Long Island’s Leading Lawyers

Sullivan Papain Block McGrath & Cannavo P.C.

Plantiffs’ Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice

Sullivan Papain Block McGrath & Cannavo P.C.

Over the past 80-plus years, Sullivan Papain Block McGrath & Cannavo P.C. (SPBMC) has established a tradition of service and excellence by successfully representing individuals who have been seriously injured as a result of the wrongdoing of others.

The firm has earned its reputation as a powerful advocate for the injured because of the trust developed with clients and peers, as well as its stellar reputation in the legal community.

Committed to knowing each client individually, the attorneys at SPBMC approach each case with compassion, understanding that the clients have endured a traumatic or tragic, and sometimes life-changing, event. Respected by the legal community, the firm’s clients, and the lawyers who have referred them, entrust SPBMC to do everything possible to achieve the best results for them.

The firm has 40 lawyers with offices in Manhattan, Garden City, Cutchogue and Hackensack, New Jersey. The breadth of the firm’s personal injury practice includes motor vehicle, medical malpractice, construction, fire, explosion, mass disasters, municipal, premises, toxic and mass torts and product liability cases. The depth of knowledge and experience enables SPBMC to provide highly skilled representation to each of its valued clients. Over the last decade, SPBMC has recovered more than $2 billion on behalf of accident victims and their families.

Indeed, SPBMC is also very proud to serve as General Counsel for the Uniformed Firefighter’s Association. Over the last 40 years, it has been an honor to represent these brave men and women who put their lives at risk each day.

The firm’s success has also been recognized outside the courtroom.

• U.S. News – Best Lawyers® in 2019 as a Tier 1 “Best Law Firm” in three practice areas – Plaintiffs Personal Injury Litigation Long Island, Plaintiffs Personal Injury Litigation New York City and Medical Malpractice Litigation.
• Best Lawyers has recognized Vito Cannavo as the “Lawyer of the Year.”
• An astounding 20 SPBMC attorneys were selected as Super Lawyers or Rising Stars.
• 13 Members of the firm are rated AV Preeminent® by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest peer rating standard, including Past President of the Nassau County Bar Association – Christopher T. McGrath.
• The firm’s members are more than just knowledgeable lawyers—they are consummate and dedicated professionals.

SPBMC DELIVERS RESULTS FOR OUR CLIENTS

In 2018, the outstanding work of the attorneys at Sullivan Papain Block McGrath & Cannavo—showcased the firm’s excellence and reaffirmed its long-standing reputation as a top tier personal injury firm. In the past year alone, SPBMC obtained several multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements on behalf of those who have been harmed as a result of the wrongdoing of others:

• $26 million medical malpractice negligence verdict on behalf of a client for past and future pain and suffering. The plaintiff, one of two twin girls born prematurely, was born with a host of life-long issues, including deafness and vocal cord paralysis. Her sister passed away within the month following the pre-term birth.
• $24 million settlement for a construction worker who was run over by a reverse-moving excavator resulting in the loss of one leg and multiple internal injuries.
• $9.97 million verdict in a medical malpractice case involving a doctor’s failure to properly assess a patient for suicide risk and thus the failure to prevent suicide.
• $8.5 million settlement in a case involving hospital malpractice and negligence.
• $4.85 million settlement in a medical malpractice case involving the failure to diagnose a stroke.
• $4.55 million settlement for a delay in delivering an infant and for inadequate fetal monitoring strips.
• $4.5 million settlement in a case involving the failure to diagnose dengue fever, which resulted in death.
• $4.3 million settlement on behalf of a client for her pediatricians’ failure to diagnose a condition of hydrocephalus.
• $4 million settlement on behalf of an electrical helper who was rendered paraplegic due to a construction accident in which he came into contact with a live wire.
• $4 million medical malpractice negligence verdict on behalf of a client for emotional distress due to the loss of her five-month-old fetuses.

RECENT LONG ISLAND VERDICTS

In September, SPBMC achieved a $19 million verdict against Nassau County for the County’s negligent roadway design. Suit was brought by a motorcyclist who sustained severe injuries, including a below-the-knee amputation, when an oncoming vehicle made a left-hand turn into him. While it was the oncoming vehicle who crashed into the motorcycle, the jury found that a far greater degree of negligence was to be attributed to the County of Nassau for its failure to maintain a safe intersection. The case was tried by David Dean, a senior trial lawyer and partner at SPBMC.

Also in September, SPBMC obtained an $8 million verdict in Suffolk County in a medical malpractice case. Suit was brought by a 35 year old man who suffered a leak of his vertical sleeve gastrectomy requiring multiple surgeries that prevented him from eating for about 8 months. The case was tried by Jim Wilkens.

We are additionally proud of the fact that Jim Wilkens secured the largest medical malpractice verdict in New York State in 2017- $26,500,000.

These cases provide only a small sample of the tremendous, and ongoing, success achieved by the attorneys at SPBMC in 2018.

SEPTEMBER 11TH VICTIM COMPENSATION FUND (VCF)

Since 2002 SPBMC has been at the forefront in representing victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, having recovered more than $1 Billion for its VCF clients. In 2002, the firm played a key role in the establishment of the VCF, which served to help the families of those who died in the attacks, and those who became ill as a result of their exposure to toxins at Ground Zero.

In the original VCF, which closed in 2003, SPBMC recovered more than $265 million for 363 injured firefighters and the families of deceased firefighters, all for no fee, earning the firm The National Law Journal’s prestigious Pro Bono Award.

With many having been shut out of the first VCF because of the latent nature of their 9/11-related illnesses, the firm played a leading role in the re-opening of the VCF in 2011 under the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which provides both medical services and compensation to first responders, residents, office workers and others, who have developed 9/11-related illnesses as a result of their being in the Exposure Zone (Lower Manhattan below Canal Street) during rescue and recovery operations from 9/11 through May 2002.

Filing a claim requires the expertise of dedicated lawyers. “We have a deep understanding of the devastating impact that 9/11-related illnesses have had on first responders and those who lived and worked in the Exposure Zone,” said SPBMC partner, Nicholas Papain. “We’ll continue to fight for the interests of those who need and deserve help.”