Sasscer, Clagett & Bucher is widely known for having one of the most experienced and skilled group of trial lawyers of any private law firm in Prince Georges County. Many of the lawyers were former prosecutors who tried hundreds of jury trials each. Most of the personal injury lawyers at SCB spent years defending cases for insurance companies. These lawyers tried hundreds of cases to verdict before judges and juries. In plaintiffs' cases, SCB attempts to give their clients the best possible choice. Our lawyers develop cases for settlement and their experience working for insurance companies and trying cases on both sides of the aisle help with these negotiations. Quality settlements only occur in cases where the insurance company knows your lawyer is willing and able to try a good case. It is always our hope that we will be able to discuss a settlement proposal worthy of consideration by our clients. But this is not always possible. The lawyers at SCB have obtained numerous verdicts over the insurance policies of defendants where the insurance companies have refused to offer their policy limits. Below is a sample of verdicts and settlements obtained by lawyers at SCB.
Phil Zuber represented a worker on a road project that was run over by a fully loaded dump truck. The worker lost one leg and sustained a severe crush injury to the other leg. OSHA investigated this tragic accident and Mr. Zuber pursued the matter and sent suit papers to the Dump Truck owner and obtained a total recovery of $2,300,000.
In 2009, George Patterson recovered over $1,000,000 on behalf of his clients including a confidential settlement for a client that suffered from anaphylactic shock after consuming an all-natural health food product.
Phillip Zuber obtained a recovery of $2,150,000 for a woman who suffered a Traumatic brain injury after being struck by a tractor trailer.
In 2008, George Patterson recovered over one million dollars on behalf of his clients.
- He obtained a $310,000 settlement on behalf of client who sustained a neck injury requiring surgery. The settlement was obtained after the defendant retained a medical expert to argue that the neck surgery was due to a pre-existing condition.
- Resolved a fall case for $140,000. The client fell at a grocery store and broke her knee cap. The Client had medical bills of approximately $14,000. There was no offer prior to filing suit.
Phil Zuber filed suit in a case involving a young man who was electrocuted by a defective outdoor sign. He recovered $905,000 for the parents.
Phil Zuber filed suit against a hospital and a care giver for a severely disabled man that was being fed by a feeding tube. The caregiver inserted the tube improperly and the hospital failed to timely diagnose the problem resulting in painful injuries to the man. Mr. Zuber recovered $225,000 on behalf of his client in this medical malpractice matter.
In 2007, George Patterson settled or tried to verdict personal injury cases with recoveries breaking the million dollar mark. Some of his more noteworthy results are as follows:
- A settlement of over $575,000 for a client that sustained Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) to his hands and arms following a motor vehicle accident. The client had incurred less than $20,000 of medical bills and was unable to continue working as a truck driver.
- A combined settlement of $150,000 for the passenger of a car driven by an intoxicated driver who drove into the side of a tractor trailer that was illegally parked on the highway. The driver of the car only had $50,000 of insurance and a settlement was reached for an additional $100,000 from the trucking company.
- An arbitration award of over $425,000 for a client that sustained a herniated disc in his low back that required surgery from a car accident that occurred in Anne Arundel County. The client had incurred medical bills of just over $26,000 but was unable to work as a bridge welder following the surgery.
- A verdict of $17,982.20 for a client who suffered soft tissue injuries to her neck and back in a low property damage car accident. The insurance company had offered $181.50 before suit was filed because they questioned whether someone could be injured in a little to no property damage accident.
In 2006 George Patterson recovered over a million dollars in settlements and verdicts for his personal injury clients. Some of his more noteworthy results are as follows:
- A wrongful death case resolved for $500,000 policy limits of an uninsured policy that had stated limits of $20,000. The recovery greatly exceeded the stated policy limits because the insurer had failed to obtain a signed waiver required for uninsured limits to be lower than the bodily injury coverage available on the policy.
- A client received a settlement of $6,500 from a Hotel for several bed bug bites that she suffered at a stay in the hotel. Her medical bills were less than $500.
- As a result of an automobile accident where the airbags deployed, the client sustained burns on her forearms from the airbags. She incurred just over $1,000 in medical bills and her case resolved for $22,000.
Phillip Zuber filed suit against a local police department after the police officer ran a stop light while responding to an emergency call and killed a young woman. Mr. Zuber recovered the maximum amount allowed by law for her parents after conclusively establishing that the police officer violated department regulations.
George Patterson has had other noteworthy recoveries for personal injury clients:
- In 2005 a settlement of $75,000 from a hotel after the client checked into the Hotel and was awoken by an intruder who was looking through the client’s wallet. The client successfully fought the intruder and left copious amounts of the intruder’s DNA in the hotel room. While fighting the intruder the client sustained minor injuries to his knuckles that did not require treatment. An investigation revealed that the intruder was hired by the hotel and given a master pass key despite having several felony convictions.
- While driving on an industrial road at night, Mr. Patterson’s client ran into a pile of dirt that had been left by a landscaper for a construction project. The pile of dirt extended beyond street parking and into the travel lane. The landscaper failed to mark the dirt pile with traffic cones. As a result of running into the pile of dirt the client required a minor shoulder surgery. She incurred over $11,000 of medicals and obtained a $40,000 settlement.
- A client fell on a single step in a parking garage that was not marked with a contrasting color. The client sustained foot, ankle and wrist injuries that required surgery. An arbitrator awarded the client $200,000. The client had incurred medical bills of over $50,000.
In 2005, Paul Reinstein obtained a combined rehabilitative and indefinite alimony award in a divorce action in Calvert County, Maryland, which, at the time, was believed to be the largest combined alimony award ever entered in Calvert County.
Phil Zuber represented the surviving daughters of a man who died at a hospital due to improper treatment in the emergency room after a sever car accident. Mr. Zuber recovered $375,000 from the hospital.
