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Personal Injury

Personal Injury Law is designed to compensate an injured party to the fullest extent possible for injuries caused by another party. In effect, the goal is to convey a sufficient monetary award that will return the injured party to the position that he/she was in prior to the injury. The personal injury action seeking compensation for the injuries is known as a tort. Most common areas of personal injury involve:

Automobile Accidents

Automobile accidents are accountable for the most common form of injuries sustained by individuals. New Jersey has adopted a "No Fault" insurance system. This means that if you are involved in an accident, your auto insurance company is required to pay you benefits such as medical bills and lost wages, regardless of who was at fault. However, you must take appropriate action to protect these rights.

In New Jersey, each motor vehicle must have a liability insurance policy in effect. This means that if you cause an accident, your insurance company will defend you and compensate the injured person to a certain extent. Each insurance policy has varying limits of coverage. If you are injured in an automobile accident and the person who is at fault only has this minimum coverage in effect, very often you will need pursue your own insurance policy under an uninsured motorist claim, and/or proceed against the individual personally, in order to adequately compensate you for your losses.

It is important that you differentiate between your liability coverage and the collision coverage for your automobile. While liability coverage is mandatory, collision is not. Collision means that when you are involved in an auto accident and your automobile sustains damage, your collision coverage will compensate you for the cost to make the necessary repairs, less the amount of your deductible.

In automobile accidents, and in any personal injury cause of action, there are essentially two (2) elements that must be satisfied in order to have a claim:

1. Liability - This means very simply that one person must have been at fault and have caused the accident. This is more commonly known as being "negligent".
2. Damages - Typically, damages are a combination of factors such as the injuries, out of pocket expenses, past and future lost wages and the pain and suffering that you experience as a result of the accident.

Premise Liability

Homeowners, landowners, hotel and restaurant owners, and all business owners have a duty to the parties who enter upon their premises. This duty varies depending upon the relationship between the injured person, the owner of the premises and the purpose of the entry. However, essentially all such owners owe a duty to each person who enters their property to provide a safe premises free of all dangers which could potentially cause a personal injury. If you are injured on another person's property, you most likely have a cause of action against them for your injuries.

Workers Compensation

Workers Compensation law is designed to provide employees with an accessible and swift forum in which to be compensated for their injuries. Unlike any other area of personal injury law, workers compensation is not based on fault or liability. Nonetheless, a worker who is hurt while on the job is usually automatically entitled to workers compensation benefits.

These benefits include payment for lost wages, payment of all medical bills, and, in many cases, a lump sum settlement for a permanent injury. An employer is required to carry workers compensation insurance in order to guarantee that all workers are entitled to the benefits, without the formality and the adversarial nature of personal injury litigation.

Medical Malpractice

Medical Malpractice occurs when a physician's standard of care and treatment towards a patient falls below that of the ordinary standard of care that can be expected from a reasonably competent physician in the same particular field of medicine. If a physician's standard of care falls below that standard, and you are injured, you are entitled to sue for medical malpractice.

In order to establish a medical malpractice claim, you must obtain an "Affidavit of Merit" from another physician in that area of practice which states that, in his or her opinion, the doctor was negligent in his/her treatment. Much of this litigation tends to use expert testimony designed to depict the negligence and arrive at compensation for the losses that you sustained due to your doctor's negligence.

Product Liability

When a person is injured by a product while in the process of using it in a reasonable manner, and for its intended purpose, the injured party may sue for Product Liability.

The theory behind product liability personal injury law is that a person generally should not be injured by a product when using it for its intended purpose. If a party is, in fact, injured in this manner, the manufacturer is obligated to compensate the person for the injuries sustained. Product liability usually stems from either (1) a defective or unreasonably unsafe product, (2) a design defect in the product itself, and/or (3) a manufacturer's failure to warn a consumer of a known risk associated with using its product.

Complex Insurance Litigation

Commercial entities will often, in connection with entering into an Agreement, require that one of the parties provide general comprehensive general liability coverage. Unfortunately, as time passes certificates of insurance are often misplaced and coverage with respect to an accident or other occurrence becomes subject to dispute. In such instances, attorneys are needed who are capable of reviewing and interpreting insurance policies and endorsements to determine whether you can successfully assert a claim for insurance coverage against an insurance company.

