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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Ben B. Rubinowitz

Ben B. Rubinowitz
Gair Gair Conason
Steigman Mackauf
Bloom & Rubinowitz

The National Institute for Trial Advocacy will hold its Flagship Trial Techniques Program from July 25 to August 2, 2012 at the NITA Educational Center in Boulder Colorado. The National Program has been considered by many to be the best course they have ever taken and an unparalleled learning experience. “There is no better program for lawyers interested in honing and polishing their Trial skills than this one,” said Ben Rubinowitz, the National Program Director. “Our faculty is superb and every participant will learn the most up to date techniques in all trial skills including Jury Selection, Opening Statements, Direct and Cross Examination, Examination of Experts and Summation. Communication Experts will work with each participant individually to sharpen their oral advocacy abilities. What makes this program far better than other Continuing Legal Education Programs throughout the country is that each student will receive detailed instruction, individualized attention and video review on a daily basis. In addition, each student will have the opportunity to put their newly learned skills to work by having the opportunity to try two cases — a bench trial and a jury trial — and even more importantly, have the opportunity to watch their jury deliberate following trial. We are even bringing in Focus Group Experts to help out. If you want to improve your skills, take this course — This program will be the best ever.”

For more information about this program contact NITA

The Method
The NITA Learning-by-Doing method is the most effective way to practice, learn and retain the advocacy skills used throughout one’s legal career.

The Faculty
Comprised of lawyers, judges, professors and consultants from around the nation, the NITA faculty brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to every program and provides participants immediate feedback on their performances.

The Opportunity
In addition to undoubtedly being a better lawyer after completing the program, participants will be learning alongside potential colleagues and referral sources from across the country.

The National Program

Brought to you in an entirely new format, the 2012 National Session is like never before. Though the program will still take place in beautiful Boulder, CO and continues to bring in the very best and brightest NITA faculty members from across the country, the programming within this year’s National Session is groundbreaking.

For the first time the National Session will be led by Program Director Ben Rubinowitz, prominent New York City attorney, NITA Trustee and member of the Inner Circle of Advocates. In addition to the group of highly experienced practitioners, professors and judges being brought in to teach Rubinowitz has also assembled a team of NITA’s communications experts Marsha Hunter and Brian Johnson of Johnson Hunter Inc. and jury selection/focus group experts Mary Ryan and Bryan LeRoy of the Portia Group.

Throughout the program you will use NITA’s learning-by-doing method to practice and perfect your skills in the challenging arts of trial advocacy and persuasion. In a simulated trial setting you will be performing:

• Opening statements and closing arguments
• Direct and cross examinations of fact and expert witnesses
• Impeachment
• Voir Dire
• Oral advocacy skills

To signify the end of the first “half” of the program you will conduct a bench trial. In the days immediately following the bench trial you will go through intensive workshops on jury selection, including the use of focus groups. Before your presentations you will have a chance to see demonstrations of experienced lawyers conducting focus groups and performing open jury selection. These workshops will also be videoed giving you the opportunity for video review with faculty. Other than NITA’s Advanced Trial Program this is the only place these courtroom simulations are offered.

The program finishes with you performing full jury trial, once as counsel and once as a witness. After the trial you’ll get to watch real jurors deliberate via closed circuit TV, and upon hearing their verdict, have a chance to ask them questions and hear their feedback.

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Ben B. Rubinowitz

Ben B. Rubinowitz
Gair Gair Conason
Steigman Mackauf
Bloom & Rubinowitz

In recognition of his success in the Courtroom, our partner, Ben Rubinowitz, has once again been asked to Chair the prestigious Masters Program. This CLE program is designed to highlight cutting edge trial techniques that have resulted in justice for individuals injured through the negligence of others. Those who have been asked to participate in this program as faculty have each obtained exceedingly large verdicts on behalf of their clients.

Mr. Rubinowitz, who specializes in the representation of plaintiffs — those injured through the fault of others in auto accidents, bus, train and plane accidents as well as medical malpractice and products liability claims — has obtained 19 verdicts in excess of one million dollars. When speaking about this program Mr. Rubinowitz stated: This program is designed to allow lawyers of all abilities to see techniques that have worked and techniques that have secured justice for those who have suffered injury through the fault of others. Each speaker will demonstrate openings or summations and show how to meet and deal with recurrent problem areas at trial. The New York State Trial Lawyers will allow law students interested in trial advocacy to attend this seminar free of charge. To learn more about this program visit cle@NYSTLA.org.

Register Now!

May 30 & June 20, 2012
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM 132 Nassau Street New York, NY 10038
GGCSMB&R is a law firm that specializes in the representation of plaintiffs. For more than 90 years our lawyers have fought with relentless vigor and enthusiasm against large Insurance Companies, Multi-billion dollar Corporations and Medical Institutions to secure justice for those who have been severely injured. We take pride in knowing that our law firm has the talent and resources to secure justice regardless of the economic or social status of the person who has been injured.

