Charles Blume 1904-1963: A LEGACY

At the beginning of the Great Depression, John Blume’s father began his practice of law by opening his office at 11 Commerce Street in Newark, NJ.

Charles Blume attended the University of Newark Law School at night, graduating in 1929 at the age of 25. He developed a small, successful law practice representing commercial clients. After John Blume joined Charles, the Father and Son Partnership thrived for nearly four years. During this time, the firm handled commercial matters and minor criminal defense cases, as well as occasional personal injury cases.

John Blume remembers well the largest fee his father ever earned – $15,000 – which paid for the home where John and his sister grew up. If Charles Blume had lived to 1997, he would have seen his son earn a jury award of over $8 Million in a medical malpractice case and $10.5 Million settlement in a wrongful death auto case. A successful legacy indeed.

$46.7M
Toxic Exposure
The plaintiff, a 48 year-old mechanic, was exposed to chemicals on a forklift while working at the premises of the defendant Troy Chemical Corporation. The defendant did not warn of the dangers of exposure to such chemicals, and did not have a policy at the time of cleaning all forklifts before they left the plant. Within a short time of the exposure, the plaintiff developed gastrointestinal and heart problems, peripheral neuropathy into the hands and feet, serious rashes, concentration and memory deficits, and weakness and fatigue.
$25M
Premises Liability
The firm represented Daniel Schleifman, 42, and his wife, Maria Gonzalez, in their lawsuit against the Parrot Cay hotel at which they were planning to stay during their Caribbean vacation in the Turks & Caicos islands. But in calm waters on a clear night in March 2000, the resort's boat taxi crashed into a rocky outcropping, throwing Schleifman into a metal ladder and breaking his back, permanently paralyzing him from the waist down. No one else was injured.
$14.5M
Chiropractic Malpractice
A patient had complained of neck pain and without ordering any tests or imaging studies, the physician concluded that there was a neck sprain and told him to see the group's chiropractor for treatment. The patient was injured during neck manipulation and became a quadriplegic. It turned out that the patient actually had a bulging cervical disc, that was caused to herniate and compress the spinal cord during the manipulation.
$10.5M
Motor Vehicle Accident
In 1992, the victims, a dentist and his wife, were driving through a small town on the New Jersey Shore on their way to dinner at a local restaurant. The streets were poorly marked and the couple inadvertently drove off an unmarked and unguarded boat launching ramp at the end of a street. Witnesses on the shore could hear the couple trying to escape from their sinking car, but the doors and windows could not be opened.

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