New Jersey Car Accident Legal Questions

Its hard to tell who is at fault from your description.  If someone is already parked, and opened their door, an argument could be made that you should have seen that and stopped in time.  An argument can also be made that they were careless in opening their door.  It would seem to me that if the other person flung the door open as you were pulling into the spot that's the same as opening it into traffic if you're parked on the street and they should have been more careful. ... Read Answer

It is possible that a failure to warn against the danger might be a case, but an attorney would have to know more about the facts to provide you with an educated opinion. Obviously, a tree is allot bigger than a cone, but if there was something obstructing your view as you approached the tree, and cones set out further in advance of the tree would have avoided the problem, you might have a case.  You should contact a local personal injury attorney (one in your state).  Personal injury attorneys take  cases on a contingency basis which means you only have to pay if you succeed.  Additionally, initial consultations are free. You can use the "Find a Lawyer" service through this website to research personal injury attorneys. Then, visit each attorney's website and select a firm that has a record of successful verdicts. If you are unable to find a lawyer who meets these qualifications within your state, sometimes you may contact an out of state lawyer who can refer you to a qualified attorney in your state while providing support related to the issues of medicine. Click here and here for more information about me. Please note that by attempting to answer your question, I am not acting as your attorney. I will do nothing further to protect or preserve your interests in the absence of any additional discussion with you about this matter. John Ratkowitz, Esq. Starr, Gern, Davison & Rubin, P.C. 105 Eisenhower Parkway Roseland, NJ 07068 Office: (973) 830-8441 Cell: (732) 616-6278 Fax: (973) 226-0031 Email: jratkowitz@starrgern.com  Skype: john_ratkowitz. ... Read Answer

Whoever is representing you should be answering your questions.  Generally speaking, your medical bills should be payable through your autmobile insurance policy through your PIP policy.  Click here for an article that provides instructions regarding what to do if you are in a car accident in New Jersey.  Click here and here for more information about me. Please note that by attempting to answer your question, I am not acting as your attorney. I will do nothing further to protect or preserve your interests in the absence of any additional discussion with you about this matter. John Ratkowitz, Esq. Starr, Gern, Davison & Rubin, P.C. 105 Eisenhower Parkway Roseland, NJ 07068 Office: (973) 830-8441 Cell: (732) 616-6278 Fax: (973) 226-0031 Email: jratkowitz@starrgern.com  Skype: john_ratkowitz. ... Read Answer

You may have a viable case, an attorney would have to look at the police report and perhaps conduct an investigation to determine what the facts are, since you were unconscious at the scene. Typically, when there is a dispute about how an accident occurred, we will hire a private investigator to go out and get statements from witnesses.  You may have coverage for your medical bills through an auto insuance policy. If you fractured your wrist and suffered a head injury, provided you can prove that the accident was the fault of the driver, you should be looking for allot more than $10,000. You should get an attorney.  Click here for an article that provides instructions regarding what to do if you are in a car accident in New Jersey.  Click here and here for more information about me. Please note that by attempting to answer your question, I am not acting as your attorney. I will do nothing further to protect or preserve your interests in the absence of any additional discussion with you about this matter. John Ratkowitz, Esq. Starr, Gern, Davison & Rubin, P.C. 105 Eisenhower Parkway Roseland, NJ 07068 Office: (973) 830-8441 Cell: (732) 616-6278 Fax: (973) 226-0031 Email: jratkowitz@starrgern.com  Skype: john_ratkowitz. ... Read Answer

You need to get a copy of the police report. That will have the information about the other driver in it.  Click here for an article that provides instructions regarding what to do if you are in a car accident in New Jersey.  Click here and here for more information about me. Please note that by attempting to answer your question, I am not acting as your attorney. I will do nothing further to protect or preserve your interests in the absence of any additional discussion with you about this matter. John Ratkowitz, Esq. Starr, Gern, Davison & Rubin, P.C. 105 Eisenhower Parkway Roseland, NJ 07068 Office: (973) 830-8441 Cell: (732) 616-6278 Fax: (973) 226-0031 Email: jratkowitz@starrgern.com  Skype: john_ratkowitz. ... Read Answer

It is out of the ordinary that the police failed to respond. I have never heard of that before. You should file a police report so that you can submit the report to your insurance company. Did the other driver stop and provide you with insurance information? If not, if you were injured you will have to file an Uninsured Motorist Claim with your own carrier.  Click here for an article that discusses what you should do when you are in an automobile accident.  Click here and here for more information about me. Please note that by attempting to answer your question, I am not acting as your attorney. I will do nothing further to protect or preserve your interests in the absence of any additional discussion with you about this matter. John Ratkowitz, Esq. Starr, Gern, Davison & Rubin, P.C. 105 Eisenhower Parkway Roseland, NJ 07068 Office: (973) 830-8441 Cell: (732) 616-6278 Fax: (973) 226-0031 Email: jratkowitz@starrgern.com  Skype: john_ratkowitz. ... Read Answer

