Car crashes are unfortunate, heart-stopping moments in today’s world when everything can change. A million things might be going through your head, wondering how long it will take for you to recover from injury, what are you going to do without a vehicle, how will you spend out of work?
As the questions rack up, and so do the bills, you may be wondering what legal options you have to be properly compensated for an accident that wasn’t your fault. That’s where a car accident lawyer comes in.
If you are a resident of Palisades Park, New Jersey, who was injured in a car wreck, you can get in touch with a Palisades Park car accident lawyer at Omni Injury and Accident Law to help you secure a settlement for your injury claims.
How Can a Palisades Park Car Accident Attorney Help You?
Hiring an accident attorney is an important step toward reclaiming compensation for damages suffered after an accident. Services that lawyers provide for victims include:
- Legal Guidance: After consulting with a lawyer, you can estimate your accident claim and assess your legal options.
- Accident Investigation: A lawyer will consult with accident experts, witnesses, and review documentation like photos and videos to get a clearer idea of what caused the accident.
- Filing Claims: Lawyers can help with the paperwork side of things to ensure the process is done correctly according to New Jersey state law.
- Insurance Negotiations: Insurance adjusters will try to minimize their payout and try to lowball you, but an experienced lawyer will have the negotiation skills necessary to earn a fair settlement
- Litigation in court: If necessary, lawyer can represent you in court and present your argument before a judge and jury.
- Relief: In times of need, a lawyer can help focus on your financial needs so you can focus on your recovery.
A seasoned attorney has years of experience in negotiating with insurance companies, advocating for clients, handling legal paperwork, and litigating in court when necessary. Consult with a Palisades personal injury attorney today to get an accurate estimate on your claim.
Types of Car Accidents in Palisades Park
There are many types of car accidents that may cause severe injuries, including:
- Head-on collisions: When two oncoming vehicles collide from opposite directions.
- Intersection collisions: When two vehicles collide at a four-way stop.
- Broadside collisions: When the front side of one vehicle crashes into the side of another vehicle.
- Sideswipe accidents: When a vehicle collides with the side of another vehicle, usually during a lane change from the driver’s blindspot.
- Pedestrian accidents: When a vehicle strikes a pedestrian on a crosswalk or sidewalk.
- Multi-car pile-up: A chain reaction of three or more vehicles involving rear-end or side-impact collisions in succession.
- Single vehicle accident: A crash that only involves one vehicle, usually when a vehicle skews off the road into a tree, pole, or other off-road material.
Get in touch with a car accident lawyer in Palisades Park if you were a victim of any of these collision types.
Common Causes of Car Accidents in Palisades Park
Determining causation for an accident is an important step to building a successful personal injury case. There could be several factors that lead to an accident, some of which involve driver negligence, such as:
- Distracted driving: Taking eyes off the road, listening to loud music, texting on a cellphone can cause a driver to lose attention and focus on an oncoming vehicle or pedestrian.
- Drunk driving: Driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics that can impair a driver’s vision, motor function, or overall awareness and judgement.
- Recklessness: Driving aggressively, having road rage, speeding, or no regard for the safety of others can lead to accidents and property damage.
- Speeding: Driving faster than the speed limit may lead to accidents.
- Traffic violations: Disregarding traffic signs, illegal turns, or running red lights at intersections can lead to disrupted traffic and, thereby, accidents.
Causes for accidents that may be out of a driver’s control include poor road conditions, inclement weather, or defective car parts.
Typical Injuries That Car Accident Victims Sustain in the Palisades Park
Some motor vehicle accidents can be fender benders with small, minor injuries, while others can be far more impactful and result in catastrophic injuries. Several possible injuries from a crash may include:
- Broken bones: Suffering a stress or compound fracture, meaning a break of a bone, usually in the limbs, rib cage, or pelvic region, can take 6-12 weeks to recover.
