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The Duties of a Common Carrier

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The Degree of Care When a Fee is Charged for Transport

car crashUnder the laws of negligence, which have evolved over the past millennia, every person in society must exercise reasonable care in all actions, so as to minimize the risk of injury to others. Accordingly, if a person gives you a ride to or from somewhere, even if the ride is free, the driver must exercise reasonable care to avoid a possible car crash.

When you pay money to travel on a motor coach, train, passenger boat, taxi or airplane, though, you expect a higher degree of care and a higher level of safety. In fact, the law imposes a duty on individuals and entities that transport either people or goods from one place to another for a fee. They are known under the law as “common carriers,” and typically must adhere to higher legal standards than other motorists.

The Duties of a Common Carrier

Under the law, a common carrier must exercise “the highest degree of care” when transporting individuals or property for a fee. With respect to people, a common carrier must take “all reasonable steps” to prevent injury to passengers. Note that the duty actually may extend to individuals in a waiting area who may subsequently become passengers upon the arrival of a train, bus, truck or other vehicle. However, in most instances, the duty arises once the passenger purchases a ticket.

Contact Attorney Howard D. Popper

To learn about how we can help you with a Social Security disability claim, contact our office online or call attorney Popper at 973-993-8787. We have offices in Morristown and Newton, but will come to your home or the hospital, if necessary. There is no charge for your first consultation.

We handle all personal injury claims on a contingency basis. You won’t be charged any legal fees unless attorney Popper recovers compensation for your losses.

Common Causes of Mass Transit Accidents

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The Factors that Frequently Lead to Public Transportation Injuries

car accidentOne of the arguments commonly made to promote buses, light rails, commuter trains and other forms of mass transit is the belief that they offer a safer ride. While mass transit accidents may not be as common as motor vehicle accident, they still happen too often and can result in serious injury and death.

As a general rule, negligence is a contributing factor in most public transportation accidents. Negligence involves the failure to act reasonably in a given situation. Under the laws of personal injury, every person in society has a duty to exercise a reasonable degree of care in all actions. That includes individuals who own or operate mass transit vehicles.

Among the most frequent causes of mass transit accidents are:

  • Carelessness or breach of duty by the driver. This may involve distracted driving, fatigue, impairment by drugs or alcohol, inadequate training or failure to obey traffic laws and signals.
  • Ineffective or inadequate vehicle maintenance—The owner or operator may ignore known mechanical issues or fail to conduct routine maintenance.
  • Dangerous or defective components on the mass transit vehicle—Such components may be defectively designed, manufactured or marketed.
  • Roadway hazards, including poorly designed or maintained thoroughfares
  • Negligence in hiring, training or supervising a mass transit employee—A supervisor may hire an employee without the necessary skills, fail to ensure that they have appropriate instruction on the use and operation of a mass transit vehicle, or fail to monitor the employee for compliance and skill assessment.

Contact Attorney Howard D. Popper

To learn your options when you have been injured because of someone else’s carelessness, contact our office online or call attorney Popper at 973-993-8787. We have offices in Morristown and Newton, but will come to your home or the hospital, if necessary. There is no charge for your first consultation.

We handle all mass transit accident and injury claims on a contingency basis. You won’t be charged any legal fees unless attorney Popper recovers compensation for your losses.

Workers’ Compensation—The Different Types of Payments

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different types of paymentsIn New Jersey, as in other states, when you have suffered injury or illness at work or because of exposure to a work-related condition, you have the right to file a workers’ compensation claim to recover benefits for your disability. There are only two requirements to qualify for workers’ compensation—you must have suffered an injury and it must have happened while you were on the job.

The Different Types of Payments

Workers’ compensation payments are categorized as either temporary or permanent, and as either partial or total. Accordingly, you may recover benefits for:

  • Temporary partial disability
  • Temporary total disability
  • Permanent partial disability
  • Permanent total disability

A temporary disability is one of limited duration. With a temporary partial disability, you may or may not be able to work at all, depending on the nature of the disability. With a temporary total disability, you cannot perform any of the duties of your job.

To qualify for temporary disability benefits in New Jersey, you must miss at least seven full days of work because of your injuries. The benefits paid are 70% of your prior gross weekly wages, but are not subject to income tax. There’s also a cap on the weekly amount paid. You’ll be eligible for payments until you return to work, you’ve reached maximum medical improvement (MMI) or benefits have been paid for 400 weeks.

If you are unable to fully recover from your injuries, you will be eligible for permanent disability benefits. If your disability prevents you from working in any capacity, you’ll receive permanent total disability payments (for as long as you are disabled).

