llovett@stark-stark.com
609.219.7433
Lara R. Lovett, Associate, is a member of the Personal Injury Group. In addition to practicing in the Law Division, Ms. Lovett has argued before the Appellate Division and the New Jersey Supreme Court. Prior to joining Stark & Stark, she served as a law clerk for The Honorable Maria Marinari Sypek, Superior Court of Mercer County.
As the mother of a child in a 5 point harness car seat, I have been struggling to get my son snugly strapped in while he's wearing his winter coat. After doing a little research, I quickly learned that it is not safe to buckle little ones into their car seats when they are wearing their puffy winter coats.
You can even do your own case study to see if your child's winter coat is inhibiting him/her being safely buckled in. First, put your child in the car seat without a winter coat on and buckle him/her up. Next, take your child out and put on that winter coat. Put him/her back in the car seat and try to buckle the straps. Are you able to still secure that 5 point harness without adjusting the straps? Those winter coats (especially the puffy ones) require you to loosen the car seat straps by inches just to get the child comfortably buckled in.
So, what’s the problem? If your child is firmly buckled up in his/her 5 point harness, isn’t he/she safe?
Not necessarily.
If you are in an accident, or have to suddenly slam on your brakes, those few extra inches you lengthened the harness straps will give your child room to move. In an accident, the puffy coat will compress and your child will be given enough room with the loosened harness straps to possibly fly out of the car seat, or be slammed back and forth within the seat.
Worried your child will be cold without his winter coat? Keep a blanket in the car, or put a lightweight fleece on your child. There is no legislation in New Jersey prohibiting the wearing of winter coats in car seats. However, removing the coat in order to firmly and safely buckle your child into his/her seat is an easy way to keep him/her as safe as possible in the car.
Lara Lovett is a member of Stark & Stark’s Lawrenceville, New Jersey office, specializing in Accident & Personal Injury Law. For more information, please contact Ms. Lovett.
You have paid your automobile insurance premiums faithfully, every month, for the past umpteen years. Perhaps even to the same company for years upon years upon years. After you get into an accident, you find that you finally need to put that insurance to use, either for reimbursement of property damage to your car or for payment of medical bills after an auto accident. And then you quickly find out that your insurance company is treating you as their adversary, not as their client; even if the accident was not your fault.
Why has this happened? Haven’t you built a good relationship with your insurance company after years of being a loyal and compliant customer?
In truth, none of that matters. As a recent article on the Huffington Post highlights, it is the business of the insurance companies to (1) intentionally delay payment of your claim; and (2) produce purposefully low offers to claimants.
If you were injured in a motor vehicle accident and it was through no fault of your own, you may think that it will be easy to settle your claim without an attorney. As the insurance companies are not looking to give you fair value to compensate you for your injuries, nor are they looking to do it quickly unless it is for a less-than-value rate, you would be proceeding at your own peril. If you need someone to help you navigate the red tape of the insurance industry, please don’t hesitate to contact me to discuss your claim.
Lara Lovett is a member of Stark & Stark’s Lawrenceville, New Jersey office, specializing in Accident & Personal Injury Law. For more information, please contact Ms. Lovett.
If you weren’t taken to an Emergency Room from the scene of a motor vehicle accident, but are in pain, you should seek immediate medical attention. If the pain is severe and it is either after-hours or you cannot get in to see your primary care physician right away, take yourself (or have someone take you) to the hospital. Depending on your complaints, the ER will likely take x-rays, prescribe medication and recommend that you follow up with a doctor if you aren’t feeling better in a few days.
So, with whom should you follow up? The answer depends on whether or not you have selected PIP (Personal Injury Protection) as primary on your automobile insurance, or whether your health insurance is primary.
If PIP is primary coverage on your policy, call your family doctor and find out if he/she will see you for automobile accident-related injuries. Many primary care doctors do not accept PIP as the insurance and will advise you to go elsewhere. The good news, however, is that if PIP is primary, you do not need a referral from your primary to go see another family doctor or any sort of specialist. You can choose who you’d like to go see, and so long as that medical provider accepts PIP, you can schedule an appointment. And, your first visit for any specialty does not need to be pre-certified by your automobile insurance carrier.
