Legal Services & Lawyers

Gerry Oginski is an experienced medical malpractice & personal injury trial lawyer practicing law in Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, New York, Staten Island, Nassau, Suffolk & Long Island. He has been in practice since 1988.

He is a graduate of Touro College, Jacob Fuchsberg College of Law in Huntington, NY. He's admitted to practice law in New York and Connecticut. He started his legal career working for a defense firm on Wall Street representing doctors, hospitals and businesses who were sued. Four years later he felt the gravitational pull to represent injured victims of medical negligence and accidents.

After doing defense work, he joined a personal injury firm in Brooklyn, NY, and then four years later, joined forces with a large law firm in Queens, NY. While there, he was in charge of the medical malpractice department, and in 2002 opened his own office for the practice of law. His main office is located in Great Neck, Long Island, and he has affiliate offices in Brooklyn and Staten Island.

Gerry prides himself on knowing all the details of each case he handles. Cases are not handed off to associates. When a client calls, he doesn't need to check a file to determine what happened last on the client's case. He knows what happened, since he was the one who handled the matter.

Gerry has become a prolific writer and publishes a monthly newsletter full of legal news, fun trivia games, and a never-ending fictional story that has won him accolades with all who read his newsletter. In addition to his newsletter, he has produced and created an entire video library of instructional videos that help consumers learn about medical malpractice and accident law in New York.

Gerry welcomes all calls about any accident or injury from a doctor or hospital in the State of New York. He promises to give you a straightforward and honest answer about every question you ask. Take a look at his website, where he has over 250 FAQ's, free reports about malpractice and accident cases, actual testimony of doctors in cases he's handled, and an entire video library you should see.

If that's not enough, take a look at his blog where he offers free information about medical malpractice and accident law and when you've finished reading his blog, jump over to his video blog where he has most of his videos posted at the url above - you'll be glad you did.

I began working at the Law Office of Stephen M. Cohen while finishing Law School at night. As a paralegal, I drafted motions and memoranda of law, and conducted extensive legal research, focusing on insurance, liability, medical and health care issues. After being admitted to the bar,I became an associate of the firm, representing seriously injured persons, health care facilities and doctors. As a Junior Partner, I oversaw the firm's paralegal and investigation team. Currently, as name partner, I continue to practice in the areas of Personal Injury, Insurance Law, Products Liability, Lead Paint Poisoning, and Public Entity Liability. I manage the workflow for six associate attorneys and the firm's entire support staff. I deal with Allstate, State Farm, and a large number of other major Insurance Carriers on a daily basis, with an emphasis on legal issues relating to accident liability, and the wrongful denial of medical payments to health care practitioners in no-fault cases. I continue to counsel health care practitioners and large and small health care facilities on issues varying from management service agreements to collections to liability. I also handle catastrophic personal injury cases.

In the spare time that I (don't) have, I volunteer as a Firefighter and Medic (AEMT-CC) for the Jericho Fire Department and Brentwood Legion Ambulance.

When you hire me for your Injury or New York No Fault case, you have the distinct advantage of my experience as an attorney who has defended various insurance companies.

I know what the insurance carriers don't want you to know. I understand their mindset and strategies. Now I can put them to work for you.

PETER J. SCHAFFER, Attorney at Law devotes his practice to New York State criminal defense and the defense of all federal criminal matters throughout the United States. With experience handling cases ranging from simple traffic violations to complex federal death penalty eligible felonies, Mr. Schaffer uses the knowledge and skills he has developed over the course of his twenty-two years of trial work to help his clients achieve the best result in every case he defends.

Mr. Schaffer appears regularly on The Nancy Grace Show on CNN Headline News and on COURT TV, now “IN SESSION” on truTV and as an expert commentator in criminal law and trial practice. He has also appeared on and on Sirius Satellite Radio and Bloomberg News Radio to discuss nationally prominent criminal cases.

If you or someone you are concerned about has been arrested in New York or for any federal crime or is being investigated by any New York State or federal agency, you need an experienced criminal trial lawyer. Call PETER J. SCHAFFER at (718) 585-4444.

Our office represents clients in every stage of the criminal process from investigation through appeal including:

All New York Criminal Cases
All Federal Criminal Cases
Felonies
Misdemeanors
DWI / DUI
Arraignments / Police Lineups
Traffic and Motor Vehicle Infractions and Violations
Probation and Parole Violations and Revocation

Stephen J. Murphy is a lifetime New Yorker with Irish roots. Mr. Murphy comes from a family of firefighters, police officers, prosecutors and teachers. Both of Mr. Murphy's grandfathers were members of the Fire Department. His grandfather, Stephen J. Murphy, served the City of New York as Interim Fire Commissioner. His maternal grandfather, Walter Matthews, reached the rank of Assistant Chief of Department.

Mr. Murphy joined the firm Block & O'Toole in early 2005 after a successful and rewarding career as a homicide prosecutor. Mr. Murphy is best known for his work in the courtroom, now focusing on catastrophic construction accident and personal injury trial work. Mr. Murphy handles a wide range of cases including labor law and construction accidents, wrongful death, premises liability, trucking collisions, medical malpractice and motor vehicle cases.

