Results

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 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 million

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

$3.5 million

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

$3.5 million

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

$2.75 million

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.

Wrongful Death – ER failed to diagnose accident victims bleeding from blunt abdominal trauma

$1.5 million

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.

Medical Malpractice – Failure to diagnose stroke

$1.2 million

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

$1.2 million

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.

Medical Malpractice – Failure to diagnose bilateral dissected carotid arteries

$1.1 million

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 million

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.

Medical Malpractice – Failure to diagnose temporal arteritis

$1 million

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 million

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.

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

$1 million

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 million

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.

Catastrophic permanent brain damage from lead paint poisoning of young child

$500,000

A toddler lived with her grandmother in a leased apartment. After the child had routine lead tests at her pediatric appointments, an alarming high level result came back. The grandmother was advised to get an attorney as the girl’s level was 34. Attorney paid the doctor’s for their time in writing a special report linking the prolonged exposure to high levels of lead paint to poisoning and permanent loss of IQ and cognitive deficits. The insurance carrier for the owners offered their full policy limits in the mid six figure range, but Attorney Goodman demanded that the monies be put in a specialized structured settlement that would go up a little each year beginning at age 18 and then pay lump sums at various future ages, giving her a total tax free net payout of over one million dollars over her lifetime. They stay in touch with Attorney Goodman and report that the child enjoys summer camp and is going well in regular classes at school and progressing according to her age. She takes some medication for her attention deficit disorder that was caused by the lead exposure.

Elderly pedestrian killed crossing the crosswalk at dusk

$500,000

In a quiet residential area in western Massachusetts the first week after clocks were moved back in the fall, an oil company delivery truck hit an elderly man who was crossing the street to go back to his apartment after his daily afternoon walk. It was one of the first early dusks in the fall after clocks had been moved back one hour. Even professional drivers were not yet used to the different driving conditions. The man was wearing light colored clothing, but was still not seen by the driver who hit and killed him. The case was settled on behalf of the family for the full commercial policy limits.

Wrongful Death – Boston Restaurant Overserved Alcohol to a Patron

$500,000

A young man who had just turned 21 went to a restaurant and ordered many servings of alcohol with his meal. He left and within minutes after leaving lost control of his car at a high rate of speed and slammed into a telephone pole, killing himself upon impact. The parents in Boston retained Attorney Goodman to sue the bar under the dram shop laws of Massachusetts for overservice of alcohol to a patron who they knew or should have known was too intoxicated to safely operate his motor vehicle. After lengthy discovery, the case was settled for the policy limits at the start of trial.

Nursing Home Deaths

$500,000

Too often our elderly are neglected in nursing home settings. A few examples will show you just how deplorable conditions can be. An elderly dementia patient fell out of her bed onto the floor against the wall. When nurses did the rounds to check on patients, they did not even notice her on the floor until the breakfast call. She had fallen against the wall where the electric heater was and sustained severe painful third degree burns. They elected not to send her to the hospital but called the facility doctor instead who prescribed powerful pain medications in order to give the woman relief. However, the doctor did not take into account that she had severe COPD. The pain medications slowed her respiratory rate down so low that she ended up succumbing. Probate was commenced, the son appointed Administrator of the estate, letters sent and suit commenced against the facility, the doctors and the head nurse. There was no binding arbitration required so the case involved robust discovery.

$450,000

Another nursing home death involved a former town veteran’s official who was in the nursing home for rehabilitation after falling and hitting his head. He was agitated at the nursing home due to his injury and needed 24/7 supervision. His wife stayed there 12 hours a day. He wanted to come home, but was not yet ready to be discharged. One day, after she left and turned over supervision to nursing staff, the man got up out of bed, walked down the hallway, through a set of double doors past the nursing station unnoticed and then opened an unlocked door. Thinking it was an exit, he walked out, only to fall down a flight of stairs and die due to a subdural hematoma. The surviving wife was appointed Executrix under the will. Attorney Goodman commenced suit and took numerous depositions to establish the lapse in supervision. The action was resolved to the satisfaction of the widow, with an apology and acknowledgment of wrongdoing by the facility.

