New Jersey Car Accident Lawyer
In a flash, your life becomes filled with doctor visits, pain and suffering, lost income, interactions with an unsympathetic insurance company, and heavy stress; you need a New Jersey Car Accident Lawyer.
Other drivers’ carelessness and negligence cause car accidents, and careless drivers who cause accidents and injuries need to be held accountable.
The settlements paid to you are paid by their insurance company and should be large enough to cover all your financial and emotional losses.
Insurance companies have complicated the laws requiring an injured person to prove and win a personal injury settlement. Therefore, it is wise to hire a car accident lawyer to handle your injury claim.
The NJ injury lawyers at Rosengard Law Group have the expertise and support to fight the biggest insurance companies and win the maximum compensation for you.
At Rosengard Law Group, we are committed to your case. We only get paid when we win your case, ensuring our interests are aligned with yours.
Start by consulting a New Jersey car accident lawyer who can answer your questions confidentially and without any obligation.
Call 856.284.6446 right now and speak to a car accident attorney for free.
This is a no-obligation call, and you will get real answers to your questions.
This initial discussion will guide you in choosing the right attorney and planning your next actions. Waiting even a few weeks can negatively impact your case, so it’s important to act now.
What Should You Do After A Car Accident In New Jersey?
The steps you take after a car accident can affect the outcome of your compensation claim. We encourage everyone who has been in a car accident to:
Notify Emergency Services
By calling the police, you are officially reporting an accident. The police will arrive at the scene and gather important information.
Make sure that you do not admit or imply personal fault for the accident in any way.
Soon after the accident, you will need to obtain a copy of this police report to start your compensation claim.
Get Medical Care
Go to the emergency room immediately after the accident. Even if you believe the injuries are minor, let a medical professional make that determination.
Soft tissue injuries, internal bleeding, and concussions can all be difficult to determine at the accident scene. Do not place yourself at risk; have a medical exam immediately.
Keep Records
As soon as possible, you should start recording the accident, starting with what you remember about it. Write down everything so that you can reference it later.
Document everything, from doctor visits to work absences.
Keep receipts and any documents that you are given. You’ll need these to prove your case.
We Also Encourage You NOT To Do The Following:
- Do not give a written or recorded statement to the insurance company before speaking with an attorney. You can decline to speak until you have spoken with a lawyer.
- Don’t get friendly or personal with the insurance adjuster. Everything you say can be twisted and used against you.
- Do NOT forget to attend medical appointments or decline treatments that are being offered. If you start missing appointments or refuse care, you show you fully recovered from your injuries. This hurts your claim.
- Do NOT post anything on social media about your accident, claim, medical care, meetings with your attorney, or expected outcome. The insurance company will monitor your social media, looking for any indication that you are not injured.
What Will A New Jersey Car Accident Lawyer Do For Me?
We Will Prepare All Documents and Thoroughly Investigate Your Car Accident Claim
It is surprising how much paperwork a car accident generates. We will ensure that your paperwork is prepared correctly and that all your legal documents are filed on time.
You will not have to worry about late documents or improperly filled-out forms harming your case.
We will review the police report and the report generated by the insurance company, but we only rely on these documents for some of our evidence because it has been our experience that these reports are often incomplete or created to favor the insurance company.
We will bring in accident reconstruction experts, if necessary, to determine the cause of the accident.
We will review accident scene photos, surveillance videos, and witness statements to gain a more accurate picture of the accident.
We Will Carefully Review and Document the Extent of Your Physical, Emotional, and Financial Harm.
We will review your medical costs and discuss your projected recovery with your medical care providers.
We will also speak to medical experts to determine the future costs of your medical care.
We will review all of your financial losses to obtain an accurate account of your current and future losses.
Each step we take is to determine the maximum settlement for your accident.
We Will Stop Claim Delays That Benefit The Insurance Company
Insurance companies are in business for one reason – to make money. When they delay or deny your claims or make lowball offers, they are doing so to protect their bottom line.
The Rosengard Law Group will not stand by and let insurers profit off the victims’ backs.
