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Proving Negligence in a New Jersey Motorcycle Accident Claim

April 13, 2023 by

What Must You Prove? Who Determines the Standard for Negligence?

Proving Negligence in a New Jersey Motorcycle Accident ClaimYou’ve been hurt in a motorcycle accident, either as a passenger or while operating the bike? Maybe another motorist pulled in front of you when you had the right of way. Maybe another driver veered into your lane without looking. Though you can always file a lawsuit for losses caused when someone else intentionally causes you injury, as a practical matter, most accidents are the result of carelessness, negligence, or a failure to pay proper attention.

What Do You Have to Prove to Show Negligence?

A legal claim of negligence requires that you prove that the defendant (person from whom you seek compensation) failed to act as a reasonable person would have under the circumstances. For example, if a motorist rolled through a stop sign and hit you, your claim of negligence would be based on the argument or allegation that a “reasonable person” would have come to a complete stop and looked both ways before going forward.

Ultimately, the jury will decide what would have been reasonable behavior, as well as whether the defendant’s actions were reasonable. To support your claim, you’ll want to provide evidence of the defendant’s failure to act reasonably. That may come in the form of physical evidence…skid marks at the scene, accident reconstruction models from an expert, or an examination of the damage to the vehicle. Additionally, it may come in the form of testimony from eyewitnesses (including you and passengers in your vehicle).

Don’t be surprised if the defendant introduces evidence that seems to contradict yours. To succeed in a personal injury lawsuit, you must convince the jury that your version of the facts is more believable than the defendant’s story—what is commonly referred to as a “preponderance of the evidence.”

Contact the Law Offices of David J. Karbasian, PC

Send us an e-mail today or call us at 856-667-4666 / 856-600-HURT to schedule an appointment to discuss your personal injury claim. Evening and weekend consultations are available upon request. We can come to your home or the hospital to meet with you, if necessary.

Filed Under: New Jersey Motorcycle Accident Claims Tagged With:

What to Expect When You Have a Personal Injury Claim, Part I

March 9, 2023 by

What Will the Legal Process Entail?

What-to-Expect-When-You-Have-a-Personal-Injury-Claim-Part-I-imgYou’ve been hurt in a car, truck or motorcycle accident, or you’ve tripped on broken pavement or stairs at a local business and suffered a debilitating injury. You know you need to take legal action to recover for your losses, but you’ve never done that before, and have no idea what to expect.

The First Phase of a Personal Injury Claim—Filing a Lawsuit

To initiate a claim in court after a personal injury, you will need to file a complaint. You could do this yourself, but you’d be at a significant disadvantage, as there are rules about where you can file your claim and how soon you must file your claim. An experienced personal injury attorney will know those rules and will ensure that your rights are protected.

Once you file your complaint, the defendant has a certain amount of time to respond (by filing an “answer” to the complaint). If the defendant fails to answer the complaint by the deadline, you can seek a default judgment.

As a general rule, in New Jersey, you have two years from the date of the accident/injury to file a personal injury lawsuit. The defendant must generally answer within 35 days of service of the complaint.

The Next Phase—Gathering the Evidence

If the defendant files a timely answer, the court will typically schedule a meeting of all parties. At that meeting, the judge will learn some of the basic details of the case, will inquire as to the likelihood that the case can be settled without trial, and will establish a timetable for “discovery,” where the parties gather evidence.

Discovery typically includes three components:

  • Depositions, where witnesses are questioned under oath and in the presence of a court reporter
  • Interrogatories, where the parties submit written questions to each other
  • Requests for production of documents or other evidence, to be examined by the other party

The discovery period can last anywhere from six months to a year, on average, though it may be longer in more complicated cases.

Contact the Law Offices of David J. Karbasian, PC

Send us an e-mail today or call us at 856-667-4666 / 856-600-HURT to schedule an appointment to discuss your personal injury claim. Evening and weekend consultations are available upon request. We can come to your home or the hospital to meet with you, if necessary.

Filed Under: New Jersey Personal Injury Lawsuits Tagged With:

How Trucking Laws and Regulations Can Affect a Personal Injury Claim

March 2, 2023 by

The Impact of State and Federal Regulations after a Truck Accident

How-Trucking-Laws-and-Regulations-Can-Affect-a-Personal-Injury-Claim-imgDid you know that a fully loaded semi, 18-wheeler or tractor-trailer can weigh as much as 80,000 pounds? When you consider that the average passenger vehicle tips the scales at slightly more than 4,000 pounds, the potential for serious injury when your car collides with a big rig becomes obvious.

Lawmakers have long understood the inherent risks posed by 40-ton semis barreling down the nation’s roadways. That’s one of the reasons that the United States Congress and many state legislatures have enacted laws and implemented regulations governing the trucking industry, particularly with respect to how much time truck drivers spend on the road, and how well they maintain their vehicles.

