The Cintron Firm, LLC Blog

Tips for Minimizing Accident Risks in New Jersey Winters

February 9, 2021 by The Cintron Firm

Strategies for Staying Safe When Roads Have Snow or Ice

Because New Jersey typically ranks near the top nationally for traffic density, there’s a risk of injury any time you get in a car. That risk can be greater in the winter, when snow and ice can make roads slippery and accumulate on your windshield, limiting visibility.

In New Jersey, motorists are required by law to remove all snow and ice from a vehicle—including snow on the windows, hood, and roof—before getting on the road. You can be ticketed for failure to do so and fined if snow or ice from your car causes property damage or personal injury to others.

Here are additional recommendations for safely navigating icy or snowy roads in New Jersey this winter:

Allow more distance between you and the car in front of you—Under normal conditions, you want about 10 feet for every 10 miles per hour you are traveling. In snow and ice, double that, so that you give yourself more time to stop or take evasive action.
Use your headlights during a snowstorm—When it’s snowing, keep your lights on, even in the middle of the day, so that other motorists can better see you (low beams are best).
Adjust your speed to the conditions—Don’t drive too fast or too slowly. Too fast and you’ll have difficulty controlling your vehicle…too slow and you’ll pose risks to others traveling at safe rates of speed.
If you start to skid, turn in the direction of the skid.
Think ahead—You’re most likely to find patches of ice at intersections and on exit/entrance ramps to freeways and highways.
Be patient—When others are traveling slower than you want to go, don’t try to pass; wait until they turn, or you have a safe opportunity to go around them.
Know what to do if you break down—If you break down, get your vehicle as far off the road as possible, and turn on your emergency flashers immediately.

Contact the Cintron Firm

At the Cintron Firm, LLC, we offer more than 14 years of experience to people in New Jersey facing a broad array of legal challenges. Attorney Mark Cintron has worked as a prosecutor and has extensive courtroom experience, so he’s always ready, willing and able to protect your interests before a judge or jury. We are currently available to talk with you by phone, text message, or videoconference. Contact our office online or call us at 201-791-1333 or 917-494-5695 to set up an appointment.

Tips for Minimizing the Risk of an Accident This Winter in New Jersey

January 16, 2021 by The Cintron Firm

How to Stay Safe on Snowy and Icy Roads

Because New Jersey ranks near the top nationally for traffic density, there’s a risk of injury any time you get in a car. That risk is even greater in winter, when snow and ice make roads slippery and limit visibility by accumulating on your windshield.

In New Jersey, motorists are required by law to remove all snow and ice from their vehicle before getting on the road, including snow on the windows, hood and roof. You can be ticketed for failure to do so, and you can be fined if snow or ice from your car causes property damage or personal injury to others.

Here are some additional recommendations for safely navigating icy or snowy roads in New Jersey this winter:

Increase the distance between you and the car in front of you—Under normal conditions, stay about 10 feet away from the car in front of you for every 10 miles per hour you’re traveling. In snow and ice, double that, in order to give yourself more time to stop or take evasive action.
Use your headlights—During a snowstorm, even in the middle of the day, keep your headlights turned on so that other motorists can see you better (low beams are best).
Adjust your speed to the conditions—Don’t drive too fast or too slowly. Go too fast and you’ll have difficulty controlling your vehicle. Go too slow and you pose risks to others traveling at safe rates of speed.
If you start to skid, turn in the direction of the skid.
Think ahead—You’ll most likely find patches of ice at intersections and exit/entrance ramps to freeways and highways.
Be patient—When others are traveling slower than you want to go, don’t try to pass; instead, wait until they turn or you have a safe opportunity to get around them.
Pull off the road if you break down—When you have car problems, get your vehicle as far off the road as possible and turn on your emergency flashers immediately.

Contact the Cintron Firm

At the Cintron Firm, LLC, we offer more than 14 years of experience to people in New Jersey facing a broad array of legal challenges. Attorney Mark Cintron has worked as a prosecutor and has extensive courtroom experience, so he’s always ready, willing and able to protect your interests before a judge or jury. We are currently available to talk with you by phone, text message, or videoconference. Contact our office online or call us at 201-791-1333 or 917-494-5695 to set up an appointment.

