Accidents can be complicated and have many causes. The law recognizes this through the principle of comparative fault. In a comparative fault system, the court hears all the evidence in a case and uses it to assign percentages of fault to everyone involved in the accident.

The exact rules of comparative fault vary state by state. In this video, we’ll go over the basics of New York’s comparative fault system and how it can affect personal injury claims.

WHAT IS COMPARATIVE FAULT?

Comparative fault is the law’s term for assigning responsibility to the people involved in an accident. It applies only in cases involving negligence, such as car accidents. It does not come up in cases about intentional misconduct, such as assault. In any negligence case, the jury is asked to evaluate all the evidence in a case and assign a percentage of the fault to anyone to blame for an accident.

For example, in a car accident where someone slams on the brakes abruptly and someone rear-ends them, the jury might assign 10% of the fault to the driver in the front and 90% of the fault to the driver who rear-ended him. There’s no exact formula for determining fault; juries come up with numbers on a case-by-case basis after hearing all the evidence. This means it’s hard to predict exactly how much fault a jury will find in a person’s conduct.

The jury does not have to assign fault to everyone involved in an accident. In a case where someone is truly blameless, the jury can rule that person is 0% at fault. Likewise, the jury can find someone 100% at fault.

HOW DOES COMPARATIVE FAULT AFFECT A CASE?

Once fault is determined, any damages are reduced by a person’s percentage of the fault. Using the example earlier, let’s say the driver who got rear-ended was suing the driver who rear-ended him. If the jury found he suffered $100,000 in damages, that amount would be reduced by 10% because that’s his share of the fault, leaving him with a $90,000 award.

New York is a little unusual in that it follows a pure comparative fault model. In most states, a person who is more than 50% at fault for an accident cannot receive monetary compensation. However, New York simply reduces the award, regardless of fault. So, someone 70% at fault for an accident would still have 30% of their damages covered.

The vast majority of personal injury cases end in a settlement, not a trial, so most cases never actually end up with percentages of fault assigned. However, lawyers negotiate settlements based on how strong their cases are. A plaintiff who is relatively blameless in an accident will usually be able to get a larger settlement because the defendant knows that they would be ordered to pay more if the case went to trial.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, contact Rosenblum Law for a free consultation today. Our experienced personal injury lawyers will assess your case and find the best strategy to get you all the compensation you deserve.

Some of the most serious car accidents happen because of speeding and aggressive driving. These accidents can leave you with severe injuries, which means high medical bills, pain and suffering, and maybe even disabilities.

Dealing with the aftermath of a car accident can be costly and overwhelming. A good personal injury lawyer can help you navigate the process and get you the compensation you need to cover the costs of an accident.

WHERE DOES CAR ACCIDENT COMPENSATION COME FROM?

New York has a no-fault insurance system, which means every car insurance policy must contain at least $50,000 in Personal Injury Protection, or PIP, benefits. PIP covers injuries the policyholder or their dependents suffer in a car accident, no matter who’s at fault.

PIP has limits, however. First, PIP will never pay out more than your $50,000 policy limit, unless you specifically selected a higher limit when you bought the policy. Second, PIP only covers what the law calls economic damages, which includes medical bills, lost work time, and physical therapy. PIP does not cover pain and suffering, disability, or emotional trauma, all of which are common in serious car accidents.

To be compensated for anything over the policy limit or anything outside of economic damages, you’ll need to sue the driver at fault.

SUING AN AGGRESSIVE DRIVER

Aggressive driving is a broad term that covers many different behaviors. It usually refers to speeding, but it can also include other behaviors like tailgating, unsignaled lane changes, failing to stop at stop signs, and more.

While all these behaviors are illegal and can lead to traffic tickets, that does not guarantee an aggressive driver will be found at fault for an accident in a personal injury lawsuit. New York uses a comparative fault model, which means the jury looks at each party’s fault and awards damages based on the percentage of fault.

