While not a legal term, accident is a word the insurance industry, over decades of usage, has successfully caused most people, when referring to motor vehicle crashes of collisions, to call accidents. There is good reason the insurance industry wants you to use the word accident and not crash or collision. The distinction is that the word accident implies a lack of fault. By way of example: When a glass of milk slips from your hand and smashes on the ground, that is an accident, but when a driver runs through a stop sign, striking another car, that involves fault and is not an accident; it is a crash or collision caused by the negligence of a driver.

Accident Reconstruction is a branch of causation forensics that uses scientific methodologies to determine the circumstances of an accident. An expert in accident reconstruction can use known factors from a crash, such as skid marks and the final position of the vehicles, the amount of damage to the involved vehicles to determine speeds and/or directions of travel of the vehicles before the collision happened. A reconstruction expert may be hired when fault is in dispute.

This process involves investigating and analyzing the causes, events, and factors that lead to a vehicle collision, a pedestrian, or a roadside object. The expert then uses that data to determine other relevant issues such as collision severity, visibility, driver behavior, and other causal factors.

Accident reconstruction is often used in traffic collisions involving automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, buses, and pedestrians but can be used in an array of different scenarios. It’s a crucial part of determining how an accident occurred so that liability can be proven. At Stern & Stern LLP, we are familiar with accident reconstruction experts who will give us an advantage in settling your case.

Adjustors are not your friends. They may work for an independent company or be employees of an insurance company.

It is their job to investigate accidents. They investigate the insurance claim by speaking to witnesses and the claimant, reviewing hospital and police reports, and inspecting the damage to property from the accident.

They try to determine who is at fault. They determine the liability of the insurance company. They calculate the claim’s value according to company protocol. This involves evaluating variables such as actual expenses (including previous medical bills and future medical bills), lost income, pain and suffering, and additional harmful consequences of the claimant’s injuries.

They negotiate and settle claims with accident victims. Their goal is to get the claimant to accept the lowest settlement offer possible, without filing a lawsuit. That is how insurance companies make a profit.

While insurance adjusters want to pay out as little as possible, they also want to avoid a personal injury lawsuit, which could be costly and risky for the insurance company. Remember, the specifics can vary depending on the type of accident and the specific facts of the case. It’s always a good idea to consult with a law firm such as Stern & Stern LLP to ensure your rights are protected.

Arbitration

In New Jersey, the Court system requires most personal injury cases to participate in an arbitration. It is viewed as a fast, effective way to avoid the courtroom and settle personal injury cases without the need for testimony by fact witnesses and expensive experts. The arbitrators are qualified experienced personal injury lawyers. They review the relevant evidence and decide whether the plaintiff is entitled to recover compensatory damages, and if so, the amount of damages to award.

After an award is made, both the plaintiff and the defendant have thirty (30) days to accept or reject the award. If neither side does anything, then for a limited period of time, either side may apply to the court to make the award an enforceable judgment.

These two terms are related. Comparative negligence is action by the person making a claim that is then weighed against the action of the person against whom the claim is being made. Then a jury decides on a percentage of negligence as to each person. That percentage of negligence applied to the person with the claim reduces their award by their percentage of negligence.

Contributory negligence is the same concept, but is referring only the percentage of negligence of the person with the claim.

In New Jersey if the person with the claim is more than 50% negligent, they cannot recover any money on their claim.

A Complaint is the document that is filed in the appropriate New Jersey County formally starting a lawsuit. It names the person suing as the plaintiff and the person being sued as the defendant. The Complaint will in general terms explain what happened, why the other party is responsible and demand money damages for the injured plaintiff. After being filed, it then has to be served on the defendant by the County Sheriff or a process server.

This agreement is a contract used most frequently in personal injury matters where the lawyer’s fee is a percentage of the money obtained on the client’s behalf. In New Jersey the percentage is applied after litigation costs are deducted, lowering the lawyers fee. Litigation costs include things like expert fees, medical records, court costs, deposition costs etc.

A deposition is testimony under oath where questions are asked of a witness, such as the plaintiff or defendant, by a lawyer representing one of the parties in the lawsuit. It is usually conducted at the office of the party producing the witness or the party being deposed. Nowadays they are often conducted using Zoom. A shorthand court reporter will take all the testimony , transcribe it, and produce a booklet with all the testimony. The transcript can be useful to make sure witnesses testifying at time of trial remain consistent with their deposition testimony.

After a lawsuit has started, this is the process that allows the parties in the lawsuit to obtain information from the opposition. It is done by means of interrogatories, depositions, notices to produce documents, medical examinations and expert reports.

