Honors and Awards: Certified Civil Trial Attorney, New Jersey Supreme Court, Life Member - Million Dollar Advocates Forum

Special Licenses/Certifications: Certified by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a Certified Civil Trial Attorney

Bar/Professional Activity: Member of the Board of Governers of the American Association for Justice

Pro bono/Community Service: Member of of Trial Lawyers Care.  Donated 100's of hours to provide legal assistance to the families of victims of the 09/11/2001 terrorist attacks., 2002

Verdicts and Settlements: $4,500,000.00 jury verdict/final pre-trial offer $200,000.00 Auto Accident, An 18 year old male (our client) was driving a Jeep Wrangler on a rural road in Westchester County in the middle of the morning. A computer salesman in his 50's drove up behind him. The 18 year old was driving slowly as he was unfamiliar with the area. In a passing zone, the salesman passed the Jeep. The facts were disputed from there. The young passengers in the Jeep said that the salesman, angry that the Jeep was driving too slowly, slowed his vehicle after passing the Jeep, thus toying with the boys. After hitting his brakes several times in a menacing manner, the salesman drove off quickly.  The angered boys in the  Jeep followed.  As the salesman drove over a limited sight hill, he hit his brakes hard again, coming to a stop in the roadway. As the boys in the Jeep drove over the peak of the hill, the young driver saw the stopped vehicle in the roadway, and had no choice but to swerve off of the roadway to avoid him   The young driver struck a tree and was severely injured. There was no contact between the vehicles. The salesman told police that he passed the Jeep uneventfully, and, as he drove over the hill, he simply braked for a squirrel that had run in front of his vehicle, and he did not come close to a complete stop in the roadway.  He noted that the Jeep was traveling behind him, following too closely and simply lost control. With little other evidence investigated, the police report noted the cause of the accident to be speeding and following too closely on behalf of the driver of the Jeep (Mr. Lynch’s client). The driver of the Jeep suffered a severe traumatic brain injury and could not tell his version to police and could not testify at trial. The defense offered $200,000.00 to settle the matter as they felt they would win the trial on liability. On the advice of Mr. Lynch, the offer was rejected. During the lengthy trial, Jim Lynch was able to establish, through cross-examination of the investigating police officers, that their investigation was not thorough, and that the Jeep passenger's version of events made sense in light of the forensic evidence, including the skid marks and the damage to the vehicle.  Further, Mr. Lynch made clear through cross-examination of the defendant that the “squirrel story” was likely contrived.  After obtaining a favorable verdict on liability, Mr. Lynch settled the matter for $4,500,000.00. A trust was established to ensure adequate funds for any future medical care and special needs hat the young injured driver would require., $2,750,000.00 jury verdict/final pre-trial offer $50,000.00 Truck Accident, This accident occurred at an intersection that was controlled by a traffic light in Elizabeth, NJ. Our clients were front and rear-seated passengers in a minivan that was struck by a tractor trailer.  Moments before the accident, a wire holding the intersection lightheads was apparently struck by, we believe, an object protruding from the top of a tractor trailer.  This caused several malfunctions to the lights at the intersection.  First, the red bulb for a lighthead controlling traffic in the minivan's direct malfunctioned.  Further, a second, redundant lighthead for the minivan twisted so it did not face the driver.  Lastly, a sun shield cover from the lighthead with the malfunctioning red bulb was knocked off.  Thus, due to sun light shining into the unshielded lens, it appeared to the minivan driver that she had a green light, when her light was, in fact, red. The tractor trailer driver who struck the wire causing these malfunctions was never identified.  Further, there was no claim against the City of Elizabeth as there was no notice to the City of these malfunctions until this accident occurred. The minivan entered the intersection with what appeared to be a green light. Moments later, two tractor trailers approached the intersection on the intersecting street (from her right), also with a green light. The first tractor trailer saw the minivan and was able to properly avoid collision. The second tractor trailer, whose view was obstructed by the first tractor trailer, told police he did not see the minivan and could not avoid the collision and struck the minivan on the passenger side door. All persons in the minivan lost consciousness and suffered broken bones. The front seat passenger, a recent immigrant from Peru, suffered a traumatic brain injury. Although in the hospital for six weeks, due to his financial condition, the front seat passenger received no additional medical treatment. Before trial, the insurance company for the tractor trailer offered $50,000.00 to settle the case, which was rejected. Jim Lynch retained a nationally known tractor trailer expert, who specialized in reconstructing tractor trailer accidents. At trial, Mr. Lynch was able to establish that due to the high risk of