Anthony H. Gair is a partner at Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf, which was founded by his father, Harry A. Gair in 1919. Mr. Gair joined the firm in 1980, and specializes in preparing and trying New York personal injury cases including construction accidents, defective products, medical malpractice and automobile accidents. He has also tried numerous cases against the City of New York, one of which involved the City's failure to erect and place proper barriers on Rockaway Turnpike, a case which resulted in a multi-million dollar jury verdict.
Mr. Gair’s goal is to help people injured by the negligence and carelessness of others-- especially people whose lives are destroyed by corporations who place more emphasis on corporate profits than responsibility and safety. He has also expended countless hours in advising younger attorneys on how to effectively represent people who have suffered catastrophic injuries and taught at Fordham University School of Law in the Continuing Legal Education program. Mr. Gair is a life-time member of Scribes-American Society of Writers on Legal Subjects as well as a member of the Roscoe Pound Foundation. He was a recipient of The New York State Trial Lawyers’ Civil Justice Honor Award in 2006. In 2011 and 2018 he was named Best Lawyer of the Year in Product Liability Litigation, New York City Area by Best Lawyers in America
While he is well regarded as one of New York City’s most respected personal injury attorneys, Mr. Gair also enjoys a national reputation in the area of civil rights litigation in connection with police misconduct. One of his most notable cases in this area of law is his heading up the team that represented the Diallo family for the wrongful death of their son Amadou, who was shot 19 times by members of the New York City Police Department's Street Crimes Unit—a case that was extensively covered by the national media. He is also nationally recognized in the field of products liability litigation and in the representation of individuals severely injured in construction accidents and has lectured extensively on this area.
Mr. Gair has lectured everywhere from his law school commencement to the New York State Bar Association. He has appeared as an expert legal commentator on every major television network and on many radio shows. His legal opinions have also been featured in various newspapers including the New York Times, the Daily News and the New York Post. His noteworthy literary contributions include his roles as a consulting editor of the Medical Malpractice Law and Strategy journal. He is listed in "Best Lawyers" in New York and also listed in “Super Lawyers.”. He has also been selected as a member of The Law Dragon Top 500 Attorneys in The United States.
Education
J.D., Thomas M. Cooley Law School, 1980
cum laude
LLM, New York University, 1985
B.A., Long Island University, 1971
PUBLICATIONS AND LECTURES
New York Lawyer Anthony Gair has written numerous articles and lectured in the areas of medical malpractice, Products Liability, Personal Injury and New York Construction Accident Law including:
Contributing Author and Lecturer: "Litigating New York Construction Site Accidents, New York State Bar Association, 2014"
Speaker: Litigating The Products Liability Case:Law And Practice, New York State Bar Association, 2013
Contributing Author and Lecturer: "Construction Site Accidents: The Law and the Trial," New York State Bar Association, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012
Culpable Conduct/Comparative Fault Issues as Applicable to a Products Liability Case, Products Liability in New York, Strategy and Practice, 2 nd Edition, New York State Bar Association , 2012.
Author, New York Personal Injury Litigation-Preparing The Plaintiff For Deposition In A Car Accident Case, New York Personal Injury Attorneys Blog, 2012.
Contributing author with Howard S. Hershenhorn: “The Law of Construction Site Accidents- Labor Law Section 240,"New York State Bar Association, 2012
Author, "Taking a Meaningful Deposition," Basics of Handling an Auto Accident Case, New York State Bar Association, Torts, Insurance and Compensation Law Section, Spring 2012
Author, "DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF LIFE IN A NEW YORK WRONGFUL DEATH ACTION FOR VIOLATION OF CIVIL RIGHTS BROUGHT PURSUANT TO 42 U.S.C. §1983, New York Personal Injury Attorneys Blog, 2012
Speaker: Taking a Meaningful Deposition-Basics of Handling an Auto Accident Case, New York State Bar Association, Torts, Insurance and Compensation Law Section, Spring 2012
Contributing author with Howard S. Hershenhorn: “The Law of Construction Site Accidents-Do You Have a Case?,” New York State Bar Association, 2011
Author, "Use Of The Principles Of Safety Design Engineering In a New York Personal Injury Case Based On Negligent Product Design, New York Personal Injury Attorneys Blog, 2011
Contributing Author and Lecturer: "Construction Site Accidents, New York State Bar Association, 2009, 2010.