Aggressive driving behaviors are evidence that a driver might be at fault for an accident, but they’re weighed against other evidence. A good personal injury lawyer can examine all the facts and put together the best case possible for the aggressive driver being at fault.

Most personal injury cases settle instead of going to trial. How much you can get in a settlement largely depends on how strong your case would have been at trial, so it’s worth consulting an attorney before trying to negotiate for a settlement.

ROAD RAGE

Road rage is often considered a type of aggressive driving. Whether it comes in the form of running someone off the road or getting out of the car and assaulting someone, road rage drivers can cause serious injuries. However, when filing a suit against these drivers, it’s best to accuse them of negligent conduct rather than intentional violence because car insurance only covers accidents.

WHO SHOULD YOU CONTACT IF YOU’VE BEEN INJURED BY AN AGGRESSIVE DRIVER?

If you or a loved one have been injured by an aggressive driver, contact Rosenblum Law for a free consultation today. Our experienced personal injury lawyers will assess your case and find the best strategy to get you all the compensation you deserve.

In one year alone, nearly one hundred fifty people were killed by distracted drivers in New Jersey.

Distracted driving refers to driving a vehicle while doing something that takes one’s attention away from the road. This can take many forms, like using a cell phone, applying makeup, fixing one’s hair in the rearview mirror, drinking or eating something just picked up a drive-through window, or checking on kids in the back seat.

New Jersey has some of the nation’s strictest laws against distracted driving. Anyone who holds a cell phone while driving can be fined up to $400 for a first offense, and can lose their license after three offenses. But, although a distracted driver who causes an accident may have to pay a fine, that fine goes to the state, not the victim. To receive compensation, the victim will need to file an insurance claim and possibly sue the distracted driver if the injuries are serious enough.

CAN YOU SUE A DISTRACTED DRIVER?

In New Jersey, car insurance policies carry Personal Injury Protection (or PIP) benefits that compensate accident victims regardless of fault. If a person does not suffer a permanent injury, they generally must take the benefits instead of filing a lawsuit. However, anyone who suffers a permanent injury, such as a disfiguring facial scar, loss of a limb, or lasting pain or disability, can do both. They may take the PIP benefits and file a lawsuit against the distracted driver.

PROVING A DRIVER WAS DISTRACTED

There are several ways to prove that a driver was distracted at the time of an accident. The most common are:

• Eyewitnesses might have seen the driver looking at a phone or engaging in some other type of distraction.

• A distracted driver might admit to being distracted at the accident scene. 

• If police find evidence of distracted driving, they will note it in their reports.

• Once a lawsuit has been filed, it’s possible to request records from the driver’s cell phone carrier to see if they were calling or texting at the time of the accident.

• Partially eaten fast food, makeup tossed inside the car or out onto the road, and other physical items at the scene of the crash might be helpful in proving the driver was distracted.

• In many car crash cases, lawyers will hire forensic experts to reconstruct the accident for the jury. The experts might be able to show the driver was distracted and didn’t even apply their brakes prior to the collision, for example.

• It’s possible that the accident, and the events leading up to it, were captured by nearby store surveillance cameras. The footage may show the driver was not paying attention to the road just before the crash.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO SUE SOMEONE WHO DISTRACTED A DRIVER?

A passenger who distracted a driver may be partially at fault for the accident. In one case, Champion v. Dunfee, the Appellate Division stated that a passenger who actively encourages a driver to act negligently may be held liable for an accident. 

New Jersey was also one of the first states to allow lawsuits against someone who texted a driver. In Kubert v. Best, the victim of an accident sued someone who was texting the driver who injured them. Although the texter was not found guilty in this case because she didn’t know the other person was driving, the court said that a person who texts a driver would be liable if that person had reason to believe the text recipient was driving. 

If you or a loved one has been injured by a distracted driver, contact Rosenblum Law for a free, no-obligation consultation.

Accidents where a car runs over a pedestrian can be much more serious than accidents involving two cars. While these accidents usually happen at lower speeds, pedestrians don’t have their own car to absorb some of the impact.

