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Why You Need an Experienced Attorney When You Suffer a Serious or Catastrophic Loss

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catastrophic injury
In any accident, the losses can be significant. You may be out of work for days, weeks or months and medical expenses can escalate in a hurry. When the type of injury is serious or catastrophic, though, it’s extremely important to have an experienced lawyer to help you get full and fair compensation.

What Is Serious and Catastrophic Injury?

Serious and catastrophic injury is typically characterized by the severity of the injury/suffering, as well as the length of time that the injured person will be affected. A lesser injury that is nonetheless permanent may still require the skill and knowledge of an attorney who has handled serious and catastrophic loss claims.

Typically, serious and catastrophic loss includes traumatic brain injury (TBI), spinal cord injury, paralysis, paraplegia or quadriplegia, burns, broken bones, permanent scarring or disfigurement, and amputation or loss of limb.

The Consequences of a Serious or Catastrophic Injury

As a general rule, the more serious the injury, the more care that will ultimately be required to treat the injury. In addition, the more the injured person is likely to suffer during the remainder of his or her life. Not surprisingly, the evidence to support such claims is typically more complex. An attorney handling such a case must have a clear sense of the type and cost of treatment the injured person will require, now and in the future. Furthermore, the lawyer must be aware of any damage caps that apply in the state where the lawsuit will proceed, as well as the types of damage caps. Many states have placed these limits on so-called “non-economic” damages, such as pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life.

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 personal injury claims on a contingency basis. You will not incur legal fees unless attorney Popper recovers compensation for your losses.

What Happens When a Pedestrian Is Injured While Illegally Crossing the Road?

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jaywalking

Can a Jaywalking Pedestrian Recover Damages after Being Hit by a Car?

When a motorist drives carelessly and hits a pedestrian, the consequences can be serious and catastrophic, and often tragic. The driver may have turned a corner without looking to see if someone was in the crosswalk, or may simply have been driving too fast under the conditions. But what happens when a pedestrian crosses the road in the middle of the block or otherwise in violation of the law or safety guidelines? Is the driver off the hook? Not necessarily.

The Concept of “Shared Fault”

Both drivers and pedestrians are obligated to follow the law. Drivers must obey speed limits, stop at all appropriate signs or signals, and use appropriate caution in all situations. Pedestrians are typically required to cross at corners or in crosswalks, and are often not allowed on certain parts of high-speed roads.

A pedestrian who violates one of the laws governing crossing or traveling along a road may be partially liable or wholly liable for injuries suffered. If a person steps out in front of a car (illegally) and the driver engaged in reasonable actions, but could not avoid the pedestrian, the pedestrian will likely be considered entirely responsible for his own injuries. If, however, the driver was not acting reasonably or failed to act reasonably after observing the pedestrian, the fault may lie with the driver, or it may be shared between the parties.

In New Jersey, when both parties have some degree of liability, the concept of comparative negligence applies. With comparative negligence, the court determines the full amount of the losses suffered by the injured party, identifies the degree to which the injured party caused the accident, and reduces the damage award by that percentage. New Jersey has adopted what is referred to as “modified comparative negligence.” Under the comparative negligence statute in New Jersey, an injured party must be less than 50% responsible for the accident in order to recover any compensation.

Accordingly, if a person jaywalks in front of a car in New Jersey, but the driver has ample time to stop, slow down or avoid the pedestrian, but unreasonably fails to do so, the driver may be fully or partially liable.

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.

Motor Vehicle Accidents in Winter Weather

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commercial truck in snow

The Common Causes of Commercial Truck Accidents

Statistics show that about 25% of all motor vehicle accidents in the United States occur in snowy or icy weather, as motorists experience difficulties controlling their vehicles or fail to properly clear their vehicles of snow and ice. Because of those concerns, New Jersey has enacted specific laws regarding winter driving. If you violate the law and are in a crash, you may compromise your rights to compensation for your injuries.

The Requirement that You Remove Snow and Ice from Your Windshield

Under New Jersey law, you cannot operate a motor vehicle on the road if you have failed to clear the windshield of any accumulation of snow or ice. If a police officer observes you driving with your view impaired by ice or snow, you can be stopped and issued a traffic citation. The fines for driving with a view impaired by snow or ice range from $25 to $1,000, and apply to all types of motor vehicle operators, including commercial truck drivers.