$425,000

Another case involved an elderly woman who was bedridden with no mobility. She required frequent turning and repositioning. However, this was not done as often as required by standards, rules and nursing home federal nursing guidelines. When family members uncovered the sheets when she was moaning and complaining, they discovered a very deep Stage IV pressure sore or ulcer, commonly known as a bed sore. She was transferred to a hospital and the wound debrided, but infection had already set in. Despite IV antibiotics, the sepsis evolved quickly into deadly septicemia which spread through her body and killed her. The suit was settled once the self-insured giant nursing home chain saw the color pictures of the deep wound on the decedent’s buttocks.

Bus accident results in fractured jaw and loss of teeth

$450,000

A young woman passenger on a public bus sustained serious permanent injuries when the bus driver lost control when he was adjusting his mirrors and smashed into a light pole. The crash propelled the passenger into a railing and pole inside the bus. She sustained a fractured mandible (jaw) which required it to be wired and closed for several weeks. She also lost several teeth and sustained a permanent disfiguring scar on her face. After extensive depositions once the suit was filed, the deposition of the bus driver did not go well for him. The case was settled confidentially for a large six figure amount.

Elderly working man hit by pickup in his apartment complex parking lot

$450,000

A man in his late seventies who worked part-time and was otherwise in good health was hit by a pick-up truck driven by another resident in the same parking complex. The man sustained a fractured leg and a knee injury. While home off his feet, he developed a blood clot in his lungs that almost killed him. He then developed a heart condition known as atrial fibrillation. Attorney Goodman filed suit against the driver and the owner of the truck who was a big construction company and employer of the driver. Goodman knocked on the door of a person who lived right where the collision took place. She turned out to be a pivotal witness in support of the man’s case. A medical school cardiologist and professor was retained to determine whether or not the pulmonary embolism (DVT) and heart condition were caused by the collision. His report found they arose from his injuries caused by the pickup truck hit and knocking him down. The insurance company at that point decided it was best to sit down at the negotiating table and the case was settled with a very advantageous and guaranteed structured settlement established for the elderly man to live out his years in assisted living with extra spending money and other benefits.

Fall on ice outside apartment results in miscarriage

$425,000

A young single mother who was under 20 months pregnant fell outside the front door of her apartment building while attempting to walk her daughter to the bus stop in the early winter morning. After she noticed bleeding, she went to the hospital. They assured her the baby would be alright. However, a few days later, she felt terrible and in the bathroom noticed a lot of blood. She returned to the hospital and they confirmed she had suffered a miscarriage. The insurance company for the apartment denied liability, so a suit was filed. Attorney Goodman was able to prove that the duty owed to the apartment dweller was a safe entrance and exit and that duty could not be delegated to an outside contractor. The light rain earlier had created a dangerous invisible sheen of ice that caused the woman to fall on her back. Attorney Goodman retained an expert gynecologist and professor to examine the medical records and take a statement from the woman.

The doctor determined that it was more likely than not that the fall resulted in loss of the baby. At an all day mediation after suit was filed, Attorney Goodman spent a lot of time eliciting from the plaintiff the severe emotional and psychological stress she suffered along with the immeasurable grief that followed the loss. It was a very emotional session for all involved. The insurance carrier adjuster in charge was very moved by the presentation that Attorney Goodman had put together and decided that the young woman was very deserving of significant compensation for her loss.

Fractured hip results in total hip replacement in retired school teacher who slipped and fell on rolled up carpet

$400,000

This retired gentleman suffered a catastrophic injury that changed his retirement plans with his wife. After spending several days in the hospital and several weeks in rehab, he returned home to Florida. They had stopped in their travel camper to visit their son in Massachusetts while on the way to Maine for the summer when this preventable fall occurred. Suit was filed and discovery completed. The insurance carrier recommended mediation. The parties agreed to mediate before JAMS in Philadelphia Pennsylvania when the man was on his way up from Florida to Maine the next year. The retired Federal judge was very impressed with the credibility of the victim and his long tenure as a teacher and long marriage. Based on the strength of the case Attorney Goodman developed and his very impressive clients, the case settled for six figures.

