Car Accident Settlements

Several individuals were seriously injured as a result of a defective gear shifting device that caused the driver of the motor vehicle to lose control and run over pedestrians inside a New York City park. Our law firm obtained a significant confidential settlement from a major automobile manufacturer because of the defect.

After a young boy was paralyzed due to a minivan seating defect attorneys Howard Raphaelson and Andrew Levine recovered a confidential seven-figure settlement for the 13-year-old boy and his family. Raphaelson & Levine’s determination to overcome all odds, including a courtroom battle against a giant auto manufacturing company, led to a legal victory for this very special boy. Although the defendant was forced to provide substantial compensation that will support this child for the remainder of his life, the manufacturer’s greatest failure was putting profits before passenger safety.

Our client, a 49-year-old freelance photographer, was rear-ended by a truck while he was stopping at a red light. The collision exacerbated earlier injuries that client sustained to his back. Our client had a long-standing herniated disc that he was previously advised required surgery. Our law firm successfully argued that the collision significantly worsened his condition. The matter mediated on two separate occasions. Andrew Levine and Howard Raphaelson were able to obtain a $900,000 settlement prior to trial of this matter.

Raphaelson & Levine represented a young man who was struck by a dump truck while driving his company vehicle. The impact resulted in injuries to his hips and lower back which ultimately required surgery. After extensive depositions and aggressive litigation in the Kings County Supreme Court, a motion was made to the court seeking a liability judgment. The court agreed and granted our client summary judgment. The truck driver appealed the judgment to the Appellate Division, Second Department. While the appeal was pending the battle shifted to liability. Our firm retained medical experts, an economist, and developed a life care plan which projected our client's future medical needs. The matter was mediated before a hearing officer at National Arbitration and Mediation. The firm rejected an offer of half a million dollars, confident our client deserved more. Less than one month from the mediation, partner Andrew Levine reached a settlement on behalf of the client in the amount of $865,000.00

Raphaelson and Levine aggressively litigated on behalf of a young Brooklyn resident who was struck in the rear while driving along the Belt Parkway. Our client, who had a history of prior back pain and treatment, sustained a back injury to his lumbar spine (lower back). He attempted physical therapy but ultimately required back surgery. The case was very complex and contained a myriad of issues including prior accidents, subsequent accidents and troubling surveillance video. Nonetheless, the firm successfully presented the case and was able to obtain a recovery of $825,000 for this deserving client. This money was intended to compensate him for his pain and suffering as well as his lost income.

Our office represented the estate of a young mother who was tragically struck and killed by a tow truck. Making the event even more unfortunate, the date of the accident was her youngest son’s birthday. Our office established that our client sustained “pre-impact” terror based on the testimony of the driver of the tow truck. At mediation prior to the start of trial, Steven Gershowitz and Howard Raphaelson were able to secure a settlement of $825,000. A portion of this sum was placed into a structured settlement and will provide lifetime income to the children of the accident victim. The anticipated payout will top $1,000,000.

A gourmet chef was injured as a passenger when the vehicle she was riding in was struck by a truck. The victim was an occupant of a vehicle that was parked alongside a curb of Jamaica Avenue, near 135th Street, in Queens. The vehicle's owner also occupied the vehicle. As the driver drove away from the curb and entered traffic, the vehicle collided with a truck. As a result of the impact, the victim sustained spinal injuries that led to epidural injections and ultimately a laminectomy, a procedure to relieve pressure in the spine due to a herniated disk. The case was particularly difficult because our client had two prior accidents, both pursued legally, with one resulting in a back injury in the same area that our client ultimately underwent the laminectomy. The defense contended that the victim was driving the vehicle (not the passenger) and that she turned into traffic from a parked position and initiated the collision. The police report supported the driver of the trucks accounts of the incident, but the owner of the vehicle that was sideswiped claims that the report contained inaccuracies that were a result of his limitations with the English language. The victim claimed that she still suffers from residual pain and that she can not endure prolonged periods in which she is standing, and that she cannot lift heavy objects. Our firm hired a pain management expert, who agreed that our client suffers from unresolved symptoms. As a result of the injuries, it prevents her resumption of her chef’s job. The defense counsel downplayed the victims claim that she cannot resume her chef’s job, however through aggressive litigation Andre Levine, firm partner, was able to negotiate a recovery of $750,000 injury settlement on the eve of trial. A portion of the sum was placed in a structured settlement thus the client’s ultimate recovery will near $1,000,000. This recovery was featured in the New York Jury Verdict Reporter as a top recovery.

