Even if you are as careful as possible about paying attention to your surroundings and avoiding dangerous situations, someone else’s reckless or careless actions can still cause an accident that leaves you seriously injured. Filing a personal injury lawsuit or pursuing a settlement from the person responsible for harming you may be the best way for you to protect your financial security.
If you have been injured as a result of another person or party’s negligence, contacting an Eatontown personal injury lawyer should be your top priority. With a knowledgeable personal injury attorney’s support throughout every stage of your case, you will have much better odds of getting a strong result and obtaining the money you need.
At Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers, we do not back down from a challenge. Founding Partner Jon Ostroff and the rest of our winning legal team fight like hell for our clients, with a track record of success, including over $21 million in verdicts and settlements against Greyhound Bus Company after a devastating highway crash caused by a drowsy bus driver’s negligence. Give us a call to learn more about how we can put our experience to work for you.
What Kinds of Accidents Can Someone Sue Over?
Someone injuring someone else by doing something irresponsible around them makes up the legal theory of negligence, which is what the vast majority of personal injury claims are built around. People owe duties of care to act lawfully and carefully around each other under various circumstances. An irresponsible act that breaches that duty and directly leads to an accident typically counts as legally actionable negligence.
Accidents that could potentially serve as the basis for a lawsuit built around this legal theory include:
Motor vehicle accidents, including collisions with motorcycles, bicycles, pedestrians, or commercial trucks
Slipping and tripping accidents and other injuries caused by dangerous property conditions
Injuries caused by defective consumer products
Injuries caused by unreasonably dangerous medications
Misconduct by medical professionals
Abuse or neglect inside a nursing home
Beyond this basic description, what negligent behavior actually looks like can vary a lot from case to case, and it’s always worth discussing a particular situation with an Eatontown attorney before trying to file a personal injury suit alone.
What Makes Someone Liable for an Accident?
Most successful personal injury claims in Eatontown and throughout New Jersey are based on a legal principle called “negligence,” which is essentially the idea that a person who causes harm accidentally rather than intentionally should still bear financial liability for the consequences their actions have on others. There are four components to negligence, all of which must be present during an accident for a lawsuit to be possible afterward.
First, the person being sued must have owed you some kind of responsibility to act a certain way under the circumstances. This could be a duty explicitly established under the law—for example, obeying the speed limit while driving—or just an implied obligation to act the way a reasonable person would.
The second key component of negligence is a “breach of duty,” meaning a reckless or careless act—or failure to act—that is not consistent with the legal duty.
Third, there must be a direct and causal link between that duty breach and the accident, meaning that the accident would not have happened if the person being sued had not acted in a neglectful way.
Fourth, you must show that the specific losses you are seeking compensation for stem directly from the accident. An Eatontown personal injury attorney’s guidance is essential to understanding and comprehensively proving the role of negligence in your injury case.
Possible Obstacles to Financial Recovery
Under New Jersey Revised Statutes §2A:15-5.1, a jury can assign a percentage of total fault to the person filing a lawsuit, if their own acts played a role in their accident losses. Based on that percentage, the court could then proportionately reduce the value of that person’s final damages award. If you are found to be primarily at fault, you would be unable to recover any money at all.
It is important to note that N.J.R.S. §2A:14-2 sets a time limit of two years from the date of the accident for most injured individuals to file a personal injury lawsuit. Support from a skilled lawyer can make a huge difference when it comes to effectively overcoming legal roadblocks like these during a personal injury case in Eatontown.
Getting Paid Fairly for All Available Damages
Another important thing legal counsel can help with during a personal injury lawsuit is making sure you get paid fully and fairly for every loss you can trace directly back to your injury. This includes losses you have already suffered by the time you start your claim and losses you can reasonably expect to suffer because of your accident in the months, years, and even decades to come.
It’s also important to account for both economic and non-economic forms of harm, meaning both losses that you can objectively prove the value of through receipts and bills and losses you have to define subjectively. Examples of damages a seasoned lawyer can help factor into a personal injury claim in Eatontown include:
Physical pain and suffering
Medical bills
Emotional and psychological distress
Lost work wages and working ability
Loss of life’s pleasures
Personal property damage
Talk to an Eatontown Personal Injury Attorney About Your Legal Options
Personal injury lawsuits and settlement negotiations can be both time-consuming and legally complicated, even if you have very strong grounds for seeking payments. Proceeding with your claim without a seasoned legal counsel can drastically reduce your odds a positive result.