We Will Prepare and Negotiate Your Settlement for Maximum Recovery
Rosengard Law Group will ensure that any settlement offer from the insurance company is complete and fair.
We will make our recommendations to you on any offer the insurance company provides.
If the insurers are leaving money on the table, we will encourage you to decline the offer and push for the maximum amount.
We Will Be Prepared To Go To Trial
Insurance companies know that when a case goes to trial, they stand to lose a lot more money than if they paid a fair settlement. Most juries will side with the injured party.
We start preparing to go to trial from the minute we accept your case.
Insurance companies who know the car accident attorney is willing to go to trial are more likely to make a fair settlement offer.
How Does a Car Accident Lawyer Establish Fault?
Determining who was the responsible party for a car accident usually comes down to finding out who was doing what at the time of the accident.
Sometimes, this is very simple; other times, a full investigation must take place.
When we file a lawsuit for damages from your car accident, we must show that the other party was at fault.
Establishing fault in a car accident ensures that the responsible party is held accountable for their actions.
There are many types of negligent driving behaviors. Some common forms of negligence include:
- Driving while intoxicated or drugged
- Distracted driving – such as texting or using a handheld device while driving
- Speeding
- Aggressive driving
- Failure to follow stop signals or signs
- Failure to follow road laws
- Driving while fatigued
To win a personal injury claim, we must work hard to prove the other party was at fault.
To prove negligence, we must prove the following:
Legal Duty
“Legal Duty” is an obligation that one person has to another. For instance, drivers have a legal duty to operate their vehicles in a manner that does not lead to harm to other drivers on the road.
Breach of Duty
The next thing that we must show is that the Defendant breached their legal duty.
To do this, we show that the person did something that another person in the same situation would not have done.
For example, a person who runs a red light and causes an accident breaches their legal duty to drive safely. It’s easy to show that other people who approached the red light stopped.
Causation
The next thing that the NJ car accident attorney must show is that the breach of duty caused the injuries and losses. This can be easy in some cases and harder in others.
For example, if a driver is speeding or on their cellphone and causes an accident, any injuries you received in that accident would be a direct result of that action.
However, if one of the injuries you received aggravates a preexisting condition, it will be more difficult to prove that the accident was the cause of your injury.
This is why it is critical to have a medical exam right after the accident and have the doctor document everything you are experiencing as an injury from the car accident.
Damages
The final thing that must be shown to the court is that the breach of duty that caused the injuries led to financial losses.
These losses include current and future medical care, lost income, and other expenses directly related to the injuries.
Tips For Dealing With Car Accident Insurance Adjusters
You must understand one very important fact about insurance adjusters—they have one goal only: to reduce or deny your insurance claim.
It doesn’t matter how friendly or compassionate they act towards you. Their words of sympathy are only meant to gain your trust so that they can manipulate the situation.
It sounds like a very harsh accusation, but these adjusters are trained to act this way.
If you have a potential for a large settlement, they will begin to push for an early settlement or try to encourage you to avoid lawyers because “they understand your situation,” and they are there to help.
The best thing you can do is speak with a car accident attorney before giving any official written or oral statements to the insurance company.
Protect yourself from deceptive practices by having a car accident attorney in New Jersey on your side.
What You Say To The Insurance Adjuster May Hurt Your Claim
The first thing that an insurance adjuster is going to try to do is take an oral statement from you about the accident.
It is important that you decline to give an official statement until you have spoken with an attorney.
Regardless of what they may say, you have the right to postpone the official statement until later.
Why delay the statement? Because you have just been in an accident, it is easy to understand that you may not be thinking straight at the moment.
Perhaps you are taking pain medications at the time they want the statement; this could lead to misunderstandings.
Adjusters are trained to use “loaded” questions so that the answers can be twisted to their advantage.
Just report the accident, begin medical care, and tell them that you will provide a statement later.
Beware Of Fake Warnings
Don’t trust the adjuster if they say your case is of little value or that your claim has problems.
