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Personal Injury

If you have recently suffered a severe injury, our legal team of New Jersey injury lawyers may be able to help you recover damages. Please take a few moments to look over the information on this page to learn more.

 

What is “personal injury”?

“Personal injury” refers to any kind of accident where you are injured. Some examples might include:

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What should I do first?

Here’s a short checklist of what to do if you’ve recently been injured:

  1. Seek medical help immediately. Even if you don’t think your injuries are serious, see your doctor as soon as possible.
  2. File an incident report. Make sure the proper authorities (police, landlord, business manager) are notified and file a report of what happened as soon as possible. Make sure you get the contact information of any witnesses.
  3. Take pictures. Document everything you can by taking pictures of your injury, the place where it occurred, and any damages to your car or property.
  4. Consult with a lawyer. It’s important to discuss your case with a lawyer before you fill out any insurance forms, sign any checks, or meet with an insurance company representative – particularly the business owner or landlord’s insurance company. You can request a free case evaluation with one of our lawyers by filling out the Free Case Evaluation form on the top right side of this page.
  5. Start a journal. The best way to keep track of what the injury is costing you is to start a daily journal describing how the injury is affecting you and your immediate family. You should also write down all your expenses, notes, lost wages, and any other relevant details.

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What can I expect if I contact an attorney?

Once you request a Free Case Evaluation, a New Jersey attorney will contact you to discuss the details of your case. These include:

  • interviewing you to learn your side of the story
  • determining which persons (landlords, businesses, owners) are responsible
  • evaluating how extensive and severe your injuries are
  • estimating the amount of your loss

If both you and your lawyer are satisfied that you have a viable case, your lawyer will begin building your case. This includes:

  • collecting all available information including the police report and other documents
  • interviewing all witnesses
  • reviewing your medical records including doctor reports and hospital records
  • finding an appropriate expert witness such as a safety engineer, who may inspect the property for violations, if necessary

Your lawyer does this so that he or she can re-enact the scene before a judge or jury. It is critical to have all the information available so you can paint as clear a picture as possible of what actually happened.

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When should I speak to an attorney?

It’s a good idea to talk to an attorney in all cases. However, there are certain types of cases where you should always consult with a lawyer to determine your options. These types of cases are called “catastrophic” and refer to injuries that require significant medical treatment and which usually have a long term or permanent effect on your life. In such cases, figuring out how much you should be compensated can be very complex.

If you’ve been the victim of one of the following types of cases, we encourage you to contact one of our lawyers for a Free Case Evaluation.

  • Long Term or Permanent Disability – These injuries affect your appearance or limit what you can do physically for longer than a year
  • Severe Injuries – Severe injuries are judged by how much your medical bills are costing you, the type of injuries you have and how long it will take for you to recover.
  • Medical Malpractice – These injuries are caused by a doctor or other medical provider because of carelessness or unprofessional or incompetent treatment.
  • Toxic Exposure – These injuries are caused by exposure to contaminants in your environment, in products you use, or in the food you eat.
  • Insurance Company Won’t Pay – In some cases, an insurance company may refuse to pay for your medical expenses and lost income.

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Who is responsible for my injuries?

When looking at whether someone else caused your loss, lawyers look at three different kinds of wrongful conduct. These are:

  • Negligence – When someone unintentionally harms you or contributes to an accident because they were being careless. For example, a motorist runs a red light and crashes into your car or a doctor doesn’t treat you according to accepted medical procedures.
  • Intentional Misconduct - When someone intentionally or maliciously harms you or your property.
  • Strict Liability – When you are exposed to something considered dangerous or hazardous. For example, if your neighbor’s dog bites you, a defective product harms you, or you fall on someone else’s property because of a hazardous condition.

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Can I be compensated if I am partially at fault?

In many situations, you must also consider whether your own carelessness contributed to the accident. Some questions to ask include:

  • Why were you there? Would the owner have expected you to be in the area around the dangerous condition?
  • What were you doing? Were you distracted? Were you doing anything reckless or risky that may have contributed to your fall?
  • Were there any warning signs that the area was dangerous?
  • Would a careful person have been able to spot and avoid the dangerous condition?

In many cases, even if your own carelessness partly caused the accident, you can still receive partial compensation from the other person or people who were also partly responsible for your injury. Here, the amount of someone else’s responsibility and carelessness is compared to your own and compensation is worked out on a percentage basis. For instance, if you were 25% at fault and the other person was 75% at fault, they (or their insurance company) will be required to pay 75% of the fair compensation for your injuries. This is called “comparative negligence.”

There is no formula for figuring out the percentage of your own carelessness or that of the other person. During negotiations, you and the other side’s insurance adjuster will negotiate percentages and argue who bears the greatest responsibility and why.

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What compensation am I entitled to?

The exact amount of money you can recover can’t be determined without analyzing all information related to your injury including your medical bills, loss of income, and the severity of your injury. Each case involves a different set of circumstances, and therefore different amounts of money.

New Jersey law allows recovery for medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages, the value of any clothes damaged, mental anguish, emotional distress, psychological injuries, and disfigurement.

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How long will my case take?

While we handle all cases as quickly as possible, the length of time varies from case to case. It is important to realize that once you settle your claim, you cannot go back for more money if you realize later that your injuries are more severe than you thought. Therefore, it is crucial to collect as much information as possible about your injuries before presenting your case before a judge.

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Do I have to file a lawsuit?

Not necessarily. Many minor cases are settled without filing a lawsuit.

However, if you have suffered an injury that required medical attention and rehabilitation, an attorney can help you recover the expenses you incur as well as compensation for pain and suffering by presenting a strong case supported by irrefutable evidence.

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How long will it take me to receive my money?

That depends on a number of factors such as how serious your injury is and whether your case is settled or goes to trial. If you have a serious injury, it’s best not to settle until you receive sufficient medical treatment and rehabilitation so you can better estimate how much your injury will cost you in the long run.

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What are the attorney’s fees?

If we accept your case, there are no out of pocket fees or costs to you. We are reimbursed a small percentage of the amount we recover for you – so if you don’t get paid, neither do we.

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How do I get started?

Please fill out the Free Case Evaluation form on the top right side of this page and we will respond within 24 hours.

If you wish to speak with someone immediately, call our client-intake specialist, Ken Cooper, at (856) 308-5426.