News

A National Publication, Lawyers USA, has published its Top 10 Jury Verdicts for 2012. The $144,690,039 verdict obtained by Linnan & Associates, of Albany, New York, ranked Number 6 in the country, and the largest in the State of New York, for a personal injury case.

The claim was presented to a jury at Otsego County Supreme Court in Cooperstown, New York, before the Honorable Michael Coccoma. The case involved the claim of Debora Sohl against the personnel at A. O. Fox Memorial Hospital in Oneonta, New York. Ms. Sohl claimed that they failed to recognize or treat her heart attack and allowed her heart attack to continue untreated for approximately 26 hours, causing severe, permanent damage to her heart muscle. The jury awarded $18 million for pain and suffering, with a majority of the balance of the verdict awarded for future medical expenses involving the plaintiff's future cardiac care, including a heart transplant.

The case was tried by James D. Linnan and Charlene S. Fallon of the Albany law firm of Linnan & Associates,, for the plaintiff, and David F. McCarthy of Levine, Gouldin & Thompson defended A. O. Fox Memorial Hospital.

James D. Linnan stated that he was proud of being included in the Top 10 Verdicts in the country for the year; but, was more proud of having obtained such a fine result for a catastrophically injured patient who received substandard care from the defendant hospital. "Debora Sohl and her family were devastated by her injuries and her inability to support her family," Linnan stated. "This verdict will provide Debora with an opportunity to have the best possible medical care and to provide properly for her family."

Linnan & Associates,, is an Albany-based law firm with offices in Glens Falls, Catskill and Oneonta, specializing in representing patients who have been significantly injured by the health care system.