Fred Schulman, Esq. was recognized in the New York Times as one of the “Top 100” Lawyers in the entire New York Metro area for the second year in a row. Fred was also named to the Super Lawyer list for the fifth year in a row. Fred is honored to be recognized as one of 2017’s most respected lawyers in the country and to be listed as one of the top 5%  of the lawyers in New York. Contact Blitz Law Group LLP today.

We are excited to report that Justin Blitz, Esq. was selected for the 4th year in a row to the Super Lawyers New York Metro Rising Stars list (2.5% in the state). Schulman Blitz, LLP is proud of the amazing results we obtain for our clients and we are honored of our peers recognition. Contact Blitz Law Group LLP today.

Our client, a 71 year old woman, was crossing Broadway at 71st Street in Manhattan when she was struck by a bicycle messenger who was employed by a Manhattan-based courier and messenger company. Our client sustained multiple fractures as a result of being struck by the bicyclist, including fractures to her face and her pelvis. Schulman Blitz, LLP settled the case for $600,000.00 on the eve of trial. Contact Blitz Law Group LLP today.

Our client, a 66 year old woman, had left her home in the Bronx and was driving her car on her way to meet some friends.  She stopped at a red light at the intersection of East 222nd Street at White Plains Road. When the light turned green, she began to proceed into the intersection, when her car was struck by a sanitation truck that suddenly and without warning began to back up into the the middle of intersection. As a result of the crash, our client sustained injuries to her lower back, which required a spinal fusion surgery. While litigation was ongoing, Justin Blitz, Esq. was able to procure a settlement for our client in the amount of $590,000. Contact Blitz Law Group LLP today.

Christie Whitman, when she led the Environmental Protection Agency, made “misleading statements of safety” about the air quality near the World Trade Center in the days after the Sept. 11 attack and may have put the public in danger, a federal judge found yesterday. The pointed criticism of Mrs. Whitman came in a ruling by the judge, Deborah A. Batts of Federal District Court in Manhattan, in a 2004 class action lawsuit on behalf of residents and schoolchildren from downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn who say they were exposed to air contamination inside buildings near the trade center. The suit, against Mrs. Whitman, other former and current E.P.A. officials and the agency itself, charges that they failed to warn people of dangerous materials in the air and then failed to carry out an adequate cleanup. The plaintiffs are seeking monetary damages and want the judge to order a thorough cleaning. In her ruling, Judge Batts decided not to dismiss the case against Mrs. Whitman, who is being sued both as former administrator of the E.P.A. and as an individual. As a legal matter, the ruling established that the suit’s charges were well-documented and troubling enough to meet a legal standard to go forward. But Judge Batts also criticized Mrs. Whitman’s performance in the days after the collapse of the towers unleashed, by the E.P.A.’s estimates, one million tons of dust on lower Manhattan and beyond. “The allegations in this case of Whitman’s reassuring and misleading statements of safety after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks are without question conscience-shocking,” Judge Batts said. Calls to the Whitman Strategy Group, Mrs. Whitman’s current business, and to Glenn S. Greene, the Justice Department lawyer who is representing her and the E.P.A. in the case, were not immediately returned. Mrs. Whitman, a former New Jersey governor, was administrator of the E.P.A. from 2001 to 2003. Mrs. Whitman knew that the towers’ destruction had released huge amounts of hazardous emissions, Judge Batts found. But as early as Sept. 13, Mrs. Whitman and the agency put out press releases saying that the air near ground zero was relatively safe and that there were “no significant levels” of asbestos dust in the air. They gave a green light for residents to return to their homes near the trade center site. “By these actions,” Judge Batts wrote, Mrs. Whitman “increased, and may have in fact created, the danger” to people living and working near the trade center. Judge Batts said that Mrs. Whitman was not entitled to immunity because she was a public official. Judge Batts allowed the suit to proceed on some counts against the E.P.A. She dismissed claims against Marianne L. Horinko, an assistant administrator of the E.P.A. at the time. Lawyers for the plaintiffs were “very gratified that the court has recognized that the E.P.A. failed in its obligation to protect the residents of downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn,” said Justin Blitz, a lead lawyer on the case. In a statement yesterday, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton called the E.P.A.’s conduct “outrageous.” “New Yorkers were depending on the federal government to provide them with accurate information about the air they were breathing,” she said. “I continue to believe that the White House owes New Yorkers an explanation.” About 2,000 tons of asbestos and 424,000 tons of concrete were used to build the towers, and when they came crashing down they released dust laden with toxins. After an expert panel failed last year to settle on a method for organizing an E.P.A. cleanup, the agency said it would proceed anyway with limited testing and cleaning of apartments in downtown Manhattan below Canal Street. Click Here to view the story on the NY Times. Contact Blitz Law Group LLP today.