If you have a permanent disability, but can return to work, you may still be eligible for some type of payment for your disability. The compensation for those types of injuries falls into one of two categories:

  • Scheduled losses—those types of injuries specifically identified under the workers’ compensation laws, typically covering injuries to extremities.
  • Nonscheduled losses—all other types of disabilities

The actual amount of a permanent partial disability payment depends on the degree of loss of use as well. For example, if you have an injury to your hand, but it only leads to a 50% reduction in use, you’ll receive one half of the amount set forth in the schedule of losses for hand injuries.

Contact Our Office

For a free initial consultation, contact our office online or call us at 973-993-8787. We have office locations in Morristown and Newton, but will visit you in your home or the hospital, if necessary.

We take all nursing home neglect and abuse claims on a contingency basis. You will not incur legal fees unless attorney Popper recovers compensation for your losses.

The Requirements to Qualify for Social Security Disability Payments

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Meeting the Definition of Disability under the Law

social security disability paymentsUnder the Social Security laws in the United States, individuals with certain “disabilities” qualify for compensation. There are three specific criteria for establishing your right to collect SSD benefits:

  • You must be diagnosed with a mental or physical impairment
  • That impairment must make it impossible for you to engage in “substantial gainful work”
  • Your disability or condition must have lasted (or be expected to last) a minimum of 12 months, or must be expected to end in your death

Though it may seem clear to you that you have a physical or mental impairment, actually proving that can be challenging. Here are some guidelines to help you determine if you qualify:

  • Your condition must be “medically determinable.” In essence, that means that your disability must be discovered and described by a medical professional (a doctor or physician). When you apply to the Social Security Administration, you’ll want a letter from your doctor clearly stating the nature of your medical condition and how it prevents you from working. It should also state that you will not be able to work for a minimum of 12 months.
  • You must be unable to engage in any substantial gainful employment. It’s not enough that you can’t perform the job you had when you suffered your injury illness. The Social Security Administration will look at your training, education, work experience and age and assess whether there’s other gainful employment you can perform.
  • Your disability must be expected to prevent you from working for at least a year—You don’t have to wait the year to apply for benefits, but you must have a doctor’s assessment that you will be unable to work for a year, or that your illness is terminal.

Contact Attorney Howard D. Popper

To learn about how we can help you with a Social Security disability claim, contact our office online or call attorney Popper at 973-993-8787. We have offices in Morristown and Newton, but will come to your home or the hospital, if necessary. There is no charge for your first consultation.

We handle all Social Security disability claims on a contingency basis. You won’t be charged any legal fees unless attorney Popper recovers compensation for your losses.

Your Options When You Suffer Injury as a Pedestrian

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The Potentially Responsible Parties after a Car-Pedestrian Accident

injury as a pedestrianAccording to the Centers for Disease Control, nearly 130,000 pedestrians suffered injury last year when hit by a motor vehicle. In addition, there were almost 6,000 pedestrian fatalities.

When you’ve been hit by a motorist while crossing, walking, standing or sitting anywhere near the road, your first course of action will likely be to bring a lawsuit against the driver. Under the laws of New Jersey, and in most states, a driver has the responsibility, upon getting behind the wheel, to remain alert and attentive to all surroundings, including the presence of pedestrians. Assuming you were not illegally crossing the road, you’ll have a strong case for recovery of damages based on the negligence or carelessness of the driver.

There are situations, however, where you may also be able to bring legal action against a local municipality for injuries sustained in a pedestrian accident:

  • A municipality may have responsibility for a poorly placed or marked crosswalk—In some situations, a crosswalk may be placed in a potential “blind spot,” where a motorist is not aware of it in time to slow down or stop. Crosswalks that are too close to a curve or corner or that don’t have a street sign, stop sign or light may be considered negligence on the part of the municipality.
  • A local government may be liable if roads or street signs/lights are not properly maintained—If a street light is not working or the signs at the corner are damaged or missing, a pedestrian may unintentionally enter the path of a moving vehicle.

Contact Attorney Howard D. Popper

To learn your options when you have been injured because of someone else’s carelessness, contact our office online or call attorney Popper at 973-993-8787. We have offices in Morristown and Newton, but will come to your home or the hospital, if necessary. There is no charge for your first consultation.

We handle all pedestrian injury claims on a contingency basis. You won’t be charged any legal fees unless attorney Popper recovers compensation for your losses.

