Benjamin Cloward

Benjamin is a founding partner of Cloward Hicks & Brasier.  He attended the University of Utah and graduated in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in finance. He began law school at the University of Tulsa, College of Law. After excelling in his first year, Ben transferred to S.J. Quinney College of Law, University of Utah, where he graduated in 2008. While in law school, Ben received the Outstanding Achievement Award for Teaching Law in High School, the CALI Excellence for the Future Award for Property, and was on the Dean’s List. He also served as the President of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society and as a Judicial Intern for the then State Court Presiding Judge, Gregory K. Frizzell, who is now a judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma.

Before starting Cloward Hicks & Brasier, Ben worked for a well-known personal injury firm where he handled more than a thousand cases at all different stages ranging from pre-suit through trial and appeals.  He began his career at as an insurance defense lawyer and recognized that trying to save the insurance company a few dollars at the expense of good, honest, hard-working folks was just not for him.  To combat the efforts of the insurance industry, Ben has received specialized training on the subject of low-speed, rear-impact crashes (LOSRIC).  Many folks are injured in these low-speed/low-property damage crashes and the insurance companies often use this as an excuse to get a discount and avoid responsibility.

Ben was born and raised in Salem, Utah. He attended Spanish Fork High School and, while in school, earned the prestigious Boy Scouts of America Eagle Scout award. His interests outside of work include spending time with his wife and daughters. He also enjoys hunting, shooting long-range guns, bass-fishing, camping, and watching the Boston Red Sox.

Nevada (2008)

Utah (2009)

• University of Utah, B.S. (2005)
• University of Tulsa, College of Law
• S.J. Quinney College of Law, University of Utah, J.D. (2008)
• Outstanding Achievement Award for Teaching Law in High School
• CALI Excellence for the Future Award for Property
• Dean’s List
• Judicial Intern former State Court Presiding Judge, Gregory K. Frizzell
• President of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society

• Verdict $15,000,000

  Practice Area: Personal Injury

  Date: February 29, 2016

  Outcome: Verdict — $15,000,000

  Description:

  On Monday evening February 29, 2016, Las Vegas lawyer, Benjamin Cloward of Cloward Hicks & Brasier and Atlanta lawyer, Charles Allen of Charles Allen Law Firm received a verdict after a Las Vegas jury deliberated for less than 30 minutes and returned a verdict for $15,000,000 for the family of Harvey Chernikoff, deceased. The jurors from Clark County gave him a voice by awarding $7,500,000 for pain and suffering and $7,500,000 for loss of consortium to his parents Jack, 79 years old and Elaine, 76 years old.

   

  Harvey was a kind, loving 51 year old who needed a voice because he was diagnosed with cognitive impairment officially mild mental retardation at age five and schizophrenia at age thirteen. Defendant FIRST TRANSIT allowed Harvey to choke to death on a paratransit bus that carries the most fragile special needs citizens of our community.  Throughout his life, his loving parents, Jack & Elaine and brother Neil provided every opportunity possible to for Harvey to have an independent life. Part of that commitment required them to trust others to watch over and protect Harvey.

   

  On July 29, 2011, his loving parents, Jack & Elaine trusted this fixed transit bus company to take Harvey to his benevolent workshop where he worked with other disabled adults Harvey loved his volunteer job.

  There were rules that FIRST TRANSIT was required to enforce — one of which was to prevent their disabled passengers from eating or drinking due to the known hazards of choking — and specifically choking to death. The driver that day, not only allowed Harvey to eat on the bus but actually assisted him in violating the no drinking policy.

  Only four feet from the driver, in the first seat directly behind the driver, Harvey began to choke on his sandwich. He reached for help, unable to speak, and slowly slipped into unconsciousness just feet from the bus driver. The driver admitted in deposition taken by Charles Allen that he violated several more safety rules including the rule to check on his sole passenger every five seconds by simply scanning the interior mirrors as was required by FIRST TRANSIT. An additional three minutes of precious time continued to tick before the driver finally saw Harvey slumped completely into the aisle. The driver pulled over after finally looking in the mirror.

