Drunk driver not taken off road by police kills two and injures two others in head-on crash

$873,000 Jury Verdict – Northampton Superior Court

As a brand new lawyer in 1978, Attorney Goodman took on city hall and eventually won after battling for eight long years. He represented Debbie Irwin and sued the Town of Ware for negligent police protection after its police stopped a drunk driver and let him go. The drunk driver then hit Debbie’s car head on and killed her 19 year old husband and infant daughter, Misty and severely injured herself and her son Stephen. The trial ended in a landmark $873,000 jury verdict and the case on appeal to the Supreme Judicial Court made new law (Irwin v. Town of Ware, 392 Mass. 745, 1984) that has been followed throughout the country and hailed by Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) as a lynchpin in their goal to cut down on drunk driving deaths. Since then, police say they no longer have to be the nice guy and let a person they know or another officer go when they are driving drunk. The trial judge, Judge Raymond R. Cross, wrote in his memoirs that it was one of the most important civil cases of the latter half of the twentieth century. Attorney Goodman appeared on CBS 60 Minutes, ABC 20-20, Good Morning America, NBC Evening News; the case was written up in a full page story in the NY Times Sunday edition (Drunken Driving Case Divides Town, NY TIMES March 13, 1983 Sec. 1 p. 26) as well as the Providence Journal. The case was optioned twice for a Hollywood Movie which still may come. It is the subject of many scholarly law reviews throughout the academic legal world.

Botched bariatric weight-loss surgery

$7,000,000

Attorney Goodman acted as advisor and strategy consultant and counselor in a case against a hospital and surgeon who botched a banding surgery by reconnecting her lower intestine upside down, causing bile to flow up and out her mouth. Goodman worked with expert physicians and the subsequent treating surgeon to develop graphic illustrations, charts and a video showing the right and wrong ways to perform such a procedure. Pivotal in achieving a major multi-million settlement at mediation was the showing of a “Day in the Life” video that depicted the difficulties the victim encountered in trying to conduct her activities of daily living. Her husband and three minor children were also named as plaintiffs. They recovered significant loss of consortium claims in the eventual settlement.

Family of brain damaged infant receives millions

$3,500,000

When doctors in the obstetrics and gynecology labor unit of the hospital failed to perform a C-section in time despite obvious and ominous signs of fetal distress visible on the paper strips printing out fetal heart rate in response to contractions of the mother, Attorney Goodman sought to have the hospital and doctors held responsible for this child’s severe permanent brain damage due to hypoxia and encephalopathy. He retained leading experts in the respective fields of medicine to examine carefully all of the records and guide his questioning of doctors and staff at depositions once the case was in suit. Just before the start of trial, the hospital met Goodman’s demands and offered millions to settle this egregious case where doctor’s care fell below the standard of care and violated their own hospital standards.

Gagnon v. Shoblom and BFI Paralysis

$3,500,000

Donald Gagnon was a tractor trailer truck driver heading back to Springfield on the Mass Turnpike. He pulled over to help another trucker fix her mudflaps. While in the breakdown lane, a garbage truck driver fell asleep at 1:30 p.m. in the afternoon, slammed into the trailer in the breakdown lane. As a result, Gagnon was paralyzed from the waist down and the other driver was buried alive under a pile of burning telephone books and died. The defendant claimed he had undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea and could not be held liable as he was not conscious and therefore could not be held to be negligent since he was not in control of his actions. Goodman retained several experts in obstructive sleep apnea who battled the defense experts, eventually bringing them to the table to discuss settlement. The Gagnon claim was settled for 3 million dollars, part of which was put in a special annuity called a structured settlement.

Sightseeing airplane crash in Hawaii over crater

$2,750,000

Attorney Goodman represented a family in western Massachusetts who lost their son, daughter-in-law and her parents after their sight-seeing prop plane crashed into a crater on the island of Maui. After Attorney Goodman filed suit against the butterfly company that owned the plane and sightseeing company, he sent out a request for production of documents. After pouring through thousands of pages, he found the smoking gun. The paper was not licensed to fly instruments only via far – by human sight only. He had prior problems with his license and the plane itself was old and called the little pig, because it could not climb fast. Flying over the crater, the pilot encountered thick clouds, got in too close, and was sucked in and crashed.

