Monmouth County Personal Injury Attorneys
If you have been injured as a result of someone else’s carelessness or neglect, it is important for you and those you love to make the right decisions concerning your welfare as soon as possible. While your highest priority most likely relates to the specific medical treatment that you receive, the other critical decision in this situation involves the law firm that you enlist to advocate on your behalf through the remainder of this process. Finding the right team of attorneys to protect and serve your best interests can be an integral contributor to the success of your case, ensuring that every legal avenue available to you has been evaluated and fully pursued in order to achieve a positive outcome.
Whether you or someone you love has been the victim of a motor vehicle accident, a slip-and-fall incident, an injury from a defective product, an accident involving public transit (buses, trains, etc.), a construction-related accident, medical malpractice, or some other scenario in which you or a loved one has been injured, New Jersey law provides that you may be entitled to certain benefits, including monetary compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, disability, impairment, and/or loss of enjoyment of life. Further, if the death of a loved one was caused by someone else’s carelessness or neglect, you may be justified in bringing a wrongful death lawsuit on their behalf.
Monmouth County, NJ Car & Truck Accidents, Slip and Fall Injuries, and Wrongful Death Claims
At Chamlin, Uliano & Walsh, our personal injury attorneys have been confronting powerful and heavily-resourced insurance companies to protect the rights of injured parties for over 50 years. With lawyers and paralegals on our staff who have previously worked for insurance companies, we leverage our past experience behind the scenes of these organizations to serve the best interests of our clients.
Do not delay in contacting us, as your case may be subject to a statute of limitations or time limit requirement that directly affects its viability. If you or someone you love has sustained an injury resulting from someone else’s inattention, neglect, mistake, or carelessness, contact us online or call 732-440-3950 for immediate assistance and a free consultation with one our attorneys.
Dedicated South Jersey Lawyers Provide Seasoned Guidance and Representation in Many Different Types of Personal Injury Claims
For additional information regarding just some of the areas of personal injury law in which we regularly practice, access the following links:
- Motor Vehicle Accidents
- Premises Liability
- Product Liability
- Wrongful Death
Frequent Serious Injuries Resulting from Accidents in New Jersey
The most common injuries resulting for different types of accidents in New Jersey include the following:
- Sprains, Strains, and tears of bones, tendons, ligaments, muscles, and tissues can be extremely painful and difficult to treat effectively. These injuries occur when something is stretched or torn beyond its capacity.
- Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs) are extremely serious injuries which often take a long time to treat and involve extensive rehabilitation and therapy. They can also affect function in different parts of the body.
- Spinal Injuries are severe injuries that last for a long time, if not permanently. They can take years of physical therapy and surgeries, not to mention causing paralysis, long-term cognitive and physical impairments, and lasting disabilities.
- Neck injuries are similar to spinal injuries, except they often lead to headaches, migraines, and neck stiffness. Although these injuries occur on a regular basis in accidents, they range in severity from minor to more extreme forms.
Proving Your New Jersey Personal Injury Claim
If you were injured, or suffered damages, as a result of someone else’s lack of reasonable care, then you may have a personal injury lawsuit. There are four elements that are required to prove negligence in a personal injury claim. The first is that a duty was owed to you by the defendant to act in a reasonable way. The second element is that this duty was breached by the defendant. The third element is causation, which means that this breach of duty was causally linked to the fourth element, which is damages.
Assigning Liability in Different Types of NJ Personal Injury Claims
The person involved in the accident is often the at-fault party. However, depending on the type of the accident, liability may shift and even be assigned to multiple parties. For a car accident, typically there is a driver and his or her insurance company that will be named in the lawsuit. For medical malpractice claims, there will be doctors, medical offices, insurance companies, etc. named in the complaint. For a defective product or product liability case, it’s possible that the manufacturer, distributor, product designer, and retailer of the product can be named in a complaint. If you slipped and fell or otherwise injured yourself due to the negligence of a property owner, you may be filing a premises liability claim against the owner of the property, the property management company, or other relevant parties who are responsible for alleviating possible hazards and safety concerns on the premises. When filing a complaint for personal injury, you always follow those at fault and seek to identify any and all parties who may be held responsible for compensating you for your physical injuries, economic losses, necessary future care, and pain and suffering.
