MEDICAL MALPRACTICE

$1.8 M Settlement for Failure to Diagnose a Stroke

In a true tragedy, a family was left without a father and husband, due to a medical mistake at a local hospital. We were able to secure a substantial settlement for our client's family from the hospital and its physicians. A 34 year old man went to a Montgomery County hospital's emergency room with a severe headache, dizziness and extremely high blood pressure- all symptoms consistent with an oncoming stroke. Plaintiff actually had a stroke in the waiting room in the emergency room. Our client was admitted into the Hospital. The hospital staff failed to recognize that the stroke caused bleeding inside of Plaintiff's brain and unfortunately died while in the hospital. We were able to secure the right experts that established that if the Hospital had acted promptly, he would have survived this stroke.

$1.5 Million Verdict for Plaintiff

Our firms were proud to secure a verdict for our client whose cancer was not diagnosed simply because his doctors failed to read his test results. Our client was only 45 years of age when he went to his family doctors for routine prostate screening. Unfortunately, his doctors failed to properly read the testing and his cancer was allowed to spread. Due to the doctor's negligence, the Plaintiff had terrible complications related to the cancer.

$1.2 Million for Anesthesia/Surgery Mistake

In one of the hardest fought cases our firm ever had, we were able to secure a substantial settlement for a family who was the victim of medical malpractice at local surgery center here in Philadelphia. Our client who was 60 years old at the time presented to an out patient surgery center for nasal surgery to correct snoring. Due to the doctors' failure to properly monitor the patient during and after the surgery, Plaintiff suffered brain damage from a lack of oxygen. Shaffer & Gaier secured many experts in many fields that established that the Plaintiff's brain injury was due to a period of lack of oxygen while he was at the surgery center.

Failure to Diagnose Stroke secures $900,000 settlement

We represented an elderly woman who awoke with sudden numbness in her arm and dizziness. She made an emergency appointment with her family doctor fearing that she was having a stroke. Our client immediately went to her family doctor within an hour. Our client's family doctor incorrectly diagnosed Plaintiff as having carpal tunnel syndrome. Unfortunately for our client, she went home and the next day she had a massive stroke. Shaffer & Gaier was able to secure several experts that established that Plaintiff's stroke and the damages that occurred would have been totally preventable if her family physician had properly recognized the signs and symptoms of oncoming stroke.

Misread Biopsy Results in Confidential Settlement

We represented a 34 year old woman in Camden NJ who went to Cooper Hospital for exploratory surgery of her uterus. Our client had several fibroids in her uterus and her gynecologist was concerned that these fibroids could be cancerous. Our client went to Cooper Hospital for an exploratory surgery and biopsy. The biopsies came back positive for cancer and therefore our client had a total hysterectomy. Unfortunately for our client, the biopsies were mis-read and she did not have cancer at all. We were able to secure an expert that was able to establish that the biopsies were misread and the surgery for a total hysterectomy as not necessary. We were able to secure a confidential settlement for our client.

Baby Dies Due to Negligent In-Home Nurse

In one of the saddest cases our firm ever had, we were able to secure a confidential settlement for the parents of a disabled child who died due to the negligence of an in home nurse. We represented a mother and father who had 3 year old daughter who was unfortunately born with significant disabilities. Despite limited training and resources, our clients provided round the clock care for their disabled daughter. Finally, the parents were able to hire an in-house nurse that would assist them in caring for their severely disabled son. The first night the nurse was working, and the first night the parents left their daughter's side, the nurse allowed the child's breathing tube to be dislodged and the baby died. Although he could not bring the baby back, we were able to secure a substantial settlement for the parents for their tragic loss.

Scranton Hospital Pays for Allowing Patient to Develop Bedsores

We represented a client who went into a Scranton Hospital for heart surgery but was discharged with a baseball sized bed sore to his buttocks. Our client was 55 years of age and had heart bypass surgery at a Scranton Hospital. Due to the surgery, Plaintiff needed the nursing staff to turn his body so that he did not develop pressure sores i.e. bed sores. Plaintiff was not repositioned correctly and was allowed to develop huge bedsores. Our client developed significant complications and needed a series of several surgeries to correct the wound caused by the Hospital's negligence.

Montgomery County Verdict for Plaintiff

We represented a 22 year old young woman who filed suit against her gynecologist. Our client had a vulvoplasy to her vagina, a procedure to remove excess tissue that caused continued urinary tract infections and discomfort. After the surgery, our client had several new problems that she was never told were a risk of the surgery. A jury determined that Plaintiff was not properly informed of the possible complications and problems that could arise from this surgery. A jury awarded $50,000. While the verdict was somewhat limited - it was the first Plaintiff's verdict that had been returned in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania in some time. Moreover, it our understanding that prior to this verdict, there were over 40 straight defense verdicts in medical practice cases in Montgomery County

PRODUCT LIABILITY

$1 Million settlement for Defective Airbag

We represented a woman who was injured when her air-bag deployed in a very low speed crash. Due to the negligent design of the vehicle, when the airbag was deployed it struck Plaintiff's head causing her neck to be broken leading to her death.

