Daniel P. O’Toole

DANIEL P. O’TOOLE is one of New York’s premier trial lawyers. He graduated from the Fordham University School of Law in 1992 and is admitted to the New York and New Jersey bars. Mr. O’Toole has devoted his professional life to helping people whose lives have been upended by accidents. 

The last two years have been the most productive of Mr. O’Toole’s 30-year career, amassing over $250,000,000 in settlements. His lifetime reported settlements and verdicts now approach $900,000,000. In 2020, Mr. O’Toole had the first and seventh largest premises liability settlements reported in the United States. In 2019, along with his partner Scott Occhiogrosso, Mr. O’Toole obtained the largest individual personal injury verdict in the United States, in excess of $110,000,000 while also obtaining the second and third largest settlements in all of New York State.

At age 56, Mr. O’Toole has been the lead trial lawyer or co-lead trial counsel on the following record-breaking results:

• $110,174,972 verdict, the largest individual personal injury verdict ever in the State of New York
• $32,756,055 verdict, believed to be the largest personal injury verdict ever in Suffolk County
• $22,500,000 settlement against the State of New York, the second largest reported personal injury settlement against the State of New York
• $20,181,000 verdict, the second largest personal injury verdict in the history of the Court of Claims (including the largest pain and suffering verdict ever in the Court of Claims)
• $15,000,000 settlement for brain-injured pedestrian struck by an automobile
• $15,000,000 wrongful death settlement for worker killed by a falling object
• $14,000,000 verdict, the largest personal injury verdict ever in Nassau County
• $13,500,000 settlement, the largest reported personal injury settlement ever in Suffolk County
• $13,000,000 wrongful death settlement for auto accident victim
• $12,250,000 settlement for two workers injured when an elevator skipped floors and came to an abrupt stop
• $12,000,000 settlement for injured pedestrian child with leg injuries (lifetime payment to claimant will be in excess of $70,000,000)
• $12,000,000 settlement for injured union worker
• $11,500,000 settlement for laborer injured by a saw
• $10,000,000 settlement (asbestos abatement worker injured in wall collapse)

Over the course of his career, Mr. O’Toole has obtained more than 200 settlements exceeding $1,000,000. In 2022 Mr. O’Toole resolved nearly $140,000,000 worth of cases. 17, Mr. O’Toole reported the No. 1 mediated settlement in the State of New York ($12,000,000 for a construction accident case) and the No. 2 settlement in the State of New York, obtained during trial ($13,500,000 for an automobile accident case). In 2018, Mr. O’Toole recovered over $50,000,000, including a $13,000,000 wrongful death settlement achieved less than one year from the date of accident. In 2019, Mr. O’Toole settled 20 multimillion-dollar cases, including an $11,500,000 settlement for an injured construction worker, an $11,000,000 settlement for an injured laborer, and a $6,500,000 settlement for a union mechanic. All told, Mr. O’Toole has settled 13 cases exceeding $10,000,000 over the course of his career.

On five separate occasions Mr. O’Toole obtained jury verdicts which were among the top 10 largest personal injury jury verdicts in New York State. Year after year, Mr. O’Toole obtains some of the largest settlements for victims of construction accidents, automobile accidents, and wrongful death cases in the State of New York. In 2013 through 2023 Mr. O’Toole and his colleagues at Block O’Toole & Murphy posted more top 25 settlements than any other firm in New York by a wide margin.