Justin Blitz, Esq. got a $2.3 million verdict from a Bronx jury that found the landlord of an Elder Avenue building liable for $2.3 million to a former tenant injured when he was attacked inside the lobby of the building. Raymundo Tehozol, 37 years old at the time of the attack, was a tenant residing at 1151 Elder Avenue, when he was beaten with a baseball bat by two unknown attackers. As a result of the attack, Mr. Tehozol suffered an epidural hematoma requiring a craniotomy and a fractured clavicle. See Tehozol v. Anand Realty, et al, Bronx County Index Number 21476/2003. Justin Blitz, Esq. of the Manhattan law firm that represented Mr. Tehozol, proved during the two-week trial that there had been several similar attacks in the building and that the locks to the lobby doors had been broken for months before the attack. Mr. Blitz also showed that the landlord did nothing to fix the doors or otherwise provide even minimal security for the building’s tenants. In fact, during the trial the jury heard from two other tenants who had been robbed prior to the attack on Mr. Tehozol. Despite the overwhelming testimony to the contrary, the landlord maintained he knew nothing about prior attacks or broken lobby door locks. After four hours of deliberation the jury returned a unanimous verdict for Mr. Tehozol totaling $2,300,000. Contact Blitz Law Group LLP today.

A 13-year-old Staten Island honors student who was sexually assaulted at her high school had insult added to devastating emotional injuries when officials kept the classmate suspected of the attack in school – and later put the pair in the same summer class, the girl’s outraged mom told The Post. If that weren’t bad enough, the charges against the student arrested for molesting freshman Kelsey Balzafiore were dropped after the Staten Island District Attorney’s Office inexplicably failed to inform a judge it was ready to try the case – despite being warned to do so by her lawyers. “I feel like I was treated like I did something wrong,” the petite Kelsey, now 16, told The Post. “I feel like I was being punished. I don’t want this to happen to other girls. This whole experience since the attack has been an absolute nightmare.” A Staten Island civil jury likely will soon hear of her shocking treatment by school officials and DA Daniel Donovan’s office after Robert Swen allegedly attacked her at New Dorp HS. Tomorrow, her lawyers will ask a judge to set a trial date for her negligence lawsuit against the city, the Department of Education and the NYPD’s school safety division. “The system failed Kelsey. The insensitive way they treated her was truly, truly abominable,” said Justin Blitz, one of her lawyers. Spokesmen for the city, Education Department and Staten Island DA declined to comment. Swen adamantly denied the charges. “I didn’t do anything. I’m not guilty . . . She’s just making it up,” he said. Kelsey’s nightmare began Oct. 20, 2005, when she asked if anyone had a dollar so she could buy bottled water. Then-16-year-old Swen said he had money and led her down the hallway, Kelsey’s lawyers said. “Swen then grabbed her and dragged her down a stairwell to the basement, where he forcibly kissed her, opened her pants and groped her private parts,” said Bryan Swerling, another of Kelsey’s lawyers. The girl’s mom, Loretta Rice, said that when she complained at school the next day, cops who were called arrested Swen on sex-abuse charges after having Kelsey point him out in front of other students. Swen was suspended for a few days, said Rice, who claimed officials suggested Kelsey could leave through the back door to avoid him, or transfer. Kelsey spent six weeks at home before transferring to Wagner HS. Months later, when she was attending summer school at Tottenville HS, Swen “walked into her class,” said Rice. Afterward, officials merely moved him out of her class, not the school. Kelsey – who ended up receiving intensive psychological counseling – received another blow early in 2007, when the criminal case against Swen was dismissed because a Staten Island prosecutor failed to respond as “ready for trial” as required by law. Kelsey’s lawyers said they previously called the DA’s office 15 times and urged prosecutors assigned to the case to make such a response. Click Here to read the article on the New York Post. Contact Blitz Law Group LLP today.