Our client was 60 years old at the time and was involved in a one car accident in an empty parking lot. At the time of the accident the car was traveling less than 20 m.p.h. She was a very slight woman weighing less than 110 lbs and was approximately 5' 2". Due to the negligent design of the vehicle, the air bag struck the Plaintiff as it was being deployed killing her instantly. Our discovery revealed that the automobile manufacture did no testing to determine if it was safe for drivers who were short. Shaffer & Gaier hired several experts to establish that the air bag was unsafe as it was designed.

Confidential Settlement in Trucking Accident

We represented a driver of an 18 wheel tractor trailer that tipped when the cargo inside of the trailer shifted. When the tractor tipped, the cab with the driver inside literally disintegrated when it struck the guard rail. Shaffer & Gaier hired a team of experts to establish that the cab was not designed to withstand a roll over although this was such a common occurrence for tractor trailer drivers. Our team of experts was able to establish that the cab was crafted of mere fiberglass and provided virtually no protection for drivers such as our Plaintiff.

Broken Seatbelt Causes Head Injury - Confidential Settlement

We represented a 21 year old man who was severely injured when he tried to use his seatbelt but it would not work. Our client was a passenger in a small sport utility vehicle. The driver of the vehicle failed to negotiate a curve on a dirt road and the car crashed into a tree. Plaintiff had attempted to use his seatbelt when he first got into the car but due to a malfunction, he could not pull it out. All of the other persons in the vehicle were belted and walked away virtually without a scratch. Since our client was not able to use his seatbelt, he was thrown forward striking his head sustaining a very serious closed head injury. Shaffer and Gaier retained a team of 7 experts to establish that the seatbelt malfunctioned causing Plaintiff's severe head injury.

Landscaping Equipment Defect Causes Hand to Be Crushed

We represented a 20 year old woman whose hand was crushed due a defective log splitter. Our client took a landscaping job to assist her with her college tuition bills. On of the first days of her new job she was instructed on how to use a log splitter for her employer. Due to a defective switch in the log splitter, the machine was inadvertently activated crushing the Plaintiff's hand. The case was filed in Federal Court in Philadelphia and after an extensive mediation with a Federal Magistrate Judge; the case was settled for a satisfactory confidential amount.

AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS

$1.2 Million Verdict for Defective Highway Design

One of our attorneys represented a 60 year old man who was waiting for a SEPTA bus at the intersection of 52nd Street and Chestnut for in downtown Philadelphia. As Plaintiff was waiting for the bus, there was an inter-sectional accident and one of the cars pinned Plaintiff against one of the subway posts crashing his leg. Our experts were able to establish that the City of Philadelphia was negligent in designing the highway to require people to actually wait for the bus in the middle of the intersection. Our attorney was able to locate witnesses that the testified that there were several accidents at the location site and the City of Philadelphia was told that this was a dangerous location.

$900,000 Arbitration Award

Our attorneys represented the driver who was involved in a head on-collision with a driver that crossed the median causing a severe accident. The Plaintiff suffered a fractured hip and broken ribs. The other driver did not carry sufficient insurance so our attorneys were able to bring a claim against our clients' own insurance company for under insured motorist benefits. Plaintiff retained several experts to establish the ongoing limitation from the fractured hip.

Photographer Secures $750,000 Award

A Philadelphia photographer obtained a substantial Arbitration award due to a rare condition that occurred after an automobile accident. Our client was a professional photographer who had a significant business throughout Pennsylvania. Due to the automobile accident, our client developed psoriatic arthritis - a very rare but crippling disease - especially for a photographer. We were able to secure one of the leading experts in the world to establish that this condition was cause by the accident.

CONSTRUCTION ACCIDENTS

Burn Victim Receives Confidential Settlement

We represented a construction worker who was performing work at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. One of our clients responsibilities was to check the metal in the hull of several ships for any structural defects. As he was performing his inspections, a worker from one of the other sub-contractors left his blow torch inside the hull where our client was working. The worker did not realize that his blow torch has a gas leak and the entire hull of the container filled with combustible gas. When the worker came back to the work site to start welding again, there was a huge explosion burning our client's body. We were able to secure several experts to establish that the construction site was unsafe and in fact there were several OSHA violations. The burn victim received a very substantial settlement.