Ways to Protect your Rights After an Accident or Suffering an Injury

Prior to meeting with us or another attorney, there are several ways you can increase your chances of recovery in a personal injury case and several ways you can protect your rights. I advise clients to always do the at least the following:

  • Writing down as much as you can about the accident or injury itself, your injuries and any other losses (such as wages) you've suffered as a result of the accident.
  • Making notes of conversations that you have with people involved in the accident or the injury claim.
  • Preserving evidence of who caused the accident and what damage was done by collecting physical evidence and taking photographs.
  • Locating people who witnessed the accident and who might be able to help you prove your case.
  • Notifying anyone you think might be responsible for your injuries of your intention to file a claim for your injuries, especially if a government agency or employee may be involved.
  • Take pictures of any injuries to yourself and the accident scene.
  • Get names, numbers and addresses of any witnesses.

Placing a Value on Your Case

How much certain injuries are worth is a critical aspect of any injury claim. It is also the part of a claim about which it is most difficult to generalize; the amount depends on your very particular circumstances. In dealing with these types of claims, I am experienced in working with insurance companies, and will not be confused by their tactics or feel pressured to settle for an unsatisfactory amount. I work hard to reach the best settlements for my clients, as early in the litigation process as possible. If a trial becomes necessary, I zealously represent you in court and work toward achieving the best possible jury verdict in your favor. Some items that factor into the value of a case are:
  • Medical care and related expenses.
  • Income lost because of the accident, because of time spent unable to work or undergoing treatment for injuries.
  • Permanent physical disability or disfigurement.
  • Loss of family, social and educational experiences, including missed school or training, vacation or recreation.
  • Emotional damages, such as stress, embarrassment, depression or strains on family relationships for example, the inability to take care of children, anxiety over the effects of an accident on an unborn child, or interference with sexual relations.
  • The more painful the injury, the higher the potential damages you may recover.
  • The more invasive and long lasting the medical treatment, the higher potential damages you may recover.
  • The more obvious the medical evidence of the injury, the higher potential damages you may recover.
  • The longer the recovery period, the higher potential damages you may recover.
  • The more serious and visible any permanent effect of the injury, the higher potential damages you may recover.

How Will Fault for My Injury Be Determined?

In any negligence type case, the initial determination is whether the other party or person was at fault or liable for the damage or injury caused. Various rules of fault apply in different types of personal injury actions. Here are some examples of liability rules in different types of actions:

1. Suppose you are injured in a store can you recover damages from the store? It depends on the facts of the case. Storeowners must keep their premises reasonably safe for customers, inspecting and discovering any dangerous conditions. They also must keep all aisles clear and properly maintained. A judge or jury will look at whether the owner was aware of the condition that caused your injury and how long it had existed. A judge or jury will also look at your conduct in relation to the condition.

2. If you've been injured by a dangerous consumer product, you may have an easier time recovering compensation for your injuries than those who are injured in other ways. "Product liability" the legal rules concerning who is responsible for defective or dangerous products is different from ordinary injury liability law, and this set of rules sometimes makes it easier for an injured person to recover damages. For several reasons, the law has developed a doctrine known as "strict liability," that allows a person injured by a defective or unexpectedly dangerous product to recover compensation from the maker or seller of the product without showing that the manufacturer or seller was actually negligent.

3. Many thousands of people are injured each year some very seriously when they slip or trip and fall on a dangerous floor, a flight of stairs or a rough patch of ground. There is no precise way to determine when someone else is legally responsible for something on which you slip or trip. Each case turns on whether the property owner acted carefully so that slipping or tripping was not likely to happen and whether you were careless in not seeing or avoiding the thing that caused you to fall.

4. Automobile accident claims are by far the most common type of personal injury case in our court system today. Except in those states where legislation has been passed doing away with fault as an issue (no-fault laws), these cases are litigated under general negligence principles. The injured plaintiff is required to prove that the defendant was negligent, that the negligence caused the accident, and that the accident caused the plaintiff's injuries. As with other types of accidents, figuring out who is at fault in a traffic accident is a matter of deciding who was negligent. In many cases your instincts will tell you that a driver, cyclist or pedestrian acted carelessly, but not what rule or rules that person violated. Your case can be strengthened if you find some "official" support for your conclusion. Your attorney will look to a number of sources to help you determine who was at fault for your accident, such as police reports, state traffic laws, and witnesses.

There are many different types of personal injury actions, and several theories of fault that may apply in a given case. Discussing your case with a personal injury attorney is the best way to have a thorough evaluation of the likelihood of success if you were to bring a claim for your injuries, and of the potential value of your case. In light of the deadlines imposed under state and federal law for the filing of personal injury actions, meeting with an attorney sooner rather than later if you think you might have a claim is always recommended.