Michael Barasch, Attorney

I grew up in Westchester County and I have lived in New York City since I began law school in 1977.

Since my admission to the New York Bar, I have worked exclusively for law firms specializing in representing seriously injured victims of accidents and medical malpractice.  I learned how to try cases from some of the most famous and talented trial attorneys in New York.  For the past 13 years I have been asked to give lectures on how to try cases to both students and other lawyers.

After over a decade of trying major personal injury cases, Jim McGarry and I joined forces. Since 1994, our NYC personal injury law firm has grown steadily.  We now consist of eight attorneys and 22 support staff.  We have won millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements on behalf of thousands of accident victims, many of them catastrophically injured.  We have been lead counsel in multi-plaintiff litigation where hundreds of people were injured in the same accident.  I am often asked what attracted me to representing accident victims.  The answer is simple.  There is no more gratifying feeling than when a jury agrees with what I have argued and awards an amount of money that will change my client's life forever.  I enjoy the challenge of helping those who cannot help themselves.  I am very proud of the work that we have done on behalf of injured New York City firefighters.  We are not afraid of taking on difficult cases for New York's bravest.  Our firm has won many landmark decisions and helped seriously injured firefighters receive the justice that they deserve.

In 1994, I began to represent injured New York City firefighters.  After helping scores of firefighters receive awards, our firm was thrust into the legal problems of those killed and injured in the World Trade Center attacks.  In 2003, Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein appointed me as liaison counsel on behalf of all rescue workers injured or killed on 9/11.

I am especially proud of my association with the Urban Justice Center.  I have long supported its mission and have served on its Board of Directors since 1997.  The Urban Justice Center is known for taking very difficult cases on behalf of battered women, runaway youths, the mentally ill, and the homeless people of New York.  It fights for the poorest people of New York who have neither the resources nor wherewithal to navigate through our court systems.  Our firm recovered $5.2 million in settlements on behalf of hundreds of elderly homeless people who were displaced when a crane fell on the Woodstock Hotel in Times Square in 1998.  We are always willing to fight for the poor and indigent who need our help.

School	Degree	Major	Graduation
Swarthmore College	B.A., with honors		1977

State / Court	Date
New York	1981

• New York State Trial Lawyers Association
  American Association for Justice (formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of  America)
  American Bar Association
  American Trial Lawyers Association
  New York City Bar Association
  New York State Bar Association
  Panel member of the New York State Bar Association's Legal Referral Service
  

• Member, Board of Directors, Urban Justice Center, 1997–present
  Member, Board of Directors, Legal Action Center for the Homeless, 1994
  Lecturer, trial techniques course, Practicing Law Institute, 1990–1994
  Licensed insurance agent: life insurance, 1976; property and casualty insurance, 1978
  

• In an article entitled "Recent Settlements and Verdicts" we list some of our firm's recent recoveries. In our most recent firefighter newsletter we also listed some of our firm's recent recoveries. The settlements are being made public for illustrative purposes only—to educate our clients as to the potential value of their claims. Prior results do not guarantee similar results. After two months of trial in Brooklyn, we recovered nearly $5 million on behalf of twin brothers, laborers who were badly burned in a natural gas explosion while they worked side by side to repair a water main break in Coney Island. We recovered nearly $4 million for a Bronx firefighter who sustained facial burns while fighting a fire that broke out in a vacant apartment while floor-refinishing work was being performed. Contributing to the settlement were the flooring contractor, the building owner who hired them, and the manufacturers of the highly flammable flooring chemicals being used at the time. We recovered $1.75 million on behalf of two Bronx firefighters injured at an apartment building fire. Because the building lacked proper firestopping in violation of numerous statutory codes, the initial relatively minor fire was allowed to spread uncontrollably into other areas of the building. One fireman injured his neck, back, and shoulder when a portion of a ceiling fell on him and the other fireman injured his knee after slipping on debris in a stairwell. Millions of dollars recovered on behalf of the victims of the World Trade Center disaster, including rescue and recovery workers. We received the final payments on our over $2 million settlement with the Con Edison Company on behalf of the 270 firefighters and emergency workers who were exposed to toxic chemicals at a fire at a generating plant on Staten Island. We received the final payments on our $5.2 million settlement with the construction company whose crane collapsed in Times Square and caused the evictions of 240 tenants.

• NY Personal Injury Attorney Michael Barasch Speaks Out on the 9/11 Health Care Law
  Medical Malpractice and Failure to Diagnose Explained by Long Island Personal Injury Attorney
  Common Types of Medical Malpractice Claims from Experienced Queens Personal Injury Attorneys

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For A Free Consultation With Michael Barasch, Call 1-888-746-9042 Or Contact Us Online.

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