A Portland attorney has recently been ordered by a Maine Superior Court justice to pay over $1.3 million in damages to one of his former clients, a whopping judgement in a rarely-awarded case of legal malpractice.
Stemming from conduct associated with a 2016 personal injury case, Anthony Sineni and The Law Offices of Anthony J. Sineni III, LLC were found to have engaged in “professional negligence” with respect to the responsibilities owed to their client, Douglas Bean.
Court documents obtained by the Maine Wire reveal that Maine Superior Court Justice Darcie McElwee determined that Sineni’s “negligent conduct” was “egregious,” resulting in thousands of dollars worth of lost income for his client in the form of damages and Social Security payments.
Because Sineni failed to file the appropriate paperwork on time in his original personal injury suit, Bean’s case was dismissed. Defendants in this case also did not make Bean aware that his Social Security claim had been denied, instead giving him the impression that has claim was still pending.
Consequently, the defendants have been ordered to pay Bean a sum of money that is estimated to be roughly equal to that which he missed out on as a result of their conduct.
Justice McElwee also found that Bean was entitled to $500,000 in additional compensation for “emotional damages” suffered as a consequence of Sineni’s behavior.
In October of 2010, Bean was seriously injured when a dump truck rear-ended his vehicle while he was stopped at a red light. The driver never stopped or got out his truck following the collision.
38 years old at the time with a daughter, who was only three years of age, court documents indicate that Bean lived an active life and earned a substantial monthly income through multiple ventures prior to the incident.
As a result of the accident, however, Bean was rendered “completely unable to work.”
Bean sustained multiple injuries, including to his neck, spine, shoulder, hip, and left leg, as well as a concussion and traumatic brain injury.
The concussion was said to have led to “continuing problems with cognitive recall, speech, vision, headaches, light sensitivity, memory loss, and concentration.”
“Emotionally, the accident causes panic attacks, anxiety, and severe depression,” McElwee’s order explained. “His physical injuries and resulting inability to drive significantly limited his parenting of his daughter.”
“In addition to being unable to work, [Bean] has been unable to engage in numerous hobbies and sports he once lived,” the judgement continued. “The accident completely altered [Bean]’s life.”
It was estimated at the time that Bean was extremely likely to win his case at the time and be awarded between $500,000 and $750,000 in damages, assuming that the case had been tried between 2018 and 2020.
The defendants in this case, however, failed to “timely file a brief on appeal,” resulting in Bean’s complaint being dismissed.
Furthermore, Bean learned in 2019 that his three-year-old Social Security claim had been denied, despite indications from his attorney as late as December of 2018 that the claim was still pending.
Because the defendants defaulted in this case — which typically means that they did not appear in court or otherwise failed to present a defense — McElwee ruled that “all that remains to be determined is the amount of [Bean]’s damages.
When this occurs, all the allegations made by a plaintiff are deemed to be true, as was done by McElwee in this case.
Accordingly, McElwee found that the Bean was entitled to receive $750,000 to make up for the damages he was unable to claim in his original case as a result of the defendants’ failure to file, as well as $73,500 for the Social Security benefits he did not receive over the course of seven years due to the defendants’ “professional negligence.”
With respect to the $500,000 in emotional damages to which McElwee determined Bean was entitled, it was argued the October judgement that the defendants’ conduct was “egregious”, having “destroyed [Bean]’s chances of receiving compensation for his injuries” and “stymied his claim for Social Security benefits.”
As a result of this, McElwee notes that Bean lost his home, and the “mental suffering caused by the realization of those lost opportunities [for him] to be made whole has resulted in significant emotional distress.”
“Additionally,” McElwee wrote, “the court finds that Defendants’ dishonesty and cowardice devastated the Plaintiff causing substantial emotional distress, including shock at the initial discovery that his claims had been dismissed without notice from counsel, as well as lingering anxiety and feelings of distrust and hopelessness.”
In this trial, Bean was represented by the Law Offices of Bruce W. Hepler, LLC.
“Doug has been through a lot with this case. We are happy with result and that justice will be served,” Hepler told The Maine Wire.
All told, the defendants in this case will be responsible for giving Bean a total of $1,323,500 as a result of their conduct and its impact on his life.
