Auto accidents happen all the time around New Brunswick, and many accident victims live with serious injuries and a lot of pain. You should not have to accept your injuries and losses. An attorney can assist you in getting compensation.
New Brunswick sees its fair share of accidents, especially on arterial roads and highways that run through the town. While accidents might stem from numerous possible causes, a few common ones include intoxicated drivers, traffic violations, and inattentive driving. Damages in your case should account for property damage, medical bills, and various forms of pain and suffering. Evidence might include video footage from traffic cameras, witnesses, and details from police reports. It would be best to talk to your attorney about how your accident happened so they can determine how to handle your claims going forward. Your accident might have been a head-on collision, T-bone crash, or rear-end crash, among others. In New Jersey, road conditions are infamously poor, and they might factor into your claims. An attorney can work with you to file your case before the deadline.
For a free case evaluation, contact our car accident attorneys of Legal Care New Jersey by calling (732) 838-9769.
Areas Around New Brunswick, NJ Where Car Accidents Tend to Occur
Like many other cities in North New Jersey, New Brunswick is a busy and bustling place. Considering how close New Brunswick is to New York City, it is not surprising that the town sees its fair share of auto accidents. Many of these accidents happen on major roads and highways that crisscross the town.
U.S. Route 1 is a major highway that spans nearly the entire east coast of the United States and runs right by New Brunswick. Such a major highway definitely experiences heavy traffic, and accidents are a regular occurrence. Accidents on U.S. Route 1 are common, and accidents happen on many of the streets connecting to the highway throughout New Brunswick.
Many accidents also happen around Rutgers University. This is a major university with a very large student population. Accidents among younger people tend to be more common as they lack the driving experience of older drivers. As such, car accidents around the campus are fairly common.
Memorial Parkway is another major highway through New Brunswick. A portion of it runs along the Raritan River, and many drivers use it to cross the river or take it up to New York. Like the other arterial highways around town, accidents are frequent.
Common Causes of Vehicle Crashes Around New Brunswick, NJ
There are thousands upon thousands of reasons for vehicle accidents, and each case involves unique circumstances. You should definitely talk to your lawyer about exactly what happened during your accident, as it might help you determine whom to hold responsible, where to find evidence, and which legal strategies are most effective.
One possibility is that an intoxicated driver caused your accident. These kinds of accidents are not only extremely dangerous but also easily preventable. Drivers under the influence of drugs or alcohol often speed, drift between lanes, or drive erratically without fully realizing it. When they need to hit their brakes to avoid a crash, their reflexes are not fast enough. Often, victims are hit head-on at full speed.
Traffic violations are among the most common causes of vehicle accidents. From red light violations to failing to signal, all sorts of traffic violations might cause an accident. Many such violations seem harmless, and they often do not lead to collisions. However, it only takes a single violation to cause a terrible accident.
Inattentive driving is one of the leading causes of accidents across the country. With the prevalence of cell phones and GPS devices inside vehicles, more and more drivers are distracted behind the wheel. It might only take a moment to send a quick text, but it also only takes a moment for a serious crash. Talk to your lawyer if you think the other driver was on their phone or otherwise distracted when the accident occurred.
Damages Available in Many New Brunswick, NJ Car Accident Cases
When filing a civil lawsuit, plaintiffs usually want to know how much their case is worth. While people can be uncomfortable talking about money, this is a perfectly reasonable question to ask your attorney. In short, how much money your case might be worth depends on the extent of your damages and what kind of compensation is necessary to make things right.
Our car accident lawyers will consider the cost of your property damage. Vehicle damage might be extensive. You might have to pay for costly repairs or a completely new car. On top of that, you might have lost personal items that were on your person or in your vehicle. For example, your wedding ring might have fallen off, or your laptop might have been crushed. These might be expensive to replace and should be accounted for in your damages.
Medical expenses are often one of the biggest, if not the biggest, sources of economic damages in many car accident cases. Even just one visit to the emergency room might cost someone hundreds or even thousands of dollars. If your injuries are more severe and require long-term care and multiple visits to the hospital, your expenses might be insanely high.
When a car accident victim is badly hurt, they might be unable to return to work. If you cannot work for an extended period of time, you might lose significant income. For some, even a few days of missed income might be more than they can afford. We can help you evaluate how much income you have missed out on and add it to your damages.
Not all damages revolve around money. Emotional distress and physical pain might be intense, so much so that accident victims are deeply affected on a psychological level. Many accident victims live with physical and emotional scars for years.
