Victims can seek compensatory damages to cover their losses after sustaining injuries because of a negligent or reckless driver.
There are many steps to take to recover damages from a car accident, starting with reporting the crash to law enforcement. Be candid with police officers when they arrive at the accident location and tell them if you are injured. Victims should always go directly to the hospital after collisions, especially if they must prove serious injury, which is necessary for New Jersey victims with limited right to sue personal injury protection insurance. While we preserve evidence and track your damages, we will pay close attention to the statute of limitations and file a timely claim on your behalf.
Call Agrapidis & Maroules, P.C., to get a free case review from our car accident lawyers at (201) 777-1111.
Making a Checklist for Your Newark, NJ Car Accident Case
The first thing to do after a car crash is report it to the police. After you do that, go to the hospital so that you can start generating medical records our lawyers can use to show you pass the serious injury threshold. As we prepare your case to file before the deadline, we will monitor your losses from the accident and preserve vital evidence that could prove liability.
Meeting Reporting Requirements
According to N.J.S.A. § 39:4-130, car accidents must be reported if they cause death, injury, or $500 worth of property damage. Victims can satisfy reporting requirements by calling 911 and alerting law enforcement to the scene. While on the phone with the 911 operator, ask them to send paramedics as well.
As soon as police officers arrive, tell them what happened and inform them that you are injured. Officers typically note the severity of victims’ injuries in accident reports. While you may not know the extent of your injuries at the scene, be candid with the police and paramedics about your pain levels and concerns.
Reporting accidents is important for various reasons, namely that it will result in police reports our car accident lawyers can refer to when preparing claims. Though not admissible evidence in injury lawsuits, accident reports can help establish a collision’s sequence of events and identify potentially contributing factors we might investigate further, like weather conditions or potholes in the road.
Passing the Serious Injury Threshold
One of the most important things to be aware of after a car crash is the serious injury threshold for lawsuits. In New Jersey, drivers with limited right to sue options on their insurance can only file lawsuits when medical professionals certify that their injuries pass the serious injury threshold. Various injuries meet the definition under § 39:6A-8(a), including those that cause displaced fractures, death, dismemberment, significant disfigurement, loss of a fetus, and permanent injuries other than scarring or disfigurement.
You must go to the hospital immediately to get enough evidence to show your injuries are severe enough to file a lawsuit despite having limited right to sue personal injury protection insurance. Not only must you show that your injuries are serious enough to warrant litigation, but you must also show that they were due to the defendant’s negligence. If you delay medical care, the defendant might argue that your injuries are unrelated to the accident in question. Victims can avoid these situations by getting immediate and continuous treatment for car accident injuries.
Preserving Evidence
Preserving evidence takes many forms. Victims can preserve some evidence immediately after an accident by taking pictures. Crash scenes get cleaned up quickly since leaving significant debris on the road could endanger other drivers. Unfortunately for victims, evidence is at risk of getting lost when scenes get cleared away. To prevent that, you can use your phone to photograph any glass, debris, or tire marks on the road and any apparent damage to your vehicle or the negligent driver’s car.
We can continue preserving evidence as we prepare your case by interviewing anyone who witnessed the accident and using their statements as evidence. Law enforcement officers might identify eyewitnesses in accident reports, and victims can ask witnesses for their names and phone numbers before leaving the scene to go to the hospital.
Meeting the Filing Deadline
You must also learn the filing deadline for your case, lest you risk missing it and your chance to get compensation. According to § 2A:14-2, victims can only file car accident lawsuits during the two years following a collision. There are many hurdles to filing on time, such as difficulty organizing and identifying evidence and struggling with serious injuries that require most of the victims’ attention.
Victims have the entire two years to sue but often benefit from bringing claims sooner. Waiting too long to initiate your lawsuit could delay your access to compensatory damages or raise questions about your need for compensation, and we can avoid these situations by filing soon after a crash.
Tracking Your Damages
Tracking damages throughout claims is necessary, as failing to identify certain expenses could leave them uncompensated. For example, after an accident, victims might need intense treatments across many visits with doctors and specialists. Keeping track of all of these visits and how much they cost can be overwhelming for victims. Our attorneys can monitor these damages so we can add them to your total losses from the accident.
In addition to tracking common economic damages, like medical costs and missed wages, we can identify less obvious losses from the accident. For example, you might incur transportation costs if you can no longer drive because of your injuries but need to go to the hospital for routine treatment. These costs could be extreme, particularly if victims need to be transported in wheelchair-accessible vehicles.
Call Our Newark, NJ Accident Lawyers Today
Call Agrapidis & Maroules, P.C. to discuss your case for free with our car accident lawyers at (201) 777-1111.