A Reputation For Success

On November 9, 2019, the attorneys of the Nebenzahl Law Group obtained a record $33.28 million dollar verdict on behalf of their client, who went to a cardiologist for evaluation of residual vegetation on a heart valve from pre-existing endocarditis. During the evaluation, the cardiologist became concerned about symptoms of rapid heart rate and an abnormal heart rhythm.  He told the plaintiff that the plaintiff needed to be admitted to a hospital for IV medication to bring his rate down. The cardiologist told him that if the medication was not successful, he would need to undergo a trans-esophageal echocardiogram (TEE) followed by a cardioversion, both of which would be done under anesthesia.

Although the plaintiff’s heart rate was reduced and stable by the following morning when the cardiologist visited him in the hospital, the cardiologist advised the patient he needed the TEE and cardioversion and scheduled the procedure for a few hours later.  No other treatment options were discussed or provided. 

Within minutes of being anesthetized, the plaintiff stopped breathing for a period of time and sustained an anoxic brain injury. This resulted in severe myoclonus, a neuromuscular condition manifested by disabling tremors.

The plaintiff alleged that the cardiologist was negligent and failed to advise the patient of his treatment options and any associated risks. After five days of deliberation, the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the negligence claim, but found that the cardiologist was liable for failing to obtain informed consent for the procedure by failing to advise the plaintiff of alternative courses of treatment.

The plaintiff sought treatment with the defendant doctor for a non-healing mouth sore that waxed and waned for approximately eight years. The defendant doctor treated this condition for the entire eight years with topical creams – without ordering a biopsy. After eight years, the plaintiff was finally diagnosed with Stage Three invasive squamous cell carcinoma. As a result of the delay in diagnosis, he required extensive treatment to save his life. This treatment included radial neck dissection, floor of mouth resection and a reconstruction of his tongue, radiation therapy and chemotherapy treatments.   As a result, he has sustained the loss of his salivary glands and other substantial permanent impairments due to this condition.

Two children were living in a multi-family house in Boston which contained dangerous levels of lead paint. Within four months, both children were found to have been contaminated with lead poisoning. The investigation revealed that the apartment contained lead paint chips and dust. Both children were later diagnosed with cognitive impairments caused by the lead poisoning.

The patient was a thirty-three year-old man, who consulted a surgeon for abdominal pains. The surgeon recommended that his gall bladder be removed via a laparoscopic surgical procedure.  During the surgery, the patient’s duodenum was punctured. After he was discharged from the hospital, bile leaked into his abdominal area causing septic infection and shock. He died the following morning. 

A forty-one year-old woman sustained a bruise or hematoma on her right thigh following a fall from her bicycle. The hematoma persisted and her doctor recommended surgery to cut out or excise the bruise. During the surgery, the plaintiff’s quadriceps muscle was cut along with the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve.  The plaintiff alleged that surgery was not an appropriate treatment for the hematoma and should not have been recommended or performed by the surgeon.  Additionally, plaintiff alleged that she was not informed of the risks of the surgery.

While a young couple was engaging in sexual intercourse in a friend’s pool house, three teenage boys secretly hid in various places and watched while one videotaped the encounter. Thereafter, the video was brought to a local high-school football team gathering a month later and was displayed on a large screen television. The plaintiff’s claims included negligent infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy.

As a customer was exiting the a restaurant she tripped on a 10” by ¾” deviation in the walkway and fell on her right hand.  As a result of the fall she sustained a fracture of the right fifth metacarpal (finger).  The injury required two surgeries that repaired the fracture but left the Plaintiff with some permanent loss of function.  The case was settled prior to filing of lawsuit.

While unloading heavy steel plates used for road construction, a truck driver injured his right hand when the chain attachment failed.  In addition to the settlement, the truck driver received $29,527.00 in workers compensation benefits.

This medical malpractice case involved the failure to determine whether the mother of newborn twins should have been administered a dose of RhoGAM following delivery.  As the result of the negligence of her obstetrician, and a lab technician who processed her blood test, her blood became sensitized causing serious injuries to herself and her daughter who was born severely anemic after a later pregnancy. After a ten-day trial, the jury awarded $1,500,000.00 plus interest.