Recovering the Full Scope of Damages in a Personal Injury Case
There are many factors that will be analyzed to determine what can be recovered in a personal injury case. It will depend on the scope of the injuries that you may have as a result of the accident. The severity of the injury and whether or not it is permanent, temporary, or somewhere in between, with the possibility of recovery after significant treatment and rehabilitation, may help to determine the full scope and extent of recoverable compensation in your case. The severity of the injuries and the negligence of the defendant are taken into consideration, but also other factors.
There are many expenses that you incur as a result of being injured. These expenses can be reimbursed as a result. All of the medical expenses and costs will be considered, as well as future medical costs and bills. Medical expenses can encompass hospitalizations, diagnostic imaging and tests, surgeries, physical therapy, etc. This could range in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and even millions of dollars depending on the circumstances of the case, your age at the time of the injury, and your long-term prognosis. Who pays your medical bills depends on the type of accident and the liable parties involved.
Experts can be called upon to show what will be medically necessary in the future as a result of the accident. The loss in quality of life will be reviewed, lost wages and the earning capacity of the plaintiff will be analyzed to see what future wages can be recovered, and additional concerns such as necessary accommodations in your home, your vehicle, and elsewhere (for instance, wheelchair ramps), must be taken into account. Beyond these, your pain and suffering is compensable and important. Loss of companionship and consortium may play a role in the damages you receive, plus things like occupational therapy, permanent disability, speech therapy, as well as mental anguish depending on the facts of the case.
No Limit on Compensation in New Jersey’s Approach to Personal Injury Lawsuits
In New Jersey, there is no limit on the amount of money that you can recover in a personal injury lawsuit, with one caveat. Whatever amount of money it will take to put you as close as possible to the position you were in before the accident can be included in compensatory damages. However, there is a cap on punitive damages, which are reserved for extreme cases as a means by which to punish the defendant for willful negligence or intentionally negligent conduct, sometimes with malice, other times, with reckless disregard for the foreseeable harm that may be caused by their actions or omissions. Punitive damages are capped at $350,000 or five-times the amount of compensatory damages, whichever amount is higher.
Options for Resolving a Personal Injury Case: Verdict vs. Settlement
Before a complaint is even filed with the court to commence the personal injury lawsuit, there is an initial demand letter sent to the defendant and their insurance company. Once more discovery is exchanged, the defendant, with the help of their attorneys, will do a risk analysis. They will see if it makes more sense for them to settle or go to trial. That is the question that must always be answered: settle or go to trial.
A settlement is a sum of money offered in exchange for the personal injury lawsuit being resolved by way of this payment. These settlement negotiations can be ongoing and contentious, and are always best undertaken by an experienced personal injury attorney. A verdict is what is determined by a jury after a trial. Then, there is a damages award determined and given to the plaintiff when victorious. A trial occurs if a settlement cannot be agreed upon.
Deadline to File a Personal Injury Claim in New Jersey
Typically, for negligence-based lawsuits, plaintiffs have two years from the date of the accident to file before they are unable to do so by way of the statute of limitations. Usually, it will depend on the type of personal injury lawsuit. For instance, medical malpractice claims have more leeway in the time frame since the plaintiff is given two years from the date of the injury or the time at which they should have reasonably become aware of said injury.
Contact our Monmouth County NJ Personal Injury Lawyers to Discuss Your Case
Because the powerful insurance companies retain high-end litigators to protect their interests, it is essential that you choose a law firm with the experience necessary to protect yours. An experienced personal injury lawyer at Chamlin, Uliano & Walsh will be able to examine and determine the viability of your claim, as well as the best path forward, depending on the facts of your case. With over 5 decades of experience, our attorneys know what doctors to use, what experts to call, and exactly how to make sure you are justly compensated. We can negotiate with insurance companies and defendants’ attorneys to obtain a favorable settlement without having to go to trial. If a fair settlement cannot be reached, we are prepared to assemble all the necessary evidence and execute a comprehensive litigation strategy to secure a verdict in your favor.
For additional guidance in your case, whether it involves an auto accident, a slip and fall, a truck collision, a motorcycle crash, a dog bite, a defective product, or another incident that caused you harm, count on our accomplished legal team to assist you. We assist injured victims with personal injury claims throughout Monmouth and Ocean Counties, including in Point Pleasant, Wall, Toms River, Red Bank, Manasquan, Freehold, Howell, Middletown, Long Branch, and Colts Neck. Contact us at 732-440-3950 to discuss your options. A consultation with one of our experienced personal injury attorneys is always provided at no cost to you.