In 1986, life as he had known it came to an end for a 40 year old insurance agent and decorated Vietnam veteran. While getting a haircut in a local barbershop, he was struck in the neck and left paralyzed by a nail shot through the wall from a high powered stud gun.
In response to a call from Boston attorneys Leo V. Boyle and James F. Meehan, John and Richard DiNatale arrived at the accident scene within 48 hours to interview the principals involved and obtain signed statements. As Meehan and Boyle pursued the case, the DiNatales continued to provide in depth investigative services.
Two years later the attorneys made legal history for their quadriplegic client by obtaining a 15.35 million dollar lump sum settlement - the nation's largest one time cash payment to a single plaintiff at that time.
Investigation on behalf of plaintiff's counsel involving an MBTA bus that ran over a woman in a crosswalk in Boston resulting in a right leg amputation. A key eyewitness was located and a signed statement obtained helping the jury return a multimillion dollar verdict on behalf of the plaintiff.
A multimillion dollar verdict on behalf of the plaintiff against a general contractor involving a roofing accident. The plaintiff, because of a lack of fall protection, fell from a steep roof on a construction project. A former employee of the general contractor was located and interviewed and a signed statement obtained contradicting the general contractor's claim that fall protection was provided for all workers at the project.
Two Boston firefighters were killed while battling a fire at a restaurant in West Roxbury. Retained by the liability insurer for the property, all of the employees of the insured were interviewed and signed statements obtained within 48 hours of this tragic fire. The DiNatales were in charge of dismantling all of the kitchen of this restaurant, video taping the entire process and arranging for the storage of all evidence for future inspections.
A Boston firefighter was killed in the line of duty battling a fire at a Charlestown warehouse. Working on behalf of plaintiff's counsel, the investigation helped establish building code violations which resulted in the tragic death of this firefighter. The investigation of this fire helped lead to a settlement on behalf of the deceased firefighter's family.
When a gas leak resulted in an explosion and the death of a homeowner whose house was blown apart, the DiNatale's were retained to investigate the explosion, coordinate and obtain reports from all of the appropriate agencies and interview all the residents of a neighborhood to identify the cause of this explosion.
When a laborer working on the Big Dig project had an eight-foot length of steel rod penetrate his skull, the DiNatales were asked to help establish a third party liability case on the part of the general contractor for the project. Tracking down a former safety engineer of the general contractor with only a first initial and a last name, an interview and a signed statement was obtained establishing that the general contractor was aware of the procedure that caused the accident, and exercised control over this project. This resulted in a substantial settlement on behalf of the plaintiff.
A multimillion dollar settlement on behalf of plaintiffs, one of whom was killed and two others seriously injured when they were hit head on by a package delivery service truck. The investigation included obtaining signed statements from all of the pertinent witnesses and establishing liability on the part of the delivery service.
An investigation involving the death of an MIT freshman as a result of a dangerous hazing ritual. This multimillion dollar settlement against MIT and one of its fraternities helped change the way MIT handled housing for their incoming freshmen. For the DiNatales this was one of the most significant investigations they have been involved with.
Working with defense counsel on a capital murder case in Boston, the investigation led to the location of a witness with exculpatory evidence showing that the defendant could not have been at the scene of the murder as the police alleged. As a result of locating this witness who provided a statement that he had been interviewed by the police and had provided them this information, the charges were dropped on the basis of prosecutorial misconduct.
When a grandfather was charged with the rape of his granddaughter the investigation resulted in proving that the child's mother had put her daughter up to making these accusations against the grandfather. As a result of the investigation, the charges were dropped by the prosecutor prior to trial.
A teenager was accused of raping his girlfriend and the investigation helped establish the victim had a poor reputation for truth and veracity and was known to make up stories. The investigation resulted in the victim dropping the charges against her former boyfriend prior to the start of trial.
A business owner was accused by a female employee of rape. The investigation of this individual established that she was lying which resulted in the case being dismissed prior to trial.
