Unfortunately, personal injuries in Paterson caused by another person’s negligence are sometimes unavoidable. Our team can help you determine the extent of your damages and file a claim for the compensation you need.
Time is of the essence after getting injured since the statute of limitations starts running immediately. Absent a rare exception, most injury victims only have two years to file a lawsuit. Our attorneys can help gather evidence and prepare your claim so that we have time to work with you. If you file too soon, you likely won’t have all the needed evidence, like medical records. We will use the litigation process to collect any information relevant to your case, including contacting witnesses and arranging for them to testify on your behalf. We will also review incident reports to identify other evidence we can use to support your case.
For your free case assessment with our personal injury attorneys, call Agrapidis & Maroules, P.C. at (201) 777-1111 today.
When You Should File a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Paterson, NJ
After discussing their damages, the next question personal injury victims often have is whether they have enough time to file a lawsuit. Many understand that the “statute of limitations” exists and is running. Thus, you have little time to spare, so you should contact our personal injury lawyers immediately to start your claim. Even a comparatively minor case still takes time to prepare. The following will explain how long most Paterson injury victims have to file a lawsuit and what exceptions might apply if the window has closed:
The General Deadline
The general time limit provided by N.J.S.A. § 2A:14-2(a) to file a personal injury lawsuit is two years, and the clock starts ticking the moment you are injured. The statute of limitations is easily one of the strictest legal rules. If a claim is filed after the two-year anniversary of the accident, the court will not allow it to proceed. If you do not have another source like insurance to cover some of your damages, you will be left responsible for them.
The court wants personal injury cases heard in a reasonable amount of time so that the opposing side is not unfairly denied fresh evidence and witnesses. It assumes injury victims with legitimate grievances against another party will not sit idly before deciding to pursue a lawsuit. However, the law recognizes that there are certain situations where a victim would be significantly prejudiced if the general rule were enforced. Our team can determine if your circumstances call for an exception to be applied if you need more time to file.
Exceptions to the Rule
Not all victims are adults when they are negligently injured. According to § 2A:14-21, children have the limitations period “tolled,” or temporarily paused, until their 18th birthday. The tolling period ends when they turn 18, at which point they will have two years to file. However, if the injuries were caused during the child’s birth, a medical malpractice lawsuit must be filed before their 13th birthday. This law also tolls the time for those with a mental disability when injured if the disability prevents them from commencing a lawsuit.
You will also have more time to file if the defendant is not a resident of New Jersey or left the state to avoid a lawsuit and raised this argument before the general two-year deadline passed, according to § 2A:14-22(a). For instance, we would usually sue the driver and trucking company if a negligent trucker injured you. If they are based in another state and do not respond to our attempts to serve notice of your lawsuit, the time wasted should not be held against you after making diligent efforts to effect service.
The “discovery” rule can also provide more time for victims to make their cases. If you were unaware that you were injured and could not reasonably find out, fairness dictates that you should have more time to file. While this rule could apply to any personal injury claim where it would be just to do so, it is rarely used. It typically applies to medical malpractice cases, such as when a surgeon leaves a foreign object in a patient, so never assume it will apply to your situation.
Why You Should Let Our Personal Injury Attorneys Handle Your Paterson, NJ Lawsuit
Our firm has been fighting for injury victims since 1988. With over a combined century of legal practice, our team possesses a range of skills and experience that can be put to use in your claim, regardless of the type of accident. We have strategies for collecting evidence, identifying witnesses, and negotiating a settlement before a trial becomes necessary.
Collect and Review Reports
Incident reports are always a great place to start building a case if they were written. For example, you should have a police accident report if you are filing a lawsuit after a car accident. Reports like this often contain a wealth of useful information to prove the other person’s negligence.
Incident reports might also exist if you were injured on commercial property, such as after a slip and fall accident in a store or restaurant. Thus, you should always report your accident if you can. Our team can help get a copy of the report and any internal company communications if your accident happened at a business.
Obtain Photo and Video Evidence
Photos and videos can be powerful evidence if available. Taking photos of visible injuries immediately after the accident can illustrate your injuries’ severity and seriousness of the accident. This evidence is extremely helpful when arguing the pain and suffering the accident has caused you. They can also show how an accident occurred if the scene is observed. For example, it would be hard for a store to argue against your claim if photos show a spill that has clearly been on the floor for an unreasonable amount of time, especially if no warning signs are in the pictures.