Expert witnesses are individuals who have knowledge in a particular area greater than the average person and are hired to provide that knowledge in a written report and testimony at time of trial. The most common in personal injury cases are doctors, accident reconstruction experts and economists. At Stern & Stern LLP we have familiarity with and access to respected experts that will help us achieve a great result in your personal injury case.

Unless appointed by a judge, there is no such thing as an Independent Medical Examination (IME). Once a lawsuit has been initiated, the defense has the right to have the injured party examined by a medical expert of their choosing. They commonly refer to that examination as an IME. However, they are hired by the defendant and paid by the defending insurance company. The insurance companies defending personal injury claims require these examinations thousands of times a year, so they will, of course, use examiners (physicians) that tend to minimize or even deny any permanent injury was suffered. The proper term for these examinations is a defense medical examination, or DME.

Interrogatories are a type of discovery. They are written questions by one party demanded of the other party. Answers must be provided within sixty days. If not provided within time a Court can compel answers be provided or dismiss the case, only restoring it, if answers are provided within a set time and upon payment of a fee.

In personal injury cases tin New Jersey there are a set form questions dealing with the person's background, how they became hurt, proof of how they became injured and what are their injuries, including what experts they will use to prove their injuries and the other person's negligence.

After a client provides Stern & Stern LLP with their initial responses, the law firm carefully refines those answers before having the client certify the answers as being correct and then providing them to opposing counsel.

A lawsuit in a personal injury matter is the formal legal action taken by person against someone else asking for an award of money damages for their injuries. It is started by filing a Complaint and that starts the process known as litigation.

Negligence is the failure to exercise the degree of care for the safety of others which a person of ordinary prudence would exercise under similar circumstances.

When lawyers are too busy to provide the detailed attention that clients deserve they hire paralegals to help work on their client's cases. We do not do that. At Stern & Stern LLP we pride ourselves on giving you the client the full dedication the work on your matter deserves.

In New Jersey, to sue the State, County, city or public entities like New Jersey Transit for personal injury, you must comply with the Tort Claims Act. It requires that the entity be notified in writing of the claim within 90 days with some specific requirements. The Tort Claims Act also requires a substantial injury with a specific minimum of medical expenses to have been incurred. There are also several exemptions from liability.

For a personal injury claim in New Jersey we have two years from the date of the incident to file a formal Complaint of the claim or the claim is forever barred. However, if the claim is against a government entity proper notice of the claim must be served on them within ninety days of the incident. There are some rare exceptions extending the time.

Whether you are in a car, an SUV, a truck, on an electric bike and involved in what may be called an accident, a crash, or wreck, the steps to protect your interests are the same:

Check yourself for injuries. If you’re injured, call 911 or ask someone else to do so. If you’re seriously injured, try not to move, and wait for emergency personnel. It might be a good idea to go to the doctor if you are unsure if you are injured.

Check on the well-being of your passengers. If you’re not too hurt to move, check on the other passengers in your car. If anyone’s injured, get on the phone with emergency services or ask a bystander to call for help.

Get to safety. If you’re able to, move to the side of the road or a sidewalk. If your car is safe to drive and is causing a hazard where it is, pull it to the side of the road. Otherwise, leave it where it is and get yourself to safety.

Call 911. Whether an accident is considered a minor fender-bender or a major collision, calling the police is important.

Wait for help. Turn off your engine, turn on your hazard lights and use the road flares in your emergency car kit to warn other vehicles to slow down.

Exchange information. After making sure you and any passengers are uninjured, exchange contact and insurance information with the other driver.

Stay Calm and Think Before You Act. Stress can lead to mistakes that impact your rights1. Take a deep breath and try not to panic.

Preserve the Scene. Try not to move the vehicles unless leaving them where they are poses a safety hazard. If you’re healthy enough to do so and if it’s safe, take pictures of the vehicles and the scene around them.

Be Careful of What You Say. Be careful of what you say after the crash, even at the scene and when you’re talking to friends and family members. Don’t ever say anything that might make someone think you’re taking responsibility for the crash.

Preserve Evidence. Don’t throw away the outfit you had on the day of the crash. Anything that could be connected to the accident should be kept when possible.

Keep Detailed Records. Keep detailed records of what you have to do after the motor vehicle crash. This includes not only medical visits, but also when you have to miss work, what work you have to do to the vehicle and similar things.

Consult an Attorney Before Agreeing to a Settlement. Only agree to a settlement if your attorney has reviewed it. You might be offered one after the crash, but an experienced law firm such as Stern & Stern LLP can best maximize your recovery.