The plane burst into flames and all occupants and the pilot perished. The suit was in federal court and was referred after completion of discovery to a magistrate for mediation. The case was settled with an admission of liability and acceptance of responsibility by the defendants.

ER failed to diagnose accident victims bleeding from blunt abdominal trauma

$1,500,000

A sixty-six year old working woman was injured as a passenger in an intersection accident and taken to the ER on a Sunday morning in August. She arrived at 10:45 and was admitted for rib fractures. No “FAST” bedside sonogram was done before or after she was admitted for observation. During the afternoon her blood pressure and respiratory rate dropped ominously. A test then revealed loose fluid in the abdomen. Emergency surgery commenced and bleeding was found, but it was too late at that point at 4 pm to save her life. An administrator of her estate was appointed, a medical malpractice suit commenced, and after considerable discovery the case was settled on behalf of the family.

Failure to diagnose stroke

$1,200,000

A male went to the ER with complaints of one-sided facial weakness, headaches, slurred speech and difficulty remembering words and speaking. The ER doctor did not diagnose a stroke or administer appropriate medications or do appropriate testing because he felt the man was too young and unlikely to be experiencing a stroke. The next day he was worse and was taken to another hospital where the stroke was diagnosed. He suffered permanent weakness and could no longer work. A letter was sent to the hospital and suit filed after 6 months. After depositions were taken, the insurance carrier suggested the parties submit to non-binding mediation. The settlement was put into a structured settlement and protected for the injured victim.

Pedestrian Injuries

$1,200,000

A young man walking across a street late at night in a western Massachusetts town was hit by a car that left the scene. Other motorists identified the plate on the car which police traced to a car dealership. The driver was a salesperson who at first denied responsibility for leaving the scene after hitting and causing personal injuries to the pedestrian. The driver was apparently drunk and did not want to remain there for police to arrest him. He also had a prior criminal record.

The insurance carrier wanted no part of this mess and paid a seven figure settlement to cover the man’s permanent mild traumatic brain injury damages.

Failure to diagnose bilateral dissected carotid arteries

$1,100,000

A male mid-forties college professor was out for a jog after partially recovering from a bad cold. During the jog, he experienced severe upper respiratory congestion and coughed so hard that he felt dizzy, had a headache and some visual disturbances. He went to the ER and the doctor who examined him attributed the problems to migraines, which he had previously experienced. He was sent home. The next day , feeling much worse and unable to use his hands well or focus on reading, he returned to the ER. A CT scan revealed that he had sustained bilateral dissected carotid arteries, likely from the coughing. An expert retained by Attorney Goodman reviewed the entire chart and rendered an opinion that the initial ER doctor should have done more tests and made a proper diagnosis. The failure to make the proper diagnosis resulted in serious permanent injuries to the college professor, who was unable to concentrate on reading and teaching, so he had to go on permanent disability. The case was settled after a lengthy mediation.

ER misdiagnosis leads to wrongful death

$1,000,000

An elderly man was taken to the ER after falling out of bed at home with complaints of neck pain. The ER doctor diagnosed the cervical fracture that showed up on x-ray as stable and sent him home with instructions to see a neurosurgeon in ten days to follow up. After the man went home, his son took him to another hospital. He was admitted but lapsed into a coma and died due to a severed spinal cord. When Attorney Goodman filed suit, he took the deposition of the radiologist and dug into the facts. He discovered that the radiologist thought the fracture was unstable and thought the man should be kept at the hospital. His disagreement was overruled by the ER doctor. After the deposition, the defense collapsed and the insurance carrier agreed to negotiate. The case was settled on behalf of the family for a high six figure amount.

