On March 15th, 2020 our State and City closed due to the COVID-19 crisis. Many businesses were shut and sadly thousands of New Yorkers were unemployed or furloughed. Many of those were clients of Leav & Steinberg, LLP. Those clients had been seriously injured prior to this health crisis and had relied upon Leav & Steinberg and its staff to be there to help them obtain complete justice. While our firm had to work remotely, our entire staff and attorneys committed to continuing the tradition we have had for the last 21 years: By providing excellent lawyering and exceptional customer service Leav & Steinberg, will be the premier firm in New York for representing all New Yorker’s who have been injured and deserve justice. Below is just a sampling of the matters we have resolved during the COVID-19 crisis up to April 29th, 2020.
- $812,000.00 settlement at a virtual court conference and virtual mediation for a 65 year-old retired Department of Education aide. Client slipped a fell on water leaking from a hole in the lobby of her building caused by a plumbing leak. The building owner and a contractor were aware of the condition prior to the accident. Client did not report the accident but did seek emergency treatment the next day for neck pain. Client eventually underwent cervical spinal surgery. The defense argued her cervical problems were pre-existing as she had treated for her neck and her lower back prior to this. The client was on dialysis and was suffering from other unrelated illnesses. Further, unrelated to the accident, the client was diabetic, suffered renal failure, and was on was on dialysis.
- $225,000.00 settlement at virtual mediation for a Plaintiff was lawfully operating her motor vehicle when she was rear ended by a truck. The truck argued that it did not see the plaintiff’s vehicle and as a result our firm moved and won summary judgment. The client sustained a knee injury and underwent arthroscopic surgery; but no tear was found. We were able to show the films and reports to an expert radiologist who opined that other injuries were sustained.
- $225,000 settlement via virtual mediation for a woman who was injured when a plastic file tray fell onto her injuring her shoulder. She underwent arthroscopic surgery and made an adequate recovery.
- $100,000.00 settlement at a virtual mediation for a woman who was entering a restaurant located in the Bronx when she was caused to slip and fall on water that she saw leaking from some flower pots adjacent to the staircase. She fell down the stairs and sustained injuries to her neck and back. She had physical therapy and follow up care but no loss wages and no invasive injections or surgery.
- $115,000.00 settlement with the New York City Transit Authority. Plaintiff was a passenger on a crowded bus that collided with a vehicle attempting to go around bus and make a right turn. The client sustained a fractured ankle as well as connective tissue injuries to her shoulder and spine. The client had several prior accidents and even though the police assigned most of the fault to the car going around the bus we were able during the depositions to show that the bus driver contributed to the accident; allowing us to obtain a recovery from both the NYCTA and the car.
- $75,000.00 for a woman who had been walking home at night and slipped on ice next to a snow bank. We showed that the responsible owner and tenant had not removed or cleared the area safely. The client had a fracture to her non-dominant wrist and had only a few physical therapy visits with no surgery.
- $60,000.00 out of $100,000.00 insurance policy for a young Staten Island mom who was rear ended by another vehicle. No observable or visible damage to the car but the client began having severe neck pain and required treatment and trigger point injections. The insurance company had denied that the injuries were serious for over 3 years and we were still able to position the case to show that it was serious and we would be happy to present it to a jury if needed.
- $250,000.00 via direct phone and virtual contact with the bus company’s counsel for an infant who was struck by a school bus as she was crossing the street. The bus driver claimed that the infant was running out into the street and was not inside the designated crosswalk. We proved otherwise by obtaining photographs at the scene and testimony from parties and others to corroborate our claim. The client had foot injuries with scarring to the top of her foot.
- $25,000.00 settlement which was the full policy limits for a young woman crossing the street and struck by a car causing her left leg to become caught between the fender and tire of the car.
- $65,000.00 for a client who was injured when a ceiling collapsed. He had serious prior neck and back injuries and he claimed this aggravated the prior injuries. There was minimal treatment after this accident
- $76,500.00 settlement with the City of New York for an infant who fell off monkey bars during recess. We were able to prove that the teacher and aide’s were not properly or adequately supervising the students and allowed other students to begin horse-playing and pushing kids.
- $75,000.00 settlement for a young girl who walked onto a baseball field and was struck by the dugout as a player was swinging the bat. The little league had claimed this was a sudden and spontaneous act that they could not anticipate. However our team of lawyers were able to show that the accident was foreseeable and preventable by arguing that the coaches were in the dugout and ignoring the rules of prohibiting swinging of the bats and that the gate to restrict access was not properly closed.
- $110,000 settlement via virtual mediation for a man who fell on debris on stairs of his building. No one had noticed the condition before and the landlord had claimed he had properly cleaned the area earlier. Client had a torn tricep tendon which did require surgery.
While many law firms focus on handling matters at trial, or only on resolving cases in claim, Leav & Steinberg, LLP has been built on a very solid foundation of handling a wide variety of claims and also positioning all cases to be prepared in a way that allows full and complete justice; even during this very serious crisis that has crippled the City.