For more information about our firm visit gairgair.com

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In The Courts

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Ben B. Rubinowitz

Ben B. Rubinowitz
Gair Gair Conason
Steigman Mackauf
Bloom & Rubinowitz

Ben Rubinowitz, a partner at Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf will be speaking at the Dutchess County Bar Association in New York State. Mr. Rubinowitz, who specializes in representing the victims of auto accidents, construction accidents, bus and train accidents, medical malpractice, premises liability cases and products liability claims, will discuss effective Direct and Cross Examination techniques.

To date, Mr. Rubinowitz has 92 settlements and 19 verdicts in excess of $1,000,000.00. GGCSMB&R is widely considered the top personal injury firm in New York. As is true for many of the partners at his firm, lecturing and teaching lawyers is an integral part of the firm’s practice. Throughout its 90 year history the firm has obtained some of the highest awards for its clients. The firm believes strongly in giving back to the legal community and has always volunteered its time to participate in Continuing Legal Education Programs throughout the State and Country.

Thursday, May 10, 2012
Personal Injury Update 2012: Pretrial Motions, PJI Charges, Direct/Cross Examination and Medicare
5:30 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
3 Skills credit The Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel
$70 for members paid in advance, $90 for non members and walk-ins Includes Dinner Panel discussion coordinated by Bryan Schneider, Esq.,
with speakers Hon. Ralph Beisner, Ben Rubinowitz, Esq. and John Cattie, Esq.

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By Rhonda Kay, Partner, Gair Gair Conason Steigman Mackauf Bloom & Rubinowitz
Facebook

In New York personal injury cases it has become routine for defendants to serve a notice for discovery and inspection of a plaintiff’s facebook page.

Who doesn’t have a Facebook page these days? It’s the most popular way to connect and stay connected. Fortunately, there are numerous settings available so you can control the privacy level of your content and therefore, who you share your information with.  So if you wanted to post a comment to your Facebook “friends” informing them that despite that devastating car accident you were recently in, and the pending million dollar lawsuit against the other driver, you feel great, have gone back to work, and participate in all of your daily activities; no problem right? Your secrets are safe?

In the context of personal injury cases, the New York courts seem to agree that legally, to the extent that a plaintiff’s Facebook postings are relevant, in that it contradicts or conflicts with plaintiff’s alleged restrictions, disabilities, and losses, and other claim, it is discoverable (see, Patterson v. Turner Constr. Co. (88 A.D.3d 617, 931 N.Y.S.2d 311 [1st Dept. 2011]; McCann v. Harleysville Ins. Co. of NY (78 A.D.3d 1524, 910 N.Y.S.2d 614 [4th Dept. 2010]).  In fact, disclosure is not necessarily limited to the “publicly available” portions of one’s facebook account but may also include the portions which were deemed by the user to be “private” or even those postings that had been deleted (see, Patterson v. Turner Constr. Co., supra [the postings on plaintiff’s online Facebook account, if relevant, are not shielded from discovery merely because plaintiff used the service’s privacy settings to restrict access]; Loporcaro v. City of New York, 2012 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1726, 2012 NY Slip Op 30977U (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Apr. 9, 2012][allowing access to certain deleted materials]).

After all, “to permit a party claiming very substantial damages for loss of enjoyment of life to hide behind self-set privacy controls on a website, the primary purpose of which is to enable people to share information about how they lead their social lives, risks depriving the opposite party of access to material that may be relevant to ensuring a fair trial” (Romano v. Steelcase Inc., 30 Misc. 3d 426, 907 N.Y.S.2d 650 [Sup. Ct. Suffolk Co. 2010]). What is not clearly defined, nor apparently uniform, is the way the courts treat Facebook disclosure requests.  For instance, in Loporcaro v. City of New York, (supra), the plaintiff alleged in his bill of particulars that he was incapacitated, confined to bed or home during the first two months following the accident, and suffered permanent effects on his daily life.   Granting defendant access to  portions of plaintiff’s Facebook account, including access to certain deleted materials, it was the court’s opinion that since it appeared that plaintiff had voluntarily posted at least some information about himself on Facebook which may contradict the claims made by him in the present action, the moving defendant had sufficiently shown that information contained within plaintiff’s Facebook account may contain information that may well prove relevant and necessary to the defense.

Similarly, in Romano v. Steelcase Inc (supra) defendant filed a CPLR 3101 motion for access to plaintiff’s current and historical social networking pages and accounts claiming that the plaintiff had placed certain information on the sites that it believed were relevant to the extent and nature of her injuries, especially her claims for loss of enjoyment of life.  The court found, inter alia, that in light of the fact that the public portions of the plaintiff’s social networking sites contained material that was contrary to her claims and deposition testimony, there was a reasonable likelihood that the private portions of her sites might contain further evidence such as information with regard to her activities and enjoyment of life, all of which were material and relevant to the defense of her personal injury action. Consequently, pursuant to CPLR 3101, the defendant was entitled to the information.
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In December 2006, Krissy Myatt went to the emergency room at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins with an intense headache and “dangerously” high blood pressure. She had been receiving treatment for multiple sclerosis, including strong doses of steroids, which can cause high blood pressure.

