Experienced Bergen County lawyers help you recover compensation for personal injury
An accident can leave you seriously injured and in need of compensation. Our lawyers at the Law Offices of Richard S. Greenberg help you secure the compensation you need when your accident was caused by the negligence of another. We have decades of experience in all types of injury cases, including helping clients recover fair settlements through tough negotiation with insurers and strong courtroom advocacy in personal injury litigation.

How do you prove fault under New Jersey negligence laws?
To collect on a personal injury claim in New Jersey, you usually must prove the person who caused the injury was negligent and did not exercise reasonable care. You must prove certain essential elements, such as:

The person who caused your injury owed you a duty.
The person failed to carry out that duty.
You suffered damages.
The other person’s failure caused your injury.
People in different circumstances have different duties of care. For example, drivers have a duty to drive safely and obey the rules of the road, while property owners generally have a duty reasonably to maintain their properties or warn of known dangers that cannot be remedied.

New Jersey law has become stricter in recent years, requiring victims to demonstrate a serious injury. While injuries do not have to be life-threatening, a victim must have an injury backed by real medical evidence to win a personal injury lawsuit.

How comparative negligence works in New Jersey
New Jersey is one of many states in which the law considers comparative negligence. Under New Jersey’s modified comparative negligence system, each person is assigned a degree of fault in the cause of an accident. If you were injured, you may collect damages from a negligent party, even if you were also negligent as long as your negligence was 50 percent or less. However, if you are 51 percent at fault, you cannot recover damages. For example, if you were determined to be 50 percent at fault and your damages were $50,000, you could still receive $25,000.

The degree of fault is determined by an insurer or judge or jury based on an investigation and the evidence presented. In auto insurance claims, the insurance company determines fault when you file a claim against another driver who you believe caused the accident. An insurer may consider such things as the primary cause of the accident, if either driver had a greater duty of care and if either driver may have avoided the accident. Under New Jersey no-fault accidents law, you can also to choose to recover compensation directly from your own insurer without consideration of fault. Our attorneys at the Law Offices of Richard S. Greenberg can advise you about the merits of your case, especially when comparative negligence and multiple parties are issues.

What is my claim worth?
Under New Jersey law, the person who injured you is responsible for a broad range of economic and noneconomic damages, including:

Past, current and future estimated medical expenses
Time lost from work, including time spent going to medical appointments or therapy
Property that was damaged, such as your vehicle
The cost of hiring someone to do household chores when you could not do them
Permanent disfigurement or disability
Your emotional distress, including anxiety, depression, fright, shock and any interference with your family relationships
Physical pain and suffering
Change in future earning ability because of the injury you suffered
Any other costs that resulted from your injury
When you are awarded a sum based on these damages, the sum may be reduced if your negligence contributed to the accident.

Enforcing responsibility while minimizing harsh consequences
Young drivers are liable to make mistakes while developing their skills and learning to use sound judgment. New Jersey’s Graduated Driver License (GDL) program is designed to encourage responsible driving by expanding driving privileges over time. Yet, the system remains quite punitive for youths who are charged with moving violations. Convictions result in costly fines, license restrictions and expensive increases in insurance premiums, which many families simply cannot afford. At the Law Offices of Richard S. Greenberg, our attorneys understand that consequences are often necessary to enforce important lessons, but excessive punishments rarely serve any positive purpose. We work aggressively to ensure that young drivers get every advantage under the law and that their rights are protected.

Restrictions on plea bargains for provisional license drivers in New Jersey
Since 2008, county prosecutors in New Jersey have been operating under an attorney general’s order prohibiting plea bargains with probationary drivers that would reduce a penalty point violation to a no-point violation. The rationale was to ensure a proper tally of points so probationary drivers who required additional instruction would be required to enter a driver improvement program. Prosecutors retain the discretion to dismiss charges altogether for lack of evidence.

How a skilled New Jersey traffic offense attorney can help
The Law Offices of Richard S. Greenberg helps young drivers by:

Fighting for a dismissal of the ticket — At first glance, it looks like the attorney general’s order creates an all-or-nothing proposition: Either the driver is guilty or the ticket gets dismissed. This is certainly true when a driver is charged with the lowest possible penalty point offense, for example a two-point careless driving charge. In such cases, it’s vitally important to have an experienced traffic violations attorney who can challenge the state’s case and point out flaws in the evidence.
Negotiating a reduction in penalty points and fines — The attorney general’s order does not completely eliminate plea negotiation. For example, an attorney for a young driver accused of speeding at 20 miles above the speed limit could bargain the charge down to speeding at 14 miles above the limit. The fine would be reduced, the penalty points would be two instead of four, and the driver would not have to enter a driver improvement program for this single offense.
At the Law Offices of Richard S. Greenberg, our attorneys fight to minimize the consequences of probationary license violations, saving our clients money and preserving their driving privileges.

Some steps to take and actions to avoid after a car accident injury in Bergen County & Northern NJ
If you suffer an injury from a car accident in northern NJ, you should seek immediate medical help. After a car accident, try to remember the following:

Stay calm: Panic or angry behavior makes the situation worse.
File a car accident report with the police: Even after a minor accident it is important to make sure there is a legal accident report. Do not leave the scene until the police file a full report.
Do not admit fault or liability: Stay neutral, and limit your discussion of the accident to speaking with the police. Be polite, but remember that anything you say can be used against you.
Do not move your vehicle: Unless you are in danger, it is best not to move your car until the police arrive. The police record the locations of the cars. This is extremely important to any future case.
Gather information: Be sure to get names, address, and phone numbers of everyone involved in the accident, including witnesses. Use your cell phone to take pictures of the accident. Record information such as weather conditions, date, and time of the accident. Secure a description of the other car and license plate number. You also need the name of the insurance company of the other driver and the vehicle identification number of the car. The police can assist you with gathering this information.
Call your insurance company: Ask if there are any deadlines for filing claims. Do not cooperate with the insurance company. You do not want unwittingly to make damaging statements that may be used against you. Do not accept a settlement before you speak to a Bergen County car accident lawyer, and do not sign anything.
Call an attorney: If you are injured, an experienced car accident lawyer in Bergen County can assist you with such things as preserving the evidence you may need to prove your case. The Law Offices of Richard S. Greenberg can put your mind at ease and give you the time to heal while pursuing your rights. Most important, we know how to value your case.