By DAN MANGAN A 13-year-old Staten Island honors student who was sexually assaulted at her high school had insult added to devastating emotional injuries when officials kept the classmate suspected of the attack in school – and later put the pair in the same summer class, the girl’s outraged mom told The Post. If that weren’t bad enough, the charges against the student arrested for molesting freshman Kelsey Balzafiore were dropped after the Staten Island District Attorney’s Office inexplicably failed to inform a judge it was ready to try the case – despite being warned to do so by her lawyers. “I feel like I was treated like I did something wrong,” the petite Kelsey, now 16, told The Post. “I feel like I was being punished. I don’t want this to happen to other girls. This whole experience since the attack has been an absolute nightmare.” A Staten Island civil jury likely will soon hear of her shocking treatment by school officials and DA Daniel Donovan’s office after Robert Swen allegedly attacked her at New Dorp HS. Tomorrow, her lawyers will ask a judge to set a trial date for her negligence lawsuit against the city, the Department of Education and the NYPD’s school safety division. “The system failed Kelsey. The insensitive way they treated her was truly, truly abominable,” said Justin Blitz, one of her lawyers. Spokesmen for the city, Education Department and Staten Island DA declined to comment. Swen adamantly denied the charges. “I didn’t do anything. I’m not guilty . . . She’s just making it up,” he said. Kelsey’s nightmare began Oct. 20, 2005, when she asked if anyone had a dollar so she could buy bottled water. Then-16-year-old Swen said he had money and led her down the hallway, Kelsey’s lawyers said. “Swen then grabbed her and dragged her down a stairwell to the basement, where he forcibly kissed her, opened her pants and groped her private parts,” said Bryan Swerling, another of Kelsey’s lawyers. The girl’s mom, Loretta Rice, said that when she complained at school the next day, cops who were called arrested Swen on sex-abuse charges after having Kelsey point him out in front of other students. Swen was suspended for a few days, said Rice, who claimed officials suggested Kelsey could leave through the back door to avoid him, or transfer. Kelsey spent six weeks at home before transferring to Wagner HS. Months later, when she was attending summer school at Tottenville HS, Swen “walked into her class,” said Rice. Afterward, officials merely moved him out of her class, not the school. Kelsey – who ended up receiving intensive psychological counseling – received another blow early in 2007, when the criminal case against Swen was dismissed because a Staten Island prosecutor failed to respond as “ready for trial” as required by law. Kelsey’s lawyers said they previously called the DA’s office 15 times and urged prosecutors assigned to the case to make such a response. Source: NY POST Contact Blitz Law Group LLP today.