What Are the Federal “Time on the Road” Limits for Commercial Truck Drivers?

Most commercial truck drivers are paid by the load delivered, which creates an incentive to spend more time on the road. At the same time, though, one of the most frequent causes of truck accidents is driver fatigue. Because too much time on the road can leave a driver tired, less attentive, and less responsive in an emergency, federal law establishes restrictions for how much time a driver can continuously be behind the wheel and how much time a driver can operate a truck over a given period of time:

  • Drivers may drive up to 11 hours at a stretch, but only if preceded by 10 consecutive hours off duty
  • Drivers must take at least 30 minutes off every 8 hours
  • Drivers may not be behind the wheel more than 60 hours in any given 7-day-period or 70 hours in any given 8-day-period

What Vehicle Maintenance and Inspection Reports Must a Driver Keep?

Drivers must maintain a log, which must include a daily post-trip inspection report. The inspection report must identify the vehicle, as well as any defects that may have an impact on the safe operation of the vehicle.

Contact the Law Offices of David J. Karbasian, PC

Send us an e-mail today or call us at 856-667-4666 / 856-600-HURT to schedule an appointment to discuss your personal injury claim. Evening and weekend consultations are available upon request. We can come to your home or the hospital to meet with you, if necessary.

Filed Under: New Jersey Truck Accidents Tagged With:

The Importance of an Expert Witness in a New Jersey Truck Accident

February 8, 2023 by

Helping a Judge and Jury Understand the Complex Issues in a Truck Accident Claim

The Importance of an Expert WitnessIn the aftermath of a collision with a semi, big rig, 18-wheeler, tractor-trailer or other large commercial truck, you have the right to seek full and fair compensation for all your losses, including unearned wages and income, unreimbursed medical expenses, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium/companionship, and property damage. Truck accident claims pose unique challenges, though:

  • The causes of the accident can often be difficult to determine
  • The potential medical and financial consequences can be uncertain

In a lawsuit to recover damages for losses sustained in a commercial truck accident, it’s common to introduce testimony from other parties to the accident, or from bystanders who witnessed the events. You can also bring in physical evidence, such as pictures of the road conditions or the damage to your vehicle. However, it’s usually essential to retain expert witnesses to most effectively present your case to the judge and jury.

What Is the Function of an Expert Witness?

To succeed with a personal injury lawsuit, you must show two things:

  • Who is liable—Who caused the accident and how they caused it
  • How much you have and will lose as a consequence of the accident (your damages)

Expert witnesses are commonly used to establish both liability and damages.

To establish liability, your attorney will typically work with an “accident reconstruction specialist,” often an engineer, who will gather factual data and re-create the events of the accident. That may include measuring skid marks or carefully examining and documenting the damage to both vehicles (among other things).

Two different expert witnesses are commonly used to establish your losses:

  • A medical expert will testify regarding the nature of your injuries, how they were sustained, and what care/costs will be required in the future
  • A financial expert can accurately calculate both the present and future costs of all your losses, and will typically provide a present value of all future damages

Contact the Law Offices of David J. Karbasian, PC

Send us an e-mail today or call us at 856-667-4666 / 856-600-HURT to schedule an appointment to discuss your personal injury claim. Evening and weekend consultations are available upon request. We can come to your home or the hospital to meet with you, if necessary.

Filed Under: New Jersey Truck Accidents Tagged With:

Proving Fault in a New Jersey Truck Accident

February 1, 2023 by

What You Need to Show to Recover Compensation for Your Losses

Proving Fault in a New Jersey Truck AccidentWhen you’ve been injured in an accident involving a commercial truck, chances are your injuries are significant. After all, a semi, tractor-trailer, 18-wheeler or big rig can legally carry up to 80,000 pounds. Even the largest passenger vehicles (the Chevy Suburban is the heaviest) come in at less than 7,000 pounds. Though it can often seem to you that the causes of the accident were obvious, proving liability in a truck accident claim can be challenging, mostly because there are so many different factors that can contribute to an accident:

  • Driver fatigue
  • Poor maintenance of the truck
  • Dangerous or defective components (brakes, steering mechanism, tires)
  • Poorly maintained roadways
  • Operator error
  • Lack of training, experience or supervision

What Must You Prove to Win a Truck Accident Lawsuit?

Though you can always file a lawsuit based on the intentional and wrongful acts of another person, as a practical matter, most personal injury claims are based on allegations of negligence. To succeed with a negligence claim, you must show three things:

  • That the person from whom you seek compensation (the defendant) failed to act as a reasonable person would under the circumstances (drove too fast, failed to properly maintain the truck, etc.)
  • That the failure to act reasonably caused the accident
  • That you suffered actual losses as a consequence of the accident

What Types of Evidence Can Be Used to Support Your Claim?

