Personal Injury Law Journal

I am involved in the process of renewing our law firm’s health insurance coverage, and in that context our broker brought our attention to this "unique to New Jersey" auto insurance option. New Jersey is the most populous state in the union, with more cars and people per capita than any other state. Given these realities, it is not surprising that New Jersey's auto insurance rates are among the highest in the nation. Elected officials – and those seeking to be elected – often seize on the subject of reducing auto insurance costs as a popular campaign promise.

Former Governor Jim Florio campaigned in 1992, in part, on a promise to lower auto insurance rates. Florio, who was the incumbent governor, instituted a change in New Jersey’s health insurance law which required health insurance carriers to pay for auto accidents and related medical expenses. These expenses were previously excluded from the scope of health coverage. The Florio changes allowed a New Jersey driver to elect "health care primary" coverage, making their health care insurer the primary payor for auto accident related medical expenses.

Ordinarily, these expenses are paid by the auto insurance company as part of P.I.P. (Personal Injury Protection) benefits. The cost of these PIP benefits was a major factor in the increases consumers were experiencing in their automobile insurance premiums. Florio's "slight of hand" maneuver did nothing to reduce the amount of these costs, but it did succeed in shifting these costs from the auto insurance carrier to the healthcare carrier, offering a premium savings to the individual who elected to shift his or her auto insurance medical coverage to a health carrier.

Why is it a bad idea to select "healthcare primary" for your auto insurance? There are at least two reasons.

1. First, PIP benefits under New Jersey law are quite expansive, and cover a wide range of expenses and services which are not payable by a health care carrier. Home alteration for a profoundly injured individual, vehicle modification, home health aides and durable medical equipment are just a few examples of expenses which are routinely paid by PIP carriers, and routinely denied by health care carriers. When you select "healthcare primary", you deny yourself - and your family members - the opportunity to have these benefits funded by your auto carrier.
2. Second, when you elect to use your health coverage as your primary auto accident related coverage, you are accepting all the limitations that come with that coverage, including, but not limited to high deductibles and co-pays, limitations on physicians and/or utilization limitations which would not apply if your auto insurance carrier was paying the bills. The net effect of making this selection is to incur a major loss in available benefits, for a relatively minor savings in premium dollars. For almost everyone, this is a bad deal, because the value of the services and expenses which are excluded from payment when you elect “healthcare primary” is much greater than any premium savings you might enjoy.

I have seen a number of situations where the election of "healthcare primary" created a major problem for my client, and I have never seen a situation where someone felt that the reduction in benefits they suffered was worth the cost savings they received. Don't make the mistake of electing "healthcare primary" when you purchase auto insurance in New Jersey.

John Sakson is a Shareholder and Co-Managing Direcotr of  Stark & Stark’s in the firm's Lawrenceville, New Jersey office, specializing in Accident & Personal Injury Law. For more information, please contact Mr. Sakson.

New drivers need to know one of the more dangerous maneuvers in driving is the left turn. The jury charge on this type of accident says, “With respect to a left-hand turn, involving as it does a movement across the path of other traffic, the risk of harm is ordinarily increased beyond that which exists when a motor vehicle is proceeding along a direct course.” The increased danger requires an increased amount of care.

Most experienced lawyers who handle auto accident cases will routinely assess 90% responsibility for the happening of the accident on the operator making the left turn.  

If a left turn is attempted from a driveway and involves crossing a lane of traffic and entering another it can be a very, very difficult maneuver, particularly on busy commercial stretches of road.  I have told my children who are now drivers to not take any chances. Sometimes it is easier to make a right turn and stop for a left turn into a driveway, than a right turn out of the driveway to accomplish access to the lane of travel with less risk. This allows the driver to handle one lane of traffic for observations at a time instead of two, one from each direction.

Paul Daly is a member of Stark & Stark’s Lawrenceville, New Jersey office, specializing in Accident & Personal Injury Law. For more information, please contact Mr. Daly.

Did you know that New Jersey has a law on its books requiring you to make sure that snow and ice has been removed from your entire car before you hit the road?  In fact, police have issued over 3,200 tickets since the law took effect in October 2010.
 
Most people assume that so long as their windows are clear, they are safe.  However, this is not the case. Hard snow and ice accumulations routinely fly off while driving, creating dangerous conditions for other drivers whose cars are struck by the flying object itself, or who get spooked while trying to avoid these dangers.  
 
The law states that each driver of a motor vehicle (including commercial trucks, cabs and trailers) in this State shall have an affirmative duty to make all reasonable efforts to remove accumulated ice or snow from exposed surfaces of the motor vehicle prior to operation. These surfaces include the hood, trunk, windshield, windows, and roof of the motor vehicle.
 
The law does NOT apply to any driver who is operating during a snow or ice storm that began and continued for the duration of the motor vehicle's operation, or to any operator of a motor vehicle while it is parked.

Fines for violating the new law range from $25 to $75 if no injury or property damage occurs. If failure to remove ice and snow results in injury or property damage, motorists can face fines ranging from $200 to $1,000, while commercial motor vehicle drivers face fines ranging from $500 to $1,500, for each offense.

