What should I do if I suffer a personal injury?

After receiving immediate medical care, you will want to speak with a personal injury attorney as soon as possible. It is important to contact an attorney who has specialized knowledge in successfully resolving personal injury lawsuits. Remember, you have a limited amount of time to file a claim following an accident.

How much is my New Jersey personal injury case worth in New Jersey?

A number of factors affect the amount of compensation you can seek for your injury, including: the type of injuries suffered and their severity, what aspect of the injuries are permanent, how the accident occurred, who the negligent parties are, and any associated insurance limits.

Do I have a valid personal injury claim in New Jersey?

Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman offers free, personalized consultations to assess if you have a valid claim and to explain your legal rights. Our expertise extends across most every area of personal injury law, so we can help if you have been hurt in a motor vehicle, workplace, slip and fall, or other type of accident. We fight for all personal injury victims.

How long will my New Jersey personal injury case take in New Jersey?

The time required to reach a resolution depends on a number of factors, such as: the court’s docket for other cases, available judges, the complexity of the case, and whether the case goes to trial or is settled. In New Jersey the amount of time your personal injury lawsuit will take may also be dependent on which county the lawsuit is filed, and how many judges have been allocated to that county.

Do I need to hire a personal injury lawyer near me in NJ for my New Jersey personal injury case?

Personal injury claims can be complicated and time-consuming. A knowledgeable attorney, with a high success rate in resolving cases for the most favorable compensation, can advise you on the detailed process of filing a claim or a lawsuit. Working in partnership with you, we will handle the investigations, negotiations, litigation, and settlement procedures. Our firm is committed to delivering personalized, proactive service for your New Jersey personal injury case. We will only settle a case if you receive the compensation you deserve.

Must a malpractice suit be filed in the state where treatment was received, or can I file in another state?

Normally, a lawsuit must be filed in the state where care was received. The exception is when the medical facility or health care professional also does business or resides in your home state. For example, some medical institutions and physicians groups operate in multiple states. Our law firm only handles medical malpractice cases within New Jersey.

What is a tort reform and how does it affect my malpractice claims?

Many state governments have passed legislation to limit the amount of damages that can be awarded in malpractice lawsuits. This is known as tort reform, and it is designed to help manage the increasing insurance rates that physicians pay. Currently New Jersey only limits punitive damage amounts by law. Punitive damages are sought in a malpractice claim when a healthcare professional acted maliciously. In contrast, compensatory damages, which are commonly sought, cover lost wages, pain, suffering, future earning losses, and treatment costs – and these damages are not limited in medical malpractice cases in NJ.

What is the time limit for filing a medical malpractice lawsuit?

States set time limits for filing lawsuits. In New Jersey, a patient must file within two years of discovering the injury. This date may be different from the date that the negligent action actually occurred. For example, you may have surgery and realize a month later that you’ve been harmed during the procedure. It is recommended that you contact a qualified attorney as soon as you become aware of a health problem caused by medical negligence.

Can a malpractice case be re-filed after a settlement is accepted?

One of the reasons you need expert legal representation in a medical malpractice case is because these suits cannot normally be reopened once you have signed documents accepting compensation and releasing the doctor, nurse or hospital from liability. The insurance company representing a physician or hospital may offer you a settlement when you notify the provider of the harm suffered. A malpractice lawyer will know if what you are being offered is fair, or if the proposed settlement should be rejected, with the case instead being filed as a lawsuit.

Who can be the defendant in a medical malpractice lawsuit?

Any healthcare provider who is licensed to practice or work in New Jersey could be liable for medical negligence. Providers can include individual defendants, such as doctors and nurses. They can also be organizations, such as hospitals, medical centers, nursing homes, or pharmacies. Our law firm can assist you in determining if the person or entity that caused you harm is a provider with liability under New Jersey law.

Can you sue for what potentially could have occurred during a medical procedure?

If no harm occurs to you, it may not be cost effective to pursue a malpractice lawsuit.Even if you learn of a safety, professional or ethical issue involving your procedure, these problems, alone, do not justify a malpractice lawsuit. Also, a misdiagnosis on its own is probably not grounds for a lawsuit. However, if this misdiagnosis caused harm and was due to negligent care, you will want to speak to an attorney regarding your options.

What is informed consent?

Hospitals and medical providers ask patients to sign informed consent forms. These documents advise patients of the risks associated with treatments or surgeries. If you sign a consent, you are stating that you understand any medical risks and agree to proceed with treatment. Informed consent forms do not shield the physician who has been negligent. If there is evidence of malpractice, a claim or lawsuit can be filed.

How to switch attorneys

Whether it is because an injured party’s current attorney is hard to reach, does not have the right experience to handle a complex personal injury case, or pushes one to take a bad deal, an injured party always has the right to choose their personal injury attorney, even in the middle of the case.

If, for whatever reason, an injured party wishes to switch attorneys, the first thing one should do is contact and secure another attorney.

Please contact our firm at (973) 228-9898 for a free consultation. Our firm is one of the most reputable personal injury firms in New Jersey, and we have passionately represented our clients for years. In 2015, we were able to obtain an $7 million settlement for our client, a 56-year-old carpenter, who was paralyzed after he fell 8 feet when a scaffold plank broke.

