Notable Verdicts

The New York Personal Injury Attorneys at Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf has won or settled a multitude of substantial cases in the recent past.

Jump to: Multi-Party Cases | Motor Vehicle Accidents (Car Accidents, Bicycle & Pedestrian Accidents, Bus & Truck Accidents, Subway and Train accidents) | Construction Accident & Labor Law | Product Liability & Defective Products | Premises Liability | Fire and Explosion | Medical Malpractice | Sexual Abuse

2021 Highlights Setting New Records

In November 2021, our attorneys set a new record for a pain and suffering award in New York State as the Appellate Division of New York affirmed a $29 million award to a former New York City high school student who was disfigured during a botched chemistry experiment. The plaintiff who was 16 year old at the time of the accident was burned so badly that he suffered 3rd degree burns to his neck and face. He spent two months at the Cornell's burn unit and three months at The Children Hospital. He underwent multiple treatments, skin grafts and staples to hold the new flesh in place. He was required to stay immobilized in a crucifix position for days. The award is the largest award ever affirmed for pain and suffering in NY State (read more here)

Making New Law

In 2021, our attorneys through their diligent work were able to change a doctrine of law known as "zone of danger" to allow a grandmother who witnessed the death of her granddaughter to obtain compensation for psychological injury.  In New York, this doctrine allows an "immediate family member to be compensated for psychological trauma suffered while witnessing a family member being injured or dying. However, grandparents were not considered "immediate family". Our attorneys recognized it was an injustice that had to be rectified and challenged the law through all levels of the New York State courts, ultimately arguing in front of the highest court in New York, the Court of Appeals that excluding grandparents from immediate family was arbitrary and inconsistent with other existing laws. The Court of Appeals ruled in favor of our client, a woman who witnessed her two year old granddaughter being struck by falling debris in Manhattan and dying at the hospital the following day. The jury will now be able to decide what damages our client should be awarded for the emotional trauma she sustained during this horrific event.


The following is a small sample of notable settlements and verdicts obtained by our attorneys. These results demonstrate the excellent representation provided by our lawyers in a variety of case types.

Multi-Party Cases

Our Personal Injury Firm has had the privilege of serving as lead counsel in some of the more prestigious class action litigations of the past 100 years. Below are some examples of its successes.

  • $100,000,000 recovery for victims of 9/11 and their families. This strikingly large settlement was due, in large part, to our attorney's legal strategy and ability to convey the human nature of this immense tragedy to the Victim's Compensation Fund.
  • The fire at Stouffer's Hotel in Westchester County. We represented the estates of 11 members of the Board of Directors of a Fortune 500 Company killed in the fire. The case settled for more than $50,000,000.
  • The explosion on Ann Street that resulted in 12 deaths and multiple injuries. The case settled for $18,000,000.
  • $14,000,000 settlement on behalf of tenants injured as a result of the negligence of Con Edison when a pipe exploded.
  • A building collapse on West 35th Street resulting in numerous injuries. The settlement was in excess of $3,000,000 (there was only $2,000,000 in insurance coverage).
  • $3,000,000 settlement on behalf of the family of Amadou Diallo, which is believed to be the largest settlement ever under New York State's wrongful-death statute for a victim who earned less than $ 10,000 and had no dependents.
Motor Vehicle Accidents (Car Accidents, Bicycle & Pedestrian Accidents, Bus & Truck Accidents, Subway and Train accidents)