If you elected to have your health insurance as primary on your insurance policy, try to get into your family doctor’s office as soon as possible. If you are experiencing neck and/or back pain and do not have a family doctor, you should contact a chiropractor or an orthopaedist.
The important thing is to be seen by a medical professional as soon as possible, if you are in pain after an accident, or are still in pain after a trip to the ER. Navigating the waters of the automobile insurance industry can be tricky business, so do not hesitate to contact me for a free consultation if you have any questions.
Lara Lovett is a member of Stark & Stark’s Lawrenceville, New Jersey office, specializing in Accident & Personal Injury Law. For more information, please contact Ms. Lovett.
Most people don’t carry cameras around on a daily basis. However, most cell phones these days come equipped with a camera. This can be an invaluable tool if you’re involved in an accident, whether it is a motor vehicle accident or a slip and fall.
If you are able to do so safely, at the scene of a motor vehicle accident, don’t hesitate to take pictures. Take pictures of where the cars ended up on the road, of the damage to your car, of any debris that fell off of or out of any of the cars involved, or of any skid marks you believe are from the accident. Police reports do not always contain this information and photographic evidence would be difficult for the defense to refute at a later date.
Likewise, if you have a slip and fall or a trip and fall accident, use your cell phone’s camera to take a picture of what caused you to fall. If there was liquid in the aisle of a grocery store - take a picture of the puddle. Whether or not the puddle was dirty or clear can have a big impact on liability in your case. If there is a large patch of black ice on an unsalted sidewalk that caused you to fall, take a picture. In fall down accidents, there are not always witnesses or someone available to document what just took place.
If you have been involved in a motor vehicle accident or a slip and fall accident, please contact me for a free consultation. If you had the forethought to take pictures on your cell phone, make sure you back those pictures up on a computer – they could be invaluable down the road.
Lara Lovett is a member of Stark & Stark’s Lawrenceville, New Jersey office, specializing in Accident & Personal Injury Law. For more information, please contact Ms. Lovett.
Most people these days are blogging, Tweeting and/or FaceBooking every day occurrences regarding the weather, their children’s antics or how their favorite sports team has performed. It is only natural that an event such as a car accident, work accident or other type of personal injury would also be shared with one’s nearest and dearest on a social networking site.
The problem is, however, that most people are not limiting their audience to immediate family members. Online “friends” tend to include people you have not had any personal contact with since high school, people you have never met in real life, or co-workers. While you are innocently posting pictures of your wrecked car, or updating your status to reassure everyone you’re “fine” (when in fact you may have a permanent injury that is not diagnosed until months after the accident), you have no control over what any of your “friends” do with that information after you have posted it. While you may keep a close eye on who your online friends are, you cannot stop any of them from downloading photos, re-tweeting or blogging that same information.
It is important to realize this because years later, if you have a lawsuit, those same photos and status updates can be discovered by the defense insurance company and used against you at trial. The Court Rules are slow to keep up with the ever-changing technology and there is currently nothing to stop the defense from seeking out information about you that you have made public online.
Be wary of any new “friend” requests if you have filed a lawsuit or are currently in trial. More importantly, do not post any photos or updates about your physical or mental condition, related to your accident. Even the most innocent of comments could be used against you at trial, when taken out of context or skewed by the defense.
Title 59, known as the New Jersey Tort Claims Act, is the controlling authority for how to proceed in an action for personal injury against a public entity. If you were injured on public property or by a public entity or public employee, you MUST file a Notice of Tort Claim against that entity.
A Notice of Tort Claim is simply a form that either the injured party or his representative can fill out. It asks for basic information that includes, but is not limited to: name, address, date, time and place of the accident, what public entity is responsible, how the accident occurred, the amount of property damage, where you’ve received medical treatment. Each public entity may have its own form, however, the information it requests is fairly uniform. (Tort Claim Notice against the State of New Jersey)
The Notice of Tort Claim form must be filled out and served (by certified mail or hand delivery) to the public entity by the 90th day after the accident occurred. Please note, this is not the same as filing a lawsuit. Rather, the form alerts the public entity of the incident and gives them time to conduct an investigation and decide if it would like to settle the matter with the claimant before the claimant files a lawsuit. Per Title 59, a claimant must wait six months after the filing of the Notice of Tort Claim before being permitted to file a lawsuit against the public entity.
Even if you are not sure about whether or not you have a case or want to pursue a case against the public entity, it is important to get the Notice of Tort Claim filed. If it is not filed within 90 days after the accident, you are forever barred from filing a lawsuit against the public entity. There are exceptions for filing a late Notice of Claim, however, a judge has to permit that to happen and they are very limited circumstances.
If you were injured due to the negligence of a public entity or public employee, or due to the dangerous condition of public property, contact a lawyer immediately for help in filing a Notice of Tort Claim. If you do not do so, you could be losing your right to a lawsuit and compensation for those injuries.
If you are injured in a motor vehicle accident and have filed a lawsuit in New Jersey, your case will be sent to mandatary Arbitration. Arbitration takes place at the Superior Court your case is filed in and is held in a conference room, not a court room. The purpose of the arbitration is to help the parties come together to settle the case before it is listed for trial.
When Does My Case Get Listed for Arbitration?
After the “discovery phase” of your case expires, your attorney will receive a notice in the mail, from the court, giving the time and date of the arbitration. Your attorney’s office will contact you about when to appear at court for your arbitration.
Who is the Arbitrator?
The arbitrator is an attorney who has extensive experience in motor vehicle accident cases. In some counties there are two arbitrators - one arbitrator will be a plaintiff’s attorney and the other will be a defense attorney. Other counties have only one arbitrator and he/she can be either a plaintiff or defense attorney. In either situation, the arbitrator will know nothing about your particular case until the attorneys for both sides of your case are called in to explain their side. Attorneys for both the plaintiff and defense prepare packets of information to give the arbitrators to review - these packets include the police report, your medical records, photographs and any other information the attorney feels is necessary to help prove your case.
Who Attends the Arbitration?
Attorneys for both the plaintiff(s) and defendant(s) will be there. If liability is not an issue, like in most rear-end collision cases, only the plaintiff(s) will attend the arbitration. It is up to the arbitrator(s) whether or not you will give testimony at the arbitration. Usually, your testimony will be about how the accident happened, if liability is an issue, any prior medical conditions you may have had and how you are feeling presently. You are placed under oath before giving testimony and can be questioned by all attorneys and the arbitrators.
Will My Case Resolve at Arbitration?
After the arbitrator(s) have heard from both attorneys and the plaintiff, they will ask everyone to leave the room so they can put a value on the case. This value represents what the arbitrator thinks the case should settle for. The Award is the arbitrator’s opinion and is based on his/her experience as a trial attorney in this field of law. In other words, there is no chart that says a specific injury is worth “x” amount of dollars. Each case is unique and each plaintiff adds his/her own value to the case based on the effect the injuries have had on their life.
Each party has 30 days to reject the Arbitration Award. If neither side rejects, the case is settled for the amount of the award. If one side rejects the Award, by filing a form with the court called a Trial de Novo, the case will be placed on the trial list. Most cases do not settle at the actual arbitration, but arbitrations can be helpful in bringing the parties together to talk about what the case is worth.
What it is: If you have filed a personal injury lawsuit, at some point the defense will likely take your deposition. A deposition is simply a question and answer session where the deponent (person being deposed) is placed under oath to tell the truth.
Who will be there: It usually takes place at your attorney’s office and all attorneys involved in the case will be present. All parties to the case, meaning all plaintiffs and defendants, are entitled to be present during each deposition. From a practical standpoint, however, usually only those who are being deposed that day are present. A court reporter will also be present.