danger to other motorists, tractor trailer drivers have a higher duty of care to other motorists and must exercise additional care when entering an intersection, even with a green light. Further, it was established that had this tractor trailer driver made proper observations of the intersection, he would have been able to see the minivan and brake with enough time to have avoided the collision (as did the truck next to him). The jury agreed. Further, to establish the nature and extent of the injuries, Mr. Lynch called as expert witnesses: the treating Trauma Surgeon (trained at Harvard and Cornell), a Board Certified Neuropsychologist (who specializes in the diagnosis of brain injury), a Board Certified Life Care Planner (who wrote a 20 volume series on Traumatic Brain Injury and Rehabilitation), and an Economist (to establish the effects of inflation relative to the future medical care). , $3,539,433.00 Terrorist Attack.  For families of victim's of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks. The Lynch Law Firm accepted no legal fees for its representation of victims of the World Trade Center attacks. Attorneys Jim Lynch and John Magrino worked together to prepare and present the cases of aggrieved families before the Victim's Compensation Fund. In knowing the hardships these families endured, we know first hand that no amount of money could replace the comfort, companionship, and guidance of those that were lost.,   $1,500,000.00 settlement Auto Accident, Our client's, a husband and wife, both in their 80's, were rear seated passengers in a vehicle returning from Atlantic City that lost control and struck a tree. The husband was severely injured. His injuries were complicated by underlying medical issues. He remained in a hospital and nursing home for several months until his death. He underwent multiple operations during his extensive hospitalizations. His wife was also injured, but made a good recovery. However, before trial, she died in an unrelated car accident.A lawsuit was commenced against the driver of the vehicle and a second lawsuit was commenced against the potential insurance companies to determine the nature and extent of the insurance coverage at issue. After the insurance coverage lawsuit was resolved, Mr. Lynch was able to settle the liability action for $1,500,000.00 on the eve of trial., $1,210,000.00 partial verdict-settlement/final pre-trial offer $400,000.00 Construction Accident  Our client, a 57-year-old mason was helping a family friend move some items inside and outside a warehouse on a Saturday.  When a forklift became stuck in the mud, the warehouse owner decided to use a second forklift to pull the first forklift out of the mud.  In attempting to pull the forklift, one of the fork lifts slid sideways and injured our client who was watching this operation.  He suffered a pelvic fracture amongst other injuries. Jim Lynch filed suit against the company that owned the warehouse and the forklift operator.  Although our client was not employed at the warehouse when this accident occurred, the defendants tried to argue that he was an employee and that the claim was barred by the worker’s compensation statute.  They further argued that our client was responsible for the accident as he was too close to the forklifts during this operation. In light of these defenses, prior to trial, the defense offered $400,000 to settle the case.  This offer was rejected and the case proceeded to trial. Mr. Lynch retained the services of an engineer with an expertise in forklift design and operation.  Through this testimony, Mr. Lynch was able to establish at trial that the defendants were responsible for our client’s injuries.  Further, despite the contentions of the defense, the jury agreed with Mr. Lynch that our client was not an employee of the defendants.  After a substantial verdict and an appeal, Mr. Lynch was able to settle the case for $1,210,000.00, which included a waiver by the insurance company of a $184,000.00 workers comp lien., $1,170,000.00 jury verdict/final pre-trial offer $200,000.00 Truck Accident, Our client was a passenger in her son's car that was struck by a NYC garbage truck on 87th Street and First Avenue in Manhattan.  Both the son and the garbage truck driver claimed they had green lights. Our client suffered injuries to her neck and shoulder. She underwent arthroscopic surgery to her shoulder. She developed a condition known as RSD (Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy). This is a painful and debilitating nerve condition. Her doctors opined that this condition was the result of the accident and was aggravated by the surgery. Complicating matters was that our client, on her way to physical therapy after her surgery, was involved in a second car accident.  This time, she was rear-ended by another vehicle. Lawsuits were filed with regard to both accidents and the matters were consolidated in Manhattan (New York County) for trial.  Prior to trial, the City of New York argued that our client's claims of injury were exaggerated and that the accident was not their fault. The City made a firm pre-trial offer of $185,000.00 against our demand from all defendants of $950,000.00. The defendant driver in the second accident offered $15,000.00.  These offers were rejected. During the course of trial, Mr. Lynch established liability against the City by flying in an independent witness who had moved to the state of Washington after the accident.  