Bergen County lawyers help you through auto accident claims for serious injuries
An auto accident can cause you severe, life-changing injuries that may require costly medical treatment and extensive time away from work. To make sure your injuries do not also result in financial disaster, you must obtain full compensation for your losses.

At the Law Offices of Richard S. Greenberg, our Bergen County lawyers have the extensive experience, knowledge and skills to secure full compensation. We guide you through every step of your accident case to make sure you do not say the wrong thing to an insurer or miss important evidence or filing deadlines for your lawsuit. With our experience and dedication to client satisfaction, we take a large amount of the stress and worry out of your situation and help you get the results you deserve.

What are common causes of car crashes in New Jersey?
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) found that in 2011, 29,757 auto accidents resulted in fatalities. Thirty-one of New Jersey’s 627 traffic fatalities occurred in Bergen County. More than 190 of the New Jersey fatalities were related to alcohol consumption. While drunk driving is a common cause of accidents, many other factors may contribute to a crash, including:

Driver negligence
Manufacturing defects in the vehicle or auto parts, including seat belts, air bags and tires
Poor vehicle crashworthiness
Dangerous road conditions or road design
Reckless and negligent driving commonly cause accidents and may include all types of wrongful behavior, such as:

Speeding
Driving too fast for road or weather conditions
Drinking or drug use
Distracted driving, including:
rubbernecking
chatting with passengers
changing the radio
Texting or using a cell phone while driving
Driver fatigue
Unsafe lane changes or turns
Failure to stop or yield
Failure to obey the rules of the road or road signs

Have you suffered serious injuries in an auto accident?
When an auto accident occurs, whether it’s a single car crash or multicar pileup, the results are often devastating. Auto and motorcycle accidents are the leading cause of spinal injuries, responsible for more than 40 percent of new spinal cord injuries each year. Motor vehicle accidents are also the second most common cause of head injuries, responsible for more than 17 percent of all serious traumatic brain injuries. If you have been seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident, our lawyers guide you through this difficult, painful time to help you get compensation for immediate medical treatment, long-term care and other losses.

How do you determine fault in an accident?
In most cases, to collect on a personal injury claim arising from a car accident in New Jersey, you must prove the person who caused the injury was negligent and did not exercise reasonable care, and that this negligence caused your injuries. New Jersey law also allows victims to collect damages even if you were partly negligent as long as the other person was more negligent than you.

Bergen County attorneys stand up for injured workers’ rights
New Jersey’s workers’ compensation law protects workers who suffer on-the-job injuries. At the Law Offices of Richard S. Greenberg, we want to make sure you receive the maximum benefits to which you’re entitled. If you suffered a work-related injury, we can help you file your claim, fight a denial of benefits or negotiate a fair disability settlement.

Workers’ compensation benefits for New Jersey workers
In New Jersey, workers’ compensation provides benefits to employees who are injured in workplace accidents. It also covers workers who suffer from occupational diseases. By law, your employer must provide insurance for the following:

Medical care — You are entitled to payments for all necessary and reasonable medical treatment, prescriptions and hospital services related to your work injury. Your employer has the right to designate a treating physician. You may only choose the treating physician if your employer denies you medical treatment or in an emergency situation.
Temporary disability — An injured worker who is unable to return to work for more than seven days is eligible to receive temporary total disability benefits (TTD) going back to the first day missed. TTD pays 70 percent of the worker’s wages up to 75 percent of the statewide average weekly wage (SAWW) but not less than 20 percent of the SAWW. TTD terminates when the worker returns to the job or reaches maximum medical improvement for the work-related injury. A worker who has achieved MMI but is still unable to resume work duties may be eligible for permanent disability benefits.
Permanent partial disability — Permanent partial disability applies when someone is capable of performing some work but not the same tasks as before the injury. In this case, the worker is eligible for weekly payments based on schedules that delineate compensation according to the area of the body that is impaired and the degree of function loss.
Permanent total disability — Workers whose maximum medical improvement still leaves them incapable of performing their jobs are eligible for 70 percent of their wages, subject to a maximum, for 450 weeks, plus additional statutory benefits.
Death — A fatally injured worker’s dependents receive 70 percent of the victim’s wages for 450 weeks, plus additional benefits for the spouse. Workers’ compensation also provides a modest funeral allowance ($3,500 for 2014).
Contact our Bergen County attorneys for answers to your workers’ comp questions
If you have questions about workers’ comp benefits for your job-related injury or illness, the knowledgeable attorneys at the Law Offices of Richard S. Greenberg are ready with answers.

Bergen County attorneys work to minimize the damage done by your arrest
Traffic offense attorneys at the Law Offices of Richard S. Greenberg assert our clients’ rights to a fair hearing. We challenge all aspects of the state’s case in an effort to minimize the consequences of the arrest for our clients. However, it’s important to know the possible consequences if you are stopped for DWI/DUI in New Jersey.

Costly fines and loss of license for first-time DWI/DUI in New Jersey
Although DWI/DUI is a traffic offense in New Jersey, not a felony or misdemeanor, it comes with heavy fines and mandatory jail time. The fines and penalties for a first-offense DUI are based upon the driver’s blood alcohol content (BAC) as follows:

BAC of 0.08 percent or greater but less than 0.10 percent — Loss of license for three months; $250 to $400 fine, $230 fee paid to the Intoxicated Driver Resource Center (IDRC), $100 fee paid to the drunk driving fund, $100 fee paid to the Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Fund (AERF), a surcharge of $1,000 per year for three years and a $75 fee paid to the Neighborhood Services Fund; incarceration in county jail for up to 30 days; and 12 to 48 hours of service at the IDRC

BAC of 0.10 percent or greater — Loss of license for seven months to one year; $300 to $500 fine, $230 fee paid to the Intoxicated Driver Resource Center, $100 fee paid to the drunk driving fund, $100 fee paid to the Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Fund, a surcharge of $1,000 per year for three years and a $75 fee paid to the Neighborhood Services Fund; incarceration in county jail for up to 30 days; and 12 to 48 hours of service at the IDRC. For a BAC of 0.15 percent or greater, an ignition interlock device during the license suspension and for six months to one year following license restoration

Mandatory penalties for repeated DWI/DUI convictions
Second offense within 10 years — Loss of license for two years; $500 to $1,000 fine, $280 IDRC fee, $100 fee paid to the drunk driving fund, $100 fee paid to the AERF, surcharge of $1,000 per year for three years and a $75 fee to the Neighborhood Services Fund; incarceration in county jail for 48 hours to 90 days; 30 days community service; 12 to 48 hours at the IDRC; ignition interlock device during license suspension and for one to three years following restoration

Third offense within 10 years of second offense — Loss of license for 10 years; $1,000 fine, $280 IDRC fee, $100 fee paid to the drunk driving fund, $100 fee paid to the AERF, surcharge of $1,500 per year for three years and a $75 fee paid to the Neighborhood Services Fund; 180 days in county jail; up to 90 days of community service (some in lieu of mandatory jail time); 12 to 48 hours at the IDRC; ignition interlock device during license suspension and for one to three years following restoration

New Jersey also has specific penalties for driving or riding with an open container, driving with a DUI suspension and driving while possessing drugs.