The doctor misdiagnosed her brain bleed as a migraine, gave her pain medicine and sent her home. She woke up the next morning paralyzed. The hemorrhagic stroke she had suffered devastated her family and led to the largest jury-verdict award in Larimer County history: $3.9 million.

In patients with Hemorrhagic stroke (intrcerebral bleed) bleeding within the brain occurs leading to an elevation of intracranial pressure which if not relieved will lead to, as here, severe brain damage. In some cases brain herniation may occur leading to patient death. A sudden severe headache is a classic sign if an intracerabral bleed. The cause of the bleed is not given. The appropriate treatment depends on the specific cause. At the very least a CT Scan should have been taken which would have been diagnostic of the bleed. It is an emergent situation requiring a lowering of intracerebral pressure. Depending on the cause surgery may be required. In other cases an intraventricular peritoneal shunt may be needed to drain fluid from the brain.

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Our Partner Ben Rubinowitz will be a featured speaker at the Suffolk County Bar Association’s Program “THE TRIAL OF A MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CASE.” This 3 part program will be held on May 1, 8 and 16 from 6:00PM to 9:00PM. The program will be both live and by webcast. To view the calendar and to register click here.

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Ben B. Rubinowitz

Ben B. Rubinowitz
Gair Gair Conason
Steigman Mackauf
Bloom & Rubinowitz

Our Partner Ben Rubinowitz will be a featured speaker at the Suffolk County Bar Association‘s Program “THE TRIAL OF A MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CASE.” This is a three part program which will include trial demonstrations from top notch trial attorneys who have tried numerous medical malpractice cases. Mr. Rubinowitz, a member of the Prestigious Inner Circle of Advocates and a lawyer who has obtained multiple million dollar verdicts for his clients, will demonstrate the opening statement for the plaintiff. This part of the program will take place May 1, 2012. Joining Mr. Rubinowitz will be the Hon. Peter Mayer, William Spratt, Michael Colavecchio, and Michael Ronemus. The program will then continue on Tuesday May 8th and Wednesday May 16th 2012 and will feature Direct and cross examination of the Plaintiff’s expert as well as Direct and cross of the defendant doctor. The Hon. Jerry Garguilo, David Golomb, James Duffy, Bruce Brady, Clifford Bartlett, Kevin Fox and Doctor David Mayer will participate in this demonstration. The program will then continue on Wednesday, May 16th. The Jury Charge Conference and Closing Arguments will be conducted by Hon. Peter Mayer, John Bonina, William Spratt, Marvin Salenger, and Fred Johs. “I consider it an honor to be asked to speak at this program” said Mr. Rubinowitz. “It is always a treat to be joined by such eminent members of the Judiciary and such fine trial lawyers. This program is sure to produce some heated exchange and talented advocacy.”

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This medical malpractice trial commenced on April 4, 2012 in Penobscot County Superior Court, Maine. On April 12, 2012, the jury returned a verdict for $1,912,934 in damages against a physcian for overprescribing methadone. According to a story in the Bangor News the initial dose was 40mg. It was alleged that the plaintiff stopped breathing and thereafter experienced 20 to 30 minutes of slow, shallow breathing which caused brain damage that affected her ability to multitask and perform relatively simple jobs and tasks.

It is well known that Methadone may cause slowed breathing and irregular heartbeat, which may be life-threatening. Further, the risk that one will experience serious or life-threatening side effects of methadone is greatest when methadone is first prescribed. When first prescribing Methadone the lowest possible dosage sufficient to alleviate pain should be given. The usual dosage of oral Methadone for pain is 2.5 to 10 mg every 3 to 12 hours.

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Our partner, Jeffrey Bloom, settled the personal injury case of a 16 year old boy, who suffered burns in an explosion. Jeffrey obtained Summary Judgment on liability which was affirmed by The Appellate Division, Second Department. The case settled following opening statements in Nassau County Supreme Court. The explosion occurred at his school when a fellow student was performing a science experiment with ethyl alcohol. It was alleged he was performing his experiment unsupervised and improperly used ethyl alcohol to clean up and then used a flint sparker. His actions caused an explosion as a result of which the plaintiff was burned. The chemistry teacher had left the classroom to get food at a bagel store despite knowing the experiment was on going. The defendants argued that the fellow student’s actions were a superseding intervening cause relieving the school district of liability.

As a result of the explosion it was claimed the plaintiff suffered second and third degree burns and scarring to his face, chest, left ear and right arm as well as his bilateral thighs from a subsequent skin graft. It was claimed that only the scars to his chest were permanent. The defendants claimed he made an excellent recovery and that the majority of the burns healed without complication and did not result in significant disfigurement.

The New York Personal Injury Lawyers at Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf have years of experience representing people who have suffered injury in all types of accidents in New York.

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