A 31-year-old driver traveling along the Henry Hudson Parkway came upon a disabled vehicle that had been involved in a motor vehicle accident. He observed someone injured inside the vehicle. After parking his car on the side of the roadway, he was attempting to assist the injured person when another vehicle, proceeding on the Parkway in an unsafe manner, struck him. The Raphaelson Law Firm, P.C. resolved the case at the time of trial.

When a driver was injured during a hit-and-run collision on the Long Island Expressway, they turned to Raphaelson & Levine for help. Our client was operating a work vehicle along the Long Island Expressway when he was stuck in the rear. This impact caused him to lose control and he was propelled into the center divider. The impact was violent and the force broke his leg. He required surgery that utilized an intramedullary nail to stabilize the fracture. The vehicle that caused the crash initially stopped but fled the scene before police arrived. Unfortunately, despite exhaustive efforts by our office and the NYPD, the vehicle could not be identified. Our office presented a claim pursuant to the SUM endorsement of the vehicle's policy. This endorsement provides coverage if you are injured by either an underinsured, uninsured or hit and run motorist. Our firm successfully opposed a motion which sought to stay, or blocks, our client from proceeding to arbitration. We thereafter went through discovery and prepared for the Arbitration with the same diligence we would prepare a matter for trial. On the literal eve of arbitration, partner Andrew Levine and attorney Narciso Garcia successfully secured a settlement of $590,000 for our client. This result is particularly significant in so much as it was substantially more than the assigned arbitrator had ever awarded for this type of injury. This substantial recovery will provide our client with much-needed compensation and is a testament to our diligent preparation and fierce litigation strategy. "This serves as a reminder to us all that we must verify our policies provide maximum protection for underinsured, uninsured or hit and run motorists," Andrew stated, "This coverage is the most essential and provides the greatest protection for your family in the event of a serious injury arising out of a motor vehicle crash." We are happy to review your policy of insurance free of charge to determine the level of coverage you are providing you and your family. This case should be a wake-up call to all. While we always preach the importance of this coverage this case is living proof.

A pharmacy assistant manager was driving southbound in the Jamaica section of Queens when her vehicle was involved in a three-car crash, resulting in a serious back injury. When the victim was about 50 feet shy of the intersection at 86th Avenue, they stopped in traffic. Before they could resume travel, her vehicle was struck by a northbound vehicle that crossed 150th Street center line. The collision occurred moments after that car was struck by another driver, who was traveling on 86th Avenue. The pharmacy assistant manager alleged that both vehicles that struck her vehicle were negligent in the operation of their respective vehicles. She also claimed that the first vehicle that struck her was speeding and contended that he lost control of his vehicle after the initial collision when he failed to yield the right away. The defense contended that the defendant stopped at the stop sign, and claimed that the collision occurred while they were inching into the intersection and that the vehicle that struck him was maintaining a speed of 45 miles per hour. The third vehicle driver stated that the incident occurred while he was test-driving a vehicle that had a mechanical problem. He claimed that he maintained a speed of 5 mph. Our client's injuries include bulges of the L4-5 and L5-S1 intervertebral discs, as well as limitations due to accident PTSD. Conservative treatment was done with acupuncture, physical therapy, and pain management treatment. Although the defense counsel produced a surveillance videotape and suggested that the tape demonstrated that her limitations were not disabling, our firm aggressively litigated a $570,000 negotiated car accident settlement.  

Our firm represented a woman who was injured in a motor vehicle accident. Two vehicles collided in an intersection. As a result of that impact, one vehicle lost control and struck our client. We filed a lawsuit against both vehicles in Queens Supreme Court, which happened to be three blocks from where the accident happened. After two years of litigation and on the eve of trial, the matter was resolved for 550,000. Our client had sustained a disc bulge. Throughout the entire case the Defendants attempted to minimize the extent of her injuries. Andrew Levine said, “This matter was the perfect example of how our office handles our client’s claims. We were committed to making the defendants understand the effect this accident had on our client’s life not what her MRI report said.” That was the difference between the defendant’s initial offer of $10,000 and the ultimate recovery of $550,000.

