Among New York personal injury firms, few can match Block O’Toole & Murphy’s track record, which in just two decades has grown to more than a billion dollars in total recoveries—a number that includes such notable results as the top personal injury verdict in Suffolk County, the largest reported personal injury settlement against the State of New York, and both the largest pain and suffering verdict and the second largest personal injury verdict in the Court of Claims.
“The people we represent truly deserve every last dollar they are entitled to under the law, and these results demonstrate that we are committed to seeing our clients obtain justice,” says Jeffrey Block. “They also mean that defense attorneys and insurance companies take notice when we bring a suit, assigning a higher dollar value to the case.”
Last year alone, Block O’Toole & Murphy secured four of the top five personal injury settlements in New York State, three of the top five construction accident settlements, and six of the top 10 motor vehicle accident settlements. Among these recoveries was the largest personal injury settlement in Suffolk County—a $13.5 million result obtained by Daniel O’Toole and Scott Occhiogrosso for a 24-year-old pedestrian who suffered catastrophic injuries after being struck by a company-owned vehicle as she walked home at night.
“Our client was rendered nonverbal by the accident, and to tell her story, we assembled a team of experts, including an expert on the detectability of objects from the U.S. Naval Academy, to speak to the driver’s visibility,” O’Toole recalls. “In that way, we enabled her to have a voice in the courtroom, which was crucial given that the case was heavily litigated against very large law firms.”
Also in 2016, the firm achieved a pair of notable construction settlements: Stephen Murphy and David Scher obtained a pretrial settlement of $7.4 million for a construction worker who suffered spinal and other injuries after falling from a steel beam, and Jeffrey Block and Joseph Donahue attained a $7.3 million pretrial settlement for a 56-year-old construction worker who was injured while performing steel demolition at a construction site in Brooklyn.
“In all of our cases, we’re meeting people at a time when they’re most vulnerable, and our goal is to provide a voice to their journey and help them shoulder the burden of their injuries,” says Murphy. “So there is nothing more rewarding than knowing the results we achieved will ensure the financial security of our clients and their family.”