- Bruises and gashes: Most bruises take a week to heal, but some can be a sign of internal bleeding, and a possibly more severe injury like contusions beneath the skin. Gashes on the skin could lead to blood loss or blood infections, and wounds need to be sealed right away. Most cuts on the skin take a week to two weeks to heal.
- Concussions and head trauma: Concussions can affect cognitive abilities (like thinking and general motor function) and can take about a month to heal. Traumatic brain injuries are very serious and can, in some cases, lead to a loss of brain tissue.
- Burns: Chemical burns from oil or gas can cause severe redness and swelling of the skin, and may take several weeks to heal.
- Back injuries and paralysis: Injuries to the spine and lower back could lead to severe pain and swelling, and may take 6-10 weeks to heal. In more severe cases, back injuries could lead to permanent paralysis of the lower limbs.
- Internal bleeding: Bleeding that doesn’t break the skin and builds up outside of blood vessels, and can be a sign of organ damage and need immediate medical attention.
- Whiplash: Rapid back-and-forth movements of the neck can cause stiffness, numbness, and migraines. Can last a few weeks.
- Loss of limbs or dismemberment: In severe cases, an arm or leg can get trapped, crushed, or sheared off in a car accident and need to be amputated by doctors.
Many of these injuries vary in treatment and insurance coverage, and some may even alter one’s life permanently or require caregivers and help, especially in older victims. If you or a loved one has suffered an injury as a result of a crash, you can enlist the help of a Palisades Park car accident attorney to get compensation.
Types of Damages Are Available to Car Accident Victims in Palisades Park
In tort law, damages are classified as economic and non-economic damages, as well as punitive damages.
- Economic damages: This refers to physical damages such as medical bills from injuries to the victim or their family, damages to their home or property, vehicle repairs, lost wages, etc.
- Non-economic damages: This refers to mental or emotional distress, like PTSD or trauma that may require therapy and years of mental health issues that may impact the victim.
- Punitive damages: This refers to calculated settlements that are designed to punish wrongdoers in cases of extreme negligence to discourage future behavior.
How Do I Prove Negligence After a Car Accident in Palisades Park?
One of the basics of tort law is understanding how negligence is defined. Negligence is defined as a driver’s failure to follow ordinary traffic procedures and duty of care. This could come in the form of distracted driving, drowsy driving, reckless driving, speeding, driving with broken tail lights or missing features, or simply showing an extreme lack of overall awareness.
Witness testimony, photos or street cameras, or a statement by the defendant in a deposition could be evidence that proves negligence in a personal injury civil case. Palisades Park car accident lawyers can assist in evidence collection and client advocacy to ensure that your case gets a favorable settlement.
What Is My Palisades Park Car Accident Case Worth?
Car accident cases can settle for tens of thousands of dollars while others settle for tens of millions, but each case depends on a number of factors like the extent of injury, the number of parties involved, the amount of fault determined for each party, and the insurance policy of the drivers.
New Jersey is a no-fault state, meaning that your insurance company will pay for medical expenses and partially for other losses regardless of fault.
Your attorney and insurance companies will calculate the economic and non-economic damages of the case, and negotiate a fair settlement for both sides.
By consulting with a lawyer, you can get a case evaluation and find out an accurate estimate for your claim.
Statute Of Limitations After a Car Accident in the Palisades Park
A statute of limitations is a legal timeframe that is required for the plaintiff to file a personal injury lawsuit. For car accident torts in New Jersey, the statute of limitations is two years from when the injury occurred. For incidents where a minor was injured, the statute is two years from their 18th birthday.
For this reason, accident victims should pursue legal action for their injuries sooner rather than later.
Contact A Palisades Park Car Accident Lawyer For Legal Help
Get in touch with a lawyer to receive the legal guidance you need to handle your personal injury claim. At Omni Law, our lawyers have years of experience in client-centered evaluation, settlement negotiation, and litigating on behalf of accident victims.
Schedule a free consultation with a Palisades Park car accident attorney at Omni Law to get represented at the highest level.