They want you to think that pursuing a claim is not worthwhile. This is just a tactic. Ignore their warnings and speak with a car accident attorney.
They Will Try To Trick You Into Accepting A Low-Ball Offer
The adjuster will quickly make a low-ball settlement offer to try to keep their expenses low.
They will become very persistent about your acceptance of their offer. They will tell you that if you do not accept their claim now, you will get nothing in the future.
You have the right to decline an offer from the insurance company.
It will always be in your best interest to decline their first offer.
Many of these offers come while you are sitting in the emergency room.
How can you know all your injuries and losses when your medical tests have not yet come back?
Remember: if you agree to this settlement, the insurance company is no longer obligated to you for any losses.
If you have high medical bills, lost income, or other expenses related to the accident, you are obligated to cover these costs.
Ignore their demands for a quick settlement and speak with an auto accident attorney about your claim.|
What Do I Do If An Insurance Adjuster Calls Me?
If you are contacted by the insurance adjuster or anyone from the insurance company, it will always be in your best interest to refer them to your lawyer. That is the easiest way to avoid any problems interacting with the insurer.
Recovering Economic Damages Caused By A Car Accident
When an injury victim files a compensation claim, they will seek economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages are the financial losses they have incurred due to the accident.
Injury victims only receive one payment for their economic damages, so it is essential that you have all your current and future losses calculated into the final value of your losses.
Current financial losses would include:
- Current medical care costs, including medical supplies
- Lost income and benefits
- Cost to repair or replace the vehicle
- Cost of rental car services
- Cost of necessary personal services due to injuries
Future financial losses would include:
- Future medical care costs for injuries
- Long-term care, if required
- Future earning capacity
- Cost of services that you can no longer do because of injury
It is crucial to calculate these economic damages accurately because once a settlement is accepted, the insurance company is no longer obligated to the victim.
Working with a knowledgeable car accident attorney in NJ will ensure that the calculations for your economic losses are accurate so that you receive the maximum compensation for your losses.
Recovering Non-Economic Damages Caused By A Car Accident
Non-economic damages are those experienced by the victim but do not have an actual monetary reference.
This would include compensation for pain, suffering, and mental anguish, as well as compensation for loss of enjoyment of life or companionship.
These losses are calculated based on many factors, including the severity of the injuries and the lasting impact on the person.
It is impossible to give an exact figure for this type of loss because every case is different.
When you are working with an experienced car accident attorney, they will be able to show the true impact of the injuries on your life and secure maximum compensation for your losses.
Do I Have A Valid NJ Car Accident Claim?
Since every accident is different, we’ll evaluate your accident and injuries and give you an honest answer to that question.
Two accidents can happen the same way, even at the same intersection, but the injuries and damages will be different.
We will look for the two main factors of any automobile accident case: fault and injuries.
Once we can establish the fault and the extent of the damages, we can determine the validity of your injury claim.
To make a car accident compensation claim, we must prove that the other driver was at fault by proving that that person’s actions caused the accident.
If you were the cause of the accident, you can not claim compensation for your injuries.
How Do I Know If My Injuries Are Serious Enough For A Car Accident Claim?
Surprisingly, many people do not seek compensation after a car accident because they believe their injuries were not serious enough for a claim.
This misconception can cause car accident victims and their families to unnecessarily suffer from financial hardships.
You do not have to have a catastrophic injury to file a compensation claim.
If you were injured, have medical bills, require treatment, lost income, and may need a long recovery period from your injuries, you may have a right to file for compensation.
Keep in mind that many injury victims do not realize they are injured until weeks after the accident. That headache could actually be a brain injury that will require future long-term medical care.
Instead of guessing if you have a claim, the easiest thing to do is speak with an NJ car accident attorney to determine if you have a valid compensation claim.
Do I Need A Car Accident Lawyer To Deal With My Claim?
When you contact the insurance company to let them know you were involved in a car accident, one of the first things they will do is discourage you from seeking legal representation.
The person taking your information will tell you how happy they will help you through the entire process.
They will even tell you that you do not need legal representation because their claims adjusters are willing and able to help.