Although it may seem like a long time, it takes a lot to resolve a case and waiting form APril 5th is not too long.  The judge will not speak to you and cannot consider a letter.  Write to the attorney instead, and copy the attorney on the other side.  Ask when you will receive your money.  If you don't get a response by June, then you can contact the Office of Attorney Ethics and they can help you. ... Read Answer

Its not possible to answer based on the information you have given. What is the nature of the case?  How is the person liable for you?  Is it injury to you?  Property damage?  The ability to pursue a claim against homeowner's insurance is going to depend on the liability and the injuries or damage received. ... Read Answer

Its impossible to determine,  based on what you wrote, if the State has liability.  However, there is one thing you need to know.  The type of liability you are talking about is called a "tort".  When you claim a public entity, such as the State of New Jersey, has committed a tort, you have to file a special notice against the State called a Tort Claim notice.  This notice has to be filed within 90 days of the event occurring, no exceptions.  This is a link to a form. http://www.nj.gov/military/vmh-policies/Business%20Office%2044-02-004B.pdf So your first step in resolving the liability issue will be to file this notice and then the State's insurer may contact you regarding the road.  Good luck !... Read Answer

 You will be able to file with your own insurance company. Then, when your insurance company sees that the claim was denied, your insurance company will pursue reimbursement from the insurance company of the driver and/or the owner of the vehicle.  In most motor vehicle damage cases, the insurance companies hire an attorney to represent the insured.  Before you do anything, you should follow up with your own insurance company, submit the claim, and see if they will be pursuing it.  Good luck.  ... Read Answer

The facts you describe certainly seem to indicate that you and your wife possibly have a strong case. I would need more information to tell you more than that there is a possibility. In particular, I would need to see a copy of the police report, and I would like to know who the owner of the other vehicle was, what your wife's diagnosis/prognosis is, what treatment she has received, etc. It merits noting that in New Jersey, commercial vehicles generally are excepted from the "limitation on lawsuit" option that most people elect on their auto insurance. As a result, you do not have to have a devastating injury to collect a non-economic (i.e., pain and suffering) award if the wrongdoing vehicle is a commercial vehicle. Also, you should know that in New Jersey, most personal injury lawsuits must be instituted within two years of the incident (although in certain cases, notice to the opposing party must be given within ninety days of the incident). Failure to bring your suit within that timeframe can result in a total bar to recovery. Therefore, I strongly suggest contacting an attorney as soon as possible and not waiting until the moment before the deadline is up to contact an attorney.... Read Answer

If you were never served with the paperwork, and had no knowledge of it, the matter would be closed and resolved.  The issue for you is going to be wehther the result of that litigation affected you oin any way and were you given notice of it.  You should review the court records to see if it resulted in any judgment aginst you. ... Read Answer

Its not illegal to record someone, however, what you have recorded could possibly not be allowed to be used in court.   The Court is going to want to know how the recording was made, who had control of the recording, etc. The court will want to be sure that there isn't a possibility you could have tampered with the recording some how.  You will also need to have a way to identify who is speaking in the recording.  So it could be difficult to be given permission from the court to use the recording.... Read Answer

If the only summons you were issued was for the expired driver's license, then no moving violations were issued to you.  Were any issued to the other driver?  You can get a copy of the accident report from the local police that issued the summons, and it will tell you what other summonses were issued to the other driver.  Did you suffer any injuries?  Are you insured?  PLease let me know if there is any other information I could provide.  ... Read Answer

I don't know from the information you gave me what you need.  Were you injured?  Do you need help with a traffic violation or municipal court matter?  If you were injured in the accident, you need to file a Tort Claim notice against the town in which the police officer was located.   The Tort Claim notice needs to be filed within 90 days of the accident.  ... Read Answer

There is currently a class action suit regarding Jeep airbags that involves something different.  http://www.classaction.org/blog/over-900000-jeeps-recalled-for-inadvertent-airbag-deployment--1-56512.html Go to this link and review it. It is a class action for Jeep owners whose airbags deployed for no reason while they were driving.  It led to a recall of hundreds of thousands of Jeeps.  you may be entitled to compensation if the airbag was defective, and the Statute of Limitations would not apply if you were just notified of this issue.   Even though it seems that the airbag issue was something different than what happened to you, one of the existing class action suits may cover your issue.    ... Read Answer