Case Results

Our record of success is a result of a dedication to our clients marked by such things as commitment, compassion, perseverance, integrity, trust, hard work and attention to detail with an expertise in our field of law that is unsurpassed.

Working as a team, the partners and associates of Smiley & Smiley, LLP are reluctant to take individual credit for victories. Among some of the many notable successes are:

• $14.3 Million verdict against the City of New York on behalf of a ballerina in the Harlem Dance Theater who was rendered paraplegic after the car in which she was riding with a New York Yankees baseball player as driver crashed into an abutment on the West Side Highway. We proved that the city's negligence in failing to post required warning signs was the cause of the accident.

• An award of $8.6 Million, the largest award paid by the fund in all cases, to "Jane Doe#1," the first victim of the World Trade center attacks to be admitted to the hospital and the last to be discharged over 14 months later. Jane Doe suffered horrific injuries when the landing gear of one of the planes came thundering down upon her, crushing her legs and feet and severing her buttocks.

• $3.5 Million structured settlement for a two-year-old infant who was badly scarred and spent one month in the Cornell Burn Center when she was struck by scalding water and steam that escaped from a defective radiator when the steam escape valve of the radiator blew off. We proved that the managing agent of the Bronx housing project failed to properly maintain the radiator resulting in a breach of warranty of habitability under the New York State Real Property Law.

• $1.7 Million verdict against the City of New York on behalf of a New York State Supreme Court Judge who suffered major spinal injuries after his automobile fell into a deep sink hole on a Manhattan street in front of his courthouse. We established that the City failed to properly maintain and repair the roadway.

• $1.6 Million settlement for the family of a 40-year-old man who was crushed to death when a slab of ice fell on him from the roof of a gas station as his wife and 3-year-old child witnessed the devastating event.

• $1.6 Million structured settlement based on the loss of parental guidance for the three children of a 39-year-old Asian woman run over and killed by a garbage truck in New York City's Chinatown.

• $1.56 Million verdict awarded by a Nassau County jury in the case of a 41-year-old man who died, leaving a widow and three children as a result of his physicians' failure to diagnose a blood clot.

• $1.3 Million settlement on behalf of the widow and two children of a bank officer who was struck and killed by a wayward New York City Transit Authority bus.

• $1.15 Million settlement on behalf of a 46-year-old single parent and his 5-year-old son who suffered severe burns when their housing project apartment became engulfed in flames from an electrical fire in the middle of the night. We proved that the housing project failed to maintain working smoke detectors which would have warned the father and son in time to escape from injury.

• $1 Million settlement on behalf of a 60-year-old man whose physician failed to timely diagnose terminal prostate cancer.

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And such lesser financial but no less gratifying settlements as:

• $950,000 for a 30-year-old pedestrian who suffered multiple fractures of both legs when he was struck by a hit and run drunk driver.

• $915,000 for a 30-year-old Broadway casting director who was rendered quadriplegic as a result of his being in an antique wooden guide boat at night on Lake Placid when it was run over and demolished by a large power boat traveling at a high speed. Despite the limited available insurance coverage, this settlement was the largest settlement/verdict ever recorded in Essex County, New York at the time.

• $925,000 for a CNBC television cameraman who fell from a cliff while shooting a rock climbing exercise near West Point, requiring a knee replacement. We established that the equipment provided by the excursion company supervising the climb was faulty.

• $750,000 for a young woman who was raped at gunpoint in her office after hours in the Times Square area. The management of the building was found to be negligent for not having either a guard or a security system.

• $715,000 for a 40-year-old female psychologist who suffered permanent inner ear damage and hearing loss when a Con Edison manhole exploded in front of her as a result of corroded high-power voltage lines. Setting precedent, we also obtained $50,000 for her same-sex companion, who was present at the scene and suffered emotional distress, based on a "zone of danger" claim for a "family member."

• $650,000 for a 50-year-old Bronx laborer who suffered severe shoulder and internal injuries when he was struck by a beam which was thrown over the side of the building that he was working on. This case was based on a violation of a Labor Law statute requiring the use of chutes for removal of such material. 

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Recently Updated Case Results

Woman Struck in Head by a Cocktail Shaker Awarded $1.5 Million Settlement
What started out as a quiet evening at a restaurant bar quickly turned into a life-changing event when our 37-year-old client, who was enjoying a drink with a friend, was struck in the back of her head by a cocktail shaker that flew out of a showboating bartender's loose grip. The metal shaker, filled with ice and liquid, struck our client with such force that it caused her brain to violently rotate around the brainstem. The resultant "shearing injury" caused a lesion in her brain in the region that controls the ability of the eyes to focus and converge while reading. Our client, a recent MBA graduate of Columbia University, can no longer pursue any occupation that requires extensive reading. Due to this permanent injury, our client will never be able to enjoy reading a book or magazine without struggling. It takes her ten minutes per page to read the words because her eyes constantly shift in and out of focus. Smiley & Smiley, LLP obtained an award of $1,500,000 on behalf of our client on the day of jury selection as the case proceeded towards trial. The defense argued that there was no evidence of skull fracture or subdural hematoma and therefore the injury could not have been caused by the blow from the shaker. However, we proved that the blow caused her head to rotate with such force that it caused the axons in this particular region of the brain to tear without other evidence of trauma.