Top Verdicts 2017 New York Magazine

  • $85 million jury verdict for a pedestrian who sustained catastrophic injury after being hit by a double decker sightseeing tour bus in downtown Manhattan. This verdict was the largest verdict obtained in New York State and the 25th largest verdict obtained in the US in 2018.
  • $71 million verdict for a former Cornell student who suffered a fracture of her Lumbar Spine in a car accident in New York. The victim is now able to walk with braces but still suffers from neurogenic bowel. She will need medical help for the rest of her life. The jury awarded $5 million for her past pain and suffering, 6 million for her future pain and suffering and 60 million for her future medical needs.. This verdict was also the highest car accident verdict in New York in 2017.
  • $41.5 million verdict for a sanitation worker who was fatally hit by a sweeper truck. This is also the highest verdict obtained in New York State in 2017 in a truck accident case. At the time of the fatal accident, Steven Frosh was in a city garage making adjustment to his sweeper truck. Another truck arrived in the garage and fatally struck him. The victim left behind him a wife and four young children.
  • $27,500,000 verdict for a pedestrian struck by a bus . The pedestrian suffered the loss of her leg. This is the largest verdict for such an injury in New York State history.
  • $26,000,000 settlement for the family of a 35 year old woman who was a pedestrian struck and killed by a truck on 6th Ave. in Manhattan. This is believed to be the largest settlement in the history of New York for the wrongful death of one individual.
  • $12,500,000 verdict on behalf of a pedestrian who suffered degloving injuries to her leg and buttocks after being struck by a bus.
  • $10,750,000 settlement against a Japanese shipping company for negligence in maintaining their tractor trailer allowing the rear wheels to break off striking a pedestrian and causing severe burns and mild brain damage.
  • $10,000,000 settlement for a woman rendered blind as a result of being struck by a drunk driver.
  • $10,000,000 settlement in Nassau County for a woman who suffered severe injuries to her legs as a result of the negligence of a bus driver.
  • $8,570,000 verdict for a bicyclist who suffered a degloving injury to her right leg as well as fractures to the distal tibia and fibula of her left leg after being struck by a MTA Bus in Manhattan. 
  • $8,000,000 settlement for a mother of a 4 year old child who killed by a drunk driver. This is the largest award in NY State for the death of a mother living one child surviving her.
  • $8,000,000 settlement for a man who lost his wife as the result of the negligent behavior of a man who drove while intoxicated.
  • $7,500,000 wrongful death settlement for a mother who was fatally struck by a truck in front of her husband and her son.
  • $7,125,000 verdict for a 41 year old man who suffered knee injuries in a car accident that happened on the West Side Highway. This is the highest verdict for knees injury in New York Sate.
  • $7,000,000 settlement for a 68 year old man who was struck by a bus that turned into him while he was crossing the street. The Judge stated that he believes this was the highest settlement ever in any case he has handled in the last 20 years in Morris County N.J.
  • $6,500,000 settlement for an 80 year old woman who was struck by a MTA bus.
  • $6,000,000 settlement for the family of a Westchester County man who was killed in an automobile accident when a drunk driver struck a stopped Police car resulting in an explosion and fire.
  • $6,000,000 settlement in Bergen County, New Jersey in a combination car accident / medical malpractice case for a 61 year old woman who sustained a herniated disc as a passenger in a motor vehicle accident. She subsequently underwent a neurosurgical procedure to remove the herniated disc during which the surgeon slipped and lacerated the dura of her spinal cord.
  • $5,000,000 settlement in a wrongful death case in which a bar permitted a man to continue to drink alcoholic beverages before he started driving. That man then drove while intoxicated, killing a father of two children.
  • $5,000,000 recovery in New York County for the widow of a physician struck and killed by an N.Y.P.D. tow truck while he was riding his bike on the Green Way on the West Side when the truck made a right turn onto the path and crashed into him. The decedent was not wearing a helmet.

Construction Accident & Labor Law
  • $16,000,000 settlement in a construction accident case for an asbestos handler who fell 23 feet from a scaffold during demolition of the Pepsi plant in Long Island City. The total funds to the injured worker and his wife exceed $25 million when the annuity purchased with a portion of the settlement proceeds is considered.
  • $12,500,000 verdict for the wife of a parking garage employee who fell from and was killed by a man lift while at work.
  • $10,000,000 Settlement in a crane accident case in New York County for a woman who was seriously injured when a 35-ton construction crane fell on her legs at an excavation site.
  • $8,625,000 Recovery for the Wrongful Death of a 38 Worker in a Construction Accident as a result of a fall from a ladder.
  • $6,500,000 settlement for a construction worker who suffered traumatic brain injury after falling from a scaffold. The scaffold had no safety railings.
  • $6,250,000 verdict for a construction worker who suffered left elbow and pelvic injury after he fell 30-40 feet from a rope scaffold that was not properly secured. Read more about this case here
  • $5,800,000 recovery for a New York construction worker who suffered a brain injury when a Hi-Lo struck a scaffold upon which he was working causing the scaffold to fall over.
  • $5,800,000 settlement in a Brooklyn construction accident case for a man who suffered paraplegia as a result of a fall from a scaffold when it was struck by a hi-lo.
  • $5,000,000 recovery in a New York Construction Accident case for a man who suffered brain injury when he fell from a ladder at a construction site. The recovery included an agreement for workers compensation payments to continue despite the settlement.
  • $5,000,000 settlement in a construction accident case for a construction worker who fell from the roof of a building during a construction project and miraculously sustained only leg fractures.

