome.