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Can You Be Responsible for a Car Accident If You Weren’t in the Car?

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Car Accident If You Weren't in the CarAs a general rule, after a motor vehicle accident, the first thing the parties will do is look at the actions of all the drivers, so that fault can be determined. While the person actually driving the car may have taken the specific actions that caused the crash, there are instances where a third party (someone not even in the car) can be potentially liable for damages suffered by others.

When a Person Is Driving for Work

Under the legal doctrine of respondeat superior, there are situations where an employer can be held responsible for the wrongful acts of an employee. If the employee was performing regular duties in the course of employment when the accident occurred, the employer may have liability. If, on the other hand, the employee was engaged in a primarily or wholly personal activity during work hours, the employer may escape liability. For example, if an employer sends an employee to the store, to a restaurant or to meet with a client, an accident that occurs on the way there or back may result in legal responsibility for the employer. However, if the employer sends an employee to meet with a client and the employee diverts his or her path to get lunch, any accident occurring during that diversion will typically not result in liability for the employer.

When You Let Someone Else Drive Your Car

In some states, simply letting someone else drive your car imposes liability on you for any accidents they have. As a general rule, automobile insurance follows the car, not the driver. Your insurance will be required to pay for any damages caused by your car, regardless of who was driving.

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 to Expect During a Personal Injury Lawsuit, Part One

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How a Personal Injury Lawsuit Moves Forward—Phase One

What to Expect During a Personal Injury Lawsuit, Part OneWhen you’ve been injured because of someone else’s negligence, you want the legal process to move as swiftly as possible, so that you can get the compensation you need to cover all your losses. There are specific steps to the legal process, tasks that need to be completed before a trial can begin. In this series of blogs, we look at what typically happens before a trial commences, before your lawyer makes an opening statement to a jury.

Initial Pleadings Must Be Filed

Before anything else can happen, you must file a complaint. The complaint must be filed within a specific period of time after your accident (or after you discover the injury, if it was not readily apparent). That’s customarily two years from the date of the accident, but may be as little as 90 days, depending on who the wrongdoer was. The complaint is filed with the clerk of the court, but the defendant must also be served with a copy. Under court rules, the defendant then has a specific number of days to respond to the complaint by filing a formal “answer.” If the defendant does not answer within the required period of time, you can ask the court for a default judgment.

The Discovery Period

Once the complaint and answer have been filed with the court, the judge will typically schedule a hearing to discuss how the case will move forward. The judge will determine the likelihood that the case can be settled, and may encourage the parties to engage in good-faith settlement discussions. The court will also establish the guidelines for “discovery”—a legal term for the gathering of evidence.

As a general rule, discovery takes three forms—depositions, requests for production, and interrogatories. Depositions are oral examinations of witnesses under oath and recorded by a court reporter. Interrogatories are written questions that parties must answer. Requests for production typically relate to documents that are relevant to the case.

The judge will customarily identify a date by which all discovery must be completed, and may set parameters on the number of interrogatories and other discovery.

To learn more about what happens after discovery is completed, see our blog on What to Expect During a Personal Injury Lawsuit, Part Two.

Contact Attorney Howard D. Popper

To learn your options when you have suffered 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.

Social Host Liability in New Jersey

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motor vehicle accident

Summer’s over, but the holidays will be here before you know it. Every year, someone attends a private or work-sponsored holiday party, gets behind the wheel and gets in a motor vehicle accident. What are the responsibilities of social hosts—the persons throwing the parties—to anyone who might be injured in an accident involving an inebriated guest?

Social Host Defined

In New Jersey, as in other states, a “social host” is anyone who extended an express or implied invitation to another person to come to a party they were hosting, and who then provided alcoholic beverages to that person. If that person is visibly under the influence of alcohol when served, the person serving the alcohol can be liable for any injuries or property damage caused by the inebriated person. In addition, if you knowingly serve a person a quantity of alcohol that would reasonable be considered enough to impair that person, you can be responsible for any injuries or damage they cause, even if they were not visibly drunk when served.

In New Jersey, there is no requirement that the host actually serve the alcohol. In fact, a host may be fully liable even if the guest served himself or herself. It is important to note, though, that the host will not be held accountable for any injuries sustained by the drunken party guest, only to third parties.

Contact Attorney Howard D. Popper

To learn your options when you have suffered 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.

Common Causes of Motorcycle Accidents

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Motorcycle that has been involved in an accident

It’s one of the enduring symbols of freedom in America—a motorcyclist, shades on, hair blown back, fully exposed to all nature has to offer. But with that freedom comes a price. A motorcyclist is more than 25 times more likely to be fatally injured in an accident than a person in a car.

Statistics show that bikers have five times the rate of injury as automobile operators. And in two out of every three accidents involving a motorcycle, the other driver caused the wreck. So how does it happen? How is it that motorcycles are involved in so many crashes?

Motorcycles Are More Greatly Affected by Road Hazards

Let’s face it…our roadways are almost always in need of repair. When you’re in a car or truck, hitting a pothole, slippery road, gravel or even railroad tracks will rarely cause you to lose control and have an accident. But on a motorcycle, those roadway defects can be extremely dangerous.

Other Motorists Pay Less Attention to Motorcycles

.Even though there have been national public service campaigns to heighten awareness of the presence of bikers on the roads, many drivers still plead that they “didn’t see” the motorcycle until it was too late. Estimates are that approximately three out of four car-motorcycle accidents are at intersections and that the bulk of those involve drivers who claim they never saw the motorcycle.

A Motorcycle Requires More Expertise to Safely Drive

A motor vehicle with four wheels can be far more forgiving to the operator than a motorcycle, offering much greater stability, and an extremely low risk of rolling over. With a motorcycle, anything that throws off your balance—the wind, a stone in the road, the draft from a passing vehicle—can send you into a spin and put you down on the road.

Some Bikes May Be Prone to “Speed Wobble”

With some motorcycles, if you travel at higher speeds, the bike can start to wobble. Typically, this is a manufacturing or design defect.

Contact Our Office

For a free initial consultation, contact attorney Howard D. Popper 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. We won’t charge attorney fees unless we recover compensation for your losses.

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