Trimalleolar ankle fracture from snow tubing

$375,000

A nurse in pediatric oncology broke her lower leg at the ankle joint when she followed directions at the bottom of the snow tubing slope and put down the heels of her boots to slow down and stop. Unfortunately, one heel got stuck in the rubber mats placed at the base, resulting in a pain fracture known as a trimalleolar fracture. This required surgery, pins, plates, screws, time out of work and extensive physical therapy. Wearing high heels was out of the question even after she returned to work and completed her regimen of PT. Her treating orthopedic surgeon at the request of Attorney Goodman, wrote a narrative report detailing the injury, causal relationship and mechanics of the injury, the surgery, permanent surgical scarring and permanent loss of function and whole person permanency based on AMA tables. The insurance carrier denied liability and rigorous prosecution was mounted on the claim by Attorney Goodman on behalf of his client and her husband for loss of consortium. After all discovery was completed and the case was ready for trial, the parties agreed to submit to non-binding mediation before the prestigious JAMS organization with a retired U.S. Federal District Court judge in New York City on a hot July day. The defense tested out a summary judgment motion at the session, arguing that the waiver of liability on the ticket the plaintiff had purchased relieved the insurer of any responsibility. Attorney Goodman was ready with an extensive memorandum of law citing Massachusetts precedent that held such a waiver was not a contract since the print was small, not read by many people and not signed by the party against whom it was supposed to be held. The judge agreed and suggested that the insurance carrier get serious about settling and put a significant sum of money on the table to start negotiations. By the end of the day, the case was settled much to the satisfaction of the injured nurse and her husband.

Boating accident leads to serious injury

$350,000

A boater on the Connecticut river was with his friend tubing. The owner and operator of the boat pulling the tubes had a few tubes tied to clothesline ropes.

After they finished tubing, the owner pulled in the tubes, gathered in the ropes haphazardly and threw them onto the floor where this young man was sitting. As they sped up the river back towards the dock, a tube blew off.

The passenger tried to catch it, and as the rope unraveled it got caught and wrapped around his arm, getting tighter and tighter. He was thrown into the water with the rope wound tightly. By the time the operator saw what had happened and stopped the engine and helped him back up, the young man’s arm was turning black and blue. When the operator tried to start up the engine he discovered it was out of gas. Finally, after twenty minutes or so, another boater came by and rescued them by towing them in. The young man was taken to the hospital where they diagnosed closed compartment syndrome and had to do emergency surgery to open up his arm from his shoulder down to his wrist in order to get oxygen into his dying muscles and dying tissue. He did recover most of the use of his arm after a lengthy recovery and painful physical therapy. However, he was left with a very unsightly scar. The boat owner’s homeowner’s and boat policy insurance carriers were forced to pay their full policy limits once Attorney Goodman got involved in the case.

Drunk Driving – Overservice of alcohol to a minor with a fake ID

$350,000

A young sorority sister with her friends went to a bar in a college town. She used an obviously fake ID to get through the front when the checker hardly took a glance at the ID. While at the bar, she had way too much to drink. She left with her friends near closing time. Not far from the bar, on the way back to their sorority house, the operator lost control and hit a pole. A passenger was thrown from the car and sustained a severe head injury with resulting traumatic brain injury that left her with permanent cognitive deficits. Attorney Goodman commenced suit against the bar and deposed all of the employees on duty that night, the door checker and bouncers, bartenders, waitresses, management and the other girls who had been with her including the drunk driver. At the start of trial, the case was settled on behalf of the injured passenger.

Apartment fall going out the steps results in a trimalleolar ankle fracture to a young man

$325,000

The man rented an apartment in a two family house. He was going out at 10:30 p.m. to get some snacks at the convenience store up the street. Lighting was poor on the porch, there was no hand railing on the steps, and there was a defect that caused him to fall. The exit did not comply with state health, safety and building codes according to an inspector retained by Attorney Goodman on behalf of the client. The man’s career as a chef was derailed due to his inability to stand long hours as required and to carry heavy items up and down stairs. The case was settled without suit as the insurance carrier recognized the catastrophic nature of the injury and the permanent diminution of earning capacity that the young man had suffered. A structured settlement was constructed for the man giving him monthly income for 30 years guaranteed, going up 3% per year, with an additional significant sum at the end of the 30 year period.

Child born with webbed feet and hands due to auto accident

$300,000

A pregnant mom pulled out onto a state road and was t-boned. The mom was ok and the doctors said the baby in utero would be ok, but instead she was born with a traumatic defect caused by the crash, according to expert doctors retained by Attorney Goodman. A claim was brought on behalf of the child against the mother by the child’s father against the auto insurance carrier, which ended up paying the full policy limits.