Our client was seriously injured when the vehicle he was traveling in was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer on the BQE expressway(or I-278). While the vehicle in which he was traveling did not have a scratch we proved that his injuries were in fact caused by the accident. The deck was stacked against us from the start as the police report doubted whether the client was injured based on the fact that no damage resulted. The defendants even hired a biomechanical expert to say that it was physically impossible that the injuries resulted from the accident. We proceeded to an arbitration and recovered nearly half. Through diligent trial preparation and skilled advocacy at the Arbitration Hearing, we prevailed and established that each injury was caused by the accident and was permanent and debilitating. Our office has handled numerous truck accidents and is familiar with the Federal motor vehicle safety standards that govern tractor trailers.

At 5:15pm a truck driver’s helper was unloading his delivery truck, which was stopped near the intersection of West Ninth Street and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, NY. While he was standing near the rear of his truck, he was struck by a van. The victim became pinned between the rear bumper of his truck and the front bumper of the van and sustained serious crush injuries to his leg, including a fractured tibia which required a bone graft and additional medical treatment. The defense counsel contended that our client’s injuries were healing well and that the victim would not be left with any permanent residual injury, further arguing that some of our client’s ambulatory problems stemmed from a prior injury to his right leg. During mediation, Raphaelson & Levine was able to secure a $400,000 settlement under New York’s supplementary underinsured-motorist provision in addition to the defendant insurer’s maximum policy amount of $100,000. The insurance payout, $500,000 in total, will compensate our client for his past and future pain and suffering.

A delivery driver was driving on the southbound side of the Saw Mill River Parkway, in Westchester County when she was involved in a four-way collision that began when a southbound motorist struck the rear end of a preceding vehicle causing a multiple car pile-up accidents. Due to the injuries, the victim received from the accident she had two shoulder surgeries to repair her torn rotator cuff. The victim contended that she would need to move to another country, where she can receive the assistance of her family to care for her two children. She also claimed that she suffers from residual pain and range of motion in her right shoulder. After several weeks of physical therapy, the victim was seen by an Orthopedist and advised to undergo Arthroscopic Surgery. Following the procedure, she developed stiffness in the shoulder and required a revision procedure where scar tissue was removed. The vehicle that struck her in the rear had a $100,000 insurance policy, which was offered immediately upon filing the lawsuit. However, the defense contended that the preceding motorists stopped abruptly and such, claimed they could not have avoided the collision. Before the scheduled arbitration, personal injury attorneys Andrew Levine and Dario Martinez, made a claim under the Underinsured Motorist Endorsement of our client’s insurance policy, obtaining an additional $400,000 for a total car accident shoulder injury settlement of $500,000. This recovery was noted to be one of the largest in New York for this type of injury. Levine recalls, “this case was the perfect example of the importance of having the proper underinsurance on your vehicle policies.” Our client was able to protect herself when the dangerous driver failed to have sufficient insurance. This benefit costs very little in comparison with the advantage it has brought our client. Feel free to forward the ‘Declarations Page’ of your insurance policy for our office to review.

A mother and two children were struck in the rear by a truck on a city highway. The injury to her neck required she be taken by ambulance and separated from her children at the scene. Although the children miraculously sustained only minor injuries the mother required extensive physical therapy to her neck. The mother was able to return to work and support her children but required significant treatment for over one year. Her case was settled this week in Kings County for $450,000.00 Raphaelson and Levine have litigated and prevailed on numerous car accident settlements in New York. To speak to an attorney with extensive experience in such a matter please contact us today.

Our firm secured a settlement 5-times larger than the defendant's original offer for a New Yorker who suffered soft tissue injuries during a car accident. Trial attorney Jason Krakower recently received a favorable result in a matter pending in New York County Supreme Court. Our client had been struck by a motor vehicle. She sustained soft tissue injuries that were treated with conservative care for several months. Three years after the accident our client developed a vascular condition in her leg that was struck at the time of the accident. The insurance carrier for the defendant refused to acknowledge that the vascular injury was caused by the accident due to the long delay in diagnosis and treatment. During the trial, Krakower was able to establish that the injury was related to the accident through medical testimony and documentation. Prior to the jury returning a verdict, the matter was settled for $45,000. Before the start of the trial, the defendant was only offering $7,500. Jason’s excellent courtroom skills allowed our client to obtain an award over five times larger than the pretrial offer!