Failure to diagnose temporal arteritis

$1,000,000

An elderly woman went to the ER with dark spots in vision. The ER diagnosed visual artifacts from migraines. He missed the high sedimentation rate results on her bloodwork and sent her home without entertaining other diagnoses. He did not administer or prescribe high doses of steroids to address the problem. Two days later she woke up completely blind in both eyes. Doctors at another hospital diagnosed temporal arteritis, a condition if not treated early, results in total and irreversible blindness because of lack of oxygen and blood supply to the ocular region. She moved to the West Coast to live with her daughters. After the suit was filed, defense counsel wanted to take her deposition in Massachusetts. Attorney Goodman filed an emergency motion with the court, asking for an order to compel defense counsel to go to San Francisco to take her deposition since their client set the whole preventable disaster in motion. The case was later settled for a significant sum which allowed her to live out the balance of her life comfortably with extra home aid, transportation services and other assistance.

Baby entitled to recover for suffering permanent damages called Erb’s palsy to his shoulder due to shoulder dystocia

$1,000,000

The hospital, doctors, staff and treating doctor failed to recognize in advance that the mother was too small to deliver a large baby. The doctor and midwife used improper maneuvers to pull the baby out and thus permanently injured his shoulder. Despite numerous operations, he will always have a permanent loss of function. After retaining numerous experts, Attorney Goodman was successful in proving his case. It settled at the start of trial for substantial confidential amounts for the child and parents.

3 college girls killed on the way to Florida at a confusing railroad crossing in the midst of road construction barrels in Delaware

$1,000,000

Attorney Goodman was retained by a Springfield family to file a wrongful death claim against the responsible parties for their daughter’s death. She was the driver and her two friends were passengers at the time of the crash. Attorney Goodman joined efforts with two other attorneys and became lead trial counsel in U.S. Federal District Court in Wilmington, Delaware. He hired several experts, including a railroad crossing engineer, a civil engineer, an expert in night vision and sight lines or conspicuity, and a reconstruction expert. Years of discovery ensued, with frequent trips from Bradley to Philadelphia on the U.S. Air plane and a shuttle van to Wilmington for court appearances and depositions. On the first day of trial, all several of the defendants agreed to a global settlement, accepting responsibility and bringing closure to the families of the young victims. The very high settlement figure was sealed and remains confidential at the request of the families.

Motorcycle Crashes

$100,000 – $1,000,000

The common factual scenario in many motorcycle crashes Attorney Goodman has handled is that the operator of a motor vehicle attempts to take a left hand turn in front of an oncoming motorcycle. Many times they do not see the single motorcycle light at night, or in the daytime they misjudge the speed of the motorcycle and try to beat them in the intersection. These crashes result in significant injuries to the motorcyclists, many times involving head injuries, fractured bones, and internal injuries. Attorney Goodman does not accept anything less than all of the available insurance money if there is to be a settlement. Otherwise, he advises his clients to take it to trial. In the past few years, more than a half-dozen cases were resolved after contentious depositions, pre-trial discovery and battles with the insurance carriers — all to the satisfaction of Attorney Goodman’s clients. The family who lost a loved one has still been grieving. A few women who sustained fractured pelvises were rendered unable to become pregnant or carry babies.

Pedestrian hit and knocked down in parking lot of supermarket

$850,000

A woman pushing her supermarket carriage with groceries across the marked crosswalk lines in the parking lot of the market was hit by an automobile and knocked down. The front tire on the driver’s side ran over the shopper’s lower leg causing a severed fracture to the ankle that required surgery and plates and comminuted fracture to her tibia requiring a rod and screws and also a torn meniscus that was repaired by arthroscopic surgery. She endured a long period of PT and disability and eventually returned to work part time. The case was put into suit within a few weeks of the crash. The driver of the car was too busy looking for an open parking space on a busy rainy afternoon and was not paying attention to pedestrians and did not see the woman she knocked down until after she heard a noise and stopped. The case was settled for a very high six figure amount on behalf of her and her husband who had brought a loss of consortium claim.

