Car Accidents
New Jersey Attorney Representing Motor Vehicle Collision Victims
If you are involved in a car accident in New Jersey or elsewhere in the tri-state area, you may suffer significant injuries. Most people need time to rest and recover, but they may be concerned that they cannot afford to seek the appropriate medical care or take time off from work. At the Grimes Law Firm, New Jersey car accident lawyer Raymond A. Grimes is ready to vigorously assert the rights of victims who suffer serious injuries. People who have been struck by a careless driver can potentially recover many forms of compensation with the assistance of a personal injury attorney, often including pain and suffering, medical bills, out-of-pocket expenses, and lost wages.
Bringing a Car Accident Claim for Compensation
New Jersey offers the option of no-fault car accident insurance. If you sign up for this type of insurance, you will need to turn first to your own insurance coverage to seek compensation for a crash, regardless of whether another driver or you were at fault. An accident victim in the no-fault system may file a lawsuit against a driver at fault only if he or she suffers a serious injury, such as the loss of a limb or disfigurement.
However, when purchasing insurance, New Jersey drivers may also choose ordinary car insurance coverage rather than no-fault coverage. If you chose ordinary insurance, you may either file a claim with the insurance carrier of the driver who was at fault or sue the driver in civil court.
In most car accident lawsuits, you will have to prove the negligence of another driver. To establish negligence, you will need to show the defendant’s duty of care, a breach of duty, proximate and actual causation, and actual damages. There are many different ways that the duty to drive safely may be breached and result in an accident. Some common ways include texting while driving, driving while fatigued, drunk driving, or failing to obey traffic signs or signals.
There must be a causal nexus between the actions that breached the duty to use reasonable care and the injuries that you suffered. This means that the crash must have been foreseeable under the circumstances, considering the defendant’s careless actions, and that it is unlikely to have happened had the defendant acted reasonably.
In some cases, a defendant tries to invoke the doctrine of comparative fault by alleging that the victim was partly responsible. New Jersey uses the rule of modified comparative fault. Under this rule, you may only recover compensation if your fault was 50% or less, and the amount of damages will be reduced according to your percentage of fault. For example, if the jury determines $200,000 in damages while assigning you 20% of the fault and the defendant 80% of the fault, you can potentially recover up to $160,000 from the defendant. It is important to enlist a knowledgeable motor vehicle collision lawyer who can fight back against any allegations of comparative fault.
Enlist an Experienced Car Accident Lawyer in New Jersey or Beyond
If you sustain serious injuries in a crash, you should consult a New Jersey car accident attorney. The Grimes Law Firm serves victims in the area around Neshanic Station and throughout Somerset County, as well as throughout the tri-state region. Call (908) 371-1066 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation with Raymond A. Grimes. He also is available to assist clients who need a criminal defense attorney or guidance with a broad spectrum of other matters, ranging from business and securities litigation to real estate transactions and estate planning.