Elder Abuse and Neglect—What It Is and What You Can Do

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Elder Abuse and Neglect

According to statistics, one of every eight Americans is over the age of 65 and two of every three senior citizens will experience physical or cognitive impairment (or both) in their lifetimes. One in three are expected to require nursing home care. Of those, more than half a million endure neglect or abuse every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

What Constitutes Elder Abuse and Neglect?

Elder abuse is typically defined to include intentional, knowing or negligent acts that cause harm or a serious risk of harm to at at-risk adult. The CDC lists six specific acts that qualify as mistreatment:

  • Physical abuse
  • Emotional abuse
  • Financial abuse
  • Sexual abuse
  • Neglect
  • Abandonment

Neglect is customarily characterized by a failure to act—typically a failure to meet the necessary needs of the resident/patient.

How Can You Tell If Someone Has Been the Victim of Abuse or Neglect?

Here are some of the telltale signs of nursing home or elder abuse and neglect:

  • Repeated and unexplained injuries or regular visit to a doctor, nurse or other health care provider
  • Withdrawal, loss of appetite, changes in mood or personality
  • Unwillingness to see friends or family
  • Bedsores or ulcers, poor hygiene, loss of weight
  • Person wearing the same clothes at successive visits
  • Changes in living arrangements or roommates
  • Missing items or money

Your Legal Rights

There are a number of grounds upon which you can file a claim for elder abuse or neglect, including

  • Carelessness in hiring, training, supervising or staffing
  • Failure to provide reasonable care
  • Failure to properly restrain or monitor
  • Medication errors

Contact Our Office

For a free initial consultation, contact our office online or call us at 973-993-8787. We have office locations in Morristown and Newton, but will visit you in your home or the hospital, if necessary.

We take all nursing home neglect and abuse claims on a contingency basis. You will not incur legal fees unless attorney Popper recovers compensation for your losses.

The New Jersey Product Liability Act

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Protecting Your Rights When You’ve Been Injured by a Defective Product

The New Jersey Product Liability Act

As we discussed in an earlier blog, there are three different types of product liability claims in New Jersey: lawsuits based on defective design, on defective manufacturing and on defective marketing. The New Jersey Product Liability Act (NJPLA), however, provides the exclusive cause of action for New Jersey consumers who are hurt in an accident involving a dangerous or defective product. Before passage of the NJPLA, an injured person could use a number of legal theories to pursue damages: negligence, breach of implied warranty, misrepresentation and violation of the Consumer Fraud Act were typical allegations. Under the NJPLA, all product-based claims fall within a strict liability framework.

What is Strict Liability?

Under the concept of strict liability, there is no requirement that an injured person prove negligence. Negligence requires a showing that the wrongdoer failed to use reasonable care, which caused an accident, resulting in actual losses. In a strict liability claim under the NJPLA, an injured person must only show that the product was not reasonably safe or fit for its intended purpose. That may be shown in three ways:

  • The product contained a manufacturing defect
  • The product failed to contain adequate warnings or instructions (the so-called “failure to warn” claim)
  • The product was defectively designed

To prevail on a claim alleging defective manufacture of a product, the plaintiff must only prove that the product “deviated from the design specifications of the manufacturer” or from what are considered identical units produced according to the same standards or specifications.

To win on the failure-to-warn claim, an injured person must demonstrate that the product did not include warnings or instructions that “a reasonably prudent person…would have provided in the same or similar circumstances.”

To succeed with a defective design claim, an injured person must show that the risks of the product as designed outweighed its usefulness or that the product could have been designed in a way that minimized or eliminated the risk of harm.

Contact Attorney Howard D. Popper

To learn your options after suffering an injury due to a dangerous or defective product, contact our office online or call attorney Popper at 973-993-8787. We have offices in Morristown and Newton, but will come to your home or the hospital, if necessary. There is no charge for your first consultation.

We handle all personal injury claims on a contingency basis. You won’t be charged any legal fees unless attorney Popper recovers compensation for your losses.

Your Rights When You’ve Been Hurt by a Dangerous or Defective Product

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The Different Product Liability Claims

There’s a common misperception that all products that make it to the market have been sufficiently tested to determine whether they pose a risk of injury to consumers. That’s not necessarily true. In the rush to be the first to market, many product manufacturers take shortcuts, often with respect to any testing of the product.

