Significant results are a regular occurrence at the New York personal injury firm Block O’Toole & Murphy. Since 2012, the firm has annually obtained the largest number of reported personal injury results exceeding $1 million in New York state, as noted by the New York Law Journal. In total, it has recovered well over $1 billion for its clients, including more than 300 results exceeding $1 million and multiple record-breaking verdicts and settlements.
“I have always enjoyed the challenge of representing the underdog and seeing that justice is done,” says firm founder Jeffrey Block. “Our mission is to help people, and the results we have achieved over the years are proof that we have remained true to that mission.”
In 2019, the firm has continued its remarkable streak of personal injury victories. Foremost, the firm obtained a $110 million award for a 26-year-old cyclist whose spinal cord was shattered after construction workers dropped a 10-foot rail tie on him during a New York City Transit Authority track replacement project in Brooklyn. The firm’s client, who was 23 years old at the time of the accident, is now permanently paralyzed from the waist down.
“Like many of the matters we handle, this case involved basic, avoidable errors on the part of the defendant, which ultimately led to a life-altering tragedy,” says partner Daniel O’Toole, who handled the case with partner Scott Occhiogrosso. “Our hope is that this verdict will provide our client with a better quality of care as he fights to recover from this terrible accident.”
This $110 million award is believed to be the largest non-medical malpractice injury verdict in the history of New York. As such, it ranks among the most notable results in the firm’s history, which already includes a $32.7 million verdict in a pedestrian accident case that was the largest non-medical malpractice injury verdict in Long Island history and a $20.1 million New York State Court of Claims verdict that was the second largest verdict ever for the court.
"The results we have achieved over the years are proof that we have remained true to that mission."
“Our trial experience, energy, and dedication to our clients is our blueprint for success,” says partner Stephen Murphy. “We know how much our clients’ quality of life depends on the outcome of their case, and because of that, we bring a high level of passion to our practice—making our clients’ struggles our own personal battle.”
