Results

A Middlesex County jury returned a verdict in favor of a woman who was injured when her vehicle was struck by a commercial vehicle which drove through a stop sign, thereby causing the collision in question. The plaintiff suffered a fractured wrist, for which she underwent surgery. The case was tried by Mark Kuminski of our office.

The plaintiff was injured on a construction site, when he fell while descending a fixed ladder that was connected to a tractor trailer sized piece of equipment. The plaintiff had just finished fueling the machine, and was attempting to step down from the ladder onto the ground, when he accidentally stepped onto a piece of wood which had been placed underneath various hoses which were running from the machine. The plaintiff contended that the presence of the boards and hoses at the base of the ladder constituted an unreasonably dangerous condition. The defendants defended the matter by claiming that the plaintiff was not permitted to access the machine at the time because the defendant’s employees were not present, and that there were other safer alternative routes in which to do so. Defendants likewise claimed that the plaintiff was comparatively negligent, as he was not holding onto the ladder at the time of his fall. Instead, he was using both hands to carry and cover the hose and nozzle which was used to fuel the machine in question. The plaintiff explained that this was the manner in which he was instructed to do so by the defendant’s employee. The plaintiff sustained a herniated disc in his lower back, for which he was required to undergo a surgical fusion. When the surgery failed to improve his symptoms, the plaintiff underwent the implantation of a spinal cord stimulator. The case was handled by Mark Kuminski of our office.

Levinson Axelrod Partner, Mark V. Kuminski represented a local Franklin Township woman who was involved in a three-car motor vehicle accident. The incident occurred when one of the drivers, later named as the defendant in the personal injury lawsuit filed by Mark and our firm, rear-ended a vehicle that had been stopped. The collisions pushed the struck vehicle forward into the rear of our client’s car. As a result of the impact, our client suffered injuries to her back, neck, and shoulder, as well as a concussion. Once her concussion symptoms had resolved, she was required to undergo multiple pain management procedures for her orthopedic injuries, as well as two surgeries on her neck. Although she has returned to work, she continues to suffer from various symptoms related to her injuries. After resolving the matter of the defendant driver’s fault, Mark litigated at trial on the issue of damages, as the insurance carrier representing the at-fault driver did not make a settlement offer sufficient enough to cover our clients’ needs. Mark’s ability to express the full scope of damages incurred by our client and their impact on her life, including her extensive suffering, medical treatment, lost wages, and reduced quality of life, proved successful in compelling the jury to rule in our client’s favor. The jury ultimately awarded a substantial $2.5 million in damages to our client – a result that was nearly four times the last settlement offer made by the defendant’s insurance company.

A 33-year-old sanitation worker suffered severe and debilitating injuries when he was caught in a garbage compactor while working for the City of Linden. The garbage compactor had insufficient warning devices, so our client was unaware that the tail gate was descending. It was alleged at the time of trial that the lack of sufficient warning devices made the garbage compacter a defectively designed product under New Jersey Products Liability law, and therefore our client was entitled to compensation.

Our client was injured while delivering a 3,000 pound piece of equipment to defendant's premises. The defendant's employees were assisting our client in unloading the product when one of them prematurely activated the lift gate, causing the piece of equipment to fall and strike his legs. He suffered serious injuries to both legs, requiring multiple surgeries.

Mark Kuminski of our office represented a client who was injured at work, while unloading a tractor trailer. As a result of the incident, the plaintiff re-injured his lower back, for which he had previously undergone surgery ten years earlier. Following this incident, the plaintiff was required to undergo a second surgery. He was unable to return to work as a combination of the injuries sustained in this accident, as well as a unrelated health condition. The case settled for $1,000,000.00.

A Middlesex County man slipped and fell on a wet and uneven walkway located at his place of employment. As a result of his injuries, he was required to undergo surgeries to his knee, shoulder and cervical spine. The case was handled by Patrick Flinn of our office and was resolved at mediation for $975,000.