Since 1993
John Hochfelder
Renowned personal injury trial attorney John Hochfelder has achieved it all in a career spanning three decades:
- Many multi-million dollar recoveries
- Service as a judge, arbitrator and mediator
- Lecturer on damages for appellate division and state court trial judges (under the auspices of the New York State Judicial Institute)
- Lecturer on damages for the statewide bar continuing legal education programs (under the auspices of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association)
- Founder and publisher of New York Injury Cases Blog
At New York Injury Cases Blog, Mr. Hochfelder reviews all important appellate court decisions that rule upon damages in personal injury, medical malpractice and wrongful death cases. The site is unique and invaluable because the appellate courts in New York frequently exercise their statutory power to review and adjust (up or down) the damages awarded by juries, but they fail to disclose much information as to the nature of the injuries in the underlying cases ruled upon. That failure makes it near-impossible for anyone to compare their cases to the parameters set by the appellate courts in their decisions. Mr. Hochfelder’ s deep research into each and every case and his resulting articles provide readers with much-needed details so that they can try to compare the damages that might be awarded in their cases to the amounts that the appellate courts would approve. Attorneys need to know the range of damages that would be sustainable in their cases at all stages – intake, settlement negotiations, mediation/arbitration, trial and appeal.
Now, in addition to perusing New York Injury Cases Blog, attorneys with significant, high-dollar injury cases may retain Mr. Hochfelder to personally and intensively review their cases and opine specifically as to the amount of damages that will be recoverable. This unique service affords attorneys access to Mr. Hochfelder’ s sterling and unparalleled reputation as a damages expert so that the attorneys may maximize their opportunities for the most successful outcomes in their own cases.
Specifically, Mr. Hochfelder’ s services include:
- A full file review of all damages issues including all medical records, deposition transcripts, bills of particular, expert responses and other damages related discovery documents
- Extensive legal research as to the amount of damages that would be sustainable in the case including comparative analyses of similar and relevant cases as required under CPLR Section 5501 and the use of Hochfelder’ s unique and vast digital database of bodily injury and wrongful death cases and underlying case documents
- Attendance at such conferences, meetings, mediations and settlement conferences as may be reasonably requested
- Preparation of such opinion letters, mediation briefs and/or settlement demand letters, in consultation with attorneys of record, as may be reasonably requested
New York Injury Cases
- Appellate Court Affirms Jury’s Award of No Future Damages in Spinal Surgery Car Accident Case
On June 14, 2018, Mauricio Plazas was stopped at a red light in Somers when a left-turning car driven by Brenna Sherlock struck the side of his car. She claimed he’d moved past the stop line into the intersection when the […]
- Courts Evaluate Pain and Suffering Award in Non-Surgical Spinal Injury Case
On September 6, 2016, Bruce Brown was asleep in his bed when an unsafe ceiling collapsed above him in an apartment and the debris fell onto him. Mr. Brown then 74 years old, claimed that he sustained significant spinal disc […]
- Verdict Reinstated in Case of 14 Year Old Girl’s Sexual Assault Claims against 20 Year Old Boy and His Parents
On May 21, 2016, a 14 year old girl (N.Y.) attended a sleepover at a friend’s house in Springfield, New York. The house was owned by the friend’s parents, Allan and Melissa Manikas. During the night, N.Y. was allegedly […]
What Our Clients Say...
“My New York City plaintiff personal injury firm hired John Hochfelder to evaluate damages and consult with us on a large, complicated Labor Law wrongful death damages only case. We were impressed with his far-reaching reputation as a damages expert, especially as to the amounts that would be sustained in the event of an appeal. His services included a full review of our files, preparation of an extensive settlement demand letter, attendance at two lengthy mediation sessions at JAMS and continuing advice thereafter until the case was settled. At one of the mediation sessions, the mediator excluded all 14 attendees from the room except for Mr. Hochfelder and his counterpart – a well-known appellate defense lawyer. The two of them then discussed the case with the mediator for two hours and came out with a near resolution with the case settling thereafter for $6,300,000. Mr. Hochfelder ‘s services were outstanding , highly professional and effective. The fee we paid was substantial but it was well worth it considering the value he added and the fact that he worked with us on a contingency basis. We would not hesitate to engage him again in the appropriate case.”