Evidence can be obtained from a variety of sources:

  • Eyewitness testimony from persons involved in the accident or from bystanders
  • Testimony from expert witnesses, such as accident reconstruction specialists
  • Data gathered from the truck’s “black box recorder”
  • The official accident report filed with law enforcement officers
  • Forensic evidence, such as examination of vehicles, roadway conditions or injuries sustained
  • Pictures taken at the scene of the accident

Contact the Law Offices of David J. Karbasian, PC

Send us an e-mail today or call us at 856-667-4666 / 856-600-HURT to schedule an appointment to discuss your personal injury claim. Evening and weekend consultations are available upon request. We can come to your home or the hospital to meet with you, if necessary.

Filed Under: New Jersey Truck Accidents Tagged With:

Protecting Your Legal Rights after a Motorcycle Accident

January 23, 2023 by

The Most Important Things You Need to Do

Protecting Your Legal Rights after a Motorcycle Accident imageThere’s nothing like hitting the open road on a motorcycle—nothing compares to the responsiveness of a bike and the feel of the wind on your body. But there’s a tradeoff—you can often be invisible to other motorists and, if you are involved in an accident, you have less to protect you from serious injury. If you have been hurt while operating or riding on a motorcycle, there are some specific steps you need to take to protect your legal rights.

Immediately Get the Medical Attention You Need

There’s a certain toughness in the face of pain or injury that’s a part of the motorcycle culture. That won’t serve you well in the aftermath of an accident. If you hope to get full and fair compensation for all your losses, you need to seek medical treatment as soon as possible. Delaying medical care can have a number of undesirable consequences:

  • You run a high risk that your condition will unnecessarily worsen
  • You may compromise some of your injury claims if you have any other type of mishap before you seek medical care. Insurance companies and opposing counsel may argue that your injuries were not caused by the motorcycle accident.
  • Insurers and defense attorneys may also use your delay in seeking medical attention to argue that your injuries were not that serious

Your first action, then, after a motorcycle accident, should be to assess your injuries. Don’t try to shake things off or be strong. If you are in considerable pain or can’t move under your own power, be willing to travel to the hospital by ambulance. If you can get up and walk away, immediately seek medical care at a hospital emergency room, an urgent care facility or with your primary care physician.

Gather Evidence, If Possible

You can help your lawyer by:

  • Getting contact information from witnesses or other parties to the accident
  • Taking pictures of anything that might be related to the accident, including weather or roadway conditions, your injuries and any damage to your vehicle
  • Take the necessary steps to get a police report

Hire an Experienced Attorney as Soon as Possible

You want a lawyer who has extensive experience successfully handling personal injury claims. Ideally, that attorney will have litigated motorcycle accident injury claims for others. Your attorney can also act as your liaison with insurers, helping you get the benefits to which you are entitled.

Contact the Law Offices of David J. Karbasian, PC

Send us an e-mail today or call us at 856-667-4666 / 856-600-HURT to schedule an appointment to discuss your personal injury claim. Evening and weekend consultations are available upon request. We can come to your home or the hospital to meet with you, if necessary.

Filed Under: New Jersey Motorcycle Accidents Tagged With:

Potentially Liable Parties in a New Jersey Truck Accident

January 4, 2023 by

Determining Who Caused the Wreck

Potentially Liable Parties in a New Jersey Truck AccidentWhen you’re involved in a collision with an 18-wheeler, big rig, semi, tractor-trailer or other commercial vehicle, your injuries can be serious, even if the accident occurred at relatively slow speeds. A fully loaded semi can weigh up to 80,000 pounds, under current trucking regulations and your passenger vehicle will rarely weigh more than a couple tons. In most instances, you’re going to get the worst of it. To recover compensation, though, you’ll need to establish liability—who caused the accident. In many cases, you may actually be able to show that a number of different parties contributed to the crash.

Who Are the Potentially Liable Parties in a Commercial Trucking Accident?

In the aftermath of a truck accident, you may be able to bring a lawsuit against:

  • The person driving the truck—The driver may have made driving mistakes, may have been distracted by a mobile device or a passenger, may have been under the influence of alcohol or drugs, may have violated state or federal regulations governing “time on the road,” or may have failed to conduct required maintenance
  • The owner of the truck—If the driver was employed by a trucking company, you may have a claim against the business or the owner. That may involve negligence in hiring, training or monitoring. It can also include failure to ensure that the driver took required rests or that the vehicle was properly maintained.
  • The cargo loader—Many accidents are caused because 18-wheelers or delivery vans are overloaded or because the loads are imbalanced, causing rollovers or loss of control
  • The manufacturer of the truck or of a part or component of the truck—You may have a product liability claim for negligent design, manufacture or marketing if the accident was caused by the breakdown or failure of a part or product
  • The local government, if the accident was caused by a poorly maintained or designed road

Contact the Law Offices of David J. Karbasian, PC

Send us an e-mail today or call us at 856-667-4666 / 856-600-HURT to schedule an appointment to discuss your personal injury claim. Evening and weekend consultations are available upon request. We can come to your home or the hospital to meet with you, if necessary.

