Our Victories

Motorcycle Accident Recently our firm was able to negotiate a very favorable settlement of 2.4 million dollars for one of our clients. After years of extensive discovery, mediations and attempts at settlement, the insurance company, on the eve of trial, finally offered our client a fair settlement. The client had suffered very significant injuries in a motorcycle accident. After the accident the client endured years of surgeries, medical treatments and therapies. Despite the excellent medical care, the client was left with many residual problems. After depositions, we had argued that, as a matter of law, the defendants were 100% responsible for the accident. The Judge agreed and granted our request to find the defendants fully responsible for the accident. This was a significant victory because it meant that the main issue at trial would be limited to the amount of damages the client was entitled to. With the use of various experts hired by our firm, including an economist and life care planner, we were able to paint a picture that fully described the impact that this accident had on the life of our client. Our client was very physically active and adventurous before the accident. We were able to demonstrate this to the insurance company by photographs and videos previously take of the client. This settlement will allow the client to obtain all necessary medical treatment in the future.

NY College DWI Case — People V. B Our client was a 20 year old college student charged with DWI with a reading of .15. Mr. Griffin brought the case to trial and after a jury trial our client was found not guilty of all charges.

Sidewalk Premise Negligence Our client was injured on a City street in Brooklyn while walking home late at night. He suffered a broken ankle when he stepped into a hole created by a gap between the sidewalk and a detached portion of the curb. He underwent surgery to repair the damage. At the time of trial, our attorneys were able to prevent the City from calling an expert to contest the severity of our client’s injuries.

New York Mail And Wire Fraud Case — US V. N Our client was charged with Mail and Wire Fraud in the Eastern District of New York and was alleged to have participated in a multi million dollar fraud. Although the sentencing guideline range for our client was over 48 months, Mr. Griffin secured a downward departure and obtained a no jail sentence for our client.

Teenage Girl Killed In Bus Accident In New York We were able to recover this amount for the Queens family of a teenage year-old girl who was struck and killed by the a private bus as it turned a corner while passing through a stop sign without stopping. The bus company and its driver claimed that the City of New York was partly responsible for parking a Department of Transportation road paver in front of the child’s bus stop, thus blocking the bus driver’s view. Also, they claimed that the child was contributorily negligent for running into the street to chase the bus after it had passed her stop. We were able to successfully argue that the majority of the responsibility for the accident was the failure to stop at the corner stop sign. The bus company and the City both paid the settlement.

NYC Vehicular Manslaughter Case Our client was charged with vehicular manslaughter by a Manhattan Grand Jury. Mr. Griffin secured a full dismissal of the vehicular manslaughter charges against our client.

Nassau County Grand Jury Case — People V.W In Nassau County for many years Grand Juries were convened by asking potential jurors to volunteer for Grand Jury duty. Mr. Griffin’s work eventually led to the end of volunteers serving on Nassau County Grand Juries which are now selected randomly.

New York City DWI Case — People V. B Our client was charged with DWI with a reading of .15. Mr. Griffin brought the case to trial and after a jury trial our client was found not guilty of DWI and found guilty of a non-criminal offense of driving while impaired.

Car Race Injury Case In Suffolk County Our client was injured in a one car accident, when her boyfriend, while racing another Mustang, lost control and struck a tree. She was ejected from the vehicle and suffered a fractured vertebrae, head injury and knee injury requiring surgery. We took this case over from another attorney after he had the matter stricken from the Court’s trial calendar. At that time they had a minimal settlement offer from the insurance company. The case settled for $225,000 out an insurance policy of $250,000 after we corrected the mistakes of prior counsel.

Student Car Accident In New York We represented the family of a student who was killed after she was ejected from the SUV she was driving. This accident happend on the Long Island Expressway in Suffolk County. According to eyewitnesses, the accident was caused when the young woman lost control of her SUV after she was cut-off by a Ferrari and Range Rover that were weaving in and out of traffic. Unfortunately, New York Law is limited in what a family can recover for the loss of a loved one who was not a parent or wage earner.

NY Mortgage And Bank Fraud Case — US V. F Our client was originally charged with Mortgage Fraud and Bank Fraud in the Southern District of New York. Although our client faced a significant federal sentence Mr. Griffin secured a dismissal of all counts.

Speeding Broadside Car Accident Case In NYC We represented passengers in a vehicle that was struck broadside by a vehicle in New York City. There was a question as to which vehicle had the green light. The driver of the host vehicle claimed he had the left turn arrow in his favor. The adverse driver claimed that the host made a left turn and failed to yield the right of way. Our expert opined that the driver of the adverse vehicle was speeding and thus negligent, regardless of the issue of lights.

Personal Injury

Our law firm was recently retained by a professional driver who was injured in a serious car accident. The accident, not our client’s fault, caused the client to suffer an injury to his shoulder. He was recently advised by his doctor that he will need surgery on the shoulder. Following surgery, it is expected that he will need a significant amount of rehabilitation. Obviously, as a driver, he will be unable to work during this time period.

It is possible that the client will face significant financial difficulties if he is unable to work for a long period of time. Under New York State no-fault rules, the client is eligible for up to 80% of his lost wages, or up to a maximum of $2000.00 per month. Clearly, this amount of money is not remotely close to the amount of money he was earning as a driver. One way that we can all protect ourselves in this situation is to purchase additional insurance now. For a nominal sum of money, you can increase the monthly lost wages benefit to $4000.00 per month. In this way, if you were put in the situation like our current client and you were unable to work, you could receive up to $4000 from no-fault. Without question, it is worth the investment.

The solution for this client is to make a claim against the responsible insurance company for the difference in lost wages that the client may incur. At this time the case is too new to estimate the amount of lost wages, but if required, we are prepared to make this claim.

At Foley Griffin we offer our clients the opportunity to review their auto policy at any time. If we see areas where an increase in insurance would benefit the client (such as increase in monthly wages), we will make suggestions to the client.

Work Van And Stolen Car Crash, Uninsured Motorist Case Our client was a phone company technician operating his work van when he was struck by a felon operating a stolen car who was fleeing the scene of an armed robbery. The insurance company for the stolen car properly refused to cover the accident. We therefore sought recovery from the employer’s and the client’s Uninsured Motorist carriers. The client had to retire from the job due to the injuries suffered. Although the client had suffered an injury to one of his shoulders prior to the accident, we claimed that it did not prevent him from working and was not significant compared to the severity of the accident.

World Trade Center 9/11 Attacks We represented, before the Victims Compensation Fund, the estate of a 53 year old gentleman who was killed in terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. The decedent was from Long Island and left behind a wife and several grown children.

New York Felony Case Our client was charged with a B violent felony wherein he faced a minimum of 5 years in jail. Mr. Griffin helped secure a dismissal of all the charges in the case.

DUI Drunk Driving Accident In NYC Our clients, a mother and her two adult daughters, were struck head on by a drunk driver. The indigent drunk driver had stolen the vehicle from a local 7-11 earlier that day. We were able to show that the wife of the owner of the stolen vehicle had left her keys in the ignition with the car running at the 7-11. This was a violation of the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law. As a result of the accident, the driver suffered a head injury, damage to her wrists and back pain. One daughter suffered a broken leg. The other suffered a minor facial scar.

Criminal Defense Our client and other citizens were charged with DWI but had not been convicted or gone to trial. The Nassau County executive decided to post their pictures on his self described “Wall of Shame.” Mr. Griffin was successful in suing the county and forcing Nassau County to remove the “Wall of Shame.”