Rochester New York Area Accident and Personal Injury Verdicts

Veteran trial attorney, Michael H. Ranzenhofer of Friedman & Ranzenhofer, P.C., successfully handled the following personal injury cases:

• $342,500 settlement for an Alden High School senior who sustained a knee injury requiring surgery. She was injured when one of two boys who were engaged in horseplay knocked her to the ground (August 2012).
• $150,000 arbitration award, after a full hearing, for an 18-year- old Akron High School student who was burned when another student poured gasoline on a camp fire, creating flames which flared -up. She sustained first and second degree burns to her foot and leg (July 2012).
• $100,000 settlement for an 18-year- old Batavia, NY boy who was a passenger in a car driven by his friend who drove off the road and struck a tree. He sustained a broken finger and facial lacerations which required surgery (August 2012).
• $60,000 for a 20- year -old Akron, NY college student who sustained a concussion and lacerations to her eye when she went off a road under construction. The award was paid by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and the County of Erie (June 2012).
• $50,000 for a 51- year- old Genesee County man who sustained a neck injury requiring surgery in a motor vehicle accident (March 2012).
• $90,000 for a 42- year- old Wyoming County woman who was injured when a snow plow operator, backing out of a driveway, struck her car propelling her into a bridge abutment. She sustained a nonsurgical back injury (March 2012).
• $325,000 for a 23 -year -old Rochester, NY woman who was injured when, at age 14, she was performing a “flying Russian” maneuver during a cheerleading practice. She landed between two old mats which became separated and injured her knee which required multiple surgeries (November 2011).
• $130,000 for a 24- year -old Town of Amherst, NY woman who was injured when she and another vehicle collided while backing up at a shopping center parking lot. She sustained a neck injury (August 2011).
• $100,000 settlement for a 39 -year -old New York State Corrections Officer who was returning home to the City of Rochester from an out-of-town assignment. Another motorist traveling in the opposite direction crossed the center line and hit the car in front of her head-on which caused debris on the roadway which led to the accident. She sustained a knee injury (August 2011).
• $34,287.50 for a 61 -year -old Town of Clarence, NY woman who sustained a foot injury where she was rear ended by another motorist (May 2011).
• $47,500, after a full arbitration, for a 23-year -old Batavia, NY woman who was a passenger in her friend’s car. Another car crossed the solid yellow line and struck them head-on. She sustained a lower back injury (May 2011).
• $50,000 for a 53- year- old Genesee County man who sustained a back injury in a motor vehicle accident (December 2010).
• $75,000 for a 52 -year -old City of Rochester Police Officer who was injured in the line of duty when a motorist struck her from behind. She sustained a lower back injury and was off work for six months (July 2010).
• The family of a 57-year-old member of the Rochester Fire Department received $100,000 from the City of Rochester and Nationwide Insurance Company when he aggravated a lower back injury during an automobile accident (April 2004)
• A 47-year-old Genesee County woman won $90,000 from Healthcare Underwriters Mutual for injuries she sustained when a venetian blind fell on her head while working at United Memorial Hospital (April 2004)
• A 58-year-old Orleans County woman won $40,000 after she slipped on ice and broke her leg in a local supermarket parking lot (March 2004)
• A 75-year-old Lancaster woman accepts $20,000 from Federated Insurance Company for a knee injury she sustained when she tripped over torn up flooring at a local supermarket (March 2004).
• A 50-year-old West Seneca man received $18,000 from the City of Rochester for a finger injury sustained when his finger became lodged between a loose bleacher plank and a metal post (February 2004).
• A 33-year-old Batavia woman accepts $25,000 from Utica National Insurance Company when she tripped over a broken concrete curb at her daughter’s school and broke her wrist (January 2004).
• A 63-year-old West Seneca volleyball official obtained $12,000 from Network Adjusters when he injured his knee when a volleyball stand, upon which he was officiating, collapsed (December 2003).
• An 11-year-old Rochester boy accepted $15,000 from Travelers Insurance Company when bitten on the arm by a neighbor’s dog (February 2004).
• In a premises liability case against Flying J Travel Plaza in Pembroke, New York, a 50-year-old North Carolina truck driver won $199,139.67 from the truck stop. As she was walking toward the truck stop restaurant, the sidewalk was blocked by a snow bank, forcing her to proceed along an icy and snow covered foot path, which lead her to an icy grate where she fell and fractured her knee. Her award was reduced by 40 percent after the court balanced the relative culpability of the parties (April, 2005).
• A 52-year-old school administrator was awarded $200,000 against State Farm Insurance Company by a three-member arbitration panel for serious leg and elbow injuries he sustained. He was crossing Oak Street in Rochester, as a pedestrian, when he was struck by a car driven by an 80-year-old Depew man. After the split panel (2 to 1) awarded $200,000, they found the school administrator 80 percent responsible for the accident, which reduced the award to $40,000 (May, 2005).
• One Beacon Insurance Company was ordered to pay $25,500 to a 56-year-old Amherst woman for neck and back injuries she sustained in a two-car collision on Main Street in Williamsville.
• A 29-year-old Genesee County nursery school teacher received $25,000 from State Farm Insurance Company for a knee injury she sustained in a two-car accident (April, 2005).
• A 66-year-old Cheektowaga man received $18,000 from Nationwide Insurance Company for a rib injury that he sustained in a two-car accident in Canada (April, 2005).
• A 48-year-old factory worker received $29,500 from New York Central Mutual Insurance Company for knee injuries she sustained in a two-car accident on High Street in Rochester, New York. The settlement was reached during jury selection in Supreme Court (June, 2005).
• A 32-year-old Genesee County factory worker accepted $50,000 from Allstate Insurance Company for back injuries he sustained in a two-car motor vehicle accident when the other driver turned in front of him.
• In a defective products case, a 58-year-old East Aurora aerospace worker won $185,000 from Great American Insurance Company, which insured a company which designed and manufactured loading ramps. As he was driving his tractor up the loading ramps into his pickup truck, the cable securing the ramps broke and he fell from the ramp and injured his lower back (January 2005).
• A 53-year-old heavy equipment operator from Akron won a $165,000 settlement from Harleysville Insurance Company for a fractured ankle and torn ankle tendon that he sustained in a two car intersection accident in Clarence (February 2005).
• A 14-year-old Lockport girl received $58,000 from Tops Supermarkets when her hand was sucked under the conveyor belt at the checkout counter. She sustained burns and scarring to the top of her hand (March 2005).
• A Genesee County jury returned a $25,000 verdict against State Farm Insurance Company in favor of a 23-year-old nursing assistant from Bergen who injured her back in a two car accident on the New York State Thruway. State Farm, prior to trial, had offered only $3,000 to settle the case (February 2005).
• A 48-year-old Alden homemaker accepted $25,000 from a local hospital for a broken ankle she sustained when she stepped on broken concrete which was covered with snow (March 2005).
• An 84-year-old West Seneca woman accepted $15,000 from New York Central Mutual Insurance Company after she injured her wrist when she was T-boned by another motorist on Sheridan Drive in Amherst.
• A 19-year-old Rochester pedestrian won $10,000 from Erie Insurance Company when she sustained cuts and bruises to her knees and hands after she was struck by a car.