Stephen J. Murphy

Stephen J. Murphy’s legal career has spanned nearly three decades and resulted in some of New York’s most significant injury verdicts and settlements. As a dogged trial attorney who started out as a Brooklyn homicide prosecutor, Mr. Murphy has proven himself to be a tireless advocate for victims of construction accidents, motor vehicle accidents, premises liability accidents, and wrongful deaths. Since making the switch to civil practice, Mr. Murphy has obtained more than $500,000,000 in results for his clients, averaging well over $45,000,000 in settlements every year since 2013. He regularly obtains verdicts and settlements that exceed $1,000,000. Mr. Murphy's hard work and skill in the courtroom have earned him many accolades and respect from colleagues, opponents, and judges. In 2022, Mr. Murphy was named “New York City Lawyer of the Year” for the category of Plaintiff Personal Injury Litigation by Best Lawyers® Magazine. One year later, in 2023, Forbes Magazine named him one of New York’s Best Personal Injury Lawyers. Some of Mr. Murphy’s standout and record-breaking results include: A $32,756,156 record-setting jury verdict in a Suffolk County case for a 60-year-old veteran, who suffered severe brain injuries after he was struck by an intoxicated driver while trying to help victims of another, unrelated, car accident. To date, this is the largest negligence verdict issues in Long Island history, and the New York Law Journal recognized the result as one of the top 100 verdicts for the United States in 2007. A $9,950,000 settlement for a social worker in Buffalo who tragically lost her leg after she was struck by a van in a parking lot. A $9,500,000 settlement for a painter who suffered traumatic brain injuries after falling from a poorly secured extension ladder on the job. A $8,800,000 settlement for a pedestrian who sustained neurologic and orthopedic injuries after she was struck by an out-of-control vehicle. The National Law Journal hailed the result as the 10th highest settlement in the U.S. for 2014. Year after year, Mr. Murphy consistently obtains some of the top results in the region: In 2021, he served as lead attorney on the top three construction accident results in the Northeast. In 2020, he and Partner David Scher secured three of Top Verdict’s Top 50 Personal Injury Settlements, which included a $4,500,000, a $4,450,000, and a $3,600,000 result. In 2016, he obtained three of the top five largest settlements in New York State, as reported by the New York Law Journal and the Jury Verdict Reporter. These included a $9,975,000, a $7,400,000, and a $5,500,000 result. That same year, he had more million-dollar results than any other attorney in New York. Mr. Murphy has also long been a fierce advocate on behalf of construction workers and their families. Some of the below results illustrate his commitment to obtaining well-deserved compensation for hard-working folks who have been hurt while trying to do their jobs. $7,400,000 for a union sheet metal worker who sustained back injuries in a construction site fall $7,200,000 for the family of a man who died in an elevator fall while he was working $6,000,000 for a crane operator who fell on the job and sustained spine injuries $5,500,000 for an injured electrician who sustained a brain injury after falling from an extension ladder Outside the office, Mr. Murphy is proud of the work he has done as an educator, legal commentator, and supporter of various charities. For nine years, he served as an adjunct professor of law at St. John's University School of Law. There, he taught students about trial advocacy and lectured on criminal and civil trial practice and evidence. He also served as an instructor for the school’s nationally regarded trial advocacy program. Mr. Murphy has shared his legal expertise in various media and publications. He has offered his expert legal commentary to the New York Times, New York Post, CNN, Fox Radio, New York Daily News, and many more. Mr. Murphy has also been published in The New York Law Journal for a series of columns that he co-authored with colleague David L. Scher concerning the laws that apply to construction accidents. Mr. Murphy is a longtime member of the St. Jude Children's Hospital fundraising team, helping raise well over $10,000,000 to further St. Jude’s goal of ending pediatric cancer. In 2019, he received the “Chairperson of the Year'' award from the hospital for his work, particularly in organizing the firm’s annual New York City Wine Tasting fundraiser. He is also a dedicated supporter of the Frances Pope Memorial Foundation, a charity that assists families with a child that has been diagnosed with a pediatric disease such as leukemia or cancer. Prior to joining Block O’Toole & Murphy, Mr. Murphy joined the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office as a prosecutor shortly after graduating law school. As the youngest attorney on the district’s Homicide Bureau at the time, Mr. Murphy handled some of the most high-profile cases, including double and triple murders, gang homicides, and arson homicides.