Although a person who sustained injury to a particular body part may be more susceptible to reinjuring or exacerbating the injury to that same body part in the future, New York Law allows plaintiffs to recover for aggravation and exacerbation of preexisting injuries. This week, the injury lawyers of Raphaelson and Levine recovered a $300,000 settlement for a 32-year-old security guard who was injured in a 3-car accident in New York in 2007. Several years prior to this accident, the client had a car accident and injured his back. His injury was diagnosed as a herniated disc. He received treatment for two years and recovered monies as a result of a lawsuit that was brought on his behalf by another law firm. Following his recent accident, he returned to the law firm that handled his first accident and was advised that he could not recover monies because that part of his body was already injured. He was then referred to Raphaelson and Levine by a friend that our law firm had represented. We advised the client that although the new accident involved injury to the same part of his back as the first accident, we would fight his case as an exacerbation of a preexisting injury. Raphaelson and Levine was able to prove that the injury was exacerbated as a result of the second accident and was able to negotiate a $300,000 herniated disc car accident settlement.

Our firm represented a young man who injured his back in a motor vehicle accident. He had previously hurt the same portion of his spine and underwent extensive care immediately before the current accident. The MRIs were virtually identical and confirmed he had a herniated disc. In spite of the similarities, Howard Raphaelson was able to establish that the current accident aggravated the condition and would require extensive treatment into the future. Howard obtained a $300,000 settlement on behalf of our client.

An 80-year-old man was involved in a two-car motor vehicle accident. Our client was driving his vehicle and made an abrupt left turn in front of the defendant’s vehicle. The police report cited our client for failure to yield the right of way. Through the use of our accident reconstruction experts, Andrew Levine and Howard Raphaelson were able to establish that the defendant was traveling at an unsafe speed and should have seen the plaintiff in time to avoid the collision. After a lengthy mediation the firm received an award of $290,000 for our client’s pain and suffering.

Raphaelson and Levine represented the surviving family members in a civil lawsuit against a drunk driver who struck and killed our client. Despite the Police report indicating that our client was at fault for the accident, we aggressively pursued the claim. We were able to reconstruct the accident through the use of multiple experts and establish that the driver was intoxicated and speeding excessively. Our firm recovered the policy limit of $250,000. Our aggressive litigation paid off and sent a message that drunk driving is not tolerable.

Our firm represented a woman involved in an auto accident in Washington State. Our client had a prior accident approximately 10 years ago that caused a herniation in her neck. Andrew Levine successfully argued that our client’s neck injury was made significantly worse due to the current accident. As a result, Andrew Levine was able to negotiate a pretrial settlement for our client in the amount of $245,000. This represented the fourth six-figure result that Andrew obtained in the past four months for clients claiming neck injuries that had prior injuries and accidents.

The New York car accident lawyers of The Raphaelson & Levine Law Firm in New York represented a man who was injured while traveling as a passenger in his own car. The truck that struck his vehicle had no insurance. Our client sustained a neck injury, which ultimately required surgery. The firm presented a claim pursuant to a clause in our client’s insurance policy. The insurance company claimed that the client’s own doctor said the surgery was not related and was due to his advanced age (over 80) and further that his injuries were in no way related to the accident. Through aggressive litigation, Andrew Levine was able to recover $245,000, which represented nearly the maximum recovery available.

Our firm represented a woman who was in a car accident in northern New Jersey. Our client was struck by a car driven by a newly licensed driver that attempted to make a left turn. As a result of the impact, our client sustained a fracture to her nondominant wrist. The fracture was treated via a surgical procedure. Following the completion of discovery, but prior to the start of trial, Andrew Levine obtained a recovery of $225,000 for our client. Interestingly our firm was able to use Facebook entries made by the defendant following the accident to challenge her claims that our client was speeding and had in any way contributed to the accident.

The firm represented a young man involved in a New York motor vehicle accident. Our client had a prior accident and a subsequent accident before this matter could go to trial. Both the prior and subsequent accidents resulted in injuries nearly identical to the injuries we alleged. Prior to trial the insurance company for the defendant refused to offer more than $7,500. Trial Attorney Jason Krakower took the matter before the jury seeking justice for our client. Jason persuaded the jury that the accident caused all of our client’s injuries and the jury awarded the sum of $200,000.

