Our Results

20+ years of experience

The attorneys at The Platta Law Firm have managed to recover large sums of money, in compensation, for our clients who have suffered accidents at work or of any kind. Some of the success stories are:

Warehouse Work Related Accident

- Labor Law

This case involved a work-related accident on Long Island at a warehouse. The plaintiff worker was 34-years old when the accident occurred. The owner of the building hired the plaintiff’s company to perform demolition work at the subject premises. This work involved demolishing the entire structure except for the four walls. Following the demolition work, a new roof was to be put on the structure and other construction work was to be performed so the structure could be used as a warehouse.

The case settled prior to trial for $4,495,000.

Slip and Fall Accident

- Labor Law

A 44 year old plumber, was injured while renovating a mixed use building on Central Park South in Manhattan. As he was attempting to repair a leaking pipe, he slipped on plastic sheeting that was being used to temporarily protect a staircase leading to the subway station below the building. He suffered injuries requiring surgery to his lumbar spine, and his right shoulder and ankle as well as injuries to his neck, head and both wrists. The defendant building owner and general contractor tried to argue the accident was the Plaintiff’s fault and that his injuries preexisted his accident. Their arguments were unsuccessful.

The case settled for $3,250,000.

Fall from Ladder

- Labor Law

The plaintiff was working for a construction company performing renovation work at a public housing complex when he was caused to fall off an unsecured extension ladder. The surface upon which the ladder was resting was unstable, and the worker tasked with holding the ladder was unable to keep it upright. The construction field supervisor conceded during his deposition that the ladder should have been attached securely to the building with a safety line. As a result of the accident, the plaintiff suffered serious injuries to his head, shoulder, lower back, and neck, which required two separate fusion surgeries to repair.

The case settled prior to trial for $3,000,000.

Falling Window Sill

- Labor Law

A mason was injured while moving a large window sill (weighing 450-500 lbs) down a flight of stairs by hand with a co-worker. The workers had to move this sill by hand as the forklift operator had been laid off and there was no other licensed forklift operator on site. As they were moving the sill, plaintiff’s co-worker lost his grip and the sill fell towards the plaintiff striking him on his left foot and knocking him onto the concrete. Plaintiff suffered fractures in his left foot/ankle which required two surgeries and injuries to his neck and back, which required fusion surgery to his neck.

The case settled at mediation for $2,500,000.

Falling Object

- Labor Law

This case involved a commercial plumber performing renovation work at a residential building. The entire plumbing system was being demolished and replaced. While removing a pipe from the ceiling with two co-workers, the pipe fell and swung towards plaintiff. It struck plaintiff in his hand, wrist, and arm, before striking the ladder plaintiff was standing on, and knocking plaintiff into the wall. As a result of this accident, plaintiff sustained serious injuries, including, but not limited to injuries to his left arm requiring surgery, injuries to his cervical spine requiring fusion surgery, and injuries to his left wrist, lumbar spine, left leg, left shoulder, and thoracic spine.

The case settled before trial for $2,250,000.

Slip and Fall on Ice

- Labor Law

This case involved a 50-year-old roofer was injured at a roofing project at a New York City university library. While walking over to a material hoist, plaintiff was caused to slip and fall on ice that accumulated on the surface of the roof. At the time of the accident, the surface of the roof was uneven and contained depressions that allowed for pooling of water. The meteorological data confirmed precipitation in the days before the accident and temperatures below freezing in the hours before the accident. As a result of the accident the plaintiff sustained serious injuries including lower back herniations and tears of the meniscus in his knee which required arthroscopic surgery to repair. He also sustained shoulder tears which required surgery to repair.

The case settled before trial for $2,200,000.

Falling Ladder

- Labor Law

This case involved a worker injured during a demolition project. While cutting the pipe which supported the air conditioning unit, an explosion occurred forcing the fire back at plaintiff, which caused the unsecured ladder to tip and fall. Plaintiff fell with the ladder. As a result of the accident, plaintiff sustained injuries to his neck and lower back requiring surgeries to both, left shoulder requiring surgery, left wrist requiring surgery and first and second degree burns on his face and neck.