Season’s Greetings and Happy New Year

December 24, 2020 by The Cintron Firm

Getting Workers’ Compensation Benefits for COVID-19

December 15, 2020 by The Cintron Firm

Recovering for Lost Work Time Due to Occupational Illness

Under the workers’ compensation laws in New Jersey, you are entitled to seek benefits for an occupational disease, provided you can show the following:

your illness arose out of or occurred during the course of your employment;
the illness was caused by factors characteristic of or peculiar to your occupation or place of employment; and
your work contributed in some material way to contracting the disease.

Proving you contracted a communicable disease at work can be difficult. But New Jersey has made it easier for workers to get benefits for COVID-19 by enacting a new law that creates the presumption that “essential employees” have a compensable occupational illness when they contract a communicable disease during an officially-declared public health emergency. The law went into effect on September 14, 2020, and was retroactive to March 9, 2020. It covers all essential workers who contract the coronavirus.

What Is an Essential Employee?

The law defines an essential employee as a private or public worker in one of four categories:

public safety, including first responders, police, firefighters, and other emergency technicians;
medical and healthcare personnel, including workers in residential facilities, nursing homes, emergency transportation, and social services;
occupations essential to public health, safety, and welfare, including food and beverage services, groceries, hotel and residential services, medicine, and pharmaceutical services; or
any worker deemed an essential employee by the authority that declared the health emergency.

If you fall into one of the above-listed categories and contracted the virus, you’re entitled to workers’ compensation benefits unless your employer can prove you were exposed outside the scope of your employment.

Contact the Cintron Firm

At theCintron Firm, LLC, we offer more than 14 years of experience to people in New Jersey facing a broad array of legal challenges. Attorney Mark Cintron has worked as a prosecutor and has extensive courtroom experience, so he’s always ready, willing, and able to protect your interests before a judge or jury. We are currently available to talk with you by phone, text message, or online videoconference. Contact our office online or call us at 201-791-1333 or 917-494-5695 to set up an appointment.

Bankruptcy—A Way to Improve Your Creditworthiness

November 27, 2020 by The Cintron Firm

Filing for Bankruptcy Can Positively Impact Your Credit

If you’re struggling to pay your bills, whether because you’ve lost your job, gone through a divorce, or incurred substantial unreimbursed medical expenses (the most common cause of a bankruptcy filing), you may be considering bankruptcy. Though a bankruptcy can help you get a fresh start, and put a halt to the incessant phone calls and letters from creditors, you might fear that filing for protection will make it more difficult for you to secure credit. That’s not necessarily true.

Many Potential Creditors View Bankruptcy Favorably

When a potential creditor is considering your application, the fact that you’ve filed for bankruptcy protection can indicate that you recognized the problem and took specific steps to remedy the situation. Instead of making matters worse by borrowing money (and adding to your debt load) or falling even further behind, you sought the help afforded by bankruptcy law. In addition, whether you qualify to discharge debts in Chapter 7 or must restructure your obligations through Chapter 13, you should end up with more discretionary income, making it more likely that you’ll be able to repay any credit extended.

Your Credit Score Will Likely Go Up Within Six Months

There’s no way around it—your credit score will take a hit when you file for bankruptcy protection. It tends to be short-lived, though, provided you honor your commitments in the bankruptcy proceeding.

A recent study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia supports this conclusion and shows that individuals who file Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 see increased credit scores. After six months, the average Equifax credit score for Chapter 7 filers rose from 540 to 620. Chapter 13 petitioners saw an average rise from 535 to 610 over the same period of time.

Contact the Cintron Firm

At the Cintron Firm, LLC, we offer more than 14 years of experience to people in New Jersey facing a broad array of legal challenges. Attorney Mark Cintron has worked as a prosecutor and has extensive courtroom experience, so he’s always ready, willing and able to protect your interests before a judge or jury. We are currently available to talk with you by phone, text message or online videoconference. Contact our office online or call us at 201-791-1333 or 917-494-5695 to set up an appointment.