In New York State, over 15,000 pedestrian accidents occur each year, and nearly 97% of them result in injuries. These injuries often come with high medical bills, not to mention recovery time, pain, and potential disabilities. Dealing with the aftermath of being hit by a car can be complicated and expensive. A personal injury lawyer can help you get the compensation you need to handle the aftermath of being hit by a car.

HOW DO YOU GET COMPENSATED FOR BEING HIT BY A CAR?

Compensation for an accident as a pedestrian can come from a few different sources. If you have a car insurance policy, it will contain Personal Injury Protection, or PIP benefits. These benefits pay for your injuries in a car accident, no matter who’s at fault. Despite being part of your car insurance policy, they apply to any car accident you’re in, even as a pedestrian.

PIP has some limits. First, it will never pay more than your policy limit, which is $50,000 unless you selected a higher limit when you bought the policy. Second, it covers only medical bills and lost work time, not pain and suffering, disability, emotional trauma, or many of the other consequences of serious injuries.

If PIP isn’t enough to cover your injuries, or you don’t have a car insurance policy, you’ll need to sue the driver who injured you.

SUING THE DRIVER

The main question in a personal injury case is whether the person who caused the injury was acting negligently at the time. In New York, the jury hears the evidence and determines who was at fault, and what percentage of the fault they had. Any monetary awards are adjusted by this percentage. For example, if the defendant is found only 80% at fault, the award will be reduced by 20%.

Juries don’t always find the driver 100% at fault in pedestrian accident cases. There are many factors in determining who’s at fault in a car-pedestrian accident such as whether the driver was speeding or driving distracted, whether the pedestrian was at a crosswalk or jaywalking, and whether the driver had time to stop.

The jury will look at the situation as a whole, not just at whether one party was technically breaking the law. So, even if you were jaywalking, you can still win a case.

Most cases settle rather than going to trial. However, drivers and their insurance companies settle because they’re afraid of losing at trial, so the strength of your case has a major effect on the size of the settlement you get. It’s important to have a good attorney to put together your case and negotiate your settlement to get you as much compensation as possible.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IF YOU’VE BEEN HIT BY A CAR?

If you or a loved one has been hit by a car, contact Rosenblum Law for a free consultation today. Our experienced personal injury lawyers will assess your case and find the best strategy to get you all the compensation you deserve.

Car accidents can be very expensive. Between damage to your car, hospital bills, time off work, physical therapy, and long-term pain and suffering or disability, the costs add up quickly.

One of the most common questions we, as personal injury lawyers, get is: “How much compensation will I receive?” Every case is different, and there’s no way to say with certainty how much a person will get for their injury. But, in this video, I’ll go over some of the factors we use to estimate how much a victim might get in a settlement.

WHERE DOES ACCIDENT COMPENSATION COME FROM?

In the vast majority of cases, someone injured in a car accident will end up dealing with a car insurance company. New York has a no-fault car insurance system, which means every car insurance policy comes with Personal Injury Protection, or PIP coverage. PIP covers your injuries no matter who was at fault.

PIP settlements are easier to calculate. PIP only covers what the law calls economic losses, which include medical bills, lost time at work, and physical therapy. So, figuring out what you would get from your PIP policy just involves adding up your medical bills and what you would have made if you’d been able to work instead of being at home or in a medical facility  recovering.

WHAT IF PIP ISN’T ENOUGH?

PIP has some limits. The default policy limit is only $50,000, meaning unless you paid for extra coverage, you can never get more than $50,000. Plus, PIP doesn’t cover things like pain and suffering, disability, lifestyle changes, or emotional trauma. This means PIP may not provide you with all the compensation you’ll need.

If PIP isn’t enough to cover your costs, you’ll need to sue the other driver and collect from their car insurance policy’s bodily injury coverage. These sorts of settlements are much harder to estimate than PIP amounts. The main factors in determining how much compensation you can get are how much fault the other driver had in the accident, how severe your injuries are, and the other driver’s insurance policy limit.