When you have been hurt because of the malfunction of a product or because of exposure to a dangerous product, there are typically three potential types of legal claims you can file:

  • Claims alleging defective design — An allegation of defective design contends that the designer failed to use reasonable care to determine whether the product as designed posed an unreasonable risk of injury or harm. Such a claim does not consider whether the product was properly manufactured.
  • Claims alleging defective manufacturing — This claim alleges that, regardless of whether there was reasonable care in the design of the product, it was carelessly assembled, constructed, manufactured, fabricated or built. That may involve substandard materials, carelessness in overseeing the manufacturing process, improperly training the workers who manufactured the product or failing to properly inspect the product after manufacture.
  • Claims alleging marketing defects (also known as a “failure to warn” claim) — An allegation of defective marketing centers on whether the product contained appropriate warning labels or instructions for proper use.

Contact Attorney Howard D. Popper

To learn your options when you have been injured by a dangerous or defective product, contact our office online or call attorney Popper at 973-993-8787. We have offices in Morristown and Newton, but will come to your home or the hospital, if necessary. There is no charge for your first consultation.

We handle all personal injury claims on a contingency basis. You won’t be charged any legal fees unless attorney Popper recovers compensation for your losses.

Common Medical Diagnostic Errors

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Medical problem. Wrong diagnosis.

When you are suffering from injury or illness and seek medical care, you expect that, at a minimum, your condition won’t worsen because of medical carelessness or negligence. Unfortunately, for many reasons, far too many people suffer needless injury after receiving care from doctors or nurses. One of the most frequent involves mistake or error in properly diagnosing an illness or condition.

The Different Types of Diagnostic Mistakes

Though the diagnosis of a medical malady is not an exact science, there are situations where medical professionals act inappropriately and can be liable for damages:

  • Incorrect diagnosis/misdiagnosis — A medical professional may come to the wrong conclusion about an injury or illness. This may stem from a failure to reasonably conduct appropriate tests, from a misreading of test results, or from a lack of experience/understanding of the specific medical condition.
  • Missed diagnosis or failure to diagnose — In this situation, the doctor fails to take reasonable steps to establish that a certain condition or illness is present.
  • Failure to diagnose or check for a related injury, illness or complication—There are times when a doctor should anticipate related conditions or illnesses, but fails to do so.
  • Delayed diagnosis — If a doctor makes the right diagnosis, but the telltale signs were there for some time, there can be liability if there’s needless injury or loss.

According to statistics, diagnostic mistakes are the single most prevalent basis for a medical malpractice claim, accounting for about one of every three medical malpractice lawsuits filed.

Contact Attorney Howard D. Popper

For a free initial consultation, contact our office online or call us at 973-993-8787. We have office locations in Morristown and Newton, but will visit you in your home or the hospital, if necessary.

We take all medical malpractice claims on a contingency basis. You will not incur legal fees unless attorney Popper recovers compensation for your losses.

The Basic Requirements for a Medical Malpractice Claim

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woman with stomach pains
If you’ve been ill or suffered any type of injury and sought medical care, only to have your condition worsen, you may have a right to seek damages through a medical malpractice claim. There are, however, certain fundamental criteria that must be established before you can successfully prove medical negligence.

There Must Have Been a Formal “Doctor-Patient” Relationship

Before you can bring legal action against a medical professional, you must show that you sought the doctor or nurse out and that he or she agreed to provide medical care. You can’t bring a lawsuit for advice you overheard at a social event or that you read about in a magazine. If a medical professional has treated you directly, that’s typically easy to prove.

You Must Show That the Medical Professional Failed to Meet the Standard of Care

A medical professional does not have an absolute duty to cure you or even bring about any improvement in your health. He or she must only act as a reasonable professional, with similar training and experience, would do in the same geographic location. This standard is customarily determined through the testimony of medical experts.

You Must Show That the Breach of Duty Caused Your Injury

If you suffer injury after receiving treatment, you must typically show that it’s more likely than not that the injury was caused by the wrongful conduct of the medical professional. This can be particularly difficult if you are already suffering from a serious medical condition.

You Must Show Specific Losses

You can only recover compensation if the medical professional’s conduct caused you to suffer losses you would otherwise not have suffered. For example, if there are additional unreimbursed medical expenses resulting from the wrongful acts, those may be covered. Specific damages typically include pain and suffering, mental suffering/anguish and lost wages and income.

Contact Attorney Howard D. Popper

To learn your options after suffering an injury due to a dangerous or defective product, contact our office online or call attorney Popper at 973-993-8787. We have offices in Morristown and Newton, but will come to your home or the hospital, if necessary. There is no charge for your first consultation.

We handle all personal injury claims on a contingency basis. You won’t be charged any legal fees unless attorney Popper recovers compensation for your losses.

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