Further, many accidents happen in public places, so we might be able to obtain photos and videos taken by witnesses or the defendant. Perhaps you noticed several people with their phones out after the accident. Ask if they can send whatever they took to you or get their contact information so we can contact them. We will also investigate the scene for surveillance cameras. Many areas in Paterson have security systems, and we must act fast before any footage gets erased. If the defendant has any media evidence, our team can request it during litigation.
Identify and Interview Witnesses
Eyewitnesses often tip the scales in close cases, so our team will work quickly to identify any in your case and get their statements. The faster we speak to witnesses, the more information we will likely obtain since their memories will be fresh. They can describe the defendant’s negligence in a way that you might not, if you saw the defendant at all before they injured you.
After initially interviewing witnesses and getting a comprehensive account of what they know, we can determine how their statements will support your claim and arrange for them to testify to those facts during depositions or a trial. It can greatly increase your chances of settling your lawsuit before a trial if the other side knows you have witnesses to back you up.
Work with Experts
Our team’s extensive experience has also allowed us to develop working relationships with various experts who can support your case. We typically work with expert witnesses when certain elements in the case are too complex for laypeople on the jury or even the judge.
For instance, severe injuries tend to have more complicated diagnoses and treatment plans. Medical experts like your treating physicians can explain to the court why your injuries require long-term treatment and how they will impact other aspects of your life. Their testimony can also help prove certain pain and suffering damages, such as providing details as to the physical pain your injuries are likely to cause and for how long.
Major injuries can also prevent victims from returning to work permanently or reduce their ability to perform the same work. Occupational experts can explain how the accident will cost you future earnings, including lost bonuses, promotions, and other opportunities.
We will also use certain experts when the question of liability is unclear. For instance, vehicle accident reconstruction experts can provide the court with scientific insights into why a car accident occurred, such as the defendant’s rate of speed. If you were injured by a defective product, an engineer or other design expert can explain how the mechanism malfunctioned and why the designer or manufacturer of the product is liable.
If the defendant claims you caused your injuries or were partially responsible, their testimony can set the record straight so you do not lose compensation. Under § 2A:15-5.1, NJ’s modified comparative negligence rule, you will be denied damages if you are more at fault than the defendant. You can still recover if you were partially responsible, but your percentage of fault will be subtracted from your compensation. Expert opinions can help avoid this outcome.
Negotiate Your Settlement
You could stand to lose out on critical support for your recovery without an attorney representing your interests. Insurance companies and defense lawyers are skilled at pressuring unrepresented victims into accepting settlements woefully below what they deserve. They will certainly exploit any opportunity to put the blame on you, as discussed above.
We can review any settlement offer before you accept it to ensure no damages are unaccounted for. Fighting your financial losses is hard since we have bills and estimates to prove them. The fight is usually over your pain and suffering, as those non-economic damages are based on the impacts you personally experience. By having our lawyers gather the evidence and expert testimony discussed above, the other side will know we have what we need to prove your case in court. This is why most personal injury lawsuits settle before a trial is necessary.
How Your Personal Injury Damages Will Be Evaluated in a Paterson, NJ Lawsuit
Ultimately, every personal injury lawsuit aims to make the victim whole by compensating their damages as much as possible. In most cases, you are trying to recover “compensatory” damages, which include your economic and non-economic losses. New Jersey refers to these damages as “special” and “general,” respectively.
Special damages are the ones that will typically impact you immediately. These damages compensate you for your medical expenses, lost wages, and any property damage. Special damages will also reimburse your future financial losses, such as later medical procedures and lost earning potential at work. You can also claim out-of-pocket expenses as special damages like transportation expenses to get to your doctor’s and lawyer’s office and childcare.
General damages represent your non-economic losses, otherwise known as pain and suffering. The impact of these damages might not be immediately felt but will set in as time passes and victims wrap their heads around their situation. General damages are intended to compensate you for mental conditions like depression, anxiety, and the loss of pleasure in life. An amount can also be given to the daily physical pain your injuries will cause you to live with. If you have visible or significant scarring that causes humiliation, this will also be included in your general losses.
Most personal injury claims pursue the damages above because they are based on common acts of negligence, such as speeding or failing to make an area safe. If the defendant caused the accident in a shocking or egregious manner, exhibiting a wanton and willful disregard for your safety, you might be entitled to recover “exemplary” damages, per § 2A:15-5.12(a). For instance, if a drunk driver injured you, the court will likely take punitive action against them by awarding you exemplary damages.
Contact Our Paterson, NJ Personal Injury Lawyers Today for the Legal Representation You Deserve
Call Agrapidis & Maroules, P.C. at (201) 777-1111 for a free case review with our personal injury attorneys.