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A Year of Large Settlements for Brad Harris

Brad Harris has settled numerable large, notable cases in 2007. For example, an insurance company refused to pay No Fault PIP benefits to a paraplegic. After almost a year of litigation, the insurance company decided to change its position and paid over a quarter million dollars in benefits, and agreed to pay for the client's lifetime medical care, home modifications, and therapy.

In another hard-fought case involving a disputed traumatic brain injury after an auto accident. The injured person returned to work the day after the accident and continued to work in his same job for almost a year after the accident, so the Defendant's insurance company refused to believe Plaintiff was truly injured. Again after a year or so of litigation, and despite numerous experts hired by the defense to contest the plaintiff's injuries, Brad Harris got him $725,000 in compensation.

Also this year, Brad Harris was successful in getting a woman with a herniated disc $600,000 from the Defendant, who refused to accept responsibility for causing the accident nor offer one cent before the lawsuit was filed. The woman did not go to the emergency room nor did she receive medical treatment for her back until nine months after the accident. Thus, the Defendants tried to establish that her back injury was not caused by the accident. Defendant's argument was further bolstered by expert witnesses. Despite what many would perceive as an uphill battle, Mr. Harris convinced the Defendant that his client's injuries were related to the accident, and after many legal and medical battles, a fair resolution of $600,000 was garnered.

In another auto-accident, herniated-disc case, Brad Harris got his client $350,000 despite the client's preexisting degenerative back condition.

To contact Brad Harris regarding your case, click here.

Steven Goren Asked to Join National Panel Discussion

Steven E.Goren spoke to a large group of attorneys on the strategies to use and the pitfalls to avoid when handling an RSD case.  At the nationwide meeting of the American Association for Justice in Chicago in July 2007, Steven E. Goren was part of a panel of two physicians and four attorneys from around the nation. Questions were asked from both a moderator and from the audience to the panel regarding common issues that arise in RSD cases and advise was given in handling these often complicated cases.

Brad Harris Settles Herniated Disc Auto Case

Bradley B. Harris recently settled a Federal case days before trial for $300,000 for a man who suffered a back injury after an auto accident.  As in many cases involving back injury, the cause of the herniated disc was hotly disputed, with Defendant hiring numerous physicians to say Plaintiff's injuries were unrelated to the car crash.  The injured plaintiff did continue to work for a period of time after the accident and did not get immediate treatment for his injuries.  Defendant refused to settle for a reasonable sum, even during a mediation, and so Brad continued to litigate the case.  Shortly before trial was scheduled to begin, Defendant's called to say the insurance company had finally agreed to pay significantly more money than had ever been offered before.   The Plaintiff, who was a laborer,  is using the money to get an education as an engineer.  

Bradley B. Harris has handled numerous cases involving injuries to the neck and back where the cause of the injury has been contested.  Despite the medical and legal difficulties involved in these cases, he has been repeatedly successful in obtaining large, meaningful monetary compensation amounts for his clients.

Steven Goren Named a "Super Lawyer"

Steven E. Goren has been selected by a national legal publisher as one of its "Super Lawyers."

According to the publisher, Law and Politics, "Super Lawyers is developed as a resource to assist attorneys and sophisticated consumers in the search for legal counsel. [The] publisher uses a multi-step process to identify qualified candidates that incorporates peer recognition and professional achievement. Our system of balloting, peer evaluation, and internal research acts as a system of checks and balances that produces a diverse and comprehensive listing of outstanding lawyers."

Only the top 5% of the lawyers in a state are named "Super Lawyers." Steven Goren has also been recognized by inclusion in Who's Who in American Law, Who's Who in America and Million Dollar Advocates Forum. He was given the highest "AV" rating for legal ability and general ethics by Martindale Hubbell.

Steven Goren Attends RSD Conference

Steven E. Goren recently attended a national conference on RSD entitled: A Comprehensive Review of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome: Dispelling the Myths & Looking at Emergent Treatment. The conference took place in Chicago and was attended by numerous physicians, occupational therapist, physical therapists, and individuals suffering from RSD.

