This presentation is part of the New York State Bar Association Construction Site Accidents seminar 2009. This years program will be held State Wide in December. See our prior post: Labor Law/Construction Site Accidents in New York for details.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjAY3-450mw
In Salazar v.Novalex Contracting Corp., et al., decided on November 21, 2011, The New York Court of Appeals in a 4-3 decision granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment dismissing a construction worker’s 240(1) claim. The plaintiff suffered injury while working in the basement of a building undergoing renovation. The facts of the accident as set forth by Judge Pigott, writing for the majority were in pertinent part, as follows;
“The accident occurred in the largest room of the basement, which had a trench system,for piping. Salazar and the other workmen were laying a concrete floor. They were directed to pour and spread concrete over the entire basement floor, including the trenches. Before he began work on the day he was injured, Salazar looked for, and visuallylocated, the trenches.
The concrete flowed from a truck into wheelbarrows placed in the basement, via a chute fed through a window. Workmen poured the wet concrete from the wheelbarrows onto the floor of the basement, where Salazar and others “pulled” the concrete with rakes, ensuring that the floor would be level. As Salazar explained the next stage of the process at his deposition, the trench system fills with concrete “by itself because the concrete runs and it fills it out . . . the concrete kind of slides down or runs down” into the trenches. Salazar was injured after he stepped into a trench that was partially filled with concrete. He had been walking backwards across the floor, “pulling” concrete with a rake held in front of him, and looking forward, rather than in his direction of motion. As Salazar recalled the incident, “one of the trenches began to fill out with concrete, and at some point when I was pulling, walking backwards, . . . my foot got inside, into that hole.” After Salazar’s right foot hit the bottom of the trench, his right leg folded beneath him. Before being assisted out of the trench by his coworkers, Salazar tried to pull his leg out “on my own, myself, and that’s how I hurt myself.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHTQ8y3c9AM
One of the best New York personal injury trial lawyers, Ben Rubinowitz, a partner at Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf , demonstrates the importance of a well prepared opening statement. The presentation was given to lawyers at a Trial Law seminar in 2009. The case involved a pedestrian who was struck by a car. The driver of the car claimed, in a misleading and improper manner, that the pedestrian was fully at fault for the happening of the accident. The medical proof told a very different story than the less than truthful statement of the driver.
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Christopher Sallay |
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Howard S. Hershenhorn will serve as Overall Planning Chair and Christopher L. Sallay will serve as Assistant Chair of the New York Bar Association‘s Labor Law/Construction Site Accidents in New York Seminar on Friday, December 9, 2011. Anthony H. Gair and Ben B. Rubinowitz will also be speaking at the event. Ben B. Rubinowitz is also the chair of the Long Island seminar.
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Melville Marriott Long Island |
Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel |
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New York State Nurses Association |
Affinia Manhattan |
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TRIAL PRACTICE |
Ben Rubinowitz, a partner at the New York Law Firm, Gair Gair Conason Steigman Mackauf Bloom & Rubinowitz, will serve as Chair of the New York Bar Association‘s Practical Skills Course, The Basics of Civil Practice — The Trial. The program, which will take place on Tuesday, November 15, 2011, will include all aspects of a trial including: Jury Selection, Opening Statements, Direct and Cross Examination, and Summations. In addition, a portion of this program will be devoted to the use of Expert Witnesses at Trial along with informative suggestions on Motion Practice at Trial, Objections and Jury Instructions.
When asked about this program Mr. Rubinowitz said, “I am delighted to have been asked to Chair this program on Trial Practice. I will be joined with some very talented lawyers including David Dean, Michael Ross, Glenn Dopf, Jeff Korek,Leslie Kelmachter, and Henry Miller. This is sure to be an excellent program.” For more than 25 years Ben Rubinowitz has specialized in representing the seriously injured victims of automobile, train and bus accidents, construction accidents, medical malpractice cases, products liability claims and civil rights violations. Known for his expertise at trial, Ben was recently inducted into the prestigious Inner Circle of Advocates.
In this new program, an outstanding faculty, including partners of many of New York State’s leading plaintiff and defendant personal injury law firms, will focus on specific types of cases frequently encountered in motor vehicle litigation. Open to both new and experienced attorneys, this practice-based program will present the “nuts & bolts” of handling these types of cases from the perspective of both the plaintiff and the defendant.
Topics Include:
Program Co-Chairs:
Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf, a leading New York law firm, announces that it has been listed in six practice areas in the just released ranking of law firms by U.S. News Media Group, the publishers of U.S. News & World Report, and Best Lawyers®. This is the second edition of this highly-anticipated annual analysis.
Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf was nationally ranked in the top tier in Product Liability Litigation. The firm also ranked in the top tier in five legal specialties in the New York City Metropolitan Area in Legal Malpractice, Medical Malpractice, Personal Injury Litigation, Product Liability Litigation and Professional Malpractice Law. Additionally, the firm was ranked in the second tier in Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions in the New York Metropolitan area.
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.
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TRIAL PRACTICE |
Our attorney Richard Steigman will be speaking at the The New York State Trial Lawyers Association Decisions 2011 program on November 2, 2011. The topic he will be speaking on is Trial Practice. This annual event is the most comprehensive and effective way to review last year’s decisions, amendments and other changes in New York tort law.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER OR ORDER DISCS
INFORMATION:
Wednesday, November 2, 2011: 9am to 5pm
Huntington Hilton 598 Broadhollow Road
Melville, NY 11747 Tel: (914) 631-5700
The New York County Lawyers’ Association is presenting a Public Forum on Judicial Independence. Among the issues to be discussed include: The debate over whether Judicial Disciplinary Hearings should be open or closed and what the press’ responsibility should be to ensure balanced reporting of public accusations against a judge. Ben Rubinowitz of GGCSMB&R will be a featured speaker at this conference. Mr. Rubinowitz, known as a “Trial Lawyer’s Trial Lawyer,” who represents severely injured individuals in personal injury and medical malpractice cases, has also represented a number of judges in disciplinary matters before the NYS Judicial Conduct Commission. In a statement Rubinowitz said ” I am honored to participate in this conference with such esteemed members of the Trial Bar and Judiciary.”
The conference will take place on:
Wednesday, November 2, 2011 from 6:00 – 8:00pm
New York Personal Injury Attorneys Blog
