12 posts tagged "Personal Injury"

• Shoulder Injuries (Updated for 2019)

  Posted on Tue Apr 16 2019 by Vincent Jesuele

  It’s a typical afternoon at work and you’re busy stocking shelves with merchandise. You strain as you reach overhead to place a particularly heavy item on the shelf. Suddenly a sharp, searing pain cuts through your shoulder, causing you to cry out in agony. After the initial burst of pain subsides, you find that you experience shoulder pain when you reach up to comb your hair, or when you bend your arm back to put on a jacket. It is likely that you have suffered a rotator cuff injury, a common injury among employees whose work involves lifting, pulling, or repetitive overhead arm movement.

  The rotator cuff consists of the group of muscles and tendons which connect the upper arm to the shoulder. The rotator cuff holds the upper arm bone (humerus) firmly in the shoulder joint, allowing it to rotate. When the rotator cuff is torn, such rotation becomes painful and may be impeded, making many daily tasks painful or impossible.

• Tractor-Trailer Accidents (Updated for 2019)

  Posted on Tue Apr 16 2019 by Vincent Jesuele

  An automobile accident is always a potential disaster. This is especially true when one of the vehicles involved is a tractor-trailer, also known as a “semi” or “18-wheeler.” Whereas the average car weighs between 2,500 and 4,000 pounds, a fully-loaded tractor-trailer can weigh as much as 80,000 lbs – over twenty times as massive! This means that for a given rate of acceleration, a fully-loaded tractor-trailer hits with over twenty times the force of a normal car.

• When A Loved One Is Killed In An Accident

  Posted on Sun Jan 19 2014 by Vincent Jesuele

  The unexpected death of a family member as a result of an accident can present one with most difficult times. A family is left not only to mourn the loss of a spouse, parent, or child, but to bear the financial burden of the funeral costs and burial. If a loved one was killed in an automobile accident, a fall accident, or while on the job, you and your family may be eligible for compensation. Here is what you need to know:

• The Verbal Threshold: What Is It? Why Do I Have It? How Do I Change It?

  Posted on Sun Nov 24 2013 by Vincent Jesuele

  The verbal threshold, also known as the limited tort, the lawsuit threshold or the tort limitation, is a product of one of the biggest hoodwinking scams in New Jersey history.

  A brief history is necessary. About two decades ago, automobile insurers were threatening to leave the State of New Jersey claiming that it was too costly to do business here. In response, they lobbied our Legislators in New Jersey to make it more difficult for those injured in automobile accidents to obtain fair compensation for their injuries.

• Doored By A Car? Here Are 5 Steps To Follow

  Posted on Sat Dec 08 2012 by Vincent Jesuele

  Every cyclist who rides in built-up areas knows the risk posed by parked cars. There are a number of reasons why a cyclist might be compelled to ride alongside parked cars: perhaps that is where the bike lane is, or if there is no bike lane, it might be the only place to ride without blocking automobile traffic and angering drivers.

  Regardless, a cyclist riding alongside parked cars runs the risk of smacking into a car door that has been suddenly opened in their path. Cyclists refer to this as being doored by a car, and it can lead to serious injury or death. Data on dooring injuries (and, indeed, cycling injuries in general) can unfortunately be difficult to find, but a study done in Toronto found that about 12% of all collisions between bicycles and motor vehicles occurred as a result of a door being suddenly opened in the cyclist’s path.

  Here are 5 steps to follow if you’ve been doored by a car:

• What Is Personal Injury Law?

  Posted on Mon Dec 03 2012 by Vincent Jesuele

  So maybe you’ve heard the phrase “personal injury” or ”personal injury attorney” and you’re wondering: what is personal injury law?

  Put simply, personal injury law covers any type of injury to a person. Examples include workers’ compensation, medical malpractice, auto accidents, and falls.

• The Limits of Brooks v. Odom

  Posted on Thu Sep 13 2012 by Vincent Jesuele

  If you practice Plaintiff’s personal injury law in New Jersey, you are no doubt painfully aware of the practical effect of the 1997 New Jersey Supreme Court ruling in Brooks v. Odom, 150 N.J. 395 (1997). At first glance, the holding with its mile high standard would appear to sound a death knell to the run-of-the-mill Title 59 case. On closer examination, however, the scope and breadth of Brooks is not all-encompassing.