Mr. Goren was asked by the conference organizer to answer legal questions for approximately 50 RSD sufferers, many of whom have been denied worker's compensation benefits, are being viewed with suspicion by insurers, or are otherwise being given a hard time by the legal system.

The conference lasted two days and was sponsored by the Northwestern University School of Medicine, the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and the Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Association. Speakers included Anne Louise Oaklander from Harvard, Joshua Prager from UCLA, Norman Harden from Northwestern and many other nationwide leaders in RSD research and treatment.

Another Brain Injury Case Resolved by Brad Harris

Brad Harris recently settled another major closed head injury case. A 79 year old man was struck in a parking lot by a slow moving car. He fell to the ground and hit his head. Defendant claimed he wasn't to blame and that the accident was not due to his own lack of caution. Brad Harris hired an accident reconstructionist to prove otherwise. In addition, Brad Harris' client had some subtle cognitive problems which the defense claimed were caused by age, not the injury. Brad Harris hired a neuropsychologist who through testing was able to show that there were problems created by the automobile accident that were not related to age. In the end, Brad Harris was able to settle the case for a confidential six figure sum approaching the policy limits. Mr. Harris has successfully resolved numerous large cases involving the complexities of brain injuries.

Steven Goren Speaks Nationally to Lawyers on RSD

On July 16, 2006, at the National Conference of the American Trial Lawyers in Seattle, Steven E. Goren was invited to speak on RSD. The title of his speech was “Ten Ways RSD Cases are Different.” He lectured to a group of approximately 50 attorneys, and discussed common mistakes lawyers make trying to handle RSD cases like other personal injury cases. He discussed various ways in which RSD (also known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome or CRPS) is different due to its severe and often disabling pain, its progressive nature, and its uncertain prognosis. These differences lead to the need for alternative litigation strategies.

Brad Harris settles Two Major Brain Injury Cases

Brad Harris has successfully resolved two major closed head injury cases in the past few months.  Both arose out of automobile accidents.  In the first case there was disputed liability.  A car hit a patch of ice and came into the path of Mr. Harris's client.  Mr. Harris' client's vehicle was unable to avoid hitting the oncoming vehicle causing various injuries, the most serious being a brain injury disabling Plaintiff from his work as a mechanic.  Mr. Harris was able to convince the Defense to pay the full policy limits of $500,000 and to get the no fault insurer to pay the victim's wife 24 hours of attendant care after his release from the hospital.  She is still receiving 12 to 16 hours of attendant care per day for her care of her husband.  In the other case, liability was not disputed but the injury was.  After the accident, Mr. Harris' client did not complain of injury, go to the hospital or seek medical treatment until three days after the accident.  The man who worked for an automobile manufacturer and later claimed to have a closed head injury which he said disabled him from working at his previous job.  The Defendant claimed there was no injury and that the man was malingering. They hired a neuropsychologist who claimed there was not a significant injury.  Mr. Harris was able to show the flaws in his reasoning and that, together with the report of the neuropsychologist Mr. Harris hired convinced the defense to pay $675,000.

$1 million recovery for an injury caused by a forklift

Steven E. Goren achieved another $1 million recovery for one of his clients. Goren's client, a delivery truck driver, was helping a forklift operator unload a two ton liquid oxygen tank when the liquid sloshed and the tank rocked forward. The tank then fell onto the driver's hand and pushed him to the ground. If the tank had not caught on the side rail of the truck, the driver would have been killed. As it was, his hand required two surgeries and his back was seriously injured.

The employer of the forklift operator was sued, but the defendants denied liability by claiming the forklift was being operated at the instructions of the driver. The defendants alleged that the back injury, which did not require surgery, was due to long-term degenerative changes in the back and was not disabling.

Goren said the good result required proving the back injury was both serious and related to the trauma of the incident: "We were able to have the driver's doctors agree to testify that, although the x-rays showed the back that was prone to problems, the trauma of the incident was the immediate cause of his injury. We got all of the driver's medical records - going back years - and showed he had never before complained to a doctor about a back problem. We met with his employers (both the one he had at the time of the accident and the one he had before) and they agreed to testify that he had been a hard worker who was able to lift heavy objects on a daily basis."