The case settled on the eve of trial for $2,100,000.

Fall From A Ladder

- Labor Law

This case involved a fall from a ladder on a worksite. In 2014 the plaintiff was a plumber working on the construction of a new apartment building. At the time of the accident, he was on a ladder installing pipes for the bathroom. As he was installing the pipes, the ladder shifted, causing him to fall. As a result of the accident he fell five to six feet to the ground. As a result of the fall he suffered a fractured ankle and ligament sprains to his knees. He also was required to undergo a revision surgery to his back.

The case settled prior trial for $2,000,000.

Falling Object

- Labor Law

A construction worker was struck in the head by two falling pipes. As a result of this accident, our client sustained injuries to his neck which required surgical intervention. The defendants appealed the Court’s decision that they were liable for our client’s accident. This appeal made it all the way up to the Court of Appeals of the State of New York. Our firm prevailed when the appeal was before New York’s highest court. In doing so, we secured a substantial award for our client, but also improved the law for construction accidents involving falling objects in the State of New York.

The case settled after appeal for $1,900,000.

Falling Radiator

- Labor Law

This case involved a worker and his partner who were removing a large cast iron radiator (1.5 meters by 2.5 meters). Behind the radiator was a large metal plate which was obscured by the radiator. As plaintiff and his partner began to slightly budge the radiator, the metal plate hit the radiator and caused the radiator to fall and strike plaintiff and knock him to the ground. As a result of his accident, plaintiff sustained injuries in both knees which required surgeries, as well as fractures in the right foot that required surgical repair. He also sustained herniations in his lower back which will require a fusion surgery in the future.

Plaintiff’s case settled before trial for $1,600,000.

Falling Tar Bucket

- Labor Law

This case involved a worker who was struck by a tar bucket which fell from a hoist’s container while being hoisted down by his coworkers from the roof of the five/six-story school building. There was no planking in the hoistway to protect against falling objects, no tag lines to control swaying of the hoist’s container while in motion. As a result of this accident, plaintiff sustained serious injuries, including a bimalleolar fracture and transverse fracture of the medial malleolus of the left ankle which required open reduction internal fixation surgery to repair. He also suffered herniations of the lower back which required fusion surgery to repair.

The case settled before trial for $1,500,000.

Pedestrian Knockdown

- MVA

A 49-year-old woman was struck by a turning minivan while she was crossing the street in a marked cross-walk with a walk signal. The minivan struck the plaintiff in her back and side causing her to strike the hood of the minivan before landing on the street. As a result of this accident, she suffered neck and back injuries. She treated with acupuncture and epidural steroid injections before ultimately needing fusion surgery to her neck. Plaintiff received summary judgment on the issue of liability.

The case settled at mediation for $1,100,000.

Pedestrian Knockdown

- MVA

This case involved a woman who was involved in a pedestrian knockdown accident when she was struck while crossing the street by a turning bread truck. As a result of this accident, plaintiff sustained a tibial plateau fracture and torn meniscus which required surgical repair. Plaintiff also sustained bulges in her lower back which required a laminectomy surgery. Plaintiff received summary judgment against the defendants on the issue of liability and on the issue of serious injury. The case proceeded to trial on the issue of damages only. The jury awarded plaintiff $780,000 in total damages. Defendants were hesitant to pay the jury award and threatened appeal. When defendants did not timely pay, plaintiff entered judgment. The entered judgment and awarded the plaintiff interest from the date she received summary judgment.

Defendants paid the judgment $890,837.52.

Unsafe Hand Saw

- Labor Law

This case involved a worker injured while performing renovation work of a country club. He was cutting shingles for baseboard installation with a handsaw, when the hand saw kicked back and struck his left hand. The rotating saw blade got entangled in his glove cutting into his hand. In an effort to save his hand, he reflexively stood up while trying to pull the saw out of the glove and stepped back on the rocks scattered on top of the slippery tarp, causing him to trip, slip and fall back. As a result of this accident, plaintiff sustained herniations in his lower back and tears in the shoulder which required surgical repair. He also sustained several lacerations on his left hand and an index finger contracture and tenolysis which required surgical repair.