Contributing author with Howard S. Hershenhorn: "Recalcitrant Worker and Sole Proximate Cause-The Current State of Labor
Law Section 240", New York State Bar Association, Trial Lawyers Section Digest, Fall 2008/NO.57
Proving Medical Malpractice by a Physician Who Performs Elective Plastic Surgery, Medical Malpractice Law and Strategy, Vol. XX, No. 2, December 2002
Presentation of Damages in a Personal Injury Case - The Plaintiff's Perspective, New York State Bar Association , Trial Lawyers Section Digest, 2002
Proving Dental Malpractice in a Case of Osteoradionecrosis Following Tooth Extraction, Medical Malpractice Law & Strategy Vol. XIX, No.8, June 2002
Orthopedic Malpractice: Failure to Diagnose Injury to Popliteal Artery, Medical Malpractice Law & Strategy, Vol. XVIII, No. 9, 2001
Is It Necessarily Malpractice: Failure to Revise Shunt in Hydrocephalus Patient, Medical Malpractice Law and Strategy, Vol. XVI, No. 5, March 1999
New Frontier in Products Liability, New York Law Journal , September 16, 1996
Personal Injury Litigation-Workplace Related Injuries, New York State Bar Association
Culpable Conduct/Comparative Fault Issues as Applicable to a Products Liability Case, Products Liability in New York, Strategy and Practice, New York State Bar Association , 1997
Prosecuting a Case of Failure to Diagnose Compartment Syndrome, Medical Malpractice Law and Strategy, Vol. XV, No. 12, October 1998
Cosmetic Surgical Malpractice: Loss of Vision following Blepharoplasty, Medical Malpractice Law and Strategy, 2000
Chemotherapy: Failure to Properly Treat Extravasation of Doxorubicin, Medical Malpractice Law and Strategy, Vol. XVIII, No.10, August 2000
Contributing Author: "Controversies in Surgery," Vol. 4, Springer-Verlag, 2001
Overall Planning Co-Chair, "Do or Die: The Vital Aspects of Your Case," New York State Bar Association, 2001
Co-Chair, New York, "Sweating the Small Stuff - The Basics of Motions, Objections and Discovery," New York State Bar Association, 2000
"Is It Necessarily Malpractice: Failure to Revise Shunt in Hydrocephalus Patient," Medical Malpractice Law and Strategy, Vol. XVI, No. 5, March, 1999
Co-Author with Howard S. Hershenhorn , "Combat Culpable Conduct Defense by the Defendant's Design Engineer," in Leader's Product Liability Law and Strategy, Vol. XVII, No. 12, June 1999
"Preparing Plaintiff's Expert in the Post Kuhmo Era," New York State Bar Association, 1999
Co-Author with Rhonda Kay: "Culpable Conduct/Comparative Fault Issues as Applicable to a Products Liability Case," in Products Liability in New York, Strategy and Practice, New York State Bar Association, 1997
"New Frontier in Products Liability," New York Law Journal, September 16, 1996
Co-Author: with Warren J. Willinger, "Obtaining Surveillance Films in Personal Injury Cases," Trial Lawyers Quarterly,
Contributing Author and Lecturer: "Personal Injury Litigation-Workplace Related Injuries," New York State Bar Association, 1993
Contributing Author: "Personal Injury Litigation Under the Safe Place to Work Statutes," New York State Bar Association, 1991
Read more articles about Anthony Gair.
CASES OF NOTE
$13,525,000 recovery for a passenger in a vehicle which was involved in an accident in New York resulting in extremely serious injuries requiring multiple surgeries.
$8,000,000 settlement on behalf of an 18-year old boy in a New York medical malpractice lawsuit where a physician prescribed the medication Depakote without monitoring the boy’s liver functions despite the known effects of Depakote on the liver. As a result of the failure to monitor the liver functions, the plaintiff sustained complete liver failure requiring a liver transplant and a hepatic encephalopathy resulting in brain damage.
$6,000,000 settlement for the family of a Westchester County man who was killed in an automobile accident when a drunk driver struck a stopped Police car resulting in an explosion and fire.
$5,850,000 settlement for a construction worker who suffered serious spinal injuries requiring surgery when he fell 15-20 feet into a building when a portion of the roof on which he was working collapsed.
$5,800,000 recovery for a New York construction worker who suffered a brain injury when a Hi-Lo struck a scaffold upon which he was working causing the scaffold to fall over.
$5,000,000 recovery in a New York Construction Accident case for a man who suffered brain injury when he fell from a ladder at a construction site. The recovery included an agreement for workers compensation payments to continue despite the settlement.
