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Evan J. Lide

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Evan J. Lide is a Shareholder and member of Stark & Stark’s Personal Injury Group. Evan has dedicated his career to seeking justice on behalf of those who have been wronged. He focuses his practice on representing people who have suffered traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and other catastrophic injury, including death, resulting from automobile crashes, products liability, and premises liability.

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You’re meeting friends for dinner and without a second thought pull up your ridesharing app (such as Uber or Lyft). To save a few dollars, you opt for the company’s shared ride service. The company offers this cost-saving option to allow multiple passengers – who do not know each other – to share rides.

The car pulls up as scheduled and you get in. The other passenger looks at you intently and ignores your attempt at conversation. Then, at a stop light, he pulls out a gun and robs you. When you resist, he pistol whips you repeatedly. Now you’re dazed and bleeding, your cell phone and wallet are gone and you’re left wondering what to do.

Sound farfetched?…

Continue Reading Should You Share Your Rideshare?

Your car breaks down. You call a tow truck and a ridesharing service. The car pulls up and you get in. The driver seems a bit disheveled but you brush it off because you are in a hurry to get to a meeting. After you’re on your way, the smell of alcohol is unmistakable and suspecting the driver is drunk, you tell him to pull over. Before he can do so, he rear-ends the car in front of you, opens the door, and takes off running. Now, you’ve got a gash above your eye and you’re stranded. To make matters worse, when you get out of the car to call the police, someone steals your laptop from the backseat.
Continue Reading Do You Know Who Your Uber Driver Is?

Your plane just landed in Newark and you open your ridesharing app to arrange for a ride. A few minutes later, the driver texts you that he has arrived. You have his photo, license plate number, and description of the car and you spot him as soon as you step outside. All is well. You get into the car and suddenly a van rear-ends the ridesharing car. You’re injured. Now what? Who will pay your medical bills?

New Jersey legislators recently addressed that question. Under the newly enacted Transportation Network Company Safety and Regulatory Act, drivers and the ridesharing companies that employ them must meet certain insurance coverage standards.

The new law provides for $1.5 million in coverage under certain conditions as explained below.…

Continue Reading What Happens if my Uber or Lyft Driver Has an Accident?

Diving into a pool or lake during summer activities may land you in a wheelchair for the rest of your life; over 800 people per year suffer a spinal cord injury from diving in head first. These injuries are preventable—just remember to always go in feet first when entering pools, ponds, lakes, and the ocean.

Perhaps you didn’t see a sign warning you of danger. Maybe you didn’t know that the “No Diving” sign meant the water was too shallow. Or you thought the water was deep enough because it had been the last time you dove in. But 1000 other people thought that too and ended up with broken necks, paralysis, or even worse, didn’t make it through the injury.…

Continue Reading Just Don’t Dive! Go in Feet First to Avoid Spinal Cord Injuries.

Paralysis is a life changing condition that can be caused by medical conditions like multiple sclerosis, but in many cases results from a traumatic accident or injury that leaves the person with a spinal cord, head, and/or brain injury. Repairing nerve and muscle damage or a break in the connection between the brain and the rest of the body is extraordinarily difficult and sometimes considered impossible. But new research and advances in technology are bringing hope to people who have been partially or fully paralyzed.

Depending on the type of injury, different surgical methods can be used to repair injured areas of the body. Peripheral Nerve Surgery is used to sew severed nerves back together or to apply a nerve graft to reconnect sensation and movement to an area. Another method is a muscle transplant to replace damaged muscle with working muscle from another area of the body, e.g., the thigh for the bicep. In cases where the brain has lost control of a part of the body due to spinal cord injury, new advanced research is being done with computers and implants to stimulate the brain function and restore movement. One such method is called functional electrical stimulation (FES) which uses electrical pulses to restore muscle function.…

Continue Reading Groundbreaking Treatments for Patients with Partial or Full Paralysis

A Texas Jury found that a highway guardrail manufacturer, Trinity Industries, deliberately withheld information and defrauded the government and awarded damages in the amount of $175 million dollars, which, under federal law, will triple to $525 million dollars. The dispute centered around a design change Trinity made in 2005. During the discovery phase of the…

I’ve previously shared stories about insurance companies that engage in unfair claims settlement practices in order to avoid paying out on legitimate claims. The bottom line for insurance companies is money. The more claims the insurance company denies, the greater the profit. This is why several insurance companies have developed a reputation for systematically denying claims. Incredibly, some of these companies are proud of their reputation.
Continue Reading Bad Faith

The American Bar Association has determined that it is ethical for lawyers to search the internet for publicly available information on citizens called for jury duty — and even jurors in deliberations.

The ABA issued its report in April of this year which states that unless limited by law or court order, a lawyer may review a juror or potential juror “Internet presence” which could even include postings by the juror during a trial. The ABA did state that attorneys are not allowed to communicate directly with the jurors, such as asking to “friend” them on Facebook.
Continue Reading Lawyers Now Allowed to Search Social Media Sites of Jurors

It is well known that driving under the influence of alcohol impairs perception, judgment, motor skills and memory, all of which are critical skills needed for safe driving. Too many innocent victims are killed on our highways by drunk drivers, and society has acknowledged that the need to deter this dangerous behavior is great. Legal sanctions, including punitive damages, are central to the deterrence of impaired driving. Even though the enormity of this problem has been addressed by both the New Jersey State Legislature and our courts, New Jersey law still protects these dangerous drivers and, conversely, limits the rights of innocent victims who are injured by drunk drivers.
Continue Reading Why is New Jersey Protecting Dangerous Drivers?

Newspapers and social media sites have been buzzing about a lawsuit which was recently filed in New Jersey which is drawing comparison to the “Hot Coffee” case of 1994. In the case which was just filed in New Jersey state court, the Plaintiff, Jennifer Fragoso, is claiming that Dunkin’ Donuts served a product which was too hot for consumption, and as she was parked in the parking lot, the lid to her hot cider came loose, causing the hot cider to spill on her, resulting in second and third degree burns.
Continue Reading Hot Coffee