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.

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PrintGair Gair Conason Steigman Mackauf Bloom & Rubinowitz was featured in the New York Law Journal’s Top New York Verdicts of 2014 for obtaining the highest award for a verdict in a motor vehicle accident involving a bicycle.  The case was tried by our Managing Partner Ben B. Rubinowitz, along with our Partner, Peter J. Saghir.  The accident involved a 36-year-old woman who was riding her bicycle south on Broadway across East 14th Street when she was struck from behind by a New York City Transit Authority bus which was traveling southbound in the same direction as the plaintiff.  After she was struck by the bus she was dragged into the intersection where the right rear wheels of the bus rolled over her legs.  The bus driver claimed that he was in the center or left lane at the time of the accident and that the plaintiff suddenly and unexpeNY Personal Injury Lawyers Rubinowitz and Saghirctedly rode her bicycle across two lanes of traffic from the right lane to the left lane and struck the right side of the bus.  The plaintiff contended she was in the right lane as she approached the intersection.  It was undisputed that the plaintiff ended up in the left-hand lane of this three lane roadway.  The plaintiff suffered a degloving injury to her right leg as well as fractures to the distal tibia and fibula of her left leg.  The plaintiff’s entire claim was based on pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life.  No claims were made for past or future medical expenses or past or future lost earnings.  After two days of deliberation, the jury found the New York City Transit Authority at fault and awarded the plaintiff $8,570,000 ($3,250,000 past pain and suffering and $5,320,000 future pain and suffering  over 40.9 years).

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brOur managing partner Ben Rubinowitz will be a speaker at the 360 Advocacy “Damages, Go Big or Go Home” Conference that will take place in Las Vegas from June 14 to June 16, 2015.

All cases come down to one issue – DAMAGES. Even when you win liability, without a great damage settlement or award, the case is not really “won” in your eyes and the eyes of your client. Winning big is not only about the case, but also about the skill and talent of the trial lawyer handling the case.  The faculty put together for this conference will teach participants both what they know and how to apply the knowledge, techniques and skills to bump up your success rate.

Ben will be speaking Monday June 15th on” Using Cross Examination at Trial to Enhance Damages”. Ben has  written extensively on the Art of Cross Examination and spoken at Seminars across the country. Ben was the 2013 recipient of the Robert Keeton Award for Outstanding Service as a National Institute for Trial Advocay (NITA) Faculty Member. This award recognizes Ben’s exceptional work as a NITA faculty member. Here is what NITA had to say about Ben: “In considering his nomination, it was recognized that “Ben is a ‘best’ teacher and deserves the best teacher award.” He began teaching early in his career, and has contributed to new and evolving methods, such as “drills” and the drill room. He lectures in the same persona that he presents to a jury-a consummate role model.” See our prior post here.

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Our partners, New York personal injury lawyers Ben Rubinowitz and Peter Sagir represented the family of Marilyn Dershowitz, a retired Manhattan Supreme Court special referee who died in a bicycle accident during which she was hit by a postal tractor trailer truck.  Following a two-week bench trial in February U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn found the federal government 100% liable for the fatal accident in a 72 page Opinion.

The accident happened on Saturday July 2, 2011. Marylin and her husband Nathan Dershowitz of Dershowitz, Eiger & Adelson, and the brother of Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz,  were riding their bikes on West 29th street between Ninth and Tenth Ave in Manhattan, New York. Both were wearing a helmet. As they rode under an overpass connecting two US postal mail facilities, the road was narrowed by a protruding Postal Trailer that was perpendicularly parked at a dock. As Mrs Dershowitz was about to ride her bike in the narrower side way, just behind her another postal trailer, driven by Ian Clement, was competing with a silver minivan to get in first in the narrower roadway as  due to the parallel parked trailers to the south and the protruding perpendicular Postal Trailer to the north, cars were not able to travel side-by-side. The postal trailer got in before the minivan but he didn’t see the cyclist and hit her as he was veering to the right to be able to fit into the roadway.

Southern District Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn ruled Wednesday that the federal government was 100 percent liable for the accident. Netburn said “a preponderance of the credible evidence” showed that Clement’s driving and the placement of a postal trailer protruding into the street were the “sole, proximate cause of the decedent’s injuries. Mrs. Dershowitz was not contributorily negligent.”

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rubinowitz_torganIn their Trial Advocacy column in the New York Law Journal, Ben Rubinowitz and Evan Torgan write that one effective way of examining a potential juror is by calling for an answer on a spectrum. This technique helps to gain insight not only into reticent jurors, but also into those jurors who are willing to share their beliefs, concerns, and thoughts with the attorneys without hesitation. Read the complete column here

For more than 15 years Ben Rubinowitz and Evan Torgan have been featured in the New York Law Journal as Experts in their field which include Catastrophic Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice Cases.

