Ryan Benninger was born in Morgantown, West Virginia. Before joining Vernis & Bowling, he worked for a maritime defense firm located in Miami, Florida, where he focused much of his practice assisting in the defense of cruise lines in crewmember personal injury claims before the ICDR. Mr. Benninger also assisted in the defense of maritime-related personal injury, wrongful death, and limitation of liability civil actions in Florida state and federal courts.
Previously, Mr. Benninger had served as an Assistant District Attorney under Richard E. Bower at the Fayette County District Attorney’s Office located in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. He successfully prosecuted felony, misdemeanor, and juvenile criminal matters in one of the most active county-level district attorney’s offices in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Mr. Benninger also has considerable appellate experience litigating matters in the Pennsylvania Superior and Supreme Courts. Prior to working as an ADA, Mr. Benninger served as judicial law clerk to the Honorable Judge Joseph M. George, Jr., in the Court of Common Pleas of Fayette County, Pennsylvania. He also served as a court-appointed member of the Fayette County Compulsory Arbitration Panel. He also spent time working alongside his lawyer-parents who operate a personal injury/medical malpractice Plaintiff’s firm in Morgantown, West Virginia. Mr. Benninger utilizes his broad range of experience, skills, and experience to effectively represent his clients’ interests. He is compassionate and cares about his client’s outcome and performs his due diligence in researching to offer them solutions.
Mr. Benninger began his academic studies at West Virginia University, located in Morgantown, West Virginia, where he obtained his B.S. in Biology. He worked for a year as an Orvis-Endorsed fly-fishing guide for an outfitter and lodge located in Western Maryland. He returned to WVU to complete his M.S. in Agriculture Resource Economics. During his tenure in graduate school, Mr. Benninger was asked to participate in research projects funded by the U. S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Energy, which required that he undertake extensive legal research and perform lobbying activities, leading to his interest in pursuing a law degree. Mr. Benninger later completed law school at WVU College of Law in 2015, graduating in the top third of his class and excelling in the areas, of trial litigation, trial advocacy, and alternative dispute resolution. During law school, Mr. Benninger served as a Magistrate Court-appointed mediator and received Pro Bono recognition at graduation. He then graduated from the University of Miami School of Law, located in Coral Gables, Florida, with an L.L.M. focused in Admiralty and Maritime law.
At Vernis & Bowling, Mr. Benninger’s multi-discipline practice focuses on insurance defense, admiralty and maritime matters, personal injury and wrongful death, premises liability, recreational dive/snorkeling accidents, municipal code enforcement, and school board litigation. He utilizes his broad range of experience and skills to effectively represent his client’s interests. He is compassionate and cares about the case outcome and performs his due diligence in researching to offer them solutions.
Mr. Benninger enjoys spending time with his wife and raising their two sons and can frequently be found chasing tarpon, sharks, and bonefish in the backcountry waters of the Florida Keys when he is not working to assist his clients.