Falling downspout off building of chain drug store severely injures school assistant on her lunch break

$250,000

While attempting to walk into the building, a completely frozen downspout that was loosely fastened came crashing down onto a woman’s shoulder causing her knee to smash into the hard asphalt pavement, fracturing her knee cap. Years of discovery ensued after the suit was filed. To get to the root cause of the preventable incident, Attorney Goodman sued the drug store, architect, structural engineer, construction company and sheet metal fabricator. He retained an expert architect to review all depositions and plans. It was discovered that the screws used to fasten the downspouts into the imitation stucco walls were not long enough to hold the downspouts and that architecturally speaking, the design was a flawed design that did not belong in New England winters but was adequate for Texas where the architect lived. Internal heated roof drains would be the standard of care for winter weather. The case was settled and the architect agreed to modify his plans for the chain stores going forward to require internal heated roof drains for all stores north of Washington, D.C. Attorney Goodman went the distance, dug deep, and accomplished change that benefitted patrons of the chain store going forward.

Wrongful death of child out of state

$250,000

A family car was t-boned out of state where mandatory auto insurance was not required. The parents asked Attorney Goodman to make a claim. He pursued their own Underinsured Motorist Coverage with their own carrier. A successful claim was made without having to file for mandatory arbitration and the policy limits were paid on account of the loss of their young son.

Rear-end collision

$160,000

A 58 year old utility worker was rear-ended by a dump truck. A diagnosis of cervical facet joint syndrome was made after facet joint injections provided temporary relief. The case was in suit and discovery completed. It was settled after a full-day mediation session in Boston.

Women suffers catastrophic injury after being rear ended by utility company truck

$125,000

A woman sustained a concussion even though she did not hit her head on anything when her car was rear-ended by a phone company truck. Later, she realized she was unable to crunch numbers like she used to be able to as a real estate broker. A neuropsychologist did extensive testing and found she had a permanent brain injury due to the crash. The insurance company denied her claims. The case went to trial in Northampton Superior Court and both the treating medical doctor and the neuropsychologist were put on the stand by Attorney Goodman who skillfully questioned the doctors and let them explain to the curious jurors that this serious permanent injury could happen if she never hit her head. After hearing all of the evidence and closing arguments, the jurors returned a six figure verdict in favor of the plaintiff and validated her injuries and claim. The doctors were well prepared by Attorney Goodman who used focus groups to test out the theories and testimony in advance and develop a strategy for explaining the complicated science of how the whiplash motion resulted in a shearing of neurons in the woman’s brain and caused the permanent cognitive deficits despite the low property damage sustained by her car.

Foreign object in fast food restaurant causes damage to throat and requires surgery

$100,000

A breach of the warranty of fitness for purpose occurred when a young man was served a soft drink that contained broken glass in the ice added to the soda. He was treated at the hospital but required surgery. A claim for breach of contract was made and settled.

A woman lost the tip of her finger when she pulled a bar chair forward and the loose seat pinched the tip of her finger off. Attorney Goodman filed suit and was able to prove the bar did not properly maintain, inspect and repair the broken seat. The woman was a store clerk.

Falling icicles off downtown city building causes severe concussion and mild brain damage

$100,000

A successful claim was made on behalf of a pedestrian who was hit in winter walking on the city sidewalk when a private landowner failed to rope off or warn pedestrians of the danger of falling icicles.

Bed Bugs in Hotels

$75,000

A regional trailer truck driver took a room at a hotel and found it was infested with bed bugs when he woke up with bites all over. A woman traveled to Virginia to a convention and discovered bites all over her body when she woke up. A family bought furniture at a major discounter and after sitting on the sofa at home realized that they and their son had been bitten by bed bugs. All these cases have one thing in common: Attorney Goodman won major settlements for these people based on the awful nightmares these people lived through due to the negligence of the people responsible. Attorney Goodman helps innocent victims achieve justice and hold the defendants accountable for their bad acts.

Rottweiler decapitates young child

Results Confidential

A little boy and his brother were taken from their mom, an indigenous mother living in Western Massachusetts, as authorities believed she was not properly taking care of her children. They placed them in separate homes. The younger one, almost 4, was bored after lunch one Saturday. He was told to go upstairs and take a nap. Instead, unbeknown to his caretakers, he went outside to play with the people’s dog. The dog, a rottweiler, was housed in a pen in the back yard with a gate that was unlocked. The lever was low enough for him to reach up and open. Twenty minutes later the people heard the dog out front of the house barking, which was strange as it was supposed to be caged. When they looked out the window, they saw the dog standing over the boy lying on the ground all bloodied. They ran out and found that the dog had bitten the boy around the neck so many times that he was nearly decapitated and dead. The dog had dragged the body out to the front of the house. Attorney Goodman sent a Chapter 258 letter and then filed suit against the state agency that had placed the boy in such a dangerous setting without ever surveying the property and noticing the presence of a dangerous dog in an easily opened dog pen. The case was settled after lengthy discovery and mediation for a significant six figure amount that was put into a structured settlement for the natural mother. Once the authorities saw the pre-autopsy pictures of the boy’s neck, the defense collapsed.

