Our Results

CPR trial lawyers win $933,000 verdict against York Pennsylvania Neurosurgeon

In what is believed to be one of the largest York County Pennsylvania jury verdicts ever in a medical malpractice suit, Cohen Placitella & Roth's trial lawyers Harry M. Roth and William D. Marvin obtained a $933,000 compensation award against a York County neurosurgeon.

CPR's Joel Rosen wins record high $8.5 Million verdict against Ford in sport utility vehicle rollover case.

CPR trial lawyer Joel Rosen established a new record high for a personal injury jury award in Etowah County, Alabama on October 14, 2009 when he and his trial team won an exceptional $8.5 Million verdict against Ford Motor Company.

Merck Settles Thousands of Vioxx Claims for $4.85 Billion

NEW! Merck & Co., Inc. has agreed to pay $4.85 billion to resolve Vioxx-related claims in which a claimant has suffered a heart attack, sudden cardiac death, or stroke.

Numerous Multi-Million Dollar Dangerous Machinery

Numerous multi-million dollar recoveries for workers catastrophically injured by dangerous machinery, as well as other workplace hazards.

Numerous Multi-Million Dollar Medical Malpractice

Numerous multi-million dollar recoveries in medical and hospital malpractice cases, such as birth injury, cerebral palsy, failure to diagnose cancer, and surgical and anesthesia errors.

7.6 Billion Dollar Tobacco Settlement

A $7.6 billion dollar tobacco settlement where Chris Placitella was a member of the team that represented the state of New Jersey.

3.75 Billion Dollar Diet Drug Settlement

A $3.75 billion dollar diet drug settlement where Chris Placitella was one of the national plaintiffs' attorneys.

10 Million Dollar Recovery

A $10 million dollar recovery for the family of a young father, killed when a tire separated from a dangerously overloaded tractor-trailer truck and crashed through the windshield of the family car.

8 Million Dollar Recovery

An $8 million dollar recovery for a fire fighter and his family, where defective equipment caused serious and permanent injury.

6 Million Dollar Settlement

A $6 Million Dollar Settlement for a 37 year old welder, who suffered brain injuries and impaired vision due to an accident at a cement plant.

4.3 Million Dollar Recovery

A $4.3 million dollar recovery for a child who was seriously injured on a dangerous roadway due to the alleged negligence of the engineers, the governmental authorities, and others.

3.5 Million Dollar Subrogation Recovery

A $3.5 million dollar recovery in a property subrogation case against a gas utility and a landscaping maintenance company for a gas fire.

3.25 Million Dollar Recovery

A $3.25 million dollar recovery for a teacher rendered blind due to the medical negligence of her doctors in failing to administer anesthesia properly.

2.4 Million Dollar Recovery

A $2.4 million dollar recovery on a property damage case against an electrician, the electric utility, and a tenant for a marina fire.

Shopping Center Held Liable for Dangerous Driveway Exit

In November 2004, a WIlkes-Barre, Pennsyvlania, jury returned a $25 million dollar jury verdict for Stewart Cohen's client, a high school student who suffered severe brain injury as a passenger in a car accident. The jury found that the owner of the Mark Plaza shopping center was jointly responsible with the car driver. The driver had lost control after swerving to avoid another car that pulled out of the plaza in front of him. CPR lawyers, through their investigation, found that the original driveway permit, nearly 30 years earlier, included plans for an acceleration lane, but the owner did not build or maintain that lane. Mr. Cohen presented evidence from several engineering experts, along with a computer animation, to help convince the jury that such a lane would have eliminated the danger and prevented the accident.

FEDERAL APPEALS COURT AWARDS DISABILITY BENEFITS TO CPR CLIENT

Cohen, Placitella & Roth attorney William D. Marvin recently overcame long odds and persuaded the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to reinstate disability benefits for a woman whose serious back injury prevented her from returning to work as an administrative assistant.

The appeals court reversed a decision of the District Court, which had upheld an insurance company's action in cutting off the client's disability benefits. In an unpublished opinion issued on August 31, 2007, the court held that the company relied on a "deficient" paper review by a hired consulting service physician, and that this action was arbitrary and capricious because there was no other evidence that the claimant could return to work.

An employee who seeks disability benefits from a company benefit plan faces an uphill battle. The federal ERISA law, purportedly intended to protect workers' benefits, gives the insurance company every advantage. When benefits are denied and the employee files a lawsuit, the case is decided by a federal judge, not a jury. Generally, evidence is confined to documents in the insurance company file, so new medical evidence to prove disability is not allowed. The insurance company gets the benefit of doubt, under a standard of review providing that benefits can be reinstated only if the court finds that the denial was "arbitrary and capricious." Then, even if the plaintiff does win, the only damages that can be recovered are the past due benefits, interest, and possibly attorney fees. ERISA pre-empts any state laws that might provide punitive damages or other incentives for carriers to honor their obligations.

In this case, three years of litigation culminated in the favorable decision. CPR lawyers battled to obtain a discovery deposition to reveal the insurer's arbitrary practices, to raise numerous issues on summary judgment at the trial court level, and to argue those issues before the Third Circuit. CPR plans to go forward to collect all the overdue benefits and interest, in addition to a full award of fees and expenses.