  Further, FIRST TRANSIT was entrusted with the communities most fragile lives made the choice to not teach its bus drivers CPR and chose instead to save $88.00 per driver the cost of an additional 8 hours of training, drivers were paid $11/hour. Thus, nothing was done to save Harvey’s life because the driver did not know what to do, no Heimlich maneuver, no CPR, nor any basic first aid. Instead, the Corporate Director of Safety testified it was better and safer to rely on 9-1-1 even though it takes 8-10 minutes for EMTs or Paramedics to respond in congested Las Vegas and the brain starts to die at 2-3 minutes with brain death occurring at 8-10 minutes from lack of oxygen.

  Tragically, FIRST TRANSIT had a policy in their employee manual that taught the Heimlich maneuver, but at trial FIRST TRANSIT claimed that page 70 of the Employee Handbook did not apply in the Las Vegas market. At trial, Ben Cloward conducted a voir dire about frivolous defenses asking the jurors whether there was danger of allowing Defendants to come into Court and make up any excuse and say anything to avoid responsibility. In openings Ben told the story of the case which exposed all of the all of the excuses FIRST TRANSIT gave to justify what happened to sweet Harvey. FIRST TRANSIT tried to convince the jury that Harvey did not choke to death, but rather he died from a heart attack. Ben used powerful methods learned at the Trial Lawyer’s College including conducting a first person reenactment of the inside of the bus to persuasively recreate the story for the jurors to not only hear, but see and smell.

  Charles Allen cross-examined the defense expert doctor without the aid of a discovery deposition. It quickly became evident that the doctor was nothing more than a lying hired gun. One juror commented to defense counsel after the verdict that it was their crappy doctor that doomed them. His opinions were in contradiction with the very clear Autopsy report showing that Harvey died from choking.

  Charles also did the direct examination of the plaintiff’s Emergency Room physician. The direct was performed to educate the jury that had the company trained the driver on page 70 of the employee handbook on performing the Heimlich maneuver and CPR that Harvey would be alive today.

  The corporation’s defense was that the driver was required to read page 70 (CPR/Heimlich and First aid) but the company was not required to teach page 70. Charles deposed every defendant and obtained many admissions that they violated their own safety rules and that these safety rules were intended to prevent harm to passengers like Harvey.  Based on the clear admissions, the Plaintiffs’ chose to not bring the Plaintiffs’ transportation safety expert to trial.

  At trial the Defendants’ expert’s opinion was essentially that corporate training of CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver were only required in rural areas due to the length of time it takes in those areas for help to arrive.  Ben Cloward again used methods taught at Trial Lawyer’s College which included use of a story-telling cross-examination of the hired-gun transportation expert to show how flawed his opinions were.  Specifically, the examination started off by asking the expert where on the Las Vegas Strip he was staying and whether he had driven down The Strip on his way to the Courtroom, with the expert responding, “he knew better than that…”  Ben then used TLC methods to point out to the jurors and the witness just how congested traffic can be on The Strip and how long it would take for medical services to arrive in a traffic jam – showing the jurors that training should be required not only in rural areas, but also in big cities.

  Ben also used other TLC methods when cross-examining the Corporate Safety Director to show the many significant inconsistencies between the deposition testimony taken by Charles Allen and her trial testimony; thus, revealing just what lengths the defense would go to avoid being responsible. By the end of the cross-examination, the jurors understood how the family’s trust had been betrayed and violated by FIRST TRANSIT failures to follow their own rules.

  On cross examination of the defendant driver, Charles got the driver to testify that he did not know what to do and felt helpless to aid Harvey because the company did not train him on page 70. The driver stated that had he been trained by the company on page 70 of the Employee Safety manual he would have done everything he could do to have save Harvey’s life. The jury understood and awarded a 100% negligence on the large multi-national bus company and none on the driver.

  In closing and rebuttal arguments Ben was able to again use TLC methods to bring the jurors into the story by again using several first-person reenactments of different scenes that were important for the jurors to clearly understand.  Most importantly, Ben used one of Gerry Spence’s prior transcripts to explain why such a large amount of money was necessary in the case at hand.  Ben also used the jury instructions that Alison Brasier his law partner had argued, which charged the jury that there was heightened duty owed by common carriers to passengers; and an even higher duty owed when dealing with those who are disabled. The brave jurors in this case spoke for Harvey and provided his voice.

