Dennis Bellovin specializes in the representation of workers who are injured at construction sites. These are claims brought under the Labor Law of New York State. Some of the construction accident settlements Mr. Bellovin has achieved for our clients are among the highest in the State. He also handles other serious personal injury matters including premises accidents, lead poisoning cases for infants and automobile accidents.
RECENT CASES
Settled a lead poisoning case for $2,250,000 in Bronx County involving a child who was two years old when he was diagnosed with a high lead level. Our office was retained to handle this matter after the child had already turned eighteen years of age. Inasmuch as the building involved was owned by The City of New York, we had to first make a successful application to the Court to serve a late Notice of Claim. He was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and had difficulty in school in Virginia which is where he moved at a young age.
Settlement of $850,000 on behalf of a boy in the Bronx who was two years old when diagnosed with an elevated blood lead level. There was a significant issue raised by the defendant – building owner as to whether the lead exposure was from the child’s apartment since the health department only issued one violation. The infant was experiencing speech delays.
A construction accident case pending in Queens County was settled for $3,750,000 on behalf of a 33 year old man. He was injured when a cinder block wall that had been erected fell on his right foot causing a severe crush injury that eventually led to an amputation of most of his right foot. The defendants were the owner of the building, the general contractor and the masonry contractor.
A Labor Law case pending in Kings County was settled for $3,510,000. The 49 year old plaintiff was a union painter who was on a suspended scaffold painting an elevated subway track when one of the cables supporting the scaffold was struck by a truck causing the cable to snap thereby propelling the plaintiff to the street below. He suffered back and pelvic fractures, as well as shoulder injuries.
A $3,000,000 settlement was reached in a Federal Court case that was brought on behalf of a 42 year old laborer who fell through an opening in the roof of a building under construction when he and a co-worker moved a board that was on top of the opening but not properly secured and with no warning to the plaintiff that there was an opening under the board. He sustained a fracture to his back that required surgery. Before depositions were even held a $3,000,000 settlement was reached in a Bronx County Labor Law case involving a 39 year old worker who fell from a scaffold that he was dismantling at a construction site. He suffered a serious ankle fracture that required surgery.
A Labor Law case pending in Nassau County was settled for $1,310,000. The 33 year old plaintiff was a painter who was on a ladder which slid and fell to the ground causing him to fracture both wrists, his nose and sustain a serious facial laceration.
Settlement in the sum of $2.6 million was reached for a 42 year old man and his wife as a result of the plaintiff’s fall from the roof of a building under construction due to the lack of appropriate safety devices. This case presented a great challenge as the defendant-property owner was not insured. The settlement was paid by the third party defendant – employer due to the grave injury sustained by the plaintiff, but only after it was demonstrated that the uninsured property owner had significant assets.
EDUCATION & BACKGROUND
A 1974 graduate of Hofstra University Law School, Mr. Bellovin was admitted to the State Bar of New York in 1975, and has been practicing personal injury law for more than 50 years. He is admitted to practice before the state bars of Florida (1982) and New Jersey (1984).
He is admitted to practice in the United States District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York as well as the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. He is a member of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, and has served as a director of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association.
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS
New York State Trial Lawyers Association, Member
New York State Trial Lawyers Association, Director