The case settled before trial for $845,000.

Falling Pipe

- Labor Law

This case involved a worker injured when a portion of pipe he was cutting with a Sawzall broke and struck the ladder he was standing upon, causing the ladder to tip over and for him to fall with the ladder to the ground. Plaintiff was granted summary judgment against the defendants on the issue of liability. The case proceeded to trial on the issue of damages only. As a result of the accident the plaintiff sustained tears in his left shoulder that required arthroscopic surgery to repair. He also sustained tears in his knee that required surgery to repair. Plaintiff made a good recovery from his injuries.

The case settled during trial for $800,000.

Fall from Scaffold

- Labor Law

A 62-year-old man was injured while performing renovation work at a commercial property. He was working atop a scaffold when the scaffold shifted causing him to fall approximately six feet onto the floor. The scaffold did not have guardrails around or above the platform. In addition, the scaffold was missing one of the brakes used for locking each of the wheels into place. As a result of his accident he sustained serious injuries to his head, wrist, shoulder, hip, neck, and back. He required fusion surgery to repair the damage in his neck, and a separate fusion surgery to repair the damage in his lower back.

The case settled prior to trial for $4,200,000.

Fall From A Ladder

- Labor Law

This case involved a fall from a ladder on a worksite. In 2016 the plaintiff worked as a painter. He was doing some finishing work on a multi-level floor. As he was climbing down an affixed ladder to the lower level, he slipped and fell to the ground. We were able to show that this ladder, which was the only ladder available, was not safe. The defendant claimed that the ladder was safe and, if it wasn’t, there were multiple other ladders to use. As a result of the accident the plaintiff fractured his knee and underwent neck surgery for his herniated discs.

After multiple trials the case settled $3,100,000.

Mis-leveling Elevator

- Premises

A woman was injured when she tripped over a mis-leveling elevator in a luxury apartment building in which she worked as a caretaker for a special needs child. As she was walking into the elevator the floor of the elevator suddenly jumped up several inches. Plaintiff’s foot got caught on the raised portion of the elevator floor causing her to trip and fall violently into the elevator. She sustained serious injuries, including fractures to her arm, and head, knee, neck, and back injuries. She had surgeries to her wrist, knee, and neck as a result of this accident.

The case settled prior to trial for $2,920,000.

Fall from Platform

- Labor Law

Plaintiff’s employer was hired to perform demolition and restoration of brick fascia walls, waterproofing and other façade replacements at a high rise residential building. To perform this work, he had to access a hanging scaffold from a sidewalk bridge. As he attempted to lower himself to the sidewalk bridge, he tripped on trash/debris that was on the standing scaffold and fell approximately four feet onto the sidewalk shed/platform, landing on his knees and then falling forward. As a result of this accident, the plaintiff sustained herniations to his neck that required injections and a fusion surgery, lower back herniations and fracture which required surgery, and injuries to his knees which required two surgeries.

The case settled before trial for $2,350,000.

Fall from Scaffold

- Labor Law

This case arose from a work-site accident that occurred when plaintiff was performing asbestos abatement as part of a larger demolition/renovation project. Plaintiff was on top of a scaffold demolishing and removing ducts when a portion of the duct fell to the scaffold (that had no guardrails), which caused plaintiff to fall off the scaffold. As a result of his accident, plaintiff sustained a traumatic brain injury, cervical herniations requiring a series of epidural steroid injections and a discectomy with fusion, lumbar herniations and bulges requiring a series of epidural steroid injections, a torn ACL on his left knee that required arthroscopic surgery.

The case settled before trial for $2,200,000.

Trip over Construction Debris

- Labor Law

The case settled before trial for $2,200,000.