Mr. O’Toole has handled construction accident cases, road design and road maintenance cases, medical malpractice cases, negligent security cases, tractor trailer accidents, industrial accidents, bad faith cases against insurance companies, and automobile accident cases. In addition to the aforementioned settlements, Mr. O’Toole’s settlements include the following results:

• $9,750,000.00 settlement (for worker with serious orthopedic and neurological injuries)
• $9,000,000.00 settlement (14-year-old minor injured in wall collapse)
• $8,750,000.00 settlement for a brain injured client with over $20,000,000 in additional guaranteed health benefits for life
• $8,166,666.00 settlement (building superintendent injured in elevator accident)
• $8,000,000.00 verdict (lumbar spine surgery and knee surgery after rear-end collision)
• $7,000,000.00 settlement (worker who fell 30 feet down elevator shaft)
• $6,500,000.00 verdict (union laborer with herniated disc injury)
• $6,500,000.00 settlement (injured union laborer)
• $6,500,000.00 settlement (union mechanic who suffered fractures to his vertebra, pelvis, dominant wrist, and elbow)
• $6,400,000.00 settlement (union ironworker)
• $6,250,000.00 settlement (non-union carpenter)
• $6,000,000.00 settlement (during trial against NYCTA for injured bus passenger)
• $6,000,000.00 settlement (for injured union water proofer)
• $5,900,000.00 settlement (union bricklayer)
• $5,000,000.00 settlement (wrongful death of tourist)
• $5,000,000.00 settlement (for union worker hit by falling object)
• $4,925,000.00 settlement (all insurance coverage available tendered for motorist with brain injury)
• $4,900,000.00 settlement (union electrician)
• $4,750,000.00 settlement (union excavator)
• $4,650,000.00 settlement (injured non-union laborer)
• $4,500,000.00 settlement (union carpenter with knee injury)
• $4,500,000.00 settlement (union plumber injured as a result of a tripping hazard)
• $4,475,000.00 settlement (wrongful death with a payout of over $20,000,000 to two surviving children of a deceased non-union laborer)
• $4,250,000.00 settlement (union excavator)
• $4,083,333.00 settlement (cervical spine injuries requiring surgery after elevator accident)
• $4,000,000.00 settlement (union laborer with neck, back, and shoulder injuries after fall from scaffolding)
• $4,000,000.00 settlement (union carpenter in ladder fall)
• $4,000,000.00 settlement (auto accident involving hotel porter)
• $4,000,000.00 settlement (above-the-knee amputation after auto accident)
• $4,000,000.00 settlement (injured non-union asbestos removal worker)
• $4,000,000.00 settlement (a 15-year-old pedestrian; lifetime payment in excess of $19,000,000.00)
• $4,000,000.00 settlement (union carpenter in ladder fall)
• $3,720,000.00 settlement (glass worker who suffered severe foot and ankle injuries after he fell through an unsecured cover at a construction site)
• $3,500,000.00 settlement (bus operator injured in motor vehicle accident)
• $3,500,000.00 settlement (union bricklayer)
• $3,500,000.00 settlement (injured laborer)
• $3,450,000.00 settlement (man hit by bus while in crosswalk, multiple ORIF surgeries)
• $3,450,000.00 settlement (union carpenter who fell from a scaffold, injuring his hip)
• $3,450,000.00 settlement (non-union laborer with back injuries following a fall)
• $3,400,000.00 settlement (union laborer slipped and fell with back injury)
• $3,250,000.00 settlement (back and shoulder injuries after head-on accident)
• $3,250,000.00 settlement (union carpenter who injured his wrist in a fall)
• $3,250,000.00 settlement (plumber with wrist and spine injuries after falling from unsecured ladder)
• $3,175,000.00 settlement (truck driver who was struck by a fully loaded forklift while he was making a delivery)
• $3,100,000.00 settlement (non-union laborer)
• $3,000,000.00 settlement (non-union carpenter)
• $3,000,000.00 settlement (barber involved in auto accident)
• $3,000,000.00 settlement (laborer in trip and fall accident)
• $3,000,000.00 settlement (taxi driver injured in auto accident)
• $2,900,000.00 settlement (non-union laborer with back injury)
• $2,825,000.00 settlement (injured non-union bricklayer)
• $2,750,000.00 settlement (shoulder and back injuries in ceiling collapse accident)
• $2,750,000.00 settlement (homemaker, trip and fall, knee injury)
• $2,750,000.00 settlement (non-union air conditioning repair worker with leg fracture)
• $2,700,000.00 settlement (union plumber who fell injuring his knee and shoulder)
• $2,600,000.00 settlement (lower back, neck, ankle, and head injuries after fall from ladder)
• $2,600,000.00 settlement (non-union laborer with internal injuries in building collapse)
• $2,500,000.00 settlement (worker who suffered spinal injuries from a rear-end accident)
• $2,500,000.00 settlement (double-parked Access-A-Ride van causes bicycle accident)
• $2,500,000.00 settlement (motorist injured in car accident, back surgery)
• $2,500,000.00 settlement (cyclist in dooring accident)
• $2,500,000.00 settlement (chain rear-end collision)
• $2,450,000.00 settlement (spinal injuries after four-vehicle collision)
• $2,400,000.00 settlement (pre-deposition settlement for 58-year-old worker with neck injury)
• $2,250,000.00 settlement (wrongful death of pedestrian hit by bus)