The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice. Instead, all information, content, and materials available are for general informational purposes only. Readers should contact an attorney to obtain advice with respect to any legal matter. No reader, user, or browser of this website should act or refrain from acting based on information on this website without first seeking legal advice from counsel.

How to switch personal injury lawyers

If an injured party wishes to switch personal injury lawyers, the first thing to do is contact and secure another attorney. What an injured party and the new attorney do next depends on the stage of the case. If a legal claim has not been filed, an injured party can simply inform the old attorney that they are switching attorneys. If a legal claim has been filed, but no trial date has been set, the new attorney will need to file what’s called a “substitution of attorney.” There are some limitations, however, if a trial date has been scheduled. Both the old and new attorney will need to execute a substitution of attorney, the new attorney will obtain a written waiver by all other parties of notice and the right to be heard, and both the old and new attorney will need to file a certification indicating that switching attorneys will not cause any delay. If an injured party is thinking about switching attorneys, it is essential that one contact and secure a new attorney immediately. The sooner one changes lawyers, the less risk that a judge is not going to approve the switch.

Please contact our firm at (973) 228-9898 for a free consultation. Our firm was lead counsel in a $300 million settlement for thousands of lawsuits involving the drug Benicar. We also were class counsel in a $80 million settlement against auto manufacturers Volkswagen and Audi over leaky sunroofs and faulty drainage systems involving 3 million automobiles built between 1997 and 2009.

Switching law firms

An injured party should feel confident in the attorney and law firm assigned to their case. An injured party has the right to change attorneys and law firms for any reason. Although changing law firms can seem like an intimidating task, it happens all the time. There are two things you should know about changing law firms:

It will not cost more money – in most situations, when an injured party hires a personal injury lawyer, a contingency agreement is signed. This agreement sets forth certain amounts the firm will get based on a verdict or settlement. When one changes law firms, the new and old firms will share this fee. The total amount an injured party pays is exactly the same.
It will not impact one’s case – changing law firms will not harm or affect an injured party’s case. The old law firm is required to turn over all records, and the new law firm will pick up exactly where the old firm left off.

If interested in switching law firms, contact our firm immediately at (973) 228-9898. Our firm has what is believed to be the largest personal injury settlement in New Jersey history. We were able to obtain a $125 million settlement after a woman was crushed, and ultimately paralyzed, by a Verizon utility pole. This is just one of the many cases that we have successfully pursued on behalf of our clients.

Can I change my car accident lawyer?

Above all else, an injured party needs an attorney that they can trust to properly handle their car accident case. An injured party should have faith that their attorney’s advice is being given with their best interest in mind. If this is not the case, an injured party should seek a new attorney to litigate their car accident case.

Please contact our firm at (973) 228-9898 for a free consultation. We have significant experience handling car accident cases and have obtained significant verdicts for our clients. In one case, we were able to obtain a $3.55 million settlement where an 11 year old boy was killed when another driver ran a stop sign and crashed into the vehicle his father was driving. In another tragic case, we secured a $1.75 million settlement for our client who was severely injured when a commercial truck rear-ended her vehicle.

Can I switch personal injury lawyers?

When an injured party hires a personal injury lawyer, they need someone who they can trust to successfully handle their case until the very end. Regardless of the reason for dissatisfaction, an injured party has the right to choose which attorney or firm represents them in their personal injury matter, even in the middle of the case.

If interested in switching personal injury lawyers, contact our firm as soon as possible at (973) 228-9898. We are extremely successful in litigating personal injury claims for our clients. For example, we were able to obtain a $19.2 million settlement in a case where a natural gas explosion in a home caused severe burn injuries to several of our clients, three of whom died from their burn injuries. This is believed to be the largest settlement for a burn injury in New Jersey history. In another case, we obtained a $5 million verdict against the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) for negligently failing to supervise an estranged father which resulted in abuse to our client.

Can you switch lawyers in the middle of a case ?

If a legal claim has yet to be filed, or if it has been filed and no trial date has been set by the court, an injured party has an absolute right to switch lawyers. If one wishes to do so, simply contact and secure a lawyer that can properly handle and litigate the case. Inform the old lawyer that new counsel was secured, and the new lawyer will file what is called a “substitution of attorney.” It will not cost money, and it will not affect the outcome of the case. There are limitations, however, if a trial date has been scheduled by the court. If a trial date has been scheduled, both the old and new lawyer will need to execute a substitution of attorney, the new lawyer will obtain a written waiver by all other parties of notice and the right to be heard, and both the old and new lawyer will need to file a certification indicating that changing lawyers will not cause any delay in the case. Thus, it is essential that an injured party contact and secure the new attorney immediately to lessen the risk that a judge will not approve the change.

If interested in switching lawyers, even in the middle of the case, contact our firm as soon as possible at (973) 228-9898. We have a long history of avidly pursuing claims on behalf of our clients in a wide variety of matters. We were able to obtain a $3.5 million settlement in a case involving a failure to diagnose an arterial occlusion that resulted in our client sustaining a paralyzing stroke. The treating physicians incorrectly concluded that our client was suffering from a pinched nerve when, in reality, our patient was having a transient ischemic attack. In another case that was subject to worldwide media attention, we secured a $5.5 million settlement for our client tragically died while donating his bone marrow to help a teenager he had never met. Our client’s oxygen plummeted but the anesthesiologist failed to closely monitored his vital signs or take timely action.

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