Car accidents can be debilitating in multiple ways. Not only are drivers severely injured, but they might lose their car and find themselves unable to get to work, school, or other places they need to be.
Some common causes of car accidents include running red lights or stop signs, failing to brake, sideswiping, rear-ending collisions, and more. After a car accident, you can sue the driver who hit you or multiple drivers if you believe each one shares liability for the crash. In hit and run accidents, you might need to wait for a police investigation to turn up the negligent driver before you can file a lawsuit. An attorney can help you calculate your damages, including medical bills, lost income, property damage, and pain and suffering. An attorney can help you get your lawsuit started and assist you throughout the judicial process.
If you were injured in a car accident, you might have several legal options worth exploring. Our Jersey City car accident lawyers can help you get compensation from the negligent driver who hurt you. For a free case review, call Legal Care New Jersey at (732) 838-9769.
How Car Accidents Happen in Jersey City
How your accident happened may determine how we approach your case. Negligence takes many different forms, and the way your accident occurred may shed light on the defendant’s negligence. Our Jersey City car accident attorneys can assess your accident and prove the other driver was negligent.
Intersections can be very dangerous when drivers fail to stop. Accidents frequently occur at red lights and stop signs. If a driver does not brake in time at the intersection, they might T-bone another driver in the middle of the intersection.
Other accidents happen when a driver fails to signal a turn or lane change or check blind spots. Drivers rely on the other drivers in front of them to use their turn signal to let others know where they are going. This helps drivers avoid collisions on the road. A sudden turn or lane change with no signal might catch other drivers off guard, and an accident might happen.
Not all collisions are head-on or direct. When a driver hits another car from the side, it is called a sideswipe. This often happens when a speeding car gets too close to another vehicle or a parked car and hits them from the side. This may cause the cars to then swerve into other cars, causing a chain reaction.
Rear-ending is a common accident and is sometimes non-serious. Minor collisions like fender benders are often the result of rear-ending. However, many rear-ending accidents are incredibly serious, and drivers are severely injured. You might have been rear-ended at an intersection with enough force to push you into the intersection, where you were then struck by oncoming traffic.
Who You Can Sue After a Jersey City Car Accident
Before you file your car accident lawsuit, you must determine which person should be held liable for your accident. While this might sound like a simple question, it is very challenging for some drivers. There might be several drivers involved in your accident with varying degrees of blame, or you might have been hit by a driver who fled the scene before you could identify them.
Many car accident victims sue only one driver. For example, if one other driver hit you in an intersection, you can sue the driver. Things become trickier when multiple drivers are involved.
If more than one other driver was involved in your collision, our Jersey City car accident attorneys can help you determine which one should be held liable. For example, in a rear-ending accident, a negligent driver might strike a car from behind at a red light, and that car then hits the car in front of it in a chain reaction. The first driver might be held liable, but not the second driver.
Alternatively, both drivers can be held liable in a lawsuit if you believe both share blame for the accident. Perhaps the rear-ending happened because the first car was speeding, and the second car directly behind you did not have any brake lights, so the first car did not know they were stopping.
A hit and run accident is where one of the drivers flees the accident scene, often before they can be identified. In such a case, injured drivers should report the accident to the police, as it is a criminal offense to flee the scene of an accident. You might have to wait until a police investigation turns up the defendant’s identity before you can sue.
Damages Available for Jersey City Car Accident Injuries
Your damages include the losses and injuries you experienced after a car accident. Damages may be economic and connected to a specific sum of money. Damages might also be non-economic, and we will have to argue over their value.
Your economic damages should definitely include your medical bills. Injured drivers need immediate medical attention after an accident, and treatment is often very expensive. Ambulance rides, emergency room visits, surgeries, medications, and other treatments add up to a lot of money that many drivers simply cannot afford. Our Jersey City car accident attorneys can help you get these damages covered.
You should also include any property damage in your damages calculations, including the cost to repair or replace your vehicle. People rely on their vehicles to get around and live their lives. Without a vehicle, people often have a hard time getting to work, school, the grocery store, or doctor’s appointments.
If you miss work after an accident, perhaps because you are too injured to return to work or because you cannot work without a vehicle, you can claim your lost income as part of your damages. The longer you are out of work, the greater your damages.
Non-economic damages may include injuries that did not come at a direct monetary cost. Instead, these damages take a physical or emotional toll, and they are just as deserving of compensation as your economic damages. For example, injured victims often experience great physical and mental pain and suffering. Our Jersey City car accident lawyers can help you get compensation for these damages.
Call Our Jersey City Car Accident Attorneys for Help
If you were hurt in a car accident, your injuries might be severe, and your bills might pile up fast. Our Jersey City car accident attorneys can help you get compensation from the negligent driver who caused the crash. Call Legal Care New Jersey at (732) 838-9769 for a free case evaluation.