Constable commits suicide

Results Confidential

A constable was going through a divorce and hard financial times. He regularly served in the legal process for debt collection on behalf of a large New England bank. The bank itself was experiencing financial problems and stopped paying the constable’s bills. Being distraught, he kept asking the bank to pay up. They delayed and dragged out payments. The man became so distraught that he committed suicide with his own gun. Attorney Goodman filed suit against the bank on behalf of his surviving children. Much confidential information came out through discovery that was sealed that made a strong case. Ultimately, it was settled for a confidential six figure sum of money.

Catastrophic Injuries – Crowd crushed at concert in San Jose, Costa Rica

Results Confidential

Attorney Goodman was contacted by an attorney in Costa Rica and asked to represent a dozen people who had been severely injured and one family whose son was killed at a concert in San Jose, Costa Rica. The internationally known rock band was based in Massachusetts, so Goodman filed suit in U.S. Federal District Court in Boston, Massachusetts against the band and then corporations, the band members, the manager, the security company and the promoter. Fans had lined up outside the soccer stadium waiting for the big wooden gates to open for the 7 pm concert. When the crew started testing microphones and instruments, a rumor spread that the concert would start early because of the light rain falling. People started moving forward. However, with the gates closed at the front, the people standing there were crushed by the crowd and then the gate collapsed and they were trampled upon sustaining severe injuries. Attorney Goodman took depositions all over the United States of the various defendants. The event violated the life safety code. Security and event planning was poor given the lack of seating. The number of tickets sold foretold the density of the crowd that could be expected. The crushing crowds surge and collapse causing innocent victims to be compressed was both foreseeable and avoidable. Planners signed off on a stadium event with no seating and a mosh pit. Eventually the federal judge transferred the case to Costa Rica. After several visits to San Jose to prepare the victims and their families, the case went to mediation in Costa Rica. Several months after the failed mediation attempt, as the trial date loomed closer, the various insurance companies put together a global settlement too enticing for the people to refuse, even though Goodman wanted to go to trial. The amounts were confidential. The clients were very satisfied to close this awful chapter in their lives after gross negligence of the event planners ruined their lives forever. Goodman took on these defendants to prove that for them it was all about making money and not much thought given to fan protection – another case of profits over people. Even rock music is a big corporate business.

Governmental Claims and Sports Injuries

Results Confidential

A young high school girl on the volleyball team was warming up with her teammates before a game. The assistant coach in this regional high school was a tall guy. He spiked the ball with such force at this student that when she missed it, the ball hit her forehead and knocked her over onto her head. She ended up with a severe concussion that kept her out of school for a year. Attorney Goodman set a proper Chapter 258 governmental tort claim notice to the school district administrator, principal and school committee chair, then commenced suit after the statutory six months had elapsed. After extensive discovery, the case was submitted to non-binding mediation before a retired judge. Goodman had secured written narrative reports from the treating physicians linking the injury to her long period of disability. The case was settled for close to the maximum $ 100,000 statutory limit.

Results Confidential

A young high school shop student was asked along with fellow students at the end of the year to help his shop teacher move equipment on a dump truck. The students loaded equipment and then got on the back of the truck. Instead of closing the tailgate and fastening the pins himself, the teacher let a student do it and did not check it. One boy was seated on a dolly truck with wheels. When the truck went up a hill, the dolly rolled backwards, hit the tailgate and it fell open, dumping the student onto his head on the asphalt pavement. He sustained a concussion and closed head injury. He was out of school for a while. Chapter 258 procedures were followed, suit filed, discovery completed and the case went to trial after a jury of 12 plus 2 alternates were chosen and seated in Hampden Superior Court in Springfield. After Attorney Goodman put the teacher on the stand and cross-examined him, the attorney for the city asked for a recess and offered close to the full statutory limit to close the case. The boy and his mom considered and accepted the settlement offer.