With slightly more than four years in civil practice, Mr. Murphy already has an extremely impressive body of work, regularly returning verdicts and settlements in excess of a million dollars. Recently Mr. Murphy, along with his colleague Daniel O'Toole, persuaded a Suffolk County jury to return an astounding verdict of $32,756,156 on behalf of a 60 year-old man in a traumatic brain injury case. The verdict, covered extensively by the local media, is the largest negligence verdict ever in Long Island. In addition, the result was also recognized by the New York Law Journal as the second highest negligence verdict in New York State for 2007 and one of the top 100 verdicts in 2007 for the entire United States. In 2008, Mr. Murphy began the year resolving greater than an average of $5,000,000 worth of cases per month. He also successfully negotiated a $15,500,000 settlement on behalf of an injured client. He was named a partner in July 2008 and the firm name was then changed to Block OâToole & Murphy.

Mr. Murphy began his legal career working as an Assistant District Attorney under Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes. He honed his skills in the criminal courtrooms in Brooklyn, prosecuting persons accused of violent crimes. Mr. Murphy earned a reputation from the judiciary and his colleagues as a tough, but fair, prosecutor. In early 2002, District Attorney Hynes, recognizing Mr. Murphy's talents and achievements, appointed him to his elite Homicide Bureau. Mr. Murphy, the youngest member of Brooklyn's Homicide Bureau, successfully handled several high profile cases, including double and triple murders, arson homicides, gang murders and highly publicized murders of children and members of the New York City Police Department.

In July 2003, Mr. Murphy traveled to Sarajevo on behalf of the United States Justice Department to assist in the implementation of a new justice system in post-war Bosnia & Hercegovina. While there, Mr. Murphy, and two Federal District Court judges from California, were responsible for trial advocacy training for the newly appointed attorneys and judges in the region.

Mr. Murphy is an adjunct professor of law at the St. John's University School of law. He teaches trial advocacy and lectures on criminal and civil trial practice and evidence. Mr. Murphy also serves as an instructor for their nationally regarded trial advocacy program.





Experience

Recent Results:

$32,756,156 Jury Verdict in Suffolk County for a 60 year-old man that sustained a traumatic brain injury.

$15,500,000 Settlement for an injured client in a pedestrian knockdown case.

Over $21,000,000 in resolutions in the first four months of 2008.

$3,231,000 Settlement against a Bronx slumlord on behalf of an infant that was burned with hot water while bathing in her home.

$2,250,000 Settlement just before trial for an injured coca-cola worker that sustained a back injury while making a delivery at a prominent french restaurant.

$2,2000,000 Settlement just before trial for an injured sanitation worker that sustained a fractured leg while working that required surgery and a skin graft.

$2,005,000 Settlement in a "reckless disregard" case against an ambulance company.

$1,941,000.00 Jury Verdict in a spine surgery case in Kings County.

$1,823,000 Jury Verdict in a non-surgical disc bulge case in Kings County. His client, a surgeon, missed a total of one day of work.

$1,475,000 Settlement for a hospital employee that was injured on the job.

$1,450,000 and $924,000 Settlements in two concurrent causation cases in Queens County.

$1,400,000 Settlement in Queens just before summations for an injured carpenter that lost the tips of his fingers

$1,350,000 Settlement before trial on a trucking accident in Queens County.

$1,350,000 Settlement on the eve of trial for a construction laborer that fell off a roof, fracturing his arm and a bone in his pelvis. The trial was venued in Rockland County.

$1,325,000 Settlement just before trial for a carpenter at a construction project who fell when he placed an unopened and unlocked ladder on top of a rolling scaffold, sustaining lower back and knee injuries.

$1,250,000 Settlement just before summations in a Bronx trial on behalf of a bicycle messenger that sustained leg and knee injuries in an accident.

$1,175,000 Settlement on the eve of trial for a woman with long standing and preexisiting cervical herniations that was struck by unsafely stacked products in a large supermarket.

$1,000,000 Settlement following a Jury Verdict in the Bronx for a 14 year-old that had arthroscopic knee surgery after an accident.

$1,000,000 Settlement (the entire insurance policy) for a 36 year-old man that sustained lung damage during a fire that took place in his apartment. The suit was brought against the landlord for illegally removing the fire escape 4 months before the fire occurred.




Education

Mr. Murphy is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University, where he played varsity football. He then went on to attend the St. John's University School of law where he graduated magna cum laude in 1997. He was ranked in the top 3% of his class and received several academic honors.



Memberships

Member of the Board of Directors, New York State Trial Lawyers Association
Vice President of the Brooklyn Manhattan Trial Lawyers Association
Member, The Brehon Society

Bar Admissions

New York State
Eastern District of New York (Federal Court)
Southern District of New York (Federal Court)
New Jersey

Community Activities

Mr. Murphy is a proud member of the St. Jude Children's Hospital fundraising team.

I have been practicing personal injury law for over 20 years and have handled hundreds of cases ranging from million dollar verdicts to $1,000 settlements. I understand that the most important case to you is your case. I have learned that clients want someone who will pay attention to their case, someone who will keep them informed and someone who will fight for every dollar that their case deserves. I take satisfaction in knowing that so many of my clients have come to me on referral from previous clients or other attorneys. I make no outlandish claims except to vow that I will do my very best for you.