Filed Under: New Jersey Truck Accidents Tagged With:

Wishing You And Yours A Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

December 24, 2022 by

Wishing You And Yours A Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Recovering Compensation When You Were Partially at Fault

December 15, 2022 by

You May Be Able to Get Damages under New Jersey’s Comparative Negligence Rules

Recovering Compensation When You Were Partially at FaultYou’ve been in a motor vehicle accident or you were hurt in a slip and fall on an icy sidewalk or driveway. Maybe you didn’t come to a complete stop, partially causing the accident. Perhaps you saw the buildup of ice and snow and ignored it. Can you still seek compensation for your losses, if the accident wouldn’t have happened without your negligence? Maybe…

Contributory and Comparative Negligence in New Jersey

Before 1973, if you were injured in an accident, but the defendant could show that you contributed in any way to causing the accident, there was a good chance you wouldn’t recover anything. That’s because New Jersey used to follow the legal principle of contributory negligence. Under that approach, any wrongdoing by the injured party could prevent financial recovery. Not surprisingly, defense attorneys abused the principle, seeking dismissal of a personal injury claim if there was even the slightest indication of minimal carelessness or negligence. As a consequence, many individuals who committed acts of extreme negligence avoided responsibility for their actions.

In 1973, New Jersey legally adopted the principle of comparative negligence. With comparative negligence, the jury first determines the full extent of the plaintiff’s (person who filed the lawsuit) injuries. Next, the jury establishes the degree to which the plaintiff’s actions caused the accident, expressed as a percentage of liability. Then, the jury reduces the damage award, based on the percentage of liability.

For example, suppose you were injured in a car accident and your total losses were $500,000. The jury rules that you were 20% responsible for causing the accident and reduces the total damage award by $100,000 (20% of $500,000), awarding you $400,000.

New Jersey follows the principle of modified comparative negligence (as opposed to pure comparative negligence). That means that you can only recover a damage award if your liability for the accident is less than 50%.

Contact the Law Offices of David J. Karbasian, PC

Send us an e-mail today or call us at 856-667-4666 / 856-600-HURT to schedule an appointment to discuss your personal injury claim. Evening and weekend consultations are available upon request. We can come to your home or the hospital to meet with you, if necessary.

Filed Under: New Jersey Personal Injury Claims Tagged With:

Riding a Motorcycle in Winter Weather

December 7, 2022 by

Tips for Maximizing Your Safety in New Jersey

Riding a Motorcycle in Winter WeatherYou love the feeling of freedom that comes from getting on your bike, with the wind in your face. When winter comes to New Jersey, with the potential for snow and ice on the roads, you still want to ride. How can you enjoy the thrill of the open road, even in the winter, while staying safe? Here are some tips for avoiding needless injury on your motorcycle this winter:

  • Make certain you’ve winterized your bike—Check the tread on your tires, as well as your brakes, and replace your antifreeze (if necessary). Always clean your helmet and windshield before you hit the road.
  • Know what’s out there—Pay attention to the weather and to weather reports. Know if there’s been a thaw and a freeze, with the potential for black ice or accumulations of snow.
  • Take your time—This applies to every motorist, not just bikers. Everyone needs a little more time to stop in the winter. Every driver needs to take those turns with a bit more caution, in order to avoid spinouts.
  • Always check your tires before you ride—Cold temperatures will lower the pressure in your tires. Don’t risk a blowout.
  • Remember that you’ll have less traction until your tires warm up—The colder your tires are, the harder the rubber will be. The harder the rubber, the less traction you’ll have. As you ride, you’ll generate heat and increase traction, but even a short stop can reduce the traction from your tires.
  • Have the right gear—You’ll be safer when you’re comfortable. Make certain you protect your ears, nose, fingers and toes—those are the parts of your body most susceptible to cold or frostbite.
  • Limit your distractions—This is true at all times, but even more important in inclement weather

Contact the Law Offices of David J. Karbasian, PC

Send us an e-mail today or call us at 856-667-4666 / 856-600-HURT to schedule an appointment to discuss your personal injury claim. Evening and weekend consultations are available upon request. We can come to your home or the hospital to meet with you, if necessary.

Filed Under: New Jersey Motorcycle Accidents Tagged With:

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