Negligence in Winter Driving

Under the basic legal principle of negligence, all persons are required to use reasonable care in all actions, including driving a car. What qualifies as reasonable depends, in part, on the circumstances. Accordingly, when there’s an accumulation of ice or snow on the roads, most courts of law will agree that it’s reasonable to:

  • Make certain all windows are snow and ice-free, and that your heater/defroster operate properly
  • Operate your vehicle at lowers speeds
  • Ensure that your tires have adequate tread to travel through the snow and ice and to stop in a timely manner
  • Avoid any distractions, including cell phones or handheld devices

Contact Attorney Howard D. Popper

To learn your options after suffering an injury in a commercial truck accident, 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.

Injuries Caused by Snow and Ice—The Duties of Property Owners in New Jersey

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snow on stoops slip and fall injuries

Injuries Caused by Snow and Ice

The Duties of Property Owners in New Jersey

It’s winter in New Jersey and accumulations of snow and ice are common. Under New Jersey law, property owners must take reasonable steps to minimize the risk of injury to anyone legally on the property. What duties does that impose with respect to the accumulation and removal of snow and ice?

The duties with respect to the maintenance of real property extend not only to owners, but to anyone who exercises control over the premises, including a landlord, tenant or property manager. The obligation, however, is not an absolute one—the person with control of the property must only engage in reasonable acts to ensure visitor safety. Accordingly, there’s no requirement that sidewalks, steps, eaves or roofs be completely free of snow or ice. It may, however, be reasonable to expect that a property owner will monitor the weather, either through active observation or the use of weather forecasts, in order to anticipate and respond to dangerous weather conditions.

Other reasonable measures may include:

  • Applying salt, sand or other substances on a regular basis, or to have buckets of sand or salt available near places that accumulate snow or ice
  •  Engaging a plowing or snow removal service to actively monitor and respond to accumulations of snow or ice
  •  Assigning a specific employee to monitor weather conditions and to remedy snowy or icy conditions as soon as possible

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

What Are Your Options When You Have Been Hurt in a Work-Related Car Accident?

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Work-Related-Car-Accident

When you’ve been injured on the job, your first course of action is typically to notify your employer and take the necessary steps to apply for workers’ compensation benefits. Under New Jersey law, workers’ compensation can often be your “exclusive” remedy for injury or illness suffered in the workplace. That’s not always the case, though, and one of the situations where you may be able to go outside of the workers’ compensation system is when you’ve been hurt in a motor vehicle accident while working. Here’s how it works.

The New Jersey workers’ compensation laws are intended to provide a streamlined way for you to get benefits when you have been hurt because of the carelessness or negligence of your employer or a co-employee. It does not apply (and does not limit you) when your injuries are caused, in whole or in part, by the wrongful actions of an unrelated third party. If you are involved in a motor vehicle accident while working, and the accident was caused by the other driver (who was neither your employer nor a co-worker), you have the right to bring a personal injury lawsuit against that person in civil court. In fact, you can file a workers’ compensation and a personal injury lawsuit simultaneously, seeking to recover for losses from the same accident.

There are advantages and disadvantages to filing a personal injury lawsuit for a work-related injury. The primary advantage—you won’t be limited in your recovery to the amounts set forth in the New Jersey workers’ compensation laws. The primary disadvantage—it can take months or years before you actually receive any monetary award.

It’s also important to know that you can’t recover twice for the same loss. For example, if your medical expenses were covered by workers’ compensation, you cannot recover for the same medical expenses from a third party in a civil suit.

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 personal injury claims on a contingency basis. You will not incur legal fees unless attorney Popper recovers compensation for your losses.

The Common Causes of Commercial Truck Accidents

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Commercial-Truck-Accidents

Though the weight limits can fluctuate, based on a variety of factors, a fully loaded commercial semi or tractor-trailer can haul as much as 80,000 pounds on New Jersey’s highways. If you’re a passenger in an automobile and you are involved in a collision with one of those behemoths, the consequences are almost always serious and catastrophic. Unfortunately, such accidents happen far too often and for many different reasons. Here are two of the most frequent causes of large truck accidents.