New York personal injury attorney Ben Rubinowitz is the managing partner at Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf. He also is an Adjunct Professor of Law teaching trial practice at Hofstra University School of Law and Cardozo Law School.

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brNew York Personal Injury Lawyer Ben Rubinowitz will be a speaking on “Openings and Closings: Advocacy and Argument” at the New York City Bar program “Anatomy of a Trial: Tips & Strategies to Win Your Case”. This seminar will take place Monday, April 27th 2015 from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the New York City Bar, 42 West 44th Street, New York, NY.

Hon. Sarah Netburn , United States Magistrate Judge United States District Court, SDNY and Philip R. Schatz from Wrobel Schatz & Fox LLP will co chair the seminar. The other faculty members are  Sheila S. Boston, Kaye Scholer LLP, Rosemary M. Nidiry, Assistant United States Attorney, Complex Frauds Unit, SDNY, David E. Patton, Executive Director, Federal Defenders of New York, Southern & Eastern Districts Hon. Herbert J. Stern, Stern & Kilcullen LLC, Former Assistant District Attorney, New York County and Richard A. Williamson, Flemming Zulack Williamson Zauderer LLP.

As Judge Herbert Stern notes in his classic Trying Cases to Win, most of us stumble out of schools of law and into courts of law, with little knowledge of how actually to try a case. And few tasks are as intimidating as presenting a case to a jury. But trial practice can be learned and mastered. In this program, leading trial advocates and experienced judges will teach the basics of a federal trial, from voir dire to verdict, and share their “how-to” tips and tricks for victory in the courtroom.

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Personal%20Injury%20Attorney%20Ben%20Rubinowitz.jpgOur Managing partner, Ben Rubinowitz will be speaking about “Using the Rules of Evidence in Trial Practice” at the Torts, Insurance and Compensation Law Section and Trial Lawyers Section Annual Meeting of the New York State Bar Association. A reception and dinner will be held Wednesday January 28th at Cipriani Wall Street and the CLE program will be held the following day, Thursday January 29th at the New York Hilton Midtown. Ben will speak during the afternoon program at 3:30. Under New York’s MCLE rule, this program has been approved for 7 MCLE credits consisting of 5 credit hours in Professional Practice and 2 credit hours in Ethic.

Download the complete program

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Ben%20Rubinowitz.jpgIn their most recent column on Trial Advocacy, New York Personal Injury Attorneys Ben Rubinowitz, and Evan Torgan write about the appropriate technique for cross-examining the mistaken witness. While many lawyers attack the mistaken witness and the lying witness with a “one-size-fits-all” approach, this ineffective approach could well lead to an adverse verdict. In the article, Rubinowitz and Torgan suggest effective approaches to attack such a witness and to create winning arguments for summation.
For more than 14 years Ben Rubinowitz and Evan Torgan have been featured in the New York Law Journal as Experts in their field which include Catastrophic Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice Cases.
Read the complete article in the New York Law Journal

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peter_saghir.gifThe Partners of Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf are pleased to announce that Peter J. Saghir has been named a Partner of the firm.

Over the past 10 years, Peter has vigorously prosecuted all types of personal injury cases, in particular medical malpractice and motor vehicle cases. His skill and efforts have led to numerous multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements. This year, Peter was instrumental in obtaining two settlements over six million dollars. In April, he also served as co-counsel to lead trial attorney Ben B. Rubinowitz in obtaining a multi-million dollar verdict for a bicyclist who suffered degloving injuries to her leg after she was struck and dragged by a bus.

Peter joined the firm upon graduating cum laude from Brooklyn Law School in 2004. He has been selected to New York Super Lawyers Rising Stars list for 2013 and 2014.

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Jeff%20Bloom.jpgJeff Bloom, a partner at New York personal injury law firm Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf, will be speaking at “Bridging the Gap”, a special CLE program for recent graduates and newly admitted attorneys put on by the New York State Bar Association.

This two-day program will be presented in New York City on December 10th and 11th and broadcast live to other locations, in Albany and Buffalo, in an interactive video conference format, allowing “real time” interaction between all locations. This program is approved for MCLE credit for newly admitted attorneys in all locations, regardless of format.

Jeff will speak on Wednesday December 11th at 2:55 pm and will provide an overview on how to handle a medical malpractice case. Since joining the firm in 1979, Jeff has carved out a reputation as one of the top medical malpractice and personal injury attorneys in New York. Known and respected by both the bench and bar as a fierce advocate on behalf of his clients, he has helped them successfully achieve numerous multi-million dollar recoveries.