Many people believe they can wait up to two years after an accident before filing a personal injury lawsuit. However, people are often surprised to learn that when bringing a claim for personal injuries against a public entity or an agent or employee of a public entity, that they must give proper notice of the claim within 90 days of their accident or injury or they may have forever waived their rights to bring a lawsuit and receive compensation. [Read more…]
Slip and Fall Accidents Raise Legal Issue of Whether Landowner Has Duty to Maintain Sidewalks
By John Megjugorac
As you may know, New Jersey imposes upon commercial landowners a duty to reasonably maintain the sidewalks abutting their property. Courts often look at whether the property should be classified as residential or commercial. Accidents that occur on sidewalks abutting residential property present substantial burdens on plaintiff. This is because as a matter of law a residential landowner does not have a duty to reasonably maintain their sidewalks. [Read more…]
Are There Any Limitations on Your Right to Sue When Involved in an Automobile Accident?
You unfortunately get involved in a motor vehicle accident as a passenger or a driver. You initially seek treatment at a local hospital. You receive treatment and then are released. In the next few days, you start treatment with your doctor. At some point, you decide to seek advice from a lawyer. An appointment is made. The lawyer is advised how the accident happened and what injuries you sustained. The lawyer requests a copy of the insurance declaration page for your insurance policy, the car that you were driving or the car that you were a passenger in. (Depending on your own insurance policy; if you have one or required to have, will decide which policy you need to review). You may wonder why the lawyer needs to review this document if the other driver is at fault for the accident. The insurance declaration page is just as important as the police report at this point. The insurance declaration page contains quite a bit of information that needs to be reviewed by the lawyer. One piece of information that it contains concerns any limitation on your right to sue. [Read more…]
New Jersey Automobile Insurance, Bodily Injury Coverage; How Much Coverage is Enough?
We purchase insurance to protect ourselves against a particular risk. When it deals with automobile coverage, one of the reasons is to protect ourselves from our own negligence and/or the negligence of others with respect to the operation of a motor vehicle. When we purchase Bodily Injury coverage from an insurance company, this is the amount that your insurance policy will pay when you or an insured person becomes liable for a bodily injury or death caused by your automobile. How do we decide how much coverage to purchase? [Read more…]
What happens when you are injured by an unidentified Hit and Run Driver?
One out of every 5 pedestrians killed in an auto accident was a hit and run victim according to a receipt study by the Department of Transportation.
Even though you may not be able to identify the driver or owner of the vehicle that injured you in a hit-and-run accident, you may still be able to recover compensation for your injuries. Although it is not mandatory, many automobile insurance policies provide Uninsured Motorist Benefits (“UM”). If you have UM coverage, then you are entitled to make a claim against your own insurance company to compensate you for your loss. Your insurance company essentially steps in the shoes of the “unidentified” driver. [Read more…]
Lawsuits Involving the Federal Government: How Long Do You Have to File a Lawsuit?
In New Jersey, when someone is involved in a personal injury lawsuit, they generally must file the lawsuit within two (2) of the accident date. N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2. When someone is injured involving a governmental entity such as the state or federal government, this time frame changes. In New Jersey, if you are involved in a personal injury lawsuit, you must file notice with the state entity within in ninety (90) days of the accident or you are generally barred from filing suit. You then must wait six (6) months while the entity conducts an investigation before you can file suit, still limited by the two (2) year statute of limitation. [Read more…]
Ginarte Law Firm Participates in Local Food Drive
By John J. Megjugorac
This month the Ginarte Law Firm has signed up to participate in a food drive that will benefit the local New Jersey community. The food drive will be administered through the Community Food Bank of New Jersey. In this difficult economic time, hunger continues to affect millions throughout the State of New Jersey. According to the Community Food Bank of New Jersey: [Read more…]
Halloween: A very scary holiday for injuries
It is that festive time of year for children and adults: Trick or Treaters; Halloween parties; potential injuries. There are many ways people can be hurt on this holiday — candle fires, costume malfunctions and yes, motors vehicle accidents. Injuries to pedestrians from motor vehicle falls, burns, and other injuries are always of concern. Halloween however is associated with a higher incidence of these types of injuries, than other nights of the year. Falls are noted to be the leading cause of injury among children on Halloween. [Read more…]
Recovering Damages for an Injury Caused On Public Property
If you have been injured due to the dangerous condition of property owned by the State, a county or a municipal or other local governmental body, you should know that these “public entities” are responsible for injuries caused by the dangerous condition of their property only in accordance with the terms of the New Jersey Tort Claims Act, N.J.S.A. 59:1-1 et seq. [Read more…]
Firework Accidents
The holiday season routinely brings about an increase in firework related injuries. Twenty-Eight (28) people alone were injured this year in California when a platform holding live fireworks tipped over and shot the fireworks into a crowd of spectators. [Read more…]