Improper Conduct by the Driver

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration compiles statistics every year regarding the causes of truck accidents. Many of the most frequent causes stem from inappropriate or wrongful behavior by truck drivers. Often, it’s some form of substance abuse, frequently involving the use of stimulants to increase time behind the wheel. Excessive speed and carelessness in loading an 18-wheeler are also significant factors in the number of large truck accidents every year. Other driver-related causes include:

  • Driving on unfamiliar roads, leading to excessive speed or sudden braking
  • Driving while distracted by cell phones, radios or other devices, or by roadside attractions
  • Improper or illegal lane changes
  • Failure to use turn signals

Violation of Trucking Regulations

Because of the known risks posed by big rigs, state and federal legislatures have implemented specific regulations: restrictions on the amount of time drivers may spend behind the wheel during a given period, and regulations requiring regular maintenance of vehicles. Often, though, because drivers are paid by the mile, there’s enormous pressure to skirt or ignore the regulations, leading to serious accidents caused either by driver fatigue or by mechanical failures.

Contact Attorney Howard D. Popper

To learn your options after suffering an injury in a commercial truck accident, 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.

Happy Thanksgiving

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Happy Thanksgiving 2018

We set aside one day every year to give thanks, but here at Law Office of Howard D. Popper, PC, we are thankful throughout the year for the relationships that we have built with our clients. We value your trust and your confidence, and we are committed to helping you achieve your goals.

We hope that this holiday gives you a chance to reflect on treasured memories and cherished relationships. Happy Thanksgiving!

Slips and Falls in New Jersey—The Duties of Property Owners

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Slips-and-Falls-in-New-Jersey

In New Jersey, as with all other states, there are laws governing the responsibilities of residential and commercial property owners, providing protection to people who have suffered injury on real property. As a general rule, the owner (or person responsible for exercising control) of the premises has a duty to maintain them in such way as to minimize the risk of injury to anyone lawfully on the property.

The first thing to understand is that there’s no absolute duty to repair any safety risk. Though that can meet the duty to properly maintain the premises, the owner has other options, including:

  • Preventing access to that part of the property where the risk of injury exists
  • Providing reasonable notice to potential visitors of the known risk

It’s also important to understand that the duty imposed is one of reasonableness. A property owner won’t necessarily be liable for any hazardous condition—only those of which he/she was or should have reasonably been aware and could reasonably take measure to address. For example, a property owner may have a duty to remove snow and ice from a sidewalk, steps or other thoroughfare, but need not go to extraordinary measures to clear a snowy or icy path.

The duty is only owed to those who are legally on the property—trespassers typically don’t have a claim for a slip and fall injury. With respect to persons legally on the property, New Jersey distinguishes between “invitees” and “licensees.” An invitee is typically someone who is on the property for the benefit of the owner—the owner owes that person the highest duty of care. A licensee, on the other hand, is typically on the property for his or her primary benefit. There’s still a duty owed, but only to the extent the owner knew or should have known about the condition and would have been reasonably expected to fix it.

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

Workers’ Compensation vs. Personal Injury Litigation—What’s the Difference?

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Personal-Injury-Litigation

So you’ve been injured on the job—maybe in a motor vehicle accident while handling a workrelated task, or you were hurt when a machine or tool malfunctioned. In New Jersey, as in other states, you have a right to seek compensation for any disability that prevents you from working. However, a car accident or product liability claim may also be the basis for a personal injury lawsuit.

In an earlier blog, we looked at what are known as “third party lawsuits” for injuries suffered while working. We talked about the situations where you can file a workers’ compensation claim simultaneously with a personal injury action. But what are the fundamental differences between a workers’ compensation claim and a personal injury lawsuit?

The Question of Fault

In a personal injury action filed in civil court, one of the key elements that must be proven is fault. To recover any compensation, the injured party (the plaintiff) must demonstrate to the court that some other person caused his/her injury, either in whole or in part. In fact, if the plaintiff is partially responsible for his or her injury, the damage award will be reduced and may even be rejected.

On the contrary, the New Jersey workers’ compensation law is a “no-fault” system—there’s no need on the part of the injured party to show negligence. In fact, there are only two requirements—the injured party must show that he or she was injured and that the injury occurred during the course of employment.

The Compensation Available

One of the unique characteristics of the workers’ compensation system is that it provided relatively fixed benefits. The amount that will paid to an injured worker will be calculated based on his or her average weekly wage, as well as the degree of disability. There is, however, a ceiling to the amount that will be paid, and an injured worker will typically only receive compensation for lost wages and reasonable and necessary medical expenses.

In a personal injury lawsuit, there’s generally no such limit. While a jury can attempt to calculate damages based on lost income, the jury can also award compensation for certain non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering or loss of companionship/consortium.

Contact Attorney Howard D. Popper

To learn your options after a personal injury, 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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