The case was in litigation for over a year before negotiations began. Only on the eve of trial did the defendants finally decide to meet Goren’s demands.

If you would like to know if you have a case, fill out our simple Free Consultation form. There is no cost and no obligation. We want to help.

Steven Goren Elected Chairperson of RSD/CRPS Litigation Group

Steven E. Goren has been elected the national chairperson of the American Trial Lawyer Association litigation group on Complex Regional Pain Syndrome / RSD. Steven E. Goren will serve from July 2005 through July 2006.

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, more commonly called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome (RSD) is caused by an injury to the sympathetic nerves resulting in severe pain. For many people, the condition can be catastrophic, permanent and disabling. There is no known cure. Mr. Goren has worked on RSD personal injury cases nationwide.

Mr. Goren was one of the founding members of the RSD litigation group, which discusses the latest medical information on this complex disease, develops litigation strategies, and discusses experts who are available to help patients who have this life-changing affliction.

The litigation group is part of ATLA, a nationwide group of plaintiff trial attorneys dedicated to promoting justice and fairness for injured persons and safeguarding victims' rights. ATLA has over 56,000 members.

If you would like to know if you have a case, fill out our simple Free Consultation form. There is no cost and no obligation. We want to help.

Michigan law firm awards college scholarships to hard-working Detroit youth

DETROIT - Three graduates of Detroit's Western International High School will have a brighter future thanks to a generous contribution by Goren, Goren & Harris, P.C., a Bingham Farms law firm.

In order to celebrate its 35th year in business, the personal injury firm presented three college scholarships to underprivileged Detroit youth. Founding partner Robert Goren graduated from the school in 1948. Recently, he presented the scholarships at commencement.

A little bit of moral and financial support can have an amazing effect on a student's future, Goren said.

"The teachers and the counselors at Western High School were very supportive of me when I went to school, and I think they played a part in the fact that I did well in college and in law school," Goren said. "They made me realize that I was smart and I was capable, and gave me all sorts of opportunities to prove it.

"This is my way of giving back a little bit of the good that I had gotten from them."

The three scholarship recipients are (left to right): Melvin Johnson, Renee Perez and Maria del Rosario Lara.

Johnson will attend Fergus Falls Community College in Fergus Falls, Minn., where he will study criminal justice.

Perez will attend the University of Michigan, Dearborn. She plans to become an attorney and open up her own law firm.

"This really has encouraged me to stay focused and continue to further my knowledge in higher education," Perez said of the scholarship.

Lara will attend the University of Detroit Mercy, where she plans to pursue a career in either business management or elementary education.

In addition to grades, criteria for the scholarship included extraordinary character, triumph over adversity, and steadfast determination in the pursuit of higher education.

Goren hopes this small example of altruism will help encourage others to give what they can.

"If people help kids go to college, that's a wonderful investment as far as the future is concerned," he said. "It's a very small payment toward a better society."

$3.5 million settlement of malpractice case

Despite the existence of a $335,000 cap on the recovery of non-economic damages affecting Michigan malpractice claims, Goren, Goren & Harris achieved one of the largest malpractice wrongful death settlements of the year.

In a case involving the delayed diagnosis of a heart attack, we successfully convinced a hospital to pay for the loss of support suffered by a widow and her children. The patient, who was a successful executive, died in the hospital after hours of undiagnosed chest pain.

The Million Dollar Cross Examination

Steven E. Goren recently settled a case for a confidential seven figure amount.

The case was hotly contested, with the defense offering approximately $1 million less than Mr. Goren was demanding as the trial began. The case involved a three-week-old infant who came to a hospital emergency room with a potentially deadly case of meningitis, an infection affecting the brain. The trial concerned how quickly the child got antibiotics, whether there was an unreasonable delay and, if so, what harm was caused by the delay.

