Kenneth
A. Berkowitz
Telephone
- (973) 635-5400
Fax. (973) 635-9339
Click here to email Ken.
Designated
as a Super Lawyer (top
100 in 2008) in the fields of personal injury,
medical malpractice & product liability.
Click
here to read about significant verdicts won by Kenneth.
For more information (Curriculum Vitae), click
here.
Kenneth
Berkowitz is Certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a
Civil Trial Attorney, and is also admitted to practice before
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Since
joining Blume Goldfaden more than 20 years ago, Ken Berkowitz
has handled dozens of million-dollar settlements and jury verdicts.
His trial expertise is evident in the significant verdicts he
has obtained for clients injured as a result of diverse types
of cases, including medical malpractice and product liability,
including automobile defects, bicycle safety, and hot water heaters.
Some of his cases were also fought in the appeals process that
often follows a jury verdict.
In
2003, Mr. Berkowitz forged a record $25 million settlement for
a New York family man who was permanently paralyzed from the waist
down at a Caribbean resort hotel. Our research indicates that
this is the largest recovery for a personal injury claim in New
Jersey state court history.
Utilizing
mediation, rather than the lengthy litigation process, Mr. Berkowitz
obtained a $2.75 Million recovery on behalf of the family of the
limousine driver shot and killed at the home of ex New Jersey
Nets basketball star, Jason Williams. By entering into mediation
with the attorneys representing Mr. Williams, Mr. Berkowitz was
able to bring the civil suit to a swift conclusion - sparing the
family of the victim the emotional and financial expense of litigation.
Among
the numerous Product Liability and Medical Malpractice recoveries
Mr. Berkowitz has obtained are:
One
of the nation's largest jury verdicts in a bicycle safety
case on behalf of a high school boy, who was riding his bicycle
one evening. The new
bicycle was, as with most bikes, misleadingly equipped with
an "all-reflector system". However, without a headlight,
reflectors were not enough for car drivers to see the bicycle
at night. The young man was hit by an oncoming jeep turning
left and suffers severe permanent physical and learning disabilities.
As a result of this case, manufacturers and consumers were
educated that all bicycles need headlights and that the all-reflector
system can be dangerous. Mr. Berkowitz won a $7 million jury
verdict in this case.
A
residential gas explosion in which a man was horribly burned
over sixty percent of his body. Mr. Berkowitz discovered that
the explosion was caused by a disrupted gas line. He obtained
a $4.8 million settlement for the burn victim.
A
31 year-old woman presented to a hospital with complaints
of right flank pain, nausea and vomiting. She was diagnosed
with a kidney stone, given IV fluids and discharged with instructions
to follow-up in the urology clinic the following day.
The young woman did not return the next day, and she hid from
the ambulance the following day, having delirium, continuous
vomiting, chills, and developing sepsis. By the time
she was brought to the hospital two and a half days later,
she was in septic shock and suffered resulting amputations
of both legs at the knees, and amputations of multiple fingers.
Mr. Berkowitz obtained a 3.13 million dollar settlement on
behalf of the young woman.
Mr.
Berkowitz settled a case against Amtrak for $1.75 million
on behalf of a railroad worker electrocuted while attempting
to service a train at Newark's Penn Station. The 34 year old
client was attempting to fix a pantograph, an apparatus that
transmits electrical power from overhead wires, on top a NY
bound Amtrak engine, when he was struck by 12,000 volts of
current. He suffered severe burns to 12% of his
body, requiring six surgeries, and, the amputation of 4 toes.
A
day care worker was washing an eight month old child in a
sink when she was distracted by another child. The unattended
infant knocked the faucet with her foot turning the water
scalding hot. The infant suffered first and second degree
burns on her legs and feet, leaving her with scarred feet
and toes and psychological damage. She underwent multiple
debridements and skin grafts. Mr. Berkowitz settled
this matter for $1.95 million.
After
graduating from Union College in New York (B.A. 1971) and the
Boston University School of Law (J.D. 1975), Ken Berkowitz clerked
for Judge Arnold Stein and then joined a commercial litigation
firm in Newark.
Mr.
Berkowitz has also handled a number of significant defective products
and medical malpractice cases. He was an Adjunct Professor of
Law at Rutgers, teaching trial presentation for five years. |
