Hayes, Ryan J.

David L. Scher attended Tufts University and Fordham University School of Law. He joined Block O'Toole & Murphy, LLP in 2003, and was made a Partner at the firm in 2012.

Since joining the firm, Mr. Scher has focused his practice primarily on representing construction accident victims, as well as those seriously injured in motor vehicle collisions and other accidents. In his tenure with the firm, Mr. Scher has resolved dozens of multi-million dollar cases on behalf of personal injury plaintiffs. Mr. Scher also tries cases for the firm; recently taking a verdict of $2,056,656 for a 51 year old pedestrian struck by a New York City Transit Authority Bus. Mr. Scher was named to The National Trial Lawyers "Top 40 Under 40" list in 2012, which is extended to a limited number of lawyers under the age of 40 who demonstrate superior leadership skills, and who exert passion and personal conviction as a young trial attorney. Mr. Scher is particularly noted for his knowledge of the New York State Labor Law, and he authors articles on construction accident law topics that regularly appear in respected legal publications such as the New York Law Journal and Bill of Particulars magazine. Mr. Scher is known for his legal writing and oral argument skills, and he runs the firm's complex motion and appellate practice. Mr. Scher routinely appears before the Appellate Divisions for the First and Second Departments and has secured many favorable appellate divisions that are frequently cited by the Courts and the Bar. Mr. Scher wrote an amicus curiae brief to the New York State Court of Appeals on behalf of 5,000 trial lawyers in an important case, Ortiz v. Varsity Holdings, LLC, which involved how the law applies to construction workers laboring at dangerous heights. The Court's December 2011 decision adopted the brief's position, and expanded the protections afforded to such workers. Mr. Scher is also a key member of the New York State Trial Lawyers' Association Labor Law Committee, which seeks to maintain and expand the laws that require safe work sites and protect the workers of New York.

Mr. Scher's experience also includes Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) litigation. Mr. Scher has successfully represented a group of Brooklyn restaurant workers who were being underpaid, and recovered approximately $1,500,000 for a large class of municipal employees who were being unfairly compensated. Mr. Scher has also represented victims of wrongful termination, sexual abuse and negligent security.

Mr. Scher is a proud Committee Member for an annual fundraising event in Manhattan that supports the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Recent Results

• $5,500,000 Settlement for an electrician who sustained a traumatic brain injury after falling from an extension ladder.
• $3,075,000 Settlement for a union plumber from Queens who was struck by falling gravel on a construction site.
• $2,750,000 Settlement for a 57 Year-Old female pedestrian who sustained a neck injury after being struck by a van.
• $2,500,000 Settlement for a Brooklyn pedestrian who was struck by a truck and suffered hip and leg fractures.
• $2,056,656 Verdict for a Brooklyn public high school teacher struck by a City bus.
• $1,750,000 Settlement for a Suffolk County woman who sustained a back injury in an accident with a bus.
• $1,675,000 Settlement for a 55 year old Brooklyn tailor who was rear-ended and underwent a back surgery.
• $1,500,000 Settlement in a case against The City for a 57 Year-Old woman who suffered back and leg injuries after being knocked down by an unmarked police car while crossing the street.
• $1,500,000 Settlement for a Bronx tenant who tripped on stairs in his apartment building, injuring his neck and back.
• $1,490,000 Settlement for a Brooklyn construction worker who suffered neck and back injuries in a collision with a bus.
• $1,350,000 Settlement for a Construction Laborer who had two tips of his fingers on his dominant hand amputated in a construction site accident.
• $1,350,000 Settlement on the eve of trial for a construction laborer who 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 he had placed on top of a rolling scaffold, sustaining lower back and knee injuries.
• $1,250,000 Settlement for a Queens man who was involved in a motor vehicle accident and underwent a neck surgery.
• $1,250,000 Settlement for a Suffolk County electrician who fell from a ladder and injured his spine.
• $1,200,000 for a 54 year old female in Nassau County who exacerbated prior neck and back injuries requiring surgery.
• $1,200,000 for a 50 year old woman who aggravated a prior neck injury in a motor vehicle collision.
• $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.
• $1,050,000 Settlement for a Queens woman injured after a collision with a truck.
• $1,000,000 Settlement for a Suffolk County female who underwent a neck surgery after a motor vehicle accident.
• $1,000,000 Settlement following a Jury Verdict in the Bronx for a 14 year-old who had arthroscopic knee surgery after an accident.

Published Articles

• Court of Appeals Refuses to Limit Scope of Labor Law Section 240(1), New York Law Journal (January 20, 2012).
• Recent Section 240(1) Decisions Offer Guidance, New York Law Journal (November 14, 2011).
• Can Injured, Undocumented Construction Workers Recover Lost Wages?, New York Law Journal (February 22, 2010).
• Labor Law Symposium, Bill of Particulars (Winter 2010).
• Still Debating What 'Falls' Within Labor Law Section 240(1), New York Law Journal (November 1, 2010).
• A Look Back At Runner v. New York Stock Exchange: What Did It Mean For Labor Law Section 240?, Bill of Particulars (Fall 2010).

Memberships

• New York State Bar Association
• New York State Trial Lawyers' Association
• New York State Trial Lawyers' Association Labor Law Committee
• The National Trial Lawyers "Top 40 Under 40"