The records were conflicting as to whether antibiotics were given in the Emergency Room or delayed for approximately four extra hours. Trial was in the third day when Mr. Goren called the Defendant's nurse to the witness stand. Cross examination lasted all morning, building to a dramatic moment when the witness was asked to explain if she agreed with her attorney's claim that the "only explanation" was antibiotics had been given in the Emergency Room. She agreed with her lawyer. However, Mr. Goren led her, question by question, until she admitted that she could not agree with the statement made by her own lawyer to the jury during opening statements.

"There are not many true Perry Mason moments in court when the witness crumbles, changes testimony, and agrees with his or her accuser," Mr. Goren noted.

After the witness' admission, court adjourned for lunch. After lunch, Defendant agreed to pay what Mr. Goren had been demanding all along.

Businesses must now get explicit permission to add unrelated provisions to contracts after the fact, judge rules

DETROIT ­ Consumers recently had their day in court... and won.

For years, big companies have mailed their customers confusing amendments to already signed contracts. The companies inform their customers, in very small print, that continued use of the product signals acceptance of the new provisions.

Thus, for instance, credit card companies have been able to add provisions stripping customers of important rights, like the right to file a lawsuit in court. If the customer doesn't explicitly refuse the changes in writing, the changes go into effect.

The courts have condoned this practice, known as "silence-as-acceptance," for many years. This week, however, Detroit-area law firm Goren, Goren, Goren & Harris, P.C. won a significant battle in the war for consumers' rights when a Michigan trial court judge agreed to nullify a credit card company's arbitration clause that prohibited customers from bringing a lawsuit against the company.

"This is a major win for consumers everywhere," said lead plaintiff attorney Steven E. Goren. "The idea of silence-as-acceptance has been slowly creeping its way into our law as a way for businesses to defeat consumers' rights."

In oral arguments before Judge Daphne Means Curtis of the Wayne County Circuit Court, Goren offered a more tangible example to demonstrate the problems with "silence-as-acceptance": Should a credit card company have the right to add magazine subscriptions to its customers' contracts in the same manner? If the Court deemed appended arbitration clauses acceptable, logic dictates additional unrelated additions - such as magazine subscription clauses - would be allowed as well.

Judge Curtis appreciated his points.

"Now," Goren said, "consumers have to explicitly agree - rather than explicitly disagree - before new, unrelated conditions are added to a contract."

The credit card company, Fleet Bank, had added an arbitration clause to its credit card contract for existing customers. This clause waived its customers' right to participate in a class action, to go to court for any dispute, and more. In effect, this provision insulated Fleet from liability for its own deceptive promotions and other wrongdoing.

Plaintiff argued that Fleet had no right to deem continued use of a credit card to be acceptance of the new terms and conditions. Plaintiff also argued that the new agreement was unconscionable, and should not be enforceable. Judge Daphne Means Curtis has recently released an eight-page opinion agreeing with the plaintiff.

"Big companies have started using arbitration clauses to immunize themselves from liability for deceptive practices," said Plaintiff counsel Henry Langberg. "With this ruling, David truly has won a battle against Goliath."

The fight over silence-as-acceptance was part of a lawsuit alleging Fleet Bank's "Air Check" promotion was deceptive. Fleet had sent flyers to its customers offering up to $100 off on air travel. Only after buying a plane ticket and receiving nowhere near $100 did the Michigan plaintiff realize there were many restrictions that had gone undisclosed on the initial promotion flyer. Goren, Goren & Harris, P.C. is currently seeking class action certification for the lawsuit.

Another trial victory for Steven E. Goren

With Defendant McLaren Hospital in Flint Michigan offering only $65,000, Steven E. Goren decided to try the malpractice case of a woman who had lost the fingertips on her right hand to blood clots. The claim was that the hospital was slow to recognize and treat a post-operative complication. Defendant McLaren Hospital alleged that the diagnosis was timely and nothing could be done to save the fingertips. A jury did not believe the hospital and awarded Mr. Goren's client approximately $300,000. The verdict was collected a few months later (with the help of a sheriff).