They are trained to do this as part of their job. They know that most people are not familiar with insurance laws or the terms of their insurance policies, and this lack of knowledge allows insurance companies to benefit.
If you do not know all of the compensation you are entitled to from an accident, you won’t miss it when the auto insurance company “forgets” to include it in your compensation offer.
When a lawyer manages your claim, you will see a settlement that averages four times the amount you would have received if the insurance adjuster managed the claim.
That’s right – You Can WIN 4 Times More With an Injury Lawyer On Your Side.
How is that possible? At Rosengard Law Group, we understand insurance laws and the terms of car insurance policies.
We stand up to the insurance companies to ensure you receive the maximum compensation for your losses.
Hiring a car accident lawyer to manage your claim will also provide you with additional benefits.
These additional services can help eliminate the stress and frustration that you have been experiencing since the accident happened.
We will prepare all your documents and ensure they are filed with the court promptly.
You will never have to worry about having your claim denied or delayed due to improperly filled-out paperwork or missing court deadlines.
When you hire Rosengard Law Group’s NJ lawyers to manage your claim, you get the following services:
- We will collect and maintain all evidence related to your car accident lawsuit for the duration of the case.
- We will ensure that you have access to necessary medical care providers, find transportation to that care if necessary, and manage property damage issues if necessary.
- Hire accident reconstruction experts to help establish the cause of the accident and who is at fault.
- Gather all documents to show financial losses, including medical bills and income statements.
- Create a Demand Letter to send to the insurance company once all the losses have been calculated and your maximum medical improvement has been reached.
- Manage all interactions with the insurance company so that your rights as a victim are protected at all times.
- Provide legal representation during depositions, arbitration, or mediation.
- Negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf to secure the maximum compensation package.
- Take your case to trial if necessary.
How Do I Choose The Right Car Accident Lawyer in New Jersey?
Selecting a car accident attorney should be done with care. You want to make sure that you choose a law firm dedicated to New Jersey car accident cases and have the staff, resources, knowledge, and skills to manage your case successfully.
Rosengard Law Group has dedicated its practice to helping injury victims protect their rights and successfully claim compensation for their injuries and losses.
Each person at our firm is focused on providing the best legal representation.
When Is It The Best Time To Hire An Attorney?
It’s always best to hire a lawyer as soon as possible after the accident.
This is the easiest way to protect your rights and ensure that you receive maximum compensation for your losses.
Call Rosengard Law Group for a case evaluation.
During your FREE consultation, our attorneys will ask questions about the accident, injuries, and financial losses.
If we determine that you have a claim, we will begin processing it immediately.
Important: The Statute of Limitations in NJ Car Accident Cases
How Much Is My Auto Accident Claim Worth?
Providing an accurate value to a car accident claim is impossible because every accident and injury is different.
The value of a car accident claim depends on various factors, including the extent of injuries, property damage, medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
There is no set value or formula for calculating a settlement amount.
Insurance coverage and the at-fault party’s liability also play crucial roles.
Typically, claims can range from a few thousand dollars for minor accidents to hundreds of thousands or even millions for severe injuries and extensive damages.
The best way to maximize car accident compensation is to speak with an attorney at Rosengard Law Group.
We’ll gather all relevant documentation and evidence that can affect your claim’s value to ensure you get the maximum compensation.
Our promise to you is that our car accident attorneys will aggressively represent your case so that you receive the maximum compensation.
What Are The Car Insurance Requirements in New Jersey?
In New Jersey, drivers must carry specific minimum levels of auto insurance to help cover expenses if an accident occurs. These required coverages include:
- Liability Insurance: This covers damages if you’re found responsible for an accident. The minimum coverage limits are:
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- $15,000 for injuries or death involving a single person
- $30,000 for injuries or deaths involving multiple people
- $5,000 for property damage per incident
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- Personal Injury Protection (PIP): This coverage pays for medical costs regardless of who caused the accident. It provides a minimum of $15,000 per person per accident, with up to $250,000 for severe injuries such as traumatic brain injuries, significant spinal damage, disfigurement, or other serious conditions.
- Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage: While not required, it’s strongly advised to add this to your policy. It helps cover your expenses if you’re hit by a driver who either lacks insurance or doesn’t carry enough to cover your damages.
Is New Jersey a No-Fault State for Car Accidents?
Auto insurance rules vary widely across the U.S., with some states following a “no-fault” model and others a “fault” model. New Jersey is somewhat unique as a “choice no-fault state,” meaning drivers here have the option to select between “no-fault” and “standard” insurance policies. A no-fault, or basic, policy offers limited coverage and excludes liability protection for bodily injury. While this policy generally has lower premiums, it can leave drivers vulnerable to high out-of-pocket costs if they’re found at fault in an accident.
A standard policy provides more comprehensive coverage, including higher limits and bodily injury liability. This option ensures that, if you cause an accident, your insurance can help cover the other party’s medical expenses up to your policy limits.
For those unsure about their coverage, a qualified New Jersey car accident attorney can not only guide you through an insurance claim but also help clarify your policy’s details and protections.
How Long Does It Take To Process An Auto Accident Claim in New Jersey?
Car accident claims take time to process. Several factors can impact the time it takes your case to complete. Some of these factors include:
- Length of time necessary to reach Maximum Medical Improvement
- Time to gather evidence and wait for responses to requests for information
- Meetings, depositions, and other interviews that must be scheduled
- Response time from each party during the negotiation process
- If your case goes to trial, the time will be extended until the court sets a date
A car accident claim can settle quickly in just a few months or take a year or two to complete.
The good news is that regardless of how long it takes, Rosengard Law Group will manage your case. You can spend this time focusing on rebuilding your life after the accident.
How Much Does A Car Crash Attorney Cost?
Rosengard Law Group works on a contingency basis. This means that there are never any upfront legal fees. You do not have to pay for our services if we do not win your case.
Rosengard Law Group will advance the cost of all legal fees and expenses related to your case, such as filing fees, court costs, obtaining records, hiring witnesses, and similar fees. Our payment will be taken from the settlement when we win your case.
We will explain the fee structure when you first have a consultation. When we win your case, we will take a percentage of your compensation to cover our legal fees. This averages about 30 percent.
Having an attorney will help you get the maximum compensation for your losses, usually four times the amount you would have received if you managed your case independently.
New Jersey Car Accident Statistics
New Jersey is considered a fairly dangerous driving place because it is densely populated and close to large, busy cities like New York and Philadelphia.
According to an NJ State Police report, most fatal accidents in New Jersey occur on state and county roads, and New Jersey interstate highways come in third.
Statistics show that the most dangerous NJ Routes are 59, 439, 82, 67, 63, the New Jersey Parkway, and The New Jersey Turnpike.
The leading cause of these NJ car accidents is distracted driving: eating while driving, talking to passengers, and texting while driving.
Police reports show that these cities have the most car accidents, in order from most at the top to least at the bottom:
Newark, NJ
Jersey City, NJ
Elizabeth, NJ
East Orange, NJ
Linden, NJ
New Brunswick, NJ
West Orange, NJ
New Jersey gets an average of 62,000 car accident injuries per year. See crash statistics. Most of these injuries happen in Essex County, Bergen County, and Passaic County.
558 people died in car accidents in New Jersey in 2018. That’s about ten people per week.
Camden County usually sees the most car accident deaths, followed by Hudson County, Middlesex County, Burlington County, Essex County, Ocean County, Gloucester County, Monmouth County, and Bergen County.
Get A Free Consultation With An Experienced New Jersey Car Accident Lawyer
Being involved in a car accident can make your life chaotic. Everything changed the minute the accident occurred. It may seem overwhelming, but you can reduce the stress by speaking with an attorney.
Call 856.284.6446 for a FREE consultation. Our experienced New Jersey car accident lawyer will answer your questions and guide you to the next steps of filing a compensation claim.
Rosengard Law Group, Personal Injury Lawyers – Cherry Hill Office
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