New Jersey Car Accident Lawyers

Yes, anyone injured in a New Jersey car accident can bring a personal injury claim against any person, business or other entity they believe to be responsible for their injuries. To prove a personal injury claim, an accident victim must show that the defendant, usually another driver, violated a duty of care they owed to the accident victim. In addition, the victim must show that the defendant's negligent actions resulted in their injuries.

While this may sound straightforward, in reality, complications often arise. Under New Jersey's modified comparative negligence law, accident victims will have their total damages award reduced by their own percentage of fault. Those who are found to be more than 50 percent at fault cannot recover for their damages. Not surprisingly, defendants and their insurance companies will often argue that an accident victim contributed to their own injuries. This can drastically reduce the amount of compensation an accident victim receives or may even preclude their recovery altogether.

While all accident victims can bring a claim after an accident, the real question is how to sue effectively. You only get one chance to bring a lawsuit after an accident, and accident victims should make sure they are prepared when they file a claim. Otherwise, they risk recovering far less than they deserve, or having their claim thrown out.

If you were recently involved in a car accident and believe that your own actions contributed to the crash, you should still think about filing a New Jersey car accident lawsuit. While it is possible that you will be prevented from recovering compensation for your injuries based on your own fault, you should not assume that to be the case.

New Jersey uses a system called modified comparative negligence when determining which accident victims can obtain a recovery for their injuries. Under the modified comparative negligence system, accident victims who are not more than 50 percent at fault can still bring a claim against another negligent motorist. However, their total damages award will be reduced by their percentage of fault. For example, assume you were injured in an accident involving another driver and suffered $300,000 in damages. If the jury found you were 20 percent at fault, your total recovery amount would still be $240,000 ($300,000 subtract 20 percent). It is only if you are found to be more than 50 percent responsible for causing that accident that you would not be able to recover anything.

While accident victims are not often precluded from recovery based on their own fault, it is important that they work with an experienced attorney. This is because defendants and their insurance companies routinely argue that an accident victim share blame for causing an accident. If successful, the defendant may significantly reduce the accident victim's damages award.

One of the most common reasons why accident victims do not pursue a New Jersey car accident lawsuit is that they believe they cannot afford an attorney. However, at the Todd J. Leonard Law Firm, we remove this hurdle by accepting all cases on a contingency basis. This means that you will pay nothing upfront to bring your claim. We will cover all expenses leading up to the trial, including filing fees, investigation costs, discovery expenses and more. What is more, we will only recover these costs if we can help you obtain compensation for your injuries. The bottom line is that, if we cannot win or settle your case, you will not pay anything.

While there is no legal requirement that an accident victim hires a lawyer, it is almost always a good idea to start off by speaking with a lawyer. Working with a skilled New Jersey personal injury lawyer will not only make the process much easier for you and your family, it can also increase your chances of success.

Bringing a New Jersey car accident lawsuit is not as easy as filing a claim with the at-fault driver's insurance policy. Most often, the first thing an insurance company will do when reviewing a newly filed claim is to try to find a way to deny it. An insurance company may claim you were responsible for the collision, or that you failed to comply with a procedural requirement. In either case, this can leave you with no means of recovery.

Even if an insurance company determines there is merit in your claim, it will likely offer you far less than you deserve. Insurance companies routinely approach accident victims with low-ball settlement offers in hopes of getting the accident victim to withdraw their claim. Insurance companies do this because they know that they would risk needing to pay out far more money if the case were to go to trial and lose. An attorney can prevent an accident victim from being taken advantage of by negotiating directly with the insurance company.

In addition, an attorney can help accident victims with the following:

• Ensuring accident victims receive the necessary medical care;
• Arranging for an independent investigation into the accident; 
• Gathering all necessary evidence and documentation;
• Submitting claims to the insurance companies;
• Negotiating settlement offers with insurance companies;
• Preparing and filing the complaint;
• Drafting and arguing any pre-trial motions; and
• Litigating the case at trial.

Studies have shown that accident victims who work with an attorney are more likely to receive compensation, and recover significantly more on average than unrepresented plaintiffs.

When it comes to determining fault in a New Jersey car accident, the process is not always intuitive. Certainly, in some accidents, fault is clear. For example, if a drunk driver strikes a pedestrian during broad daylight while they are in a crosswalk, there is little doubt that the drunk driver was at fault. However, few accidents are this simple, and even the smallest facts can complicate the process.

To successfully bring a New Jersey car accident lawsuit, an accident victim must prove the four elements of a negligence claim. Specifically, they must show that the defendant:1) owed the accident victim a duty of care; 2) breached that duty; 3) the defendant's breach caused the accident; and 4) the accident victim suffered damages.

The first element is rarely contested, as all motorists owe a duty to those with whom they share the road. This includes other drivers, passengers, cyclists and pedestrians. However, the second and third elements often prove to be more challenging. Often, defendants in car accident claims will argue that they did not breach the duty they owed to the accident victim, or that, if they did, their breach was not the cause of the accident victim's injuries. These arguments may come in the form of a claim that the accident victim was also at fault, or that some other party was responsible. For example, a defendant driver may claim that the accident was caused by defective equipment or another motorist. If these third parties were not named in the lawsuit, it could result in a situation where the accident victim is left with no means of recovery.

Establishing fault in a car accident claim can be tricky, and bringing a claim requires looking at all potentially liable parties and their role in causing the accident.