Ben Rubinowitz

Published on: May 26, 2015

As the cab driver who fatally struck 9 year old Cooper Stock tries to dodge the lawsuit with technicalities, Ben Rubinowitz who represents Cooper’s family tells the New York Post that the wrongful-death case will include an “absolutely heart-wrenching video” of Richard Stock trying to pick up his son’s body immediately after the boy was run over by the cab

New York Personal Injury Lawyer Ben Rubinowitz who is representing Dana Lerner and Richard Stock in a wrongful death lawsuit against Koffi Komlani, the taxi driver who killed their son Cooper in a traffic accident, said to the New York Post that both parties were proprely served after the lawyers representing the cabbie tried to use a technicality to dodge the lawsuit.

Copper was crossing the road with his dad at 97th Street and West End Avenue in the Upper West Side in January 2014 when he was fatally struck by the taxi driver who was making a left-hand turn. A witness took a video of Richard Stock trying to pick up his son just after he was run over by the taxi. This video will be included in the lawsuit. “[Richard Stock] is screaming at the top of his lungs. There could never be anything worse for a father,” said Ben Rubinowitz.

Because of insurance caps, Cooper parents do no expect to receive more than $50,000 but they want to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit to hold the cab driver accountable for his recklessness.

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Published on: May 5, 2015

New York Personal Injury Lawyer Ben Rubinowitz to lead the National Institute for Trial Advocacy’s National Session this summer

By GGCRBHS&M

Our managing partner Ben Rubinowitz and the Honorable Nancy Vaidik, Chief Judge of the Indiana Court of Appeals will direct the National Session of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) in Boulder Colorado from July 22nd to July 30 2015. ” Together Rubinowitz and Vaidik have invited some of the best trial lawyers, judges, and professors in the country, all of whom are also some of the best teachers of trial advocacy in the country.” Participants will have the opportunity to use NITA’s learning-by-doing method to practice and perfect their skills in the art of persuasion and trial advocacy with an outstanding faculty. Participants will be personally coached on speaking well by Brian Johnson and Marsha Hunter, authors of “The Articulate Advocate” and communication experts extraordinaire. Students will also have the opportunity to practice and master isolated trial skills in a dedicated drill room.

To read more about this program and to register click here

Published on: April 29, 2015

Our Personal Injury Law Firm obtained the highest verdict for a motor vehicle accident involving a bicycle which is also one of the New York Law Journal’s Top 25 New York Verdicts of 2014

By GGCRBHS&M

Gair 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 unexpe NY Personal Injury Lawyers Rubinowitz and Saghir ctedly 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).

Published on: April 20, 2015

New York Personal Injury Lawyer Ben Rubinowitz to speak at the 360 Advocacy “Damages, Go Big or Go Home” Conference

By GGCRBHS&M

Our 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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Published on: December 17, 2014

Cross-Examining the Mistaken Witness

By GGCRBHS&M

Ben%20Rubinowitz.jpg In 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

Published on: October 9, 2012

Bronx Medical Medical Malpractice Case Study

By GGCRBHS&M

Rubinowitz-Ben-B_12d7428b-27a7-4195-bebc-7788dce43088.jpg
On May 23, 2012, a healthy 41 year old mother of three, Yolanda Medina, was admitted to Montefiore Medical Center for the sole purpose of donating a healthy kidney to her brother, Roberto Medina, who suffers from end-stage renal disease. The surgery went horribly wrong – – Yolanda Medina died during the surgery and her brother never received the kidney. To this day, he remains on dialysis.

The events surrounding the death of Yolanda Medina made national news. The case was one that cried out for resolution. Clearly, the hospital was at fault. And just as clearly, the lives of Yolanda Medina’s three young daughters were turned upside down.

While the tragic events surrounding the death of Yolanda Medina would result in a protracted and lengthy medical malpractice claim, such was not to be the case. Judge Douglas McKeon, the Administrative Judge of Bronx County and a jurist who has presided over thousands of civil claims in one of the busiest courts in the country, had other ideas. It seems that the United States Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) had funded a program whose main goals, among others, were to improve the quality of care and patient safety and at the same time compensate patients fairly and expeditiously when they are harmed. To make the program work, however, those involved would have to be educated. This doesn’t just mean educating the lawyers representing the doctors and hospitals but more specifically, the Judges who would be involved in administering the AHRQ program. Obviously, without medically informed, judge-directed negotiations, the program would be doomed from the start.

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