Rear-end crash caused by a drunk school bus driver results in permanent injuries to a young worker

$500,000 Jury Verdict – Northampton Superior Court

A young woman who worked for a liquid lawn fertilizer company was on the job working driving the company vehicle and stopped at a red light when a school bus crashed into her vehicle. It turned out that the bus operator, at 1:30 p.m., was on his way to an elementary school to pick up children and was drunk.

The woman received treatment for a back injury which turned out to be a herniated disk. Her doctor operated and removed the disk but she still has pain from the scar tissue. A second operation was recommended but she refused to go through the terrible pain and uncertain recovery again. The jury returned a verdict of $ 500,000 in her favor.

Drowning

$500,000

A young toddler was visiting his grandparents along with other grandchildren. The older boys went outside to play ball. The little boy got bored and wandered into the inground swimming pool, where he fell in. When the grandparents discovered the boy was not playing with the older kids, they looked around and found him drowned in the pool. The gate on the pool was unlocked and low enough for him to open it. The case was settled on behalf of the parents of the child against the grandparents homeowner’s insurance for the policy limits.

Near drowning

$500,000

A young boy and his sister were visiting grandparents in New Hampshire. The boy ventured outside in the early spring to walk around. He looked in the fence and saw a covering on the in-ground swimming pool. There was no lock on the gate and the handle was low enough for him to reach and open. He walked in and thought maybe it would be different to walk on top of the pool by traversing the cover. He did not see that the ice had melted and there remained 2-3 feet of water in the tight pool covering when he stepped in. The sides and bottom were slippery with green moss. He slipped and apparently hit his head and fell backwards into the cold icy water. He was found sometime later alive, but barely breathing due to the water in his lungs.

Doctors tried to bring him back, but he was comatose. He was transferred to a special hospital in Massachusetts for brain trauma victims, where he continued to grow on a feeding tube until he passed at age 14 from complications of pneumonia. He remained in a vegetative state with his big blue eyes open until his death. Attorney Goodman settled the case for the maximum homeowners policy limits.

Man hit by car while crossing street late at night

$500,000

A man was jaywalking across the main street in a small western Massachusetts town late at night after the bar he had been at closed. He was hit by a car traveling down the street. The driver said he did not see the man because the man had emerged from between two parked cars and was not in the crosswalk and was inebriated. Attorney Goodman filed suit and proved that the individual could have and should have been seen in the street and that the operator had enough time to stop and avoid the pedestrian since the pedestrian was hit in the middle of the street. A special motion in limine before trial established the legal principle that the pedestrian’s intoxication did not contribute to his injuries and therefore the jury could not be told or see evidence of that fact. At that point, the auto insurance carrier offered up its full policy limits to cover the man’s injuries, treatment pain and suffering and permanent injuries.

Catastrophic brain injury from falling hard packed snow and ice

$500,000

The victim pulled up as close as she could to an outside ATM machine at a western Massachusetts bank at about 12 noon one winter day. She had to get out of her car and walk to the ATM to do her transaction. The ATM was covered by a sloping canopy. It had snowed in the past 24 hours, but that morning temperatures had risen to just above freezing by noon. When she approached the ATM, hard packed snow and hard ice slid off and hit her on the head and shoulders.

She was dazed. Her two young children witnessed this and it was recorded on bank surveillance video. She was taken by ambulance to the hospital, checked out and released. But the next morning, her partner found her passed out on the kitchen floor. The local ER arranged for her to be life-flighted to a regional trauma center where she was admitted with a diagnosis of concussion and possible brain damage. Over the next two or three years while she was treated, Attorney Goodman filed suit and engaged in extensive pre-trial discovery, including numerous depositions of all people involved. It was a rigorous battle to convince the bank’s insurance carrier that they were responsible for not warning customers, closing off the ATM, or having the canopy raked off in order to eliminate the unreasonable risk of harm that snow and ice posed to customers attempting to use the outdoor ATM. Finally, the insurance carrier decided they risked paying a huge verdict at trial and settled the case for a confidential settlement. The helicopter bill was $50,000 and other hospital bills added up to hundreds of thousands. Attorney Goodman and his team made sure all liens were satisfied and bills resolved with a substantial settlement still left for the innocent victim.