Car Accidents
Car Accident Attorney in West Orange, NJ
Were you hurt in a car accident that wasn’t your fault? An auto accident can leave you with mounting medical bills and even permanent disability that prevents you from working. Luckily, there’s help. Attorney Mitchell Friedman is a lawyer who has helped his clients in the Union County, NJ area recover financially from injuries related to car, truck, and other auto accidents for more than 30 years. Before you call a big-name office to handle your car accident claim, choose a boutique law firm with decades of experience helping clients recover from their auto collisions. The Law Office of Mitchell R. Friedman serves clients in any of these areas:
- Essex County, NJ
- Newark, NJ
- Morris County, NJ
- Orange, NJ
- Union County, NJ
- Passaic County, NJ
- East Orange, NJ
- Monmouth County, NJ
- West Orange, NJ
- Bergen County, NJ
- Middlesex County, NJ
- Ocean County, NJ
Why You Should Make Sure Your Auto Accident Attorney Is Experienced
There are about six million car accidents in the US each year. From that, nearly three million drivers receive some form of injury from their crash. Two million are permanently disabled. Safety measures like seatbelts can reduce those statistics. But what happens if you receive a serious injury in a car crash that wasn’t your fault?
Luckily, an attorney can help in these kinds of scenarios. State and federal laws provide avenues for attorneys to recover damages from injuries related to car, truck, and other types of auto accidents. However, personal injury claims are usually hard-fought lawsuits. Generally, these situations find an injured victim pitted against another driver’s insurance company. These businesses are massive corporations with nearly unlimited resources when compared to a private individual. That’s why it’s important to find a lawyer with the hands-on experience you’ll need to even the playing field. An attorney can help you recover financial damages for factors related to your accident like:
- Medical costs
- Rehabilitation expenses
- Lost wages
- Long-term care for permanent injuries
- Loss of quality of life
- Property damage
What Are Some of the Common Types of Car Accidents in New Jersey?
New Jersey law covers a wide range of different accident types. Some are classified according to the place or type of impact. Think in terms of a sideswipe, rear-end, or head-on collision. T-bone accidents and rollovers are also common.
Other types of car accidents include multi-vehicle pileups involving dozens of people and hit-and-run mishaps in which a party leaves the scene of the accident. Also covered are pedestrian and bicycle accidents, crashes involving motorcycles and commercial vehicles, and construction zone incidents. New Jersey also sets penalties for drunk driving and uninsured accident events.
If you’ve been affected by any of these kinds of car accidents, contact our law firm immediately. We understand the devastating impact accidents can have on individuals and families, and we can guide you through the process of filing a claim, gathering evidence, negotiating with your insurance company, and reaching a fair settlement.
What Are Some Common Causes of Car Accidents?
Car accidents can arise from many causes, with varying degrees of fault for drivers. Sometimes, road conditions are poor due to weather or deferred maintenance. Other times, the drivers engage in unsafe behaviors that lead to crashes. They may be distracted, tired, or under the influence of drugs or alcohol, for instance.
Aggressive driving is another common cause of car accidents, as drivers get frustrated and allow their anger to take control. They might speed or engage in dangerous behaviors like tailgating. Some drivers, through negligence, simply fail to obey the rules of the road or neglect traffic lights or stop signs. In any case, these factors can lead to collisions, property damage, and even serious injury or death.
How Long Does Someone Have to File a Car Accident Claim?
In West Orange and other parts of New Jersey, a statute of limitations applies to car accident claims. You’ll have to file a claim within two years of the accident date for personal injury claims and six years for property damage claims. There may be exceptions, however, so check with a personal injury attorney to get the details. For instance, in a case with a minor, the statute of limitations for them to bring a claim is two years after they turn eighteen years old.
Comparative Negligence
Under New Jersey law, people filing a car accident claim must be aware of comparative negligence. This means that the fault of an accident may be parceled out among the parties involved. This is usually done by percentage, and the percentage you’re assigned may affect the compensation you receive. If, for example, you’re judged to be more than 50% responsible for an accident, you may not be eligible for compensation at all. An accident lawyer can help you assess your level of fault and argue your case.
Should an Accident Victim Accept the Insurance Company’s First Offer?
The short answer is no—an accident victim usually should not accept an insurance company’s first settlement offer. This is typically a lowball offer that only benefits the insurance company. That offer may be far too low to meet your needs and expenses. Further, you may not even be fully aware of all the effects of your accident when you receive that first offer. Sometimes, it takes a while for those effects to appear. A spinal injury, for instance, may surface well after the fact. Moreover, insurance companies don’t necessarily expect you to accept their first offer. Most will negotiate further, especially if you have a personal injury attorney working for you.
Your Search for Car Accident Law Firms Is Over
An experienced attorney can help you perform tasks that are essential to helping you win your car accident lawsuit. Personal injury claims are a subsection of civil law. Because of this, these types of cases all follow the same process:
- Complaint – this is the document that initiates your personal injury lawsuit. It describes how the defendant’s actions harmed the plaintiff.
- Answer – the defendant will have a chance to rebuke the charges the plaintiff levies against them.
- Discovery – both parties file evidence with the court to support their claims. This evidence is available for both parties to use in court.
- Negotiations – both parties will meet out-of-court to reach a settlement. This is advantageous to both parties because it keeps the settlement amount out of public records. Most personal injury cases end during settlement negotiations.
- Trial – if both parties can’t reach an agreement out of court, the case will proceed to trial. Both parties will argue their case before a judge. Very few personal injury cases reach this phase.
Your Search for Car Accident Law Firms Is Over
If you need a personal injury attorney with decades of experience helping clients win their car accident cases in the Union County, NJ area, look no further than the Law Offices of Mitchell Friedman. As a boutique law office with one primary attorney and two assistants, the firm can offer a balance of high-caliber legal representation with a personalized touch to its car accident clients. If you need help pursuing the financial compensation you deserve in your personal injury case, don’t wait. Call the attorney Mitchell Friedman today – he’ll give your case the attention it deserves.