This witness confirmed that our client's son had the green light.  Moreover, after calling several of our client's treating physicians to establish her extensive injuries, Mr. Lynch subpoenaed one of the doctors hired by the defense who examined our client before trial.  He artfully used this defense doctor's testimony to help establish the severity of the injury.  At this point, during the trial, Mr. Lynch was able to negotiate a settlement with the driver of the vehicle involved in the second accident for $170,000.00.  Later in the trial, after Mr. Lynch's seething cross-examination of the two remaining defense doctors, Mr. Lynch raised his demand to $1,000,000.00 from the City (in addition to the $170,000.00 paid by the other defendants).  Immediately before closing arguments were to commence, on the recommendation of the trial judge, the City met Mr. Lynch's demand., $1,000,000.00 jury verdict /final pre-trial offer $110,000.00 Highway Design   At 9:30 pm, on March 31, 2004, our client, a 48 year woman, handicapped with a learning disability, was struck by a car while crossing North Middletown Road near Central Avenue in Pearl River, NY.   The vehicle that struck her fled from the scene.  A good Samaritan driving in the area did not see the impact, but heard the impact and observed our client fly into the air before striking the ground.  She immediately stopped her car and attempted to aid our client, who was critically injured.  Our client died two weeks later from her injuries.  The family of our client posted a reward to assist police in locating the driver who fled the scene. The reward led to a tip that helped the police locate the driver.  Before his arrest, the police learned that he had replaced his windshield and had advised the repairman that a tree branch had fallen on his windshield.  He was arrested three weeks after the accident.  When confronted with the evidence, he advised police that he thought he had struck a construction barrel and did not realize he had struck a person.  Later, he admitted that the evidence points to the fact that he struck a person, but said he never expected a person to be crossing at that location. The Lynch Law Firm was retained by the family.  Our investigation revealed that two and a half years prior to the incident, a CVS had been approved by the Town of Orangetown and the County of Rockland to be located on the corner of North Middletown Road and Central Avenue.  Previously, there had been a wholesaler at the location, which would not have caused pedestrian traffic at the location.  North Middletown road is a County of Rockland road.  As such, any condition that could affect pedestrian or vehicle travel on the County roadway, would have to be approved by the County.  The site plans submitted to the County included a curb cut near the CVS.  A curb cut is an invitation for pedestrians to cross at this location.  However, this curb cut invited pedestrians to cross away from the intersection itself, at the widest and most dangerous part of the road.  Mr. Lynch filed suit against the driver and the County of Rockland.  The driver offered $100,000 to settle before trial and the County offered $10,000.  Upon the advice of Mr. Lynch, both offers were rejected and the matter proceeded to trial. At trial Mr. Lynch called the investigating police officers to establish that all physical evidence indicated that our client had been properly crossing the road from the area of the curb cut when she was struck by the car.  Mr. Lynch was able to establish through testimony that the driver likely did not see our client because (1) she was crossing at an area that the driver would not be looking for a pedestrian due to the set-up of the intersection, and (2) he was not paying attention to the road in front of him.   Moreover, Mr. Lynch hired an experienced and highly regarded highway engineer to establish the danger of the pedestrian travel at this location.  It was established at trial that the County approved this curb cut inviting pedestrian to cross at a dangerous location and provided no cross-walk, proper pedestrian warning signs, nor made any effort to provide for pedestrian safety.  Mr. Lynch established that had the County made reasonable efforts to make this intersection safe, this accident would not have occurred. In addition, with regard to damages, the defense argued that our client lost consciousness on impact and therefore had no pain and suffering before her death.  Mr. Lynch countered this with the testimony of the good Samaritan, and through the testimony of a forensic pathologist who established that out client suffered tremendously before her death. The jury agreed with Mr. Lynch and found the County 65% at fault, the driver 35% at fault and our deceased client 0% at fault.  The jury awarded our client’s family $1,000,000 for the pain and suffering she endured before her death., $987,000.00 jury verdict/final pre-trial offer $200,000.00 Medical Malpractice, Our client, a newspaper editor, was suffering from minor numbness and tingling in his right hand. He sought the treatment of a neurologist.  He was then referred to the defendant, a neurosurgeon, who diagnosed him with a narrowing of the spinal column and recommended surgery.  