Bankruptcy
Client owned a condominium in Florida and he could no longer afford to make the monthly mortgage payments and was unable to sell it for enough money to pay off the mortgage balance. He was able to file a bankruptcy in Massachusetts and in doing so discharged the mortgage and walked away from the property in Florida without any liability and without surrendering any of his other property.
Client had accumulated debt associated with her business for which she was personally responsible and unable to repay. In filing her bankruptcy, she was able to discharge that debt, along with other debts, and still keep her business.
Client came to us shortly before her house was scheduled for auction sale due to her being behind on her mortgage payments. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy was filed the day prior to the auction, stopping the foreclosure and allowing her to continue living in her house. With the Chapter 13 plan, the client will be paying her mortgage arrears and a small percentage of her other debts spread out over the next five years.
Client owned a family business and fell behind on his mortgage payments when the economy and his business slowed down. A foreclosure was scheduled. The client for years paid his bills and raised a family at the same time. Business began to pick up but his bank was unwilling to work with him and demanded full payment. We put the client into a Chapter 13, which stopped the foreclosure and gave the client some breathing room.
We disputed the amount the bank was claiming was due including their claim for legal fees and foreclosure costs. In addition, the Department of Revenue filed a claim alleging taxes due for previous years. We hired a Certified Public Accountant, and along with his expertise, we are able to dispute their claim as well. Both matters will be resolved the Bankruptcy Judge who clearly understands the issues. One year later, the client remains in his home and his business is in operation once again.
Divorce
Clients' husband vacated the home leaving behind a wife and four young children. The husband was a high wage earner throughout the marriage and the wife had worked part-time before she stayed home with the children. The husband moved into the home of a significant other far away from the children. The husband claimed to be "unemployed" for three years. He actually failed to seek employment. At trial, we were able to convince the judge that the husband was willfully remaining unemployed, hiding assets, and using assets for his own purpose. The judge imputed income to the husband consistent with what he was earning during the marriage and the wife was awarded both alimony and child support based on the husbands prior earnings and not what he claimed to be earning at the time of trial. (Shortly after the judges decision, the husband in fact found employment equal to the earning capacity assigned to him by the judge)
In a highly contested custody matter, the Wife was awarded sole legal and physical custody of the parties' children. At trial, we proved that the husband had distanced himself so much and was estranged from his own children, that it clearly was in the best interests of the children that the mother have both physical and legal custody. Thereafter, the husband had abused the legal system by filing frivolous motions over the years, and through successful representation, our client not only prevailed at every occasion, the judge ordered that the ex-spouse pay her attorney's fees.
Husband and wife in a long term marriage with three children. Wife has some substance issues. Husband comes out of the closet and reveals that he is gay. The estate of the parties was estimated in the millions. Through some court intervention, along with successful and powerful negotiations and strategy, husband remained with the children, retained the marital home, and the debt on the marital home and other business debt is paid off in full.
Personal Injury
Client was in motorcycle accident which resulted in second degree burns on his back and a fracture of his left wrist. His burns required extensive treatment in the hospital, including debridement surgery with grafting from his thigh, and he also underwent three operations on his wrist. He missed eleven weeks of work but eventually recovered sufficiently such that he was able to engage in most of his pre-injury activities, including riding his motorcycle. Through persistent negotiations, and the engagement of an orthopedic expert, Yellin & Hyman was successful in obtaining a settlement in the amount of $500,000 to resolve our client’s claim.
Client was riding on a motorcycle in New York when she was struck by a van. Upon impact, her motorcycle burst into flames and she was thrown onto the side of the road. She received second degree burns on her left hand and left leg and a torn rotator cuff of her left shoulder. Yellin & Hyman was successful in obtaining a settlement in the amount of $175,000 to resolve her claim.
Elderly client tripped and fell while entering a restaurant due to a ripple in a rug that was not properly secured to the ground. She tore ligaments in her right arm. Despite the insurance company's denial of liability, Yellin & Hyman secured a settlement for the client in the amount of $50,000 for her pain and suffering.
Clients, a husband and wife, were traveling on a highway when their car was rear-ended. She received a concussion and soft tissue injuries to her neck and back while he also suffered from soft tissue injuries to his neck as well as impingement of his right shoulder. The wife recovered $40,000 for her injuries and the husband recovered $50,000 for her injuries through the aggressive and diligent efforts of Yellin & Hyman.
Client had just picked up her son from day care when her car was struck by another vehicle. As a result of the accident, she experienced headaches and pain as a result of muscle strains in her neck and back. After an initial offer of only $3,000, the client received $25,000 in a mediated settlement prior to trial.
Workers' Compensation
Environmental technical manager, who lived in Maine but worked in Massachusetts, lost his balance and fell at work, fracturing his left leg. He also had a rare degenerative muscle disease that contributed to the fracture not healing properly. The muscle disease progressed and the insurance company argued that the disease and not the broken leg was the major cause of the client's disability. Despite that complicating issue, we were able to keep the client on total disability benefits for over eight years and then obtained a settlement of $270,000.
During the course of his employment, client slipped and fell and sustained a serious injury to his back. Client received temporary disability benefits and then, seven years after his accident, we secured a judge's Order which awarded the client permanent and total disability benefits. We thereafter were able to obtain a settlement in the amount of $125,000. Client returned to work a few years later for a different employer. He had another slip and fall accident, this time while walking from the parking lot into the building, resulting in a fracture of his right ankle and possibly reflex sympathetic dystrophy. A claim for emotional injury was joined to the physical injury claim as he suffered from depression and anxiety as a result of changes in his life caused by the accident. The employer contested his case on the theory that he was on his lunch break and his accident occurred on property not owned by his employer. We prevailed on his claim as he was placed on total disability benefits. Four years after his accident we settled this case for the sum of $225,000.
After client had been on workers’ compensation benefits for 23 years due to a serious back injury, we assisted him in getting on Social Security Retirement. This resulted in his receiving cost of living benefits on his workers’ compensation benefits, raising his weekly checks by over $400. A few years thereafter he settled his case for approximately $223,000. The law that applied to his date of injury stated that insurance companies were no longer responsible for injured worker’s medical expenses after a settlement. Despite this, we were able to negotiate into the settlement agreement that the insurance company would in fact remain responsible for future medical expenses related to his accident.
After returning to work following surgery from a back injury, service technician reinjured his back due to lifting a heavy air conditioning unit with three other employees, resulting in his undergoing another back surgery. Our office filed a claim for additional benefits against the employer based on the theory that the employer required our client to do heavy lifting despite its knowledge of his back injury. After getting the client on permanent and total disability benefits an agreement was reached to settle his claim for $300,000. A few years later, the insurance company refused to reimburse the client for pain medications and a claim was filed on the client’s behalf, resulting in the insurance company paying the client for those medical expenses.