Perhaps the thought of having to spend the extra time in your pjs or work clothes, coupled with the non-point, relatively low fine, makes you say, "no thanks - I'll just get the windows."  
But the thought of causing damage to someone else' car, or worse yet, causing serious injury to others, will hopefully give you pause to remember and follow this law.

Andrew Salmon is a member of Stark & Stark’s Lawrenceville, New Jersey office, specializing in Accident & Personal Injury Law. For more information, please contact Mr. Salmon.

I cannot stress enough the importance of knowing your listed “status” on your auto insurance policy.  Are you a “named insured” or are you listed as an “authorized driver”.

I was again reminded of the fact that most people are unaware of the limitations of their coverage. For example, I have a client who was very seriously injured as a pedestrian crossing the street to where her car was parked. Yes, “her car” is covered by car insurance. However, she is not the “named insured” on the policy. She is only listed as a “driver” on the policy. Therefore, she would only have medical coverage if she were actually operating the insured vehicle, not as a pedestrian walking toward the car.  

She was absolutely shocked to learn this. She and her fiancé live together but he is the “named insured” on the policy and she is listed as an authorized driver. She assumed she was fully covered by the policy since she is specifically named in the policy. If they were married, she would be covered as a “household family member”. However, they are not married so the only way to receive all the benefits of the policy, is to also be listed as a “named insured”.  

I firmly believe insurance agents should advise their customers of the limitations when a driver is not a named insured and not a “family member”. However, not all agents explain this so it is imperative that the consumer ask the questions and know what the difference is between being the “insured” and being listed as a “household driver”.

Denise Mariani is a member of Stark & Stark’s Lawrenceville, New Jersey office, specializing in Accident & Personal Injury Law. For more information, please contact Ms. Mariani.

Do you have a cellphone? Do you have a driver’s license? Have you ever been behind the wheel of your car when you made or received a cellphone call, or read or wrote a text message?

I'm willing to bet that no one who is reading this note is innocent of this crime, this writer included, and when you did so, you not only broke the law, but you put yourself, and others, in danger. Effective March 1, 2008, New Jersey law made using a hand-held communications device a primary offense. Authorities may issue a $100 fine to any driver caught violating this law, although no points are issued to the license. Although it is discouraged, drivers may use a hands-free device if it does not interfere with standard safety equipment. “Use” of a wireless phone and any other hand-held communication device includes, but is not limited to, talking or listening to another person, texting, or sending and receiving electronic messages.

The cellphone and the automobile are a dangerous combination, no less dangerous than the combination of alcohol and automobiles, or drugs and automobiles, and represent a real-life Pandora's Box, or perhaps, more accurately, an excellent example of the law of unintended consequences. If you're as old as I am, you drove for years before there was ever such a thing as a mobile phone. When mobile telephones (we didn't call them 'cellphones' at first) became available, we rushed out and had them installed in our cars. I vividly remember my first car phone, which was a large box of electronics installed in the trunk of my car, with wires and cables snaking their way forward to the large unit which was permanently mounted to the dashboard of my car. An antenna sprouted from the rear window or front windshield, identifying the vehicle as one equipped with the latest and greatest in civilian communications equipment, at a cost of thousands of dollars. Using that equipment wasn't cheap, either, and mobile phone bills routinely ran as high as $500 a month.  I also remember when one of my partners, who was always an early adopter, obtained a 'real' mobile phone which was portable, and not bolted to the frame of a car. If you've ever watched a World War II war movie and viewed soldiers talking on 'walkie talkies', you’ll know what this early mobile phone looked like. Those of us who didn't have one were green with envy.

Fast forward to the present: Cellphones are part of the fabric of our lives, and they fit into our vest pockets. (As if any of us still wear a vest!) They are not 'just' phones, either. These technological wonders offer internet access, applications that will perform a bewildering number of tasks, top-quality cameras, and a host of other features too numerous to list.  Everyone has at least one, including our children, and it is difficult to imagine how we lived without them. Attempt to separate us from our phone, and you're met with stiff resistance. Every public gathering, including court sessions, begins with an exhortation to "Please turn off your cell phones!"  Look how difficult it is for a movie theater to get its customers to turn them off, just for the duration of a feature film. Who would expect us to ignore our phones while we're driving our cars?

Statistics are now demonstrating that cellphone usage while driving constitutes 'distracted driving', which has the same potential for harm as drunk driving. Conscientious citizens, who would never consider getting behind the wheel after having a drink or two, don't hesitate to use their phone while driving. Who hasn't resorted to using the slow lane to pass a car in the fast lane, only to see the driver chatting away on their cellphone, oblivious to the fact that they are traveling well below the posted speed limit, and backing up traffic?  Texting while driving may be an even more dangerous activity than talking on the phone while driving, because texting requires the texting party to take their eyes off the road, in order to view their miniature keyboard.

Make a resolution that you will obey the law, and you will not talk or text while driving your car, for the sake of the safety of everyone.

John Sakson is a Shareholder and Co-Managing Direcotr of  Stark & Stark’s in the firm's Lawrenceville, New Jersey office, specializing in Accident & Personal Injury Law. For more information, please contact Mr. Sakson.