Product Liability & Defective Products
  • 12,400,000 settlement for the wrongful death of a 40 year old woman who died in a gas explosion that took place in her house in Floral Park, Queens, New York.
  • $6,500,000 settlement for the wrongful death of a man killed in an explosion as a result of a defective propane tank.
  • $5,500,000 settlement on behalf of the family of a man killed in the Pan Am 103 plane crash, which occurred in Lockerbie, Scotland.
  • $5,000,000 recovery to the widow of a Citibank employee who was killed in a plane crash in Brazil. The case was brought in New York against the foreign airline and the plane manufacturer.
  • $4,500,000 recovery for victims of a defective diet drug.
  • $4,200,000 settlement in a products liability case for a man who was burned when his fuel tank exploded following an auto accident .
  • $3,500,000 recovery in Suffolk County for the family of a DEA agent killed when the cesspool at his home collapsed.
  • $3,000,000 settlement for a woman who suffered significant leg injuries when thrown from a boat after an engine exploded.

Premises Liability
  • $7,000,000 settlement on behalf of five people who suffered leg injuries in an elevator accident caused by negligent maintenance of the elevator support cable.
  • $4,000,000 verdict for a woman who suffered injuries and whose husband was killed as a result of inadequate security at the building in which she lived.
  • $3,975,000 settlement in action where the 27-year old plaintiff fell down an elevator shaft when the doors opened and the elevator was not there. The plaintiff sustained serious injuries requiring an above-the-knee amputation of one of her legs. This case is noteworthy because there was only $2,000,000 in insurance and the building owners paid the remainder out of their own pocket. It was also alleged by the defendants that all tenants in the building were aware that the elevator was not operational.
  • $3,900,000 settlement on behalf of a man who was killed when an air conditioner fell on him.
  • $3,800,000 settlement for a woman who suffered a severe shoulder injury when a building carelessly allowed ice to build up and to fall in an area where pedestrians walk.
  • $3,800,000 verdict in a case where a man suffered a severely fractured leg in a parking garage in Manhattan.
  • $3,500,000 recovery in Suffolk County for the family of a DEA agent killed when the cesspool at his home collapsed.
  • $2,500,000 settlement on behalf of a sheet-metal worker who sustained a crushed pelvis when the unsecured arm of a sign that was being hoisted became dislodged and struck him.
  • $1,500,000 settlement for a man who suffered a fractured femur after falling on a defective stairway.
  • $1,200,000 settlement for a man who suffered a burst fracture of a lumbar vertebra due to an unsafe condition at a school.
Fire and Explosion
  • $59,200,000 verdict for a former high school student who suffered catastrophic burns during a botched experiment
  • $12,400,000 settlement for a mother of three children who died in a house explosion after Con Edison failed to evacuate it in light of a known gas leak.
Medical Malpractice
  • A confidential but substantial settlement in Joan Rivers Medical Malpractice case. The comedian died after doctors performed an unauthorized biopsy on her throat during a routine endoscopy.
  • $103,000,000 verdict (one of the largest ever) in a Broome County medical malpractice case on behalf of a baby brain damaged at birth .
  • $90,939,857 jury verdict for a child whose cerebral palsy was due to the failure of an obstetrician to diagnose placental abruption and who thus delayed the cesarean section that was necessary to rescue the baby who was suffering from a lack of oxygen.
  • $17,250,000 verdict for a man who was rendered partially incontinent as a result of medical malpractice in failing to diagnose a spinal malformation.
  • $12,000,000 settlement for a man who was overradiated by the radiation center where he was treated for cancer.
  • $9,500,000 settlement for brain damage to a professional young woman who had surgery for her uterine fibroids but then had her endotracheal tube removed prematurely so that she stopped breathing on her way to the recovery room.
  • $9,400,000 in a Manhattan medical malpractice case in which a woman suffered brain damage following ambulatory gynecological surgery in which doctors failed to properly monitor her post-operative course in which she suffered an anoxic event that was not timely treated.
  • $9,200,000 settlement in a Brooklyn medical malpractice case in which doctors and hospital employees fail to timely diagnose and treat a small bowel obstruction which resulted in systemic infections, multiple surgeries, lengthy hospitalization, and the need for a kidney transplant.
  • $9,000,000 settlement in a medical malpractice case involving surgery to remove fibroids in a young woman resulting in brain damage.
  • $9,000,000 settlement for the wrongful death of a man who died at a hospital as a result of negligent post-operative care following colon resection surgery.
  • $8,000,000 settlement in a medical malpractice case in which a woman was rendered brain damaged as a result of anesthesiologic malpractice.
  • $8,000,000 settlement for a woman in case in which doctors and hospital employees failed to timely diagnose a valvulus (twisting of the intestine) in a woman which caused multiple surgeries and hospitalizations and the need for an intestinal transplant.
  • $8,000,000 settlement on behalf of an 18-year old boy in a New York medical malpractice lawsuit where a physician prescribed the medication Depakote without monitoring the boy's liver function despite the known effects of Depakote on the liver. As a result of the failure to monitor the liver function, the plaintiff sustained complete liver failure requiring a liver transplant and hepatic encephalopathy resulting in brain damage.
  • $8,000,000 settlement in a Nassau County medical malpractice case for a child rendered brain damaged with cerebral palsy as a result of negligent obstetrical care given to the baby's mother.
  • $7,000,000 settlement on behalf of a mother who suffered brain damage during child birth when the epidural injection spread to her brain.
  • $6,800,000 settlement in a medical malpractice case involving a six year old child whose bacterial infection was not diagnosed and resulted in the loss of a leg.
  • $6,100,000 settlement in a Dutchess County medical malpractice case involving the death of a woman after giving birth.
  • $6,000,000 settlement in Onondaga County for a child rendered brain damage as a result of medical malpractice in the obstetrical care rendered to the baby's mother.
  • $5,995,000 for a young boy in New York County who sustained a brain injury as a result of a pharmacy error in a case involving total parenteral nutrition (TPN) which was mixed with 10 times too much dextrose and which was delivered to the child's home by an out of state pharmacy and administered by a private duty nurse.
  • $5,500,000 settlement for a young child brain injured at birth due to medical malpractice by a New York doctor.
  • $5,000,000 recovery for a Connecticut man injured when he fell while awaiting treatment at a hospital.

