Mario C., a 50 year old laborer, had only a sixth grade education. Although he never earned much over minimum wage, he saw to it that he was always employed. He came to us when his first attorney tried to talk him into accepting a $20,000.00 settlement for the case discussed below.

In 1986, while stopped in a line of traffic, his car was rear-ended by a Dodge Ram Charger, which happened to be a four wheel drive police truck. The rear end of his vehicle was severely damaged. He suffered an injury to his lower back, which simply would not respond to treatment, causing him to be unable to return to work.

The attorney that Mr. C. originally retained wanted him to settle for $20,000.00, rather than try his case against the City of Philadelphia. Mr. C. knew that the first attorney had done next to nothing on the case. So he came to us shortly before the case was to go to trial.

We immediately sent Mr. C. to be examined by a forensic orthopedist, something his former lawyer had not done. It would require an experienced medical expert to explain to a jury why a seemingly insignificant injury would keep a man out of work for three years or more.

We went to trial before a judge who was notoriously prejudiced against ethnic minorities, and openly biased toward the City. He attempted to browbeat and threaten our client into accepting the City’s pathetic offer, but Mr. C. refused.

Although the judge consistently ruled against us on the City’s constant objections, attempted to intimidate our client’s interpreter, and eventually refused to allow our economic expert to testify, the jury awarded Mr. C. $500,000.00, the limit obtainable against a local government.

Our orthopedic expert had explained to them that Mr. C. had underlying arthritis in his back from years of manual labor. Although it did not bother him before the accident, the injury, as our expert said, "kicked it into high gear", resulting in a permanent disability.

Not satisfied with attempting to sabotage our client at trial, the judge overturned the verdict on post trial motions, and awarded the City a new trial on damages.

We appealed the judges ruling. The appellate court did not hesitate to overturn the lower court and reinstated the full award. In addition, we were awarded delay damages, which brought the total award to more than $850,000.00!

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