Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf is a New York Plaintiff's personal injury law firm specializing in automobile accidents, construction accidents, medical malpractice, products liability, police misconduct and all types of New York personal injury litigation.

Articles Posted in Firm News

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rubinowitz_torganIn their Trial Advocacy column in the New York Law Journal, New York Personal Injury Attorneys Ben Rubinowitz and Evan Torgan write: “In crafting the cross of a witness, the trial lawyer must look beyond the obvious. Instead of just focusing on what was said, the trial lawyer should explore that which was not said, but should have been said. These omissions and failures often lead to the most compelling arguments on summation. The problem is that most lawyers are fearful of the unknown.”

Download a pdf of the article

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train accident fireAlmost a year ago 6 people died and 15 others were injured (including seven severely)  in a Metro-North train accident  between the Valhalla and Mount Pleasant stations in New York.  The Valhalla railroad accident that happened on the evening of February 3rd 2015 was the deadliest in Metro-North history.

Ellen Brody, a mother of three was driving her SUV through the Commerce Street rail crossing in Valhalla. The vehicle got stuck inside the crossing gate when it descended. The approaching Metro-North train engineer spotted her too late and crashed into her vehicle. She was killed in the accident along with 5 other train passengers who were sitting in the lead car of the train. An alleged defective third rail became dislodged and entered the first car of the train. Investigators believe the fuel from the car combined with the sparks of the dislodged third rail ignited the fire that ravaged car 4333 (see picture from the National Transportation Safety Board Investigation on the left).

Our partner, NY train accident attorney Howard Hershenhorn is representing the wife of one of the victims. Last week he filed a negligence lawsuit against Metro-North and its engineer Steven Smalls Jr. as well as the town of Mount Pleasant. The lawsuit lists multiple reasons for the defendants alleged negligence. Among them:

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brSeven of the best New York personal injury attorneys as well as an ethics attorney and the Honorable Douglas E. McKeon will be discussing some of the most challenging issues that trial attorneys face during trial in a seminar organized by NYSTLA. This seminar will be co-chaired by our managing partner Ben Rubinowitz and by Jeff S. Korek from Gersowitz, Libo & Korek P.C.  It will take place on January 26th and February 9th 2015 from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, 132 Nassau Street in Manhattan.  The seminar will also be broadcasted  live. An audio CD and a video DVD will also be available as well as printed materials. They can all be ordered here.

During this seminar  the following subjects will be covered:

  • collateral attacks on expert witnesses
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brOur managing partner NYC truck accident attorney Ben Rubinowitz obtained a $4.8 million settlement for the family of a victim of a NYC truck accident.

On March 9 2011, around noon, Albert DeFilippo was riding in a “Lifestyle for the Disabled” van in Staten Island when the vehicle was struck by a FDNY truck.  DePhilippo and the other passengers of the van had attended a workshop and eaten lunch and were being driven back to Pleasant Plain when the accident happened.

The FDNY truck was rushing on Richmond Road toward the Staten Island Expressway. Its lights were flashing and its siren was wailing. When the truck reached the intersection of Burgher Avenue it collided with the Lyfestyle van. The van was making a left turn from Burgher. The impact was so strong than one of the riders died, two others were critically injured and 6 others suffered minor injuries.

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brGair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf is proud to announce that their managing partner New York Product Liability Lawyer Ben Rubinowitz was recently named New York City “Lawyer of the Year” for product liability litigation – plaintiffs 2016. “There is no substitute for hard work,” says Rubinowitz who explained that he “feels fortunate to work with such an outstanding group of lawyers.” When asked about his success, Rubinowitz shared credit for the results with the attorneys in his firm. “Every one of our lawyers knows that hard work and preparation are the keys to success. There are no shortcuts in this business. Our clients come to us in a time of great need. Many have suffered through life changing events, many have lost family members and many feel that their life has been ruined.” It is against this backdrop that Rubinowitz and the lawyers at his firm go to work. “We approach every case with the same level of scrutiny. Our goal is to obtain justice for our clients. I know of no other firm that puts in the effort that we do.”

Read the complete article in Best Lawyers

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howard Hersenhorn smallNew York Train Accident Lawyer Howard Hershenhorn  is representing one of the four victims who were killed when a sleeping engineer derailed a speeding train in the Bronx in 2013. He was recently quoted in a Lohud article related to this accident. Here is what he told the newspaper about the NTSB leniency toward William Rockefeller, the train operator:   “I think it’s an outrage that the NTSB gave him a pass because of the alleged undiagnosed sleep apnea, and his shift being changed. For God’s sakes, he’s a train operator.”

The article indicates that in the years before the fatal train accident, union members questioned the safety of  the Spuyten Duyvil curve and recommended installing a a system that automatically activates the brakes on a speeding train when an engineer is unresponsive but Metro-North never addressed their concern.

Read the complete article 

 

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rubinowitz_torganIn their Trial Advocacy column in the New York Law Journal, Personal Injury Attorneys Ben Rubinowitz and Evan Torgan write: Damages in a case involving the death of a working spouse and parent can readily be communicated to a jury. The more difficult case is when the decedent is a young adult just starting out in life, unmarried with no children, little to no earnings history, and survived only by his parents, all of which raises issues that should be confronted head on in jury selection and opening statements.

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BLF 2014_Silver_GeneralGair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf, a leading New York Personal Injury Law Firm, announces that it has been listed in six practice areas in the just released 2016 rankings of law firms by U.S. News Media Group, the publishers of U.S. News & World Report, and Best Lawyers®. This is the sixth edition of this highly-anticipated annual analysis. Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf was ranked in the top tier in five legal specialties in the New York City Metropolitan Area: Legal Malpractice-Plaintiffs, Medical Malpractice-Plaintiffs, Personal Injury Litigation-Plaintiffs, Product Liability Litigation-Plaintiffs and Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions-Plaintiffs. The firm also ranked nationally in the top tier in Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs.

Inclusion in the “Best Law Firms” listing is based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes data collection, evaluation and feedback from thousands of clients, lawyers and law firm representatives spanning a wide range of practice areas nationwide.

“We are delighted that our firm has once again received this honor,” says Ben Rubinowitz, Managing Partner at the firm. “To be included in six practice areas is a testament to the hard work and endless dedication we give to our clients. At our firm there is nothing more important than the plight of our clients. We have always worked tirelessly to secure the very best results for those who have been seriously injured through the fault of others. We are honored to be recognized for our dedication and the superb results that we have achieved.”

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Rubinowitz Carnemolla SaghirWe are proud to announce that a bicycle accident verdict and an auto accident settlement obtained by our New York personal injury attorneys have been listed in the 2015 New York Law Journal’s New York’s Verdict & Settlement Hall of Fame. Induction into the New York’s Verdicts and Settlements Hall of Fame is based on five years of verdicts and settlements submitted to the Verdict Search database. Those cases that could not be submitted due to confidentiality restraints were not considered. The practice area focus for this year’s Hall of Fame honors is Motor Vehicle.

The two cases handled by our firm that made it to the Hall of Fame are “Ortiz v. New York Transit Authority” and “Estate of Farinacci v. Powell”. In the first case, our personal injury attorneys Ben Rubinowitz and Peter Saghir obtained a $8.57 million verdict for a bicyclist who suffered degloving injuries to her leg after being struck by a MTA bus in Manhattan. In the second case, attorneys Ben Rubinowitz and Diana Carnemolla obtained a $8 million settlement for the husband and the 4 year old child of a 22 year old mother who was killed by a drunk driver. This settlement was the largest award in the State of New York for the wrongful death of a mother leaving one child surviving her.