Levin, Rojas, Camassar & Reck LLC

$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.

$200,000

Product Liability

Settlement following a Plaintiff’s Verdict arising out of an injury to a child when a lighter which had an inadequate child-proof safety mechanism was lit by a four-year-old. The exclusive U.S. Importer/Distributor was sued as they brought in millions of these Chinese manufactured lighters every year. For the burn injuries, a post-verdict settlement of $200,000 was reached.

$557,000

Medical Malpractice

Malpractice verdict against an orthopedic surgeon resulting from hip surgery in which the patient’s femoral nerve was injured and the surgeon defended on the basis that the injury inflicted was a complication not the result of surgical negligence. The jury did not accept that explanation and rendered a verdict in the amount of $557,000.

$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.

$526,000

Personal Injury

Mr. Carey was rear-ended by a pickup truck driven by Mr. Eitel who was employed by O & G industries, the same company behind the Clean energy explosion that killed and injured workers in Middletown, CT. Traveler’s insurance insured the risk. The injuries claimed were principally lower back and a mild traumatic brain injury from the accident resulting from the concussion sustained. The last offer was $70,000 though there was likely a willingness to raise that into the low six figures. The trial took place on various days over a two-week period of time before the jury rendered its verdict.