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A Queens man sought $1 million in a 2020 lawsuit claiming he tripped on an uneven metal plate on a Bed-Stuy sidewalk and busted his hand, shoulder and lower lip.
But city attorneys say the real cause of his injuries was a fight on Thanksgiving.
The alleged fraud perpetrated by Dwight Marshall, 57, was one of 15 lawsuits filed over the last decade by the Lower Manhattan personal injury law firm, Asher & Associates. Now, the city’s law department is pushing back. City lawyers filed a landmark federal lawsuit earlier this month claiming Asher routinely files bogus slip-and-fall cases as part of a concerted effort to cheat taxpayers out of millions of dollars.
Each of the 15 allegedly fraudulent suits sought damages for accidents people claimed were caused by cracked sidewalks, potholes and other defects. The city’s lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court, alleges that medical records reveal all the plaintiffs actually suffered their injuries through other incidents that had nothing to do with city property.
Matthew Laroche, a lawyer representing Asher & Associates, called the city’s claims baseless.
“For over 40 years, Asher & Associates, P.C. and its attorneys have been tremendously successful in representing injured New Yorkers and in holding wrongdoing parties accountable to the rule of law,” defense attorney Matthew Laroche said in a statement. “This lawsuit is a clear attempt to chill that work by...
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