Firm News

Martin Kane Kuper Attorney James D. Martin Honored by State Bar Association

James D. Martin

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James D. Martin, Esq., partner in the law firm Martin, Kane, Kuper (www.mkklaw.com), was recently honored by the New Jersey State Bar Association Civil Trial Bar Section at their James J. McLaughlin Award Dinner.  The event, which recognizes attorneys who demonstrate civility, legal competence and professionalism in the practice of civil trial law, was held at the Hyatt Regency in New Brunswick.

Born in a log cabin in the Pocono Mountains, Jim grew up in New Brunswick, later attending Rider College from which he graduated in 1970.  In 1975 he graduated from Rutgers Newark Law School.  Jim joined the New Brunswick law firm of Lynch, Mannion, Lutz & Lewandowski.  During the next thirty six years Jim became one of the most respected and successful trial attorneys in the state.  He is the past chairman of the Civil Trial Bar and remains a member of the executive committee. He is a former president of the Middlesex Trial Lawyers and a trustee of the Middlesex Bar Association.  He is a recipient of the Civil Trial Bar Award from the Trial Attorneys of New Jersey, the Herman Brietkopf Award from the Middlesex County Trial Lawyers and was named Civil Trial Practitioner of the Year by the Middlesex Bar Association.  Jim is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and certified by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a civil trial attorney.

Jim remains one the most prominent lawyers in Middlesex County and all of New Jersey, handling cases in all levels of the state and federal courts.  Jim is perhaps best known for his handling of complex medical malpractice cases.

Martin Kane Kuper  Sponsors the American Cancer Society “Celebration on the Hill”

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In 2006 Martin Kane Kuper Esqs. sponsored the banner for the American Cancer Society (ACS) which was displayed at the Relay for Life Cancer Walk in Woodbridge NJ. It was signed by all participants and cancer survivors with messages to congress asking them to continue to give funding for cancer research and medical treatments.

Corine Mogenis, of Martin Kane Kuper, an Ambassador for ACS at the time, took the banner to Washington DC to the “Celebration on the Hill” which was an event that took place on Capitol Hill. People from every state in the US came to show their support in asking Congress to continue to support funds for cancer research and development, clinical trials and cancer support.

The banner was displayed on a wall with others showing the signatures and messages on view for Congress to see before their vote.

The Cancer Promise was signed by a majority of the representatives that year and the funding continued!

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Martin Kane Helps the Simuel Whitfield Simmons Organization

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The Firm of Martin Kane Kuper has been a regular contributor to the Simuel Whitfield Simmons Organization (SWS), The organization’s mission is to help meet the immediate and long term needs of at-risk youth and families in New Jersey. They strive to break the cycle of poverty by offering families and youth the resources, mentorship and education they need to achieve self-sufficiency.

The staff at Martin Kane Kuper have taken up several yearly collections to provide SWS with items for those “in need” in the community, from clothes, household items and food and toiletry, to furniture, electronics, beds, money and gift cards. They have even donated prom dresses to the “Help a Girl Attend the Prom” drive.

MKK staff members have helped deliver collected items to needy families at monthly “give always” where all collected items are brought to a local parking lot and families in need line up to come get whatever they need at no cost. They also regularly volunteer their time for other events and fundraisers for the SWS organization in an attempt to give back to those in their local communities.

The Firm of Martin Kane Kuper believes that we are all part of the community and recognize that everyone needs a helping hand at some point in their life. We are all in this “together.”

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Martin Kane Kuper Proud to Sponsor The Mets

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In 2010 the firm of Martin Kane Kuper became the proud sponsors of The “Mets”, an 11 year old “minor” team in the East Brunswick Baseball League. The firm was proud to be part of the East Brunswick local community sports program and to help kids participate in organized sporting events. They hope to continue this support in the future and share in the local community.