A Manhattan man claims that cops who arrested him for disorderly conduct slammed him down on a car hood, repeatedly struck him with a baton and Maced his eyes while he was handcuffed on a Bronx street. And he appears to have cellphone video to prove it. The crude footage of the June 20 incident involving demolition worker Raphael Jefferson shows police officers cursing at bystanders, calling Jefferson a “faggot” and shoving the 20-year-old against a parked car’s bumper after allegedly Macing />The video also shows an officer loudly smacking an object onto the street near Jefferson’s head as he lay face-down on the ground and another officer wiping the sole of his foot either on or near the Harlem man’s pants. “He was treated like an animal,” said Jefferson’s lawyer, Justin Blitz, who has filed a notice of claim against the city, the first step to a planned police-brutality lawsuit. “There can be no legitimate justification for hitting and striking a man who is handcuffed on the ground.” The Police Department says Jefferson was busted for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest after he “became irate” when officers stopped him for drinking alcohol outside a store at East 167th Street and Washington Avenue. Jefferson said he was not drinking but that he drew the cops’ ire when he walked away from them as they approached an acquaintance who was drinking a beer. “I heard the officer say, ‘Stop. Where you going?’ ” Jefferson said. Jefferson said he was handcuffed and had his face shoved into a hot car hood. Then, after Jefferson was placed on the ground, a cop “hit me about two to three times in my lower back and in my neck,” he said. Jefferson said he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct on the advice of his then-lawyer and received a sentence of time served after spending two days in jail. When asked for comment, a police spokesman mentioned Jefferson’s past arrests for drugs and burglary. NYPD Internal Affairs officers interviewed Jefferson last week. Last month, two NYPD officers were placed on modified duty after separate incidents involving them were videotaped. One tape showed a cop shoulder-tackling a bicyclist in Times Square. The other showed an officer repeatedly striking a man on his legs with a metal baton as other cops tried to handcuff him. Click Here to view Article by New York Post Contact Blitz Law Group LLP today.

A Manhattan man claims that cops who arrested him for disorderly conduct slammed him down on a car hood, repeatedly struck him with a baton and Maced his eyes while he was handcuffed on a Bronx street. And he appears to have cellphone video to prove it. The crude footage of the June 20 incident involving demolition worker Raphael Jefferson shows police officers cursing at bystanders, calling Jefferson a “faggot” and shoving the 20-year-old against a parked car’s bumper after allegedly Macing his face. The video also shows an officer loudly smacking an object onto the street near Jefferson’s head as he lay face-down on the ground and another officer wiping the sole of his foot either on or near the Harlem man’s pants. “He was treated like an animal,” said Jefferson’s lawyer, Justin Blitz, who has filed a notice of claim against the city, the first step to a planned police-brutality lawsuit. “There can be no legitimate justification for hitting and striking a man who is handcuffed on the ground.” The Police Department says Jefferson was busted for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest after he “became irate” when officers stopped him for drinking alcohol outside a store at East 167th Street and Washington Avenue. Jefferson said he was not drinking but that he drew the cops’ ire when he walked away from them as they approached an acquaintance who was drinking a beer. “I heard the officer say, ‘Stop. Where you going?’ ” Jefferson said. Jefferson said he was handcuffed and had his face shoved into a hot car hood. Then, after Jefferson was placed on the ground, a cop “hit me about two to three times in my lower back and in my neck,” he said. Jefferson said he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct on the advice of his then-lawyer and received a sentence of time served after spending two days in jail. When asked for comment, a police spokesman mentioned Jefferson’s past arrests for drugs and burglary. NYPD Internal Affairs officers interviewed Jefferson last week. Last month, two NYPD officers were placed on modified duty after separate incidents involving them were videotaped. One tape showed a cop shoulder-tackling a bicyclist in Times Square. The other showed an officer repeatedly striking a man on his legs with a metal baton as other cops tried to handcuff him. Click Here to view Article by New York Post Contact Blitz Law Group LLP today.

A New York woman on vacation in Las Vegas was injured due to a faulty elevator at a hotel and required multiple surgeries on her knees.  Following our client’s deposition, Schulman Blitz, LLP was able to negotiate a very favorable settlement! Contact Blitz Law Group LLP today.

A retired bookkeeper and grandmother from the Bronx was seriously injured when she tripped and fell on a defective sidewalk.  Her injuries were extensive and she required surgery followed by a month in a rehabilitation facility.  Schulman Blitz, LLP sued the owner of the adjoining apartment building and procured a favorable settlement for our client. Contact Blitz Law Group LLP today.