Finding Evidence to Back Up Your Claims in a New Brunswick, NJ Car Accident Case
We can start our hunt for evidence at the scene of your car accident. New Brunswick tends to be a heavily populated area, and many places are equipped with security cameras. On top of that, traffic cameras are positioned all over the place. There is a chance that a camera somewhere nearby recorded your accident. If we can get ahold of this footage, your claims might be much stronger.
As mentioned, New Brunswick is pretty densely populated. As such, car accidents are rarely isolated incidents. Often, there are lots of people nearby who saw the accident or stopped to help injured drivers. We must find these people if we do not have their names already and talk to them about what they know. Their testimony might be invaluable to your case.
After an accident, even a minor one, you should contact the police and report the crash. Depending on the severity of the accident, the police might investigate. Even if the investigation is short, the police should write and file a formal report. While these reports may be full of useful information, especially if the investigation was thorough, they are generally inadmissible because they violate the rule against hearsay. Even so, we can use these reports to find and obtain other evidence found by the police that is admissible.
If your injuries are called into question, we can use official copies of your medical records to prove the severity of your injuries and the cost of treatment. Getting these copies should be relatively easy, as you have a right to access your own medical records.
Types of Car Accidents That Often Happen Around New Brunswick, NJ
Numerous factors play into a car accident, making each accident a unique incident that should be investigated. Below are some common examples of how car accidents might happen around New Brunswick.
Head-On Collision
When another vehicle crashes straight on into another, this is a head-on collision. These kinds of crashes are often regarded as some of the most dangerous. In many cases, the other driver either does not or cannot slow down, and the collisions occur at a very high rate of speed, making for an extremely powerful impact. Alcohol is a somewhat common factor in head-on collisions, as intoxicated drivers might not even realize they are barreling toward other drivers.
T-Bone Accidents
A T-bone crash occurs when another driver hits you from the side. These can be very dangerous accidents, depending on which side of the vehicle is hit and where drivers and passengers are seated. For example, if you are alone in the car and hit your passenger side, you might not be too badly hurt. However, if you are hit on the driver’s side, you might be very badly injured.
T-bone accidents often happen in intersections. The main focus of these kinds of accidents is who should have been in the intersection and who should have waited.
Rear-End Collisions
A rear-end crash occurs when another driver strikes you from behind. Again, speed plays a big role in these kinds of cases. If the other driver was speeding when you were stopped at a light, the impact might be severe, and you could be pushed into the intersection into oncoming traffic.
How Poor Road Conditions in New Brunswick, NJ Might Affect Auto Accidents
Road conditions are an important factor worth considering in your car accident claim. While road conditions are often out of our control, drivers still have a duty to drive with reasonable safety under the circumstances. This might mean adjusting speed, using lights, or simply choosing a different route. Bad road conditions, like roads riddled with potholes, are breeding grounds for accidents.
New Jersey is known for poor road conditions, which make driving difficult and increase the likelihood of accidents. Drivers in New Jersey often complain of these conditions. If you believe the other driver ignored these conditions and did not adjust their driving to be safer, our car accident attorneys might be able to convince a court to hold them liable for the accident.
Poor road conditions might also be related to bad weather. If you are driving during a storm or in snowy weather, a greater degree of caution might be necessary. If the other driver does not drive with the safety necessary for the situation, they should be held accountable.
Important Deadlines to Remember in Your New Brunswick, NJ Car Accident Case
If you want to file a case for a car accident in New Jersey, you must do so before the deadline expires. The deadline is imposed by the statute of limitations. In New Jersey, the statute of limitations is N.J.S.A. § 2A:14-2(a) and imposes a deadline of only 2 years.
It might be possible to have the statute of limitations tolled so you have more time to file your case. According to N.J.S.A. § 2A:14-22(a), we might have the deadline tolled if we can show that the defendant has left the state, you have done your due diligence to find them and alert them to your case, and the defendant cannot be brought into New Jersey’s jurisdiction by long-arm statutes. In such a case, the deadline to file your case may be extended until you can bring the defendant into the right jurisdiction.
This is not an unusual problem for plaintiffs in car accident cases. Many people driving through New Jersey might not be from the state. Many people pass through New Jersey on their way to neighboring states and cities. Perhaps the defendant is from Philadelphia or New York City and was on their way home when the accident occurred. This problem also comes up in hit-and-run cases where the defendant flees before they can be identified, and tracking them down might be hard, even with assistance from law enforcement.
For Legal Support, Contact Our New Brunswick, NJ Car Accident Lawyers
For a free case evaluation, contact our car accident attorneys of Legal Care New Jersey by calling (732) 838-9769.