$1.5 Million for Failure to Diagnose Chest Condition that resulted in Death of 39-year-old Maintenance Worker
$1,500,000 Medical Malpractice Settlement on behalf of the Estate of a 39-year-old man from Brooklyn who was suffering from a condition called "sarcoidosis." Sarcoidosis is a condition that affects the lungs and causes patients to suffer frequent painful coughing episodes. The condition can be easily treated with medication. However if left untreated, sarcoidosis can be fatal. For seven months, he went for multiple visits to his primary care physician complaining of chest congestion, shortness of breath and a chronic cough. Proper medical practice requires that a chest x-ray be performed when a patient has constant complaints of shortness of breath and coughing. Unfortunately, not once did the defendant doctor take a chest x-ray. A chest x-ray would have clearly shown the sarcoidosis and the man could have received life saving treatment. As a result of the physician's malpractice, the sarcoidosis spread throughout the gentleman's body killing him. He left behind a young wife and two small children. This medical malpractice settlement amount includes compensation for the decedent's pain and suffering and for the loss of parental guidance sustained by his young children who will grow up without their father.

Negligent Performance of Laser Eye Surgery
Smiley & Smiley, LLP obtained a settlement of $300,000 on behalf of a 35-year-old woman who underwent PRK laser eye surgery. We proved that the defendant doctor was negligent when he entered the wrong measurements into the laser machine prior to the surgery. As a result, the laser cut our client's eye at the wrong angle and caused her vision to become much worse than it was prior to the surgery. We were able to secure this settlement relatively quickly due to our thorough medical investigation about what went wrong during the surgery. In addition, this case was settled through mediation which reduced our time and expenses to the benefit of our client.

Defendants Settle Implant Injury Case for $225,000 with Smiley Law — Just Before Opening Statements Begin
Shortly after jury selection and just prior to opening statements, Smiley Law obtained a $225,000 award for the chief executive officer of an international shipping company who sustained permanent numbness to his lip and chin. This injury was caused by the negligent placement of implants into the nerve canal of the CEO's jaw.

Smiley Law Firm Wins $375,000 for Surgeon's Negligence
Through Smiley Law's representation, a 34-year-old stenography student was awarded $375,000 as the result of having her salivary gland negligently removed. Her surgeon misread a MRI report and removed the gland when there was no need. The error left the woman with a permanent scar and loss of sensation in her face and neck.

City of New York Settles on the Eve of Trial for $1.2 Million
On the day before jury selection, while preparing to go to battle once again with the City of New York, Guy I. Smiley, Esq. and Andrew J. Smiley, Esq. were able to obtain an award of $1.2 Million on behalf of a 44-year-old electronics engineer from Sweden. Our client was hired from Sweden to work on a project at the Automatic Vacuum Accumulation Center in Roosevelt Island. While working on large mainframe computers located on an elevated metal catwalk within the complex, our client was unaware that city employees had removed a section of the metal grating, creating a large open space in the catwalk. As he walked around the computers, our client fell through the unbarricaded opening and plummeted 15 feet onto the concrete floor below. As a result of the fall, the Swedish engineer suffered from multiple fractures of his arm, leg and face as well as brain trauma—which affected his speech pattern and thinking ability.

Andrew J. Smiley, Esq. Wins $750,000 Dental Malpractice Verdict!
We are proud to announce that Andrew J. Smiley, Esq. recently obtained a $750,000 verdict for a 53-year-old private duty nurse who underwent dental implant surgery in her lower jaw. As a result of the dentist's malpractice, our client sustained permanent numbness in her lower right lip, chin and jaw. This is the highest reported dental malpractice verdict in New York for this type of injury. The trial lasted three days and the jury deliberated for three hours. The defense offered absolutely no money to settle the case prior to the verdict, claiming that the dentist did nothing wrong.

$1.2 Million for Advertising Executive Injured in Car Accident
This spring, partner Howard R. Engle, Esq. (a.k.a. The Settlement Master) obtained a $1.2 Million settlement on behalf of a 35-year-old freelance writer who was severely injured when the car in which he was a passenger in (driven by his sister) was involved in a head-on collision in upstate New York. Our client sustained severe head trauma, causing him to suffer from vision and hearing deficits as well as a fractured sinus and subdural hematomas. Howard was able to obtain this settlement within just one year from the date the lawsuit was started.

To contact Smiley & Smiley, LLP for a free consultation on the merits of your claim, call 1.866.SMILEYLAW, toll-free, any day, any time.

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