Stephen J. Murphy

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Partner  Phone:    212-736-5300 Fax:    212-971-9840 EMail:    smurphy@blockotoole.com Download V-Card

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 working in the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office under Charles J. Hynes. Mr. Murphy is a lawyer that is best known for his work in the courtroom, now focusing on serious construction accidents and catastrophic personal injury trial work. Mr. Murphy handles a wide range of cases including labor law and construction accidents, wrongful death, premises liability, tractor trailer collisions, medical malpractice and motor vehicle cases. Mr. Murphy was recently featured on Fox News Radio as one of "America's Premier Trial Lawyers."

With just five 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. 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 and was featured in a cable television documentary entitled "The Good Samaritan." 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. Recently, Mr. Murphy and his colleague David Scher, successfully negotiated a $5,500,000 settlement for an injured electrician that sustained a traumatic brain injury after falling from an extension ladder. In 2008, Mr. Murphy also successfully negotiated a $15,500,000 settlement on behalf of an injured client. In recognition of his achievements, he was named a partner in July 2008 and the firm name was then changed to Block O'Toole & Murphy. Recently, Mr. Murphy has been published in The New York Law Journal on construction cases.

Mr. Murphy began his legal career working as an Assistant District Attorney. He honed his skills in the criminal courtrooms in Brooklyn, prosecuting 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 appointed Mr. Murphy to his elite Homicide Bureau. Mr. Murphy, the youngest member of Brooklyn's Homicide Bureau at the time, 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. His students have won national championships in trial competitions in four of the last six years.

Mr. Murphy has appeared on Court TV, Fox Radio and Sirius/XM Satellite Radio as a guest host offering expert legal commentary.

Mr. Murphy is a proud member of the St. Jude Children's Hospital fundraising team. He also is heavily involved in the Frances Pope Memorial Foundation, an important charity that assists families with a child that has been diagnosed with a pediatric disease such as leukemia and cancer. Mr. Murphy was a recipient of the "2010 Man of the Year Award" by The Frances Pope Memorial Foundation for his efforts on behalf of children with cancer.

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.
• $5,500,000 Settlement just before jury selection for an injured electrician that sustained a traumatic brain injury after falling from an extension ladder.
• $3,231,000 Settlement against a Bronx slumlord on behalf of an infant that was burned with hot water while bathing in her home.
• $2,750,000 Settlement for a 57 Year-Old female pedestrian that sustained a neck injury after being struck by a van.
• $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.
• $2,200,000 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.
• $2,000,000 Settlement in a case against The City of New York for a client that required spine surgery.
• $1,941,000 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.
• $1,650,000 Settlement for a family in a wrongful death action due to the negligence of a building owner in a deadly fire.
• $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 in a construction accident.
• $1,350,000 Settlement before trial on a trucking accident in Queens County.
• $1,350,000 Settlement for a Construction Laborer that had two tips of his fingers from his dominant hand amputated in a construction site accident.
• $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 from a ladder that was 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.
• $1,200,000 Settlement for a laborer that lost the tips of four toes in a construction site accident.
• $1,200,000 for a 54 Year-Old female in Nassau County that exacerbated neck and back injuries requiring surgery.
• $1,175,000 Settlement on the eve of trial for a woman with long standing and preexisting cervical herniations. The victim was struck by unsafely stacked products in a large supermarket.
• $1,150,000 Settlement for a laborer that sustained a facial laceration while working with an unsafe saw.
• $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
• Co-Chairman, New York State Trial Lawyers Association Partnership for Justice
• 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

Stephen J. Murphy in the News:

· Stephen Murphy Featured on America's Premier Lawyers Series
· Woman Loses Leg in Subway Accident That Should Have Been Avoided
· Good Samaritan Files Lawsuit For Catastrophic Injuries Sustained In LIRR Collision At Railroad Crossing
· NYC Construction Safety Week
· Six Hurt in Harlem as Van Hits Scaffold
· Daily News: N.Y. Writer Denis Hamill Congratulates Firm & Attorney Stephen Murphy
· Former Long Island Railroad lawyer now helping injured L.I.R.R. workers
· The New York Law Journal: Stephen Murphy & Daniel O'Toole recognized for their 2008 Record Setting Verdict
· Newsday: Injured Viet vet awarded $32M
· The New York Daily News: Profile of Record Verdict Procured by Stephen Murphy & Daniel O'Toole

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