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Martin Kane Kuper Earns Settlement for Client Burned During “Hot Stone Massage”

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Martin Kane Kuper recently settled,  a case for a 50+ yr old gentlemen who visited a local spa for a “hot stone” massage. He received a gift certificate as a present from a family member. He had a similar massage some years earlier, without incident. However,this experience was very different. He was asked to sit up while a therapist placed the “warm stones” behind him.  He was then asked to lay down on top of the stones. He immediately commented that they were hot at which point he was told to sit up again while they were re-positioned. He laid back down and again commented that they may be too hot. He was assured that his body “would adjust” and therefore remained in position for approximately another minute at which point he could not tolerate the heat. On inspection he had 4 distinct burns,  later diagnosed as 2nd degree, on his back – 1 each from the 4 stones involved.

The adjustment that the therapist made was to place another towel over the rocks which apparently took a period for the heat to permeate the 2 towels and transfer to the torso. The client has permanent scarring in 2 of the areas. The firm was able to avoid litigation and settled pre-suit for an significant undisclosed amount.

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Attorney Eric Kuper Speaks at State Bar Association’s Annual Meeting in Atlantic City

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On May 18, 2011, Eric Kuper, the immediate past Chairperson of the Civil Trial Section of the State Bar Association was a speaker at a program entitled “Hot Topics in Torts” during the State Bar Association Annual Meeting in Atlantic City. Eric, along with six other trial attorneys, discussed recent case law that impacts civil jury trials. Eric spoke of the recent case of Kim v. Kim, the admissibility of unpaid medical expenses at trial and Legislative efforts to amend the statute that prohibits evidence of unpaid medical bills during a civil jury trial.

Eric Kuper has tried numerous cases to verdict over the past twenty years. Within the past two weeks Eric successfully handled an auto negligence case in Middlesex County Superior Court.  Following four days of trial, a unanimous jury returned a verdict in twenty minutes in favor of Eric’s client.

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$1,250,000 Settlement – Dennis Johnson v. JFK Medical Center

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Dennis Johnson was a 35 year old man who presented to JFK Medical Center ER on Friday, 12/17/04. He was complaining of difficulty seeing in his left eye for a few days which had gotten progressively worse that day. He had a past history of blindness in his right eye.

Mr. Johnson was examined by an Emergency Room Physician and told to take Norvasc for his elevated BP and follow up with an ophthalmologist. Mr. Johnson could not get an appointment with an ophthalmologist until 3 days later, Monday, 12/20/04. At some point during the weekend, Mr. Johnson’s eye sight got worse and by the time he got to an Ophthalmologist on 12/20/04 his vision was limited. He was immediately diagnosed with retinal detachment and referred to the Retina Vitreous Center. After an evaluated there, surgery was recommended and performed on 12/22/04.

Plaintiff ‘s position was that there is a limited window of opportunity to perform surgical intervention to a detaching retina. The delay in getting Mr. Johnson examined by an ophthalmologist and to a retina specialist resulted in permanent deficits in the left eye. After 3 surgeries, his acuity has only been restored to 20/100 and he has lost peripheral vision. As a consequence and in combination with his right eye blindness, he has been unable to return to his prior employment, is unable to drive and is limited in most activities.

Defendants contended that upon reporting to the ER, Mr. Johnson’s macula had already detached, he would have had these deficits in any event and that emergent surgery was not indicated under the circumstances.

The case settled before Judge Jessica Mayer , Middlesex County, in the amount of $1,250,000.00. Plaintiff was represented by James Martin, Esq. of Martin Kane & Kuper of East Brunswick, NJ . Defendant was represented by Sean Buckley, Esq. of Buckley & Theroux, LLC of Princeton,NJ.