While finishing his shift at a commercial laundry facility, a forty-seven year-old production supervisor was struck on the head by a hook and trolley from an overhead monorail system, sustaining a brain injury. His claims were that the monorail system was defective because of a failure of its safety system. His settlement was in addition to $280,441.00 he received from workers compensation benefits.

While working as a data entry clerk for a financial services company, a forty-six year-old woman began to develop severe pain in her right wrist when using a computer. Ultimately she was diagnosed with  deQuervains tendonitis, requiring a surgical release of her first right dorsal compartment.  Later that year, she developed symptoms of paresthesia and numbness in both of her hands and underwent a surgical release of a carpal tunnel syndrome of the left wrist.  The following year, the employee underwent surgical release of her right transverse carpal ligament.  These conditions left her unable to perform the functions of her job.

While in the course of his employment as a painter in an auto body shop, a twenty-eight-year-old painter sustained injury when air from the Blo-Gun tool he was using entered a scab on his left hand. This immediately caused massive swelling to his hand and arm resulting in Carpel Tunnel Syndrome and Ulnar Neuropathy in his left (dominant) elbow, forearm, wrist and fingers. The claim against the manufacturer of the Blo-Gun was that it marketed a defective product in that it did not include a small venting tip that would have prevented this injury. In addition to the settlement, the employee received  $26,589.05 in worker’s compensation benefits.

While a dentist was stopped at an intersection, he was struck from behind by the driver of a car who had been distracted. As he was hit, he injured his left wrist and right thumb while trying to steady his seven hundred pound motor cycle.

A thirty-eight-year-old mechanic was injured after he unknowingly inflated a 16 inch diameter tire on a 16 ½ inch diameter rim. As he removed the air hose, the tire exploded and hit him in the face causing a substantial brain injury. The law suit alleged that both the tire and rim manufacturers were liable for selling defective products. Among the claims were that the tire was defective in that it was manufactured with a bead which was not sufficient to withstand a foreseeable amount of pressure when applied to foreseeable applications such as being installed on a mismatched rim. The rim was alleged to be defective because it was manufactured in such a way as to accept a 16 inch tire and its labeling did not communicate that rim’s actual size.

While inflating a 16 inch tire on a 16.5 inch rim, a tire-shop worker was struck in the head when the tire exploded. The suit alleged that both the tire and rim manufacturers were liable for selling defective products. The tire was defective in that it was manufactured with a bead which would withstand the amount of pressure when being aired up on an unrecognized mismatched rim. The rim was defective because it was knowingly manufactured to accept a 16 inch tire. Neither the tire nor the rim had effective labeling identify its actual size or the recognized confusion of the hidden “mismatch”.

While in the course of his employment for the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, a toll collector was injured while escaping from his toll booth as a runaway truck was coming toward his toll booth.  As he was escaping, he struck the left side of his body against the door of the toll booth, fell to the ground and crawled out. The claim against the trucking company was the truck’s brakes failed and the driver lost control. As a result of this collision, the toll collector sustained an injury to his left shoulder, neck and low back.  He was ultimately diagnosed with left shoulder strain, lumbar sacral strain, and cervical strain; aggravation of  a degenerative disc disease at L4-5 and spondylolisthesis at the L5-S-1 level.  In addition to this settlement, the toll collector obtained $60,479.00 in workers compensation benefits.

Shortly after he purchased a pickup truck which came with a partially mounted spare tire, a twenty-eight year old man went to a local gas station to inflate the tire. After applying air, the tire exploded striking him in the head causing a traumatic brain injury. After a twelve-day trial in which the jury awarded $500,000 to the plaintiff, the defendants appealed. After the Appeals Court affirmed the judgment in a decision reported as Velleca v. Uniroyal Tire Co., 36 Mass. App. Ct. 247, 630 N.E.2d 297, 298 (1994), the plaintiff recovered a total of $921,000.00 from multiple defendants.