$4,997,986 settlement on behalf of a Manhattan resident who sustained brain damage when a chain-link security fence fell off the roof of a five-story building and struck him on the head while he was walking down the street.
$4,250,000 settlement in a New York Medical Malpractice case on behalf of a Queens man who sustained brain damage due to medical malpractice committed by an anesthesiologist while he was undergoing surgery for sleep apnea.
$4,000,000 recovery in a New York medical malpractice case for the failure to diagnose a an epidural hematoma causing brain damage.
$3,975,000 settlement in a New York Construction Accident case on behalf of a construction worker injured pursuant to the New York State Labor Law when he fell off of a slippery dump truck ladder and was impaled on vertical rebar left uncapped at a construction site.
$3,075,000 settlement on behalf of several children injured when a hayride went out of control and flipped over.
$3,000,000 settlement on behalf of the family of Amadou Diallo, which is believed to be the largest settlement ever under New York State's wrongful-death statute for a victim who earned less than $ 10,000 and had no dependents.
$3,000,000 recovery in a New York Medical Malpractice case for an 18 year old girl who lost her leg as a result of a physician's malpractice in failing to diagnose a pseudoaneurism of the popliteal artery following an ACL repair. This was the full amount of insurance coverage.
$2,975,000 settlement for the wrongful death of a New York construction worker who was killed when a 3000-pound concrete wall panel fell on him when the hoist securing the wall panel broke because it was insufficient to support the weight.
$2,975,000 recovery for a New York construction worker who suffered a serious injury to his foot requiring multiple surgeries while riding on a muck tram in a subway tunnel which struck a wall.
$2,750,000 settlement in a New York medical malpractice action on behalf of an elderly Queens woman whose doctors failed to properly provide anticoagulation therapy following a hip surgery which resulted in an ischemic stroke leaving her partially paralyzed and unable to speak.
$2,600,000 recovery in an automobile accident case for the death of a man struck by a car while sitting in a restaurant when the car crashed through the window.
$2,500,000 settlement on behalf of a sheet-metal worker who sustained a crushed pelvis when the unsecured arm of a sign that was being hoisted became dislodged and struck him.
$2,450,000 settlement in a New York Medical Malpractice case for the family of a Westchester County man who died as a result of a medical group's malpractice in failing to timely diagnosis and treat his heart condition which led to a fatal heart attack.
$2,200,000 recovery for the wrongful death of a New York construction worker who was killed when he was crushed by a descending construction hoist.
$2,050,000 recovery in a New York car accident case for a pedestrian who suffered spinal injury and surgery.
$1,850,000 recovery in a New York medical malpractice case for the death of a single man for failure to diagnose malfunction of a ventricular peritoneal shunt.
$1,725,000 recovery for a passenger in an elevator which came to a sudden stop causing her to sustain severe injuries to her left ankle requiring surgery.
$1,570,000 recovery for a woman who suffered serious injuries in an automobile accident. Although there was only $ 500,000 in Auto Insurance 1,000,000 was paid on a homeowner's policy as a result of proof of an improper disclaimer.
$1,500,000 settlement in an automobile accident case for a woman who sustained serious injuries to her hand in Suffolk County when her vehicle was rear-ended by an asphalt truck whose brakes failed due to the company's failure to maintain them properly.
$1,500,000 in a New York truck accident case against a manufacturer when its truck struck a young student crossing a street in Jersey City.
$1,400,000 settlement on behalf of a New York construction worker injured when the glass roof of a greenhouse he was installing collapsed causing him to fall to the ground.
$1,400,000 settlement for a bicyclist who was struck by a bus suffering fractures of her left clavicle, left thumb, ribs and pelvis.
$1,250,000 recovery for a man in an automobile accident case who suffered leg fractures when struck by a car while riding his motorcycle.
$1,200,000 settlement in an automobile accident case on behalf of a Staten Island motorcyclist who sustained serious foot injuries when he was struck by a vehicle making an unsafe left-hand turn.
$1,200,000 recovery in a New York Construction Accident case for a man who fractured his heel when a scaffold at a construction site collapsed.
$1,000,000 recovery in a New York medical malpractice case for failure to diagnose Crohn's Disease.
$1,000,000 in a New Product Liability case for a man who had two fingers severed in a panel cutting machine.
$700,000 in a New York Product Liability Case against a foreign tire manufacturer for the wrongful death of an older unemployed Brooklyn man.