Most personal injury cases end in settlements, not trials, so we usually don’t need to prove to a jury the other driver was at fault. However, insurance companies mainly settle because they’re afraid of losing at trial. The more likely it is the other driver was at fault, the bigger the settlement will be.

The other big factor is how severe your injuries are. Usually, insurance companies measure this by medical bills. A settlement will generally be based on the dollar value of your medical bills, multiplied by a number between 2 and 5, to compensate for things like pain and suffering. The more life-changing the injury, the higher the number used as a multiplier. While insurance companies normally use software to calculate the settlements, a good personal injury lawyer can usually negotiate up from there.

Finally, the other driver’s policy limit can limit your compensation. Insurers won’t pay out more than their contract requires them to, and the other driver probably won’t have enough money to pay out of pocket.

WHO SHOULD YOU CONTACT IF YOU’VE BEEN INJURED IN A CAR ACCIDENT?

If you’ve been injured in an accident and you need help getting compensated, contact Rosenblum Law for a free consultation today. We’ll walk you through the process and make sure you get as much compensation as possible.

For those conscious about their health and students needing reliable transportation, cycling on New Jersey’s streets is a practical solution for their needs. However, bicycles lack the protection offered by cars and trucks, putting cyclists at greater risk of injury when an accident occurs. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration regularly reports eight hundred cycling-related fatalities per year, and that number is likely to grow as more people choose bicycles over cars.

It is important that you understand what your legal options are when you are involved in an accident. Your choice of auto insurance coverage may prevent you from suing a liable driver, as personal injury protection benefits are payable to injured cyclists. The severity of your injuries and the costs of treatment will also affect if you can and should sue.

CAN I SUE?

If you own a vehicle covered by an auto insurance policy, New Jersey’s no-fault laws may prevent you from suing a liable driver when you are injured while cycling. It may seem strange that an auto insurance policy can cover you when you are cycling, but New Jersey law classifies cyclists as pedestrians for the purposes of auto insurance. The PIP benefits of an auto insurance policy can be paid to cyclists as if they were pedestrians. However, when you receive PIP benefits, New Jersey restricts your right to sue a liable party unless you suffer what is considered a serious injury, such as:

-death

-dismemberment

-significant scarring or disfigurement

-displaced fractures

-loss of a fetus

-or a permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability

If you do suffer such an injury or are not covered by an auto insurance policy, then you will have the right to sue a liable party for your injuries. Of course, being able to sue is just the first step in receiving compensation from a liable party. You need to also determine who might be liable for your injuries.

WHO IS LIABLE?

There are numerous factors that can contribute to one’s liability for an accident, much like in a car accident. These factors can create liability on the part of drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, and even car and bike manufacturers. In our experience, it is best to go over the accident’s events and answer the following questions of what might have caused or contributed to the accident.

-Was a driver or another cyclist negligent in their behavior?

-Was the accident caused by human error?

-Were the vehicles and bikes involved properly maintained?

-Were the vehicles or bikes defective in some way that could not be known by an operator?

CAN I SUE THE GOVERNMENT?

There are also times where a public entity may be responsible for your injuries due to their negligence in maintaining public property. However, New Jersey protects public entities from liability for accidents unless your case meets the following conditions.

-The property was in a dangerous condition.

-The dangerous condition was the cause of your injury.

-The dangerous condition created a foreseeable risk of the injury incurred.

-Either a wrongful act by a public employee created the condition, or the public entity had sufficient notice of the dangerous condition to fix it before an accident occurred and failed to do so.

If any of these conditions are not met, then a public entity cannot be held liable for your injuries. However, you should not be afraid to speak with a legal professional if a public entity may be held responsible. If it is possible to hold a public entity as liable for your injuries, then you should pursue the case in order to protect your rights.

If you or a loved one was injured in a bicycle accident, contact Rosenblum Law for a free, no-obligation consultation.