Personal Injury Posts

On January 20, 2022, the Appellate Division in the Estate of Dunmore v. Pleasantville Bd. of Educ., decided an issue of first impression: whether a parent’s tort claims notice for a Portee claim filed ninety-one days after a tragic shooting and eighty-six days after the child’s death was timely. Portee v. Jaffee, 84 N.J. 88 (1980) (referring to a claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress). Borrowing principles from N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2.1, the Appellate Division concluded that the claim was timely.

On November 15, 2019, the respondent, Angela Tennant, and her ten-year-old son, Micah Dunmore, were attending a high school football game at Pleasantville High School when an individual fired a gun into the stands...

If there’s one thing worse than being in a car accident, it’s finding out that an unforeseen issue may or may not prevent you from pursuing adequate compensation. You may be in pain, daily life activities such as housework, school, or work are now more challenging, and medical bills are piling up.

What happens if the other driver does not have any insurance or a minimal amount of insurance? What if you are an undocumented/illegal immigrant? What if your license is suspended or your insurance has lapsed? As every accident involves many factors, it’s hard to say how your specific situation will play out, but the following post aims to answer common situations generally.

Southern New Jersey experienced a tremendous amount of snowfall today, and we are again reminded that New Jerseyans are no stranger to winter conditions and the difficulty it presents in getting around, whether it be on foot or driving a vehicle. When winter conditions are a factor in a car crash, determining whether the crash was the fault of another party or just an accident can often be tricky. Likewise, where snow or ice is a factor in a slip and fall, it again can be challenging to determine whether the fall resulted from the pedestrian’s failure to observe conditions or the fault of another party for not properly clearing a walkway...

Whenever there is a car accident, New Jersey law requires calling the police to report an accident. N.J.S.A. 39:4-130. This report will be used as the official description of the accident. While official, it may not be entirely correct or representative of what actually happened.

This occurs on countless occasions and for myriad reasons, whether you were shaken up and not thinking clearly, the officer misheard your statement or wrote down the wrong information, or the other party gave a false narrative of the happening of the collision. Whatever the reason is, it is crucial that you clear up any inconsistencies as soon as possible...

Motor vehicle accidents and resulting injuries are all too common in New Jersey. In fact, according to Zebra.com, the most dangerous highway in the United States is Interstate 95 (I-95), which runs right through New Jersey, and accounts for the highest number of overall fatalities (284) and fatalities per 100 miles (14.88).

Consequently, motorists are well-advised to drive carefully in New Jersey, especially when traveling on I-95. The following offers general information regarding the most common types of car accidents and the most common types of injuries that may result.

New Jersey’s car insurance system is unlike most other states in that the state utilizes a no-fault system. Contrary to many other states, medical bills are typically paid for by each individual’s own insurance. The system intends to provide injured claimants with speedy compensation of medical bills without the need to determine fault. Nevertheless, the no-fault system still has complicated features of its own...

What is a good settlement offer, and will I get more money if I hire a personal injury lawyer?

A good settlement offer is as much as you can get, and that is best achieved by hiring a personal injury lawyer. In fact, a study conducted by the Insurance Research Council indicated that people who have suffered bodily injuries in a car accident win 3.5 times more in settlement money than those who did not hire a personal injury attorney. The study additionally found that in eighty-five percent (85%) of cases where an insurance company settled an injury claim, the injured individual had hired an attorney...

Rideshare Companies (Uber and Lyft)

The million-dollar question, well, in this case, the one-and-a-half-million-dollar question is, can I sue a rideshare company such as Uber or Lyft if the accident was caused by one of their drivers? Well, depending on whether one of these apps was in use at the time of the accident, there may be $1,500,000 available in insurance coverage, along with other favorable conditions regarding New Jersey’s verbal threshold/limitation on lawsuit...

The State of New Jersey has some of the most complex auto accident laws in the country. However, among the scheme of auto accident laws in New Jersey, two laws in particular are widely misunderstood: the verbal threshold (also known as the limitation on lawsuit) and the deemer statute.

History of the Verbal Threshold/Limitation on Lawsuit in New Jersey

New Jersey utilizes a “no-fault” law, which was first enacted as part of the New Jersey Automobile Reparation Reform Act. L. 1972, c. 70...

We last looked at what to do following a New Jersey auto accident while still at the scene of the accident, but how does car insurance work when you are not at fault? Do you call your own insurance or that of the other driver’s? Will my premiums rise even if I am not at fault? What if the other driver who was at fault does not have insurance? This post aims to answer all of the commonly asked insurance questions that arise following a car accident where you were not at fault.