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…]
Thanksgiving: A Cornucopia of Injuries Waiting to Happen!
Your Automobile Insurance Policy: What Do All Those Policy Limits Really Mean?
Selecting an automobile insurance policy can be as daunting as purchasing a home computer. Who do you purchase an insurance policy from? What is covered? How much will the insurance cost me? Most importantly, what type of coverage should I buy? The first time you find out about what coverage you have purchased may be when you go see your lawyer after a motor vehicle accident. At that point, you cannot make any changes to your policy to cover the accident that you were just involved in. [Read more…]
State Senate Passes Bill Authorizing Stricter Penalties for Texting While Driving
Recently, the New Jersey State Senate passed bill S69, which increases fines and authorizes motor vehicle penalty points and license suspension for convictions related to talking or texting on hand-held devices while driving. The bill amends N.J.S.A. 39:4-97.3 and declares unlawful the use of a wireless telephone or electronic communication device by an operator of a moving motor vehicle on a public road or highway. [Read more…]
Holiday Accidents
The most dangerous and deadliest time of the year to drive is during holidays. According to The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), July 4th and New Year’s Day are consistently ranked as the deadliest holidays of the year. [Read more…]
New Jersey Drivers Read and Groom Themselves While Driving
A recent article written by Mike Frassinelli of NJ.com[i] has released a new study about driver distractions. Plymouth Rock Assurance conducted a survey which revealed that 12% of drivers have shaved, applied makeup or combed their hair while driving. Five percent of drivers polled have browsed the internet while driving and 9% of driving under the influence of alcohol. [Read more…]
Evidence of a Party’s Prior Alcohol Consumption May be Excluded at the Time of Trial
By John J. Megjugorac, Esq.
Under New Jersey Rule of Evidence 403, relevant evidence may be excluded by the Court if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the risk of undue prejudice. The party seeking to exclude the evidence bears the burden of convincing the Court that the evidence should be bared under Rule 403. Rosenblit v. Zimmerman, 166 N.J. 391, 410 (2001). [Read more…]
Dangers of Distracted Driving Accidents Involving Cell Phones Increases
As more handheld electronic devices hit the market, and more people use them, collisions caused by distracted drivers continue to rise. In 2011, 3,331 people lost their lives in a distracted driving crash —up from 3,267 the prior year. Another 387,000 people were injured in a distracted driving crash. To put those numbers in perspective, almost one of every five accidents listed distracted driving as a contributing factor. [Read more…]
NYPD Finally Changes Accident Investigation Policy
After a considerable criticism by the public and government officials, it appears as that the New York Police Department is finally instituting much-needed changes to its accident investigation policy. Under the new policy, accidents in which victims have been “critically injured” will now qualify for a police investigation, according to the New York Times. [Read more…]
The Dangers of Fatigued Driving
Many people lost an hour of sleep as clocks were set forward an hour for the start of Daylight Saving Time. In case that lost hour of sleep seems insignificant, consider this: According to the National Transportation Safety Board, there historically has been a 17 percent increase in crashes across the nation on the Monday following the time change. [Read more…]