Fall From A Roof

- Labor Law

This case involved a fall from a rooftop on a worksite. In 2017 the plaintiff was helping to redo a roof on a school. As a part of this job, he had to remove material from the roof by throwing it to the dumpster below. Unfortunately, on one such trip, the barrier was not properly placed, and it caused the plaintiff to fall from the roof. As a result of the accident the plaintiff underwent surgery to his left shoulder, and both ankles. The defendant contended that the plaintiff did not use an area of the roof which was secured by barriers. Despite these claims, the plaintiff was able to settle this case for $2,000,000 at mediation prior to trial.

Plaintiff settled case at mediation for $2,000,000.

Fall From A Scaffold

- Labor Law

This case involved a fall from a scaffold on a worksite. In 201a the plaintiff was doing pointing work on a building in New York, New York. As he was working, a plank on the scaffold broke, causing the plaintiff to fall through it eight feet to the ground. We were able to take advantage of the labor law in New York and get summary judgment granted for the plaintiff. As a result of the fall, the plaintiff underwent arthroscopic surgeries to his left knee, right elbow and right shoulder.

The parties settled the case for $2,000,000.

Fall from a Ladder

- Labor Law

This case involved a construction worker who was injured when the unsecured ladder upon which he was working slid out from under him, causing him to fall down with the ladder. Plaintiff was granted summary judgment on the issue of liability. Plaintiff suffered open fractures of his left tibia and fibula, the bones protruding through his skin, and dislocation of his left shoulder. Plaintiff required three surgeries to his left leg as well as surgeries to both shoulders. As a result, he had instability in his leg and later fell and sustained intracranial trauma which led to his death.

The case settled before trial for $1,850,000.

Fall From A Ladder

- Labor Law

This case involved a fall from a ladder at the jobsite. In 2010 the plaintiff was working on a renovation project at a public library. He was working on an A-frame ladder when the ladder shifted, causing him to fall. The plaintiff claimed that the ladder was not properly secured, as required by the law. The Court agreed and granted summary judgment for the plaintiff. As a result of the fall, the plaintiff required surgery to his lumbar and cervical spine.

The defendant agreed to pay $1,500,000.

Fall Through Skylight

- Labor Law

This case involved a 21-year-old painter who was injured when working at an upstate power utility facility. As he was maneuvering on the roof while performing this work, he stepped on a skylight and fell through to the ground below. Plaintiff sustained several fractures in his right wrist which required two surgical interventions. In addition, plaintiff sustained severe trauma to his head and face, as well as a herniation a herniation in his neck and bulges in his lower back.

Case settled after depositions for $1,100,000.

Multi-Vehicle Accident

- MVA

This case involved a multi-vehicle accident that when a truck lost two of its rear wheels. The wheels bounced towards plaintiff’s vehicle. When he slowed to avoid collision with the wheels, he was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer. As a result of the accident plaintiff sustained severe and permanent injuries, including disc protrusions in the neck that required a fusion surgery and tears in the shoulder that required arthroscopic surgery. The case proceeded to trial.

The case settled after agreement for $1,000,000.

Intersection Accident

- Motor Vehicle accident

This case involved a motor vehicle accident where both sides claimed they had the green light. Plaintiff was on a scooter and drove through an intersection. The defendant turned left in front of the plaintiff. Plaintiff suffered a fracture to his collar bone and an injury to his shoulder which required arthroscopic surgery. The defendant refused to settle initially.

Case settled after several days for $850,000.

Slip and Fall on Ice

- Premises

This case involved a slip and fall outside of a store in Brooklyn, New York. On the date of the accident, the plaintiff was walking with her son. As she was walking in front of the defendants store she slipped and fell on ice. We were able to show that the ice had been there for a significant amount of time. In addition, we showed that the defendant did not properly maintain the area, which allowed the ice to become covered in snow. Plaintiff suffered a fracture to her ankle requiring both hardware and subsequent removal of that hardware. The defendant refused to settle initially.

The case settled in the courthouse for $800,000.

Please remember that prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome in the future, but should you retain The Platta Law Firm, you will receive the utmost attention, dedication and any resources necessary to secure the best result allowed by law.