Approximately 100 other settlements in excess of $1,000,000.

Positions Held

Mr. O’Toole is the Co-Chairman of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association Labor Law Committee, a committee that fights to preserve and enact laws to promote worker safety at construction sites. He is committed to championing laws that protect workers and all New Yorkers.

Honors

In April of 2023, Mr. O’Toole and his wife were honored by Fordham Law School at the school’s 2020 Scholarship Benefactors Reception. In June of 2019, Mr. O’Toole received the University of Scranton’s Frank O’Hara Distinguished Alumni Award. The award is the University’s highest honor and was given to Mr. O’Toole in recognition of his accomplishments as an attorney and for his philanthropy. In October of 2018, Mr. O’Toole received the James F. Gill Spirit of Hope Award from Fordham Law School’s Feerick Center for Social Justice. In 2016, he received the Founder’s Medal (the school’s highest honor) from his alma mater, Bergen Catholic High School, for his lifetime achievement and contributions to the school. In 2018, Mr. O’Toole was named Runner of the Year by One Mission, a pediatric cancer charity in Boston, Massachusetts, for his fundraising efforts running the 2018 Boston Marathon. Mr. O’Toole ran the 2020 Boston Marathon in support of HomeStart Boston, a charity dedicated to the eradication of homelessness. His efforts resulted in the third largest amount of money ever raised by an individual runner in the history of the Boston Marathon.

From 2008 through 2023, Mr. O’Toole was elected as a “Super Lawyer” in New York State, recognizing him as one of the top 5% of New York personal injury lawyers. From 2009 through 2023, Mr. O’Toole was named by the American Trial Lawyers as a Top 100 Trial Lawyer. From 2010 to 2023, he has been named to the Irish Legal 100, which recognizes the top Irish American lawyers in the United States. Mr. O’Toole has also been selected by his peers to be included in New York’s Best Lawyers from 2014-2023.

In 2012, Mr. O’Toole was honored by the Brehon Law Society in New York as Lawyer of the Year. In 2012 and 2013, he was honored by the Institute of Jewish Humanities as Lawyer of the Year. In March of 2013, Mr. O’Toole was honored by the Brooklyn to Alaska Project (a group that sends young men from Brooklyn to Alaska every summer to experience the Alaskan wilderness) as Man of the Year.

Charity Work

Mr. O’Toole is heavily involved in charitable work. He is a major donor to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Mr. O’Toole and his wife have endowed scholarships at the Fordham University School of Law and Georgetown University. They have also contributed substantially to the Dr. Michael DeMichele Scholarship at the University of Scranton, as well as to Boston College.

In the past ten years, along with his partners, Mr. O’Toole has been instrumental in raising over $5,000,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Mr. O’Toole is also a major donor for the Institute of Educational Achievement, a school for children and young adults with autism in New Jersey. Mr. O’Toole and his wife recently assisted in the funding of a Young Adult Lodge at the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp. Mr. O’Toole has also contributed to scholarship funds at five Catholic grammar schools and high schools in New Jersey, funding high school educations for over 25 children.