Jason Krakower was recently recognized by the New York Jury Verdict Reporter. This publication features top verdicts and settlements obtained in New York. The reporter published a case summary on Jason’s recent victory in New York Supreme Court for a car accident victim who sustained soft tissue injuries. Jason secured a jury verdict of $200,000 despite our client’s involvement in prior and subsequent accidents.

Our firm represented a father and son who were injured in a car accident in the Bronx. The son, the driver had to undergo an arthroscopic surgery. The father, the passenger, did not undergo surgery but sustained a knee injury that caused constant pain and limitations in walking. Andrew Levine and Dario Martinez thoroughly prepared this case for mediation. Our firm secured a $200,000 settlement on behalf of our clients.

After a 43-year-old Pepsi Cola truck driver had their life altered by a reckless truck driver, they turned to Raphaelson & Levine for justice. Known as a family man and hard worker, our client loved working hard as a truck driver delivering Pepsi Cola while looking forward to watching his two sons play school sports after work. His life and American dream was torn away when a reckless truck driver’s dangerous actions caused a collision on the Long Island Expressway, leaving our client with serious spinal injuries including herniated discs in the back and neck, and tremendous pain and suffering. Personal injury attorneys Howard Rahaelson and Andrew Levine, partners, had previously mediated the case at NAM and had the courage to recommend rejecting an offer of $1.5 Million, instead pressing forward to trial. With a continued fight on our client’s behalf, we diligently prepared for trial. With the trial date approaching, through skilled, expert negotiation Howard Raphaelson secured an additional $500,000 of compensation, earning our client a truck accident settlement of $2,000,000. We are proud to be known as the “voice of the injured,” and ensure our clients have the resources they need to heal and take care of their families following a life-altering injury. Partners Howard Raphaelson and Andrew Levine have been recognized by Super Lawyers, New York’s Best Lawyers, New Yorker Magazine, and other legal organizations that rank the countries best lawyers.

When an insurance company offered a minimal settlement to a car accident victim that sustained an elbow injury requiring surgery, she turned to our firm for assistance. Our client injured her elbow after being struck by a car and required arthroscopic surgery to repair the damage. The insurance company argued that our client's injuries were so minor that the case would be dismissed before trial. The motion to dismiss was denied and the case proceeded to trial at the Suffolk County Supreme Court. Claiming they would certainly prevail, the insurance company offered a pedestrian settlement of only a few thousand dollars. With the council of personal injury attorney Ben Katz, our client rejected the offer and our firm diligently went to work. After a tireless pursuit of justice for our client, attorney Ben Katz presented a compelling argument, successfully obtaining a trial verdict of $175,000 for our deserving client.

Jason Krakower handled a claim for a client who sustained a knee injury and wrist injury in a motor vehicle accident. The MRI study failed to reveal a torn ligament in the knee, and our client continued to be in pain. Our client underwent an arthroscopic surgery to address his pain. Jason successfully argued that the client sustained a severe knee injury that would cause constant pain for the rest of his life. Jason was able to achieve a $100,000 settlement within six months of the accident. The settlement represented the full available insurance coverage.

Our client, a woman in her fifties, had a long-standing history of prior injuries including prior surgery to her spine, and extensive care to her neck, back and wrists. These were the precise injuries we secured compensation for. While New York Law does not permit a recovery for injuries that pre date an accident, it does permit a recovery for the “exacerbation and aggravation” of those injuries. Essentially you must prove a worsening of the conditions attributable to the accident or incident. Through sophisticated medical analysis, use of top flight experts, and diligent legal work, we were able to establish that our client was asymptomatic prior to the accident we represented her for, despite her 15-year history of treatment. Our office also scored numerous legal victories that helped secure this outstanding recovery. We obtained summary judgment on the issue of liability. This meant the sole issue the jury would decide would be the amount of damages. We also obtained preclusion of the defendant at the time of trial which meant the defendant could not testify and challenge the plaintiffs version of the incident, the force of the impact, or the appearance of the plaintiff following the accident. We proceeded to a mediation at NAM (National Arbitration and Mediation). Through aggressive negotiation and a trial presentation we secured a settlement of $1.5 million dollars for an exacerbation and aggravation claim. This money brings our client well-deserved compensation and a pound of justice.