Why a court reporter is necessary: The court reporter will be taking down everything the deponent and the attorneys say. Because the court reporter takes everything down stenographically, it will later be transcribed into booklet form and will read like a play. The transcript will look something like this:
Q: What color was the traffic light as you were approaching it?
A: The light was red.
Q: How fast were you going when you first saw the traffic light?
A: About 30 miles an hour.
What you will be asked: Every case is different and your attorney will prepare you before the deposition regarding areas you will likely be questioned about. The defense attorney is permitted to ask you about anything; no matter how un-related to the case it may be, so long as it pertains to your own personal knowledge or observations. There are very few reasons your own attorney can object to a question and if they do object they may still instruct you to answer the question.
Important tips: Really listen to the question being asked and respond only to that. If the question calls for a “yes” or “no” response, that is the answer, do not expand your answer. The attorney taking the deposition will ask all the necessary follow-up questions. The more responsive you are to what is actually being asked, the quicker the deposition will be over.
If you don’t know an answer, “I don’t know” or “I don’t recall” are perfectly acceptable answers, so long as they are the truth. Do not make up an answer in an effort to be helpful.
Do not get upset if you can’t remember dates or times exactly. Most depositions take place years after the accident so memories get hazy. If you can couch your answer in a time frame such as, “within the last 6 months” or “it was in the summer” that is acceptable.
Finally, try not to be too nervous. Depositions are incredibly important and your testimony does have the same force and effect as if you were in a courtroom because of your oath to tell the truth. However, you are there to testify about what you remember, how you feel and what you observed. Basically, you are there to talk about yourself! So, listen to your attorney’s preparation instructions and pay close attention to the questions. You’ll be fine!
When you get a summons for certain moving violations (speeding, careless driving, failure to yield, etc.), you have two options. (1) plead “guilty” and mail in the money; or (2) plead “not guilty” and get a municipal court date for a hearing. Oftentimes, your best bet is to plead “not guilty” and go to municipal court. Once there, you will have the opportunity to speak with the Prosecutor. After he or she has reviewed your driving history, as they are required to do by law, he or she will let you know whether they offer you a guilty plea to a lesser offense.
Why would you want to do this? Well, if you were charged with Careless Driving (N.J.S.A. 39:97-4), and the Prosecutor offers you a guilty plea to Unsafe Operation (N.J.S.A. 39:97-2), you will not be assessed points for that violation. However, Unsafe Operation does carry a hefty fine and surcharge, whereas Careless Driving does not (but does carry 2 points on your record). Also, if you decide to plead guilty to a lesser charge, you must stand before the Judge, who will decide whether or not to accept your guilty plea, and admit that you committed the violation. If you fail to do so, the Judge cannot find that there is a factual basis for your plea and will not accept it.
The final option is to appear in municipal court, enter a plea of “not guilty” and proceed, at a later date, to trial. If you do not care to plead guilty to a lesser charge, or if the Prosecutor does not make that option available to you, based on the facts of your case and/or your driving history, you may choose to let the Judge decide. The Judge will do this at a trial. There are no jury trials in municipal court. You can choose whether or not to hire an attorney. You must have all evidence and witnesses pertaining to your case at the courthouse at the time of your trial. The police officer who issued the ticket will likely be called as a witness for the Prosecution. If you choose not to hire an attorney, you will have the opportunity to cross-examine all witnesses called by the Prosecution.
If you decide to plead “not guilty” to a summons issued against you, make sure that you appear at municipal court on the time and date of your notice. If you fail to do so, it will likely lead to a bench warrant for your arrest. If you cannot appear at the scheduled time, make sure you contact the court, in writing, in advance of the hearing date in order to request an adjournment.
When the weather outside is frightful, everyone should take extra care when walking. Even the most careful person, however, can have an accident if they slip and fall on snow or ice. If you are injured as a result of falling on ice while walking on someone else’s property, you need to have the accident documented in case you later decide to bring a lawsuit.
Since ice is a changeable defect, it is important to get as much information and documentation as possible, at the time of the accident. The accident site could look very different once the ice has melted.
How can we help? Any information you provide is considered confidential and will not be shared outside of our firm.