Sexual Abuse
  • A $27,500,000 settlement against the catholic church on behalf of four victims who were sexually abused by a Angelo Serrano, a worker at St. Lucy's St. Patrick's, a Catholic church in the Clinton Hill section of Brooklyn. The Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens and a local after school program will pay $27,500,000 which will be divided evenly with each boy receiving $6,875,000. This is the largest settlement in the country paid by the Catholic Church to an individual survivor of sexual abuse.
  • $11,400,000 verdict for two teenagers who were sexually abused by the youth minister of their Parrish.

Disclaimer: Please be advised that the results achieved in any given case depend upon the exact facts and circumstances of that case. Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf cannot guarantee a specific result in any legal matter. Any testimonial or case result listed on this site is based on an actual legal case and represents the results achieved in that particular case, and does not constitute a guarantee, warranty or prediction of the outcome of any other legal matters.

Client Reviews
★★★★★
"Very compassionate, very efficient and top rate! If you want a team of good lawyers that will not only work hard to win your case but knows how to listen and feel for you as a victim of medical malpractice, this firm is your only choice." [Extract] D.F.
★★★★★
"Everyone I communicated with at this firm made me feel like I was part of their family. My needs, feelings, and concerns were carefully considered and given the needed attention. My counselors were available whenever I needed them and became my personal friends. They came highly recommended and lived up to their reputation. I would recommend them to any of my friends without hesitation. This firm gives attorneys a "good name". Clients matter here. They made me feel like I mattered as a person, that I was valued, and not just a possible source of income for the firm. They earned their fees, and you will find that they will also earn your trust." N.W.
★★★★★
"My husband was in a coma with very little chances to survive, due to a car accident. The compassion and professionalism that they showed myself and my family during such a difficult time combined with an incredible willingness to get the best results for us have shown us that we had made the absolute best choice. They not only fought extremely hard for what proved to be a very difficult case, but they also emotionally helped us through this incredible ordeal and have been a caring advocate for our family and our case. They got us the best results we could have expected given the circumstances and didn't give up when things got more challenging." [Extract] V.P.
★★★★★
"August 2020, my mother was in a horrific car accident. I contacted Gair Gair Conason to handle my mother's case. Everyone at the firm who helped us with the case did such a fantastic job with being so efficient. We could not have been more satisfied with the services we received." [Extract] K.C.