Happy Thanksgiving

November 25, 2020 by The Cintron Firm

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy—The Basics

October 23, 2020 by The Cintron Firm

Getting a Fresh Start Through a Reorganization Plan

One of the most devastating impacts of the pandemic has been its effect on businesses and workers. If you’ve been furloughed or permanently lost your job, and you’re struggling to make ends meet, you may be considering bankruptcy as a way to find relief from creditors and get your finances in order. To permanently discharge your debts through a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing, you must pass a “means test.” If you don’t qualify for Chapter 7 relief, your remaining option is a reorganization or restructuring of your debt under Chapter 13. Here’s what that looks like.

An Overview of Chapter 13

When you file for protection under Chapter 13, you have the opportunity to work with your creditors to establish new payment arrangements. An automatic stay goes into effect immediately when you file your bankruptcy petition, which means you won’t receive any more phone calls or letters from debt collectors and won’t have to worry about creditors filing legal action against you.

You and your attorney will identify all your outstanding debts and put together a proposed plan for repaying your creditors over a three-to-five-year period. Often, when negotiating new payment arrangements, you can get a creditor to waive prior late fees and penalties.

The proposed plan must be submitted to and approved by your creditors and the bankruptcy court. If approved and put into action, a Chapter 13 petition provides the protection of the automatic stay for the full three-to-five-year repayment period, provided you honor your agreements. As an bonus, in a Chapter 13 filing, you don’t have to turn over any property to the bankruptcy court. You can keep everything.

Contact the Cintron Firm

At the Cintron Firm, LLC, we offer more than 14 years of experience to people in New Jersey facing a broad array of legal challenges. Attorney Mark Cintron has worked as a prosecutor and has extensive courtroom experience, so he’s always ready, willing, and able to protect your interests before a judge or jury. We are currently available to talk with you by phone, text message, or online videoconference. Contact our office online or call us at 201-791-1333 or 917-494-5695 to set up an appointment.

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy—The Basics

September 9, 2020 by The Cintron Firm

How You May Be Able to Permanently Discharge Debt in Bankruptcy

The pandemic has had a devastating impact on many Americans. If you are one of the many who’s lost your job or seen your small business take a hit, you may be struggling to meet your day-to-day obligations. By filing bankruptcy under Chapter 7, you can permanently rid yourself of some of your debts, but there’s a trade off. Furthermore, under bankruptcy rules, you must qualify before you can liquidate debt in Chapter 7. Here’s how it works.

Under Chapter 7, you can wipe out certain debts in exchange for transferring some of your property to the bankruptcy trustee. That property is then sold, and the proceeds are distributed to your creditors. Some debts, such as alimony and child support, cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. Additionally, student loans and past-due taxes can be discharged only in rare circumstances.

You won’t lose all your property. Exemptions under both state and federal law allow you to keep some personal property and a certain amount of equity in real property. You must choose the exemptions allowed by state law or federal law—you cannot pick and choose from both.

Before you can file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, you must pass a “means test”in which you show the bankruptcy court that you lack the resources to repay creditors over a three-to-five-year period. If you fail the means test, your only option for personal bankruptcy is to reorganize your debts under Chapter 13. However, whether you file under Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, you’ll immediately receive the benefit of the automatic stay, which prohibits creditors from calling, writing, or otherwise attempting to collect a debt except through the bankruptcy process

Contact the Cintron Firm

At the Cintron Firm, LLC, we offer more than 14 years of experience to people in New Jersey facing a broad array of legal challenges. Attorney Mark Cintron has worked as a prosecutor and has extensive courtroom experience, so he’s always ready, willing, and able to protect your interests before a judge or jury. We are currently available to talk with you by phone, text message, or online videoconference. Contact our office online or call us at 201-791-1333 or 917-494-5695 to set up an appointment.

