Mr. Bermack is a skilled trial attorney who specializes in civil claims involving products liability, construction and labor law, professional negligence, trucking liability, premises liability and personal injury. His client base includes national retailers, trucking companies, automobile manufacturers, medical and legal professionals, self and large retention insureds and liability insurance carriers. He has successfully prosecuted and defended insurance coverage suits on behalf of carriers and insureds and has substantial experience defending federal class action law suits brought under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Mr. Bermack joined the firm in 1989 and became a member in 1997. He received his Juris Doctor degree from The American University, Washington College of Law in 1989, after earning a B.A. in Economics from Brandeis University in 1986. Before joining the firm, Mr. Bermack served as Judicial Intern to the Honorable Eric G. Bruggink of the United States Claims Court in Washington, D.C. In addition to his State and Federal Bar admissions, he holds a professional license in property and casualty insurance brokerage.

He is admitted to practice before the Courts of the States of New York and New Jersey and the District of Columbia, the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the District of New Jersey, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

Mr. Bermack is a member of the Trial Lawyers Section of the New York State Bar Association and has been appointed as a member of its Committee on Civil Practice Law and Rules. He is a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, the American Bar Association, the District of Columbia Bar, the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) and the Council on Litigation Management (CLM) . He has earned Senior Counsel (S.C.) status in the American College of Barristers and was selected for inclusion in NY “Super Lawyers,” a prestigious list of attorneys who received the highest point totals, as chosen by their peers and through the independent research of Law & Politics .

Practice Highlights

• Obtained a dismissal of all claims made against a prominent Manhattan Internist accused of malpractice by the family of a 79 year old stroke victim who developed decubitus ulcers and died of osteomyelitis. Following a three week jury trial, during which we successfully established that our client's care of the seriously ill patient was exemplary, all causes of action were dismissed with prejudice.
  
• Won a defense verdict in favor of a Michigan corporation in a product's liability case involving a conveyor-driven document shredding system. The case was brought in Brooklyn, NY by a paper sorter who claimed his arm became caught in the machine due to a defective design and a failure to warn by the manufacturer. The jury disagreed, determining that the product was reasonably safe and that the accident happened because the plaintiff did not heed his employer's instructions and because he failed to exercise common sense.
• Won summary judgment on behalf of the developer and general contractor of a Midtown Manhattan luxury apartment building. Plaintiff, an employee of the concrete subcontractor, was seriously injured when the crane's bucket dropped uncontrollably, causing him to be struck by falling construction materials. Summary judgment had been granted against our clients under Labor Law Section 240 and we pursued a products liability claim against the lessor of the tower crane, successfully arguing that because they provided a defective tower crane, they were required to indemnify our clients for the full amount of any judgment.
  
• Won a defense verdict in favor of a prominent Bronx orthopedic surgeon who was accused by one of his patients of mismanaging a lateral malleolar fracture. It took the New York County jury less than two hours to return a verdict in favor of our client, unanimously concluding that the doctor did not deviate from the standard of care.
  
• Awarded summary judgment dismissing all Labor Law and negligence claims brought against a leading importer of wine and spirits and its general contractor by a dockworker, who fell from a floating stage while repairing a bulkhead. The plaintiff sued under New York's "scaffold law" which provides for strict liability if a worker is injured while working at an elevated worksite.
  
• Won a defense verdict on behalf of an anesthesiologist charged with improperly giving spinal anesthesia to an anti-coagulated patient. The patient, who now suffers from severe nerve damage to both legs, claimed she developed a spinal hematoma in her thoracic spine as a result of the procedure. On behalf of the doctor, we proved to the satisfaction of the jury, that the spinal anesthesia was appropriate since the warfarin anti-coagulation therapy, which was started the night before her surgery, had not yet caused a hypercoagulative state. Moreover, we argued that the spinal lesion that led to her current disability was actually a calcified herniated thoracic disc, entirely unrelated to the spinal anesthesia.
  
• Obtained summary judgment, dismissing a putative class action law suit brought against a worldwide debt collection agency, sued for alleged violations of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). In denying plaintiff's motion and granting our motion, US District Judge I. Leo Glasser (EDNY) recognized that our client's collection efforts were perfectly appropriate.
  
• Won a motion for summary judgment filed on behalf of a driver involved in a serious motor vehicle accident that occurred in Poughkeepsie, NY. The plaintiff sustained catastrophic injuries while a passenger in a vehicle being operated by the co-defendant. He brought suit in New York State Supreme Court, Dutchess County, alleging that each defendant shared fault for the accident. After considering our motion, Justice Pagones disagreed with plaintiff, ruling that our client was not negligent and that the co-defendant was solely responsible for the horrific crash.
  
• Defense Verdict selected as Best of 2004 - In a Special Section of the March 21, 2005 New York Law Journal, CKBB Law's August 2004 jury trial victory in B&S Auto Paint Distributors, Inc. v. Hanover Insurance Co is cited as one of the top defense wins of the year
  
• Obtained a defense verdict on damages in a case brought by a pedestrian who claimed to have sustained brain damage when was struck in the head by a slab of glass that fell from the marquee of a Manhattan skyscraper. The jury found that the plaintiff did not lose consciousness as he claimed and believed he was exaggerating the extent of his injuries to such a degree that he deserved no damages.
  
• Secured a dismissal of all claims of medical malpractice brought on behalf of a brain damaged child against a Brooklyn ob/gyn who provided labor and delivery care.

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