Partner

michael l. della

Strictly serving plaintiffs who have been injured on complex and serious civil cases from the time I became an attorney, I serve as trial counsel and supervisor of settlements. I handle high-stakes cases involving wrongful death, catastrophic injury, construction accidents and labor law, falls, boating accidents and motor vehicle accidents. I specialize in high profile matters.

Civil Matter Successes

• • $1,750,000: settlement for a man that suffered a tibial fracture that led to surgery. 
  • $3,300,000: settlement for a man that injured his leg playing flag football.  Successfully defeated the defense argument that he had “assumed the risk” of playing football.
  • $1,100,000: settlement against a major Long Island construction supply company for failing to strap down concrete drain rings which fell from a truck crushing our client’s leg while on a work site.
  • $22,000,000: Represented a group of 104 women who were sexually abused by a doctor, and took a verdict in the amount of $22,000,000 for the first victim, with many more verdicts to go.
  • $4,375,000: Represented a US Veteran and aircraft mechanic educator in motor vehicle accident involving a neck surgery.
  • $4,500,000: Represented a Suffolk County Police Officer who underwent a spinal fusion after being struck by a truck. The case settled for $4,500,000.
  • Represented a family for wrongful death of their infant daughter and successfully settled the matter for one of the highest settlements in New York State history.
  • $3,600,000: Represented a man who lost vision in his eye after defendants engaged in a prank gone-wrong. After over 10 years of appeals, trial resulted in a 3.6M verdict.
  • $1,025,000: Represented a police officer injured in the line of duty against the City of New York and settled the case for $1,025,000 just before trial.
  • $750,000: Represented a man for what the insurance company called “soft tissue” injuries, who did not have surgery but rather conservative treatment. After the insurance carrier offered $10,000, as trial counsel, the jury returned a verdict of $750,000.
  • $1,300,000: Represented a boy who was injured in MCDonald’s on a class trip when he got his finger caught in a defective hand dryer. After the jury, unsolicited, asked if they could award punitive damages, they returned a verdict for exactly what I asked for: $1,300,000.
  • $900,000: Represented a woman who was forced to undergo spinal surgery for her injuries and was able to settle the matter for $900,000 before trial.
  • Represented a family against the State of New York for loss of sepulcher when they failed to notify next of kin of his death and wrongly buried their father without last rites.
  • Represented a family against a school district for failing to call an ambulance after the boy’s complaints of headaches went unresponded to for over an hour.
  • Represented a woman that was viciously attacked by two pit-bulls and suffered emotional distress.
  • Represented several individuals for the explosion of their Apple iphone devices.
  • $1,000,000: Represented the family of a woman who was a passenger in a vehicle that was being pursued by the police department without probable cause and ended up causing her death. A settlement was reached that was in excess of $1,000,000.
  • Represented a man that was bitten by a Shih Tzu in a case the Judge called impossible to win. As lead trial counsel, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff.
  • Created case law when an appeal resulted in a reversal regarding the labor law and the applicability of section 241 (6) that said preparing to paint was a covered act under the law. The case was subsequently settled for multiple six figures.
  • Represented an elderly man for bed sores that developed after a fall that stemmed from the negligence of a major fast-food conglomerate.
  • Represented a family whose son was run down by a vehicle while driving a motorcycle in a racially charged intentional act.
  • Litigated thousands of cases, mediated hundreds of cases, and tried dozens of cases to verdict.

Awards and Distinctions

• Nominated by fellow attorney peers as a “Super Lawyer” and chosen by the publication as a “Super Lawyer” for New York State
• Member of the New York Trial Lawyer’s Association
• Eastern District of New York, Federal Court Bar admission

Presentations

• Appeared before the New York State Congress on boating safety
• Section XI Athletic Commission: Game and spectator safety

Media Appearances:

• New York Times: Quoted regarding the award of $22,000,000 for one victim of Stuart Copperman.
• NBC TODAY SHOW: Discussed a very high profile case with Matt Lauer involving the capsizing of a yacht where 3 children died after leaving the Dolan Family Fireworks show.
• Interviewed for the sexual assault cases against Long Island pedophile, Stuart Copperman by News12, Newsday, LI Herald, Reuters, and others.
• Newsday: Quoted for the trial work involving the loss of vision of a man.
• Newsday: Quoted regarding the firm’s success in holding the Town of Islip accountable for the lack of maintenance to its roadways which caused a traumatic brain injury..
• Newsday: Quoted regarding a police pursuit case which resulted in the loss of a single mother.
• Interviewed by ABC, CBS, News12, and FIOS regarding the explosion of an Apple iphone.