New Jersey Wrongful Death:

Wrongful death law is the area of law that seeks to provide financial compensation to the family of a person whose death was caused by the negligent, willful, or wrongful act of another. In addition to receiving compensation for wrongful death, the family of the deceased may be able to recover damages for personal injury to the decedent, anticipated earnings until the expected time of retirement, as well as medical bills, funeral costs and other related expenses.

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New Jersey Automobile Accidents:

Legal claims that arise from vehicle accidents are typically governed by the law of negligence. Any individual who negligently operates a motor vehicle may be required to pay damages to an injured victim. A personal injury case involving a vehicle accident may become formalized through civil court proceedings, or may be resolved through an informal settlement before a lawsuit is filed. Vehicle accidents can include car accidents, boating accidents, motorcycle accidents, semi tractor trailer accidents, school bus accidents, train accidents and truck accidents, to name a few. Anyone injured by a drunk driver in a traffic accident, or surviving family members of a fatally injured accident victim, may be able to bring wrongful death charges against the defendant.

Since 1988, New Jersey drivers were limited in their ability to bring a claim for the injuries they have suffered. This restriction, know as the verbal threshold is part of your auto insurance policy. It limits the amount of money a person can recover as damages unless the person sustains one of the following types of injury. The injury had to be one of the following:

• Death
•   Dismemberment
•  Significant Disfigurement
•  Loss of a Fetus
•  Fracture
•  Permanent loss of use of a bodily organ
•  Permanent limitation of the use of a bodily organ
•  Medically determined injury or impairment of a non-  permanent nature which prevents the injured person  from performing substantially all the material acts which  constitute that person's usual and customary daily activities for not less than 90 days during the 180 days immediately following the occurrence of the injury or impairment.

A verbal threshold allows drivers to voluntarily limit their right to sue for pain and suffering in exchange for lower premiums. Over 92% of all New Jersey drivers have chosen the verbal threshold because it was a way to control their auto insurance premiums and ensure compensation in the event of a severe injury. Due to the New Jersey Supreme Court ruling in June 2005, victims of automobile accident injuries must incur severe damage, and not minor injuries, in order to be able to bring forth a case. As of 2005, the current "limitation on lawsuit threshold" requires an accident victim to prove one of the following:

• Death
• Dismemberment
• Significant disfigurement or significant scarring
• Displaced fractures
• Loss of a fetus
• Permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, other than scarring or disfigurement.

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New Jersey Dog Bites:

Being attacked by an animal is an extremely stressful event. Many dog bite injuries leave scars and have lasting emotional effects. Dog owners in New Jersey have statutory responsibilities to ensure that their pets do not cause harm to others. A dog bite victim may be entitled to compensation from a party whose negligence caused the attack, a party who violated a public health and safety law, such as a leash law, and/or from a party who kept a dog with the knowledge that the dog had a history of injuring people.

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New Jersey Slip and Fall/Premise Liability:

Slip and fall accidents can cause serious injury, although often are not taken seriously. A fall on another person's property due to unsafe conditions may be eligible for compensation due to personal injury. Property owners are responsible for keeping their premises safe and must warn visitors of potential non-obvious hazards. For example, if fluids are left on the floor of a store for an unreasonable amount of time or there is no effort to clean the floor after notice of the condition, the owner may be legally liable for a slip and fall injury occurring in that location.

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Spinal Cord Injury:

Spinal cord injury (SCI) occurs when the nerves within the spinal canal are damaged. Most SCI's are caused by trauma to the vertebral column, affecting the spinal cord's ability to send and receive messages from the brain to the body's systems that control sensory, motor and autonomic function. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of SCI, followed by acts of violence, falls, sports injuries and diseases such as polio, spina bifida, and Friedreich’s Ataxia. The spinal cord does not have to be severed in order for a loss of functioning to occur; it only has to be fractured.

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Traumatic Brain Injury:

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a medical phrase used to describe the damage to the brain suffered by sudden impact or physical force to the head. Essentially, the human brain floats in a fluid substance call cerebrospinal fluid. TBI can result when an impact causes the momentum of the brain to come into contact with the skull. This type of injury, often the result of hitting your head on the windshield, pavement, or object, is frequently referred to as a “closed head injury.” Whiplash can also cause TBI. These closed head injuries can result in lasting physical and mental problems.

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New Jersey Medical Malpractice:

Medical malpractice is the failure of a health care provider to treat and care for a patient with a reasonable degree of expertise and compassion. If a physician was careless, lacked proper skills, or disregarded standardized rules, a jury may find the health care provider negligent. If damages result from such negligence, monetary compensation may be awarded. Hospitals can be liable for the negligence of their employees, including staff nurses and technicians.

Other examples of Medical Malpractice include:

• Failing to diagnose a tumor while reading an x-ray
• Puncturing a nearby organ or tissue during surgery
• Failing to order necessary and appropriate medical tests
• Failing to diagnose a condition in time to treat it properly
• Failing to refer a case to a medical specialist
• Prescribing incorrect medication
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Birth Injury
• Incorrect diagnosis that results in a failure to treat a medical condition
• Failing to properly administer anesthesia
• Emergency room negligence

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New Jersey Nursing Home Neglect:

Americans are living longer than ever before. The fastest growing segment in the United States is the elderly population. As a result of this demographic shift, many elderly Americans have become residents of nursing homes during their final years. As many of these nursing homes are under-funded and understaffed, a disturbing incidence of neglect and abuse is being reported. Injuries sustained by nursing home residents due to neglect and abuse often involve the inappropriate use of physical restraints, joint contractors, overuse of sedatives, unnecessary use of urinary catheters, loss of mobility, pressure sores and lack of nutrition with weight loss.

If you or someone you know in East Brunswick, New Jersey, or within the surrounding cities and counties of New Jersey, needs the assistance of an experienced personal injury lawyer, please call The Law Offices of Weinstein & Weinstein today at (732) 246-0909, or complete the contact form on this site to begin your with a skilled New Jersey serious injury attorney.

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