When a product has defects in its manufacturing, warnings, or design, those defects and susceptibilities may result in foreseeable injury to the end user of the product. Products can include:
The following are some of the common circumstances and reasons that motorcycle accidents happen in Monmouth County, Ocean County, Mercer County, Middlesex County, as well as throughout the State of New Jersey.
All motorcycles registered for purposes of street use in New Jersey are required to have insurance to cover injuries and other losses in the event of an accident. The State of New Jersey requires motorcyclists to carry insurance policies with mandatory minimum limits to protect both the riders and other persons in the event of accidents. It is advised that the motorcycle owner should carry insurance beyond the minimum mandatory coverage by purchasing additional coverage for uninsured and underinsured (“UM and UIM”) motorist coverage. The UM/UIM coverage provides coverage in the event that the rider and his/her passenger(s) is injured by a motorist who fails to maintain insurance or carries a policy with limits too low to cover the extent of damages and personal injuries received from a motorcycle accident.
Motorcycle insurance is unique because it does contain the same as personal injury protection (“PIP”) benefits contained in automobile insurance policies. Motorcycle insurance does not cover the payment of medical bills for the insured motorcyclist or his/her passenger when an accident happens. This type of PIP coverage must be specifically requested with an insurance carrier who can provide such coverage. When you have been involved in an accident on a motorcycle, call the attorneys at Riviere Advocacy Group, and they will thoroughly review all of the applicable insurance policies. They will help you get the protection and compensation that you deserve.
Motorcycle accidents fall into one of two categories:
Negligence:
The general law on personal injury, as most New Jersey car accident lawyers will tell you, basically says that when someone causes an injury to another, due to his or her own negligent acts, he or she shall be held liable for any damage or harm resulting from such negligence. This is the principle of law that applies to motorcycle accidents is similar to car accidents, in that four basic elements of tort law must be proven. These elements include:
There was a duty of care required by law of the defendant (negligent party) that needs to be provided to the plaintiff (party injured);
The defendant did not meet the standard of care required of him/her;
The negligent acts caused an accident;
As a direct result of such negligent acts, injury (harm) was caused to the plaintiff.
Products Liability:
Some accidents happen due to the defects of the motorcycle. These types of cases are very complex and require an experienced personal injury attorney, such as those at Riviere Advocacy Group to deal with issues pertaining to product liability. Extensive investigation and expert support is required to develop and explore claims against the motorcycle manufacturer for any damages or injuries suffered due to a product defect. Getting an attorney involved sooner rather than later will preserve evidence, as well as, protect you from making any damaging mistakes when dealing with the insurance companies.
New Jersey has a strict set of procedures that must be followed in order to succeed and recover in a medical malpractice lawsuit. The negligent medical provider (the defendant) will have a chance to respond and defend the lawsuit. It is similar to personal injury lawsuit; however, a medical malpractice suit is much more intricate. It requires very detailed expert testimony to explain the complexity of the case to a jury.
Part of this expert’s job is to provide an affidavit of merit (AOM) within 60 days of filing the complaint. The AOM is a statement by a medical expert stating that there is sufficient medical evidence for a lawsuit to go forward against the medical provider in question. During the course of the lawsuit, evidence will be put forth to prove that the duty of care owed to the patient was breached.
Your lawsuit has a chance of being referred to arbitration. If the amount of damages sought is less than $20,000, NJ courts will refer the case to arbitration. In arbitration, a neutral third-party fact finder resolves the dispute. The resolution is binding on all parties.
New Jersey has limited the amount of time in which an injured person can bring a medical malpractice claim, which, if not filed in a timely manner, the injured person would be forever barred from bringing a medical malpractice suit against the negligent medical provider. The time allowed to bring the medical malpractice claim is generally two years from the date of the injury.
However, there are exceptions to this rule which may extend the time allowed to bring a claim, such as the discovery doctrine or if the injured patient was under the age of 21 at the time of injury. An attorney at Riviere Advocacy Group LLC in Monmouth County, New Jersey and statewide can explain these time concerns with you.
The value of your case is dependent upon a number of factors, including, but not limited to:
If you were a Passenger on a cruise ship and you were injured, your claims will generally be covered by “General Maritime Law.” Many passengers on cruise ships do not realize that their legal rights are severely restricted by their boarding passes or trip tickets. In most instances, you will have to bring your claim within a very short time frame or forever lose your right to make a claim. In some instances, your right to file suit will be limited to just months after the injury and you will also have to bring your legal claims in a court of the cruise ship operator’s jurisdiction of choice. You need to carefully review your ticket/boarding pass, which, most likely, will set forth, in detail, the procedures for bringing legal claims.
For example, the New Jersey Court has held that, as per Federal maritime law, an owner of a sea-going vessel can establish a one-year statute of limitation in its passenger contract. “Generally, contract provisions limiting the time parties may bring suit have been held to be enforceable, if reasonable. Such provisions are accepted by the courts as long as they do not violate public policy.” (citation omitted). In the recent New Jersey case, Winograd v. Carnival Corporation, this holding was affirmed. In Winograd, the plaintiff and her friend disembarked from the ship when it arrived at La Romana, a port city in the Dominican Republic. While walking in the shopping district, the plaintiff and her friend were robbed by men with knives, who stole their passports, driver’s licenses, credit cards, and other personal effects. Nearly two years later, plaintiff filed suit in the Law Division, claiming that she suffered physical and emotional injury as a result of the robbery. The appellate panel affirmed the trial court’s dismissal of the plaintiff’s complaint based on the one-year statute of limitation set forth in the ticket contract.
This is a perfect example of why it is important to talk to an attorney as soon as possible when you have suffered an injury on a cruise ship or anywhere for that matter. Lawsuits are time sensitive and, without proper counsel, you could miss the boat on your legal claim.
Determining a “value” for a cruise ship injury will depend on a host of factors. Some factors include, the nature and severity of your injuries, how or by what you were injured on the ship, whether you were a passenger or an employee of the cruise ship, the cost of medical treatment, whether the cruise ship employees were at fault for your injury and any out of pocket costs that you may have incurred as a result of the injury.