$1 Million Settlement During Trial

Our client was a construction worker performing work at the University of Pennsylvania. Our client's employer was hired to assist in the construction at the new Wharton School of Business. As Plaintiff was descending a stairway, one of the other subcontractor's workers negligently removed a plank of wood creating a large hole. Our client did not see that the plank was missing and he fell into the hole, tearing his biceps which required surgeries. Our firm retained several construction experts to establish that this was an unreasonably dangerous work site created by the negligence of the other sub-contractor. After 4 days of trial, the matter settled against the sub-contractors that negligently created the dangerous job site.

PREMISES LIABILITY

Parking Lot Crack Leads To Verdict for Plaintiff

Our firm represented a salesman who was injured a parking lot in Mount Laurel NJ. Plaintiff fell over a crack n the parking sustaining a fractured ankle requiring surgery. The Defendants' eyewitnesses to the accident argued that our client either tripped over a "pebble" or simply tripped over his own feet. Plaintiff argued that the crack caused the fall and was a dangerous condition- the jury agreed. The jury awarded $300,000 to Plaintiff

Black Ice - Equals $200,000 Verdict

We represented a vigorous 85 year old woman who worked full time as a sales associate. She would normally arrive at work as early as 5 am. On the day of this accident, she parked her car and stepped onto a parking lot that very slippery. The defendants asserted that the parking lot was safe and it was not responsible for Plaintiffs' injuries. The Jury disagreed awarding $200,000 for the injury.

COMMERICAL AND EMPLOYMENT LITIGATION

Breach of Contract Yields $1.8M Verdict

We were able to secure a verdict for our client whose business was ruined when one of its suppliers unilaterally terminated its contract. Leto Ice Tea was a start up company in New York City. They had an exclusive contract with a bottling company located in Reading, Pa. At the start of the summer season, Leto's exclusive bottler cancelled its contract with Leto stating that it had other more lucrative opportunities. Unfortunately for Leto, however, it was not able to secure another bottler and it was forced out of business. Leto brought suit in Federal Court in Philadelphia and was able to secure verdict in the amount $1.8 Million which covered all of the monies it had invested into its startup business that was now defunct.

Former Employee Who Was Wrongfully Terminated Receives & $1.76M Judgment

We represented a physician who was hired by an international medical firm to run its United States division. Although our client had a long term contract, his employer terminated the agreement. We filed suit in Federal Court in Philadelphia and proved that the employer was unjustified in terminating the contract. The Court agreed and entered judgment in favor of our client in the amount of $1.76 million.

Misrepresentation of Financial Information

Our firm secured a jury verdict in July 2008 for a British businessman who wanted to invest in a Philadelphia restaurant. The jury not only awarded his compensatory damages of $163,500, but we were also able to secure him a $75,000 award for punitive damages.

The lawsuit alleged that the seller and her business broker misrepresented many of the key financial components that went into the value of the business. We secured experts in the field of accounting and immigration law to present the case to the jury in the Commerce Division of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.

Litigation of Business Separation/Dissolution

We represented the principle to a closely held pharmaceutical software company regarding a lawsuit over the dissolution of the company. The opposing party worked fewer hours, brought in less revenue and had far fewer business contacts, yet decided to bring a commercial lawsuit against our client to take most of the business away with him to a competing company. We were able to litigate an injunction in the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas which allowed our client to keep his past, present and most of the future business and its clients.

The case was particularly rewarding because, like most small businesses, our client had a great deal of emotional investment tied up in the business. Also, we were able to get all of the final details resolved through a private mediator, rather than through the Court system, which saved our client thousands of dollars and years of litigation.

Defense Verdict for International Firm

We represented a European company whose main offices were located in Moscow. Our client was sued through the American Arbitration Association for allegedly breaching a contract and the Plaintiff claimed it was owed over $5,000,000. After hearings that lasted several weeks in New York City, we were successful in proving that the contract was never breached and the Plaintiff was not owed any monies.

We also represent several businesses, large and small advising them on commercial and transactional needs. We are fortunate to also represent individuals regarding various commercial and banking transactions.

LEGAL MALPRACTICE

Blown Statute of Limitation leads to $350,000 Verdict

We represented a Plaintiff who had a slip and fall in Manhattan sustaining a broken hand and knee injury. Plaintiff had retained a Philadelphia attorney to represent her in bringing a claim against the City of New York. Unfortunately for our client, her prior lawyer was not familiar with New York law and he did not file the lawsuit within the applicable time frame and her claim was ultimately dismissed. Our client turned to us and we were able to file a legal malpractice action proving that but for the negligence of the Philadelphia attorney, she would have received a settlement or verdict in NYC. A Philadelphia jury awarded Plaintiff $350,000 for the lawyer's legal malpractice.