Surgery can be performed to widen the spinal column and alleviate the symptoms. This is a common surgery for a neurosurgeon. Upon the advice of the neurosurgeon, our client agreed to undergo the operation. Immediately upon awakening from surgery, the newspaper editor complained of a new severe burning sensation in his left arm. Post-operative MRI's showed a new "contusion" on his spinal cord. He was left with a permanent severe burning sensation in his arm that required several additional surgeries and permanent medication to control the pain. This case was rejected by several lawyers who felt the case was too complicated and therefore too difficult to win. Mr. Lynch accepted the case.  On the eve of trial, the defense offered $200,000.00 to settle the matter.  This offer was rejected.  Mr. Lynch presented his case at trial with a neurosurgeon, a neuroradiologist, and a urologist. Further, and most compelling, Mr. Lynch subpoenaed our client's first treating neurologist who initially referred the case to the defendant neurosurgeon. This neurologist did not want to testify and was friendly with the defendant.  However, the trial Judge found the witness to be hostile to Mr. Lynch during testimony and allowed Mr. Lynch to cross-examine the neurologist, providing crucial favorable testimony.  The jury agreed with Mr. Lynch that the doctor was negligent resulting in a verdict and judgment in favor of our client for $987,000.00., $950,000.00 settlement Medical Malpractice, Our client, a married mother of three, went into the hospital for a gall bladder surgery.  During the surgery, the surgeon perforated her small bowel, did not discover the perforation, completed the operation and sent her home.  She became very ill the following day and was rushed to the hospital.  Upon admission, the error was discovered and surgery was performed immediately.  However, the patient lapsed into coma and suffered severe complications.  She suffered an extended hospital stay with multiple operations. The defense argued that there was no medical error and that during these surgeries the bowel can be perforated through no negligence of the doctor. During discovery, Mr. Lynch learned that a resident who was inexperienced in using the equipment at issue performed the surgery, not the doctor as was indicated in the medical records.  In addition, Mr. Lynch retained a well respected surgeon and medical professor who reviewed the case and issued opinions that there was clear negligence.  He noted that although this type of injury can occur during a surgical procedure, it should never go undetected and should be repaired immediately.  Mr. Lynch also hired a critical care specialist who reviewed the cased and gave firm opinions that had this injury been timely discovered, the severe complications (which were related to poisoning of the body from leaking bile over an extended period) would never have occurred. Prior to trial the defense offered $300,000.00 to settle the case.  This offer was rejected.  By the third day of trial, Mr. Lynch was able to obtain a settlement of $950,000.00 for our client., $950,000.00 settlement Construction Accident, Our client, an asbestos removal contractor, was injured while performing his job at a Port Authority site. While working on a beam more than fifteen feet above the ground, in order to get from one place to another, he was required to disconnect his safety harness. While moving, he slipped and fell onto rubble below. He suffered a severe head injury. The Port Authority denied the claim, arguing that the fall was our client's fault. After reviewing thousands of pages of documents from the Port Authority, Mr. Lynch learned that only two days before the accident, the Port Authority had removed safety cables that were strung across the building. These cables were the part of the fall protection system upon which our client was to hook his harness while moving from place to place.  In the absence of these cables, we learned that the Port Authority provided no other means of adequate fall protection for workers, such as our client, at the site.   In order to prove this, Mr. Lynch hired a highly respected former OSHA inspector and construction safety expert who outlined the complete lack of adequate fall protection at the time of our client's fall. Shortly before jury selection, Mr. Lynch was able to settle the matter for $950,000.00., $975,000.00 settlement, Auto Accident,.  Our client, a bartender, was seriously injured when the vehicle in which she was a passenger struck a vehicle that had made an illegal left turn.  The matter was settled at a conference held just before jury selection.  The highest offer before this date was $350,000.00.  Prior to this date, Mr. Lynch had his experts prepare extensive medical illustrations outlining the injuries and along with colorized x-rays and CT Scans to better demonstrate the injury and potential future problems.  In addition, Mr. Lynch had scheduled the video tape testimony of his expert in the matter for the following morning.  Mr. Lynch’s expert was the Chairman of the NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases Department of Orthopedic Surgery and the Walter A. L. Thompson Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at the New York University School of Medicine.  Mr. Lynch advised that once his expert had testified, there would be no further negotiation.  Through the use of the exhibits and the expert’s testimony looming, Mr. Lynch was able to show the trial judge (who conducted the conference) and defense counsel, that the case had a value significantly higher than what had been offered.