Filing a Lawsuit for Injuries Suffered in a Motor Vehicle Accident

August 17, 2020 by The Cintron Firm

The Process—What Happens After Discovery

In our last blog, we took a look at the steps necessary to initiate a lawsuit—the filing of a complaint and an answer. We also briefly discussed the discovery process, where the parties seek to gather all evidence that might potentially be used at trial. To understand what happens next in the legal process, we need to talk just a little bit more about discovery.

In the American legal system, we adhere to the principle of “open discovery,” which means that all the evidence available to one party must also be available to other parties. This principle stems from the belief that the most just result comes when parties prepare their cases with knowledge of all the relevant facts.

One of the key components of discovery is the deposition. At a deposition, a witness is sworn in and can be asked questions by attorneys for all parties. A court reporter commits the testimony to writing, and the deposition also can be videotaped. During the deposition, though, the rules of evidence that apply in court are not followed. Accordingly, lawyers may ask questions that typically are not allowed in front of a jury. If opposing counsel objects, the objection and the grounds must be stated for the record. However, the witness may still answer the question. Because the deposition is closed, there’s no risk the objectionable testimony will be heard by the jury.

If the same testimony were elicited at trial, though, it could be problematic. Even though a judge can instruct a jury to disregard testimony that violates the rules of evidence, the damage may already be done, as the jury has heard (and can’t “unhear”) the evidence. Accordingly, once discovery is complete, the court will schedule a hearing to rule on the admissibility of potentially objectionable evidence before the trial begins. If an attorney subsequently introduces evidence that the court has ruled inadmissible, it may be grounds for a mistrial or even sanctions against the attorney.

Contact the Cintron Firm

At the Cintron Firm, LLC, we offer more than 14 years of experience to people in New Jersey facing a broad array of legal challenges. Attorney Mark Cintron has worked as a prosecutor and has extensive courtroom experience, so he’s always ready, willing, and able to protect your interests before a judge or jury. We are currently available to talk with you by phone, text message, or online videoconference. Contact our office online or call us at 201-791-1333 or 917-494-5695 to set up an appointment.

Recovering Compensation for Motor Vehicle Accident Injuries

July 9, 2020 by The Cintron Firm

Taking Legal Action to Cover Your Losses After a Wreck

When you’re injured in a collision caused by someone else’s negligence, one of the first things you do is contact your insurance company. In New Jersey, one of the states that follow “no-fault” principles, you must start with your insurer. Sometimes, though, your insurance isn’t enough to cover all your losses. If you need to file a lawsuit to seek a full recovery, how does that work?

The Statute of Limitations

To initiate legal action, your lawyer files a legal document called a complaint. Specific court rules set forth where that complaint must be filed, when it must be filed, and who must receive a copy. One of the most important rules is the statute of limitations, which requires that you file your complaint within a certain period of time after the accident. The statute of limitations is intended to ensure that claims are decided before evidence is lost or the memories of witnesses fade. It also means that potential defendants don’t have to live in perpetual fear of being sued.

The Early Stages of a Lawsuit

Once you properly file your complaint, the alleged wrongdoer (the “defendant”) has a specific period of time to submit an “answer” admitting or denying the allegations in your complaint. The court then typically schedules its first conference with attorneys and parties in order to learn the basic facts of the case. You also should expect that during this conference, the judge will put pressure on you to settle the case, if possible.

Assuming you don’t settle, the court will set a timetable for “discovery,” a process in which both parties gather evidence. Once the discovery period is completed, the court will hold hearings to determine whether the evidence gathered is admissible and whether the case can be resolved without going to trial.

Contact the Cintron Firm

At the Cintron Firm, LLC, we offer more than 14 years of experience to people in New Jersey facing a broad array of legal challenges. Attorney Mark Cintron has worked as a prosecutor and has extensive courtroom experience, so he’s always ready, willing, and able to protect your interests before a judge or jury. We are currently available to talk with you by phone, text message, or online videoconference. Contact our office online or call us at 201-791-1333 or 917-494-5695 to set up an appointment.