Our Injury Lawyers' Verdicts & Settlements

Washington, D.C., Maryland, & Virginia

"When we take a case, no matter how small, we are proud to represent our clients. In this section, we have selected some of our proudest moments. However, we treasure every success."

- Ira Sherman, Managing Partner

Listed below is a small sampling of some of the verdicts and settlements obtained by our lawyers:

$15 million award for a woman who was permanently paralyzed from the neck down, as a result of being struck by a stray bullet (click here for more details)

In excess of $5 million obtained on behalf of a 14 year old client whose doctor used the chemical equivalent of super-glue in her brain, causing severe brain damage. (click here for more details)

$3 million obtained by a woman who lost her leg from the knee down as a result of a collision with a utility truck that struck her vehicle head on after the truck was rear-ended.

$2.4 million obtained on behalf of a woman who suffered a brain injury after being struck in a crosswalk.

In excess of $2 million obtained on behalf of 9 claimants against the District of Columbia and its contractors resulting from the negligent care of developmentally disabled wards of the District of Columbia. (click here for more details)

$2 million obtained on behalf of an United States Government worker who was struck in crosswalk by a van, causing a brain injury.

$1.8 million obtained on behalf of an already paralyzed stroke victim, against a wheelchair transport company which dropped him when transporting him to the hospital for physical therapy. (click here for more details)

$1.8 million obtained on behalf of an 80 year pastor of a community church who was in a car that was struck head-on by a truck that crossed the center line.

In excess of $1.6 million awarded to a man who had his jaw broken as a result of being punched in the face by a professional boxer.

$950,000.00 obtained on behalf of a man who was struck on the head by a hotel security guard causing permanent brain damage. (other cases arising out of brutality by police officers include recovery for a handcuffed individual who was subdued and suffocated as a result of police action; recovery on behalf of a man struck in the head by a Prince George's County police officer; and recovery for a man who obtained a spiral fracture as a result of unnecessary force used in a handcuff procedure).

$750,000.00 on behalf of an endodontist who was operating a motor vehicle that was broadsided by a van that went through a red light, resulting in injury to the car accident client's cervical spine with residual weakness of her dominant hand resulting in the loss of earning capacity.

$750,000.00 on behalf of a 54 year old woman who lost a portion of her arm when a tractor-trailer sideswiped her car, as she was returning from Ocean City, Maryland. She received the maximum compensation allowed, at that time, for pain and suffering in the State of Maryland.

In excess of $675,000 obtained for a woman who was a passenger in car whose driver lost control of the car and crashed into a tree. The woman fractured her pelvis and arm.

$600,000.00 on behalf of a woman whose vehicle was struck in the rear by a beverage truck. The car accident client suffered a herniated disk in her neck for which surgery was recommended. However, the client elected not to have surgery.

$600,000.00 settlement for a federal employee who broke his foot when a 2,000 pound industrial air conditioner cover fell and struck the man's foot. He suffered multiple fractures to his foot, and died two months later of a pulmonary embolism, that sometimes occurs as a result of severe injuries to the legs and feet.

$600,000.00 obtained against the United States Postal Service as a result of the negligence of one of its drivers, who pulled out from a stop side in front of our client’s motorcycle. Our client suffered multiple fractures and third degree burns to his left lower extremity.

$600,000.00 obtained as a result of a doctor’s failure to diagnose prostate cancer. As a result of the delayed diagnosis, the cancer spread outside the prostate, eliminating our client’s ability to have surgery to remove the cancer. Instead, our client had to undergo hormone therapy followed by radiation therapy, causing many unnecessary side effects such as sexual dysfunction, loss of bone structure, fatigue and memory loss.

In excess of $500,000.00 for a customer in a hardware store, who was struck by a negligently displayed lumber which fell off the rack and struck her in the foot resulting in the development of a condition called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD).

$500,000.00 obtained on behalf of a passenger in a bus accident who suffered a herniated disk when the bus driver fell asleep at the wheel, crossed the center line and struck another car. The car accident client required cervical laminectomy and fusion surgery.

$500,000.00 obtained on behalf of a man involved in a tractor-trailer underride case. The tractor-trailer was blocking the travel portion of the roadway when the client's car went underneath it, removing the entire roof of the car and causing the car accident client to suffer head injuries.

$500,000.00 obtained for a woman who fractured her leg after being hit head-on by a negligent driver. This was the maximum insurance coverage available.

$500,000.00 obtained on behalf of the parents of an infant who suffered a brachial plexus injury at birth. This injury occurs when delivery is complicated because, for example, the fetus is too large to be delivered safely through the vaginal birth canal. In this case the physician used a vacuum device, to suction or “vacuum,” the fetus from the birth canal. Efforts to pull the baby out and turn him through the canal took place. Unfortunately, the alternative, a delivery by cesarean section, which would have avoided the risk of injury to baby and mother, was not selected. The infant was born with its shoulder damaged by the stress of delivery. The infant died of causes unrelated to the shoulder injury at 9 months of age.