$10,000,000 Settlement – McCauley vs. Astaris LLC et al

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On October 20, 2009, an Old Bridge man accepted $9.6 million in settlement of a claim against his former employer and others for severe burns received in an industrial explosion on 5/27/03. Leroy McCauley was employed as a chemical operator at Astaris, LLC in Carteret, N.J. when he was asked to disconnect a piping system used to unload raw phosphorous from a rail tank car on the premises. Raw phosphorous ignites when it comes in contact with air and must be kept in an enclosed environment and is shipped under water in tank cars. Despite a prior flushing of the pipe lines, phosphorous, also known as P4, remained in the line and rushed out when the pipeline was disconnected. The resulting explosion burned Mr. McCauley over 50% of his body. The plaintiff was hospitalized at St. Barnabas Burn Center for two months and underwent multiple debridement and grating procedures and thereafter numerous procedures to reduce scarring and contractures. The suit alleged that the employer consciously disregarded many of its own safety procedures and sent an untrained employee to perform a hazardous task without appropriate safety equipment or protective clothing. Also, named were the manufacturer and distributors of the piping apparatus and the aluminized protective clothing issued to chemical operators at the plant. Plaintiff contended that these suppliers knew or should have known that there were safety devices available to prevent unintended release of P4 from the unloading system and that the protective clothing was in adequate to protect against the severe temperatures at which P4 burns. Monsanto Corp. was included in the suit for alleged failure to provide adequate Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) with its shipments of P4 and for failure to follow the Responsible Care and Product Stewardship Doctrines adopted by it and the American Chemical Council, a trade organization of chemical manufacturers. FMC Corp. and Solutia, Inc. were joint venturers who formed Astaris and the plaintiff claimed were responsible for many of the inadequate policies, procedures and equipment adopted by Astaris.

Several defendants settled just before opening statements with Astaris and others settling after 3 1/2 weeks of trial before the Honorable Nicholas Stroumtsos in Middlesex County.

Plaintiff was represented by James D. Martin and Dana McDade of Martin, Kane, & Kuper in East Brunswick and Bernard Hvozdovic, a sole practitioner in South Brunswick. Defendants were represented by:

James Bride for defendants Monsanto Company and P4 Production, LLC; Rich Bryan for defendant Steel Grip; Brian O’Toole for defendant Olympic Glove and Safety; Don Crowley for defendant Carbis, Inc. and Wendy Smith for defendant OPW.

$250,000 Verdict – Valenzuela v. Patel

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A Middlesex County jury awarded $250,000 on January 13, 2010 to a maternity technician who suffered neck and back injuries as a result of a rear-end collision. The verdict was unanimous.

On November 8, 2006, Catherine Valenzuela of North Brunswick was heading to nursing school when she was rear-ended by the defendant, Dineshbha Patel, also of North Brunswick. Her automobile was struck multiple times by the defendant as it was raining at the time of the collision. During the trial before Judge Heidi Willis Currier, the defendant admitted to traveling 30 miles per hour just before the impact.

The Plaintiff’s lawyer, Todd Drayton of Martin Kane & Kuper LLC, presented evidence from several experts, including an orthopedic surgeon who performed an independent medical examination of Ms. Valenzuela and a chiropractor who had treated her for over two years, which demonstrated that Mrs. Valenzuela suffered disc bulges at C5-C6 and L4-L5, impingement upon her spinal column and distortion of her normal spinal anatomy. As a result, Mr. Drayton argued, the prognosis for the damaged discs is exceptionally poor. He noted that the damaged discs will deteriorate at faster rate and to a more severe endpoint, and that Mrs. Valenzuela could look forward to a future of increasing pain in her neck and back, as well as diminished functioning in her neck and back.

At the time of the accident, Mrs. Valenzuela was only 35 years old and had never suffered any injuries to her neck or back. Nor had she ever been involved in an accident or ever been treated by a chiropractor or orthopedist.

The defendant was represented by Teresa Valle of the Law Office of John Kennedy, who contended that Mrs. Valenzuela’s injuries were not permanent and that they were instead the result of prior back pain suffered over two and one-half years prior to the accident. The defendant further contended that Mrs. Valenzuela’s disc bulge injuries – without more – were insufficient to vault New Jersey’s verbal threshold statute. To that end, the defendant offered Mrs. Valenzuela $300 to settle the matter just before opening statements.