While personal injury lawsuits are the path for many victims to get compensation for their various damages, lawsuits are also complicated and often daunting for victims. Our attorneys can help simplify the process for you, handling your case so you can prioritize your health while we handle your financial recovery.
In personal injury claims, both the defendant’s and plaintiff’s negligence during the accident may be evaluated. If the plaintiff is found to have contributed to their injury, their compensation may be reduced proportionally. This could negatively affect victims, making them feel pressured into accepting unfair settlements, which we can help avoid. We will also make sure to assess your deserved recovery before filing and to make you aware of all damages on the table, potentially including punitive damages.
Call (201) 777-1111 to get a free case assessment from the personal injury lawyers of Agrapidis & Maroules, P.C. today.
Negligence in Westfield Personal Injury Claims
Though you experienced the defendant’s negligence firsthand and may know that is the cause of your injury, we must prove it during your lawsuit, which our lawyers may accomplish by obtaining evidence and building a compelling case. While victims may know to consider the defendant’s negligence, they may not be aware that their own conduct may be evaluated during their lawsuit, potentially lowering their recovery if they are found to be partially at fault for their injuries.
The Defendant’s Negligence
The defendant’s negligence causing your injuries will be the reason why we file a lawsuit against them. Recovery in personal injury cases hinges on whether plaintiffs can prove four elements. These are that the defendant owed them a “duty of care,” which generally means to act responsibly and with regard for others’ safety, which they breached, causing the victims’ injuries and damages. The breach of duty, or how they violated it, could be many different acts or failures to act. For example, in car accidents, negligent drivers might breach their duty by speeding or recklessly merging, both of which are violations of traffic rules and could endanger others on the road.
Proving the defendant’s negligence caused your injuries and damages requires different forms of evidence, sometimes dependent on the accident type itself. For example, after a car crash, eyewitness statements may be available, and our attorneys will quickly preserve them. Video footage might be accessible after crashes and slip and falls alike, and immediately obtaining that footage is paramount so it is not deleted.
Our personal injury lawyers will also spend time organizing evidence of your injuries and damages, which your medical records can help prove. Medical treatments come with bills, and we will keep these to act as proof of damages in your lawsuit. Other damages, like your lost wages and pain and suffering, are also the defendant’s responsibility to cover, and we will assert your need for such compensation during settlement negotiations or a trial.
The Plaintiff’s Negligence
Unfortunately, a plaintiff’s negligence and potential contribution to their injuries might affect the compensation they recover at trial or in a settlement. New Jersey is a “modified comparative fault” state under N.J.S.A. § 2A:15-5.1. While victims may still recover when they share fault for an accident and their injuries, their damages will be reduced proportionally to their percentage of blame. Furthermore, if the plaintiff’s negligence outweighs the defendant’s, they cannot recover at all.
Defendants might launch comparative fault defenses to evade full liability for victims’ damages, which our attorneys can anticipate and prevent from happening. Much of the evidence we present may directly undermine upcoming comparative fault arguments, such as eyewitness statements confirming you were acting responsibly or security camera footage showing the accident unfolding in its entirety.
Victims unaware of New Jersey’s comparative fault rules before their lawsuits might feel pressured into accepting lower out-of-court settlements. In addition to planning a response to comparative fault defenses launched in court, our attorneys can be ready for settlement negotiations, prepared to address comparative fault head-on, and explain why we will not accept an offer that undervalues your case and fails to compensate you in full.
Available Damages in Westfield Personal Injury Lawsuits
Compensatory damages victims can recover include all economic and non-economic losses they have incurred. In addition to these amounts, which our lawyers will calculate before filing your case, you might be awarded punitive damages if the jury agrees the defendant’s conduct was particularly egregious.
Economic Damages
Economic damages refer to any concrete financial expenses you have incurred since an accident and because of it. Most importantly, this includes your medical expenses, current and future. It also includes any lost wages you have suffered if you cannot work with your injury, and we can use recent paystubs and employment and income records to confirm these damages.
Many other miscellaneous expenses also fall under the umbrella of recoverable economic damages, including possible transportation costs to doctor appointments, in-house medical assistance, and even newly incurred childcare costs.
Non-Economic Damages
While economic damages can be proven through bills and invoices, non-economic damages are subjective and often require testimony to prove. Victims may give statements explaining the physical pain and mental suffering they have endured since an accident, which we can further corroborate with testimony from mental health experts who have evaluated them. There may be certain areas of claims – such as car accident cases and work injury cases – where special showings and case strategies are needed to claim non-economic damages.
Punitive Damages
Plaintiffs may get punitive damages if their cases go to court and juries agree defendants acted with actual malice or with a willful or wanton disregard for others’ safety, according to § 2A:15-5.12(4)(a). Punitive damages are paid in addition to compensatory damages, which include economic and non-economic losses. The limit for punitive damages in personal injury claims is five times the compensatory damages awarded in a case or $350,000, whichever amount is greater.
Call Our Accident and Injury Lawyers in Westfield for Help Today
Call our personal injury lawyers at (201) 777-1111 for help with your case from Agrapidis & Maroules, P.C. now.