In 2022, personal injury law firm Block O’Toole & Murphy will far exceed $200 million in settlements for its injured clients. This number represents the most successful year in the firm’s 25-year history. And it proves that despite unprecedented challenges—such as court closures and backlog stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic—resourceful, dedicated lawyers can still make a difference.
“We attacked the pandemic rather than sitting back and accepting that because the courts were closed, we could not be as effective as possible,” says partner Jeffrey Block, who was selected by his peers as the 2023 New York City “Lawyer of the Year” for Best Lawyers® for Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs. “Instead, we scrutinized our inventory and made sure we pushed every case as hard and as efficiently as we could; and, as a result, we are emerging from the pandemic stronger than ever.”
We believe that our clients deserve every last dollar, and we are willing to fight for them.”
Among the notable results achieved over the past year, Block and partner Joseph Donahue expertly negotiated a $6.25 million settlement in a widely reported New York City explosion case. In addition, partner Daniel O’Toole and associate Pawel Wierzbicki obtained an $8.75 million recovery for an undocumented immigrant from Poland who sustained head trauma, brain damage and other injuries after falling from a ladder at a renovation site in Manhattan. The case was skillfully negotiated on the eve of trial.
“We believe that our clients deserve every last dollar, and we are willing to fight for them. Our clients appreciate that we are willing to fight on their behalf, whether it is in the courtroom or in a dark alley,” O’Toole says.
During the past year, partners Stephen Murphy and Michael Hurwitz recorded a $9.5 million settlement for a 32-year-old pedestrian who was struck by a bus while crossing a busy Brooklyn intersection. They persuaded the judge and the New York City Transit Authority that meeting their settlement demands was a more prudent decision than allowing them to try the case before a jury.
Murphy, the 2022 New York City “Lawyer of the Year” for Best Lawyers for Personal Injury Litigation, notes: “We have a very specific formula for our success—we don’t take many cases and we devote a lot of time and attention to each client, getting to know them and their family and why this accident or injury has shattered their hopes and dreams. In that way, we can more effectively tell their story and obtain justice for what they have been through.”