  The family is now going to start a foundation to educate lawmakers to require that all paratransit companies train their drivers on CPR, the Heimlich maneuver and basic first aid.

• Verdict $1,075,000

  Practice Area: Personal Injury

  Date: Jun 16, 2014

  Outcome: Verdict — $1,075,000

  Description: My client was rear-ended by a careless driver and sustained injuries to his lower back. As a… more

• Forklift Injury $695,000

  Practice Area: Personal Injury

  Date: Oct 15, 2013

  Outcome: Settlement — $695,000

  Description: My client was pinned between a wall and a forklift as a result of the driver’s carelessness. He… more

• Construction Site Death $2,250,000

  Practice Area: Personal Injury

  Date: Aug 15, 2013

  Outcome: Settlement $2,250,000

  Description: My clients’ father and husband suffered fatal injuries as a result of the negligence of a… more

• Verdict $226,000

  Practice Area: Personal Injury

  Date: Jun 26, 2013

  Outcome: Verdict — $226,000

  Description: My 18 year old client was a very nice young man and was injured when he was rear-ended by a… more

• Verdict $760,000

  Practice Area: Power Of Attorney

  Date: Jun 05, 2013

  Outcome: Verdict – $760,000

  Description: My very sweet client was rear-ended in a low property damage accident and sustained serious… more

• Verdict $150,000

  Practice Area: Personal Injury

  Date: May 13, 2013

  Outcome: Verdict — $150,000

  Description: My client was injured when a careless driver pulled out in front of her. She sustained serious… more

• Auto-Pedestrian $539,000

  Practice Area: Insurance

  Date: Mar 07, 2013

  Outcome: Settlements of $539,000

  Description: My client was injured when a driver failed to see her in a cross-walk and hit her. She sustained… more

• Rear-end Auto $615,000

  Practice Area: Personal Injury

  Date: May 24, 2012

  Outcome: Settlements of $615,000

  Description: My client was rear-ended by a negligent driver and as a result, had to have a fusion surgery in his… more

• Negligent Vehicle Repair $1,500,000

  Practice Area: Personal Injury

  Date: May 03, 2012

  Outcome: Settlement of $ 1.5 million dollars

  Description: My client was injured when the Defendant failed to repair her car, which resulted in the wheel… more

• Auto-Pedestrian $750,000

  Practice Area: Personal Injury

  Date: Mar 02, 2012

  Outcome: Settled for $750,000

  Description: My client, a kind gentleman, who had previously sustained injuries from a prior motor vehicle crash… more

• • T-Bone Crash $1,015,000

    Practice Area: Personal Injury

    Date: Jan 23, 2012

    Outcome: Settlement of $1,015,000

    Description: My client, a young 18 year old girl was t-boned by an F-350 Ford Truck, which resulted in major… more

  • Motor vehicle crash $550,000

    Practice Area: Personal Injury

    Date: Oct 11, 2011

    Outcome: $550,000

    Description: My client a 72 year old woman was rear-ended by a negligent driver which required her to undergo a… more

  • Trucking Company crash $1,105,000

    Practice Area: Brain Injury

    Date: Aug 01, 2011

    Outcome: Several settlements resulting in $1,105,000

    Description: My client was injured when a negligent trucking company driver swerved into the lane she was… more

  • Slip and Fall $350,000

    Practice Area: Slip and Fall Accident

    Date: Mar 21, 2011

    Outcome: Settlement of $350,000

    Description: My client was injured when the hotel failed to place warning signs out while it was watering plants…. more

  • Under insurance claim $750,000

    Practice Area: Motorcycle Accident

    Date: Jul 12, 2010

    Outcome: Settlement of $750,000

    Description: My client was significantly injured in an automobile versus motorcycle crash. We were able to… more

  • Slip and fall $495,000

    Practice Area: Slip and Fall Accident

    Date: Oct 20, 2009

    Outcome: Settlement of $495,000

    Description: My client slipped and fell in a Casino injuring her lumbar spine which resulted in medical bills in… more