$450,000.00 obtained as a result of the rape of a minor by the boyfriend of a foster parent (other successful litigation relating to sexual assaults include recovery on behalf of a retarded teenager who was raped at a Special Olympics event, a high school student raped by other students while on a field trip, and the sexual assaults of woman resulting form negligent residential security.

$450,000.00 awarded by United States District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson to a man who suffered back and knee injuries after his van was struck in the rear by a United States Postal Service truck.

$320,000.00 settlement on behalf of a woman who broke her leg when she slipped and fell on ice outside of a 7-11.

$250,000.00 obtained on behalf of a man who was subject to police brutality by the Prince George’s County police. Our client was struck on the head four times with a steel baton, causing a brain injury.

$250,000.00 on behalf of a woman who suffered a brain injury, when was struck by a car when crossing the street.

$230,000.00 awarded to a woman who suffered a neck injury with tingling in her arm after her car was rear-ended by a negligent driver.

$225,000.00 arbitration award for a woman who suffered a broken arm and a broken foot as a result of a head-on collision.

$220,000.00 on behalf of a woman who suffered a brain injury when a wooden “FOR LEASE” sign fell off a building from two stories above, and struck her on the head while she was walking on the sidewalk.

$220,000.00 on behalf of a woman who suffered a knee injury in an automobile collision. The car accident client required arthroscopic surgery to repair the knee.

$135,000.00 verdict in Prince George’s County Circuit Court as a result of injuries suffered by a woman when she slipped and fell on ice in a METRO parking lot.

$100,000.00 obtained from a local grocery store as a result of the store’s employee’s failure to clean up spilled mouthwash. Our client fell slipped and fell and suffering a broken wrist and a head injury.

---

Law firm obtained $15 million award for a woman who was permanently paralyzed from the neck down, as a result of being struck by a stray bullet. Michelle Williams retained trial lawyer Ira Sherman after having been permanently paralyzed from the neck down when one of the bullets intended for the driver of her vehicle hit her instead. The driver’s disgruntled ex-boyfriend chased down the car in which Michelle was a passenger, ran it off the road, and then shot and killed the driver.

---

Law firm obtained in excess of $5 million on behalf of a 14 year old client whose doctor used the chemical equivalent of super-glue in her brain, causing severe brain injury and damage.

This case involved a 14 year old girl who suffered a stroke when a physician at a local hospital injected a compound containing the chemical equivalent to superglue into vessels near her brain. Histoacryl, the chemical equivalent of Superglue®, was injected into our client's brain even though the Directions for Use in the package specifically warned:

Histoacryl must not be used for closing wounds to internal organs or on the surface of the brain and to the peripheral nervous system, since tissue damage with scar formation and subsequent disturbance of function can result.

As a result of the doctors inappropriate use of this product our client suffered severe brain injury and damage.

After the case settled, brain injury lawyer, Ira Sherman was named Co-chair with his co-counsel Anthony Newman, Esquire, of Counsel to the law firm of Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata, & Siegel P.C., of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America's Litigation Committee entitled “Embolization Devices (Cyanoacrylate).”

---

Law firm obtained in excess of $2 million on behalf of 9 claimants against the District of Columbia and its contractors resulting from the negligent care of developmentally disabled wards of the District of Columbia.

Beginning in 1999, a series of articles published in The Washington Post brought the public's attention to abuse, neglect, and untimely deaths of developmentally disabled persons residing in group homes run by private corporations or persons, and managed by the District of Columbia government.

Following this shocking report, Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata, & Siegel P.C. was retained to represent eleven families whose loved ones suffered and died in the group home system as a result of improper care and treatment. In each case, the law firm filed lawsuits against the District of Columbia and the group home operators, seeking damages for the pain and suffering endured by these developmentally disabled individuals.

Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata, & Siegel P.C. has successfully resolved 9 of these 11 cases, obtaining compensation in excess of $2 million. Two of the cases are still pending. (click here for Chaikin & Sherman newsletter coverage)

---

Law firm obtained $1.8 million on behalf of an already paralyzed stroke victim, against a wheelchair transport company which dropped him when transporting him to the hospital for physical therapy.

This case involved a brain injury which occurred in an already brain injured client. Our client had been rendered a quadriplegic prior to the incident as a result of a massive stroke which also caused profound brain injury. The client, as a result of the stroke, was verbally non-communicative. Although living at home after a lengthy rehabilitation post stroke process he received outpatient physical therapy at the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington, D.C.

The wheelchair mobile van which transported him to and from physical therapy allowed our client to fall out of the wheelchair while he was still on the van lift resulting in his head striking roadway approximately four feet below. This resulted in a brain injury superimposed on the brain injury caused by the stroke. Although the client was unable to work as a result of the stroke the law firm was successfully able to argue that the negligence resulted in the additional loss of brain function, and significantly altered the quality of the client's post-stroke life. Our brain injury client received $ 1.8 million in compensation.

Print this page