Pugatch & Nikolis

MC slipped and fell on snow and ice on a sidewalk in Washington Heights last winter. She broke her ankle when she fell trying to climb over the mound of snow piled on the perimeter between the sidewalk and the street. The insurance company had refused to settle her claim until after the deposition of the superintendent of the building where she fell. The superintendent agreed he was supposed to shovel pathways to permit pedestrians to cross the street. He also insisted he had done that. When video surveillance from the building (which we uncovered) proved no such pathways were cleared, the insurance company settled for one - quarter million dollars. With our experience, we know to ask the right questions and prove if the insurance company hides the right answers. Our client was well compensated for her injury.

RB was 91 years old when she tripped and fell in a pothole in Brooklyn. It had rained earlier and the pothole, filled with water, was obscured from her view. RB suffered a broken leg and a suite was brought against the City of New York. Cases against the City are notoriously long and drawn out. However, given our client’s age we pressured the City to expedite discovery. The City was not always willing or accommodating. The day before Court ordered depositions, the City ...said it did not have an attorney available and attempted to adjourn the deposition for three months. We told the City we were going to comply with the Court order and produce our witness at the City’s office. If the City failed to take the deposition we argued they will have waived the deposition. Surprise, the City had an available lawyer and our client’s deposition was conducted. RB’s case was settled for $200,000.00 and she was able to enjoy her well deserved compensation. See more

DA a young man on a motorcycle was severely injured when the driver of a pickup truck pulled into an intersection without seeing DA. DA was hit and severely injured but fortunately made a fantastic recovery. During the course of the lawsuit the insurance company decided to play games. In response to multiple Court Orders, lawyers for the insurance company denied there were witnesses to the collision, denied there were photographs of the accident scene, denied there ...were videos of the crash and denied their insured pickup truck driver was responsible for the crash. Surprise, surprise. On the eve of trial the insurance company disclosed the identity of 6 witnesses, more than 50 photographs, and a video recreation of the crash, all harmful to our client’s claims. We moved the Court to preclude the newly disclosed claims because they violated multiple Court Orders. The trial Court denied our application. We appealed to a higher Court. The higher Court (The Appellate Division) agreed with us and reversed the trial court. The Appellate Court found the insurance company had willfully and purposefully disobeyed the prior Court Orders and precluded the insurance company from offering surprise evidence at trial it had previously denied existed. The insurance company had previously offered Zero, Nothing, Nada to our client. After the Appellate Court issued its opinion, the case was resolved for $750,000.00. We fight for you because you have entrusted us with your case.

Buying or selling a house? Home buyers are often upset at real estate closings when they see the Title Insurance bill. Why do I need to pay that? they ask. Well, it doesn’t happen often, but when it does, you will be glad you have it (and your Mortgage Company requires it anyway). Several years ago a client moved into a lovely home set back more than 100 feet from the street. The prior owners had hooked up to the county sewer system and agreed to pay the hook up fee ($...25,000.00) over a 10 year period. The hook up fee was determined by the set back. After closing, the county notified the new owners they owed more than $20,000.00 on the remaining hook up fee. Pugatch & Nikolis did not represent the homeowners at the closing, but were contacted when the owners received the county’s bill. We notified the Title Insurance company which had failed to identify the lien before closing and forced them to pay the outstanding bill. It all seems routine, until it isn’t. See more

We often hear talk about Tort Reform or condemning Trial Lawyers. Politicians complain about The McDonald’s case and the need to cap damage awards. This is the talk of bought and paid for politicians. In real life, these arguments mean you, the people are not to be trusted as jurors. They, the politicians think they know better than you the people do. Damages are largely divided into Economic Loss (doctor’s bills, lost earnings, and things like that) and Non-...Economic Loss (pain and suffering). Wisconsin passed a law capping pain and suffering damages at $750,000.00. That means no matter how badly you are harmed, you cannot be awarded more than $750,000.00 for your pain and suffering. The saddest cases make the clearest examples of how unfair these laws can be. A young woman in Wisconsin lost both her arms and both her legs due to medical malpractice. A jury found the doctor was negligent in his care and treatment of this woman and caused her to lose all four limbs. The jury awarded her more than $16 million dollars for her pain and suffering. The Wisconsin Supreme Court threw out that award and allowed only $750,000.00 for pain and suffering. The next time a politician says they favor caps on damages, ask how much they received in contributions from insurance companies and how much they received from accident victims. Then ask if they believe you, the people have the intelligence, the compassion, the wisdom to hear a case, evaluate the evidence and render a verdict. Then remind them if the verdict is too high or too low, an appellate court can review the case and adjust, if necessary. Don’t lose your rights and don’t lose your ability to speak truth to power, serve on a jury, and render verdict as you see fit. Then ask, if they believe in the American system, why would they take it all away from the people, just to help and protect an insurance company? Remember, trial lawyers are only paid if their client is successful. Do insurance companies return premiums if they are successful? Sort answer NO! See more