• Circumventing the Verbal Threshold Limitation of N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8(A)

  Posted on Thu Sep 06 2012 by Vincent Jesuele

  In the words of a noted Torts professor, “Never drop your briefcase and run.” This lesson is no more apt than when faced with a “Verbal Threshold” case. Consider the following scenario:

  On August 18, 2011, Plaintiff is operating his motor vehicle and is stopped with his left directional signal activated when he is struck in the rear by a tractor-trailer owned by XYZ Inc. and operated by its employee, John Doe. As a result, plaintiff sustains “soft tissue” injuries, undergoes several months of chiropractic care and is discharged with minor residuals. Plaintiff’s personal automobile policy contains the “Verbal Threshold” option which plaintiff had selected at his last policy renewal.

  Many practitioners, faced with this situation, and a turn-down by the liability carrier, would counsel their client against instituting a lawsuit since the prospects of recovery are slim and the costs of litigation great. Still others would settle their client’s claims for “nuisance value.” A careful examination of the law and facts, however, would lead some practitioners to the realization that plaintiff’s claims are not governed by the Verbal Threshold.

• How to Maximize Insurance Coverage by Examining the Facts

  Posted on Thu Aug 30 2012 by Vincent Jesuele

  In the early morning hours of June 21, 2012, on a dark stretch of the Garden State Parkway, Defendant X, an intoxicated motorist, failed to negotiate an exit ramp curve. As a result, the motorist traversed a forty foot grass berm, re-entered the Parkway, struck another southbound automobile and injured the driver, and finally came to rest across the center southbound lane of the Parkway. The force of the impact rendered Defendant X’s automobile disabled and without lights.

  Several minutes later, Plaintiff Y, also travelling south on the Parkway, brought his car to a stop on the right side shoulder and exited his vehicle in an attempt to render assistance to the intoxicated motorist. While standing in the center lane, and attempting to divert traffic away from the wreck, Plaintiff Y was struck by a third automobile, and was fatally injured.

• Shoulder Injuries

  Posted on Thu Aug 23 2012 by Vincent Jesuele

  It’s a typical afternoon at work and you’re busy stocking shelves with merchandise. You strain as you reach overhead to place a particularly heavy item on the shelf. Suddenly a sharp, searing pain cuts through your shoulder, causing you to cry out in agony. After the initial burst of pain subsides, you find that you experience shoulder pain when you reach up to comb your hair, or when you bend your arm back to put on a jacket. It is likely that you have suffered a rotator cuff injury, a common injury among employees whose work involves lifting, pulling, or repetitive overhead arm movement.

  The rotator cuff consists of the group of muscles and tendons which connect the upper arm to the shoulder. The rotator cuff holds the upper arm bone (humerus) firmly in the shoulder joint, allowing it to rotate. When the rotator cuff is torn, such rotation becomes painful and may be impeded, making many daily tasks painful or impossible.

• Tractor-Trailer Accidents

  Posted on Thu Aug 16 2012 by Vincent Jesuele

  An automobile accident is always a potential disaster. This is especially true when one of the vehicles involved is a tractor-trailer, also known as a “semi” or “18-wheeler.” Whereas the average car weighs between 2,500 and 4,000 pounds, a fully-loaded tractor-trailer can weigh as much as 80,000 lbs – over twenty times as massive! This means that for a given rate of acceleration, a fully-loaded tractor-trailer hits with over twenty times the force of a normal car.

• New Jersey "Dog Bite" Law

  Posted on Thu Aug 02 2012 by Vincent Jesuele

  In all civil cases in New Jersey, the party bringing the suit (the plaintiff) must prove two elements; liability and damages, against the party that is sued (the defendant).

  Typically, liability is shown by proving that the defendant was negligent. Negligence is the failure to adhere to the duty imposed upon that person by law. By way of example, one of the duties of a person driving a car is to maintain a safe distance behind the car ahead of it. If a driver fails to maintain a safe distance and rear ends the car ahead, a jury could easily conclude that the following driver was negligent. Frequently, the defendant will assert that they were not negligent in order to avoid liability. In such a case, the final decision on liability is left to the jury after hearing all of the evidence.

  With regard to dog bite cases in New Jersey, the law is different. N.J.S.A. 4:19-16 provides that:

  “The owner of any dog which shall bite a person while such person is on or in a public place, or lawfully on or in a private place, including the property of the owner of the dog, shall be liable for such damages as may be suffered by the person bitten, regardless of the former viciousness of such dog or the owner’s knowledge of such viciousness.”

  In legal parlance, this is a rule of strict liability - that is, the owner is liable without the necessity of proving fault.